(05-21-2021 10:24 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(05-21-2021 08:44 PM)BigLuke Wrote:  I’ve always liked Karlgaard but my respect for him diminished somewhat when I attended a baseball game in March and someone had complained that for a minute or two between eating and drinking, I had temporarily removed my mask (keep in mind that this was in a socially, distanced, outdoors setting after we all had our vacs). Anyway, five of the campus police Mask Nazis physically removed me from the stadium, took me outside, threw my face to the concrete, handcuffed me, locked me in a patrol car for fifteen minutes, locked me in the Rice jail for another fifteen minutes, and finally let me go after they discovered the hundreds of thousands of dollars I have contributed to Rice athletics. Joe did give me an audience with his top staff the next morning, but he excused the harsh reaction of his police on the fact that I somewhat overstated my very high dollar contributions to the university. Sorry, Joe, after being treated like George Floyd, I’m no longer the major supporter of you I once was.

I would simply tell Joe that he has gotten his last nickel from me.

Ditto that. And to Leebron as well. Bobby T., too. Actions have consequences.

(05-23-2021 03:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 02:54 PM)75src Wrote:  Then UH President from India has a better understanding of what sucessful sports can do to promote the University.

(05-23-2021 11:34 AM)owl40 Wrote:  I’ve spoken to Leebron in the past. He is supportive of Rice Athletics and even more supportive of the student-athletes themselves. That is not the problem. Given how many on Rice faculty are likely in his ear about Athletics in a negative context, probably safe to assume that he sees himself much more ‘pro-athletics’ than this Board does.

What Rice needs is not a President that is a supporter by attending games, re-tweeting successes, approving ‘biz as usual’ budgets, etc.. What Rice needs is a President that sees a) Athletics as a game changer for the broader goals of the institution and b) sees that the current conference affiliation plus major sports are in-the-ditch and need radical change vs. ‘support’. That requires leadership and courage for big changes w/out the support of the broader stakeholders sans a few on the BoT.

It is unlikely that this radical approach is going to happen on Leebron’s watch so my guess is that w/ the current AD, Coaches, C-USA, etc., we are going to get ‘more of the same.’ Each year the pot of water will warm a few degrees and the apathy net will continue to get cast wider and wider until nobody is left to care. Maybe a Sunbelt merger will be final nail in coffin for that?

The UH President from India has an mega-donor alum who has singlehandedly bankrolled the athletic department and programs.

Thank God Rice doesn't need a mega-donor. It has $6 billion of it's own cash in hand.

(05-23-2021 05:01 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 03:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 02:54 PM)75src Wrote:  Then UH President from India has a better understanding of what sucessful sports can do to promote the University.

(05-23-2021 11:34 AM)owl40 Wrote:  I’ve spoken to Leebron in the past. He is supportive of Rice Athletics and even more supportive of the student-athletes themselves. That is not the problem. Given how many on Rice faculty are likely in his ear about Athletics in a negative context, probably safe to assume that he sees himself much more ‘pro-athletics’ than this Board does.

What Rice needs is not a President that is a supporter by attending games, re-tweeting successes, approving ‘biz as usual’ budgets, etc.. What Rice needs is a President that sees a) Athletics as a game changer for the broader goals of the institution and b) sees that the current conference affiliation plus major sports are in-the-ditch and need radical change vs. ‘support’. That requires leadership and courage for big changes w/out the support of the broader stakeholders sans a few on the BoT.

It is unlikely that this radical approach is going to happen on Leebron’s watch so my guess is that w/ the current AD, Coaches, C-USA, etc., we are going to get ‘more of the same.’ Each year the pot of water will warm a few degrees and the apathy net will continue to get cast wider and wider until nobody is left to care. Maybe a Sunbelt merger will be final nail in coffin for that?

The UH President from India has an mega-donor alum who has singlehandedly bankrolled the athletic department and programs.

Thank God Rice doesn't need a mega-donor. It has $6 billion of it's own cash in hand.

Rice doesn’t have $6B in cash.. Yes, we have a lot of money but a lot of the money is in 1) non-liquid assets and/or 2) endowments with specific uses.

