Potential AD candidates search

[oliveandblue]

"Competitive and interesting in hoops/olympic sports" with "bleh football" as a "best case scenario."

Again: loser school, by losers for losers.

Agreed with the resources, location, and potential that Tulane could have it is either go big or go home. If Vandy, Duke, Baylor, TCU, and Stanford can do it, then Tulane can do it.

Vandy football lost to UH by about as much as we did. We're comparable to them in football program strength.

I would love for Tulane to become really good at football, but I'm tired of thinking about "what could be" since it just makes me depressed.

The P5 is just about full. There MIGHT be 2-3 openings left, and Tulane is behind 7-9 schools for those openings. If Tulane wants to become good at football, it will be as a member of the AAC. There is a small chance that the AAC could make its own luck over the next five years.

[LSU-MD]

Vandy football lost to UH by about as much as we did. We're comparable to them in football program strength.

1. I was reffering to the Vandy under Franklin.
2. Vandy has more wins than Tulane at the moment and plays in the SEC. So Tulane is not comparable to Vandy.

I would love for Tulane to become really good at football, but I'm tired of thinking about "what could be" since it just makes me depressed.

The P5 is just about full. There MIGHT be 2-3 openings left, and Tulane is behind 7-9 schools for those openings. If Tulane wants to become good at football, it will be as a member of the AAC. There is a small chance that the AAC could make its own luck over the next five years.

Nobody knows what the future will hold. In 2005, who would have thought that the Big12 would be on the brink of collapse and then considered the weakest/most unstable of the major conferences or that Stanford would be a PAC12 power. I personally think that in 2025 after the Big12 GOR expires, Texas, Oklahoma, Okie State, and Houston (bigger media market and comparable academics to Texas Tech) heading to the PAC, the SEC grabbing VT and North Carolina State, the BIG grabbing UNC and UVA. That would leave 5 openings in the ACC (assuming ND joins for football as well). UCONN WVU, and Cincy are no brainer adds for the ACC, but Temple doesn't bring in anymore media markets since they already have a Pennsylvania team and Temple does not dominate Philly sports, UCF and USF are out because FSU and Miami have the Florida market covered. That would leave ECU, Tulane, Memphis, Baylor, TCU, Tulsa, Texas Tech, and SMU for the last 2 spots in the ACC. So if Tulane got its act together in football and basketball, Tulane could get that last spot in the ACC. ECU brings nothing new to the table for the ACC since Duke and Wake will still be in the ACC, and I don't see the ACC expanding all the way to Texas for one of those schools, and I think the MWC will throw everything and the kitchen sink to get TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech, and SMU so they have a Texas presence again.

[alumniwave]

1. The Tulane attitude/Tulane model/whatever you want to call it is the elephant in the room, but there is a Navy SEAL saying in the book No Easy Day. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. If Burke is really the no nonsense adminstrator that some claim her to be then she might be just the person Tulane needs. She could also be a disaster, but not giving her a chance because she spent 18months working at Tulane is like dumping Taylor Swift because she slept with a douchebag in the past.
2. The AAC is not that bad and the college football playoffs will eventually expand to 8 teams if ESPN, Fox, CBS, NBC want it to. So just getting to being a program that wins 8-10/yr and is an AAC contender consistently would warrant a Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame spot for a Tulane AD or coach.[/quote]


One of the best post I've seen on this site. The AAC has a legit chance at reaching the autonomy class when the playoffs expand, in essence making it a Power 6 or 7 conference. That's Tulane's best opportunity. Also, from what I'm hearing about the lack of efficient administration at Tulane, the absolute best remedy is to insert a knowledgeable AD who isn't afraid to clean house and demand the highest standards daily. Your school has the chance to do just that. Unknowingly I'm afraid some of the posters here are actually hurting the chances for this to happen, despite their good intentions.

[ajcalhoun]

Also, from what I'm hearing about the lack of efficient administration at Tulane, the absolute best remedy is to insert a knowledgeable AD who isn't afraid to clean house and demand the highest standards daily. Your school has the chance to do just that. Unknowingly I'm afraid some of the posters here are actually hurting the chances for this to happen, despite their good intentions.

Can you be more specific?
Who is doing what to hurt what?

[jonathanjoseph]

Also, from what I'm hearing about the lack of efficient administration at Tulane, the absolute best remedy is to insert a knowledgeable AD who isn't afraid to clean house and demand the highest standards daily. Your school has the chance to do just that. Unknowingly I'm afraid some of the posters here are actually hurting the chances for this to happen, despite their good intentions.

So a "candidate" was intending to take the job but found out through a much-maligned social media forum that the job comes with corrosive and toxic politics that prevent any candidate from succeeding? Or is it something else. Because if we are getting clueless candidates to think twice, then we are doing a great job. Anyone with a clue would want and need to understand these dynamics before making that kind of career decision.

