Lack of change inside the AD

[UNT90]

Baker has been here 6 months now and we have yet to see the significant personnel change inside the AD that many were looking for when he took over. We also continue to see some of the same problems.

Thoughts?

Edited January 18, 2017 by UNT90

[Harry]

Just now, UNT90 said:

Baker has been here 6 months now and we have yet to see the significant personnel change inside the AD that many were going for when he took over. We also continue to see some of the same problems.

Thoughts?

Not sure this is the right time to air internal management grievances. a week or so before signing day.  I understand you are passionate about this topic, but for the good of the program let's tone things down a bit for now ok?

[emmitt01]

5 minutes ago, UNT90 said:

Baker has been here 6 months now and we have yet to see the significant personnel change inside the AD that many were looking for when he took over. We also continue to see some of the same problems.

Thoughts?

I think pizza is delicious

[UNT90]

I don't think recruits care about fans gripes about change, or lack of it, inside an athletic department. 

It's a simple question to find out what people think and how patient they will be if they do expect change. 

Why are we so scared to talk about real issues?

 

[jtm0097]

[Army of Dad]

40 minutes ago, Harry said:

Not sure this is the right time to air internal management grievances. a week or so before signing day.  I understand you are passionate about this topic, but for the good of the program let's tone things down a bit for now ok?

I think it's a fair question. The only real change made after WB's hire is to insulate himself with new upper level positions and a new ticketing manager (who, IMO, hasn't covered herself in glory. While she seems to be better than what we had that could just be damning by faint praise).

I get that some things take time, but there really hasn't been much tangible evidence available to the entire fan base that WB is achieving positive change so far. Not hope (which I understand many of you have for the first time in a long time), but actual evidence.

I also think you are really overthinking how much a potential recruit is reading the board and overvaluing how it might shape their opinion of playing here. 

[UNT90]

Recruits may read their own thread, but they aren't worried about a general thread  dealing with the ticket office and what not.

Im hoping for changes after basketball season, but it's only hope at this point.

[AustinFromUNT]

15 minutes ago, Army of Dad said:

I think it's a fair question. The only real change made after WB's hire is to insulate himself with new upper level positions and a new ticketing manager (who, IMO, hasn't covered herself in glory. While she seems to be better than what we had that could just be damning by faint praise).

I get that some things take time, but there really hasn't been much tangible evidence available to the entire fan base that WB is achieving positive change so far. Not hope (which I understand many of you have for the first time in a long time), but actual evidence.

I also think you are really overthinking how much a potential recruit is reading the board and overvaluing how it might shape their opinion of playing here. 

Change takes time. I think we'll know more about what direction he wants to go after we see our new basketball hire. Our AD needs A LOT of work, but I feel he has been handling the not-so-public stuff first that we don't necessarily see first hand, but rather just the effects of what he does.

[THOR]

35 minutes ago, AustinFromUNT said:

Change takes time. I think we'll know more about what direction he wants to go after we see our new basketball hire. Our AD needs A LOT of work, but I feel he has been handling the not-so-public stuff first that we don't necessarily see first hand, but rather just the effects of what he does.

so how long does it take to walk from the wren's office to benford's

[Aldo]

10 minutes ago, THOR said:

so how long does it take to walk from the wren's office to benford's

'bout 7-8 months

[NM Green]

Wren has mentioned a 2017 Strategy which gives me great hope.  Yes the details have not been unveiled to the public, but the fact Baker thinks strategically with long range goals, mile-markers and measurable outcomes in mind is great.  I am also encouraged by the feel that Wren does no look at this turn around as a quick fix.  Culture change takes time, energy and a slew of practices and rituals to bring about excellence.  That is what makes what SL did even more impressive.  He started building culture in the spring and helped get us to a bowl within one year.  

I don't need to see the people on the side of the road with box in hand to feel that things are changing.  I am eager to see and learn about the strategic plan and confident a solid one is being built.  We have the right guy and I am excited about the changes to come in 2017.  

