Doogie: Gophers 'absolutely' can compete in football, 'U' prez says (Long Q&A)

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What are some of those specific events, and what stood out about those?

I absolutely loved our wrestling match versus Wisconsin when we nearly shut them out.
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:D

Well done, Doogie. Of course he can't give us all the answers we would like, but it would be interesting to see how athletics are put into the next strategic plan for the university and how our next AD can work with local businesses and corporations better. That's where the money is. The Minnesota M should be on everything.
 


It looks like Kaler is leaning toward an AD who has experience as an AD or an assistant AD. He left the door open to someone without experience, but it didn't seem that door was open very wide.
 

RodentRampage said:
It looks like Kaler is leaning toward an AD who has experience as an AD or an assistant AD. He left the door open to someone without experience, but it didn't seem that door was open very wide.
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And the crack he did leave open seemed set aside for someone with business experience. Translation, he's not looking for a Mason or a Dungy.
 


CrocShots said:
:D

Well done, Doogie. Of course he can't give us all the answers we would like, but it would be interesting to see how athletics are put into the next strategic plan for the university and how our next AD can work with local businesses and corporations better. That's where the money is. The Minnesota M should be on everything.
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I agree with you on that. Couple thoughts.. I recognize we aren't a small college town where the team in town is the only one - we're a big metro area with 4 professional sports and millions of other things to do (as many have said here) AND a large number of people living here that attended other, including rival, schools. That said, I rarely EVER see bars, restaurants, etc with promotions for Gopher games, UMN stuff on the walls or hanging outside, etc. I see very, very few houses in both the suburbs and the cities with UMN flags hanging outside or cars with UMN stickers/flags on them. I don't see much promotion for the U downtown Mpls/StP for events/etc, I don't see the U working with the pro sports teams very well to help promote each other, nor do I see any relevant advertising on the major local channels (FSN and BTN, yes) for anything UMN - academic or athletic. Seems like there's a ton of room for improvement to market the university a little better and gain some fans that aren't there.

It was interesting to see many of Kaler's responses. He definitely played smart and avoided any specific answers, but was open and honest about our situation at the U with regard to budget, spending, etc in comparison to the rest of the Big Ten. The only downer is that it seemed like the attitude was "we have to get to where everyone else is at regarding XXX" rather than taking a little different approach and saying 'we're not as good, what can we do NOW to make us immediately better and different to set ourselves apart from the pack."

Just my thoughts.
 

RailBaronYarr said:
I don't see the U working with the pro sports teams very well to help promote each other
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To be fair, this might not be all that doable given that the U is in competition for the same pool of "disposable income spent on sports" as the pro teams. I mean, living in WI I don't see much (heck, any) cross promotion between UW and the Packers (or any other pro team) and they don't even have to share the same metro area. It's an interesting idea, but I don't think it's very feasible.

RailBaronYarr said:
Seems like there's a ton of room for improvement to market the university a little better and gain some fans that aren't there.
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Would definitely agree with this though.

RailBaronYarr said:
The only downer is that it seemed like the attitude was "we have to get to where everyone else is at regarding XXX" rather than taking a little different approach and saying 'we're not as good, what can we do NOW to make us immediately better and different to set ourselves apart from the pack."
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I understand your thoughts here, but at the same time the hard truth about the U's position in the B1G in some areas (most notably: private donations) is really bad. Sometimes it's just a good thing to acknowledge the problem without spinning it. Especially since the "spin" part is best executed when there is a plan in place (which they won't have until a new AD is hired). I guess I'm just glad he's willing to fully acknowledge the issues in the meantime rather than ducking them.
 

GoAUpher said:
To be fair, this might not be all that doable given that the U is in competition for the same pool of "disposable income spent on sports" as the pro teams. I mean, living in WI I don't see much (heck, any) cross promotion between UW and the Packers (or any other pro team) and they don't even have to share the same metro area. It's an interesting idea, but I don't think it's very feasible.
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Although the Skunk band does play Sundays at Lambeau. I think that a U flag should be hanging from (both) cit(ies)y hall(s) on saturdays.
 

