The unofficial online home for fans of the Western Michigan University Broncos. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Great stuff!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/la...0475295364

Do you guys remember when we beat Virginia Tech in Orlando (I think), and Gottleib said we were "perennial non-contenders in the MAC." Never forget.

Podcast translated.....”had I known I actually had to work, I would have left a long time ago”

What a loser

Still whining.

(05-22-2020 11:47 PM)Flashboski Wrote:  Podcast translated.....”had I known I actually had to work, I would have left a long time ago”

What a loser

I listened to the whole thing and I think your summary is way off.

Hawk has been championing the need for upgraded facilities for years. He's was working more with less for quite some time... just go look at BGSU's facilities...

Hawk was a bronco through and through... he was here WAY before the Fleck tornado roared into town. Just imagine his displeasure with the continued dollars being dumped into the football program while the bball program just sat in a constant state of stagnation with regard to practice arena/facilities...

Anyone that thinks things will change going forward without more financial commitment to the program from the athletic department is just plain in a dream scape.

I seriously wished I had never listened to that excuse filled nonsense.

1 - No one outside 10 minimum donating boosters who love their “inside access” care if you use WMU as a stepping stone. It’s expected at this level and actually more concerning if it doesn’t happen to be honest.

2 - How about you stop complaining about the facilities and university budgets drying up and get off your a$$ and sell your program via fundraising. It’s worked for others at WMU and there are deep pockets all around town. You just have to have a vision and sell people on that vision. You can’t expect university funds at this level to cover this type of stuff fully.

3 - Yes loyalty should be a thing to a certain extent but it doesn’t give you an excuse just to mail it in.

Success at this level requires energy and succession planning. It’s larger than just one coach and needs to start at the top. That’s where all WMU’s problems start in the athletic department and they trickle down from there.

Hawk would be a really good JUCO head coach. And that’s not an insult. He needs to embrace it, get healthy, and come back strong.

Sorry Hawk, but I don't feel sorry for you. You had many years to try to change and adapt to todays game. It was almost always the same, both offense and defense, and it worked well when you had Mike Williams, Ben Reed, David Kool and players near that caliber. But you did not adapt to less than stellar players and it showed in your games. The last few years were very frustrating and I am hoping that the new coach, even though he worked with you for years, has some new ideas and can make WMU fans proud again.

(05-22-2020 11:47 PM)Flashboski Wrote:  Podcast translated.....”had I known I actually had to work, I would have left a long time ago”

What a loser

Loser? It’s a shame that you have so much hatred for someone who has given 20 years of his life to your alma mater doing nothing more than giving his very best and shaping the lives of so many young men and student athletes. You can say a lot of things I suppose about Steve, but a loser in life is pretty harsh and uncalled for. He has hundreds of players that still look to him as a friend, mentor and some even as a father figure not to mention he is a wonderful father to our three children so he is far from a loser. It’s really sad you have so much animosity for someone who was a fellow Bronco for so long.

(05-25-2020 08:13 PM)Kellyhawkins Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 11:47 PM)Flashboski Wrote:  Podcast translated.....”had I known I actually had to work, I would have left a long time ago”

What a loser

Loser? It’s a shame that you have so much hatred for someone who has given 20 years of his life to your alma mater doing nothing more than giving his very best and shaping the lives of so many young men and student athletes. You can say a lot of things I suppose about Steve, but a loser in life is pretty harsh and uncalled for. He has hundreds of players that still look to him as a friend, mentor and some even as a father figure not to mention he is a wonderful father to our three children so he is far from a loser. It’s really sad you have so much animosity for someone who was a fellow Bronco for so long.

Wisconsin Green Bay just opened.

There is a world of difference between sharing an honest attempt to critically analyze a situation versus a personal attack.

What is it about this situation that you’re compelled to personally attack others you neither know or understand?

Disagree? By all means! Vociferously? OK. I understand the emotion of fandom.

I don’t get the inhumanity of personal attacks impugning the worth of an individual. How do you justify it?

It’s not a matter of your definition of short or slow or what winning percentage validates your perspective. It’s personal.

In general, it's a REALLY bad idea for players and coaches to visit sports related message boards.

The same goes for their families.

Despite what the article in the Western Herald recently said, there's been plenty of turnover at all levels in college basketball this spring and early summer.

Jeff Van Gundy once said....."your decisions reveal your priorities".

Steve Hawkins decisions going forward will show the world whether he (really) wants to continue coaching college basketball.

And the decisions of those doing the hiring will let us know what others think of his worth as a coach in the current market.

#Fight On

He had the talent to win more than what he did w/ Kool & Wilder.

I like the guy & appreciate what he did for us, but sounds like he took his firing personally.

