What do you want in your next Duke AD?

[jmb]

As other posters have mentioned, we have exemplary programs in Mens and Womens Soccer, Mens and Womens Lacrosse, Mens and Womens Golf, Mens and Womens Basketball, Mens and Womens Tennis, Womens Cross Country, and Field Hockey. Thus, I don't care what a candidate has done with these sports. As long as he/she can maintain some organizational momentum, these sports should continue to thrive.

What I care about is finding someone who has brought to prominence teams in our other sports that aren't shining as brightly: Football, Baseball, Mens Cross Country, Mens and Womens Track, Wrestling, Volleyball (could arguably go in the previous category category), Mens and Womens Fencing, Rowing, and Mens and Womens Swimming.

These are the programs that should take precedence in finding experienced candidates.

[jjasper0729]

this quote in the small piece from the dbr page kind of rubbed me the wrong way:

“Football is outstanding,” Alleva said. “Baseball’s outstanding. All 20 sports have the chance here to be national champions, and I wanted to compete on that level. I really wanted to go to that level.”

I can't explain why it irked me, but it did and does. Duke is nationally competitive in m/w basketball, m/w lacrosse, m/w soccer, m/w tennis, m/w golf, field hockey, fencing and has started to have a rejuvenation in volleyball. swimming and diving are becoming competitive with the new coach and approach. I don't know that much about wrestling, rowing or the track/cc teams.

why couldn't he have done better with football or baseball? was it him? was it the allen building. Was that quote just "saying the right thing because of where you are now"? It just rubs me wrong when I read it.

I want the next AD to care about all of Duke's sports and to do whatever it takes (ethically of course) to make sure we are competitive and play to the best of our ability with the best players for Duke.

[hughgs]

As other posters have mentioned, we have exemplary programs in Mens and Womens Soccer, Mens and Womens Lacrosse, Mens and Womens Golf, Mens and Womens Basketball, Mens and Womens Tennis, Womens Cross Country, and Field Hockey. Thus, I don't care what a candidate has done with these sports. As long as he/she can maintain some organizational momentum, these sports should continue to thrive.

What I care about is finding someone who has brought to prominence teams in our other sports that aren't shining as brightly: Football, Baseball, Mens Cross Country, Mens and Womens Track, Wrestling, Volleyball (could arguably go in the previous category category), Mens and Womens Fencing, Rowing, and Mens and Womens Swimming.

These are the programs that should take precedence in finding experienced candidates.

I don't understand what you mean by prominence. Swimming just hired a new coach who has coached All-Americans. Baseball was able to post wins against top twenty teams already this year. And rowing is competitive in the ACC given their lack of facilities. And depending on your definition of prominence I'm not sold that the tennis teams are there any more.

[bjornolf]

Need I say more?

If I do, BS Engineering from Duke School of Engineering (now Pratt), lifelong salesman and amateur athlete, entrepreneur, experienced in large infrastructure construction projects and dealing with the multiple personalities and politics of such projects. Works hard and well with others, and knows how to delegate tasks and authority while maintaining overall control of the situation. And of course, I'm your paradigm of optimism!

Dyedwab - thank you for your support! The momentum is growing! Make your voices heard!

I was busy helping my wife bring our newest addition into the world (details on Off-Topic board) so I missed throwing in my vote. The second I saw this thread title, I thought of Ozzie. Campaign slogans? "Who needs the wizard of westwood when you can have the wonderful Wizard of Oz!"

[jmb]

I don't understand what you mean by prominence. Swimming just hired a new coach who has coached All-Americans. Baseball was able to post wins against top twenty teams already this year. And rowing is competitive in the ACC given their lack of facilities. And depending on your definition of prominence I'm not sold that the tennis teams are there any more.

My definition of prominence is at least threatening to win championships at the ACC and NCAA level (but ideally actually winning them).

[hughgs]

My definition of prominence is at least threatening to win championships at the ACC and NCAA level (but ideally actually winning them).

In that case volleyball is definitely prominent. I'm not terribly familiar with fencing but I don't believe there's an ACC championship and Duke does send a number of competitors to the NCAAs so I don't know how you would define that.

For rowing I believe that we're reasonably prominent, but I think they need a bit more support. They finally got a boat house, but they're on campus facilities stink.

I will agree that wrestling and swimming are not prominent. But, we have a new swimming coach who came in with a fantastic resume so I think you need to give that program some time.

Finally, in order to be prominent in football and baseball Duke has to be a nationally ranked (probably top 10). Is that a realistic expectation in those areas?

It seems that you're setting yourself up for failure here. Maybe a more realistic expectation would to be competitive in the Sears cup.

[Surfsideron]

I want the guy who turned down the LSU position in hopes of getting the position he really wanted...DUKE!

[jmb]

In that case volleyball is definitely prominent. I'm not terribly familiar with fencing but I don't believe there's an ACC championship and Duke does send a number of competitors to the NCAAs so I don't know how you would define that.

