wizardofwestwood
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Is Dr. Eric W. Kaler "insane" or the Minnesota Version of Donna Shalala?
As one defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Let's see if the insanity that has ruled Gopher Athletics the past 50 years has finally been cured.
There is little doubt that Donna Shalala created the foundation for the success that Wisconsin has had in Athletics. It was not always that way. In 1987 President Shalala, became the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin. She led what was then the nation’s largest public research university, raising more than $400 million for the endowment, and spearheaded a $225 million state-private partnership program to renovate and add to the university’s research facilities. President Shalala’s success at Wisconsin was also reflected in athletics. It was all part of her plan to rejuvenate The U or W's National Image. She hired a new football coach, recruiting Barry Alvarez from Notre Dame and hired Pat Richter as AD. Four years later, Wisconsin won the Big Ten football championship and represented its conference in the Rose Bowl for the first time in 30 years. President Shalala served on the first Knight Commission, a committee to review college athletics, and has served on the board of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Foundation. The foundation that was laid in Wisconsin in the early `90s by Shalala,Richter, and Alvaraz has created not only a renaissance with respect to facilities and upgrades but also real quality across the board and pushed the Wisconsin Badgers Athletics into very elite company in terms of success on the most broad-bases. Objectively (I know this is hard), look at the systematic success Wisconsin has had in Football, basketball, and Hockey the past 20 years. Is this by luck??
As president of the University of Miami, President Shalala presides over one of the most successful college athletic programs in the country. The Hurricanes football program consistently ranks in the top of the polls. They are searching for a new football coach who can meet the standards for success. In 2003 the men and women’s basketball team moved into a new, on-campus facility, the Convocation Center, a state of the Art facility.
The point is that the Gophers are going to need leadership and commitment starting from the Top of the Administration in support of Athletics. The Lip service provided by the current regime is reprehensible. I am afraid we will lose Tubby Smith due to Lip Service, indecision, and a lack of real commitment to the sports important to Minnesotans. For some reason Mediocrity is considered a virtue by the Gopher purists. I don't get that attitude.
Hopefully, the soon to be named Football coach and the actions by the new President will give the few of us younger than 60 who are still Gopher football fans a clear and positive indication of the future.
As one defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Let's see if the insanity that has ruled Gopher Athletics the past 50 years has finally been cured.
There is little doubt that Donna Shalala created the foundation for the success that Wisconsin has had in Athletics. It was not always that way. In 1987 President Shalala, became the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin. She led what was then the nation’s largest public research university, raising more than $400 million for the endowment, and spearheaded a $225 million state-private partnership program to renovate and add to the university’s research facilities. President Shalala’s success at Wisconsin was also reflected in athletics. It was all part of her plan to rejuvenate The U or W's National Image. She hired a new football coach, recruiting Barry Alvarez from Notre Dame and hired Pat Richter as AD. Four years later, Wisconsin won the Big Ten football championship and represented its conference in the Rose Bowl for the first time in 30 years. President Shalala served on the first Knight Commission, a committee to review college athletics, and has served on the board of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Foundation. The foundation that was laid in Wisconsin in the early `90s by Shalala,Richter, and Alvaraz has created not only a renaissance with respect to facilities and upgrades but also real quality across the board and pushed the Wisconsin Badgers Athletics into very elite company in terms of success on the most broad-bases. Objectively (I know this is hard), look at the systematic success Wisconsin has had in Football, basketball, and Hockey the past 20 years. Is this by luck??
As president of the University of Miami, President Shalala presides over one of the most successful college athletic programs in the country. The Hurricanes football program consistently ranks in the top of the polls. They are searching for a new football coach who can meet the standards for success. In 2003 the men and women’s basketball team moved into a new, on-campus facility, the Convocation Center, a state of the Art facility.
The point is that the Gophers are going to need leadership and commitment starting from the Top of the Administration in support of Athletics. The Lip service provided by the current regime is reprehensible. I am afraid we will lose Tubby Smith due to Lip Service, indecision, and a lack of real commitment to the sports important to Minnesotans. For some reason Mediocrity is considered a virtue by the Gopher purists. I don't get that attitude.
Hopefully, the soon to be named Football coach and the actions by the new President will give the few of us younger than 60 who are still Gopher football fans a clear and positive indication of the future.
