The University of Illinois officially announced the termination of employment for Athletic Director Mike Thomas this morning at 9 a.m. Today at 11 a.m. BTN will televise the University of Illinois press conference with Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson and Interim Athletics Director Paul Kowalczyk.
With both Tim Beckman and Mike Thomas now fired by the University of Illinois today, we re-publish this op-ed from May 21st. Enjoy:
When he took over in 2011, University of Illinois Athletic Director Mike Thomas quickly ousted the head coaches of three Illini sports. Thomas bought out the incumbent football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball coaches, and then replaced them with his own guys.
So how did that work out?
How are Mike Thomas’ guys doing now?
Well, the football and women’s basketball coaches are both currently being investigated for alleged abuses of their players by the coaching staff.
Men’s basketball is in its worst state since the early ’90s; when the program was on probation. John Groce is the first Illini hoops Coach to miss back to back NCAA Tournaments since 1991-92 (Lou Henson), and those were seasons in which the Illini were on NCAA probation and therefore ineligible for the big dance.
On the gridiron, the Tim Beckman regime has gone 4-20 in Big Ten play. Although they made a bowl game last year, the yardage and scoring differentials of 2014 were frighteningly awful. Likewise for attendance; which is becoming a sadder punchline with each passing game.
Kickoff crowd #PSU vs #Illini "people vote with their feet" pic.twitter.com/b8FA0xiiAI
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) November 22, 2014
Seriously Univ. of Illinois students? You gotta do better. This is the crowd at kickoff. #illini #B1G pic.twitter.com/8GHQuGaQ6e
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) November 22, 2014
So Illini football is losing on the field, at the box office and now you have all the off-the-field issues on top of it.
What’s worse is that Thomas had a chance to see all the warning signs about Beckman from his head coaching days at Toledo. If Mike Thomas had looked deeper, he would have seen that the red flags were present.
In Greek mythology, King Midas was a man who turned everything he touched into gold. With Mike Thomas, it seems like almost everything he touches turns to…..(I’ll let you fill in the blank on that one). Look no further than the three sports in which he hired his own coaches.
How much longer will his three year reign of terror continue? That’s anyone’s guess. On one hand, he has a very lengthy, very lucrative contract to keep him secure.
On the other hand, quoting CBS Chicago:
this June, Illinois welcomes a new president in Timothy Killeen, who will succeed the retiring Robert Easter. And with Gov. Bruce Rauner now in office, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees also has a new chairman in Edward McMillan and is expected to soon welcome two University of Illinois alums as newly appointed members.
It’s unknown how much of an emphasis Killeen and the reconfigured BOT will place on Illinois athletics, but the hope here is that they show a desire to see the flagship university of the nation’s fifth-most populous state enjoy excellence both inside the classroom and research lab, as well as on the football field and basketball court.
In other words, we could possibly see change soon. As we’ve pointed out, there’s a bigger problem in Champaign than Tim Beckman, or John Groce.
The true problem is Thomas. If the external investigation of Beckman turns up any major infractions, Becks is out. Likewise if he has another losing season. His seat is still very warm. If Groce misses the tournament for the third straight year, his fourth at Illinois, it would be impossible to allow him to return for a fifth.
If and when the time comes to replace Beckman and Groce, someone other than Thomas needs to be the person installing their replacement(s). Imagine if you were as bad at your job as Mike Thomas is at his, and you were still rewarded with an extension and a raise.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is part of the FOX Sports Engage Network. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous talk radio stations all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 the Zone.
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