At least there's precedent for the Duke-to-Texas move not working out terribly well. (For the mover.)
Dodds is out at the end of the current academic year.
Duke needs to be proactive and pre-emptive. It is not in Duke's interest for Kevin White's name to become part of this conversation.
At least there's precedent for the Duke-to-Texas move not working out terribly well. (For the mover.)
Doesn't bode well for Mack Brown.
Dodds let it be known quite a while ago that this was to be his last year.
Mack is gone either way.
ricks
I think Kevin White is the best AD in America.
He will be in the conversation wheter anyone here mentions his name or not.
Hopefully he stays at a world class university.
Also hopefully the Longhorns go for someone closer to home.
SoCal
I will miss hearing the name "DeLoss Dodds" - the name is so appropriate for the job he holds. The new AD could be filling two major jobs as Barnes hasn't exactly built up a lot of job security for himself either.
There are rumors that their long time baseball coach may be on his way out as well.
As I said in the other thread, there are rumors that it's Bob Bowlsby's job if he wants it. Though it would be a bit awkward leaving the conference commissioner's chair to lead one of the schools. Though in a certain sense, the Big12 commissioner has always been a bit of a puppet for the Texas AD.
It will be hard for anyone from out-of-state (country) to come for an interview in Austin if their passport is not current, as the fedral guvmint is shut down at the moment.
ricks
I wouldn't entirely rule out White, but I think it's a longshot that Texas tries to poach him. The top three candidates in my mind are Tom Jurich at Louisville, Oliver Luck at WV, and Bernard Muir at Stanford. Bowlsby is an interesting case, but he takes such an enormous pay cut to be the Texas AD that it would seem odd for him to go that route.
Mack is gone next year barring winning out, and even then I think he retires. James Street (maybe unknown here, but Texas legend), about the most energetic 65 year old you will meet, just passed. He and Mack were good friends, and based on Mack's comments this week, that really hit home with him. If Barnes doesn't make the tourney (likely), he is gone. I think Augie sticks around regardless.
That's tired. If the last 18 months have shown anything it's that DeLoss didn't have the juice in the Big XII that he was often given credit for (including by me). But he's left a lasting legacy that has put Texas in the top tier of schools nation wide (and head and shoulders #1 in $$) compared to where it was in 1981. Mack should have been fired 3 years ago, but DeLoss has a little more loyalty than some more reactionary fans like me. Whether that's good or bad, I dunno, but the dude was a game changer regardless.
As far as "arrogance," what would you suggest they do differently? Troll the FCS for Athletic Directors that might throw Texas a bone and slum it in Austin? Texas has the largest athletic budget and largest revenues available even with their crapping the bed in the 4 major sports last year. This isn't NC State trying to poach Pitino or A&M thinking they will get Saban.
And an AD search is much, much different than a coaching search. When Barnes gets fired and Texas fans inevitably start talking about getting Pitino or Donovan or whomever, I'll be right there with you casting stones at my brethren for assuming too much. I'm already tickled as hell at the Saban and Jon Gruden talk on the football side, which is ridiculous. So I'm with you there. But the Athletic Director is wholly different.
- Jurich has made Louisville, a commuter school, a top 5 revenue athletic department. Perhaps he's entrenched there. I really don't know. But he's a target of every school at this point. If Texas doesn't make the call even to get a quick "No" it would be foolish.
- Oliver Luck has Texas ties, a UT law grad, Oilers QB. He's also been on the Houston Sports Commission, securing 3 new professional sports stadiums, bringing the Dynamo to town and showing an ability to consolidate and raise funds from Texas power brokers. He has eyes on the Stanford AD job from what I understand, and in many ways that might be a better Ath Dir job than Texas. But barring loyalty to WVU, which certainly could win out, I'd think the UT job is a step up in every other way, and also familiar territory for Luck.
I guess it depends on the mentality of the candidate, but struggles on the field aside, it will be an exciting time to take over at UT. They are building a medical school in downtown Austin that will require tearing down the basketball stadium (thank god) and the tennis facilities -- hopefully creating new world class facilities in the process. I think Luck is the guy if he wants it, but we shall see.
Well, let's see. Under the last part of his reign, Texas ran off not one, not two, but FOUR members of their conference. Four. Texas single-handedly ran CU, NU, MU, and A&M out of the conference.* Maybe they consolidated their power, but otherwise...
...I'm not even going to talk about what kind of human being would engage in such behavior.
A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
---Roger Ebert
Some questions cannot be answered
Who’s gonna bury who
We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
---Over the Rhine
Word.
It's part of their constitution. Don't get me wrong, I hate arrogance, and I often criticize Duke people for arrogance.
I hold Texas in a special category of arrogance, even above the really nasty Duke arrogance I often see. Duke has never run four universities out of their own conference.
A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
---Roger Ebert
Some questions cannot be answered
Who’s gonna bury who
We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
---Over the Rhine