Just released an update on the AD search along with job description.

http://www.students.rice.edu/students/Athletics.asp

Text from the letter Tiki linked to

Quote:To the Rice community,

I write to update you on the search for the Rice athletics director. The committee met for the first time July 15. The purpose of the meeting was to agree on the search process and the qualities we seek in our next AD and to give our search firm, Korn/Ferry, direction in searching for candidates. Committee members and Korn/Ferry spoke with dozens of members of the Rice community seeking input. One product that resulted from those conversations and the committee's first meeting was a job specification, which is now posted here:
http://www.students.rice.edu/students/Athletics.asp

We’re on track to have someone hired by early September.

Kevin Kirby
Chair, Search Committee

I like the communication. Makes me feel like the university actually cares and values alumni buy-in.

(07-31-2013 12:31 PM)Antarius Wrote:  Text from the letter Tiki linked to

Quote:To the Rice community,

I write to update you on the search for the Rice athletics director. The committee met for the first time July 15. The purpose of the meeting was to agree on the search process and the qualities we seek in our next AD and to give our search firm, Korn/Ferry, direction in searching for candidates. Committee members and Korn/Ferry spoke with dozens of members of the Rice community seeking input. One product that resulted from those conversations and the committee's first meeting was a job specification, which is now posted here:
http://www.students.rice.edu/students/Athletics.asp

We’re on track to have someone hired by early September.

Kevin Kirby
Chair, Search Committee

I like the communication. Makes me feel like the university actually cares and values alumni buy-in.

Amazing how communications improves when there is a change.

RG just did not communicate well.

(boy is that an understatement)

(07-31-2013 01:02 PM)Memphis Owl Wrote:  

(07-31-2013 12:31 PM)Antarius Wrote:  Text from the letter Tiki linked to

Quote:To the Rice community,

I write to update you on the search for the Rice athletics director. The committee met for the first time July 15. The purpose of the meeting was to agree on the search process and the qualities we seek in our next AD and to give our search firm, Korn/Ferry, direction in searching for candidates. Committee members and Korn/Ferry spoke with dozens of members of the Rice community seeking input. One product that resulted from those conversations and the committee's first meeting was a job specification, which is now posted here:
http://www.students.rice.edu/students/Athletics.asp

We’re on track to have someone hired by early September.

Kevin Kirby
Chair, Search Committee

I like the communication. Makes me feel like the university actually cares and values alumni buy-in.

Amazing how communications improves when there is a change.

RG just did not communicate well.

(boy is that an understatement)

No, he didn't do anything well (except hire relatives and cronies).

One of the things I really liked in the job description was the note that 40% of recent BOT members had been scholarship athletes. This is a very good way to counter what outsiders may feel is a strong anti-athletic bias on the BOT.

Overall I would say this captures my feelings on what is required of our new AD. Nice to see Rice finally get it right for the second time (CDC being first).

Tiki - that assumes they actually follow the job description. All too easy to post a job description, then hire on different deciding factors or just miss some flaw entirely. And not implying that it's just a consistent Rice problem - far too easy to do in any hiring decision.

(07-31-2013 01:39 PM)gsloth Wrote:  Tiki - that assumes they actually follow the job description. All too easy to post a job description, then hire on different deciding factors or just miss some flaw entirely. And not implying that it's just a consistent Rice problem - far too easy to do in any hiring decision.

Yes, but now we have a published list of expectations that we can point to. The whole process is far more transparent. With the last round, some members here have posted that they essentially ruled people out who had big plans/ideas and would make waves.

None of this guarantees a great hire, but it sets the right tone at this time. If you shoot high and fall short, then it could be due to a mistake or just bad luck. Shoot low and you get someone like RG with no upside potential at all.

Yes. The transperancy and dialogue with the wider fan/alumni base is a refreshing change and hopefully will continue to be manifest in the athletic department going forward.

(07-31-2013 12:31 PM)Antarius Wrote:  Committee members and Korn/Ferry spoke with dozens of members of the Rice community seeking input.

Kevin Kirby
Chair, Search Committee

Just curious...Were any of the regular posters here one of the "dozens of members of the Rice community" that provided input to the search committee?

(07-31-2013 12:06 PM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  Just released an update on the AD search along with job description.

http://www.students.rice.edu/students/Athletics.asp

This is a fantastic base to start with. I'm so happy to see it put out there for everyone to read. Now time to find that right person to lead it out.

(07-31-2013 02:36 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(07-31-2013 12:31 PM)Antarius Wrote:  Committee members and Korn/Ferry spoke with dozens of members of the Rice community seeking input.

Kevin Kirby
Chair, Search Committee

Just curious...Were any of the regular posters here one of the "dozens of members of the Rice community" that provided input to the search committee?

Good question. I do know that at least a couple members of the Selection Committee are active readers of The Parliament (even if they refrain from posting). I'm sure they passed along the views expressed in the various threads on the new AD hire and, equally important, the faults perceived by the alumni base in RG.

As for the transparency and the job description, so far so good. We could not have asked for a better Selection Committee, and the job description hits all the right notes. I would have emphasized a bit more the importance of addressing the revenue issue, as well as better position Rice for future conference reallignment, but that's nit picking.

I hope "retired" A&M AD Bill Byrne will be a consideration. He is a class guy having previously been AD at Nebraska and most recently 9 years at A&M. Obviously would bring significant Big 12 connections. Maybe he would consider the challenge of a smaller Texas school with different issues.

(07-31-2013 12:06 PM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  Just released an update on the AD search along with job description.

http://www.students.rice.edu/students/Athletics.asp

Great info!

I'm impressed that we are targeting a hire date of early September. That seems to be quite aggressive.

(07-31-2013 05:40 PM)owlaggie Wrote:  I hope "retired" A&M AD Bill Byrne will be a consideration. He is a class guy having previously been AD at Nebraska and most recently 9 years at A&M. Obviously would bring significant Big 12 connections. Maybe he would consider the challenge of a smaller Texas school with different issues.

Hmm, an older AD with significant connections in realignment that was fired from his previous position. How could that go wrong?

(07-31-2013 08:49 PM)At Ease Wrote:  

(07-31-2013 05:40 PM)owlaggie Wrote:  I hope "retired" A&M AD Bill Byrne will be a consideration. He is a class guy having previously been AD at Nebraska and most recently 9 years at A&M. Obviously would bring significant Big 12 connections. Maybe he would consider the challenge of a smaller Texas school with different issues.

Hmm, an older AD with significant connections in realignment that was fired from his previous position. How could that go wrong?

+1 We don't need someone on cruise control to retirement...again.

I actually think Bill Byrne would be a great choice. His accomplishments at A&M have been substantial...new facilities and national championships everywhere. The Aggies are a dominant force in almost every sport.

remind me why Byrne got canned at A$M, please.

I didn't see anything in there about looking for a candidate who's not openly racist toward the student-athletes

(08-01-2013 09:41 AM)07owl Wrote:  I didn't see anything in there about looking for a candidate who's not openly racist toward the student-athletes

As hilarious as it would be to see that in the description, I think that would basically be an admission by Rice that it happened.

(08-01-2013 09:19 AM)davidw Wrote:  remind me why Byrne got canned at A$M, please.

Byrne was not in favor of the SEC move which was in direct opposition to the university president and majority of regents. He left quite a legacy at A&M, was a great fundraiser and was a huge supporter of non-revenue and olympic sports.