We’re still not sold that the University of Illinois is really trying all that hard to remake Illini athletics into an actual Big Ten caliber program. Yes, many of the non-revenue sports, such as baseball, volleyball, golf and tennis are excelling, but the two revenue-producing sports are nationally irrelevant as they have both been competing at the level of a MAC program for quite some time.
Not even a good MAC program, but a mediocre mid-major. With the Athletic Director search committee FINALLY announced today, and the A.D. search FINALLY begun, we’re still not sure the University of Illinois is trying very hard.
It’s kind of like Bart Simpson’s message to his sister Lisa, “I can’t promise I’ll try, but I’ll try to try.”
It’s about on par with what Illini Interim Athletic Director Paul Kowalczyk said regarding the announcement that Bill Cubit would be retained as Head football coach for two more years and have his interim tag removed. Kowalczyk infamously said:
“It’s not ideal for now but I don’t think it’ll be a dagger in the heart of the program.”
Get your marketing slogan(s) ready now:
“2016 Illini Football: It’s not ideal!”
“2016 Illini Football: It won’t Put a Dagger in the Heart of the Program”
Kowalczyk is largely the public face while others above him are pulling the strings, but seriously, what kind of message is PK saying about how committed the school is to being relevant again?
When you retain and extend a guy who went 1-6 down the stretch as your football coach, how serious are you? When that coach specializes in offense, yet his team was dead last in conference play in points scored, and you reward him with an upgrade, what does that say about you?
When Mike Thomas was FINALLY fired on November 9th (he should have been fired in the summer at the same exact time when Tim Beckman was canned), but you don’t even begin searching for Thomas replacement until today, 25 days later, what kind of message does that send?
Again, how hard are you guys really trying? If you had tried a lot harder in the recent past, you wouldn’t be in this disastrous spot right now. Maybe the Illini should have tried harder not to give a raise and an extension to an A.D. how clearly made two disaster coaching hires in the revenue producing sports?
Maybe the Illini Athletic Department should have tried a little harder in vetting Tim Beckman and John Groce? Or in vetting Thomas for that matter?
Maybe the Illini Athletic Department should have tried a lot harder to cut their losses on all three of those disaster hires once the warning signs showed up? All the red flags were pretty obvious to any close observer of Illini athletics.
If the University isn’t going to try much harder than we have thus far than why should the fans try to support the programs? Why should they try and come out to the games or watch them on television when the leadership doesn’t seem to be trying too hard?
Here’s your new Illini A.D. search committee:
The search committee is chaired by Matt Wheeler, a professor of animal sciences and a faculty athletic representative. Also serving on the committee are Mike Bass, a university administration employee, U. of I. alumnus and a former U. of I. football athlete; Keiko Price, the associate athletic director for academic services; Janet Rayfield, the head coach for women’s soccer; Howard Milton, the associate director of athletics for advancement; Richard Stockton, an attorney, U. of I. alumnus and a member of the athletics board; Judge Dan Flannell, an Illinois alumnus and chief judge in the Illinois Sixth Judicial Circuit Court; and Nicole Evans, a current softball athlete.
Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson has not decided on whether or not she will hire an executive search firm. This is the biggest crossroads in the history of Illini athletics. Make the wrong hire and Illinois becomes DePaul- completely invisible and irrelevant, both locally and nationally.
Make the right hire and the Illini return to the Rose Bowl (they were just there eight years ago) and the Final Four (just made a visit to that destination 10 years ago).
There’s nothing wrong with taking your time to get the right person. Be careful, do your due diligence. Hopefully, that’s what the hold-up has been, but it’s really hard to believe that. Given all the horrible mistakes the department has made lately, it’s difficult to fathom that the glacial pace of action here is because UI is building towards some great masterplan.
Instead it just comes off as more lack of effort.
The new hire will be the Illini ’s 14th director of intercollegiate athletics in the program’s 126 years of competition, overseeing an annual budget of $110 million and a staff of 275 employees. Still, today is a step in the right direction. Up until today, the University had embraced the mantra of Ned Flanders’ mom:
“we’ve tried nothing, and we’re all out of ideas.”
All candidates MUST have emotional ties to the school and be fully invested in building the program’s prestige. They don’t have to be an alum, but they have to possess ties to the University. It won’t work any other way. Thomas had ties to fundraisers and profit generation, and that’s about it. You do need to be corporate to be an A.D. but if all you are is corporate then the dire straits of Illini athletics will not improve, at all.
Personally, I like the idea proposed by Mark Tupper of the Decatur-Herald Review. Go with Larry Lubin; titan of industry and Lou Henson’s first recruit. It’s an outside the box hire for sure, but going conventional has only brought Illini failure.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. The website is also featured on News Now.
Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye. He also appears regularly on numerous television and radio talk shows all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone.
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