GMU, Hewitt part ways

[GMUgemini]

Unlike your logic, my logic is perfectly sound. I know our budget is about to be royally screwed. There is a place where our school could save a large chunk of money. I only profess to support the program if it is run in a manner that I deem to be financially responsible. I have never professed anything else. Wasting $85k is not financially responsible, so I won't support it.

So your logic is that since the $85k is not enough to cover the budget shortfall we should waste it anyways to be classy. Even if I bought your flawed logic that it is the proper and classy thing to do (which I don't) that still makes no sense. You don't save your way out of a big budget gap by ignoring all the little places where you could save it here and there. You find every little corner where you can save it, and $85k is a nice little corner.

When coaching candidates catch wind of the budget woes our AD is about to run into, people are going to wish we had an extra $85k laying around.

I can't wait until the school submits your plan to the legislature to close the subsidy gap: "We are going to win a lot of games in the NCAA tournament".

It's a one year charge off. So, how is that really saving money? Five years from now the fact that we paid Hewitt an extra 85k to go away in 2015 is meaningless to the conversation. You know how you can make that up? Take one guarantee game against a Duke or a UNC or a Kentucky instead of paying someone to come to the Patriot Center -- revenue saved, problem solved.

What isn't meaningless is the diminishing butts in the seats, nor is the 75/25 revenue sharing split and being shut out of the NCAA year after year -- that revenue gap just continues to grow.

If you want to know what most likely will happen given no other choice, Mason will cut 5 sports (mostly men) and reduce their budget down to a St. Louis level. That should make you really happy. But it's not going to make men's basketball any better, nor will it make our school look good to have to cut sports.

 

[wijg]

It's a one year charge off. So, how is that really saving money? Five years from now the fact that we paid Hewitt an extra 85k to go away in 2015 is meaningless to the conversation. You know how you can make that up? Take one guarantee game against a Duke or a UNC or a Kentucky instead of paying someone to come to the Patriot Center -- revenue saved, problem solved.

What isn't meaningless is the diminishing butts in the seats, nor is the 75/25 revenue sharing split and being shut out of the NCAA year after year -- that revenue gap just continues to grow.

If you want to know what most likely will happen given no other choice, Mason will cut 5 sports (mostly men) and reduce their budget down to a St. Louis level. That should make you really happy. But it's not going to make men's basketball any better, nor will it make our school look good to have to cut sports.

It boils down to, you think an additional $85k is nothing, I think it is something. I guess there is no convincing each other.

One thing worth noting, our donations already exceed our revenues from ticket sales in the 2013 budget, before the Hewitt effect took full effect. Ticket sales will eventually top out, donations is where the growth opportunity is long term.

 

[Cool Disco Dan]

I'm not looking at the $85K as savings vs a charge-off, but rather as money that can be used (in year one) to lure a new coach to Fairfax. We are going to be short on cash this year having a $650K albatross around our necks, so why make it a $735K albatross? I'd love our AD to be 'classy', but I'd prefer that they are able to offer a candidate $535K in year one, rather than $450K.

 

[GMUgemini]

I'm not looking at the $85K as savings vs a charge-off, but rather as money that can be used (in year one) to lure a new coach to Fairfax. We are going to be short on cash this year having a $650K albatross around our necks, so why make it a $735K albatross? I'd love our AD to be 'classy', but I'd prefer that they are able to offer a candidate $535K in year one, rather than $450K.

Well like I said take some guarantee games if that's a concern.

I would also encourage you to see how much Archie Miller was being paid last year as a base salary.

 

[Cool Disco Dan]

Well like I said take some guarantee games if that's a concern.

I would also encourage you to see how much Archie Miller was being paid last year as a base salary.

You might need to take guarantee games to cover as much as possible of the rest of the ~$400K-$450K.

Not sure what your point is in terms of Archie Miller's salary...Dan Hurley is making $595K; Derek Kellogg makes $990K; Shaka's salary is well north of $1M. I think Hurley's contract is probably the most comparable to our situation.

 

[GMUgemini]

My point was you don't necessarily have to spend 500,000 to attract a good coach. Shaka Smart I believe also started in the 350k range.

We will have to penny pinch for sure until we charge off Hewitts debt, but I don't think we should think we have to overpay to make a splash again.

 

[gmujim92]

My point was you don't necessarily have to spend 500,000 to attract a good coach. Shaka Smart I believe also started in the 350k range.

We will have to penny pinch for sure until we charge off Hewitts debt, but I don't think we should think we have to overpay to make a splash again.

We don't want to start the process of finding a replacement for our dipsh!t soon-to-be-former coach by announcing to the world that we'll be whoring ourselves out to P-5 schools for a few years because we're in "penny pinching" mode.

Good luck selling prospective coaching candidates and recruits on that "vision for success," Gemini.

And you're worried about the PR hit we'd take for not paying the bonus?

Fire Hewitt, add the 85K to what we can afford to pay the new guy, and voila, we've instantly made ourselves more attractive to the pool of coaches who might be interested in coming to Mason.

If you don't think so, no offense but you clearly have no idea how coaches think.

 

[GSII]

I am still baffled at the people who think damn good coaching candidates are going to be scared off by Mason firing Hewitt (if they do) before March 1st. Do you honestly believe someone looking for an A-10 job is going to turn down an interview over that?

I don't get it...

You are right. But they will question the future investment. i think we are in a good spot to sell this job to someone who wants to help build and grow this program. Of coarse we cant screw them with broken promises like Merten did.

 

[GSII]

You might need to take guarantee games to cover as much as possible of the rest of the ~$400K-$450K.

