Comprehensive List of all of Maturi's F Ups/Shortcomings

[sonnygarcia]

I really want to go in-depth here. I can name some big ones off the top of my head but would love everyone's input to really get a comprehensive list of all of them. I will update with post with your feedback and make sure the list goes to Mr. Kahler in an email on July 1st:

1) Extending Monson, soon after Firing Monson
2) Hiring a Used Car Salesman to run a BT Football Program
3) Extending Mason, soon after Firing Mason
4) Jimmy Williams lawsuit
5) Golf Dept lawsuit currently going on
6) Proclaiming all sports are equally important
7) Borton's contract and mess of a woman's Basketball program
8) Inability to secure Donor Dollars (because Maturi is an idiot)

Football = Sucks
Basketball = Sucks
Hockey = Sucks
WBB = Sucks

How does he still have a job?


Your turn to add to the list.....

 

[Ole]

Here's mine from an earlier thread. You hit on a few, I'll edit out the overlap
"
Should I list the idiotic/spineless moves he's made?

Poor execution of TCF Bank gameday(the empty tailgating lots are dumbfounding to me, keep the price low, fill them up and THEN raise the price, gameday atmosphere is better, buzz is better)
Royce White/Mbakwe suspensions(I don't disagree with Royce, but it was handled so spinelessly)
Extending Brewster, then firing
By all accounts fing up FBall coaching search, falling ass backwards into Kill who seems right now to look good
Golf coach hiring guy who EVERYBODY told him not to hire

THEN there's the media soundbites/quotes
the CONSTANT badger loving(At Madison this year during halftime he was an absolute traitor, disgraceful in his love for Madison and Camp Randall and all things Badger related)
the CONSTANT non revenue sports/directors cup bragging(yes this is bragging for Joel)
the "I'm not having any fun anymore" quotes
the "Tubby smith hiring for Fball coach"

 

[gopher7]

Just the general mediocrity by our major sports is why Maturi is failing as A.D. IMO. By my count there have been 18 football/basketball seasons completed (or almost completed) by the Gophers, and of those 18 seasons we have just 1 top 25 finish to speak of (football was 17 in 2003). That is horrible. How many other BCS universities have totals that low during that same span? It can't be many. Even in hockey, things were going great when he got here but it has been mostly a slow decline ever since.

Joel may be a good accountant, but when you are the AD of a public Big Ten university you need to know how to pull the strings that will allow you to succeed in big name sports and we are not doing it. Doing well in football & basketball gets you national recognition, which leads to better recruits, more national TV appearances, and ultimately more money. At some point these lack of results have to come back to him.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

I really want to go in-depth here. I can name some big ones off the top of my head but would love everyone's input to really get a comprehensive list of all of them. I will update with post with your feedback and make sure the list goes to Mr. Kahler in an email on July 1st:

1) Extending Monson, soon after Firing Monson
2) Hiring a Used Car Salesman to run a BT Football Program
3) Extending Mason, soon after Firing Mason
4) Jimmy Williams lawsuit
5) Golf Dept lawsuit currently going on
6) Proclaiming all sports are equally important7) Borton's contract and mess of a woman's Basketball program
8) Inability to secure Donor Dollars (because Maturi is an idiot)

Football = Sucks
Basketball = Sucks
Hockey = Sucks

WBB = Sucks

How does he still have a job?


Your turn to add to the list.....

Maturi is merely doing his best to follow the Mission Statement of the AD. Part of that states to "Become the model Division 1-A program in the country" and to create "an environment that enable student-athletes to achieve excellence in their academic and athletic pursuits."

I believe the statement was in effect when he was hired. There is no question, Maturi has taken great pride and effort to see that all programs are given his full attention expected from Buininks and the Regents.

Just saying.

 

[Maximus]

I really want to go in-depth here. I can name some big ones off the top of my head but would love everyone's input to really get a comprehensive list of all of them. I will update with post with your feedback and make sure the list goes to Mr. Kahler in an email on July 1st:

1) Extending Monson, soon after Firing Monson

He didn't extended Monson's contract.

2) Hiring a Used Car Salesman to run a BT Football Program

Hmm...in the middle of year three, you had a different opinion:

Oct. 20, 2009: "There will be no drop off next year and the young talent we have will make some big strides. The year after, when our young O line recruits beef up and the young D prospects have a full year of being starters, I fully expect us to have a break out year."

4) Jimmy Williams lawsuit

That's on Tubby

5) Golf Dept lawsuit currently going on

Innocent until proven guilty? Nope.

6) Proclaiming all sports are equally important

That's what he was hired to do.