[oliveandblue]

I'm OK with being patient for 4-5 years provided this new hire is not an inside hire. If you're going to reject AF because you have Wickstrom, the two P5 assistants, or something experimental in mind then I'm OK with rejecting AF on personal grounds. Benson is a flawed human being, but he does have money in our program so I understand if that gives him some element of power in this situation.

...but if they hire from within I might just be done for good. I'm 27. I have enough youth to enjoy another team for 50+ years. I'm trying really hard to give my alma mater a chance.

[JTLiuzza]

I'm OK with being patient for 4-5 years provided this new hire is not an inside hire. If you're going to reject AF because you have Wickstrom, the two P5 assistants, or something experimental in mind then I'm OK with rejecting AF on personal grounds. Benson is a flawed human being, but he does have money in our program so I understand if that gives him some element of power in this situation.

...but if they hire from within I might just be done for good. I'm 27. I have enough youth to enjoy another team for 50+ years. I'm trying really hard to give my alma mater a chance.

I hate to say it but you'd be better off picking another school and enjoying normal college football fandom. If Tulane ever extracts it's collective cranium from the rectal abyss and starts realizing it's potential, you can always come back. All the "die hard" stuff is not what it's cracked up to be. But for a lot of us it's all we have. And btw I'm an alum as well.

[posse]

Tulane will probably never be at a position to win in both major sports, but I would like to see the new AD just pick a sport at be good at it. I'm OK with Tulane being a basketball school if the new AD thinks he can produce a contender in that sport. What I'm not OK with is a lack of direction or identity to the program.

He also said "The distance between Tulane and even a mid-level P5 football program is staggering. We had a chance to get there, however. The university blew it.

Let's be honest with ourselves. The powers that be are not going to permit Tulane to be great at football. They are unwilling to spill milk, unwilling to dump a huge early investment, and unwilling to scrap the Tulane Model. They do not care about what you think. In fact, they don't care about having any connection to fans and alumni (as far as football is concerned).

I'm trying to be realistic here. Tulane could be everything you think they can, but there are a lot of really evil people in the way.

Best case scenario is to be something like Wake Forest: competitive and interesting in hoops/olympic sports, but just "bleh" in football. If you want more, then you have to empty about 70% of the offices at Tulane.

olive & blue' post is the "most significant post to date" IMO. I believe olive & blue is not only a long time Tulane fan, but he is also a big money supporter with some inside connections.........I think we now know what the total "inherent challenges" are, not just flushing out the Athletic Dept, but also flushing out the Administration and Academic Depts that have such a stronghold on this University........A complete culture change is needed for the entire school, one that accepts a new vision of accepting that both Academics and Athletics can peacefully co-exits, and both can be very successful, and financially beneficial to all Departments....Hopefully the President and BOA will have the balls to correct this culture problem....... [/b]

[Jonathan]

This is the most important hire in Tulane recent athletic history. I do not like any of the five candidates and want Arnie to be interviewed hell with the Bensons.

[alumniwave]

Also, from what I'm hearing about the lack of efficient administration at Tulane, the absolute best remedy is to insert a knowledgeable AD who isn't afraid to clean house and demand the highest standards daily. Your school has the chance to do just that. Unknowingly I'm afraid some of the posters here are actually hurting the chances for this to happen, despite their good intentions.

Can you be more specific?
Who is doing what to hurt what?

Yes, Barbara Burke delivers on all the things I mentioned. By having some on here downgrading her because she perceivably is an inside applicant, when that's further from the truth, they are hurting the chances of Tulane getting the right person for the present job.

[JTLiuzza]

Also, from what I'm hearing about the lack of efficient administration at Tulane, the absolute best remedy is to insert a knowledgeable AD who isn't afraid to clean house and demand the highest standards daily. Your school has the chance to do just that. Unknowingly I'm afraid some of the posters here are actually hurting the chances for this to happen, despite their good intentions.

Can you be more specific?
Who is doing what to hurt what?

Yes, Barbara Burke delivers on all the things I mentioned. By having some on here downgrading her because she perceivably is an inside applicant, when that's further from the truth, they are hurting the chances of Tulane getting the right person for the present job.

Bull. Tulane's incompetence and institutionalized fecklessness is on them and them only. To try to blame it on fans is a disgrace.

[jonathanjoseph]

Also, from what I'm hearing about the lack of efficient administration at Tulane, the absolute best remedy is to insert a knowledgeable AD who isn't afraid to clean house and demand the highest standards daily. Your school has the chance to do just that. Unknowingly I'm afraid some of the posters here are actually hurting the chances for this to happen, despite their good intentions.

Can you be more specific?
Who is doing what to hurt what?

