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Buning is new AD


PCM

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ok......(deep breath)

I would first like to state that I will give Buning the support he deserves to perform and perform well as the new AD. It sounds like he is qualified in many ways. I hope he does the job well.

Now, my take on why Rob should have been the man in this instance: (MY OPINION)

1. Rob has been associated with UND for 20+ years.

2. He has the pulse of the UND alumni, and that is an understatement

3. His regular job duties that he has been performing over the years could easily be equated to that of an AD, more so in some instances than others

4. Losing Rob all together at UND would be devastating in more ways than one, and would totally offset any "shortcomings" he might have because of not having AD experience in the 1st place. (this could very well happen)

5. He knows what is going on with all the major issues at hand right now at UND. (nickname, and D-1 move) I would want to have nobody else as the AD to make the move to D-1.

All that being said, one thing people dont realize is that Chuck does not get UND athletics. He just doesnt understand the loyalty and support given to athletics here. It is just different than many other places for obvious reasons. But, I dont think Chuck really cares to "get it" either. He is rarely seen supporting Sioux athletics, and always has something better to do it seems. He seems like a very disingenuous and insincere man in person. I really think that the sour taste that was left in his mouth at SE Missouri St? really effected his whole take on athletics. Apparently they made the jump to D-1 on his watch, and everything kinda went south.

So, reasons why Chuck DID NOT want Rob in the first place:

1. Chuck wants a YES man to make his job easier with things such as the nickname issue. Who better to have than a man from the military academy that understands and will follow the proper chain of command?

2. Chuck wants a guy that doesnt have too much say with the alumni that will raise a stink.

3. Chuck does NOT want to deal with the D-1 move because of reasons mentioned above.

4. Rob was and is a football guy, so was Roger Thomas.

5. Athletic department re-appropriation and cutting of funds, and budgeting concerns that have been rumored to be pissing off some coaches on campus. Again, he needs his AD in his corner on this.

I will be very upset if we completely lose a guy like Rob from our institution. If this does happen, I believe that the pros of hiring Rob over Buning would have severely outweighed the cons of him not having AD experience and losing him completely in the long run. He is a very valuable asset to the University as a whole, not just athletics.

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Now, my take on why Rob should have been the man in this instance: (MY OPINION)

1.  Rob has been associated with UND for 20+ years.

That's actually one of the reasons I like the choice of Buning. Sometimes a fresh prospective from an outsider is beneficial. Rob has a lot of experience at UND and I would have been happy if he was chosen but I really like the choice that was made.

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Other than when PCM became custodial supervisor, are you guys ever happy with who UND hires?  ;)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, there were a lot of complaints about that, too. ;)

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I think a key hire by Mr. Buning is going to be the open assistant/associate a.d. position. The reason being is that I think it's very important for an "outsider" to have somebody who knows UND and the Grand Forks community to help guide him around potential landmines that will inevitably pop up. My first choice would be Rob Bollinger, but it's probably very iffy that he would be interested under the circumstances. Another potential choice would be Rich Glas. Although I feel that Buning is more than qualified for the job, I'm going to be a little nervous if he doesn't have a right-hand man or woman who is familiar to the fans and alums and who can let him know in advance whether a particular decision could lead to a potential firestorm.

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He seems to have the pulse of this UND alum/fan (from the articles Sicatoka quoted).

On former NDSU rivalry:

"That is one of the things that has to be on the top of my plate; how to restore that (UND-NDSU) rivalry," Buning said.
On D-I:
"I really think it needs to be studied," Buning said.

That includes a timeline and financial implications. He said it needs to include the community, the boosters and the university.

"There are many, many costs that are more than just financial," he said. "This has to be a decision made by more than the athletic department. You have to be solid in that vision. Division I is very enticing."

On how to start the job:

"The first thing I'll do is a lot of listening," Buning said. "There are a lot of things on peoples' plates that they want to share with the AD."
His financial experience:
At Army, Buning said the institution's annual athletic budget is $24 million. The academy, he added, must raise 75 percent of those funds.

As the academy's director of operations, Buning led the development of a 20-year master plan for $240 million in new and upgraded athletic facilities. He also integrated the department's needs into the academy's initial $220 million fund-raising campaign, resulting in more than $100 million to support athletics.

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Have no inside info, but a finalist interviewing for a public position like the UND AD would desire to delay public announcement as long as possible. Of all the applicants, Buning was in the most vulnerable position (associate AD), so it would be a natural for him to ask for delayed entry.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I guess you can throw this theory out.

"When I had my phone interview, I was told the (search) committee had to recommend three to five names (to Kupchella for his consideration)," Buning said. "When I saw the three names, I called and said, 'What does this mean to my status?' They said I wasn't out of the running."
Buning was not one of the original three finalists.
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At the risk of repeating myself:

Talk about "Scylla and Charybdis":

Less than a year ago some folks were second-guessing UND (namely Kupchella and Harmeson) hiring internally and not looking at a bigger list of names. Now they look externally, at a bigger list of names, and again comes the second-guessing.

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What occured however is that one of our UND employees who has worked in different areas of the University Athletic Department and gathered valuable experience as the primary fundraiser for the athletic department,
Edited by PCM
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"President Kupchella has requested the Athletic Department submit two plans, one for staying at the DII level, a different proposal for moving to DI."
http://siouxsports.com/forums/index.php?&showtopic=4356

Buning is a member of the NCAA Sports Management Committee (for rifle), and also belongs to the National Association of College Directors of Athletics. He is a graduate of the D1A Athletic Directors Institute.

http://www.fightingsioux.com/sports/news/r...RELEASE_ID=3900

GOAL 5: UND serves as a national model of the integration of top-notch intercollegiate athletics with the primary academic missions of the University, i.e., athletics is seen as co-curricular rather than extra-curricular.

http://www.UND.edu/stratplan2/draft3.html#section2 then scroll down to "Goal 5".

If we can keep a top-shelf fundraiser in a position where he can focus on what he does very, very well, namely fundraising, UND Athletics seems very well positioned.

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