(05-23-2021 04:42 PM)Ricefootballnet Wrote:  

(05-21-2021 10:24 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(05-21-2021 08:44 PM)BigLuke Wrote:  I’ve always liked Karlgaard but my respect for him diminished somewhat when I attended a baseball game in March and someone had complained that for a minute or two between eating and drinking, I had temporarily removed my mask (keep in mind that this was in a socially, distanced, outdoors setting after we all had our vacs). Anyway, five of the campus police Mask Nazis physically removed me from the stadium, took me outside, threw my face to the concrete, handcuffed me, locked me in a patrol car for fifteen minutes, locked me in the Rice jail for another fifteen minutes, and finally let me go after they discovered the hundreds of thousands of dollars I have contributed to Rice athletics. Joe did give me an audience with his top staff the next morning, but he excused the harsh reaction of his police on the fact that I somewhat overstated my very high dollar contributions to the university. Sorry, Joe, after being treated like George Floyd, I’m no longer the major supporter of you I once was.

I would simply tell Joe that he has gotten his last nickel from me.

Ditto that. And to Leebron as well. Bobby T., too. Actions have consequences.

Wow I didn’t realize that was you. Thank goodness they kept the stands safe from socially distanced humans while undoubtedly throughout the city there were robberies, assaults, rapes and murders..
You know, the stuff police and government used to care about.

(05-23-2021 05:40 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 05:01 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 03:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 02:54 PM)75src Wrote:  Then UH President from India has a better understanding of what sucessful sports can do to promote the University.

(05-23-2021 11:34 AM)owl40 Wrote:  I’ve spoken to Leebron in the past. He is supportive of Rice Athletics and even more supportive of the student-athletes themselves. That is not the problem. Given how many on Rice faculty are likely in his ear about Athletics in a negative context, probably safe to assume that he sees himself much more ‘pro-athletics’ than this Board does.

What Rice needs is not a President that is a supporter by attending games, re-tweeting successes, approving ‘biz as usual’ budgets, etc.. What Rice needs is a President that sees a) Athletics as a game changer for the broader goals of the institution and b) sees that the current conference affiliation plus major sports are in-the-ditch and need radical change vs. ‘support’. That requires leadership and courage for big changes w/out the support of the broader stakeholders sans a few on the BoT.

It is unlikely that this radical approach is going to happen on Leebron’s watch so my guess is that w/ the current AD, Coaches, C-USA, etc., we are going to get ‘more of the same.’ Each year the pot of water will warm a few degrees and the apathy net will continue to get cast wider and wider until nobody is left to care. Maybe a Sunbelt merger will be final nail in coffin for that?

The UH President from India has an mega-donor alum who has singlehandedly bankrolled the athletic department and programs.

Thank God Rice doesn't need a mega-donor. It has $6 billion of it's own cash in hand.

Rice doesn’t have $6B in cash.. Yes, we have a lot of money but a lot of the money is in 1) non-liquid assets and/or 2) endowments with specific uses.

That may be the case, but the university has more than enough money on hand to spend on whatever purposes it wishes. If not, it can access that cash very quickly. Simply stated, it has more than enough to make up for it's lack of athletics donors.

(05-23-2021 11:28 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 05:40 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 05:01 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 03:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 02:54 PM)75src Wrote:  Then UH President from India has a better understanding of what sucessful sports can do to promote the University.

The UH President from India has an mega-donor alum who has singlehandedly bankrolled the athletic department and programs.

Thank God Rice doesn't need a mega-donor. It has $6 billion of it's own cash in hand.

Rice doesn’t have $6B in cash.. Yes, we have a lot of money but a lot of the money is in 1) non-liquid assets and/or 2) endowments with specific uses.

That may be the case, but the university has more than enough money on hand to spend on whatever purposes it wishes. If not, it can access that cash very quickly. Simply stated, it has more than enough to make up for it's lack of athletics donors.

Only if you completely disregard the fiduciary duty of the BOT.

(05-24-2021 07:55 AM)tanqtonic Wrote:  Only if you completely disregard the fiduciary duty of the BOT.

Exactly.

My mother's first alma mater, and my sister-in-law's, just discontinued operations after 183 years because they ran out of money. Rice is nowhere near that, but spending imprudently over a long period could create problems.

That's why the BOT cannot just write blank checks for athletics without a reasonable plan for a ROI on the investment. As for those who say that Leebron or the BOT should develop such a plan, athletics is at best a secondary concern of Leebron, and Rice in general is at best a secondary concern of the BOT members. That is the AD's job, and the one we have isn't doing that. A bunch of platitudes with no viable roadmap how to get there is not a plan.

(05-24-2021 07:55 AM)tanqtonic Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 11:28 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 05:40 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 05:01 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 03:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  The UH President from India has an mega-donor alum who has singlehandedly bankrolled the athletic department and programs.

Thank God Rice doesn't need a mega-donor. It has $6 billion of it's own cash in hand.

