Top Athletic Director Candidates

[Okstatekerr]

Agree. But the board knows he's a yes man. I doubt they would give up a known like that unless it was for a rockstar like Baker.

Just speculation at this point anyway. I'm hoping for the best but the fiasco that's been the last year doesn't give me much confidence.

He isn't a yes man. He is a guy that was saddled with some just horrendous contracts handed out by the previous AD and is doing his best under those circumstances. He got rid of Boynton, he got Gundy to make wholesale changes. Clearly he was giving Gundy a year to show some change or he is out the door. We don't have the money like other schools just to constantly buy coaches out. The previous AD was so scared about coaches getting poached that he gave out ridiculous, hard to escape contracts. When allowed to hire, he has knocked it out of the park so far. Mens Basketball, Womens basketball, and Wrestling have all had top notches coaching hires.

 

[TXPoke]

Sure, those are great personal traits and certainly required. But I meant more like:

Does the person understand our small/limited market both at the University level and within the XII?
Do they come from a background where their small market schools took on larger players successfully, in all sports?
Were they a driver for change related to NIL at a smaller market and were they successful?
Are they someone who really understands what it takes for an institution like OSU to be successful and has proven that?

OR

Do we want someone that has seen the top of the mountain and what it takes to get there?
Someone that will provide a full sea change moment within OSU athletics?
Someone that will come in and get rid of this AW SHUCKS mentality that I personally believe permeates across the entire athletic program and fanbase?

Ideally, maybe it's someone that checks off all the boxes but I am not sure that person exists.

I think you articulated a lot of what I would say. And you don't have to look far to see a great example of that within the Big 12. TCU with Del Conte is the type of candidate I'd be looking for. He was responsible for the massive success of TCU stepping up in conference affiliation and carving out a niche in athletics across the board (football, track, baseball), and getting the city of Forth Worth bought in collectively. Texas recognized him and took him. Within a couple of years they were off to the SEC because Del Conte was aggressive and had the foresight to get ahead of the media situation.

My comment about coming directly from Big 10 or SEC at this moment is because they will have institutional knowledge of things that are currently on the table rather than stale info from a couple of years ago. I'd be especially interested in someone from a "mid to low top tier" SEC/BIG school (e.g. SCAR, Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska) because they will have a similar profile to OSU when it comes to donors and marketing opportunities. Clemson and FSU officials also deserve a look for similar competitive intelligence. I understand that is talent pool limiting, but this might be the most crucial hire of OSU's athletic existence.

One area of expertise I think you missed is related to commercial marketing. This person needs to know how to get corporate sponsorships to the table and work the TV execs.

Having ties to OSU or Oklahoma historically, is very low on my list of criteria. That is how you get a lot of the "same ole, same ole" that put us in the situation we are now.

 

[Okstatekerr]

I think you articulated a lot of what I would say. And you don't have to look far to see a great example of that within the Big 12. TCU with Del Conte is the type of candidate I'd be looking for. He was responsible for the massive success of TCU stepping up in conference affiliation and carving out a niche in athletics across the board (football, track, baseball), and getting the city of Forth Worth bought in collectively. Texas recognized him and took him. Within a couple of years they were off to the SEC because Del Conte was aggressive and had the foresight to get ahead of the media situation.

My comment about coming directly from Big 10 or SEC at this moment is because they will have institutional knowledge of things that are currently on the table rather than stale info from a couple of years ago. I'd be especially interested in someone from a "mid to low top tier" SEC/BIG school (e.g. SCAR, Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska) because they will have a similar profile to OSU when it comes to donors and marketing opportunities. Clemson and FSU officials also deserve a look for similar competitive intelligence. I understand that is talent pool limiting, but this might be the most crucial hire of OSU's athletic existence.

One area of expertise I think you missed is related to commercial marketing. This person needs to know how to get corporate sponsorships to the table and work the TV execs.

Having ties to OSU or Oklahoma historically, is very low on my list of criteria. That is how you get a lot of the "same ole, same ole" that put us in the situation we are now.

Agreed. We have to get past the mindset that only OSU people can be successful at OSU. That mindset limits the amount of potential candidates available to be hired.