7) Borton's contract and mess of a woman's Basketball program

Has an NCAA Tournament win in the last 3 years unlike the HOF coach also housed in that arena. Two big time recruits coming in next year.

8) Inability to secure Donor Dollars (because Maturi is an idiot)

So Maturi privately contributed the 90 million dollars for the stadium himself. Maybe he's not such a bad guy.

In 2007 Ohio State announced plans for a 22 million dollar practice facility. In May 2010 they had raised 4.6 million of it.

--------------

He should've fired Mason after the Virginia game and fired Monson after that NIT loss.

 

[howeda7]

To sum it up in one point: When it comes to success in the major sports, Maturi feels like an obstacle that must be overcome rather than an asset. And that's now how a school should have to feel about its Athletic Director

 

[1983]

If there was an IQ test for you people to measure what you know about running an athletic department, you would score idiot level. Why can't some of you research your "facts" before exposing your idiot IQ.

 

[Go4Broke]

There is one thing we do know about Joel Maturi's future as AD. Very few (if any) of the people who will decide on his contract extension read or care about what is said in GopherHole about Maturi. They have their own agendas and and they look very little like the agendas of Maturi haters. By all accounts Bob Bruininks is a huge supporter of Maturi. There is very little reason to believe the New Guy won't feel the same way about him. Deal with it. You have no other choice.

 

[Lakeville Goldy]

For me, the near firing of Monson, then not firing, then firing a few games into the following season was inexcusable. Mason was a lot tougher call. He has (hopefully not for long) the best winning percentage since Bierman (yes, better than Warmath, though not by much and against inferior opponents). Yes, you could see the writing on the wall with his recruiting, but it's tough to fire the best coach you've had in 40 years. Also, the "Tubby Smith-like hire" quote will live in infamy.

Hiring Brewster was in retrospect a HUGE mistake, but extending his contract was a bigger mistake. Honestly, from what I had heard from a player on the team I couldn't believe Brew hadn't been dismissed for breach of contract due to insubordination on several occasions IN FRONT OF THE TEAM! It really made me wonder how much self-respect Maturi had. He let Brew call him an idiot and less pleasant things in front of the team. And you extend the contract of that person???

 

[Go4Broke]

He let Brew call him an idiot and less pleasant things in front of the team. And you extend the contract of that person???

You are making the same mistake as 95% of GopherHolers. Most people assume the U's AD has the final say on hiring and firing decisions. Nothing could be further from the truth. Bob Bruinink's fingerprints have been all over every coaching hiring and firing since he became President. Particularly, the Mason fiasco. You people really need to start getting a clue about how things work at the U. The AD is an employee who is just one voice among many about important Athletics Department issues. This has been the situation at the U for more than 40 years, and it is not going to change no matter who is hired to replace Maturi.

 

[oleboy41]

In major college sports its about winning and losing and in the only sports that matter, the only sports that the general public cares about, the only sports that get shown on non obscure TV channels, the U has been a laughingstock during his tenure. This means he's done a poor job IMO. Maturi needs to be removed and fresh blood needs to take over

 

[RodentRampage]

Mason wasn't the best coach we had in 40 years. Cal Stoll's average Big Ten finish was #5, Mason's was 6.6. (Gutekunst averaged 6.5) Stoll gave us our last 6 win Big Ten season, and his final three seasons were the last where we had three consecutive non-winning seasons. We haven't had more than two consecutive Big Ten seasons at .500 or better. Mason had a better overall record, but Stoll's Gophers played vastly touger non-conference schedules. Only one year did Stoll's Gophers play as few as one BCS team.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

In major college sports its about winning and losing and in the only sports that matter, the only sports that the general public cares about, the only sports that get shown on non obscure TV channels, the U has been a laughingstock during his tenure. This means he's done a poor job IMO. Maturi needs to be removed and fresh blood needs to take over

Maturi is held accountable to making the UM "Become the model Division 1-A program in the country." as stated in the Mission Statement. That includes all sports, men and womens. Until they change it, rowing is just as important as football in making that happen. The UM has enjoyed a high standing in the national rankings for a number of years.

As much as I would like to see new leadership in the AD, Maturi's dismissal is unlikely unless President Elect Kaler has someone else in mind.

 

[oleboy41]

Maturi is held accountable to making the UM "Become the model Division 1-A program in the country." as stated in the Mission Statement. That includes all sports, men and womens. Until they change it, rowing is just as important as football in making that happen. The UM has enjoyed a high standing in the national rankings for a number of years.

As much as I would like to see new leadership in the AD, Maturi's dismissal is unlikely unless President Elect Kaler has someone else in mind.