Rice doesn’t have $6B in cash.. Yes, we have a lot of money but a lot of the money is in 1) non-liquid assets and/or 2) endowments with specific uses.

That may be the case, but the university has more than enough money on hand to spend on whatever purposes it wishes. If not, it can access that cash very quickly. Simply stated, it has more than enough to make up for it's lack of athletics donors.

Only if you completely disregard the fiduciary duty of the BOT.

Correct, the point being that hundreds of millions can be accessed by that body in a matter of weeks.

(05-23-2021 02:54 PM)75src Wrote:  Then UH President from India has a better understanding of what sucessful sports can do to promote the University.

(05-23-2021 11:34 AM)owl40 Wrote:  I’ve spoken to Leebron in the past. He is supportive of Rice Athletics and even more supportive of the student-athletes themselves. That is not the problem. Given how many on Rice faculty are likely in his ear about Athletics in a negative context, probably safe to assume that he sees himself much more ‘pro-athletics’ than this Board does.

What Rice needs is not a President that is a supporter by attending games, re-tweeting successes, approving ‘biz as usual’ budgets, etc.. What Rice needs is a President that sees a) Athletics as a game changer for the broader goals of the institution and b) sees that the current conference affiliation plus major sports are in-the-ditch and need radical change vs. ‘support’. That requires leadership and courage for big changes w/out the support of the broader stakeholders sans a few on the BoT.

It is unlikely that this radical approach is going to happen on Leebron’s watch so my guess is that w/ the current AD, Coaches, C-USA, etc., we are going to get ‘more of the same.’ Each year the pot of water will warm a few degrees and the apathy net will continue to get cast wider and wider until nobody is left to care. Maybe a Sunbelt merger will be final nail in coffin for that?

The UH President from India has been living in the United States for 45 years or so and that fact probably has a far great impact on her beliefs regarding the potential benefits of college sports.

(05-24-2021 10:09 AM)mrbig Wrote:  The UH President from India has been living in the United States for 45 years or so and that fact probably has a far great impact on her beliefs regarding the potential benefits of college sports.

Sure, but so too have OUR Presidents. The point is that they selected someone who fit more than one bill. In addition to understanding the significance of athletics in Houston, she is female and ethnically diverse. Rice does seem to have a penchant for selecting people who are very good in some areas and woefully weak in others... while not seeking to cover those weak spots with other hires.

I don't know what the title is, but perhaps if we select another President from a school where athletics are a 'hobby' as opposed to part of the culture of the entire region, he should have someone in his ear who understands the culture and is empowered to act or at least given a lot of deference. Similarly on the ADs side, we seem to often have 'fundraising' or 'administrative' or 'connection' guys, but we don't have guys who can do that, and also make consistently great coaching hires. Creating ad hoc committees is great, but almost by definition these people are behind the times and subject to 'common' conversation (meaning they will hear what everyone else is hearing... and tend to hire whom everyone else is hiring).

Athletics at places like Harvard (or Columbia) are a means towards increasing their racial diversity and a social club for alumni. They are not a community outreach nor a national or regional spotlight. I'd like to see our next President come from a place like Michigan or UNC where academics are quite strong, but athletics are a key part of the University function. Isn't it arguably harder to be academically elite at a State institution where you have all sorts of mandates about admissions and massive enrollments?

Good point.

Too many Rice presidents are one-trick ponies.

(05-24-2021 10:26 AM)Hambone10 Wrote:  Athletics at places like Harvard (or Columbia) are a means towards increasing their racial diversity and a social club for alumni. They are not a community outreach nor a national or regional spotlight.

Rice has never been big on community outreach or a national or regional spotlight. Except in recent years, maybe the isolated project here and there to demonstrate its wokeness.

(05-24-2021 10:26 AM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(05-24-2021 10:09 AM)mrbig Wrote:  The UH President from India has been living in the United States for 45 years or so and that fact probably has a far great impact on her beliefs regarding the potential benefits of college sports.

Sure, but so too have OUR Presidents. The point is that they selected someone who fit more than one bill. In addition to understanding the significance of athletics in Houston, she is female and ethnically diverse. Rice does seem to have a penchant for selecting people who are very good in some areas and woefully weak in others... while not seeking to cover those weak spots with other hires.

I don't know what the title is, but perhaps if we select another President from a school where athletics are a 'hobby' as opposed to part of the culture of the entire region, he should have someone in his ear who understands the culture and is empowered to act or at least given a lot of deference. Similarly on the ADs side, we seem to often have 'fundraising' or 'administrative' or 'connection' guys, but we don't have guys who can do that, and also make consistently great coaching hires. Creating ad hoc committees is great, but almost by definition these people are behind the times and subject to 'common' conversation (meaning they will hear what everyone else is hearing... and tend to hire whom everyone else is hiring).

