"The Paradox of Compulsory Fandom" Ono and M sports in Chronicle of Higher Ed
Interesting article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed today, using Santa Ono as its central subject, about the ever increasing importance of athletic departments to university operations/administration and the way it leads university presidents, in particular, into "obligatory fandom," as a professional requirement.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-cringey-fraudulence-of-obligatory-fandom?cid=gen_sign_in (registration required, believe it's free registration though)
The article reiterates the well known point that athletics are key to overall university fundraising campaigns. What's new and interesting, from a M perspective, is how much weight the regents gave to candidates' willingness to at least strategically embrace fandom in the presidential search.
According to one member of the Board of Regents that hired him for his new job, Ono’s tremendous enthusiasm for the sports teams at his various institutions was a key factor in the board’s decision. Regent Jordan Acker emphasized that Ono was a top pick for every member of the board “because of his ability to surround athletic events with joy.” [ed: clearly, clearly a reaction to Schlissel]
The author, who is a longtime M fan, positions this enthusiasm as both a strategic necessity for modern university presidents at institutions with big time sports and as something that can grow into what he calls "genuine fandom."
I wish President Ono nothing but success in his new venture, and trust that with time the enthusiasm he now displays for the Maize and Blue as a matter of professional obligation becomes as natural to him as it does to those of us who have spent decades enjoying and suffering the peculiar psychological state that is genuine fandom.
After all, we tend to become what we pretend to be — and this can be as true of fandom as of anything else.
September 2nd, 2022 at 10:07 AM ^
Sincere fandom >>>> compulsory fandom.
Ono is a rare treasure.
September 2nd, 2022 at 10:16 AM ^
I agree, but for slightly different reasons. I think President Ono is a sincere fan of college athletics, but a compulsory fan of Michigan athletics. His personal, academic, and professional history offers no reason to believe he would independently cheer for Michigan. Right now, he cheers for Michigan because it's part of his new job.
But Ono does have a record of authentic enthusiasm for college sports at all of his previous stops. Given the opportunity, I think he can to marry his general love of college athletics to his new job and be as devoted a fan as anyone here (BuckeyeChuck and NittanyFan excepted).
What I'm saying is that Ono will be a lurker on the Board in two months, a regular poster in six months, and a mod within the year.
September 2nd, 2022 at 10:24 AM ^
A good point. I think we have a similar reasoning, though I argue (below replying to myself) that this can be more instantaneous when we are "in charge" and something/someone is under our care. It's natural for non-threatened leaders to want people/things under our care and direction to succeed.
Your point still holds though, that it takes time to take in the fandom, the history, and make new memories to deepen the fanship relationship. I think a mod here in a year sounds about right given Ono's track record.
September 2nd, 2022 at 10:26 AM ^
What I'm saying is that Ono will be a lurker on the Board in two months, a regular poster in six months, and a mod within the year.
Be on the lookout for avatars with Santa or Yoko (or both).
September 2nd, 2022 at 11:29 AM ^
All HAIL the new Mod of mods!
https://twitter.com/SantaJOno/status/1565672948782202887?t=r2g6bSMwf5SVm0nEXnwnMw&s=19
September 2nd, 2022 at 5:15 PM ^
Nice tweet from the new university Pres., in response to the article.
September 2nd, 2022 at 11:32 AM ^
Well said Wallaby - I agree with your very well-articulated distinction. We all have in common that we love this guy, but semantically - you are right on about his fandom. To clarify, it is both compulsory and sincere.
September 2nd, 2022 at 12:11 PM ^
A fair enough assessment. I see it is analogous to a long time muscle car fan who just bought a 70 Chevelle SS. In fact that car would be a great analogy to the current team.
September 2nd, 2022 at 12:43 PM ^
His personal, academic, and professional history offers no reason to believe he would independently cheer for Michigan. Right now, he cheers for Michigan because it's part of his new job.
Though for all we know, Michigan's athletic success could have been a point of attraction to him, as it is for a lot of prospective students. He could have thought, "It'd be pretty cool to cheer for their teams."
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:34 PM ^
I like that reasoning.