CrocShots said:
Although the Skunk band does play Sundays at Lambeau. I think that a U flag should be hanging from (both) cit(ies)y hall(s) on saturdays.
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GOPHER ALERT: There's more than two cities in MINNESOTA.
 




Is it possible that in just few short months we will have a Prexy that likes football and understands the value that a successful team has to a University, an AD that actually is interested in winning in football and willing to invest to get there and a Football Coach that is liked by MN HS coaches, has a talented and stable staff and has a plan and track record of winning?

Last time all three were in place we won our last B1G title!
 

CrocShots said:
Although the Skunk band does play Sundays at Lambeau. I think that a U flag should be hanging from (both) cit(ies)y hall(s) on saturdays.
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True, but I'd argue that this barely counts as promotion. That said, it's the sort of low hanging fruit that would be good to see the U and Vikings grab because while not high impact, every little bit helps. Especially since the band is a big part of the "college feel" of Gopher games and promoting the "college feel" of the gameday is the best/easiest way to differentiate the Gophers in the TC sports market.
 

I'm a defender of Title IX and non-revenue sports. However, there are a few programs that should at least be given new scrutiny under the new AD if money is an issue, gymnastics being first among them. I like the opportunity for kids to earn scholarships playing different sports, but the vast majority of both the men's and women's gymnastics teams come from out of state. It's great for those kids as well, and I don't begrudge them, but if we're going to have to cut some sports that don't make money, I'd rather go after the ones that aren't filled with local kids, quite frankly. I'd put both cross country teams and women's rowing on the same list, for mostly the same reasons.

These are already sports that a fair number of Big Ten teams don't operate, so it wouldn't be just us. In fact, in the entire country there are only 17 men's gymnastics teams (yet we've still never won a championship).
 



Gopherprof said:
I'm a defender of Title IX and non-revenue sports. However, there are a few programs that should at least be given new scrutiny under the new AD if money is an issue, gymnastics being first among them. I like the opportunity for kids to earn scholarships playing different sports, but the vast majority of both the men's and women's gymnastics teams come from out of state. It's great for those kids as well, and I don't begrudge them, but if we're going to have to cut some sports that don't make money, I'd rather go after the ones that aren't filled with local kids, quite frankly. I'd put both cross country teams and women's rowing on the same list, for mostly the same reasons.

These are already sports that a fair number of Big Ten teams don't operate, so it wouldn't be just us. In fact, in the entire country there are only 17 men's gymnastics teams (yet we've still never won a championship).
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Women's rowing is prob safe because of the recent investments in their boathouse if nothing else.
 

Gopherprof said:
I'm a defender of Title IX and non-revenue sports. However, there are a few programs that should at least be given new scrutiny under the new AD if money is an issue, gymnastics being first among them. I like the opportunity for kids to earn scholarships playing different sports, but the vast majority of both the men's and women's gymnastics teams come from out of state. It's great for those kids as well, and I don't begrudge them, but if we're going to have to cut some sports that don't make money, I'd rather go after the ones that aren't filled with local kids, quite frankly. I'd put both cross country teams and women's rowing on the same list, for mostly the same reasons.

These are already sports that a fair number of Big Ten teams don't operate, so it wouldn't be just us. In fact, in the entire country there are only 17 men's gymnastics teams (yet we've still never won a championship).
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Lest you forget that a lot of the members on these teams aren't getting full, or even half scholarships, if any money at all. The problem lies with the travel costs.
 

CrocShots said:
Lest you forget that a lot of the members on these teams aren't getting full, or even half scholarships, if any money at all. The problem lies with the travel costs.
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And coaching salaries, but yeah, good correction.
 

