I remember it quite well. The balancing act over the last several decades kept the peace.

The termination of the Tribe 7 broke the peace. Elevation of football and hoops at the cost of the Tribe 7 broke the peace.

This is a very complicated issue.

But the way this was handled ... unless it’s straightened out pronto ... football and hoops are going to be collateral damage.

The end result has to be strong support for football and basketball and
maintaining as many other sports as possible.
I doubt the faculty shares these priorities.

We need a strong plan and the right people in place to rebuild fundraising.
Unfortunately, fundraising during the pandemic undertaken by employees
hired by Huge is not ideal.

If the administration honestly describes the deficits to the donor base and
reaches out for financial help, will fans get beyond the wounds of the last couple years and refund the program. It's OUR TRIBE and we need to respond to the emergency, especially now that the administration has begun to identify
the problems by dismissing the AD.

I don't think Rowe came here to preside over the destruction of a Division 1 program.
She needs a quick education in Div 1 and she and the BOV need to dive in to fundraising.

(10-13-2020 08:30 PM)DSL Wrote:  I hope Daly's remarks are reported in the Times Dispatch and Tidewater papers.

Did Rowe know nothing? Did she decide to do nothing? Did Rowe tolerate
a hostile work environment? Does Rowe need a major performance review?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have been told that every decision and action taken by Huge had the FULL SUPPORT and cooperation of Pres Rowe. Rowe has more or less, agreed with this contention. Also, the FULL SUPPORT of the BOV.

Rowe is the chief executive of the W&M operation - what does this say about HER judgement? HER management skills?

Rowe is very likable but also very weak and she was/is a poor choice to lead W&M. Her background and experience was all at wealthy [and far left, btw] colleges and Universities; she began her career in Education teaching English at Yale, her next job was teaching English at Bryn Mawr, a wealthy 1,500 student private womans school, she than moved to Smith College another small wealthy private womens school where she was Provost and responsible for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity at the school.

Huge, who had been at W&M for for a year or so before Rowe, obviously had a SVENGALI effect upon Rowe, who quickly adopted Huge's VISION for W&M and the two of them sold the BOV on the plan/plans.

I thought the Laycock retirement was handled pretty well, after all, Jimmye was 70 years old, and his teams had not done well for 5 -6 years, raising ticket prices when you have a losing team will tend to depress entheusiasm [and fundraising support]. JL supposedly wanted "one more year" so he could retire with an even 40 years of head coaching but he was not winning and there was no promise of an improved team/record for an extra year. Also, I am pretty sure that JL's contract had run out , so it was a "no brainer" to allow/force him to retire at that time.

The decision to fire Shaver was shocking on many levels to me [and to many other
W&M Alums and supporters] This has been discussed ad infinitum, so I won't go into it again now; EXCEPT to say that this decision and the way it was handled had the FULL SUPPORT of Pres Rowe and the BOV all of whom had been led astray by Huge..

(10-13-2020 08:30 PM)DSL Wrote:  I hope Daly's remarks are reported in the Times Dispatch and Tidewater papers.

Did Rowe know nothing? Did she decide to do nothing? Did Rowe tolerate
a hostile work environment? Does Rowe need a major performance review?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have been told that every decision and action taken by Huge had the FULL SUPPORT and cooperation of Pres Rowe. Rowe has more or less, agreed with this contention. Also, the FULL SUPPORT of the BOV.

Rowe is the chief executive of the W&M operation - what does this say about HER judgement? HER management skills?

Rowe is very likable but also very weak and she was/is a poor choice to lead W&M. Her background and experience was all at wealthy [and far left, btw] colleges and Universities; she began her career in Education teaching English at Yale, her next job was teaching English at Bryn Mawr, a wealthy 1,500 student private womans school, she than moved to Smith College another small wealthy private womens school where she was Provost and responsible for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity at the school.

Huge, who had been at W&M for for a year or so before Rowe, obviously had a SVENGALI effect upon Rowe, who quickly adopted Huge's VISION for W&M and the two of them sold the BOV on the plan/plans.

I thought the Laycock retirement was handled pretty well, after all, Jimmye was 70 years old, and his teams had not done well for 5 -6 years, raising ticket prices when you have a losing team will tend to depress entheusiasm [and fundraising support]. JL supposedly wanted "one more year" so he could retire with an even 40 years of head coaching but he was not winning and there was no promise of an improved team/record for an extra year. Also, I am pretty sure that JL's contract had run out , so it was a "no brainer" to allow/force him to retire at that time.

The decision to fire Shaver was shocking on many levels to me [and to many other
W&M Alums and supporters] This has been discussed ad infinitum, so I won't go into it again now; EXCEPT to say that this decision and the way it was handled had the FULL SUPPORT of Pres Rowe and the BOV all of whom had been led astray by Huge..

