(07-12-2013 09:29 AM)Afflicted Wrote:  Other than attending football and basketball games, I'm not very connected to the Rice community. I'm trying to make sense of what led to Greenspan's demise and all I can guess is that he pushed too hard for the south endzone project and that he rubbed a lot of the donors the wrong way while doing this. Were the donors never behind his plan? I thought the input of big donors would have been solicited before a plan went forward. Am I on the right track with this? It's the only conclusion I can come up with.

Id hazard a guess that the whole Kazemi-Oraby-Oregon-racism-poor publicity-stupid remarks incident that came up had a lot more to do with it than the EZF.

The conference realignment fiasco couldn't have helped either - particularly since this was supposed to have been his big skill set.

(I still believe that this remains somewhat underrated as one of our biggest issues going forward.)

(07-12-2013 10:08 AM)Orange County Owl Wrote:  The conference realignment fiasco couldn't have helped either - particularly since this was supposed to have been his big skill set.

(I still believe that this remains somewhat underrated as one of our biggest issues going forward.)

I agree, but I don't think it is something that we can directly fix right now. We need someone to fix everything else that would make us desirable to other conferences, and then make a push. Connections or no-connections, Rice Athletics currently adds little to no value to anyone else.

The EZF did have a negative impact on Greenspan. There already had been preliminary studies done by CDC that were dismissed and it took almost 2 years for RG to address the subject. When he did he did so without input from some who know HRS best, from donors and fans, and if rumors are true he announced the plan without telling the BOT. The whole plan was DOA because of the ill conceived location and use to the donor/fans and the lack of lining up support from key donors prior to the announcement.

If I had to list the reasons for his failure it would be:
1. Lack of fundraising. Major project donations and Owl Club improvement regressed.
2. Hiring of relatives and overall bloating of the top levels in the athletic department. Also some of his hires were in way over their heads. The background of some hires was also an issue with some of us.
3. Lack of communication to alums/donors/fans. As has been noted many times before the only one in the department who looked to connect with the above group was Mello.
4. Shifting of money within the department...a very sore subject to baseball especially which led to the RBI'ers writing on their checks "for the exclusive use by Wayne Graham".
5. Relationship with athletes. Besides the "butt patting (which was highly offensive) there were a number of others including:the run-in with a football player during the meeting between the team and RG over his reducing in mid season the stipend amount off campus players received, the well publicized racial/ethnic comments that were fairly well known, and several other incidents which were not disclosed.
6. The EZF project.
7. And as OCO pointed out the realignment failures both in terms of improving our position and how it was publicly handled by Greenspan.

One of the key messages in Leebron's note (for those who did not receive) is that the committee is actively soliciting suggestions from the community. Here's a helpful quote who want to add their two cents:

"If you have ideas or suggestions regarding the process, general characteristics of a candidate or specific nominations for the position, please forward them to Kevin (Kirby) at kevin.kirby@rice.edu."

(07-12-2013 11:57 AM)Riceman2004 Wrote:  One of the key messages in Leebron's note (for those who did not receive) is that the committee is actively soliciting suggestions from the community. Here's a helpful quote who want to add their two cents:

"If you have ideas or suggestions regarding the process, general characteristics of a candidate or specific nominations for the position, please forward them to Kevin (Kirby) at kevin.kirby@rice.edu."

My e-mail was sent (and received) at 1:41am early this morning-- 2 days after the first e-mails went out. Really strange way of distributing to the alumni base.

(07-12-2013 09:36 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(07-12-2013 09:29 AM)Afflicted Wrote:  Other than attending football and basketball games, I'm not very connected to the Rice community. I'm trying to make sense of what led to Greenspan's demise and all I can guess is that he pushed too hard for the south endzone project and that he rubbed a lot of the donors the wrong way while doing this. Were the donors never behind his plan? I thought the input of big donors would have been solicited before a plan went forward. Am I on the right track with this? It's the only conclusion I can come up with.

I suggest you read some of the previous threads. Greenspan's "demise" was due to his own personal actions and communications...and had absolutely nothing to do with the end zone project or any other fund raising effort.

Well, then there must have really been some substance to the rumors that he made insensitive racial comments to some of the basketball players. Other than being a jerk, I can't see anything else that he did wrong.

(07-12-2013 03:30 PM)Afflicted Wrote:  Well, then there must have really been some substance to the rumors that he made insensitive racial comments to some of the basketball players. Other than being a jerk, I can't see anything else that he did wrong.

I think it's a more a matter of what did he do right? Not much in the view of most Owl fans that I know. Time to move on.