For all you haters he is starting his own podcast. I'm looking forward to it. Hoping he does an episode on how social media and message boards like this impact his team.

[quote='ess' pid='16834048' dateline='1590528816']
In general, it's a REALLY bad idea for players and coaches to visit sports related message boards.

The same goes for their families.

Despite what the article in the Western Herald recently said, there's been plenty of turnover at all levels in college basketball this spring and early summer.

Jeff Van Gundy once said....."your decisions reveal your priorities".

Steve Hawkins decisions going forward will show the world whether he (really) wants to continue coaching college basketball.

And the decisions of those doing the hiring will let us know what others think of his worth as a coach in the current market.

#Fight On
[/quote

I would tend to agree with you which is why I NEVER got involved in message boards while my husband was coach. I do understand that not everyone is a fan, however, when there is a personal attack I have the right to defend my family if I chose to do so. I also care about Bronco basketball and have for years. I care about the players and the coaches that are there. Like you, I want success for the program. That now makes me an interested fan just like many others. I use my real name and identify myself. Agree or disagree. Respectfully, I don’t see how me getting on a sports message board for a team that I care about is any different than the current head coaches best friend doing the same. As for Steve’s future, you mentioned Van Gundy’s quote, which to me insinuates that his priority wasn’t “really” wanting to coach the team. Decisions reveal priorities. The top priority right now is family. We as a family will evaluate staying in Kalamazoo, which is my home, versus taking another coaching job in the future somewhere else.

(05-26-2020 07:49 PM)Kellyhawkins Wrote:  I would tend to agree with you which is why I NEVER got involved in message boards while my husband was coach. I do understand that not everyone is a fan, however, when there is a personal attack I have the right to defend my family if I chose to do so. I also care about Bronco basketball and have for years. I care about the players and the coaches that are there. Like you, I want success for the program. That now makes me an interested fan just like many others. I use my real name and identify myself. Agree or disagree. Respectfully, I don’t see how me getting on a sports message board for a team that I care about is any different than the current head coaches best friend doing the same. As for Steve’s future, you mentioned Van Gundy’s quote, which to me insinuates that his priority wasn’t “really” wanting to coach the team. Decisions reveal priorities. The top priority right now is family. We as a family will evaluate staying in Kalamazoo, which is my home, versus taking another coaching job in the future somewhere else.

Best wishes to you, your husband, and your family.

As you pursue your priorities.

I/we hope you find peace.

On social media, or wherever (else) you seek to find it.

(05-26-2020 07:49 PM)Kellyhawkins Wrote:  [quote='ess' pid='16834048' dateline='1590528816']
In general, it's a REALLY bad idea for players and coaches to visit sports related message boards.

The same goes for their families.

Despite what the article in the Western Herald recently said, there's been plenty of turnover at all levels in college basketball this spring and early summer.

Jeff Van Gundy once said....."your decisions reveal your priorities".

Steve Hawkins decisions going forward will show the world whether he (really) wants to continue coaching college basketball.

And the decisions of those doing the hiring will let us know what others think of his worth as a coach in the current market.

#Fight On
[/quote

I would tend to agree with you which is why I NEVER got involved in message boards while my husband was coach. I do understand that not everyone is a fan, however, when there is a personal attack I have the right to defend my family if I chose to do so. I also care about Bronco basketball and have for years. I care about the players and the coaches that are there. Like you, I want success for the program. That now makes me an interested fan just like many others. I use my real name and identify myself. Agree or disagree. Respectfully, I don’t see how me getting on a sports message board for a team that I care about is any different than the current head coaches best friend doing the same. As for Steve’s future, you mentioned Van Gundy’s quote, which to me insinuates that his priority wasn’t “really” wanting to coach the team. Decisions reveal priorities. The top priority right now is family. We as a family will evaluate staying in Kalamazoo, which is my home, versus taking another coaching job in the future somewhere else.

You’re exhibiting rabbit ears here. Respectfully, your husband had two NCAA appearances in 17 years as head coach. I think the WMU fan base has been very patient with him, and has not attacked him with anywhere near the vitriol you would see from other fan bases (e.g., EMU with Rob Murphy). And much of that probably has to do with him being a good guy and making a positive impact on many.

But he was 20 games under .500 in his last six years on the job (18 games under in the MAC), so you aren’t going to see anyone here lamenting his loss of a position that most in his profession never have a chance to attain. The results suggest he’s better off at a place like Quincy. It’s not fair to expect a glowing review of his tenure on this site, at least not now.

Hawkins had one of the longest tenures at one school not only in Bronco history but MAC.

He is a good guy who represented university well.

For whatever reason(s) the program not just stagnated but fell off the last several years.

It was time for a change - both for program and Hawkins.

See how simple that was, folks?

No hyperbolic stupidity! Simple straightforward opinion.