GMG 

 

[UNTFan23]

10 minutes ago, THOR said:

so how long does it take to walk from the wren's office to benford's

Wren is in the Athletic Center; Benford is in the SuperPit.

[Aldo]

1 hour ago, UNT90 said:

Baker has been here 6 months now and we have yet to see the significant personnel change inside the AD that many were looking for when he took over. We also continue to see some of the same problems.

Thoughts?

While we haven't seen dramatic change, he's got a handful of his own hires he has brought in. 

Like you said, it's only been 6 months and what was left here is certainly not a quick fix. I would like to see a master plan soon if it hasn't been released yet, tho.

Or are you asking if enough people have been fired yet (from the old regime)?

Edited January 18, 2017 by Aldo

[UNT90]

2 minutes ago, Aldo said:

While we haven't seen dramatic change, he's got a handful of his own hires he has brought in. 

Like you said, it's only been 6 months and what was left here is certainly not a quick fix. I would like to see a master plan soon if it hasn't been released yet, tho.

Or are you asking if enough people have been fired yet (from the old regime)?

There was a big uproar when we were searching for an AD about a purge of the AD. That seemed to get lost shortly after Baker was hired, probably due to the start of football season. Just wondering what the silence means, if anything, and how people feel about the changes made and lack of changes made and how much time they think the evaluation process should take.

 

[UNTLifer]

8 minutes ago, NM Green said:

Wren has mentioned a 2017 Strategy which gives me great hope.  Yes the details have not been unveiled to the public, but the fact Baker thinks strategically with long range goals, mile-markers and measurable outcomes in mind is great.  I am also encouraged by the feel that Wren does no look at this turn around as a quick fix.  Culture change takes time, energy and a slew of practices and rituals to bring about excellence.  That is what makes what SL did even more impressive.  He started building culture in the spring and helped get us to a bowl within one year.  

I don't need to see the people on the side of the road with box in hand to feel that things are changing.  I am eager to see and learn about the strategic plan and confident a solid one is being built.  We have the right guy and I am excited about the changes to come in 2017.  

GMG 

 

This.  None of us know the situation RV left him to correct.  No One.  There's the old saying about the old bull and the young bull standing on a hill looking over a pasture of cows.  The young, inexperienced one is all excited and says, "Let's run down there and "have our way" with a cow."  The old one looks over, corrects the young bull and says, "Let's walk down there and have our way with all of them."  I am also encouraged that Baker came to town, put a few people in place to help with his assessment of the department and is evaluating what needs to be done.  I would expect to see some change later this spring and summer.  I think of the AD  as an iceberg.  What we see is only about 10% of what he is responsible for on a daily basis.

[Army of Dad]

5 minutes ago, Aldo said:

While we haven't seen dramatic change, he's got a handful of his own hires he has brought in. 

Like you said, it's only been 6 months and what was left here is certainly not a quick fix. I would like to see a master plan soon if it hasn't been released yet, tho.

Or are you asking if enough people have been fired yet (from the old regime)?

We haven't really seen either a master plan, if he sets measurable goals and holds people to them, or a turnover/dismissal of underperformers yet. I'll agree that 'yet' might be the key word, but so far we don't have much tangible evidence of positive change. 

I think most of us can agree he got handed the keys to a shhh show, and while Rome wasn't built in a day it wasn't built solely by talking about what the city should look like.

[Aldo]

4 minutes ago, UNT90 said:

There was a big uproar when we were searching for an AD about a purge of the AD. That seemed to get lost shortly after Baker was hired, probably due to the start of football season. Just wondering what the silence means, if anything, and how people feel about the changes made and lack of changes made and how much time they think the evaluation process should take.

 

Gotcha. No way to tell what process WB himself is implementing in terms of internal change.

At this point, the only tangible change (outside of administrative personnel moves) is direct results.

Personally, one of the direct results I would like to see is an improvement in our fundraising - especially among our CUSA peers - but that takes at the very least a cycle. 

