This conversation has gotten ridiculous. He is an administrator at the University and is being asked to engage local corporations to grow partnerships with the University. The hopes are that he can effectively network with these organizations to provide real world experience for the students through co-ops, internships, etc... He is also being asked to raise funds for projects that come about whether they are athletic or college based to better the overall student experience on campus. He is also being asked to engage alumni and get them involved back on campus and with our students.

This conversation should not be about Akron Athletics, Kent Basketball or what happened at OSU. This conversation should be about the University who took a chance on an alumnus where they thought his presence on campus will benefit the students, the University, the community and alumni.

Regarding paying $200K for his services, the ROI was in the positive after the first day. He was the lead story on yahoo for nearly an entire day, he trended on twitter throughout the day, and over 200 articles were written on the subject including articles written for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Crain's etc..

I was skeptical when I first heard about it, but from what I have seen, the investment has already paid for itself.