Cut and Paste what I said on the Basketball Forum:

Congrats to doogie on a fine interview. I did notice a time or two where he tried to rephrase the same question in different ways, and Kaler answered the basic same thing to both times.

Thanks for posting this Bleed.
 

Gopherprof said:
I'm a defender of Title IX and non-revenue sports. However, there are a few programs that should at least be given new scrutiny under the new AD if money is an issue, gymnastics being first among them. I like the opportunity for kids to earn scholarships playing different sports, but the vast majority of both the men's and women's gymnastics teams come from out of state. It's great for those kids as well, and I don't begrudge them, but if we're going to have to cut some sports that don't make money, I'd rather go after the ones that aren't filled with local kids, quite frankly. I'd put both cross country teams and women's rowing on the same list, for mostly the same reasons.

These are already sports that a fair number of Big Ten teams don't operate, so it wouldn't be just us. In fact, in the entire country there are only 17 men's gymnastics teams (yet we've still never won a championship).
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Pres Kaler and 'others' have stated that the cost of non-revenue sports does not amount to that much to significantly affect the revenue sports. I'd be curious to know how much they do cost.

I've long thought that if the non-revenue sports are to offer opportunities to athletes they should be predominately for Minnesota student-athletes. Maybe a certain percentage of those scholarships should be for Minnesota athletes only. I really don't think rowing is a competitive Minnesota sport.
 

station19 said:
Pres Kaler and 'others' have stated that the cost of non-revenue sports does not amount to that much to significantly affect the revenue sports. I'd be curious to know how much they do cost.

I've long thought that if the non-revenue sports are to offer opportunities to athletes they should be predominately for Minnesota student-athletes. Maybe a certain percentage of those scholarships should be for Minnesota athletes only. I really don't think rowing is a competitive Minnesota sport.
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You obviously haven't had your outboard conk out while out fishing. :)
 


I was intrigued by the comment about the efforts made to getting Kill access to a private jet for recruiting. Anyone have any idea if this is a new effort by the U? I assume everyone else in the county has been traveling this way for years, right?
 

gophergrad said:
I was intrigued by the comment about the efforts made to getting Kill access to a private jet for recruiting. Anyone have any idea if this is a new effort by the U? I assume everyone else in the county has been traveling this way for years, right?
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It's not. The hoops team has used it on occasion as well.
 

gophergrad said:
I was intrigued by the comment about the efforts made to getting Kill access to a private jet for recruiting. Anyone have any idea if this is a new effort by the U? I assume everyone else in the county has been traveling this way for years, right?
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I gotta move out of Dakota.
 

gophergrad said:
I was intrigued by the comment about the efforts made to getting Kill access to a private jet for recruiting. Anyone have any idea if this is a new effort by the U? I assume everyone else in the county has been traveling this way for years, right?
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I'm not sure if everyone has, but my take on it was that the "big boys" have been doing it for some time. Maybe not for every trip, but certainly for many of them.
 

Nice interview by Doogie. Hard to believe this is the same guy who made the shocking prediction that at least 3 JC recruits would be in the mix for significant playing time a few days ago.
 

I have heard from within the athletic department the most important attribute moving forward would be if he or she has a business background of some sorts. Here is their quote, the University of Minnesota is bascially hiring a CEO of a major regional company that needs to balance a huge budget. All other attributes will be considered but we likely will hire a business person with experience in athletics.
 

4four4 said:
All other attributes will be considered but we likely will hire a business person with experience in athletics.
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So it sounds like they will have 2 major attributes that they'll consider.
 

Dr.Don said:
You obviously haven't had your outboard conk out while out fishing. :)
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Dr. Don,

This reminds me of a story of my grandpa fishing on the river. He was asked by a man whose motor did conk out if he has any oars. Grandpa who was a little hard of hearing heard him say Whores, Grandpa's reply was these aren't whores!!! This is my wife and daughter.

rest in peace Grandpa and Grandma!!

go gophers
 



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