MGB: UNT paying consultants $20,000 to evaluate program

Ryan Munthe · July 22, 2016

10 hours ago, TheTastyGreek said:

Well, now we know what the going rate is for guys to oversee and listen to a group of our fans air their grievances, and to maybe throw out some ideas about how to manage their complaints and keep them, if not happy, then pacified enough to avoid outright revolt.

Harry, I'll talk to @Cerebus, @KingDL1, @All About UNT and @Evan, and let you know how we all prefer to collect our $10,000 apiece.

Personally I think we should've had Carlos Harris do it. That way he could tell us we're all idiots and that if we haven't played a down of football we can't complain.

Travis · July 22, 2016

11 hours ago, MCMLXXX said:

What did we pay Gene Stallings? Anyone remember? For those who were not here He was hired as a consultant for our last AD hire in 2001.

We did, and we didn't follow his recommendations.

GrandGreen · July 22, 2016

Consultants are usually hired to reinforce whatever the employer wants to do. Seldom are they truly independent and in this case; I don't see the technical background that would be necessary to really provide new insight.

There is no way to determine if $20k is reasonable or not in terms of the work product. However, if it helps sell a much more aggressive approach to athletics by NT and a focal point to draw new support than it maybe indeed a bargain.

Travis · July 22, 2016

3 hours ago, UNT90 said:

I think that may be because the people who hire the consultants ignore the consultants' analysis.

Lets pray that's not the case this time.

Correct. We have done that before.

Remember when one of Gene Stallings primary recommendations was to quit scheduling body bag games and bite the bullet for a period of time because that was the only way he saw us getting to a better level... To not use money games as the way to fund a program... We followed that one very well.

UNT90 · July 22, 2016

5 minutes ago, Travis said:

Correct. We have done that before.

Remember when one of Gene Stallings primary recommendations was to quit scheduling body bag games and bite the bullet for a period of time because that was the only way he saw us getting to a better level... To not use money games as the way to fund a program... We followed that one very well.

Wasn't around for that but not surprised. The last guy did whatever made HIS job easier, not what was best for UNT athletics.

That needs to change.

Ben Gooding · July 22, 2016

25 minutes ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

I've got to get into the sports consulting business. Who wants to go with me?

$20,000.

Sheesh. Harry's site here should give them all the insight they need...and, they'd be getting it free. They should pay Harry $20,000 for already having the information on this site that the consultants will eventually come up with.

College administrators - athletic or academic, it seems - throw money out the window for obvious answers.

Here's your $20,000 answers dumbsh*t AD guys:
(1) We don't win enough, so
(2) People don't attend, and
(3) Alumni don't give to the athletic department, so
(4) We don't have any money or leverage in negotiating anything! Conferences, marketing, scheduling, etc.
(5) SEE #1

Crazy. Are they really so f*cking dumb in our AD that they have to pay someone $20,000 to tell them what everyone who follows the program already knows?

Yeah. It's truly amazing. Just another example how universities piss money away like it's growing on trees. Makes me hesitant to donate, seriously.

UNT90 · July 22, 2016

33 minutes ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

I've got to get into the sports consulting business. Who wants to go with me?

$20,000.

Sheesh. Harry's site here should give them all the insight they need...and, they'd be getting it free. They should pay Harry $20,000 for already having the information on this site that the consultants will eventually come up with.

College administrators - athletic or academic, it seems - throw money out the window for obvious answers.

Here's your $20,000 answers dumbsh*t AD guys:
(1) We don't win enough, so
(2) People don't attend, and
(3) Alumni don't give to the athletic department, so
(4) We don't have any money or leverage in negotiating anything! Conferences, marketing, scheduling, etc.
(5) SEE #1

Crazy. Are they really so f*cking dumb in our AD that they have to pay someone $20,000 to tell them what everyone who follows the program already knows?

While I agree with your concept, there are A LOT more things wrongs than you list. Many of those things are self-apparent, unless you fall victim to the excuse makers in the AD (like Hank blaming the fans for poor scheduling).

What was ABSOLUTELY needed was a full audit, both management and financial, of this AD. I hope that is where a significant portion of this $20k is being spent.

Aldo · July 22, 2016

12 minutes ago, UNT90 said:

a full audit, both management and financial, of this AD.

Exactly, it's not like they just show up and take a general look.

This is where I think the consultants will see how the employees interact with each other, management styles, communication, accountability, etc. They then make recs, but in the end it depends on the willingness of management - whether new or old - to make the change.

They make very detailed observations on the day to day environment and fit of the employees.

MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF · July 22, 2016

6 minutes ago, Aldo said:

Exactly, it's not like they just show up and take a general look.

This is where I think the consultants will see how the employees interact with each other, management styles, communication, accountability, etc. They then make recs, but in the end it depends on the willingness of management - whether new or old - to make the change.

They make very detailed observations on the day to day environment and fit of the employees.

So, it'll be more like this:

Edited July 22, 2016 by MeanGreenMailbox

UNT90 · July 22, 2016

26 minutes ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

So, it'll be more like this:

Frankly, I'm more interested in the financial audit. Poor management leads to a lot of unseemly things. UNT has had poor management in the AD's office for the last 15 years.

GrandGreen · July 22, 2016

58 minutes ago, Travis said:

Correct. We have done that before.

Remember when one of Gene Stallings primary recommendations was to quit scheduling body bag games and bite the bullet for a period of time because that was the only way he saw us getting to a better level... To not use money games as the way to fund a program... We followed that one very well.