Yes, Barbara Burke delivers on all the things I mentioned. By having some on here downgrading her because she perceivably is an inside applicant, when that's further from the truth, they are hurting the chances of Tulane getting the right person for the present job.

just a complete crock of garbage. I can only wish this forum had that much influence.

And if this forum is influencing the process, it may not work out as well for Ms Burke personally but it would definitely be to the benefit of Tulane University.

Just out of curiosity, is our collective commentary scaring off the committee from offering BB the job or scaring BB off from accepting? You are clearly referencing one or the other.

[austxwave]

Alumniwave is nothing but an inside troll.

If he/she were truly what he/she said he/she was when first posting (a spouse of an alum) then he/she would have moved on from the conversation and certainly would have posted on this forum much earlier than he/she did.

He/she clearly has an agenda to have Ms. Burke become the next Director of Athletics.

If she, Ms. Burke, were such a slam dunk for this position then she would have hired immediately when RD announced his retirement. There would be no need to hire a national recruiting firm nor put together a committee to review/interview candidates.

I'm not stating that Ms. Burke is not a quality administrator, but she is not what Tulane Athletics needs at this point in time.

Please stop trolling this board Alumniwave with your propaganda.

[jonathanjoseph]

Alumniwave is nothing but an inside troll.

If he/she were truly what he/she said he/she was when first posting (a spouse of an alum) then he/she would have moved on from the conversation and certainly would have posted on this forum much earlier than he/she did.

He/she clearly has an agenda to have Ms. Burke become the next Director of Athletics.

If she, Ms. Burke, were such a slam dunk for this position then she would have hired immediately when RD announced his retirement. There would be no need to hire a national recruiting firm nor put together a committee to review/interview candidates.

I'm not stating that Ms. Burke is not a quality administrator, but she is not what Tulane Athletics needs at this point in time.

Please stop trolling this board Alumniwave with your propaganda.

But Burke is the purported "leader" to be the next AD and the "national search" is just a cover so they can say that it's just a coincidence that Scott Cowen hired the new AD.

[JerseyWave]

Also, from what I'm hearing about the lack of efficient administration at Tulane, the absolute best remedy is to insert a knowledgeable AD who isn't afraid to clean house and demand the highest standards daily. Your school has the chance to do just that. Unknowingly I'm afraid some of the posters here are actually hurting the chances for this to happen, despite their good intentions.

Can you be more specific?
Who is doing what to hurt what?

Yes, Barbara Burke delivers on all the things I mentioned. By having some on here downgrading her because she perceivably is an inside applicant, when that's further from the truth, they are hurting the chances of Tulane getting the right person for the present job.

If Ms. Burke has any power at this time inside the Wilson Center, then she should be able to fire the Women's Volleyball Coach as soon as their season ends. Allegedly, Rick Dickson has been relinquished of most his duties and is focused on his "Olympic Village." So who is currently running the day to day athletic operation? Surely, Burke should have enough power to influence Women's Volleyball!!!

[DrBox]

Yes, Barbara Burke delivers on all the things I mentioned. By having some on here downgrading her because she perceivably is an inside applicant, when that's further from the truth, they are hurting the chances of Tulane getting the right person for the present job.

Just to be precise, as you intimate that those in charge read this board- Sidwell is the most unacceptable candidate. It's outrageous that he even got an interview, much less a finalist. The same is true with the UL Monroe guy. Those 2 insult the fan base.

[RobertM320]

Alumniwave is nothing but an inside troll.

If he/she were truly what he/she said he/she was when first posting (a spouse of an alum) then he/she would have moved on from the conversation and certainly would have posted on this forum much earlier than he/she did.

He/she clearly has an agenda to have Ms. Burke become the next Director of Athletics.

If she, Ms. Burke, were such a slam dunk for this position then she would have hired immediately when RD announced his retirement. There would be no need to hire a national recruiting firm nor put together a committee to review/interview candidates.

I'm not stating that Ms. Burke is not a quality administrator, but she is not what Tulane Athletics needs at this point in time.

Please stop trolling this board Alumniwave with your propaganda.

If she were such a slam dunk for this type of position, she'd have been hired long before this by another university that really does want to win. The only way she could have seen a move from Eastern Illinois to Tulane as a career furthering move was if she was told in advance she was the AD in waiting.

[DrBox]

If she were such a slam dunk for this type of position, she'd have been hired long before this by another university that really does want to win. The only way she could have seen a move from Eastern Illinois to Tulane as a career furthering move was if she was told in advance she was the AD in waiting.

That's not even close to true.
She got substantial raise to come here. What do you think E Illinois pays?

I don't mind her because she's the anti-Dickson. She'd bring accountability into that department.
Now I'd rather the Baylor, Auburn or any number of persons instead of her.

[RobertM320]

My point is, if she is as good as alumniwave wants to have us believe, you'd expect her to have had better opportunities than being a #2 at Tulane. You'd think she'd have had offers of similar positions or an Assistant AD role of some sort at a P5 school.

