STrib: Gophers AD Mark Coyle says department might need a GM role to oversee ‘cap management’

BleedGopher

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Per Marcus:

Coyle said the Gophers need to have “cap management.”

“If we bring [players in] and we’re doing revenue sharing, how do we know we’re getting our value right, and what are the metrics?” he said.

A new role — similar to a general manager in pro sports — could be required in the near future. Coyle talked about that potential job and other topics in this latest Q&A.

Q: When you think of GMs in pro sports, it’s in large part about hiring coaches, but how would that be different in the college model?

A:
If it’s at $21 million to $22 million [annual shared revenue], you have to have somebody who’s going to manage that cap for you at the same time.

If a professional team misses on a player, it really impacts their cap for future years. And so, we’re going to have to start to think that way. We’ve looked at, do we need to bring somebody in that can help us manage those caps? Is it different people for different sports?

And then, more importantly, we want to be very strategic and analytical when we assign those dollar values, when we make those commitments to those kids where we’re different than the professional level. It’s not just how many baskets do they make, right. Are you going to class? Are you going to graduate? Those things all come into play too. Those are things we ought to measure.

Q: Is it pretty clear cut that football players will gobble up the most shared revenue?

A:
I have conversations with other programs, and at the end of the day, finances play a big, big part in what we do. … Football is 90 percent of that. And so, we are very, very wise that we continue to invest in football to help that program grow.


Go Gophers!!
 

Coyle is right on top of the situation. Strategic and analytical with the metrics. Assigning value not only to buckets...but measuring classroom attendance, graduation potential...Coyle is having conversations with other programs...conducting research...Coyle is facing these issues head on. He's focused like a laser.
 

Step 1: Budget for the coach's buyout....
 

I'll volunteer to do Ben's non-conference scheduling.

Mark can give me a (salary) cap to work with, and I certainly could put something together better than this nonsense.
 



Mark is describing two different roles here. "Missing" on someone would be the Kwesi Adofo Mensah or Tim Connelly role where you are making an evaluation on a player and assigning what you are willing to pay him/her. The second part is the allocating of that ~20 million cap efficiently/effectively...that's more like the Rob Brezinksi role on the Vikings were he knows all the cap math and how best to structure the contracts to maximize opportunities and minimize risk. To me, you already have coaches (and support staff in football) who scout players. Is a Brezinksi type necessary when there is no ability to move cap money in to future years, add void years, etc in the college revenue sharing era? What's going to be uncomfortable for Coyle is deciding how much of that ~20 million goes to each sport. If football gets 15 million, does Men's basketball get 3? The Women's hoops 1 and hockey/volleyball 500K each? Do you need to immediately allocate more than 3 to Men's hoops to attract a coach this Spring? Do you allocate less to football if PJ struggles again this year? Could he demand more than 15 for his program if he goes 9-3? You know the Strib will write an article or two demanding that money be allocated to programs like track and softball...does Coyle have the backbone to stand up to that?

The part about going to class, graduating, etc better be AD speak. This is clearly the pay for performance era. It is exactly about how many "baskets" you make. Trying to pretend that there is a "student athlete" component to this is silly. You acquire the best football and basketball players you can under the salary cap, they are essentially your employees/teammates in a profit making endeavor for your University.
 


I'll volunteer to do Ben's non-conference scheduling.

Mark can give me a (salary) cap to work with, and I certainly could put something together better than this nonsense.
Scheduling is now the most entertaining thing to talk about. Now that coaching, recruiting, development, etc. have become irrelevant. And now that we're a farm-team.
 

Oh, I forgot to mention Coyle is right on top of efficiency, allocation, and embracing the challenges.
 



Ultimately, Coyle's responsible for winning which leads to ticket and advertising revenue. Fortunately, the UoM is in the B10 and receives the windfall of the b10 tv revenue. Coyle has nothing to do with the majority revenue source. About half of football and basketball games are pre-season and the vast majority of those games the venue is half full and season ticket holders pay full price for the tickets plus the seat license. If the team(s) are winning the sting is only slight, but for many years, particularly basketball, there are few highlights, and it really stings. Winning is Coyle's responsibility just as earnings are the CEO's responsibility. Come-on man, Coyle's the CEO!
 

Ultimately, Coyle's responsible for winning which leads to ticket and advertising revenue. Fortunately, the UoM is in the B10 and receives the windfall of the b10 tv revenue. Coyle has nothing to do with the majority revenue source. About half of football and basketball games are pre-season and the vast majority of those games the venue is half full and season ticket holders pay full price for the tickets plus the seat license. If the team(s) are winning the sting is only slight, but for many years, particularly basketball, there are few highlights, and it really stings. Winning is Coyle's responsibility just as earnings are the CEO's responsibility. Come-on man, Coyle's the CEO!
I don't believe anymore that the administration wants to win. Anymore than I believe movie studios and television networks want to get ratings. They all make their money by spewing propaganda. Winning too much at Minnesota...or movies or tv programs saying too much...would bring the hammer down.

And saying that there have been few highlights in basketball is an understatement. 2 NCAA wins in 27 years...both 1st round.
 
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