Congratulations, VP and AD Nina King!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Debbie Yow retired in 2019. Virginia and Pitt both have female ADs. In 2017, Virginia’s Carla Williams became the first Black woman hired as an athletics director at a Power Five conference school. Vandy hired a Black woman last year. Duke is now the third P5 school with a Black woman in charge of athletics.

Nina is both a great hire and a wonderful person. Duke athletics are in good hands.

Ahh, cool. (And I knew of course Yow had retired, just wasn't aware that other schools had women at the helm. Good to see.)

[budwom]

I do not have expectations that King will be the sole person in charge of hiring the men's basketball head coach, but you can bet she will have a voice. There's no way people won't come for King if the next head coach struggles. She's going to be tied to that hire the way an NFL GM is tied to a 1st round QB.

of course. I'm just saying that Coach K's seal of approval on the deal will inoculate her, to a great extent, against inevitable snipage should the pick go wrong. ADs hear whining and complaining all the time. I'm sure she's fully conversant with the complaining about the football situation.

[Acymetric]

I don't know enough about anything to have any idea on what this will actually mean for Duke Athletics, but assuming the reports are correct congrats to Nina King!

...Now I can start living in perpetual fear of an imminent extension for Cut.

[budwom]

I don't know enough about anything to have any idea on what this will actually mean for Duke Athletics, but assuming the reports are correct congrats to Nina King!

...Now I can start living in perpetual fear of an imminent extension for Cut.

ack, channeling the fears reminiscent of White's extension of McCallie...I feel pretty confident (OK, maybe not confident, but hopeful) that given Cut's age and the status of the program that he can be convinced to cordially transition out of the job when his contract expires in two years...I'm sure Nina is getting an earful already, the inbox is never empty.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

As long as she will build nicer locker rooms for field hockey so we can compete better with UNC for recruits, I'm all good.

[duke79]

of course. I'm just saying that Coach K's seal of approval on the deal will inoculate her, to a great extent, against inevitable snipage should the pick go wrong. ADs hear whining and complaining all the time. I'm sure she's fully conversant with the complaining about the football situation.

Congrats to Nina! Seems like a very good hire. With regards to hiring someone to replace Coach K, I'm sure there are already several names on the list of potential successors. I don't think this is the type of position where you wait until the person has officially announced their retirement to start looking at possible replacements. I'm also guessing that the selection of the successor will not be the sole decision of the AD but rather a collective decision of several people, including the AD, Coach K, the president of the university and possibly others.

[Acymetric]

ack, channeling the fears reminiscent of White's extension of McCallie...I feel pretty confident (OK, maybe not confident, but hopeful) that given Cut's age and the status of the program that he can be convinced to cordially transition out of the job when his contract expires in two years...I'm sure Nina is getting an earful already, the inbox is never empty.

I would love to see that transition start before his last year (and it should, lame duck coaches in their final seasons have pretty dismal track records and it makes the job harder for whoever comes in next). I keep forgetting the contract runs through 2023 not 2022.

[yancem]

I would love to see that transition start before his last year (and it should, lame duck coaches in their final seasons have pretty dismal track records and it makes the job harder for whoever comes in next). I keep forgetting the contract runs through 2023 not 2022.

I'd love to see a scenario where the next coach is placed on the staff for Cut's last year with full reporting of the situation. I don't you tend to see that in football as we have in some cases in basketball but I don't think that Duke will be able to lure a big name to replace Cut so it may not be too hard to pull off having a head coach in waiting type of situation. This should greatly help with the recruiting transition. I'm not familiar enough to know if any of the current assistants would be good candidates but maybe we could get Scottie Montgomery to come back?

[budwom]

I'd love to see a scenario where the next coach is placed on the staff for Cut's last year with full reporting of the situation. I don't you tend to see that in football as we have in some cases in basketball but I don't think that Duke will be able to lure a big name to replace Cut so it may not be too hard to pull off having a head coach in waiting type of situation. This should greatly help with the recruiting transition. I'm not familiar enough to know if any of the current assistants would be good candidates but maybe we could get Scottie Montgomery to come back?

I also hope the transition begins soon, but I think you underestimate how many people will be interested in the football job. No, I'm not talking "big names," but when did we hire big names for football?...

