Why Does Everyone On Here Hate Jim Delaney?

Submitted by KennyGfanLMAO on March 6th, 2019 at 11:23 AM

Outside of thinking that Rutger and Maryland don't belong in the conference, what are the reasons Michigan fans hate the guy? I realized today that I was happy that he is retiring in 2020...but I can't list the reasons.

Either I forgot why I don't like him (I've blocked football out of my brain since we lost to OSU so this is likely), or I always just took everyone's word for it. 

Why do YOU hate Jim Delaney? 

Stay.Classy.An…

March 6th, 2019 at 11:32 AM ^

I realize that I could have easily skipped over this and I will take the negs that come along with this comment if you so choose. But why is this being discussed? Talking Cars Tuesday is super lame and even that is somehow more interesting than this....who cares what individual reasons we have for hating Jim Delaney! That's like asking the board why we hate OSU, Rick Pitino, Luke Hancock, any of the refs from the OSU game where Barrett was short, or Urban Meyer. We just do! 

Khaleke The Freak

March 6th, 2019 at 11:53 AM ^

This, his silence on all things MSU, OSU, PSU.  3 shitty circumstances at all 3 schools and no penalties imposed by the conference, just business as usual until a scandal happens at UM...

lilpenny1316

March 6th, 2019 at 11:35 AM ^

His $20 million golden parachute is a good enough reason for me.  Now if he said "F the NCAA" and distributed that money out to all the B1G athletes he profited off of over the years, I would forget every thing he did in the name of $$$

Njia

March 6th, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^

1. He's probably Beelzebub.

2. He looks like a walking penis (OTOH, at least not a flaccid one).

3. He has no interest in anything except the pursuit of money to benefit the following (in order): himself, the B1G.

4. In re: #3, he staunchly defends the status quo/sham called "amateurism" to ensure that the boot of the NCAA remains firmly on the necks of student-athletes, because God forbid that they benefit in any material sense from their own efforts beyond a scholarship; an offer of financial assistance, by the way, that comes with far more strings attached (and nonsensical ones at that) than any other sentient being on any other planet would find equitable. 

northernmich

March 6th, 2019 at 11:44 AM ^

Lmao there is no reason to hate jim Delany. People just need to find someone to hate to make themselves feel better when we don’t meet expectations. I personally think it’s hilarious when people try and think he “hates Michigan” or purposely hires ref crews that hate Michigan. Rutgers was a terrible addition to the B1G but atleast Maryland made some sense at the time.

trueblueintexas

March 6th, 2019 at 1:45 PM ^

I think there is a very good reason to be disappointed in Delany's tenure and it has nothing to do with most of the money stuff everyone is complaining about. The reality is, Delaney has kept the B1G at or near the top in revenue for 30 years. Despite that, the overall on-field/court/ice performance of the conference has declined. While money is important, it's the second part of that comment for which I don't like Delaney. 

During his tenure, the SEC became the premier football conference because he would not use his powerful seat to fight against all of the cheating and corruption which takes place in college sports. At the same time, he has not been overly tough on the teams within the conference (PSU, OSU, MSU). It's playing wrong on both ends. You don't stop the cheaters beating you and you don't stop the cheaters losing to the cheaters. At least he was consistent I guess. He added Nebraska and Penn State, two traditional power houses. They have not even sniffed a championship opportunity since they joined. He has turned what was a nationally competitive football conference (yes, big 2 little 8) into a regionally competitive football conference. That is a big fail.

During his tenure, the B1G has declined in competitiveness in basketball. Yes the B1G makes the championship game every 7-10 years, but they have not won a championship since 2000. 18 years!!! Prior to that it was 1989. One championship in 28 years in a premier sport. Not good Bob.

There has not been one Championship in Ice Hockey since the B1G conference was formed. In fairness, it has only been 6 years. But Teams that are now in the B1G won championships on a fairly regular basis and now, not. 

It would be easy to say Delaney isn't responsible for what happens on the field/court/ice. But I would argue, an athletic conference commissioner is exactly responsible for that. Despite all the money, all the TV contracts, all of the revenue, ultimately fans want to cheer for a championship. In this, Delaney has failed pretty bad. For that, I don't like him.

trueblueintexas

March 7th, 2019 at 10:03 AM ^

Everything I referenced was for the entire Big Ten, not just Michigan.

Under Delaney's watch compared to the Power 5 conferences the B1G is tied for the fewest football championships and tied for third in basketball. Conversely, the SEC and ACC have dominated during that time. 

Football

SEC: 13

ACC: 7

Big 12: 6

Pac 12: 3

B1G: 3

 

Basketball

ACC: 11

SEC: 6

Pac 12: 2

B1G: 2

Big 12: 1

Seth

March 6th, 2019 at 11:47 AM ^

Other than the front page article, Bo was convinced Delany had it out for him. Of course Bo believed in a few conspiracies, but this one might have been a self-fulfilling prophesy since some of the worst decisions came after or long after Bo made it clear he thought Delany was a Michigan-hater, but there's probably something to it since Mark Hollis was Delany's best bud and chosen successor, and that led, among other things, to the intolerable schedule imbalance. It's hard to say how far it went, but Michigan fans certainly never expected fairness for Michigan under Delany.

NittanyFan

March 6th, 2019 at 12:30 PM ^

Mark Rudner was a PR hack for the B1G conference back in the 1990s.  He's still around.  He has risen to be an associate commissioner and he definitely is a "Delany guy." 

But anything he ever said back in the 1990s was boring and non-interesting.

It all goes back to that holding call in Bo's last game, the January 1990 Rose Bowl.  Now, I think (1) it was a hold, but (2) inconsequential to the play.  Regardless the call was made, and Bo was livid, and he decided to continue being angry about it (in comments to the media) in the following days. 

That's fair enough. 

But then Jim Delany, for whatever reason, decided to chime in and reprimand Schembechler for his comments.  This despite the fact Bo wasn't going to be a Coach any more.  Shoot, Bo wasn't even going to be a representative of U-M pretty soon.  He was still AD but soon off to his new job with the Detroit Tigers.

The next summer at Media Days, Bo piped up again, this time with an ally in Gene Calhoun (the former head of B1G officials).  Calhoun had his OWN reason to be mad at Delany (Delany basically drummed him out of his job).  The topic flared up again and Rudner, at the time, was forced to make boring statements saying stuff like "'We will not respond to comments from former coaches and former conference employees.''

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-08-16-9003080807-story.html

xtramelanin

March 6th, 2019 at 12:40 PM ^

on that '90 rose bowl call, it had nothing to do with bo.  it had everything to do with the ref that threw the flag.  he was pointed out to me by greg robinson (YTGR) prior to the game as a USC [expletive].  he told me that the ref would do whatever he could to help USC win.  at the time greg was the O-coordinator at UCLA.  greg was prophetic in his warning. 

NittanyFan

March 6th, 2019 at 1:01 PM ^

Yeah, I never really understood why the Rose Bowl had mixed-B1G and Pac-10 crews during all those years.  Just find some neutral guys to bring in.

The interesting thing to me about that 1990 incident has always been "why did Delany decide to pipe in 10 days later?"  He should have just been quiet.  Let Bo vent, he was no longer a B1G Coach anyway (and heading out as AD).

But as I think about it - there was another thing that happened in December 1989.  Delany announced Penn State joining the B1G.  That was a huge splash for Delany to make in his first year in the job.  But he went about that in a politically clumsy way - he garnered the support of the University Presidents but not the ADs.  And Schembechler spoke out against that.