Brad Edwards resigns

[GMUgemini]

A tangent to this, I think some are being a little harsh on Brad. From an AD stand point, 99% of the job is how the Men's basketball team and things associated with that. The other sports, while nice for them to do well, that is just icing on the cake.

If you look at the key actions Brad has taken, I think he has done a decent job. Some key things pulled form memory and it assumes he is the key player in these:
EBA sponsorship-never saw that under previous AD
Lighting improvements at EBA
Got beer served in the arena
I think some other arena improvements as well, but could be wrong on that.
He brought DP, who while I was could on the hire for the first 24 hours, seemed to be a good choice at the time.
When it became clear that DP wasn't going to work out, and it was financially doable, he got rid of DP
He hired Kim English. On paper was a homerun. Results TBD.

He wasn't perfect (he brought in DG to sit around and take a check), but, If you evaluate his decisions at the time they were made on the big items I think he did a pretty decent job. Ultimately, though, I think he was brought in for football (he said that to me at one point) and I don't think Mason is considering football any time soon, if ever. So, at this point, I think Mason and Brad's paths have diverged.

I really like him on a personal level (he is great to talk to), so, maybe that clouds my judgement.

The locker room renovations to EBA.

And then the big one: finally got a dedicated practice facility, even if he left it unfinished. Hopefully the new AD comes in and not only gets the rest of it over the line, but it becomes twice as ambitious as the original Phase II plans.

 

[dr. gunnie]

The practice facility was not needed… Paul Hewitt said so and he would never lie to us.

We are really good at playing catch up at Mason. Rarely are we ever in the lead (except maybe with our current social media team). I would love for that to change.

In all seriousness, can anyone think of anything at Mason where you look at it compared to the rest of the A10 and say... yes, we have the best _____________ or, we are top 2 or 3 ______________ in the A10? I'm truly interested.

I know the wrestling team just opened a new wrestling room (that I'm guessing they funded all on their own), is that tops in the area?

Basketball locker rooms? They are nice, but is it top 2 or 3 in the A10? I have no idea.

 

[KAOriginal]

Should be easy to find our potential candidates.

Just have to know which check boxes "the new" Mason and Dr. Washington consider as the important criteria.......

 

[GMUgemini]

The practice facility was not needed… Paul Hewitt said so and he would never lie to us.

We are really good at playing catch up at Mason. Rarely are we ever in the lead (except maybe with our current social media team). I would love for that to change.

In all seriousness, can anyone think of anything at Mason where you look at it compared to the rest of the A10 and say... yes, we have the best _____________ or, we are top 2 or 3 ______________ in the A10? I'm truly interested.

I know the wrestling team just opened a new wrestling room (that I'm guessing they funded all on their own), is that tops in the area?

Basketball locker rooms? They are nice, but is it top 2 or 3 in the A10? I have no idea.

Probably the aquatics facility, which is why the A10 championships are held there so often.

I would guess the RAC for volleyball/wrestling is one of the best indoor non-revenue facilities as well: but that’s just a guess.

Edit: should add wrestling is in the MAC and who knows how they stack up there (the team rankings are usually near the bottom of the conference so maybe not great?)

 

[99 Patriot]

Locker room renovations
Video board at EBA
Naming rights for EBA
New lighting
Beer to the seats and for sale
First ever $2 million dollar year for the Patriot Club
Improvements to baseball field
Dedicated practice facility

No arguments that the win/loss records across the board did not meet anyone's expectations, but a lot of the items complained about on this board for years were addressed during his time. I wish him well and hope we bring in someone who excels at fundraising and driving attendance.

 

[Petey Buckets]

Locker room renovations
Video board at EBA
Naming rights for EBA
New lighting
Beer to the seats and for sale
First ever $2 million dollar year for the Patriot Club
Improvements to baseball field
Dedicated practice facility

No arguments that the win/loss records across the board did not meet anyone's expectations, but a lot of the items complained about on this board for years were addressed during his time. I wish him well and hope we bring in someone who excels at fundraising and driving attendance.

This is my take as well. I don't really know how to properly evaluate his tenure as an AD, but he picked off the low-hanging fruit his entire time here, which counts for something. I'll always appreciate how accessible he was for us, and he was a great interview as well. Thanks for the memories, now it's time to find someone who can take us to the next level.

 

[Five Two]

We need to hire someone with the last name as "Madison".
Our president's last name is Washington.
Everyone wants to call us the James Washington Colonials or the George Madison Dukes anyway.
Lets embrace it.

 

[mkaufman1]

Oh definitely don’t want anyone with the name “Paul” in their first or last name for AD.

 

[Patriotsince81]

Oh definitely don’t want anyone with the name “Paul” in their first or last name for AD.

Amen. Paul Westhead. Paul Hewitt. Dave Paulsen. Enough is enough.

 

[GreenLantern]

Amen. Paul Westhead. Paul Hewitt. Dave Paulsen. Enough is enough.

