ray ratto tears texas a new one for the herman firing
https://defector.com/texas-has-discovered-a-new-level-of-f-u-money/
$, but the money shot:
The rational view is that universities the size of Texas aren’t universities at all but football teams with libraries attached like mobile homes.
is a dead-flat perfect description of the way ohio state, clemson, and alabama treat their football teams.
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:39 PM ^
This is absolutely a false comparison. It implies that a major university can't do two things at once. It is not like the same people are working on new research facilities and athletic facilities and time woking on one takes away time from the other. Put another way, if a self-funded athletic department (as UM's is in most non-COVID years) detracts from the research mission of the University, then so does having an English department.
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:49 PM ^
Oh, man. Let's hear this one. How does an English department distract from the research mission of the university?
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:11 PM ^
how does an English department distract from the research mission of the university?
Completely misses the point...
Let me break it down for you in understandable chunks.
1. The notion/suggestion being discussed is does sports detract from a university's primary mission.
2. In turn, @M-GO-Beek cites the fact that M's AD is self-sustaining. It doesn't take funds from the university which would impact the teaching and/or research aspect. Heck, the UofM AD even reimburses the university for the cost of aid-in-kind. One of the few schools in the nation which does that.
So blaming the AD here for getting in the way of the university is not at all accurate. M can, and should (with our business model and resources), have both.
3. So @M-GO-Beek suggests that if people are going to take shots at a department which is completely self sustaining, as distracting from the overall mission, then one could make that [ridiculous] argument about ANY department within the university.
Of course an English department does not detract from scholarly pursuits. In the context of @M-GO-Beek's post, it could be said, insert any department here _________. They just happened to choose English.
That's a ridiculous takeaway from @M-GO-Beek's post.
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:33 PM ^
Being self-funding isn’t the be all end all and you can have distractions beyond that.
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:38 PM ^
Said another way, even if the English department loses money, or whatever department you want to pick, the research/teaching mission of the English department is always enhanced by having a robust [pick department]. That is not always the same for sports and I think is evidenced by the unique place sports have in the American education system. Even self-funding ADs can at times prove to be distractions and have negative consequences/result in universities taking image hits.
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:03 PM ^
I agree, but spending the most money on something doesn't always mean it's the best.
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:16 PM ^
Unfortunately the best fans aren't a part of that equation.
January 3rd, 2021 at 3:31 PM ^
I don't think anyone sees a 'problem with TRYING to be the best at everything' in this case..but damn is it even possible? No one has done it at CFB...
I think it comes down to this..those Universities that take the greats pride in their Academic reputation struggle to come around to fully embrace the dirty underworld of Championship level CFB. Whereas some are willing to go that route in CBB (Duke, Arizona, etc). I mean it looks like OSU completely sold its soul under Tressel and for the fans and coaches (even through multiple scandals) it has paid off dearly. It seems UM alum and faculty are not willing to go all in to win in CFB and that's a dilemma that no other highly esteemed academic institution has solved either.
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:24 AM ^
Please, let us never go there.
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:18 PM ^
You think Michigan is a completely clean program? Were you here for the Fab 5?
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:45 PM ^
You do realize that was a non-Michigan booster....30 yrs ago. Your school has had fired 3 football coaches in disgrace since then. (Yes, Meyer was fired but the parties sought to save face)
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:04 PM ^
A non Michigan booster? Seriously?
And yet, a Michigan coach knew all about a notorious bookie giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to players.
but the tattoos for trophies is so much worse.
look deeper homer.
all schools have this stuff go on...and if you think Michigan is on par with University of Chicago with it’s high moral ground, then I seriously have to question your intelligence.
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:15 PM ^
Where were you when the school put up pictures of Ed Martin in the facilities with a caption of do not associate with this man?
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:28 PM ^
They only put up signs after shit was starting to leak out. Martin had been associating himself with the basketball team for ten years at that point.