For rowing I believe that we're reasonably prominent, but I think they need a bit more support. They finally got a boat house, but they're on campus facilities stink.

I will agree that wrestling and swimming are not prominent. But, we have a new swimming coach who came in with a fantastic resume so I think you need to give that program some time.

Finally, in order to be prominent in football and baseball Duke has to be a nationally ranked (probably top 10). Is that a realistic expectation in those areas?

It seems that you're setting yourself up for failure here. Maybe a more realistic expectation would to be competitive in the Sears cup.

Are we really setting ourselves up for failure by hoping to attract an AD who has experience elevating some of these programs to a nationally competitive level?

[hughgs]

Are we really setting ourselves up for failure by hoping to attract an AD who has experience elevating some of these programs to a nationally competitive level?

Some is fine, I don't think anyone would disagree. But, you listed all our programs and implied that our AD should be able to elevate them all to prominence. If that's not what you meant then I'm even more confused about what realistic goals you want for our next AD.

[jimsumner]

Q.

What do

Tom Butters
Terry Sanford
Mike Krzyzewski
Eddie Cameron
Wallace Wade
Vic Bubas

have in common?

A. None graduated from Duke.

You don't have to graduate from a place to love it. And that comes from a Duke alum.

[Capn Poptart]

I have to agree with Prof. Spragens, who stated that he was surprised at the timing of the move, and that he thought Alleva had weathered the storm.

I've had my beefs with Alleva, but he did seem to be figuring things out at the end. The two anemic sports, football and baseball, seem to be finally headed in the right direction, and the facility building boom continues.

The areas in which Alleva seemed to excel were ones people keep mentioning as desirable in a new AD: fundraising and elevating non-revenues.

There's no doubt that the committee will be looking for someone with better PR and personal skills than JA. But it will be interesting to see if we can find someone with the total package: (major sports, nonrevenues, fundraising, people skills, creative thinker, etc.).

As I recall, the last time this position was open, the interest was pitiful.

[Surfsideron]

There's no doubt that the committee will be looking for someone with better PR and personal skills than JA. But it will be interesting to see if we can find someone with the total package: (major sports, nonrevenues, fundraising, people skills, creative thinker, etc.).

As I recall, the last time this position was open, the interest was pitiful.

There is a candidate out there that fulfills most, if not all, of the requirements the committee will be looking for.

He took a school with almost no football pedigree to one that was hugely successful and continues to grow on that success.

His fundraising skills at that school were much better than anyone previous or since.

He then moved on to a prominent football program that won a National Championship during his tenure and challenged for many others. He has experience dealing with a coaching icon.

He has the respect of every conference and their leaders, in the country.

He could have had many jobs over the past 5-6 years, including those that are/were open this year. However, he wants Duke and for all the right reasons.

The man is former ECU & FSU AD, Dave Hart.

[Duvall]

He could have had many jobs over the past 5-6 years, including those that are/were open this year. However, he wants Duke and for all the right reasons.

The man is former ECU & FSU AD, Dave Hart.

I'm not sure that Florida State has the kind of athletic department we want to emulate.

[Wander]

Is this part of the Duke curse for LSU, for beating us in the tournament two years ago?

[Stray Gator]

There is a candidate out there that fulfills most, if not all, of the requirements the committee will be looking for.

He took a school with almost no football pedigree to one that was hugely successful and continues to grow on that success.

His fundraising skills at that school were much better than anyone previous or since.

He then moved on to a prominent football program that won a National Championship during his tenure and challenged for many others. He has experience dealing with a coaching icon.

He has the respect of every conference and their leaders, in the country.

He could have had many jobs over the past 5-6 years, including those that are/were open this year. However, he wants Duke and for all the right reasons.

The man is former ECU & FSU AD, Dave Hart.

Sorry, but I strenuously disagree. We don't need an AD who tolerates, even if only by turning a blind eye, violations of academic and athletic rules to the extent that FSU is now facing NCAA punishment for having allowed under Hart's watch. We don't need an AD who'll wink at allowing a coach like Bobby Bowden to get away with circumventing the school's anti-nepotism policy by hiring his son as offensive coordinator. We don't need an AD who makes embarrassingly puerile public statements, like saying of a football coach at a rival school (Spurrier) that "somebody ought to put him over their knee and spank him." Finally, and most significantly, FSU's athletics program clearly declined during Hart's tenure. (For that matter, I believe East Carolina had a decent football pedigree under Coach Clarence Stasovich (sp?) before Hart arrived.)

I don't mean to characterize Hart as a bad person or an incompetent AD. But he is, to put it diplomatically, a lightweight. IMO Duke deserves, and should be able to attract, much better candidates.