No Paul Paulson. Check

 

[gmubrian]

In all seriousness, can anyone think of anything at Mason where you look at it compared to the rest of the A10 and say... yes, we have the best _____________ or, we are top 2 or 3 ______________ in the A10? I'm truly interested.

top 2 or 3 in the A10? I have no idea.

How about coach? I know he isn't proven yet, but what other teams in the A10 would you trade coaches with?
Diversity? Didn't the university tout being the most diverse for the longest time...

The clincher though is:
Jollay.
Enough said.

 

[TweederGMU]

How about coach? I know he isn't proven yet, but what other teams in the A10 would you trade coaches with?
Diversity? Didn't the university tout being the most diverse for the longest time...

The clincher though is:
Jollay.
Enough said.

He took the loss in the George Mason Experience pretty rough. Word on the DC streets is Jollay is still recovering in a basement somewhere with 30 empty BenGay bottles and 15 empty buckets of Popeyes chicken. May need to call in a welfare check on him.

Need to clean him up and get him ready for his big AD interview.

 

[He15man]

I work closely with one of Mason's BOV members. Have had a number of convos with him about Dr. Washington and let's just say he's NOT going to rush this and bring in just anyone. KE's hiring alone focused on A LOT more than just his basketball acumen. So I have to believe the next person running the entire AD will get just as much, if not more, scrutiny than our mens basketball coach.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

I've listened to enough nonsense and enough is enough. Deep down in our hearts, we all know there's really just one choice.

As it was foretold in the Patriot Creed

I believe in one Lord Jim Larranaga,
the Begotten Son of Cuban and Irish Isles.

For our sake he suffered under O'Connor and Ruge,
he descended into Coral Gables,
and rose again in the eleventh year
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into Fairfax
and is seated at the right hand of Gregory Washington.
He will come again in glory
to judge the coaches and the fundraising
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in one Mason Nation, the recruiting of Kim English, and the glory of Mikey the Chimp.
I confess to the forgiveness of Jollay's sins (most of them)
and I look forward to the resurrection of the men's basketball program
and the A10 Championships to come. Amen.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

You MFing blasphemer. A curse of locusts, crabgrass, and overly restrictive HOA bylaws upon the lands inhabited by you and your offspring for 7 generations to come.

How about coach? I know he isn't proven yet, but what other teams in the A10 would you trade coaches with?
Diversity? Didn't the university tout being the most diverse for the longest time...

The clincher though is:
Jollay.
Enough said.

 

[patriotchild]

So given what has transpired with KE and hearing bits and pieces about the state of the AD. What’s edwards legacy at mason?

With KE being a flop, I don’t think there’s much beyond a few upgrades to facilities but I’m ignorant to the other sports.

 

[Falco]

So given what has transpired with KE and hearing bits and pieces about the state of the AD. What’s edwards legacy at mason?

With KE being a flop, I don’t think there’s much beyond a few upgrades to facilities but I’m ignorant to the other sports.

I heard Edwards hands were tied. I think he wanted to keep DP, but Jay Marsh pushed the university to KE.

 

[GMUgemini]

I wouldn’t call KE a flop. He left for a bigger job and gave Mason a $1 million so Skinn could hire Curran away from St. Bonaventure. I’d call that a win-win.

 

[EXpatriot13]

So given what has transpired with KE and hearing bits and pieces about the state of the AD. What’s edwards legacy at mason?

With KE being a flop, I don’t think there’s much beyond a few upgrades to facilities but I’m ignorant to the other sports.

At a high level, and I certainly don’t know everything, but seemed like his tenure was a lot of fluff and not a lot of substance.

Him and Green were supposed to be some dynamic fundraising duo, but other than securing naming rights for EBA, I don’t think anything else significant got done in this category.

There were also several studies, renderings/plans, and announcements for facilities upgrades over the years but most bigger projects never got off the ground:

- Soccer Stadium/T&F complex: stuck in purgatory
- Baseball Stadium: new dugouts, rest in purgatory
- Basketball Facility: stuck in purgatory
- EBA locker rooms: completed
- EBA scoreboard/lighting: completed
- Field House renovations: completed

 

[mkaufman1]

We can debate this all offseason and much of this has been said but...

Edwards at a high level took care of the things that many have deemed "low hanging fruit" that got some of our facilities and programs up to a better level (on paper). He did not hire the best coaches overall.

That said some things did improve under his watch. EBA has a video board and better lighting. Basketball programs now have their own practice facility. Social media is much improved and went from 30 second grainy practice videos (remember the bop it video with Marko years ago?), to actual legitimate content. There are various other little things that fit the improvement and the "low hanging fruit" areas. The biggest improvement and success is probably the locker room project.

That said, I don't think he completed nearly half as many things as he would have liked. Whether thats because it was Mason being Mason or he was blowing smoke, I'm not really sure.

Also, I'm certainly never going to call KE a flop. As much as he darted quickly, he also brought improvements, was engaging and also raised the expectation of what the mason program can strive to be. Just a few years ago, we didnt' think that 4 star recruits were possible, and he made it quite possible. That is expected to continue with Tony.