It has already been documented that Shalala wouldn't allow donations to go towards athletics. Frenk has stated many times that he wants to win in athletics. Does it determine his job? No. However, it boosts the image of your school and brings in great income. It's not coincidence that the football team went down as soon as she was hired and finally took the right steps once she was gone. You think hiring coordinators for chump change like Shannon was a talent decision? She crippled this program but the witch is dead and it shows with the 4 million the new coach is receiving.
Ok...not starting a type argument...but I just can't help myself...
1) are you or any family a graduate (or attended) UM? (I am);
2) do you understand how University funding works (I do)?
First, as a matter of course, general donations to a University 99%...wait, I'd offer 99.99%, of the time go to waht is commonly known as the "general fund". This mechanism funds and supports basic operations and matainence to "keep the lights on, fund salaries, repair amd restore infrastructure, etc." and doesn't go DIRECTLY to any single department or program. Now with that said, those donations INDIRECTLY (or what we call in-kind) support everything a University does because of the multi-use nature of what operations and maintenance covers. For example, general donations do in-kind support football because it pays for the salaries of teachers, and keeps the calssrooms running, that the athletes use while in attendance (just like non-athletes).
Now, there are specified donations just as the name implies (i.e. I want my $$$ to go towards the salary fund, or cancer research fund, or FOOTBALL, or even the IPF, or the School of Engineering, etc..) and those monies are earmarked exclusivley in support of what was named (or at least BY LAW there are supposed to).
Any evidence she prohibited donations to the AD and/or football program? I suggest not a scrap of such exists. Was she a typical "above it all academic and US Govt technocrat (remember she was HHS Sec for President Clinton)". Absolutely! Did she consciously wreck the AD or football program? You are giving WAY, WAY to much credit to a boogey woman that doesnt exist.
I never stated that she intentionally wrecked the athletics. However, there have been many people inside the school that said she significantly lowered the amount of money going towards athletics. Shannon was hired for around one million when other candidates were way more qualified. If you think Shannon was the AD's first pick then there's no helping you. The AD's could only work with what they were funded. Also, she kept James from doing what he should have after a 6-7 season because she was on her way out.
Nobody is saying she intentionally killed out athletics but she just tied the hands of everyone involved. The 13 year cloud wasn't lifted from the program because of coincidence my friend.
The President doesn't have the authority to "limit" the amount of any specified donations for ANY program in the University. Period.
Now, the President could influence the use of monies from the general fund for sure, say "i want the engineering classrooms renovated before any room in the AD offices, etc.
In Shannon, The BOT and then AD took a chance on who they thought was going to become the Eddie Robinson of the ACC--a loyal alumni and player who would coach Miami successfully for 50 years. They paid what the market set for Shannon. Sadly he wasn't ready to act on the stage and we have what we have by repeating the same mistake with Golden.
If you think anything differently, there is no helping you either.
Okay, it was completely coincidental that we lowballed athletics and staffs while Shalala was here but we hit home runs before and after her arrival.
Coincidence with Shalala? Let's review...
Saban (much older and distant cousin of big bad Nick) and Mellios hired a FAILED football HC named Schnellenberger (although VERY accomplished DI and NFL OC) into what has been arguably one of the greatest personnel decisions in the history of DI football. Schnellenberger (who NO ONE ELSE wanted as a HC) revolutionized DI football with an emphasis on passing attacks to wipe out the traditionalists of "3 yds and a cloud of dust" and CREATED the model of recruiting that remains in-place to this day (try to heavily recruit Dade, Broward, WPB counties, cherry pick the rest of FL, and cherry pick the rest of the Nation) in order to build your program. Remember, in the mid-70s, Miami was considering CUTTING the football program altogether. So, in hiring Schnellenberger, did President Standford go all bi-polar by trying to destroy Miami football, then only find Cane religion and hire him?
No. Saban and Mellios hired Scnellenberger and Standford ran the University overall. Coincidence? Or just organizational design?
Now, In comes President Foote right before the first NC (I was young and there) and what happens? Schnellenberger bolts for the ill-fated USFL (and he never actually HC'd there actually). CLEARLY Foote was **** bent on destroying the Mighty Canes by letting one of the greatest Hurricane HC leave right? That was also around the same time the legendary Jankovich became AD (arguably one of the greatest AD's ever in DI) and who did he [the calling all the shots Foote] hire? Johnson. Jankovich was skewered by the press and everyone. Jimmy who? From WHERE??? And the calls (we didn't fly banners for this kind of thing back then) only grew louder with the results of Johnson's first season. So was it Foote or Jankovich, Maggard, and Dee (another all-time great AD) that truly presided over the greatest (or at least one of) runs ever in DI football as they ran through Johnson (HC no name at hire), Erickson (HC no name at hire), Davis (HC no name at hire)? Coincidence or Organizational Design?
Now, with x4 HCs that were NEVER PAID in the top 10-20 of staffs in DI, the BOT and AD (Dee) go back to what HAD WORKED when they (e.g. NOT SHALALA) hired Coker (another HC no name at hire) and AGAIN did not pay top 10-20 staff salaries. And this is where I offer the fracture in their plan became brutally evident. By this time, DI coaching ranks had become (particularly at UT and the SEC) hyper competitive and “professional”. The market paid for what the market wanted with top $$$ and “if you don’t perform this game you are out the next” attitudes by hiring authorities. I suspect that despite a winning tradition, Miami just wasn’t paying enough to keep top talent from going elsewhere—the Canes had been since the beginning an important championship program, but not a DESTINATION program.
Schellenberger—left for USFL; Johnson—left for NFL; Erickson—left for NFL; Davis—left for NFL…and three of these names are revered as Hurricane deities for fuq sake! Coincidence or organizational design?
Now the long-standing disadvantage of not paying “at least think about staying” money catches up in a decline embodied by Coker (presided over Dee’s late tenure before going ACC level) and continues under Hocutt (mediocre results at best wherever he has worked) and Eichorst (same as Hocutt) with the Shannon and Golden hires. The BOT and ADs and NOT SHALALA were only trying to repeat what had “worked” with the Schellenberger, Johnson, Erickson, and Davis hires without realizing the competitive world around them had changed and Miami’s unsustainable models luck had run out (something they SHOULD have recognized after Shannon, not Golden).
Now, when Golden’s tenure ended in the disastrous way it did, James knew that UM’s adherence to the old model was too risky (i.e. FOR HIS JOB SECURITY) and he somehow convinced already pliant and discontented BOT members the same. They opened the purse strings (while not top 5 money) and seemingly have offered Richt “stay here forever money” combined with his desire to “stay here forever”…something MIAMI HAD NEVER DONE BEFORE.
Again, I’m not defending Shalala (she is a Clintonista through and through). As a savy academic admin and politico (she was SecHHS), she SHOULD HAVE sensed something was not right with Shapiro, but other than that, she did nothing to hold football back one iota. In fact, she raised the endowment (her PRIMARY JOB essentially) to almost $1.6B--and that INDIRECTLY is a big boost to the entire AD. Don’t kid yourself, football goes away tomorrow, the University of Miami survives and thrives regardless. That’s the President’s job. Frenk (a former MexGov official and Harvard Department Chair) has been tasked with raising the endowment even further (i.e. HARVARD’s model) and increasing the University’s standing in national rankings and prestige--not with deciding Richt's fate 1-2-5-or 10 years from now. I would be stunned if he even knows how to get to Sun Life Stadium (uh.I mean Joe Robbie) without his staff driving him there. Why? Because it isn’t his job really. Coincidence or organizational design?
Organizational design without a doubt.