If the U's vision for the 'model' program does not include high levels of success first and foremost in the two major money makers and the 2 sports that bring more applications and donations then they have a different definition of success than the rest of the country. Nobody is trying to model MN's athletic department despite our success in non revenue sports. By my and most other people's definition, having the model program includes success in the 2 most important sports

 

[sonnygarcia]

Hmm...in the middle of year three, you had a different opinion:

Oct. 20, 2009: "There will be no drop off next year and the young talent we have will make some big strides. The year after, when our young O line recruits beef up and the young D prospects have a full year of being starters, I fully expect us to have a break out year.".

Trying to be hopeful about the team I cheer for? ---> OK I admit it, I'm guilty. Oh, and thanks for going back to Oct 2009 in my posting history to pull this up. Thats 15 minutes of your life you'll never get back.

That's on Tubby.

No, it's not. Poor communication to the MBB coach about who and how he can hire is not Tubby's fault; and the reasoning for Tubby not being able to hire Williams is just as laughable.

Innocent until proven guilty? Nope.

Who said anything about innocence? It is what it is, a black eye on another program, clearly something is going on there, weather the jury agrees isn't my point. My point is that these hirings (Harris hired son in-law) were allowed to happen and Maturi never stepped in and did anything to correct the situation, now we are in another lawsuit. The AD doesn't have any responsibility in this?

That's what he was hired to do..

Here is some advice, guy. If you're in charge of an Ath. Dept in an environment where the big dollars and 99% of the attention goes to FB and BB, don't come out and say you place as much importance on rowing as you do FB. That's something that's better left unsaid so your fan base doesn't have to hear it.

Has an NCAA Tournament win in the last 3 years unlike the HOF coach also housed in that arena. Two big time recruits coming in next year.

So you're good with the current state of WBB and what Borton has done during her tenure? Good stuff there.

So Maturi privately contributed the 90 million dollars for the stadium himself. Maybe he's not such a bad guy.

Instead of making pointless comments, maybe you could back up your feelings with some actual facts. Oh wait.....

 

[sonnygarcia]

If there was an IQ test for you people to measure what you know about running an athletic department, you would score idiot level. Why can't some of you research your "facts" before exposing your idiot IQ.

Says the Kool Aid drinker himself. All is well in Dinkytown according to Jay, let's extend him for another 5......

 

[GopherFan75]

Saying we will spend big on the coaching search and ending up with a coach who was barely above average in the MAC.

 

[Ole]

There is one thing we do know about Joel Maturi's future as AD. Very few (if any) of the people who will decide on his contract extension read or care about what is said in GopherHole about Maturi. They have their own agendas and and they look very little like the agendas of Maturi haters. By all accounts Bob Bruininks is a huge supporter of Maturi. There is very little reason to believe the New Guy won't feel the same way about him. Deal with it. You have no other choice.

Wrong.
We can stop donating to a program that employs a spineless and idiotic AD(already happening)
We can stop supporting the U athletics dept(Never for me since I personally love Gophers sports, but others already have)
We can complain and yell and scream every time Maturi's spineless badger face/name/reputation comes up.

If the administration doesn't care about winning then they should tell us, fold up shop and join the University of Chicago as a non sports member of the Big Ten.

 

[Rouser4eVA]

To sum it up in one point: When it comes to success in the major sports, Maturi feels like an obstacle that must be overcome rather than an asset. And that's now how a school should have to feel about its Athletic Director

But you're not a school. You're a message board poster. How the U of MN feels about its athletic director is what should guide its decision-making.

Personally, I don't get the venom for Maturi. Yeah, his football coach hire four years ago fizzled and his basketball coach has inexplicably fizzled as well (is that his fault? And spare me the practice facility talk as it relates to on-court performance this year). His hockey program has been fizzling, but is showing a pulse once again after an inexcusable down cycle. I'm not saying its turned the corner, but would you have fired Lucia already after a couple of down years? Sounds a little knee-jerk to me.

We're all entitled to our opinions, and I respect that many posters here have serious frustrations with Maturi. I just don't agree.



Go Gophers!

 

[Ole]

But you're not a school. You're a message board poster. How the U of MN feels about its athletic director is what should guide its decision-making.

Personally, I don't get the venom for Maturi. Yeah, his football coach hire four years ago fizzled and his basketball coach has inexplicably fizzled as well (is that his fault? And spare me the practice facility talk as it relates to on-court performance this year). His hockey program has been fizzling, but is showing a pulse once again after an inexcusable down cycle. I'm not saying its turned the corner, but would you have fired Lucia already after a couple of down years? Sounds a little knee-jerk to me.

