Analysis of known AD candidates

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TechSBP

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I've stated the tasks and AD must carry out in a previous thread: Retain top coaches like Hewitt, Tennis, and Hall; Fundraise, fundraise, fundraise; graduation rate; and improve our public relations/energize the fan base. Some have added to that

To do those things the new AD is going to need to win over A) the coaches B) student athletes C) the fan base and D) the faculty. Furthermore, at Tech, they have to have a personal integrity that jives with the tenor of the current admin: put the educational mission of the school number one and excel at everything despite that challenge and limited resources.

Here, in alphabetical, is what I know about the candidates (please add on):

Cam Bonifay: Tech alum, lots of pro experience, but very little collegiate work. Sounds like he has some big money support. Does he understand the academic side though? How old is he? I can’t substantiate in print that he is a candidate yet. Sorry-lmk if you can.

Jeff Bourne: Was popular at Tech; seems to do well at his current AD job (JMU); seven years experience as an AD. His programs have been very successful. His work in improving student academics should win over faculty. Anyone know about JMU’s fan outreach and fundraising? Also he’s very young.

Bill Curry: Popular in some quarters. No admin experience outside of coaching, good speaker, and media savy. How bitter are some folks about his jolt for a rival school? I’m too young to know. I’ve never been a fan of people campaigning for a job in a way that puts the person making a decision into a corner (unless his selection was a foregone conclusion) or campaigning for a job before it is officially open. I imagine partial, but vocal, alumni support from two groups of which Bill is a member (As is Dr. Clough and many faculty/alumni/students). Age is up there and not everyone can age like Broyles. Personally, I’ve had two negative experiences with Curry and wouldn’t be excited.

Paul Griffin. There right now. Seems to have warmed up in the past few years. Talented, some might say not the most personable guy but he is not unfriendly. My interactions with him have been positive. I think Tech should bring someone in from the outside. Eventually Paul will take an AD position at another major program.

Mary McElroy. Amazing woman. This lady is going to be a VERY successful AD. Works with faculty, students, and alumni very well. Unfortunately not much AD experience (currently at GSU). If we have someone who is only at Tech for a few years to ten years…we would do well to get her, and she wouldn’t be bad even now.

Jim Murphy. Tech alum. One of the top small college AD’s. Great academics, fundraising (30 mil at Davidson for athletics), etc. PR? Anyone live near Davidson that could tell us something? Any Davidson alums on the board? I know they recruited my little bro to play ball and he was very impressed. I have to think he is a leader among candidates.

Steve Orsini. Everyone knows Steve. Hard to imagine that he’d leave UCF when if he’s successful there, he can go anywhere in a few years. Good marketing, good with coaches, but how is he with the faculty? Anyone remember from Tech…I’m not sure he interacted very much.

Todd Stansbury. Young Tech alum. Only 44. Very dynamic. AD experience. Fundraising is solid at Oregon St where he is an asst. ad. Now. Lots on this board like him. I can understand why---he knows the academic side from his previous time at Tech.

My current top three (in no order): Stansbury, Murphy, Bourne. Next group would be Orsini and McElroy.

More and more substantiated reports of interest from potential new AD's are coming in. This is good news. Looks like the jobs a jewel, pays like one, and is at a very successful athletic department with a supportive admin (note, would these people be applying, who’ve already worked with the Tech admin, if it were not supportive of athletics?).

A proviso: there will be other candidates who are applying. I haven't heard more than speculation on who those are though, but there were some to be very excited about.
 
I have asked this question on another thread. When and how has Bill Curry campaigned for the AD job?
 
Well, here is what I will say in public. 20 years of absence (some understandable) and a sudden reappearance? What a change of heart.

Also note, the increase of mentioning Tech in his articles and TV appearances. Furthermore, I know alumni who've been contacted by him. Hmmm....did anyone get a call back in November from Bobby Ross or G'OL or some other former coach?

Honestly, when has he not been campaigning in the past few months?

BTW---Curry is popular on the message boards, w/o doubt. I'm sure most on here would pick him. However, I think the other candidates are very strong and seeing this from a more objective perspective than we have, it might be worthwhile to hear what people know about some of the other candidates. Let's not make this a thread about Bill Curry. I apologize for any percieved slight to a the very fine man that he is.
 