[sagegrouse]

As other posters have mentioned, we have exemplary programs in Mens and Womens Soccer, Mens and Womens Lacrosse, Mens and Womens Golf, Mens and Womens Basketball, Mens and Womens Tennis, Womens Cross Country, and Field Hockey. Thus, I don't care what a candidate has done with these sports.

What I care about is finding someone who has brought to prominence teams in our other sports that aren't shining as brightly: Football, Baseball, Mens Cross Country, Mens and Womens Track, Wrestling, Volleyball (could arguably go in the previous category category), Mens and Womens Fencing, Rowing, and Mens and Womens Swimming.

These are the programs that should take precedence in finding experienced candidates.

Uhhhh... The logic here escapes me.

(a) Are you suggesting that Duke should be nationally competitive in sports in which it does not award athletic scholarships? We really do need to match aspirations and resources.

(b) I can't for the life of me understand why expertise in rowing (or any other individual sport) means anything for an AD. I would think a good AD should be able to make great hires in sports where he/she did not either play or coach.

You did not mention fund-raising, which has been very good at Duke, thanks to the Iron Dukes, the basketball team, and generous individuals like Yoh, Schwartz, etc. I would be interested in learning how high on the list is the requirement for improved fund-raising.

sagegrouse

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Looks like we'll have an opportunity to see how Chris Kennedy performs since he's the interim AD. More information on goduke.com.

[arnie]

Looks like we'll have an opportunity to see how Chris Kennedy performs since he's the interim AD. More information on goduke.com.

This could mean that we conduct the "search" and then determine that Kennedy is the best candidate. If he doesn't do anything stupid, he may be our man. I seem to recall that he is respected among the other staff.

Incidentally, our baseball program is not as great as some posters have insinuated. 4-10 in hte ACC and all our OOC wins were really against poor teams. However, improvement is expected to be slow.

[blueprofessor]

Sorry, but I strenuously disagree. We don't need an AD who tolerates, even if only by turning a blind eye, violations of academic and athletic rules to the extent that FSU is now facing NCAA punishment for having allowed under Hart's watch. We don't need an AD who'll wink at allowing a coach like Bobby Bowden to get away with circumventing the school's anti-nepotism policy by hiring his son as offensive coordinator. We don't need an AD who makes embarrassingly puerile public statements, like saying of a football coach at a rival school (Spurrier) that "somebody ought to put him over their knee and spank him." Finally, and most significantly, FSU's athletics program clearly declined during Hart's tenure. (For that matter, I believe East Carolina had a decent football pedigree under Coach Clarence Stasovich (sp?) before Hart arrived.)

I don't mean to characterize Hart as a bad person or an incompetent AD. But he is, to put it diplomatically, a lightweight. IMO Duke deserves, and should be able to attract, much better candidates.

************************************************** ********

...for a number of reasons,in addition to those mentioned by Stray.
Friends at the companion sports publication which covered FSU sports(The Osceola) noted that Hart says next to nothing when he speaks(15 minutes in conversation yields about 1 paragraph of usable material).
He insulates himself and divided the FSU alumns into pro-con camps.

Hart is a football man ,period.The overall sports program,despite a great population base in FL and GA, underperformed in terms of dollars spent using the Directors' Cup as a criterion.

IMHO,Hart is not a heavyweight.
In one of his first speeches, Dave said he wanted FSU athletics to model itself on Disney Corporation.Yet he knew little about Disney,including the fact that about 85% of employees were extremely low-payed ,while the top person earned about 60 millions a year( I like profit).Disney was one of 300 participating companies in my 3 year study that led to writing a couple books.Disney was having a great number of HBO problems--- frankly,he was very shallow in his reasoning.

IIRC,Dave was a Teaching English ,as opposed to an English , major at Alabama.Yet he always projected his major as English.Huge difference.

In addition, he said he played on the bball team.Efforts in calling Alabama to get details about that "playing" by a very prominent alumnus who was preparing a detailed intro of Hart at an important big giver event led to no info which confirmed his assertion of having "played." Dave may have played...

Dave was the vanguard for ACC expansion to include Miami,BC,and VT----replete with the unbalanced bball schedule.

I do not believe he would be a good fit at Duke,although he is smart and attracted highly competent people as associate ADs ,who helped insulate him from the rabble.

Best regards.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

This could mean that we conduct the "search" and then determine that Kennedy is the best candidate. If he doesn't do anything stupid, he may be our man. I seem to recall that he is respected among the other staff.

Incidentally, our baseball program is not as great as some posters have insinuated. 4-10 in hte ACC and all our OOC wins were really against poor teams. However, improvement is expected to be slow.

Kennedy has been at Duke for 29 years. According to his bio on goduke.com, his undergraduate and masters degrees are from Georgetown University. His doctoral degree is from Duke. In addition to the duties he's had over the years in the athletic department, he continues to be an adjunct assistant professor in English at Duke. He's certainly brought a focus to academics, especially for the basketball team.