UND's next Athletic Director

[mikejm]

^I think Mr. Jacobs has a very accurate opinion on the situation.

[so.cal.sioux]

^I think Mr. Jacobs has a very accurate opinion on the situation.

I agree with you. Everything in the Jacobs article is right on. The guy to blame for this is Harmenson. His ego and arrogant personality clouded his judgment, on this issue and many others. Ironically enough it has done the opposite on everyone's perception of him being arrogant and full of himself. Those opinions are crystal clear.

What is also crystal clear is the fact that Harmenson must be removed from his position as VP. He has lost his credibility with people both inside and outside the university. His handling of this PR nightmare is just another reason in a long list of why Phil needs to go.

I am not saying Buning didn't need to go because there is no doubt in my mind that he did, but they need to give the "choice" to Phil as well. "Hey Phil, you can be retained at UND in another fashion or you can resign. What will you choose?"

This whole thing has cast a huge dark cloud over UND and it will be quite some time until sunny days appear again over Hyslop and Twamley.

[dagies]

I don't know if Jacobs has an accurate take on the situation or not.

For instance, didn't Buning report to Kupchella until just a few months ago?

If I recall, the letter of praise that Kupchella wrote was praise for things that had happened within the department, not necessarily praise for the job Buning did.

Still, Jacobs point may be right on, but I don't think he's helping the situation with how he has portrayed things.

[UND92,96]

I don't know if Jacobs has an accurate take on the situation or not.

For instance, didn't Buning report to Kupchella until just a few months ago?

If I recall, the letter of praise that Kupchella wrote was praise for things that had happened within the department, not necessarily praise for the job Buning did.

Still, Jacobs point may be right on, but I don't think he's helping the situation with how he has portrayed things.

Unfortunately, besides regular viewers of this board a lot of people didn't recognize some pretty obvious red flags with regard to Buning's performance, such as Bollinger's quick departure from his associate a.d. position, the rather tacky (in terms of timing) handling of the Rivard situation, the insult of UND basketball fans who wanted consideration given to some local candidates ("they don't have UND's best interests at heart"), the offer of the men's basketball job to Herbst (followed by a quick retraction), the near-loss of Lennon, the long delay in the previously promised field turf at Memorial (not coincidentally done right after Lennon decided to stay), the jerking around of Steve Johnson (why was he encouraged to apply if he supposedly wasn't qualified?) and the Hakstol contract saga, among others. The writing was on the wall for some time. Maybe the handling of Buning's departure was less than perfect, but the departure in and of itself should not have come as a big surprise and was justified, IMO.

[so.cal.sioux]

Unfortunately, besides regular viewers of this board a lot of people didn't recognize some pretty obvious red flags with regard to Buning's performance, such as Bollinger's quick departure from his associate a.d. position, the rather tacky (in terms of timing) handling of the Rivard situation, the insult of UND basketball fans who wanted consideration given to some local candidates ("they don't have UND's best interests at heart"), the offer of the men's basketball job to Herbst (followed by a quick retraction), the near-loss of Lennon, the long delay in the previously promised field turf at Memorial (not coincidentally done right after Lennon decided to stay), the jerking around of Steve Johnson (why was he encouraged to apply if he supposedly wasn't qualified?) and the Hakstol contract saga, among others. The writing was on the wall for some time. Maybe the handling of Buning's departure was less than perfect, but the departure in and of itself should not have come as a big surprise and was justified, IMO.

100% true

[UND92,96]

There was an interesting article in today's Herald in which Terry Wanless and Roger Thomas were interviewed regarding their experiences as a.d. [url="http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=56764

[siouxjoy]

Unfortunately, besides regular viewers of this board a lot of people didn't recognize some pretty obvious red flags with regard to Buning's performance, such as Bollinger's quick departure from his associate a.d. position, the rather tacky (in terms of timing) handling of the Rivard situation, the insult of UND basketball fans who wanted consideration given to some local candidates ("they don't have UND's best interests at heart"), the offer of the men's basketball job to Herbst (followed by a quick retraction), the near-loss of Lennon, the long delay in the previously promised field turf at Memorial (not coincidentally done right after Lennon decided to stay), the jerking around of Steve Johnson (why was he encouraged to apply if he supposedly wasn't qualified?) and the Hakstol contract saga, among others. The writing was on the wall for some time. Maybe the handling of Buning's departure was less than perfect, but the departure in and of itself should not have come as a big surprise and was justified, IMO.

