Joel Maturi Out as Gophers AD

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Does special projects mean he will be getting paid in addition to his retirement?

More wasted government money!
 

It's not government money, only a small portion of the U's budget is paid by the state government. And the athletics department is paid with funds from athletics revenues. Even when university money is given to the athletics department, it is really just parking revenue being given back to the athletics department.
 



Maturi did some good and some not so good. I think he is a good man. Just made some rather glaring mistakes. Heart was in the right place.

As I said on Twitter, at least he helped get rid of Chris Voelz.
 




Scoping out new titanium oars for the rowing team? Seriously, I bet it has to do with the Gopher baseball stadium
 

Gopherprof said:
I hope people will continue to be respectful towards Joel. Even if you think he did a terrible job, I think it's clear he worked hard and is a good and honest man who took out a lot of his time, voluntarily, to interact with fans. I genuinely appreciate how much he seemed to care about his job and the integrity he had holding it.

That said, I think it's also clear that Maturi is a 1970s AD in 2012. One of the appeals of the Stony Brook AD is that he has experience working as an AD at an urban school, which is something Minnesota is going to have to embrace, if for no other reason than they have no choice. We need to start being much more proactive in terms of marketing, outreach, and other strategic decisions.

It seems like they have put a lot more money into the in-house media productions, which is a great start.
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+1

I also have no problem with him staying on in some capacity.
 



I wouldn't count on the next AD gutting the non-revenue sports.
 


RodentRampage said:
I wouldn't count on the next AD gutting the non-revenue sports.
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Right on. The total experience for the most is what the University of Minnesota is all about, and I am proud of that.

If I could ride a horse, I will guarantee that if anyone was watching me, there would be one more horse's ass than there are horses there.
 




Breakin' The Plane said:
First to mention Tony Dungy. What do I win?
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Sorry I already mentioned it last week - so nothing.
 

RodentRampage said:
It's not government money, only a small portion of the U's budget is paid by the state government. And the athletics department is paid with funds from athletics revenues. Even when university money is given to the athletics department, it is really just parking revenue being given back to the athletics department.
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Wasted money to pay him any more than his retirement. I don't care if it comes from a bake sale. Use it for the baseball stadium.
 


Breakin' The Plane said:
First to mention Tony Dungy. What do I win?
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If there's one thing Tony would love more than coaching the football team for $2 million a year (when he could make double in the NFL) it's being the Athletic Director for $500K. I'm sure of it.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
First to mention Tony Dungy. What do I win?
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Very good, although most people by now have sensed that Tony is in a more exalted position now where he couldn't be our AD. He's like a holy man who dispenses advice and wisdom to many--not just our beloved Gophers.
 



Certainly, a sports background is nice, but I see the main duties of the AD as being an administrator and (most importantly) a fund-raiser. Job #1 is coming up with the cash to build a basketball practice facility, and the baseball field. Personally, I would put job #2 as dealing with student attendance at FB games, and FB ticket sales in general -the goal should be a constant sell-out at the Bank - with the long-range goal of creating enough ticket demand that the U can seriously consider expanding the facility.

Yes, we all get wound up over the hiring and firing of coaches -but how often does that really happen? Unless something happens with Tubby, all the other major coaches should be in place for several years.

The AD is going to spend most of his/her time dealing with budgets, scheduling, facilities and fund-raising, and compliance issues (keeping out of trouble with the NCAA).
 

Mulligan said:
Very good, although most people by now have sensed that Tony is in a more exalted position now where he couldn't be our AD. He's like a holy man who dispenses advice and wisdom to many--not just our beloved Gophers.
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I think you mean "just not"...
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Yes, we all get wound up over the hiring and firing of coaches -but how often does that really happen?
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My son is 5. He is in kindergarten. In his lifetime, the Gophers have had 4 football head coaches, 3 basketball head coaches, and double-digit numbers of O/D coordinators.
 


dpodoll68 said:
My son is 5. He is in kindergarten. In his lifetime, the Gophers have had 4 football head coaches, 3 basketball head coaches, and double-digit numbers of O/D coordinators.
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And, 5,691 comments on the GopherHole. :)

He is one busy 5-year old kid.
 

2nd Degree Gopher said:
Now that the news has broken, I can share the transcript of President Kaler’s meeting with Maturi:


Kaler: Thanks for coming in Joel, 8:30am on the dot, you are right on time. I’ll get right to the point.

Matruri: Sure thing, I have been in my office since 4:30 this morning.

Kaler: Really? Why the . . .never mind. The reason I asked you to come in was to tell you that, while I greatly appreciate all of you contributions to the athletic program, I have decided to go in a different direction with the position of athletic director.

Maturi: I am usually here at 4:20, but traffic was light today.

Kaler: Joel, did you hear me, I am not going to renew your contract.

Maturi: Oh, I heard you. Where do I sign?

Kaler: Joel, I am not going to have you continue as the director of athletics. . .

Maturi: I get it, I know how this works. Jeez, I have fired people, you know. Here’s how it goes. You give me a new contract and I sign it. Then you wait a short time, fire me and give me a million dollars.

Kaler: Joel, I am not going to do that. I thought we could ease your transition by giving you some “special projects.” Maybe involving some of the non-revenue sports.

Maturi: And then I’ll get my million dollars?

Kaler: We’re done here, Joel.

Maturi: OK, time for my nap anyway.
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well done sir, well done. +1
 

dpodoll: 1st, I would say there's a big difference between naming an interim coach, and conducting a full-fledged search for a new permanent coach. You are counting interim head coaches in your totals. As far as coordinators and assistant coaches, the head coach handles that (with the AD I assume having final say/veto power).
2nd: I was thinking forward rather than backwards. I expect Kill to be here for a while. the other major coaches have contracts in place, or are negotiating for extensions. Tubby is the one real question mark. The new AD is not walking into a situation where he will have to immediately start hiring coaches. Yes, the U has gone through a turbulent period - which is one big reason why Joel is leaving. But, if Tubby does sign an extension, the new AD could potentially go for several years with having to conduct a full-fledged search for a new coach for one of the major sports. That is why I feel that the new AD will focus his/her attention on other areas.
 

beavergopher said:
This is great news. I was starting to fear the worst. Need to hire an aggressive up and comer. Someone who realizes football is the engine for everything else.
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...except basketball and hockey.
 


beavergopher said:
Wasted money to pay him any more than his retirement. I don't care if it comes from a bake sale. Use it for the baseball stadium.
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Not to get political but you don't want to pay the man a retirement pension? He's going to teach in the Department of Kinesiology, work on special projects (ncaa rules, etc.), and be an assistant to Kaler. As a person who works in Higher Ed. You have no idea how funding works. Go back to the star tribune comments section.


Anyway, it was time to get someone with fresh ideas into the post to have the Gophers Athletic Department compete as a brand in today's collegiate world. As athletic departments are becoming (at the BCS level) more and more independent of the universities and universities (all public) are becoming less and less reliant on state funding, they can act as an independent business, and also a marketing tool for the institution as a whole. This balance is key to not only stay competitive to bring in the best students, but also fiscally with other universities.
 

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