How close is the analogy to coaches? They get hired and are immediately ALL IN for their new team, new school, new colors. Been wearing purple and white for years? Doesn't matter: now pink & chartreuse are your favorite colors, and your wardrobe proves it, dammit!
Actually, lots of good points here. I particularly like Ezeh-E's, that being in charge often leads to emotional engagement. Anyone here who's coached little kids knows the feeling: you genuinely relish every step they take learning the game, fret about their setbacks, and look for the best ways to help them improve.
September 2nd, 2022 at 10:12 AM ^
Ono did respond to state that his fandom is indeed genuine.
September 2nd, 2022 at 10:19 AM ^
What I'm saying is that Ono will be a lurker on the Board in two months, a regular poster in six months, and a mod within the year.
I'll have to accelerate my timeline. There's no way Ono's not already a lurker. He'll be dropping insider nuggets by October and be a mod by the Game.
September 2nd, 2022 at 10:30 AM ^
one of the many, many reasons that santa isn't.....lonely.
past president was eyore, but with advanced degrees.
September 2nd, 2022 at 12:08 PM ^
Advanced degrees, but remedial social skills
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:35 PM ^
Sooooooo cool.
Ono day to go!
September 2nd, 2022 at 10:14 AM ^
An interesting point, and accurate to a degree, I am sure.
I think there's a difference between being a die-hard Michigan fan, and being a fan of student-athletes as a whole.
One can be an instant fan of the student-athletes, and grow to love the uniform and the institution. But the way to express that fandom, as a university official, isn't to shout out each individual player--it's to cheer on the team. The team. The team.
I have no doubt Ono is a fan of student athletes and of college athletics as a whole. He seems to get and enjoy the joy that it brings to so many--especially the students, alumni, and fans. I imagine he'll quickly become a huge fan of Michigan as a whole, as it is under his care.
September 2nd, 2022 at 10:18 AM ^
Yes, I'm replying to myself.
Another way to think about "instant" fandom is when people/an institution/a business/a pet are under your care. When I just adopted a dog and took her to the dog park, I was a fan of her when she was chasing the other dogs. Whenever I start a new project that I'm leading, I care about that project and want it to succeed. And that's just a small project, not global institution with centuries of history. I believe that care only becomes amplified when people are the focus, rather than a pet or a project.
September 2nd, 2022 at 10:54 AM ^
Looking forward to seeing Ono sitting in the student section bare-chested with his torso painted maize and his nipples painted blue.
On second thought...
September 2nd, 2022 at 11:05 AM ^
The angle about the differences between faculty and administrators and their connections with the university is pretty irrelevant at a time when an increasing proportion of instructors on college and university campuses, in many, many cases the majority, are adjuncts with no long-term contracts or expectations of longevity at the institution. Yes, this includes Michigan. It's nice to think that faculty are tenure-track folks and remain the constant on campus, but that isn't the case anymore.
I'd love to see a major university president like Santa Ono actually talk about that instead of trying to find ways to give the team a pep-talk at halftime. It's cool he likes sports, but it feels like this discourse is happening on a different wavelength than what's actually important on a campus like Michigan's.
September 2nd, 2022 at 11:49 AM ^
At many of the "smaller" universities faculty just act like private contractors... doing their job until they can jump to that next tier. Very few actually intend to stay and put in the time & effort to build up and put in roots.
September 2nd, 2022 at 12:30 PM ^
That's not really true now, either, as there really aren't the jobs at higher tiers anymore. If you can get something, anything, you hang on for dear life. And even at that, you might be a renewable contract hire or per-term adjunct.
Also, the phrase "doing their job" implies there's something wrong with someone in academia treating their work as a job. Because it is a job.
September 2nd, 2022 at 12:30 PM ^
That's no different from any other profession, though. People are always looking for a more prestigious job, promotion, more money, better benefits, etc.
Unfortunately, the only way to get a decent raise at many universities these days is to get an offer from another school. Sometimes the school is willing/able to match the offer, other times they aren't. I can't really blame someone for jumping ship if they can get more than they are currently getting.
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:38 PM ^
Doing their JOBS.
Many non-tenure track have to scoot from school to school during the week. I've been non-tenure track and didn't have to take more than one, always worried about the toll on my colleagues.
(Also tenure track at UM-Flint.)