(07-12-2013 03:30 PM)Afflicted Wrote:  Well, then there must have really been some substance to the rumors that he made insensitive racial comments to some of the basketball players. Other than being a jerk, I can't see anything else that he did wrong.

Duly noted. I'm sure everyone here will give your opinion all the respect it deserves.

(07-12-2013 04:45 PM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  

(07-12-2013 03:30 PM)Afflicted Wrote:  Well, then there must have really been some substance to the rumors that he made insensitive racial comments to some of the basketball players. Other than being a jerk, I can't see anything else that he did wrong.

Duly noted. I'm sure everyone here will give your opinion all the respect it deserves.

And, as usual, Gravy plates the runner.

(07-12-2013 09:29 AM)Afflicted Wrote:  Other than attending football and basketball games, I'm not very connected to the Rice community. I'm trying to make sense of what led to Greenspan's demise and all I can guess is that he pushed too hard for the south endzone project and that he rubbed a lot of the donors the wrong way while doing this. Were the donors never behind his plan? I thought the input of big donors would have been solicited before a plan went forward. Am I on the right track with this? It's the only conclusion I can come up with.

(07-12-2013 04:14 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(07-12-2013 03:30 PM)Afflicted Wrote:  Well, then there must have really been some substance to the rumors that he made insensitive racial comments to some of the basketball players. Other than being a jerk, I can't see anything else that he did wrong.

I think it's a more a matter of what did he do right? Not much in the view of most Owl fans that I know. Time to move on.

Tomball, those were my exact thoughts after reading Afflicted's post and before scrolling down to read yours.

(07-10-2013 01:23 PM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  Very good choices for the most part. Great having Gabe and Natalie involved after the dealings the athletes had to put up with previously.

I agree with Tiki Owl that the members of the AD search committee are great choices -- many are alumni athletes who have gone on to have successful careers in their chosen field and who are ardent supporters of Athletics and Rice as a whole. It's terrific to see student athletes having a seat at the table as well as a representative from Development (since fundraising is an important part of the AD position) -- thoughtful decisions to have these interests heard.

However, I think there is a slight lack of key representation on the selection committee. If you look at the March 2010 announcement posted when Greenspan was named as the next AD (http://www.riceowls.com/genrel/031210aad.html), one paragraph really stands out to me:

" Rice Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman chaired the search committee for the new athletics director. He said the committee established a number of criteria for the candidates, including honesty and integrity; the ability to represent both the university and its athletics programs well; the experience and leadership skills to help Rice's student-athletes succeed academically, athletically, personally and professionally; and the potential to foster a communitywide sense of engagement with and excitement about athletics. The athletics director also oversees recreation and fitness programs for the university."

If the above still holds true today, then shouldn't there be representation for Rice's recreation and fitness programs (even if it is a small part of the AD's role)? And if the AD is to foster community-wide engagement, what about non-athlete alumni and/or public relations representation? Or even Houston business leaders "outside of the hedges" (maybe 1 or 2 in addition to Jamey Rootes) since there are business management components to the job?

Clearly, you don't want a group that is too larger, but you also don't one that is too narrow in focus/representation for such an important role at the University. Just some thoughts ...

(07-12-2013 10:10 PM)CrabCake Wrote:  

(07-10-2013 01:23 PM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  Very good choices for the most part. Great having Gabe and Natalie involved after the dealings the athletes had to put up with previously.

I agree with Tiki Owl that the members of the AD search committee are great choices -- many are alumni athletes who have gone on to have successful careers in their chosen field and who are ardent supporters of Athletics and Rice as a whole. It's terrific to see student athletes having a seat at the table as well as a representative from Development (since fundraising is an important part of the AD position) -- thoughtful decisions to have these interests heard.

However, I think there is a slight lack of key representation on the selection committee. If you look at the March 2010 announcement posted when Greenspan was named as the next AD (http://www.riceowls.com/genrel/031210aad.html), one paragraph really stands out to me:

" Rice Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman chaired the search committee for the new athletics director. He said the committee established a number of criteria for the candidates, including honesty and integrity; the ability to represent both the university and its athletics programs well; the experience and leadership skills to help Rice's student-athletes succeed academically, athletically, personally and professionally; and the potential to foster a communitywide sense of engagement with and excitement about athletics. The athletics director also oversees recreation and fitness programs for the university."

If the above still holds true today, then shouldn't there be representation for Rice's recreation and fitness programs (even if it is a small part of the AD's role)? And if the AD is to foster community-wide engagement, what about non-athlete alumni and/or public relations representation? Or even Houston business leaders "outside of the hedges" (maybe 1 or 2 in addition to Jamey Rootes) since there are business management components to the job?