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:40 PM ^
Temporal concerns aside, and I'm NOT making excuses for the University, but is it possible to police a student-athlete 24/7?
What could Michigan have done to keep Webber from taking the money?
This is not Cam Netwon's dad negotiating a transfer fee a la UEFA. Or explicitly paying Zion Williamson.
...and like XM mentioned in a post, the bill came due for Michigan. We lost 15 years recovering from that scandal.
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:45 PM ^
What could OSU have done to keep Pryor and those others from selling their own merchandise?
We didnt lose 15 years because of that. We lost 15 years because we hired Elerbe and Amaker and had some of the worst facilities in the Big Ten.
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:51 PM ^
Nothing.
I could give two shits about tattoo gate.
Tattoo gate is not bagmen either.
That's bullshit the toxic part of this fanbase holds on to when Ohio State fills up half of Michigan Stadium every other year and kicks our ass every year.
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:22 PM ^
Frank, deal with it. You guys sold your soul to the devil to beat us in football. It worked, but please don’t kid yourself into thinking your school is anything other than academic joke as it relates to athletes. Yes there are a few that are smart, that’s great. Yes some of Michigan‘s kids might not be Phi beta kappa. The bottom line is you guys are the SEC, congratulations for your success. Remember, the bill will come due at some point.
January 3rd, 2021 at 2:43 PM ^
XM, thanks for seeing the correct point here. Michigan will never become an athletic machine with a library attached. That is the true bottom line here.
Michigan, as an organization designed by and comprised of women and men, will never be perfect. And we have made mistakes and will also in the future. But that does not mean that we should stop striving for the ideal in this instance.
The knee jerk reaction of many to point to past failings when the desire is expressed to pursue the ideal belies the guilt of other institutions that they try to deny or hide in pursuit of other goals. In this regard, there is a chasm between Michigan and OSU, not millimeters.
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:30 PM ^
"Non Michigan booster" my ass. The dude had season tickets for years and had been steering guys to Michigan for years. Why can our fans not just not admit it?
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:48 PM ^
By NCAA definition we are all boosters.
I'm not going to speak for others, but for me, yes, Ed Martin was a booster.
Was Ed Martin on the University's payroll a la SEC? No. That's where I draw the line.
I have also been very outspoken about the Fab 5 scandal, to the tune of a couple of thousand negative points.
January 3rd, 2021 at 2:14 PM ^
We must all be honest that there is a level of impropriety in almost every program.
if someone can draw a line in the sand and say that at a certain level, it is not acceptable, I applaud you.
most fans, however, draw that line a millimeter above where their program is.
January 3rd, 2021 at 2:36 PM ^
i think i remember you having the occasional non-trolling post so i will appeal to that. today if you had said something like, 'my school is winning like crazy, but yeah, we're the SEC of the B10' and then hypothesized that michigan might have some dirt under our skirt your reception here might be much different. your team is at maximum cheat which is what makes you trolling here (without your confession of same) such a waste of your time.
and the best you have today is a 30 yr old scandal in a different sport. come on. do guys at michigan get a $100 handshake sometimes? i don't know for certain but i'd bet they do. but that is like comparing small arms fire (us) to nuclear warfare (ohio).
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:25 AM ^
I'm curious
If someone tears you a new one, do I have to wait 18 years to have sex with that tear, or can I hit it right away?
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:18 PM ^
This user has been reported to the horny police.
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:00 PM ^
where is Faux Mo when you need him
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
Maizenbrew had an article bashing the current state of college football coach buyouts.
The mains gist is while Tom Herman gets paid $15M to not coach and his staff an additional $9M, 273 athletic department staff members received temporary salary reductions, 11 staff members furloughed, 35 staff members laid off, and they terminated 35 vacant positions.
Granted most, if not all, of that money comes from boosters but that is still a whole lot of cash.