You need look no further than our own ACC to see where a bunch of young, capable MAC coaches have come in (guys accustomed to making the MAC average of $600k or so, off the top of my head) and done very well. We should be able to pay in the $2.5M range or so as I believe Cut currently makes around $2.7 M. Even when Duke really sucked, we had a lot of applicants for the job, especially when Duke decided to properly fund the program.

So this is how ADs and coaching talent search firms earn their money...they look at guys who have excelled at lower levels of the sport, and try to select a winner.

[chrishoke]

I love that I am the OP on this historic thread. Congratulations VP and AD King!

[budwom]

White's salary is evidently $1.577 million...I wonder where Nina starts off? Almost certainly not that high, but definitely a nice wage.

[cato]

King will have two crucial decisions coming up very soon: Replacing Coach K and Coach Cutcliffe. Let's wish her the best of luck.

Sports Gods, please look kindly on your Duke flock when you decide the order in which AD King tackles these tasks. Your faithful servant, cato.

[dudog84]

She's only about 42 years old (2000 ND grad) so if she does a good job this position will be stable for quite a while, which is important. Congrats to her.

[budwom]

She's only about 42 years old (2000 ND grad) so if she does a good job this position will be stable for quite a while, which is important. Congrats to her.

that would be the hope, unless she is lured back to ND which can't be discounted. But first things first...

[chrishoke]

Statements from K and Cut and our other Coach K.

“This hire is an important step for the continuity of the outstanding culture that exists within Duke Athletics. Serving as one of Kevin White’s most trusted advisors for his entire time at Duke, Nina King has served our University well in whatever roles have been assigned to her. She has represented the Duke Department of Athletics with distinction both internally and externally, including many roles on the national stage. That national presence is important in our school’s leadership position in an ever-changing college sports environment. Personally, I have enjoyed working with Nina and look forward to working with her even more in the future.”
--Duke Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski

“I am thrilled for Nina and her family. She has prepared for this opportunity her entire professional life, learning from the best of all time in Dr. (Kevin) White. Nina understands what it takes to build a great program on the coaching and playing side of athletics while possessing the unique ability to sit at the business, academic and legal tables comfortably. Without question, Nina will champion the core mission of Duke University while lifting the student-athletes to a new level of excellence. Duke Football is excited to move forward!”
--Duke Head Football Coach David Cutcliffe

“This is a historic hire for Duke University. Congratulations to Nina; she is a star! She leads with intelligence, competitiveness and compassion. I am excited to work together with her. The future is bright for our department because I know we have the right person to represent us in every way. One of the main reasons I chose to come to Duke was because of the diversity that exists at every level. This is a powerful statement by President Price and our Board of Trustees. Go Duke!”
--Duke Head Women’s Basketball Coach Kara Lawson

[sagegrouse]

I'm guessing (purely) that she'll leave the hoop decision primarily to K, which is probably the smart move.

I do not have expectations that King will be the sole person in charge of hiring the men's basketball head coach, but you can bet she will have a voice. There's no way people won't come for King if the next head coach struggles. She's going to be tied to that hire the way an NFL GM is tied to a 1st round QB.

Coach K will be an advisor (and as influential as he wants to be).* Nina King will make the decision in consultation with Vince Price and any search committee** that gets set up.

Kindly,
Sage
* No way will he want to be tagged with the performance of his successor, a la Dean or Big Jawn T. or even Bud Wilkinson, who foisted the lackluster Gomer Jones on Oklahoma.

** Hey mon! What do you think of trustee Adam Silver on a Duke hoops search committee?

[dudog84]

“I am thrilled for Nina and her family. She has prepared for this opportunity her entire professional life, learning from the best of all time in Dr. (Kevin) White. Nina understands what it takes to build a great program on the coaching and playing side of athletics while possessing the unique ability to sit at the business, academic and legal tables comfortably. Without question, Nina will champion the core mission of Duke University while lifting the student-athletes to a new level of excellence. Duke Football is excited to move forward!”
--Duke Head Football Coach David Cutcliffe

Uh, Tom Butters (and others) says "Hello".

And if the feelings of some on this board are representative, he better be careful with that last line.

[Acymetric]

And if the feelings of some on this board are representative, he better be careful with that last line.

Had the exact same thought when I read that.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

that would be the hope, unless she is lured back to ND which can't be discounted. But first things first...

Good point. Just checked and Swarbrick is 67 so that might not be in the too distant future. I wonder if that was discussed.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Congrats Nina! LGD GTHc!