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Alonzo calls out the admin

Problem2

Problem2

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Because Alonzo Highsmith is going to give you the goods on your athletic program. He's lived it forever. He has a first championship ring. He, "bleeds orange and green," he says, and is as disappointed as anyone in this 6-6 football season.

But the Green Bay Packers' scout just came from Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops' office where they discussed the school's $400 million improvement of the stadium. He just came from Texas A&M, where they have $500 million to upgrade facilities.

"Northwestern, TCU, Baylor — they're all investing,'' Highsmith says. "I just sat for two hours with Howard Schnellenberger going over what [Florida Atlantic] is doing with facilities. They're passing us by."

You want to hear the truth? Want to know why Highsmith is organizing a campaign to raise $25 million for the athletic department? And the primary problem isn't the head coach, the defensive alignment or (gasp) the two weeks off before a bowl practice?

"Sometimes I think maybe the administration doesn't want football to get back to the national brand,'' he said. "We're where we want to be academically, climbing higher and higher. We don't want football to be at the forefront. Let's give them the minimal amount to play and put them in [Sun Life Stadium] on Saturday."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...ighsmith-hurricanes-1213-20141212-column.html

Last paragraph is so so true.
 
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Is that the whole interview?

Unless you have a subscription the Sun-Sentinel won't allow you to read the article.....
 
Sit down, Hurricane fans.

Shut up.

Listen good.

Because Alonzo Highsmith is going to give you the goods on your athletic program. He's lived it forever. He has a first championship ring. He, "bleeds orange and green," he says, and is as disappointed as anyone in this 6-6 football season.

But the Green Bay Packers' scout just came from Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops' office where they discussed the school's $400 million improvement of the stadium. He just came from Texas A&M, where they have $500 million to upgrade facilities.


"Northwestern, TCU, Baylor — they're all investing,'' Highsmith says. "I just sat for two hours with Howard Schnellenberger going over what [Florida Atlantic] is doing with facilities. They're passing us by."

You want to hear the truth? Want to know why Highsmith is organizing a campaign to raise $25 million for the athletic department? And the primary problem isn't the head coach, the defensive alignment or (gasp) the two weeks off before a bowl practice?

cComments
It's a sound plan that we can all get behind! It's about time to put up or shut up
HOT TUNA
AT 9:35 AM DECEMBER 13, 2014
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"Sometimes I think maybe the administration doesn't want football to get back to the national brand,'' he said. "We're where we want to be academically, climbing higher and higher. We don't want football to be at the forefront. Let's give them the minimal amount to play and put them in [Sun Life Stadium] on Saturday.

"That's why I'm not dumping on Al Golden. I know, yeah, we're never happy with 6-6. Never. But we're not playing on the same level that all the teams in the playoff right now. We're a lower-tier college trying to play big-boy football in the year 2014.


"We've been driving this same car 30-something years since I left. Now the tires are all flat. Now the paint is gone. But yet we keep putting new drivers in the same car — Al Golden, Randy Shannon — and expecting it to go the same 200 mph."

Last spring, Highsmith visited his old school for the pro scouting day and it was like entering a time warp. So little had changed. The weight room was bigger. The coaches' offices were better. But it was 1983 all over again from most views.

"I had [fellow scouts] coming up to me, saying, 'This is the worst practice field I've seen,' " he said. "That's been fixed since then. But you get the idea."

The best part of this is Highsmith is acting on his concerns. "Building The U" is a plan to raise money to help the leakiest parts of the athletic program. The financial paperwork is still in the works, but the early response has been, "overwhelming.'' Fans. Donors. Former players.

"Ray Lewis is on board!" he tweeted this week.

Already in the plans is a golf tournament covering the football greats from all Miami generations. The help would stretch to every corner of the athletic department.

"I'd love to hand that women's golf coach a $100,000 check,'' Highsmith said. " The women's basketball coach needs $200,000? Al Golden, you need practice fields? Here's a check. That's my idea."

Raising $25 million might be unrealistic, he admits. But then he comes from a time when Schnellenberger took over a program that the school considered killing and within a few years won a national title.

"Al Golden is the least of our problems right now,'' Highsmith said. "Our problem is the foundation and the direction of the program. Are we going to reinvest in it? Don't tell me this bull crap about, 'We won in the past like this.' That's like Richard Petty trying to win with race cars he ran 30 years ago. You can't do it."

"If we don't fix what's ailing this program right now, 10 years from now, we could be where FIU and those programs are,'' he said. "If we don't fix this foundation, it won't matter who's coaching."

He thinks of a "60 Minutes" piece with a General Motors executive. When they were on top, the executive said, they fell asleep at the wheel. They didn't keep up. They didn't re-invest in fresh ideas.

"He said, 'We were living off our past,' " Highsmith says. "That's what we're doing at Miami. We're living off the past. How are we going to move ahead?"