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:47 AM ^
The 273 staff who received temporary salary reductions was because of Herman’s buyout? And terminating vacant positions seems like a good idea.
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:59 AM ^
Seriously. Is there not one single oil tycoon in Texas who might be interested in springing for faculty pay raises? You know, as gratitude for their educational experiences at UT-A?
No?
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:18 PM ^
They already have, but this is their "fun money" or "I buy what I like money", and they want to see wins, B12 titles and don't give a damn that professor Smith get a 5% raise vs. the regular 2%.
And since it is their money, they have every right to spend as they see fit, just like Stephen Ross and Al Glick and Nicki and J. Ira Harris have done. I sure as hell wouldn't want a university telling me where I should allocate my GIFT to them.
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:07 PM ^
No but it does seem pretty absurd to pay one person $15M (plus $9M for another 8-9 people) not to work when the rest of the entire athletic department (over 300 people) are getting crushed. Especially when you consider they fired a guy who just won their bowl game and they are replacing him with someone who has a worse career record and questionable off-the-field history.
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
Cant wait to watch this thread turn into people rationalizing Michigan football mediocrity through academic chest-puffing.
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:27 AM ^
Edit poor joke, blame it on me being a cunt
My sincerest apologies
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:33 AM ^
Seems excessive
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:20 PM ^
Tearing one aside, Michfan777 is right though. I mean this forum has already gone down the road of looking down their noses at "online U"...
...even though Michigan (even before COVID) DOES THE EXACT SAME THING!
So yeah, academic puffery is a thing among this (toxic) fanbase. Heck, it was WD's go to shtick vis-a-vis with Ohio State before he got banned.
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
This is and I despise this quip,”spot-on!”
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:34 AM ^
Why use a quip that you despise when there are probably 10 or more equivalent quips that say the same thing? (A few that immediately come to kind: right on, on point, hits the nail on the head, aptly stated, ?, on the money...)
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:29 PM ^
Oh. I thought that was an attack command to Dick & Jane's dog: "Spot! On!"
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:09 PM ^
You prefer Mona Lisa Vito's "dead on balls accurate"?
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:36 AM ^
Ray Ratto - sounds like a mob defector name from Goodfellas. For those who don't know, a quick google search reveals him as a San Fran area sports writer.
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:43 AM ^
Ray Ratto obviously knew the details of the Billy Batts murder and told the Gambinos
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:47 AM ^
Yea. They were a bunch of Pallies
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:47 AM ^
He used to occasionally do a guest post/column for Deadspin. Enjoyed his work there. Never read his regular column.
January 3rd, 2021 at 11:56 AM ^
Last I checked, this was America. If you want to prioritize football, that's fine. If you want to prioritize academics, that's also fine.
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^
Not only that, interest in good academics and good athletics aren't mutually exclusive. A Nobel laureate might enjoy watching volleyball. A star soccer player may enjoy reading about advances in microbiology. A leading economics scholar may be fiercely devoted to baseball. A champion wrestler may love reading James Baldwin.
As for the athletic department, specific complaints may or may not be accurate, but overall Michigan teams excel. UM usually comes in high in the Director's Cup ranking, and that's without Stanford's boost of country-club sports.
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:03 PM ^
I could be wrong but I think that he would have been retained had he handled the "Eyes of Texas" controversy differently. A lot of old school money down there seemed upset with his approach whereas I actually think he was brave.
January 3rd, 2021 at 1:12 PM ^
A lot of that old school money would have probably grumbled less about the "Eyes" controversy had the Longhorns been playing on TV this past Friday.
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:04 PM ^
Maybe Tejas were just cowards to continue to let Herman keep coaching.
I mean, that's what Herbstreit thought.
Go Blue.
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:07 PM ^
So is the solution to burn it all down?
January 3rd, 2021 at 12:11 PM ^
I don't get the mobile home bit. That's all some people can afford and it's certainly better than wasting money on rent for some people. Maybe I just missed the point.