The Battle 4 Atlantis pays 2 million per school. In case we need a quick buck.

 

[Vurbel]

The Battle 4 Atlantis pays 2 million per school. In case we need a quick buck.

Would they want us?

 

[GSII]

Would they want us?

florida gulf coast and witchita state are only 2 confirmed for 2016. I doubt we get in for that year.

instead of going to fancy tournaments that pay zero, (hawaii, puerto rico, charleston, etc) we should SAVE THAT $, and get guarantee games while possibly pulling off some upsets. I believe our teams travel budget is 650k. Seems like this is something we can cut.

 

[A.-Siegfried]

Take the 85K and tell the next head coach you are using the money saved from the bonus to give him a couple of charter flights. Isn't that one of the complaints? The players don't get enough charter flights? I just got you two.....

 

[Pablo]

Take the 85K and tell the next head coach you are using the money saved from the bonus to give him a couple of charter flights. Isn't that one of the complaints? The players don't get enough charter flights? I just got you two.....

Let't just say additional commercial and charter flights to ensure a more competitive team and less classroom time missed.

 

[Scythe]

Updated the thread title so we really know when it's official

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

Also don't take the team to Spain if they can't crack ten wins anyway.

God knows how many Tapas and shit Roland Houston ate on that trip on our dime.

 

[99 Patriot]

I only profess to support the program if it is run in a manner that I deem to be financially responsible.

This is the key sentence I've seen in the latest round of this debate. I'm not trying to get into the "true fan" shit people get worked up over here, but I'm pretty sure I'd still support the program even if they gave each player a unicorn and took a charter flight from Dulles to National when we played @ GW.

 

[TwoFootTackle]

This is the key sentence I've seen in the latest round of this debate. I'm not trying to get into the "true fan" shit people get worked up over here, but I'm pretty sure I'd still support the program even if they gave each player a unicorn and took a charter flight from Dulles to National when we played @ GW.

Unicorns? They can do that? Man, I still have my NCAA eligibility. Can I walk-on as a grad student?

 

[wijg]

This is the key sentence I've seen in the latest round of this debate. I'm not trying to get into the "true fan" shit people get worked up over here, but I'm pretty sure I'd still support the program even if they gave each player a unicorn and took a charter flight from Dulles to National when we played @ GW.

Hey, at least I am honest about where I stand. I gladly accept whatever label people want to put on me, I am what I am.

If we had Duke's kind of money, I'd say Unicorns for everyone. You would think that the charter flights would be unnecessary if you had a magical beast like a unicorn, but what do I know.

But, we don't have Duke's money and we have a huge budget deficit about to hit us to the tune of close to $5M per year. I have tolerated years of what I believe to be poor financial management of our program under TOC and Merten (running more programs we really can afford to run in a successful, useful manner). We now have our new guys, that I have had great hopes for, about to waste $85k our AD is likely going to need (and the some). Sorry, it is potentially pushing me to the breaking point.

The one aspect that seems to not be discussed much, will the looming budget deficit trigger them to not fire Hewitt at all?

 

[TwoFootTackle]

Hey, at least I am honest about where I stand. I gladly accept whatever label people want to put on me, I am what I am.

If we had Duke's kind of money, I'd say Unicorns for everyone. You would think that the charter flights would be unnecessary if you had a magical beast like a unicorn, but what do I know.

But, we don't have Duke's money and we have a huge budget deficit about to hit us to the tune of close to $5M per year. I have tolerated years of what I believe to be poor financial management of our program under TOC and Merten (running more programs we really can afford to run in a successful, useful manner). We now have our new guys, that I have had great hopes for, about to waste $85k our AD is likely going to need (and the some). Sorry, it is potentially pushing me to the breaking point.

The one aspect that seems to not be discussed much, will the looming budget deficit trigger them to not fire Hewitt at all?

Everybody laughed when I said it wasn't impossible for Hewitt to be retained next year. Well, no one laughed, and in fact no one even seemed to pay attention. However, while I believe it's unlikely, I'm still not going to guarantee it until I see the press conference (or however it's announced).

 

[psyclone]

.....
The one aspect that seems to not be discussed much, will the looming budget deficit trigger them to not fire Hewitt at all?

From something I posted a couple of weeks ago on another thread on faculty buyouts that may be relevant to your question:

"One question that I have is how long a perspective the university is taking while addressing the current budget crunch, which I believe goes through 2016. The university has recently offered a "buyout" to tenure line teaching faculty 60 yrs and older that have been full-time at Mason for 10 yrs or more. Those accepting the buyout would have to agree to retire this year or next in exchange for receiving a fixed amount spread over 2 years in their retirement accounts. I believe there is a limited number of buyouts available--not every person that wants to opt for the deal will be approved to get one.

While this buyout doesn't apply to athletic dept coaches, it does demonstrate that the university is looking for ways to save money down the road, while spending more money in the short term. That might bode well for the position of cutting loose the highest paid state employee, replacing him with someone who will cost less in the long run although having to cover that person (and new assistants) next year.

Two cautionary points--Hewitt's buyout is a whole lot more than any 1 faculty member would get (probably more like 7 or 8 faculty) and the university is limiting the number of faculty that will get these. That tells me that there is limited money available to come up with buyouts even if spread over 2 years."

Perhaps Hewitt could be offered to stay to the end of the season and thus save face, collect the longevity bonus, if he would agree to spread his salary over multiple years.


If the General Assembly actually gets after the University for "wasting" money, it is not unknown for state universities to offer buyouts from time to time. This is just a way of saving money down the road (assuming a new coach would be offered less than he is making now).