You have my response on the other thread. Additionally, yes there should be a thorough interview process.
 
Indeed. The good candidates grow more and more numerous. I did not realize he was that tied to Tech! Informative read. Thanks!
 
If there isn't a very short list right now, there is no excuse for it.
Dr. Clough knew about D Braines situation a very long time ago.
 
In that CG's contract extension is not a done deal, we need to move on this very quickly.
If the right guy is hired now (Ray Ban sunglasses), this recruiting class can be saved, and probably improved.
 
[ QUOTE ]
If there isn't a very short list right now, there is no excuse for it.
Dr. Clough knew about D Braines situation a very long time ago.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not quite true. From what I understand, DB was planning on retiring, but it was going to be more towards the end of his contract. Seems that his Crones got worse (probably mostly because of stress, etc, its not a good disease by any means, but it is very liveable with proper diet and lots of fly fishing) and he had to resign earlier than expected. So it it takes a few more weeks than it should, understand that they expected to be able to gather information for a few more months before narrowing the field.
 
I imagine there is a short list...but I don't have that short list? Anyone have it? Somehow I doubt it.

Depsite the situation RP mentioned, I'm pretty sure they always have a emergency short list, but would expand the list in a normal search where they had time.
 
I think we have some good people interested in us but the 2 at the top of my list are Orsini and Stansbury. I like Orsini because of his success at UCF, the fact that he is rather young, and comes from a great program at ND, and has been at Tech. ND also places a value on academics which would indicate he could accept our academic standards.
Stansbury has JD's endorsement which means a lot to me. Plus, he has performed well at Oregon State and has good record with SA's and academics, and most importantly, is a Tech man with letter in FB.
I have nothing against Curry but think these 2 would be better for us in the long haul. If we take Curry for a few years (he is 63 years old), this quality may not be available to us the next time around.
 
Todd is a great guy and would additionally be a great choice. He and I car pooled a couple of times over the Christmas break in school (Todd is from Canada and I am from up north also). I can honestly say that I do not believe I ever made the trip up and down I-75 faster than with Todd.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I think we have some good people interested in us but the 2 at the top of my list are Orsini and Stansbury. I like Orsini because of his success at UCF, the fact that he is rather young, and comes from a great program at ND, and has been at Tech. ND also places a value on academics which would indicate he could accept our academic standards.
Stansbury has JD's endorsement which means a lot to me. Plus, he has performed well at Oregon State and has good record with SA's and academics, and most importantly, is a Tech man with letter in FB.
I have nothing against Curry but think these 2 would be better for us in the long haul. If we take Curry for a few years (he is 63 years old), this quality may not be available to us the next time around.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know the thought of curry coming in for a few years with Stansbury (or Ornsi I guess) coming in as assistant has been thrown around, but in an interview yesterday Curry said he planned on working a long time, that he liked being busy, etc. I don't know if thats just media talk or not, just thought I'd throw it out there.
 
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Looks like the jobs a jewel, pays like one, and is at a very successful athletic department with a supportive admin

[/ QUOTE ]

You're joking right?
 
[ QUOTE ]
I know the thought of curry coming in for a few years with Stansbury (or Ornsi I guess) coming in as assistant has been thrown around, but in an interview yesterday Curry said he planned on working a long time, that he liked being busy, etc. I don't know if thats just media talk or not, just thought I'd throw it out there.

[/ QUOTE ]
I saw that too, where he wanted to work 10-15 more years. I don't think that is a good fit for us in this time of big money college athletics to have an AD in his late 60's or 70's. What I really like is Orsini or Stansbury with Curry as consultant for a couple of years, if their egos could survive this arrangement.
 
Do you really think he would say that "2-3 years is all I got in the tank"?
I am starting to believe again that he won't get the job, but he has to project the most positive light he can in order to stand a chance.

The candidate now being lobbied would be a disappointment, imo.
 
I really like that Cam Bonifay's name has surfaced. We have AA baseball, the Carolina Mudcats, in my town. Through most of the 90's the affiliation was with the Pirates and I had a chance to talk with Cam on several occasions. I am very impressed. His ties with professional sports are strong, he was a terrific athlete in Georgia, very personable, and a very loyal Tech alum. Trying to remember when he won the state basketball title with the Mark Smith team makes me think he is about 55.
 