I can't say I have any personal experience with the inner-workings of the athletics department. But, I can say from other personal experiences that some people can be very good at the "work" part of a supervisory position, but not the "leadership" portion. It is one thing to keep a department running, but quite another to be a good leader to the staff. I have had bosses that are fantastic at "putting out fires" but aren't able to acknowledge even the smallest of successes of their employees. Believe me, morale takes a hit real fast. I get the impression from various conversations, articles, and this message board that Bunning may have been one of those people. His ability to bring the department back in the black is definitely commendable, but that shouldn't cancel out the fact that he couldn't take care of his people at the same time. Some people can do it, some people can't.

Hopefully the next AD will be someone who can both "lead" and "run" UND athletics.

Speaking of Harmeson, I am curious to see what is going to happen after a new president is named. Will the new president want to keep the "special VP" set up, or want to have the athletics department report directly to him/her.

[UND92,96]

Weisenstein will chair the search committee: link

[Shawn-O]

Weisenstein will chair the search committee: link

This positions him quite nicely in the presidential sweepstakes as compared to the other two internals.

[star2city]

This positions him quite nicely in the presidential sweepstakes as compared to the other two internals.

Kupchella's endorsement went to Weisenstein, so it makes sense that Kupchella would place Weisenstein as chair. Doubt his chairmanship will have more than a marginal effect on the Presidential selection process, and could really cause Weisenstein PR problems if Bollinger doesn't get significant attention.

[bincitysioux]

I understand all the potential negatives of hiring an A.D. before a President is in place, but on the other hand, this a very inopportune time to delay the hiring until a new President takes over in the summer of '08 what with the transition to DI and all. It is not as if it is status quo as it would be if we were not moving up and it would be business as usual as far as scheduling and fund-raising goes. Whatever happened to the idea of an Interim A.D.? I know, Ralston and Brekke are co-acting A.D.'s, but anyone who reads the football forum knows how I feel about that type of situation (see Co-Defensive Coordinator threads ). Is there anybody out there from the UND community that could help steer the Athletic Dept. through this somewhat uneasy time until a replacement is found? I just think of the Nebraska situation and Tom Osborne being named interim A.D. All of the guys off the top of my head of course have other commitments or conflicts that won't allow for it like RT, Bollinger, Blais, Gasparini, etc. If only to give the public a sense of stability and act as a temporary-type figure head, Dave Gunther comes to mind. He's retired, local, popular, and probably has alot of contacts that could be useful right now. Say what you want about Buning, but he gave a face to the Athletic Department to people like me who aren't privy to the daily operations at UND. Until a permanent replacement is found, I think we need someone like that right now.

[GeauxSioux]

I understand all the potential negatives of hiring an A.D. before a President is in place, but on the other hand, this a very inopportune time to delay the hiring until a new President takes over in the summer of '08 what with the transition to DI and all. It is not as if it is status quo as it would be if we were not moving up and it would be business as usual as far as scheduling and fund-raising goes. Whatever happened to the idea of an Interim A.D.? I know, Ralston and Brekke are co-acting A.D.'s, but anyone who reads the football forum knows how I feel about that type of situation (see Co-Defensive Coordinator threads ). Is there anybody out there from the UND community that could help steer the Athletic Dept. through this somewhat uneasy time until a replacement is found? I just think of the Nebraska situation and Tom Osborne being named interim A.D. All of the guys off the top of my head of course have other commitments or conflicts that won't allow for it like RT, Bollinger, Blais, Gasparini, etc. If only to give the public a sense of stability and act as a temporary-type figure head, Dave Gunther comes to mind. He's retired, local, popular, and probably has alot of contacts that could be useful right now. Say what you want about Buning, but he gave a face to the Athletic Department to people like me who aren't privy to the daily operations at UND. Until a permanent replacement is found, I think we need someone like that right now.

The new president won't officially take over until June 2008, but should be named well before that. That being said, I would think the incoming president should be able to take part in the selection of the new AD.