There's a serious lack of connection nowadays. I talked with a friend last night; Shaver sent handwritten thank you cards when we earmarked a donation for MBB. I used to get calls, have lunch with admin, and received personal emails before & after donating. I don't need or even want that, but those are nice gestures. It tells me they are thankful and appreciate my donations.

Judging by a lack of emails and postal mail, I'm not sure Tribe Club or Griffin Kids Club are around anymore.

You'd think out of 40+ employees in the front office, someone would make an effort.

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(10-14-2020 09:52 AM)Tribal Wrote:  There's a serious lack of connection nowadays. I talked with a friend last night; Shaver sent handwritten thank you cards when we earmarked a donation for MBB. I used to get calls, have lunch with admin, and received personal emails before & after donating. I don't need or even want that, but those are nice gestures. It tells me they are thankful and appreciate my donations.

Judging by a lack of emails and postal mail, I'm not sure Tribe Club or Griffin Kids Club are around anymore.

You'd think out of 40+ employees in the front office, someone would make an effort.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

This is spot on.

From Chris Stratton to Nick Georges to (temporarily) Bobby Dwyer to Bob Solderitch there was always a connection and outreach. Those gestures were small and unexpected, but are now very noticeable that they no longer occur since Bob's passing. More importantly what it showed me - because there was always a positive handoff from one point of contact to another - that there is no longer a structure in place. Just another reason why donations are down is my guess.

I know some who are deeply involved with the Tribe Club and used to regularly post here still read this almost daily (but no longer post). You need to take this back: If they want to improve donations, personal outreach needs to improve. Sending out a tri-fold mailer with different tiers to be a football donor doesn't cut it. I assume something similar is done for the other sports.

The zoom calls with Coach London and staff are a nice attempt but even those are getting a little redundant IMO.

Al Albert is the only person in the Tribe Club with any connection to the college, and he's been involved as a student, coach, and in the Tribe Club for 55 years. Bobby Dwyer had a connection with John Randolph when he showed up so at least there was continuity there, but he quickly became part of the Tribe fabric. He was at the helm for 34 years until he was forced to retire. We need to get some folks in there who actually have connections with the alumni and former athletes.

(10-14-2020 10:30 AM)Tribe32 Wrote:  Al Albert is the only person in the Tribe Club with any connection to the college, and he's been involved as a student, coach, and in the Tribe Club for 55 years. Bobby Dwyer had a connection with John Randolph when he showed up so at least there was continuity there, but he quickly became part of the Tribe fabric. He was at the helm for 34 years until he was forced to retire. We need to get some folks in there who actually have connections with the alumni and former athletes.

We used to have a CSNBBS.COM poster who has ties to W&M, is still active (I guess), and was heavily involved with Tribe Club.

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Tribe 32 is correct.

The current staff in Athletics does not have the foundation to launch a major
fundraising effort.

Maybe get some high profile alumni to publicize the urgent need for funds.

It's probably too much to ask, but it would have an impact if some of the
coaches and administrators who were dismissed would speak out on behalf of
re-funding sports.

(10-14-2020 08:53 AM)WMInTheBurg Wrote:  

(10-14-2020 08:44 AM)soccerguy315 Wrote:  

(10-14-2020 08:15 AM)Tank55 Wrote:  Thank you for publishing. That was infuriating. I'm more in the "liked the vision, hated the execution" camp, but even if it was done tactfully, I don't see how forcing out Daly served any purpose.

I agree. It makes no sense.

+1 here too.

The theory getting a lot of evidence is that she wanted coaches she hired to be successful instead of coaches she inherited. That also makes no sense.

Let me be clear that I am a total outsider -- the following is based on mental comparisons to my experience in other contexts when a new leader from outside has come in to take over an existing enterprise.

My impression from early on has been that Ms. Huge, as a new AD, was trying to solidify her position in terms of power by eliminating anyone who, by virtue of long tenure, experience, W&M connections, past success, etc., had their own independent power base. Anyone who fit that description seemingly had a target on his/her back and would be gone at the earliest plausible opportunity (e.g. one losing season after a series of successes).

(10-14-2020 10:46 AM)DSL Wrote:  Tribe 32 is correct.

The current staff in Athletics does not have the foundation to launch a major
fundraising effort.

Maybe get some high profile alumni to publicize the urgent need for funds.

It's probably too much to ask, but it would have an impact if some of the
coaches and administrators who were dismissed would speak out on behalf of
re-funding sports.

I agree as well. They need a new Solderitch-type person, and they need him/her fast. Some lower-level people with W&M connections, a la Stratton, would help as well. That personal touch is essential.

(10-14-2020 11:51 AM)Blow Gym rat Wrote:  

(10-14-2020 08:53 AM)WMInTheBurg Wrote:  

(10-14-2020 08:44 AM)soccerguy315 Wrote:  

(10-14-2020 08:15 AM)Tank55 Wrote:  Thank you for publishing. That was infuriating. I'm more in the "liked the vision, hated the execution" camp, but even if it was done tactfully, I don't see how forcing out Daly served any purpose.