We're all entitled to our opinions, and I respect that many posters here have serious frustrations with Maturi. I just don't agree.



Go Gophers!

Ok, in light of the fizzling, why do you think he is deserving of an extension?
Honestly where are all these Maturi supporters coming from, I haven't met one person who follows gopher sports that has said anything good about Maturi in a few years.
Keeping the books is bare minimum, you can hire a real accountant to do a better job of that than Maturi has and it would be cheaper.
He's the AD to make decisions involving the sports programs at the U, nothing else.

 

[Meyerchiro34]

We could have spent a few million more on the sports if Maturi didn't have 3 head football coaches on the payrole and have a couple lawsuits to drain the money. Way to many mistakes to keep him around.

 

[Mustang Mountain Man]

If there was an IQ test for you people to measure what you know about running an athletic department, you would score idiot level. Why can't some of you research your "facts" before exposing your idiot IQ.

+1

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

If the U's vision for the 'model' program does not include high levels of success first and foremost in the two major money makers and the 2 sports that bring more applications and donations then they have a different definition of success than the rest of the country. Nobody is trying to model MN's athletic department despite our success in non revenue sports. By my and most other people's definition, having the model program includes success in the 2 most important sports

I suppose you could lobby to have the model changed to say football and hoops rule and the others are own their own. Good luck with that. In the meantime, it is what it is and JM continues to go with it.

We all know that Maturi has missed the mark during his tenure with football and hoops success and recently with mens hockey. That does not diminish the fact that the program has had overall success which is part of his resume and, I would assume, an integral part of his evaluation and his job description.

 

[GoAUpher]

Hiring Brewster was in retrospect a HUGE mistake, but extending his contract was a bigger mistake.

I'm not going to get into the worth of extending a coach who disrespects his AD. I've not seen documented explanations of what was or was not said so I choose to look at the extension from a dollars and cents perspective.

And in that regard the execution of the extension was actually pretty darn good. Joel managed to save the U a little money on the deal while giving the appearance of more stability. Had he fired Brew after the '09 season the U would have owed him $800K (base salary of $400K times 2 years remaining). The extension reduced the buyout to $200K times the number of years remaining which means they owed him for about 1/2 of 2010 plus $600K for the last 3 years of the extended contract. The amount saved isn't big enough to matter if they really wanted to fire him at the end of '09. But if they weren't sure about that decision and wanted to give him 1 more season while still protecting recruiting (which appears to be the case) then I'm not sure how they could have done much better.

I've got plenty of beefs with Maturi's time at the U. The Brew extension definitely isn't one of them.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

More on Brewsters buy-out.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4891587

 

[howeda7]

But you're not a school. You're a message board poster. How the U of MN feels about its athletic director is what should guide its decision-making.

Personally, I don't get the venom for Maturi. Yeah, his football coach hire four years ago fizzled and his basketball coach has inexplicably fizzled as well (is that his fault? And spare me the practice facility talk as it relates to on-court performance this year). His hockey program has been fizzling, but is showing a pulse once again after an inexcusable down cycle. I'm not saying its turned the corner, but would you have fired Lucia already after a couple of down years? Sounds a little knee-jerk to me.

We're all entitled to our opinions, and I respect that many posters here have serious frustrations with Maturi. I just don't agree.



Go Gophers!

I'm not a school. But I would hope that the school and its fans want the same thing from their athletic teams most of the time. Sadly that is not always the case, especially at Minnesota.

To be clear the frustration is not just with Maturi but with the Admin. as a whole. But I refuse to accept the 'Poor Joel cannot be held responsible for anything because he has superiors' excuse either. I know he has people above him that make his job more difficult to do, but so do most people. All the more reason we need a strong AD who will go to battle with those folks when necessary and not simply, smile, nod and accept the next Women's Rowing accolade tossed his way.

Just because he's done a good job keeping the department in the black does not make him a good AD. That is the most basic part of the job description of every AD. It does not excuse the butchering of Monson's firing/not firing/firing or the timing of Mason's firing, even if ordered from above. Nor does it excuse the PR disaster that was Kill's hiring, even if the result may have turned out OK, or the various mis-handling of situation after situation with the basketball program. When it comes to the hiring/firing of major coaches and general PR, Maturi is just shy of a train-wreck, IMO and we need better.

 

[Rouser4eVA]

Sorry, this is long, but if you enjoy rational discourse, read on...

Ok, in light of the fizzling, why do you think he is deserving of an extension?