5 minutes ago, Army of Dad said:

it wasn't built solely by talking about what the city should look like.

We talkin bout #vision?

[UNT90]

All of our big donors are in their 70s. We NEED Baker to develop alternate money sources, and quickly.

[Cr1028]

You can't really do wholesale firings because you need a minimum number of folks to get the daily work done. I'm sure they are taking their time to see who is worth keeping because hiring an outsider is a gamble too, they may be just as bad as who they replaced. I'm sure Baker will be much less apt to protect the EEs than RV was so if you have a problem with someone in particular, contact Wren and give him a name and a grievance.

[forevereagle]

It usually takes someone about 6 months to get acclimated to their new position. Wren is just now getting settled with everything. He also needs to appropriately evaluate staff, not just fire everyone. And even if he has plans to turn over most of the staff, you cannot and should not do it all at the same time. Additionally, he came in as football season and basketball season were just getting under way. Even if you don't have full confidence in your staff, starting over during a busy time of year doesn't seem prudent.

I would look for changes to start coming in the coming months. Basketball season is winding down, he has had time to evaluate staff, and knows the lay of the land and policies that are in place that he has to navigate. 

As far as Benford, the fact that he doesn't have an extension in place at this point in the season means that he isn't back next year. If there was any thought that we might bring him back, we would not allow his contract to expire. He isn't going to be here after this season, the only question now is how much longer will they let him be on the sidelines.

[MeanGreen_MBA]

2 hours ago, UNT90 said:

I don't think recruits care about fans gripes about change, or lack of it, inside an athletic department. 

It's a simple question to find out what people think and how patient they will be if they do expect change. 

Why are we so scared to talk about real issues?

 

they may or may not read this board...or care what is said on this board.  What about their parents?  Do they care?  Who knows.  But I would prefer not to test it on that.  it is hard to recruit to begin with, lets not make it harder by giving other schools the opportunity to reach out to a shared recruit and have them show them our in-fighting...  BUSI101

[GTWT]

2 minutes ago, MeanGreen_MBA said:

they may or may not read this board...or care what is said on this board.  What about their parents?  Do they care?  Who knows.  But I would prefer not to test it on that.  it is hard to recruit to begin with, lets not make it harder by giving other schools the opportunity to reach out to a shared recruit and have them show them our in-fighting...  BUSI101

Bingo!

Maybe the bad stuff doesn't have any effect on a recruit or his parents, but maybe it does.  Isn't the smart thing to not take that chance?

Is it too much to ask that we hold the negativity down at least until after signing day?

[Quoner]

Most job movement in college athletic administration happens after basketball season so you have time to interview and aren't crunching your staff to cover open positions on top of multiple seasonal sports. This thread deserves a bump in 6 weeks if nothing has changed and we haven't see the plan he said he was close to in the podcast. 

Alternative plan: post why hasn't the staff changed daily and then take credit when it does. 

[MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF]

2 hours ago, UNT90 said:

Baker has been here 6 months now and we have yet to see the significant personnel change inside the AD that many were looking for when he took over. We also continue to see some of the same problems.

Thoughts?

In the early years of the 16th century, to combat the rising tide of religious unorthodoxy, the Pope gave Cardinal Ximinez of Spain leave to move without let or hindrance throughout the land, in a reign of violence, terror and torture that makes a smashing film. This was the Spanish Inquisition.

[UNT90]

9 minutes ago, MeanGreen_MBA said:

they may or may not read this board...or care what is said on this board.  What about their parents?  Do they care?  Who knows.  But I would prefer not to test it on that.  it is hard to recruit to begin with, lets not make it harder by giving other schools the opportunity to reach out to a shared recruit and have them show them our in-fighting...  BUSI101

Do you seriously think this doesn't happen on other school's message boards? And do you seriously not understand that this would be the #1,483,652,413,826 thing opposing schools would use against UNT?

???