I see a thread about a crazy FAU student (redundant?) and not a single mention of FIU on it. Questioning the timing of the firing had nothing to do with FIU. Having an FAU fan (you) compare it to FIU's situation (with MC and PG) is what brought FIU into the discussion. Don't worry, everyone else can follow how the thread developed, but nice try at shifting the blame.

(03-23-2012 05:27 AM)fauowls561 Wrote:  Anyone else ever notice that FIU fans on this board seem to have a unique ability to turn any thread that mentions FAU into a discussion mainly about FIU or realignment? This wasn't even a positive thread about FAU...amazing.

(03-22-2012 10:03 PM)FIU4Ever Wrote:  

(03-22-2012 09:36 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  

(03-22-2012 01:35 PM)FIU4Ever Wrote:  

(03-22-2012 01:21 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  is thomas still coaching the basketball team?

Sadly, yes. This is the last year of his contract I think, so I don't think he gets fired unless he allows ULL to play with 6 men.

only the naive and media figures believe that is what got the dummy fired.

losing at home to fiu by 18 had more to do with it than the 6-5 fiasco. the fact there were only 2100 people at the 6-5 game when they were selling 1$ tickets was the final straw.

the fans spoke by staying home.

the president and a.d. listened

That was a joke dahbeed, more on us than on you.

my bust amigo. we just got hammered by the national media saying we fired him over that. and with the timing of it i can see why some would believe it.

but it was building up all season. he really should have been gone a few weeks earlier but (this is all speculation) the administration wanted the kids to attend classes in the next semester so it would make transfers more difficult when they let him go.

dirty...yes. prudent...yes.

(03-23-2012 08:12 AM)dahbeed Wrote:  my bust amigo. we just got hammered by the national media saying we fired him over that. and with the timing of it i can see why some would believe it.

but it was building up all season. he really should have been gone a few weeks earlier but (this is all speculation) the administration wanted the kids to attend classes in the next semester so it would make transfers more difficult when they let him go.

dirty...yes. prudent...yes.

Did the students really have that kind of a bond with Ronald McDonald that they would leave?

I mean hell, after Harper took over you all went on a great run. I would imagine that winning again would cure a lot of feelings over a former coach.

(03-23-2012 07:00 AM)FIU Panther Fan Wrote:  I see a thread about a crazy FAU student (redundant?) and not a single mention of FIU on it. Questioning the timing of the firing had nothing to do with FIU. Having an FAU fan (you) compare it to FIU's situation (with MC and PG) is what brought FIU into the discussion. Don't worry, everyone else can follow how the thread developed, but nice try at shifting the blame.

(03-23-2012 05:27 AM)fauowls561 Wrote:  Anyone else ever notice that FIU fans on this board seem to have a unique ability to turn any thread that mentions FAU into a discussion mainly about FIU or realignment? This wasn't even a positive thread about FAU...amazing.

You might want to go back to page 2 of this thread and see exactly who brought FIU up first. An FIU fan questioned the timing of the firing in regards to realignment. I said that this had nothing to do with realignment and explained the real reasons behind the firing. Never once did I mention FIU in any way. An FIU fan brought the Garcia and Cristobal comparisons into this, not me.

And comparing EVERY FAU student to this young woman with obvious mental issues...very classy.

(03-23-2012 09:16 AM)fauowls561 Wrote:  

(03-23-2012 07:00 AM)FIU Panther Fan Wrote:  I see a thread about a crazy FAU student (redundant?) and not a single mention of FIU on it. Questioning the timing of the firing had nothing to do with FIU. Having an FAU fan (you) compare it to FIU's situation (with MC and PG) is what brought FIU into the discussion. Don't worry, everyone else can follow how the thread developed, but nice try at shifting the blame.

(03-23-2012 05:27 AM)fauowls561 Wrote:  Anyone else ever notice that FIU fans on this board seem to have a unique ability to turn any thread that mentions FAU into a discussion mainly about FIU or realignment? This wasn't even a positive thread about FAU...amazing.

You might want to go back to page 2 of this thread and see exactly who brought FIU up first. An FIU fan questioned the timing of the firing in regards to realignment. I said that this had nothing to do with realignment and explained the real reasons behind the firing. Never once did I mention FIU in any way. An FIU fan brought the Garcia and Cristobal comparisons into this, not me.
And comparing EVERY FAU student to this young woman with obvious mental issues...very classy.

Whoops. Remember this (post #22); "We aren't the first program to replace a coach and AD in the same year and we won't be the last. I seem to remember FIU go with the "scorched-earth" policy a few years back and you seem to have recovered. Are you saying that staying status quo would have been a better option?