No one is out of the running yet, but to me, youth (relative, we're talking about 40+ guys here) would be a valuable asset at this point. Curry's personality makes up for that, but I wouldn't really want anyone else too much over 50 for fear that they might be a bit set in their ways and not adjust to GT as much as they should to be successful. Either way, we have a great search committee put together, and the best man will get the job.
 
[ QUOTE ]
In that CG's contract extension is not a done deal, we need to move on this very quickly.
If the right guy is hired now (Ray Ban sunglasses), this recruiting class can be saved, and probably improved.

[/ QUOTE ]

I do not understand the rush to hire an AD without a thorough investigation and vetting process.

Hewitt and Hall are going to be at GT for awhile.

I do not see any AD coming on board and firing Gailey to "save this recruiting class." Arguably, such a move would actually hurt recruiting of the kids that have developed relationships with the current coaches.

Gailey will be the coach in 2006. Beyond that, all bets are off as anything can happen in sports.

To my knowledge Gailey's contract has not been signed as a written agreement. Thus, there indeed may be some legal options of avoiding the agreement (such as the Statute of Frauds for personal service contracts not capable of being performed in a year). However, I do expect GT to honor the spirit of the verbal agreement and announcement for at least 2006. To do otherwise would make us look pretty silly (especially with the recent flip-flop decision on Tarver).

I am not necessarily sold on Gailey, as we have experienced both some positives and negatives during his time as coach. However, there is no way that a new AD would come on board and fire Gailey immediately before the 2006 season or before the completion of the 2006 recruiting class.

Given that all the immediate decisions on coaches are settled for at least a year, I see no need to rush the AD decision.

There is time to fully investigate the already listed candidates with ties to GT as well as some candidates that have no previous association with GT.

I would like to have a new AD before summer break, but the decision could be stretched out a little longer if necessary. Certainly a new AD should be in place by the start of the 2006 football season.

After the 2006 season, if the new AD thinks that he and Gailey would have a contentious working relationship or that Gailey does not match the new AD's preferred direction for the program, then so be it. At least the new AD will have worked with Gailey over the football season to evaluate whether they can function together to advance GT sports.

I do not see the new AD coming in and making random decisions without spending at least a few months to get a picture of what is happening in the operations of the GTAA.

I have no problem with Curry being selected as the ultimate choice, but I do think a serious search and evaluation of the candidates is needed.

If the new AD decides to replace Gailey, that is fine. However, the new AD at least needs to try to work with Gailey over a season, and needs to evaluate Gailey's performance as coach at the end of the 2006 season.

As long as the buyout options in Gailey's new contract are not exhorbitantly expensive, then decisions by the new AD with repect to Gailey's future can wait until after the contract with Gailey is signed, regardles of whether the ultimate decision is to maintain the present course under Gailey or go in a different direction.

With regard to the list of candidates, right now the process should involve expanding the list as much as possible. That is exactly what GT is doing, and has just hired an executive search firm to begin the process.

See "Baker Parker Global Executive Search to Serve as Consultant in Tech Search" at RamblinWreck.com.

I'm sure that Dr. Clough does have a short list of potential ADs in case an urgent hiring was needed in an extreme emergency. However, in this situation, such a fast decision is not needed.

All the listed candidates so far have some positive qualities, and I am sure some candidates without ties to GT also would be interested in the well-paying AD position at GT.

We should gather as many names on the list as have a reasonable possibility of being selected for the AD job. Then the board has to go through the vetting process of reviewing resumes, work experience, interviews, etc. to whittle down the list to just a few names before making the final selection. Before announcing the final selection, an even more thorough background check of the proposed new AD would avoid a situation such as happened to Notre Dame with O'Leary.
 
Just throwing in my unsupported-by-knowledge two cents' worth:
I had never thought of Cam Bonifay for this until he applied for the job. He certainly did well with the Pirates' organization in the early years, though many in Pittsburgh now blame him for the disaster they've had the last few years. "They" (whoever that is) say he dismantled a good team, and did a lousy job with the farm system. That may be neither here nor there, and as I said is only rumor; my only concern about him is whether or not he is really passionate about college athletics, or just about getting another high-profile job.
 
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