Athletic Director Tom O'Connor Announces Retirement

[A.-Siegfried]

If it is, somebody broke it and we need to find out who.

Seriously, I don't think it's a stretch when you consider what Siegfried was referencing -- funding (or lack thereof) for facilities improvements and other upgrades that would help us be more competitive across the board.

As noted earlier in this thread, Mason has always done more with less. Hell, we can't even come up with the cash to give our baseball program a decent facility; obviously more needs to be done on the fundraising end.

Whether that means we're "broke" is likely open to how you define "broke."

This is a great point. I define broke as the inability to improve your lot in life. Mason's athletic department, in my opinion, by that definition, is broke. Baseball upgrades? What happened to them? That's just one example.

Remember how it was said the RAC was perfect for the basketball teams because they could go in and get up shots anytime they wanted? The Athletic Department no longer controls the RAC.

Here are the hours of operation for the upcoming week. Sure hope the guys don't want to get some shots up at night...

Saturday5/17 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Sunday5/18 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Monday5/19 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Tuesday5/20 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Wednesday5/21 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Thursday5/22 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Friday5/23 12:00pm - 8:00pm

I guess this is what you mean by "more with less? (not a shot at you Jim...just backing up your point)

 

[gmujim92]

Remember how it was said the RAC was perfect for the basketball teams because they could go in and get up shots anytime they wanted? The Athletic Department no longer controls the RAC.

Here are the hours of operation for the upcoming week. Sure hope the guys don't want to get some shots up at night...

Saturday5/17 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Sunday5/18 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Monday5/19 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Tuesday5/20 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Wednesday5/21 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Thursday5/22 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Friday5/23 12:00pm - 8:00pm

If this is true -- and I have no reason to doubt that it is -- then somebody needs to wake the F up.

Aside from lack of money to build a practice facility, the most common reply to anyone expressing a desire for Mason to build one is "We basically already have one that suits our needs. Hewitt even said the RAC was fine."

Well, if our basketball players don't have keys to that building and can only go shoot or get in a workout during the hours the RAC is open to the rest of the student body, that's not even close to what we'd get from a dedicated practice facility.

We are supposed to be encouraging our players to put in extra work on their skills, and I highly doubt any of them have a key to the Patriot Center.

 

[Pablo]

We are supposed to be encouraging our players to put in extra work on their skills, and I highly doubt any of them have a key to the Patriot Center.

http://www.gomason.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=206309267&DB_OEM_ID=25200

"Arledge is showing signs of being a workaholic. He's taken the expression 'living in the gym' literally. He hits the Patriot Center late at night for extra shooting and running the stairs. He brings his books and sometimes has slept in the locker room 'because it's so late and I don't feel like walking back to my dorm room.'"

 

[GSII]

If they let Otto Porter shoot around after business hours, im sure any Mason bball player can whenever they want. Hewitt isnt that lost.

 

[Pablo]

If they let Otto Porter shoot around after business hours, im sure any Mason bball player can whenever they want. Hewitt isnt that lost.

One of our posters (who previously worked at the RAC), discussed the fact that the RAC has a fixed schedule and is locked at night. Should this cause anyone to infer that the athletic department is "broke".

So, players use the Patriot Center to practice at night. Seriously, are any of the players disappointed in the combination of the Patriot Center and RAC as practice facilities? Perhaps, the relatives of the players who post on this board could comment?

 

[A.-Siegfried]

Sure...I bet the guys will be able to use the Patriot Center a ton in the coming weeks...

....you know with all those HS graduations taking place there. I absolutely believe there are times when both the players and coaching staff are a bit frustrated with the inability to use either the RAC or Patriot Center at night for days at a time. The guys can go between noon and 8pm and shoot...but not after.

Point is, this is exactly the problem the university has. The RAC WAS perfect for the basketball teams, when they could use it whenever they wanted (i.e "have keys to it"). But the Department doesn't control it any longer. And the money isn't there to fix the problem of not having a dedicated area for guys to get shots up whenever they want.

I've been anti practice facility because I don't feel the money is there. Same reason I'm anti football at this point as well.

Guys, it's time to wake up. The Athletic Department is not flush with cash and until they get some big time corporate dollars that is our reality. Wasn't it already determined that even if they felt it was time to move on from Hewitt they really couldn't afford it? So if they can't afford to buy out the contract...why exactly do we think they have any money?

 

[GMUgemini]

Siegfried, your definition of broke is different than most people's. If we were truly broke we'd be bleeding money and be forced to either raise student fees or cut sports, because our AD would be raiding the university's general funds to make up for huge shortfalls.