I believe at the time we were speaking about the timing of this firing by your president [I did mention FIU's proximity to the turnpike regarding the difficulty in naming rights in support of your ex-A.D. but that was to make a point and show empathy]. No one brought up the FIU administration in regards to this firing other than you.

Also, FAU has been mentioned as a possible candidate in the Alliance expansion process. Conference affilation is central to the entire athletic program, so it's not that great a leap to wonder about the timing of this firing in the middle of realignment negotiations.

Quote:

(03-23-2012 09:40 AM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(03-23-2012 09:16 AM)fauowls561 Wrote:  

(03-23-2012 07:00 AM)FIU Panther Fan Wrote:  I see a thread about a crazy FAU student (redundant?) and not a single mention of FIU on it. Questioning the timing of the firing had nothing to do with FIU. Having an FAU fan (you) compare it to FIU's situation (with MC and PG) is what brought FIU into the discussion. Don't worry, everyone else can follow how the thread developed, but nice try at shifting the blame.

[quote='fauowls561' pid='7720444' dateline='1332498473']
Anyone else ever notice that FIU fans on this board seem to have a unique ability to turn any thread that mentions FAU into a discussion mainly about FIU or realignment? This wasn't even a positive thread about FAU...amazing.

You might want to go back to page 2 of this thread and see exactly who brought FIU up first. An FIU fan questioned the timing of the firing in regards to realignment. I said that this had nothing to do with realignment and explained the real reasons behind the firing. Never once did I mention FIU in any way. An FIU fan brought the Garcia and Cristobal comparisons into this, not me.
And comparing EVERY FAU student to this young woman with obvious mental issues...very classy.

Quote:Whoops. Remember this (post #22); "We aren't the first program to replace a coach and AD in the same year and we won't be the last. I seem to remember FIU go with the "scorched-earth" policy a few years back and you seem to have recovered. Are you saying that staying status quo would have been a better option?

I believe at the time we were speaking about the timing of this firing by your president [I did mention FIU's proximity to the turnpike regarding the difficulty in naming rights in support of your ex-A.D. but that was to make a point and show empathy]. No one brought up the FIU administration in regards to this firing other than you.

Also, FAU has been mentioned as a possible candidate in the Alliance expansion process. Conference affilation is central to the entire athletic program, so it's not that great a leap to wonder about the timing of this firing in the middle of realignment negotiations.

Quote:fauowls561 Wrote:
(03-21-2012 05:56 PM)FIUFan Wrote:
(03-21-2012 11:47 AM)USACoN2012 Wrote:
The Sun Belt is losing a pair of athletic directors.
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/...-rebels-ad
http://www.fauowlaccess.com/blogs/owlthi...et-go.aspx
FAU fires its A.D. in the middle of Conference realignments.....hmm
I wouldn't read much into the timing in terms of realignment. According to the Sun Sentinel:

Quote:
Angelos's contract was up in September, but there was a clause in his contract that if he were going to be fired without cause, he had to be given six months notice, which is why this came down now.
This was about money...and the fact Angelos couldn't raise enough of it. He's more of an administrator and from what I understand, FAU wants to bring in a more out-going AD that can get out and bring in more money. That was not Angelos' personality.

Right; but you wouldn't be changing horses in mid-stream, esp. if negotiations were going well with the Alliance group. Sept. is still a long ways off and FAU is only replacing him with an interim A.D. not a prescreened heavy-hitter. If Garcia was being forced out at this time I would not be looking at it as a positive.

Whoops? Ummm...post #14 was the first time anything FIU was mentioned, and it was by you. You brought up Garcia. Up until that point, we were only discussing FAU. And even in my next post responding that, I didn't mention FIU...I posted the FAU Student newspaper article...which should have ended the discussion since that proved that this firing was not about realignment. Anyway, this arguement is boring even to me, so I can't imagine how boring it is to read for everyone else. I vote to just drop it and move on...

Im actually starting to wonder if perhaps the timing of this DOES revolve around re-alignment, but not in the way that FIUFan was implying.

AD's dont make these decesions, Presidents do. Perhaps FAU was contacted by the "Alliance" and was informed that an invite was forth coming dependant upon certain "improvements" being made. Mary Jane responded by firing our AD to show that we are indeed taking steps to imporve the program.

Who knows at this point but this IS an area that FAU has needed to upgrade and I'm gonna go as a Glass half full guy and say its positive.

Here is an article from today's Sun Sentinel:

Quote:
By Ted Hutton

11:44 a.m. EDT, March 23, 2012
FAU President Mary Jane Saunders said Friday she wants “work very quickly” to hire a new athletic director.