I hope this consulting group is a lot more useful than Stallings. Other than the obvious, Trilli is a disaster; little of what Stallings' offered was new or helpful. Stallings view coming from the A&M world which was so far from the state of NT athletics at the time, that his comments and recommendations had little value.

As far as the guaranteed away games, remember that NT was scheduling several of these games every year in that time period. The out of conference schedule difficulty has actually been substantially lessoned from that time period.

ForneyGreen · July 22, 2016

1 hour ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

I've got to get into the sports consulting business. Who wants to go with me?

$20,000

Here's your $20,000 answers dumbsh*t AD guys:
(1) We don't win enough, so
(2) People don't attend, and
(3) Alumni don't give to the athletic department, so
(4) We don't have any money or leverage in negotiating anything! Conferences, marketing, scheduling, etc.
(5) SEE #1

$20,000 gets you the above information in a nice looking PowerPoint document :-)

I think we do need to spend the money to get Smatty as much info as possible so he can make the right decision. Ultimately, the success of a consultant's report isn't based on how many of the suggestions you implement - it's based on whether or not you make the right decision in the end.

MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF · July 22, 2016

1 hour ago, ForneyGreen said:

$20,000 gets you the above information in a nice looking PowerPoint document :-)

I think we do need to spend the money to get Smatty as much info as possible so he can make the right decision. Ultimately, the success of a consultant's report isn't based on how many of the suggestions you implement - it's based on whether or not you make the right decision in the end.

So...

Aldo · July 22, 2016

4 minutes ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

So...

your GIFs are not working right

MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF · July 22, 2016

3 minutes ago, Aldo said:

your GIFs are not working right

It's a youtube vid...and, it's working in Firefox. Not sure what you're running.

Wag Tag · July 22, 2016

3 hours ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

I've got to get into the sports consulting business. Who wants to go with me?

$20,000.

Sheesh. Harry's site here should give them all the insight they need...and, they'd be getting it free. They should pay Harry $20,000 for already having the information on this site that the consultants will eventually come up with.

College administrators - athletic or academic, it seems - throw money out the window for obvious answers.

Here's your $20,000 answers dumbsh*t AD guys:
(1) We don't win enough, so
(2) People don't attend, and
(3) Alumni don't give to the athletic department, so
(4) We don't have any money or leverage in negotiating anything! Conferences, marketing, scheduling, etc.
(5) SEE #1

Crazy. Are they really so f*cking dumb in our AD that they have to pay someone $20,000 to tell them what everyone who follows the program already knows?

As your hired consultant I would advise you , Don't leave your current job! Invoice n the mail!

Edited July 22, 2016 by Wag Tag

Aldo · July 22, 2016

14 minutes ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

It's a youtube vid

what's that

greenminer · July 22, 2016

$20K?

meanrob · July 23, 2016

On July 22, 2016 at 10:09 AM, Aldo said:

Exactly, it's not like they just show up and take a general look.

This is where I think the consultants will see how the employees interact with each other, management styles, communication, accountability, etc. They then make recs, but in the end it depends on the willingness of management - whether new or old - to make the change.

They make very detailed observations on the day to day environment and fit of the employees.

Call me crazy but isn't that the new ADs job?

UNT90 · July 24, 2016

17 hours ago, meanrob said:

Call me crazy but isn't that the new ADs job?

The more that can be cleaned up before he gets here, the easier his job Will be

Aldo · July 25, 2016

On 7/23/2016 at 3:56 PM, meanrob said:

Call me crazy but isn't that the new ADs job?

Not sure where you're going with it, but that's why the consultants are here in the first place.

meanrob · July 25, 2016

3 hours ago, Aldo said:

Not sure where you're going with it, but that's why the consultants are here in the first place.

I was referring to the evaluation of current employees.

Aldo · July 25, 2016

5 minutes ago, meanrob said:

I was referring to the evaluation of current employees.

whoops didn't see the word "new" in your comment.

If I showed up to a dysfunctional org that needed an overhaul, and someone slapped down a report detailing what's working, what's not, what's been goings on, I'd be much appreciative.

UNT90 · July 25, 2016

33 minutes ago, Aldo said:

whoops didn't see the word "new" in your comment.

If I showed up to a dysfunctional org that needed an overhaul, and someone slapped down a report detailing what's working, what's not, what's been goings on, I'd be much appreciative.

And if many of the problems were know about by the university president, it would also give the new AD a much easier path to dismiss employees or make other needed changes.

meanrob · July 25, 2016

1 hour ago, Aldo said:

whoops didn't see the word "new" in your comment.

If I showed up to a dysfunctional org that needed an overhaul, and someone slapped down a report detailing what's working, what's not, what's been goings on, I'd be much appreciative.

I wouldn't. In fact I'd question what my authority truly was and the changes I'd be able to make. What if the audit says the ticket manager and marketing (just an example) is great but the new AD already has other people in mind for that position? How does a business consultant know how an athletic department operates? Our athletic department doesn't even know how a good athletic department operates. That's why we are hiring somebody to come in and fix it.

The only way this makes any sense if the audit is financial in nature. Otherwise it seems pointless to me. There's no way we are hiring a business consultant who is the son of one of our donors to come in and try to fix an athletic department. On the cheap no less.

Trying to not get worked up over something that is probably nothing, but this whole thing is off to a lousy start in my opinion. Just make a good hire and let the man or woman do their job. This thing won't get fixed overnight.