Athletics at places like Harvard (or Columbia) are a means towards increasing their racial diversity and a social club for alumni. They are not a community outreach nor a national or regional spotlight. I'd like to see our next President come from a place like Michigan or UNC where academics are quite strong, but athletics are a key part of the University function. Isn't it arguably harder to be academically elite at a State institution where you have all sorts of mandates about admissions and massive enrollments?

Last time we hired a President we made an investment in a MUCH better living situation and salary expectations to find better nationally up and coming candidates. The problem is that investment yielded 1 president who has done a mediocre job --- mainly because he refuses to leave. 10 years should be absolute max for that position. Time for someone else to have a turn.

Once Leebron struck out on the Baylor Med deal, he has been pretty much furniture. I still say that once rejected by Baylor Med, the proper next step would have been to start our own. Given the level of dissension and turmoil at Baylor Med at the time, it should have been very doable.

(05-24-2021 02:31 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Once Leebron struck out on the Baylor Med deal, he has been pretty much furniture. I still say that once rejected by Baylor Med, the proper next step would have been to start our own. Given the level of dissension and turmoil at Baylor Med at the time, it should have been very doable.

Rejected by Baylor? Are you sure that's what went down?

(05-24-2021 02:38 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  

(05-24-2021 02:31 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Once Leebron struck out on the Baylor Med deal, he has been pretty much furniture. I still say that once rejected by Baylor Med, the proper next step would have been to start our own. Given the level of dissension and turmoil at Baylor Med at the time, it should have been very doable.

Rejected by Baylor? Are you sure that's what went down?

It is likely that Baylor would have rejected it, but they never got the chance. We backed out of the deal after due diligence of the financials.

(05-24-2021 03:42 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(05-24-2021 02:38 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  

(05-24-2021 02:31 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Once Leebron struck out on the Baylor Med deal, he has been pretty much furniture. I still say that once rejected by Baylor Med, the proper next step would have been to start our own. Given the level of dissension and turmoil at Baylor Med at the time, it should have been very doable.

Rejected by Baylor? Are you sure that's what went down?

It is likely that Baylor would have rejected it, but they never got the chance. We backed out of the deal after due diligence of the financials.

Either way, the fact that we didn't go forward with our own med school after the deal fell through has always seemed a mistake to me.

And I remember that it was almost a lead pipe certainty that Baylor Med would have rejected the deal. I seem to recall something about Baylor University having some sort of veto over the deal.

Isn't it higher then $6B, more in the range of $7 to $8B?

(05-23-2021 05:40 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 05:01 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 03:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(05-23-2021 02:54 PM)75src Wrote:  Then UH President from India has a better understanding of what sucessful sports can do to promote the University.

(05-23-2021 11:34 AM)owl40 Wrote:  I’ve spoken to Leebron in the past. He is supportive of Rice Athletics and even more supportive of the student-athletes themselves. That is not the problem. Given how many on Rice faculty are likely in his ear about Athletics in a negative context, probably safe to assume that he sees himself much more ‘pro-athletics’ than this Board does.

What Rice needs is not a President that is a supporter by attending games, re-tweeting successes, approving ‘biz as usual’ budgets, etc.. What Rice needs is a President that sees a) Athletics as a game changer for the broader goals of the institution and b) sees that the current conference affiliation plus major sports are in-the-ditch and need radical change vs. ‘support’. That requires leadership and courage for big changes w/out the support of the broader stakeholders sans a few on the BoT.

It is unlikely that this radical approach is going to happen on Leebron’s watch so my guess is that w/ the current AD, Coaches, C-USA, etc., we are going to get ‘more of the same.’ Each year the pot of water will warm a few degrees and the apathy net will continue to get cast wider and wider until nobody is left to care. Maybe a Sunbelt merger will be final nail in coffin for that?

The UH President from India has an mega-donor alum who has singlehandedly bankrolled the athletic department and programs.

Thank God Rice doesn't need a mega-donor. It has $6 billion of it's own cash in hand.

Rice doesn’t have $6B in cash.. Yes, we have a lot of money but a lot of the money is in 1) non-liquid assets and/or 2) endowments with specific uses.

$6.164B as of 6/30/20.

I expect it's quite a bit higher now given the market performance over the last year, but we'll find that out soon.

https://investments.rice.edu/sites/g/fil...0FINAL.pdf