I mean, alumniwave is basically telling us she's the best person in the entire country for our position. If that's the case, someone else would have grabbed her by now.

[JerseyWave]

If she were such a slam dunk for this type of position, she'd have been hired long before this by another university that really does want to win. The only way she could have seen a move from Eastern Illinois to Tulane as a career furthering move was if she was told in advance she was the AD in waiting.

That's not even close to true.
She got substantial raise to come here. What do you think E Illinois pays?

I don't mind her because she's the anti-Dickson. She'd bring accountability into that department.
Now I'd rather the Baylor, Auburn or any number of persons instead of her.

How do you know she brings accountability into the department? She was hired by Cowen and has been tainted by Dickson. Nothing has changed since she's been working in the Wilson Center. Business as usual. If she gets the gig and starts cleaning house I'll become a believer.

[RobertM320]

Well, we now can understand why Brian Wickstrom has been interviewed.

2006-2011 -- (upper levels of Athletic Administration at UTEP)

AND

2004-2007 -- Eric Price is OC at UTEP.

Enough said.

[DfromCT]

"Competitive and interesting in hoops/olympic sports" with "bleh football" as a "best case scenario."

Again: loser school, by losers for losers.

Agreed with the resources, location, and potential that Tulane could have it is either go big or go home. If Vandy, Duke, Baylor, TCU, and Stanford can do it, then Tulane can do it.

You best include Notre Dame in that group, as they blow away a few of the schools listed academically.

[DfromCT]

Nobody knows what the future will hold. In 2005, who would have thought that the Big12 would be on the brink of collapse and then considered the weakest/most unstable of the major conferences or that Stanford would be a PAC12 power. I personally think that in 2025 after the Big12 GOR expires, Texas, Oklahoma, Okie State, and Houston (bigger media market and comparable academics to Texas Tech) heading to the PAC, the SEC grabbing VT and North Carolina State, the BIG grabbing UNC and UVA. That would leave 5 openings in the ACC (assuming ND joins for football as well). UCONN WVU, and Cincy are no brainer adds for the ACC, but Temple doesn't bring in anymore media markets since they already have a Pennsylvania team and Temple does not dominate Philly sports, UCF and USF are out because FSU and Miami have the Florida market covered. That would leave ECU, Tulane, Memphis, Baylor, TCU, Tulsa, Texas Tech, and SMU for the last 2 spots in the ACC. So if Tulane got its act together in football and basketball, Tulane could get that last spot in the ACC. ECU brings nothing new to the table for the ACC since Duke and Wake will still be in the ACC, and I don't see the ACC expanding all the way to Texas for one of those schools, and I think the MWC will throw everything and the kitchen sink to get TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech, and SMU so they have a Texas presence again.

Having Pitt and saying that precludes Temple "since they already have a Pennsylvania team" is like saying the Sunbelt has the New Orleans market blanketed. Do you realize that Pitt is about 4-5x further away from Philadelphia than Baton Rouge is from New Orleans? Pitt has very, very little influence in the Eastern half of the state.

At the same time, as you said, nobody knows what the future will hold. I personally don't see some of the founding members of the ACC bolting anytime soon. Then again, I didn't think the Catholic 7 would break up the Big East as quickly as they did. At least ALL of the ACC schools play both major revenue sports (and no, we're not talking baseball, which is an afterthought at best.)

[OUG]

Well, we now can understand why Brian Wickstrom has been interviewed.

2006-2011 -- (upper levels of Athletic Administration at UTEP)

AND

2004-2007 -- Eric Price is OC at UTEP.

Enough said.

I don't think that means what you think it means. There's always going to be overlap.

An OC is not going to be able to get a guy an interview for an AD job. And one year of overlap? That's pretty thin gruel.

There aren't many places where you get influence in hiring your boss' boss. This feels like we're grasping at straws. The Payton stuff is at least believable.

[RobertM320]

Well, we now can understand why Brian Wickstrom has been interviewed.

2006-2011 -- (upper levels of Athletic Administration at UTEP)

AND

2004-2007 -- Eric Price is OC at UTEP.

Enough said.

I don't think that means what you think it means. There's always going to be overlap.

An OC is not going to be able to get a guy an interview for an AD job. And one year of overlap? That's pretty thin gruel.

There aren't many places where you get influence in hiring your boss' boss. This feels like we're grasping at straws. The Payton stuff is at least believable.

In a national search of potential candidates, with all the major schools available, you're going to tell me that its just coincidence that Wickstrom has a connection? You're not seeing the full picture. Yes, EP was only there for one year, BUT HIS FATHER, Mike Price, (RD's BFF) was there all the way until 2012, and he's got ties with Dickson all the way back to the Washington State days.

You say that's coincidence? I call it BS.