I never said he was deserving of an extension. I just don't get the vicious nature of his detractors, as if he is the reason we lose games. Do I think someone else can do better? I don't think I'm qualified to even guess, but on a rational level, I just don't see a reason to harpoon Maturi for the under-performance of our revenue sports when he's doing many things the right way.
Take a look at the competitive placement of his program during his tenure:

Directors Cup Standings
09-10: 18th Nationally 3rd Big Ten
08-09: 14th Nationally 3rd Big Ten
07-08: 28th Nationally 5th Big Ten
06-07: 20th Nationally 4th Big Ten
05-06: 16th Nationally 3rd Big Ten
04-05: 22nd Nationally 5th Big Ten
03-04: 20th Nationally 4th Big Ten
02-03: 11th Nationally 4th Big Ten

The only athletic departments performing above Minnesota during Maturi's tenure have been Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. Wisconsin occasionally finished ahead of us, but as a department, the department performed in the top 4 in the Big Ten on a consistent basis. He is doing more than just balancing the budget; his program is performing in the top 4 consistently when all sports are taken into consideration. He's balanced a budget without the powerhouse football program that Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan have achieved.

I'm sorry. If I'm looking for someone to be mad at about under-performance of the revenue sports at the University of Minnesota, I'm just wanting to be mad, because clearly, his athletic program as a whole performs well. Not the best, but well.

I'm like all of you. I want to be the best. I want Gopher championships and titles and all those warm fuzzies that come with my alma mater's success. But I don't feel the need to bash a guy who has done a lot with a little (meaning the lack of success in football and the subsequent harm it has caused Maturi's department in both cash and perception). Is it his fault he hired Brewster? Yup, sure is! But was he the first to get it wrong at Minnesota? NOPE! And did he wait too long to correct it? Not if common sense prevails. He needed to give Brewster 4 years to see if he was worth his salt, and the modest extension he gave him at least gave the potential recruits a semblance of reassurance that Brewster would remain the coach.

Gosh, I'm going too long here. I've got many more thoughts (rational ones) concerning why Maturi doesn't deserve such harsh criticism. Does he deserve an extension? Not if Prexy Kahler has got a ringer up his sleeve that can make us Ohio State, Michigan or Penn State (or Nebraska) in terms of competitive football and a dominant all around program. But is Maturi a liability? I haven't seen evidence that HE is the problem.

Go Gophers!

 

[GoGophers2005]

Jesus people...Maturi's made mistakes and I bet he'd be the first person to admit it if you asked him.

I don't think the anti-Maturi people on this Earth understand the hoops he jumped through to get TCF Bank stadium built. That was a full time job on top of his AD duties. In a State that didn't want to open its pocket books for any stadiums, he and the administration got TCF Bank Stadium built before Target Field and the mighty Vikings.

Also, I think you all need to take his talk about the director's cup and non-revenue sports with a grain of salt. He knows more than anyone what pays for what and what is more important to the overall health of the department. I think some forget that just as much as we want every dollar to go towards a new basketball practice facility there are people out there with large wallets that want their $$ to go towards women's soccer (Cowles) and Maturi is aware of that.

Lastly, Is there an AD in the B10 that we should be holding in such high regard where we trash Maturi? Certainly not Michigan's or Illinois. Not Iowa. Not Indiana. OSU? Maybe. Overall I think they all have made mistakes or have their priorities not exactly where most fans want them to be.

 

[mplsbadger]

Poor execution of TCF Bank gameday(the empty tailgating lots are dumbfounding to me, keep the price low, fill them up and THEN raise the price

I agree 100%. Sadly, this is not uncommon wisdom, only in the athletic dept.

 

[mplsbadger]

Take a look at the competitive placement of his program during his tenure:

Directors Cup Standings
09-10: 18th Nationally 3rd Big Ten
08-09: 14th Nationally 3rd Big Ten
07-08: 28th Nationally 5th Big Ten
06-07: 20th Nationally 4th Big Ten
05-06: 16th Nationally 3rd Big Ten
04-05: 22nd Nationally 5th Big Ten
03-04: 20th Nationally 4th Big Ten
02-03: 11th Nationally 4th Big Ten

The only athletic departments performing above Minnesota during Maturi's tenure have been Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. Wisconsin occasionally finished ahead of us, but as a department, the department performed in the top 4 in the Big Ten on a consistent basis.

Who really cares about this? Ohio State finsihes high because they sponsor a million sports. The Gophers beat out Wisconsin because they sponsor more sports and are better in wrestling and volleyball. To me this is a crummy consolation prize and should be a secondary focus like it is at Ohio State.