I agree. It makes no sense.

+1 here too.

The theory getting a lot of evidence is that she wanted coaches she hired to be successful instead of coaches she inherited. That also makes no sense.

Let me be clear that I am a total outsider -- the following is based on mental comparisons to my experience in other contexts when a new leader from outside has come in to take over an existing enterprise.

My impression from early on has been that Ms. Huge, as a new AD, was trying to solidify her position in terms of power by eliminating anyone who, by virtue of long tenure, experience, W&M connections, past success, etc., had their own independent power base. Anyone who fit that description seemingly had a target on his/her back and would be gone at the earliest plausible opportunity (e.g. one losing season after a series of successes).

The Steve Cole Experience supports this theory.

(10-14-2020 09:52 AM)Tribal Wrote:  There's a serious lack of connection nowadays. I talked with a friend last night; Shaver sent handwritten thank you cards when we earmarked a donation for MBB. I used to get calls, have lunch with admin, and received personal emails before & after donating. I don't need or even want that, but those are nice gestures. It tells me they are thankful and appreciate my donations.

Judging by a lack of emails and postal mail, I'm not sure Tribe Club or Griffin Kids Club are around anymore.

You'd think out of 40+ employees in the front office, someone would make an effort.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

I agree with this. There used to be pretty regular communication from the Tribe Club, especially around campaigns like One Tribe One Day. This year there was nothing. At least for me. And I had made some relatively significant contributions the past few years.

.

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(10-14-2020 11:39 PM)Old tribe Wrote:  ...There used to be pretty regular communication from the Tribe Club, especially around campaigns like One Tribe One Day. This year there was nothing. ...

I believe the lack of communication was because they didn't want outsize athletic contributions at that time. Such would have upset their narrative that the cuts need to be made out of financial hardship.

(10-15-2020 08:56 AM)Zorch Wrote:  

(10-14-2020 11:39 PM)Old tribe Wrote:  ...There used to be pretty regular communication from the Tribe Club, especially around campaigns like One Tribe One Day. This year there was nothing. ...

I believe the lack of communication was because they didn't want outsize athletic contributions at that time. Such would have upset their narrative that the cuts need to be made out of financial hardship.

Come on now...


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Yep, the conspiracy theorists are on full tilt.

Messageboards.

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(10-15-2020 09:00 AM)wml33t Wrote:  

(10-15-2020 08:56 AM)Zorch Wrote:  

(10-14-2020 11:39 PM)Old tribe Wrote:  ...There used to be pretty regular communication from the Tribe Club, especially around campaigns like One Tribe One Day. This year there was nothing. ...

I believe the lack of communication was because they didn't want outsize athletic contributions at that time. Such would have upset their narrative that the cuts need to be made out of financial hardship.

Come on now...

Okay, then what is your explanation for no Tribe Club communication? For no communication about sports during One Tribe One Day or For The Bold? The only other possible reason is sheer incompetence. I find it easier to believe that Huge and her crew were sleazy rather than just plain stupid.

(10-15-2020 09:00 AM)wml33t Wrote:  

(10-15-2020 08:56 AM)Zorch Wrote:  

(10-14-2020 11:39 PM)Old tribe Wrote:  ...There used to be pretty regular communication from the Tribe Club, especially around campaigns like One Tribe One Day. This year there was nothing. ...

I believe the lack of communication was because they didn't want outsize athletic contributions at that time. Such would have upset their narrative that the cuts need to be made out of financial hardship.

Come on now...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

lol

(10-15-2020 09:14 AM)Zorch Wrote:  

(10-15-2020 09:00 AM)wml33t Wrote:  

(10-15-2020 08:56 AM)Zorch Wrote:  

(10-14-2020 11:39 PM)Old tribe Wrote:  ...There used to be pretty regular communication from the Tribe Club, especially around campaigns like One Tribe One Day. This year there was nothing. ...

I believe the lack of communication was because they didn't want outsize athletic contributions at that time. Such would have upset their narrative that the cuts need to be made out of financial hardship.

Come on now...

Okay, then what is your explanation for no Tribe Club communication? For no communication about sports during One Tribe One Day or For The Bold? The only other possible reason is sheer incompetence. I find it easier to believe that Huge and her crew were sleazy rather than just plain stupid.

I believe the department, and the school itself, was trying to be sensitive to the fact that out of the thousands of people we were asking for money there were probably hundreds that had lost a job or at least a lot of income due to the pandemic. So an aggressive ask during OTOD would have been seen as tone deaf.

However, I agree fully with some on here that believe there needs to be more long term green and gold blood in the athletic department. Everyone doesn't have to be a graduate but there needs to be a good deal of people with similar experiences so that a connection is more easily made.