Having said that, we could use more funding for all of our sports, and could start by endowing more scholarships. Right now we have 25 endowed scholarships (according to the Patriot Club website
http://gomason.cstv.com/boosters/patriot-club-athletic-funds.html). Obviously getting people to commit to a minimum of $25,000 a year for five years is a little bit difficult.

There's no school in the A-10 that is "flush with cash," not even everyone's darling vcu -- remember, they've had to continually raise student fees to fund Shaka's salary increases.

A question for you, if the athletic department doesn't control the RAC, who does -- student affairs?

 

[GSII]

Wasn't it already determined that even if they felt it was time to move on from Hewitt they really couldn't afford it? So if they can't afford to buy out the contract...why exactly do we think they have any money?

If so, then how can we afford to honor the incentives in his contract? Looking closely at it, you can see, if we are broke, that we'd be royally screwed if the team got over a 3.0 gpa, went to the NIT, and won 20 games this year. The money to buy him out is there. It's just budgeted for his incentives in case he has a super season. And since he hasn't one yet, one would think that many has accumlated over the years.

 

[Five Two]

I believe the athletic dept needs more money.

As for the RAC, school is out of session for the summer. My assumption is that these guys aren't on campus, so the hours of operation don't concern me. Now, if we start hearing players complain they can't get workouts in because of the schedule at the RAC, then that's a problem.

 

[psyclone]

If so, then how can we afford to honor the incentives in his contract? Looking closely at it, you can see, if we are broke, that we'd be royally screwed if the team got over a 3.0 gpa, went to the NIT, and won 20 games this year. The money to buy him out is there. It's just budgeted for his incentives in case he has a super season. And since he hasn't one yet, one would think that many has accumlated over the years.

My guess is that the University puts aside some discretionary money to cover things like the coach's incentives, money to keep top faculty who get offers to go elsewhere, opportunity to hire someone who has a shot to win the Nobel prize in a couple of years (as they did in hiring Buchanan and Smith), etc. Things that aren't formally on budget lines in the beginning of the fiscal year. Naturally a 2 year buy-out would eat up a lot of that discretionary budget and give the university less flexibility in responding to other emergencies/opportunities.

 

[GSII]

My guess is that the University puts aside some discretionary money to cover things like the coach's incentives, money to keep top faculty who get offers to go elsewhere, opportunity to hire someone who has a shot to win the Nobel prize in a couple of years (as they did in hiring Buchanan and Smith), etc. Things that aren't formally on budget lines in the beginning of the fiscal year. Naturally a 2 year buy-out would eat up a lot of that discretionary budget and give the university less flexibility in responding to other emergencies/opportunities.

So you think they would gamble against the incentives by not budgeting all potential expenses? Not at penny tight GMU.

 

[Cool Disco Dan]

Google: "Alan Merten golden parachute" $1.8M

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

Oh s###!! Are people saying the basketball team won't be able to "take a few shots" at the RAC after 8pm in mid-May when they just finished exams???

Our plight is hopeless. Might as well go to Copeseys and get blazed.

 

[A.-Siegfried]

I'll leave it at this for my final post on this matter.

Pablo didn't want to take my word on the department being basically broke. So fine, don't take my word on it. But I don't think you'll get anyone in the athletic department to say the financial situation for Mason at this point is even close to optimal. Or passable.

I'll stand by it. Mason is in dire need of financial help.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

Are you saying Mason as a University is in financial hurt or the athletic department?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[Walter]

I'll leave it at this for my final post on this matter.

Pablo didn't want to take my word on the department being basically broke. So fine, don't take my word on it. But I don't think you'll get anyone in the athletic department to say the financial situation for Mason at this point is even close to optimal. Or passable.

I'll stand by it. Mason is in dire need of financial help.

I am guessing every employee at every university in every department will say the same. They always want more.

 

[gmubball09]

Can't they use the field house any time they want?

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

I really, really agree with TOC. I want to upgrade the baseball facilities bad. They have long since deserved it.

Even though the financial rewards could perhaps be greater elsewhere, that is my #1 thing I want done as a donor.

 

[GSII]

I really, really agree with TOC. I want to upgrade the baseball facilities bad. They have long since deserved it.

Even though the financial rewards could perhaps be greater elsewhere, that is my #1 thing I want done as a donor.

I guess Merten took those 6 900k checks from the AD?

 

[dr. gunnie]

How our staff sells these kids on Mason with the facilities we have is beyond me. The plans of the new facitilty are outstanding (wish they included lights) - just need to pull the trigger and get it done.

http://www.vmdo.com/project.php?ID=84