“I really want someone with a lot of enthusiasm,” said Saunders, who fired Craig Angelos earlier this week. Angelos had been athletic director since 2003.

“I am not going to talk about personnel decisions,” Saunders said when asked about the reasons for not renewing Angelos’s contract.

Saunders said she has appointed two people to serve as advisors to aid her as she searches for Angelos’s replacement – Eric Shaw, a marketing professor and FAU alumnus who is the school’s NCAA faculty representative, and Charles Brown, the senior vice president for student affairs.

Saunders said Shaw and Brown will help her develop the job description that will the advertised early next week and help narrow the field of applicants.
“It will be my decision, since the athletic director reports to the president,” Saunders said.

“It is a complex [job]. Working with coaches, watching the bottom line, being an enthusiastic fundraiser. We need someone who can handle it all.”

She said the position is an important one since athletics gets more media attention than other parts of FAU. “It is in the public eye, and it provides an opportunity to bring people onto the campus,” Saunders said.

Saunders said the fundraising is an important part of the job, and is an area where the department fell short of targets under Angelos, who had an annual salary of $192,450.

“More and more of our jobs at public universities involve fundraising,” Saunders said.

Saunders said that people interested in the job have already started to contact her, and she expects to have a strong field of candidates to choose from.

“I see so many opportunities here,” Saunders said.

FAU AD Article

From her comments, President Saunders certainly doesn't make it sound like this had anything to do with realignment. Like I said, Angelos just wasn't getting the job done raising money. That, and he was unpopular with many of the coaches...and his marketing department sucked. She said it herself, athletics is the face of the University and when the school is putting out posters with the wrong date and times for games, then it makes everyone look bad.

(03-23-2012 11:19 AM)OwlFamily Wrote:  Im actually starting to wonder if perhaps the timing of this DOES revolve around re-alignment, but not in the way that FIUFan was implying.
AD's dont make these decesions, Presidents do. Perhaps FAU was contacted by the "Alliance" and was informed that an invite was forth coming dependant upon certain "improvements" being made. Mary Jane responded by firing our AD to show that we are indeed taking steps to imporve the program.
Who knows at this point but this IS an area that FAU has needed to upgrade and I'm gonna go as a Glass half full guy and say its positive.

Well that's one scenario but I wouldn't weight it very heavily. Your endowment appears to be large enough to see you through most any crisis. If things were going your way with this alignment why fire the A.D.; the 'sales' thing, imo, is a smokescreen by your pres. and BOD (though you do need to increase your attendance....as do we all, I still don't think it's the main issue for the firing). Beyond that, I can't imagine a prospective conference saying, 'your in, as long as you make x,y and z improvements'. Afterall, HS is the one who has put the football program on its current course; it's hard to get people to turn out for something they don't want to see.

I'm all for you guys staying positive on this issue....I'm just having trouble seeing how this firing can be viewed as positive, esp. w/o a replacement already lined-up.

Hey Im wrong all the time.

Just ask my wife.

(03-23-2012 11:41 AM)fauowls561 Wrote:  Here is an article from today's Sun Sentinel:
FAU AD Article

From her comments, President Saunders certainly doesn't make it sound like this had anything to do with realignment. Like I said, Angelos just wasn't getting the job done raising money. That, and he was unpopular with many of the coaches...and his marketing department sucked. She said it herself, athletics is the face of the University and when the school is putting out posters with the wrong date and times for games, then it makes everyone look bad.

Sounds to me as if the BOD knows they've stepped in it and are trying to spin this. And fundraising? What does the A.D. need to raise money for other than paying off the stadium? Ohh, maybe that's it. They see the downward spiral this new stadium has caused and they are caught in a catch-22 (i.e. Atlantic needs to travel to raise money to pay the bond but in so doing their attendance takes a hit).

Now if good news were coming down the pike, Atlantic would certainly have found ways to trumpet this news and sweep all these other issues under the rug. However, bad news would have the opposite effect and prompt the powers to change the captian who in their estimation caused all these problems. Following 'U cheat' all these years gives one a certain perspective as to how university administrations like to sweep their trails clean.

Speculations on the reasons for his firing will not end since the FAU Prez decided to not comment on the details.

I think the more important thing is that FAU needs to replace Angelos with someone who is perceived from day one as better than Angelos ever was. Whoever is the replacement will need to match the president's comments about enthusiasm and the comments of others about poor fund raising. Someone with this demonstrated ability may not come cheap.

OwlFamily, with FAU required to pay this guy 100k over the next 6 months, will the Prez untie the purse string to get the "right" replacement, get him/her in place within the next month and give him/her the freedom to spend as necessary to bring in money?

Honestly if you read Owls Nest many of us are NOT surprised by this guys and gals.