September 2nd, 2022 at 12:01 PM ^
I honor this take. And couldn't hope more fervently that the disjuncture between the rosy picture of university life summoned on Saturdays and the reality of students sleeping in their cars and adjuncts living in poverty for the privilege of teaching at our Michigan is something that Ono is also determined to address.
September 2nd, 2022 at 11:20 AM ^
After all, we tend to become what we pretend to be
Bullshit, I have been pretending to be generationally wealthy and in excellent physical shape for decades and it has gotten me nowhere .... well ... "round" is a shape so I'm halfway there i guess.
Also, psyched up about Ono. I think he's going to usher in a new era of athletic dominance.
I think it would be cool if Brian could get him to be a "regular" contributor (maybe a paragraph or so once a month).
September 2nd, 2022 at 11:51 AM ^
Great post. Thanks much, and will read.
September 2nd, 2022 at 11:55 AM ^
Hopefully, Santa will be able to attend the regular season finale, and share an “early Christmas present” …
September 2nd, 2022 at 12:10 PM ^
I think fandom can become sincere very quickly. When I matriculated to RPI, I knew very little about their sports programs, except that the hockey team did win the National Championship in 1985. But once I became a student, rooting for "my" teams came naturally, and it didn't take long at all to become second nature. I'm sure Ono is in a similar situation. He is (presumably) a fan of college athletics in general, but Michigan is his home now, and I'm sure his rooting interest is (or is becoming, at least) becoming very specific and very genuine.
September 2nd, 2022 at 12:41 PM ^
I don't give a shit one way or the other whether any UM president is a gung-ho sports fan, as long as he/she doesn't actively try to hamper U-M sports or the athletes who participate.
However long it lasts, Ono's tenure at U-M won't be judged by how fervently he roots for Michigan's sports teams, but by how he deals with the big problems facing U-M and higher education in general.
September 2nd, 2022 at 12:46 PM ^
Campos also just today released a book on fandom (not sure if it was mentioned in the full article):
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:11 PM ^
The title of this thread is the most Michigan thing ever.
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:12 PM ^
I was living in Cincinnati when Santa Ono was President of UC.
There's no doubt that his non-stop enthusiasm for sports and UC, and his visibility at Bearcat football & basketball games raised the profile of the school and made it a more viable candidate school (particularly vis-a-vis the 10000 pound gorilla that is Ohio State down there) in the eyes of prospective students.
That said --- I do wonder how his enthusiastic fandom will play at U-M. U-M is a different animal than UC: U-M's profile is already at an elite level as is. And there is a risk that if he's seen to be too much about sports, he'll alienate some of the academic-mined power players at Michigan. A Wolverine is a different animal than a Bearcat, and the schools are different animals too.
Ezeh-E made good points above about how the best leaders are those who (1) are non-threatened by others while (2) truly care about the folks and things under their control. There is no doubt Ono, IMO, checks the box for both of them. I think the challenge: there will be more folks who view Ono and his love for sports as a threat to them at U-M versus a UC.
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:40 PM ^
Next step for UC: rename the school THE the University of Cincinnati.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:19 PM ^
Crazy game last night. Clifford is a warrior, as always.
Also . . . he may die out there.
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:19 PM ^
Right man right time.
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:41 PM ^
Repeating myself because I love the line:
Ono day to go!
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:03 PM ^
Arguably a university president's #1 job is fundraising, so it makes sense to seek out a president who makes a concerted effort to connect with athletics, which is often, but not always, the most visible representation of a school.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:28 PM ^
Having known a couple of university presidents, the number one job of a university president is fund raising. And number two. And number three.
And successful nationally-renowned big time sports at a university are fund raising magic. There is a direct, tangible benefit to the university. A successful Athletic Department is a rainmaker for the university.
I always thought that the football players should be employees of the university . . . in the Development / Fundraising Office. Because that is their true function to the university - they are rainmakers - and it is why even elite academic universities put up with the over-the-top craziness that comes with them.
September 2nd, 2022 at 7:53 PM ^
Between this article and Ben Mathis-Lilley’s book it’s a big week for Jordan Acker mentions. Jordan, if you lurk here, good job! Also Ben, I’m enjoying the book and learning a lot.