He has the right idea. It's easy to be loud and blame Golden for everything. It's harder to see a root of the problem. It's harder still to find a solution, as Highsmith is trying to do.
 
Do newer weights weigh more than old weights? Does a nicer field make you run faster?

If they say it will bring in better recruits, how much better do you want? We get top 20 class every year, no reason to be 6-6. We have 10 draft eligible players.

And Miami money well never compete with Texas money. Especially tax payer funded schools.
 
They don't care, and we will see with the new Prez whether things will change or stay the same, because another decade of 6-6, 7-5 and the program will be dead
 
Alonzo is right we need to spend to compete but we will never compete on cash. Nebraska, has tons of cash and suck because they aren't a destination school and don't have a natural recruiting base. We need organization change from the board, the next president and in the athletic department.

There is an old saying don't throw good money after bad. No one trusts the current group to do the right thing with cash raised. Does anyone trust Blake James vision of how to succeed?
 
His timing is awful. The biggest problem is our choice of coaches the past decade. That causes loss of revenue.
Further, he's giving Golden another excuse.
 
BS excuse IMO. Quite tired of hearing it honestly.

None of that **** matters on Saturdays when we still have more talent. We didn't lose to Louisville, Pitt, GT and Virginia because they have better facilities than us.

We're signing quality recruiting classes. Are you telling me they're not reaching their potential because of the field they're practicing on, or the dumbells they're lifting, or their locker rooms?

GTFOH!
 
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Coach Macho said:
BS excuse IMO. Quite tired of hearing it honestly.

None of that **** matters on Saturdays when we still have more talent. We didn't lose to Louisville, Pitt, GT and Virginia because they have better facilities than us.

We're signing quality recruiting classes. Are you telling me they're not reaching their potential because of the field they're practicing on, or the dumbells they're lifting, or their locker rooms?

GTFOH!
Click to expand...

shotgun I'm riding with you Ma:busmoon:cho
 
We didnt need all of that stuff until Golden got here and ran the program into the ground. The program used to sell itself, but now none of these kids remember the old U. If it isnt turned around soon it wont sell itself anymore and we will need all the nice facilities and money to recruit.

Thats a huge problem because we dont and never will have the money of FSU, Florida, Texas, Alabama, etc. Winning cures all though and it needs to happen soon before it's too late
 
I agree with all of it except the part about Golden. Sorry but he's s horrible ******* coach and is right towards the top on our list of problems
 
Coach Macho said:
BS excuse IMO. Quite tired of hearing it honestly.

None of that **** matters on Saturdays when we still have more talent. We didn't lose to Louisville, Pitt, GT and Virginia because they have better facilities than us.

We're signing quality recruiting classes. Are you telling me they're not reaching their potential because of the field they're practicing on, or the dumbells they're lifting, or their locker rooms?

GTFOH!
Click to expand...


You fans are unbelievable.. LOL. So now Alonzo Highsmith cant tell you anything either (that you will listent to.) FSU was right where we were when Jimbo took over the reigns.. Jimbo made the administration invest in training table, nutrition facilities etc.

What people fail to realize is that we play all of our top recruits as freshman out of NECESSITY at position (interior line) where you have boys vs men (trenches) we are forced to do this cause we have no depth.

Yes we missed on some kids took some chances on some bad ones. WHY? Because of the cloud that was over our heads NCAA. New flash if Trent Harris and Chad Thomas have to play as true-freshmen we are way short on depth. BOTTOM LINE.

We talk about glory days.. there were few times in glory days where true-freshman played. As I have said before we recruit talent and we are 1-string deep on offense and defense . That's not good enough to be an elite football team.

But I know some 'wise guy' will be silly and say facilities dont matter, Well how can you recruit against major players and provides these athletes what they need with inappropriate facilities.

This is not the 80,90,2000s .. back then we were trail blazers in many ways in college football. Now the secret is out , teams are poaching our talent (from FLORIDA) other teams rosters are also littered with FLA speed and talent.

Please stop comparing and contrasting the past to the present.. We were stock piled 3-4 strings of talent that would start anywhere in the country. That's not what we have now (player wise)

We are getting there (per last two recruiting classes) . Could the coaching have been better YES. But how hard is it to COACH at BAMA with all the talent they get in the program. We are better skill position wise (offensively) but LIGHT YEARS behind in DL talentand O-Line talent and safety talent.
 
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Facilities are coaching staff are both huge problems ...the difference is the coaching issue will be cheaper and can get corrected quicker with subsequent quicker turnaround on results .

I don't ask for much...just give me a competent game day coaching staff and we'll go from there . Will be a **** of s lot easier raising money in a winning environment than it is now
 
Alonzo knows the Golden rule...

He who has the gold makes the rules...

He will organize an effective lobby for necessary change whether it be bringing back butch or facility upgrades or whatever...

Thank you Zo for the hope!
 
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