While Craig Angelos did some very good things under his watch at FAU more then a few things were not done well and needed to be overhauled.

Fundraising is a big one. Many of you know that Boca Raton is a VERY affluent community and they need to get someone in there who can tap that resource. Angelos was not very good at that. There were some problems with ticketing at FAU's stadium both on opening day and at the Battle of Florida. FAU recently hired a new compnay to help establish and manage ticket sales. (the name escapes me ATM but that is solely what that company does)

I think what your seeing here is President Saunders putting her stamp on the athletics program. She recognizes that Athletics is one of the biggest ways to get FAU's name out there and she feels the right person was'nt in place to get it done.

This happens in EVERY business any time a new boss comes in. Hell, I myself was recently given 4 months notice, and then 5 months severnce because the company I work for reorginized what I do due to a new VP of the department coming and wanting to do things his way. My entire department got the axe despite having a exemplary record and numerous awards because he wanted to "regionalize" the division. Nothing personal, just a business decision.

And I think thats what you're seeing here. President Saunders has a "new vision" for the Univeristy and she wants the people she feels can fullfill it. Same reason that new coach's rarely keep the old staff.

(03-23-2012 11:57 AM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(03-23-2012 11:41 AM)fauowls561 Wrote:  Here is an article from today's Sun Sentinel:
FAU AD Article

From her comments, President Saunders certainly doesn't make it sound like this had anything to do with realignment. Like I said, Angelos just wasn't getting the job done raising money. That, and he was unpopular with many of the coaches...and his marketing department sucked. She said it herself, athletics is the face of the University and when the school is putting out posters with the wrong date and times for games, then it makes everyone look bad.

Sounds to me as if the BOD knows they've stepped in it and are trying to spin this. And fundraising? What does the A.D. need to raise money for other than paying off the stadium? Ohh, maybe that's it. They see the downward spiral this new stadium has caused and they are caught in a catch-22 (i.e. Atlantic needs to travel to raise money to pay the bond but in so doing their attendance takes a hit).

Now if good news were coming down the pike, Atlantic would certainly have found ways to trumpet this news and sweep all these other issues under the rug. However, bad news would have the opposite effect and prompt the powers to change the captian who in their estimation caused all these problems. Following 'U cheat' all these years gives one a certain perspective as to how university administrations like to sweep their trails clean.

I honestly don't understand your need to paint this in the worst possible light possible here. The truth is that FAU has a new president and the AD's contract was coming to an end. Because of a clause in his contract, the school had until this week to let him go without cause. Angelos did a lot of things well, but the needs of the athletic department have changed recently. They have the new stadium, Howard's gone(and he was the leading voice of the department, not the AD)...they want to go in a new direction. Angelos was an administrator without much in the way of people skills. He wasn't well liked by coaches(Mike Jarvis in particular) and the marketing has always been terrible since he got here. The new president says publically that wants someone more enthusiastic and outgoing and obviously thinks she can get someone better. That's why he's gone, not some attempt to cover up any trails or something.

Like OwlFamily said, it's her right as the new leader to replace the AD and now just happened to be the time to do it without any penalty beyond the severence package. I don't think there is any particular reason to look at this as anything more then that unless you are trying to make FAU look bad.

Quote:After failing to receive an invitation to join another conference Florida Atlantic will remain in the Sun Belt Conference, President Mary Jane Saunders told Owl Access on Friday.

“I can tell you we have not been invited to another conference,” Saunders said. “I think those decisions have already been made. I think it's finished now. ...We're staying in the Sun Belt.”

Staying in the Sun Belt

Maybe FIUFan was correct in saying this was an additional factor in firing the AD?

(03-23-2012 03:17 PM)fauowls561 Wrote:  I honestly don't understand your need to paint this in the worst possible light possible here. The truth is that FAU has a new president and the AD's contract was coming to an end. Because of a clause in his contract, the school had until this week to let him go without cause. Angelos did a lot of things well, but the needs of the athletic department have changed recently. They have the new stadium, Howard's gone(and he was the leading voice of the department, not the AD)...they want to go in a new direction. Angelos was an administrator without much in the way of people skills. He wasn't well liked by coaches(Mike Jarvis in particular) and the marketing has always been terrible since he got here. The new president says publically that wants someone more enthusiastic and outgoing and obviously thinks she can get someone better. That's why he's gone, not some attempt to cover up any trails or something.
Like OwlFamily said, it's her right as the new leader to replace the AD and now just happened to be the time to do it without any penalty beyond the severence package. I don't think there is any particular reason to look at this as anything more then that unless you are trying to make FAU look bad.

It's called critical thinking. I thought that was what these boards were about.