After the Nov. 27-28, the committee will reduce the candidate pool to 6-8 unranked candidates for campus interviews during Jan. 9-25. During a Jan. 28 meeting, the committee plans to select at least three candidates to recommend to the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education, which is scheduled to interview final candidates Feb. 4-5.

UND Presidential Search Committee

[UND92,96]

Committee to decide whether new a.d. should report directly to president. [url="http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=57761

[GeauxSioux]

Committee to decide whether new a.d. should report directly to president. [url="http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=57761

[YaneA]

Here's the committtee roster:

http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/i...mp;section=News

[Shawn-O]

Committee to decide whether new a.d. should report directly to president. [url="http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=57761

[GeauxSioux]

Harmeson: New president will OK athletic director

UND's vice president for general administration will not name an athletic director without the consent of the school's next president, he assured members of that search committee at their first meeting Tuesday.

"This decision will not be made without, not only (the next president's) input, but his or her blessing," vice president Phil Harmeson told the committee.

Kind of like what I said here.

[TheGreatSiouxNation]

Did anyone else hear Blais talking with Tim on the radio between the 2nd and 3rd periods Friday night. I could not believe my ears when Tim asked Blais if he would want the AD job and Blais said he was VERY interested!!! He was not joking either. Being here in Fargo the new UP Center has some skeletons and I wonder if Blais is worried about the future in Fargo regarding the USHL situation and the Arena that the Park Board had to bail out. He sounded very serious. He is what UND needs regarding the DI move and the current nickname debate. Anubody else hear this???

[Cratter]

Did anyone else hear Blais talking with Tim on the radio between the 2nd and 3rd periods Friday night. I could not believe my ears when Tim asked Blais if he would want the AD job and Blais said he was VERY interested!!! He was not joking either. Being here in Fargo the new UP Center has some skeletons and I wonder if Blais is worried about the future in Fargo regarding the USHL situation and the Arena that the Park Board had to bail out. He sounded very serious. He is what UND needs regarding the DI move and the current nickname debate. Anubody else hear this???

Not to mention, I would guess he would make a lot more $$$$$ at UND.

[UND Fan]

Dean is a great guy and bleeds green along with the rest of us but I am curious what posters think about his abililty to run the Athletic Department. Nothing negative towards Dean but I am not sure he is "the guy".

Other's thoughts?

[GeauxSioux]

There was a discussion last week that the new AD would have experience as an AD, hopefully at th DI level.

[so.cal.sioux]

There was a discussion last week that the new AD would have experience as an AD, hopefully at th DI level.

Although a great coach, Dean is not what UND needs. We need someone with experience working within an athletic dept. It is obvious this is a HUGE and critical turning point in UND Athletics history. If this hire doesn't turn out, it could set UND back a number of years. This has to be the right guy. Ray Purpur would be an amazing hire for this. I would like to see Dean back at UND, but just not in the AD role.

[Siouxmama]

What role did Dean play in the Bluejackets organization? Didn't he have something to do in the administration (other than coaching)?

[TheGreatSiouxNation]

Although a great coach, Dean is not what UND needs. We need someone with experience working within an athletic dept. It is obvious this is a HUGE and critical turning point in UND Athletics history. If this hire doesn't turn out, it could set UND back a number of years. This has to be the right guy. Ray Purpur would be an amazing hire for this. I would like to see Dean back at UND, but just not in the AD role.

Why would Dean Blais be not what UND needs. He was the head of the largest athletic sport at UND. Being an Associate Head Coach at the NHL level speaks for itself. I think the next AD needs to be more of a people person. We DO NOT need another person with no ties to UND. Just look at Wanless (and I knew him personally) and Buning. The coaches need to be happy or nothing else matters. Dean would just what the doctor ordered because he would be the face of UND. After the last disaster we need to bring respect back to the AD job and the University. Dean would fill this role and frankly there is no one out there that can do this. I mean no one.

[GeauxSioux]

This is the article of which I was thinking...

The committee talked about required and preferred qualifications during the meeting. The two hot topics involved whether the new athletic director should have Division I experience and whether the person should have athletic administrative experience at any level.

After discussion, the committee decided Division I experience will be preferred and three years of athletic administrative experience will be required.