Clearly, you don't want a group that is too larger, but you also don't one that is too narrow in focus/representation for such an important role at the University. Just some thoughts ...

1. The person (Gibbs) whose name is on the new recreation and fitness center is on the committee.

2. In addition to Rootes, Trauber, Tudor, Lynn Lafferty and Karen George are all business leaders active in the Houston community. Yes, they are all Rice alums, ex-student athletes and/or BOT members, but that only strengthens their representation.

Edit: my mistake-- Gibbs is not on the committee.

(07-10-2013 01:13 PM)07owl Wrote:  Info here: http://blog.chron.com/owls/2013/07/rice-...-director/

Interesting names

I'd actually have a difficult time coming up with a list of prospective committee members that I would prefer. This is very much a pro-athletics group. My biggest complaint would be that there are at least two members of the committee that I would like to see on the short list for the AD job itself, and their being on the committee almost certainly precludes that.

(07-12-2013 10:10 PM)CrabCake Wrote:  " Rice Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman chaired the search committee for the new athletics director. He said the committee established a number of criteria for the candidates, including honesty and integrity; the ability to represent both the university and its athletics programs well; the experience and leadership skills to help Rice's student-athletes succeed academically, athletically, personally and professionally; and the potential to foster a communitywide sense of engagement with and excitement about athletics. The athletics director also oversees recreation and fitness programs for the university."

With the benefit of hindsight, here's a swag at evaluating how those criteria stood up to time...

• honesty and integrity -- At best, those remain highly disputed
• the ability to represent both the university and its athletics programs well; -- FAIL
• the experience and leadership skills to help Rice's student-athletes succeed academically, athletically, personally and professionally; -- PASS (in spite of the alleged threat to fight the football team, I think the department did foster students' development)
• and the potential to foster a communitywide sense of engagement with and excitement about athletics -- FAIL
  

IMHO, it's much better to have highly successful people in charge in order to hire someone who has the potential to be very successful at Rice. The criteria above should be a given if they look for a true leader, but in and of themselves aren't very substantial or ambitious.

(07-12-2013 10:38 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(07-10-2013 01:13 PM)07owl Wrote:  Info here: http://blog.chron.com/owls/2013/07/rice-...-director/

Interesting names

I'd actually have a difficult time coming up with a list of prospective committee members that I would prefer. This is very much a pro-athletics group. My biggest complaint would be that there are at least two members of the committee that I would like to see on the short list for the AD job itself, and their being on the committee almost certainly precludes that.

I would hope that would not be the case if the best candidate were indeed on the committee. I won't mention the most prominent individual that took that route because of your (and virtually everyone else's) personal distaste for him.

(07-13-2013 12:38 AM)I45owl Wrote:  I would hope that would not be the case if the best candidate were indeed on the committee. I won't mention the most prominent individual that took that route because of your (and virtually everyone else's) personal distaste for him.

The same thought crossed my mind when I was posting.

(07-12-2013 04:45 PM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  

(07-12-2013 03:30 PM)Afflicted Wrote:  Well, then there must have really been some substance to the rumors that he made insensitive racial comments to some of the basketball players. Other than being a jerk, I can't see anything else that he did wrong.

Duly noted. I'm sure everyone here will give your opinion all the respect it deserves.

As they always do.

I know we all have one or two individuals that we think would have been good additions to the committee but in some cases they may have been asked but declined for various reasons (one of mine has said that he will still play a role even though he turned down the offer). In the end I am extremely satisfied with the makeup of the committee.

(07-12-2013 10:10 PM)CrabCake Wrote:  " Rice Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman chaired the search committee for the new athletics director. He said the committee established a number of criteria for the candidates, including honesty and integrity; the ability to represent both the university and its athletics programs well; the experience and leadership skills to help Rice's student-athletes succeed academically, athletically, personally and professionally; and the potential to foster a communitywide sense of engagement with and excitement about athletics. The athletics director also oversees recreation and fitness programs for the university."

1. As stated previously, I would hope that in the name of transparency and proactive communication to the Rice community that the Committee publically communicates the list of criteria to be used in the search-- upfront (within the next couple weeks) and not after the facts, once the search is completed.

2. Though one cannot question the criteria used in the last search, they are rather high-level and broadly defined. I would hope this time round the criteria identified are drilled down a bit more and are much more specific to the current Rice athletic situation (as well as addresses the uniqueness of Rice within the NCAA D-1 landscape).

Given the committee composition, I'm hopeful.