umhurricano
Sophomore
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 955
This can't be the structure at big time programs, right? I understand everyone's got their heavy hitters when it comes to boosters and contributors, but ultimately the hiring decisions are left to an athletic director who is qualified to handle these decisions, no?
Is it abnormal to have two BOT members playing a crucial role in the search and decision making process?
My guess, with no information to back it up, is that no, it is not unusual to involve BOT members. The football coach is usually, by far, the highest paid employee of a school. Much of his salary comes from donations (through one channel or another). DiMare and Miller are both major strategic decision makers and major donors for the university. A major corporation would involve their board in an executive search. Because of pay (but not position) I would consider the equivalent to finding a new CEO.
I think at bigger schools the number of people with deep pockets is bigger so things may be handled differently organizationally, but the donors certainly have a say.
The thing that surprised me the most was Frenk not being involved. I hated Shalala but calling her a micro-manager for being involved in the coaching search is a bit of a stretch. Her motivations were completely different than those of us rooting for the program, but she did recognize that it was a major decision that she wanted to influence (for the worse).

