Whit Babcock and VT opening

[Rational Cat]

Disappointing, but happy for him. Kind of Mike Zimmer-type reaction.

Fact is, if these guys want to make it to a good conference, can't stay at UC.

Two years isn't long enough for me to be happy for him. Zim spent 6 years here. Whit didn't even stay the "usual" (for UC) 3 years.

In fact, he let some senior folks go in the Department and UCATS, and now the cupboard is kind of bare. Hardly a thing to engender good will with me.

Santa has an important job to do now.

I really hope we can keep Dr. Ono around girl a few more years.

[CincyBearcat95]

Would have been nice if he had stayed as long as our football coaches.

[bobestes]

People leave for bigger jobs. That's the way it goes.

Whit went, interviewed, made a decision.

Butch Jones hemmed, hawed, decided to stay, no wait, decided to go. He handled it like a diva, and that's why Whit was annoyed.

I posted this on the other thread and will say it here now:

It's just danged depressing that we can't keep anyone here for more than a cup of coffee these days. 3 University presidents, 3 AD's, and 4 football coaches in the space of merely 10 years.

We're always starting over again, can never gain any traction and propel forward. I would love to be excited about the future of UC athletics, but when those in charge keep leaving, that's tough. I have more appreciation for Mick Cronin than I have ever had.

Whit was so visibly po'd at Butch last year, and if this is true, (and Groeschen says it's looking likely), how is Whit any different than BJ? I wish I could remember what he said at that time about loyalty, but I can't remember...

[GoBearcats31]

Two years isn't long enough for me to be happy for him. Zim spent 6 years here. Whit didn't even stay the "usual" (for UC) 3 years.

In fact, he let some senior folks go in the Department and UCATS, and now the cupboard is kind of bare. Hardly a thing to engender good will with me.

Santa has an important job to do now.

I really hope we can keep Dr. Ono around girl a few more years.

Ok, I may have overstated my support of Whit, but he was a class act that did many good things at UC -- and seems like a potentially big loss. Not about to become a VT fan or anything. But I can't blame him. His legacy can be the Tuberville hire (and potentially the Nippert expansion), but his hands were tied as far as trying to get UC into a better league.

[kennh]

I am immensely disappointed to hear that Whit Babcock is leaving UC. I think it says we are not going to get into one of the better conferences. I wish Babcock the best but I think he should have stayed longer than 2+ years here. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[BearCatMarcher]

Saw this on local news 3 mins ago. Nope, never gets easier. Find me a bridge

[coach]

Folks, i got news for you an a.d. is not going to get uc into a bigger conference unless he has fund raising skills that are so unique and large that he could solve all the facilities and budgetary issues, and that is not likely to happen. Someone of that ilk is like not going to be in athletic administration. However, for all of the folks who make who the team is playing, where the team is playing, et.al. their qualifications for buying tickets and donating money if you really want to make a difference and not make jobs "stepping stone" positions you have to realize there are many institutions that enjoy much more wide based support in spite of those factors. That allows them to pay more for facilities, coaches...ad's etc. This fan base is very slow to realize this. It's a home front job for him, and a bigger sports encompassing position. Good luck to him, and next man in. He was not the gateway to a new conference although a lot of uneducated fans hoped he was. Jurich gets a lot of credit at lvl, but the bucks were behind him, and that's a factor.

[Rational Cat]

Ok, I may have overstated my support of Whit, but he was a class act that did many good things at UC -- and seems like a potentially big loss. Not about to become a VT fan or anything. But I can't blame him. His legacy can be the Tuberville hire (and potentially the Nippert expansion), but his hands were tied as far as trying to get UC into a better league.

Well, I guess I can't blame anybody, anywhere, for jumping ship then.

When I stop supporting the Cats, I hope I get I get the same support from everyone here. Whit asked me to give more, and stick with the family and program. So I did.

Whit is a good man, he could sell ice to Eskimos. He'll be great at whatever he does. He's a very sincere guy.

Ever notice that EVERYONE who leaves here leaves for their dream job?

I don't know, maybe we need to hire some UC grads.

[BigDaddyCornHusker]

My guess is that ADs and coaches are constantly being woo'd wherever they are. It's probably not so much about the conference that the other school is in as opposed to the money and benefits laid before them.

Here's a list of the Big East AD salaries from March 2013. UC needs to pony up if it wants to retain it's ADs.

Tom Jurich, Louisville: $1,401,915
Steve Pederson, Pittsburgh: $596,595
Daryl Gross, Syracuse: $570,057
Mack Rhoades, Houston: $537,600
Doug Woolard, South Florida: $479,657
Warde Manuel, Connecticut: $450,000
Tim Pernetti, Rutgers: $410,000
Tom Bowen, Memphis: $400,000
Todd Stansbury, UCF: $375,000
Whit Babcock, Cincinnati: $364,000

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/43091/jurich-tops-big-east-ad-salaries

[blackattack]

I wish the guy well. But I don't envy him. He's walking into an athletic dept that has a terrible men's basketball program. And Frank Beamer has got to be pushing 70 and is showing signs of slippage. Beamer's son is an assistant and widely assumed to be an heir apparent. If you're the ad there and you make a mistake replacing beamer......well that's a potential career buster

[mjv780]

I wish the guy well. But I don't envy him. He's walking into an athletic dept that has a terrible men's basketball program. And Frank Beamer has got to be pushing 70 and is showing signs of slippage. Beamer's son is an assistant and widely assumed to be an heir apparent. If you're the ad there and you make a mistake replacing beamer......well that's a potential career buster

I am tired of wishing people well as they move on to bigger and "better" things after using UC to boost their reputation. I'm finished with that. Once you decide to leave the Bearcats behind, I'm done with you. I hope coach Tuberville and Cronin stick around, but again, every time one of these guys starts preaching about loyalty, he's gone the next day. I don't think there's such a thing in college athletics anymore - it's all about how big the paycheck is (not that it makes a huge difference after a certain point - it's not like Whit couldn't feed his family and pay his bills on his $360,000 salary). So, I get that money is a factor, but I am just tired of it always being used as an excuse to bail on UC.

[GoBearcats31]

Press release, including interim AD http://www.gobearcats.com/genrel/012414aaa.html

[longtimefan]

"Desiree Reed-Francois will serve as interim athletics director at Cincinnati. She becomes the first Hispanic female athletics director on the FBS level."

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/10347119/virginia-tech-hokies-hire-whit-babcock-athletic-director

[Bearcats1232002]

I really hope this doesn't affect our chances to get into a better conference. I don't think it will hurt us but it can't help. We are such a big college in terms of size, enrollment, alumni and endowment but we can't seem to spend the money to keep any momentum going!!!

[Bearcat-in-Italy]

People are afraid of change because they overvalue that they have, and undervalue what could be. Whit did a nice job here. He has positioned us to get into a bigger conference. i do not blame him for the collapse of the BE even though it happened on his watch and the AAC was the only life raft he could get us on. However, there is no way to tell what the next person will bring to the table. We could be hiring the next Einstein of the AD world. When Dantonio left, we were all devastated, then Kelly ushered in the next 3 years of football heaven at UC granted with Dantonio players. I have confidence Santa can bring us a good gift.