OT: D1

[iupgroundhog]

They make pretty good hires. I've seen no evidence that IUP plays it cheap or makes easy convenient hires. The last few football hires: former FBS head coach, reigning PSAC West COY & former FBS head coach, longtime FBS assistant, then longtime internal heir apparent. That's a strong trend.

It is. What I'm saying that I hope the trend continues for the next ones.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It is. What I'm saying that I hope the trend continues for the next ones.

I don't have any worries about them getting good hires. It's a great D2 school in a nice town. The jobs will pay well. The programs have history. Basketball has a Top 5 facility in the country.


What I am concerned about, however, is the general fan following.

Men's basketball attendance has fallen off a cliff. There are some reasons for that, but I digress.

I still cannot fathom what I saw at IUP's home playoff game this year. That was beyond comprehension.

It's no secret the majority of the core fan base at IUP is all collecting Social Security. There's not really a next wave in the pipeline. That core group is getting older by the day. Student interest is at an all-time low (and that says a lot). While the 'fandom' has always been a concern, it's approaching red alert status.

Back to the subject at hand, I think the men's basketball program already has a couple targets in mind. Football-wise, Tort's top lieutenants are similar to his age so I'd guess we see an outside hire the next go-around.

[iupgroundhog]

I don't have any worries about them getting good hires. It's a great D2 school in a nice town. The jobs will pay well. The programs have history. Basketball has a Top 5 facility in the country.


What I am concerned about, however, is the general fan following.

Men's basketball attendance has fallen off a cliff. There are some reasons for that, but I digress.

I still cannot fathom what I saw at IUP's home playoff game this year. That was beyond comprehension.

It's no secret the majority of the core fan base at IUP is all collecting Social Security. There's not really a next wave in the pipeline. That core group is getting older by the day. Student interest is at an all-time low (and that says a lot). While the 'fandom' has always been a concern, it's approaching red alert status.

Back to the subject at hand, I think the men's basketball program already has a couple targets in mind. Football-wise, Tort's top lieutenants are similar to his age so I'd guess we see an outside hire the next go-around.

I'm sure we'll revisit this when the time comes.

[IUPNation]

My sense is that the administration has no motivation to make home run hires. I hope I'm wrong. As a fan, I would like to see big time hires for both sports, the type we are used to.

Yeah..,I don’t have confidence in The Bow Tie doing the things Welty did for athletics…

[iupgroundhog]

Yeah..,I don’t have confidence in The Bow Tie doing the things Welty did for athletics…

My perspective is we need great hires not good hires. Welty set his sights on being great. Separating ourselves from the pack. I think that's the idea. President Bow Tie doesn't understand that.

[Fightingscot82]

Yeah..,I don’t have confidence in The Bow Tie doing the things Welty did for athletics…

Driscoll is an electrical engineer and worked his way up teaching electrical engineering and supervising professors. Welty's entire career prior to being president was developing & managing college student programs. One knows circuits and complex math, the other knows college students and what makes them develop into strong adults & professionals. I'm not criticizing Driscoll at all, but you can't expect him to have the same perspective as Welty. IUP wouldn't be IUP without hiring Welty as VP of Student Affairs then President.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Driscoll is an electrical engineer and worked his way up teaching electrical engineering and supervising professors. Welty's entire career prior to being president was developing & managing college student programs. One knows circuits and complex math, the other knows college students and what makes them develop into strong adults & professionals. I'm not criticizing Driscoll at all, but you can't expect him to have the same perspective as Welty. IUP wouldn't be IUP without hiring Welty as VP of Student Affairs then President.

I'll give the Bow-Tie credit ... he does show up to nearly every football and basketball game.

Now, does he know what actual sport he's watching? Maybe. Maybe not.

To be honest, other than the final signature, I can't imagine he'd even be involved in the hiring of any coaches. I'd assume the AD gives him the guy they want and that's about it.

[Fightingscot82]

I'll give the Bow-Tie credit ... he does show up to nearly every football and basketball game.

Now, does he know what actual sport he's watching? Maybe. Maybe not.

To be honest, other than the final signature, I can't imagine he'd even be involved in the hiring of any coaches. I'd assume the AD gives him the guy they want and that's about it.

No, but the president can elevate athletics by making it a prioritized talking point with alumni and selling the importance of an extracurricular program to the curricular side of the school. The fact that Driscoll is so visible/present is great. Its half the job of being a president (and probably the most exhausting one).

Very rarely are presidents involved in hiring below executive (Vice President) positions. Maybe in a very high profile hire like football or men's basketball. Maybe. Most likely possibly invited to have dinner with the finalists when they visit campus.

[iupgroundhog]

No, but the president can elevate athletics by making it a prioritized talking point with alumni and selling the importance of an extracurricular program to the curricular side of the school. The fact that Driscoll is so visible/present is great. Its half the job of being a president (and probably the most exhausting one).

Very rarely are presidents involved in hiring below executive (Vice President) positions. Maybe in a very high profile hire like football or men's basketball. Maybe. Most likely possibly invited to have dinner with the finalists when they visit campus.

The President can provide a lot of direction. Welty prioritized revenue sports. So did Dr. Front Porch but that didn't work out too well. What they did went far beyond showing up at games.

[IUPNation]

Driscoll is an electrical engineer and worked his way up teaching electrical engineering and supervising professors. Welty's entire career prior to being president was developing & managing college student programs. One knows circuits and complex math, the other knows college students and what makes them develop into strong adults & professionals. I'm not criticizing Driscoll at all, but you can't expect him to have the same perspective as Welty. IUP wouldn't be IUP without hiring Welty as VP of Student Affairs then President.

I’m proud to have his signature on my diploma.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

No, but the president can elevate athletics by making it a prioritized talking point with alumni and selling the importance of an extracurricular program to the curricular side of the school. The fact that Driscoll is so visible/present is great. Its half the job of being a president (and probably the most exhausting one).

Very rarely are presidents involved in hiring below executive (Vice President) positions. Maybe in a very high profile hire like football or men's basketball. Maybe. Most likely possibly invited to have dinner with the finalists when they visit campus.

That's hilarious when you think about it. Not a soul knows (or cares) who some of the countless VPs are at these schools. Yet, the whole town knows who the football coach is.

[Tdobson]

That's hilarious when you think about it. Not a soul knows (or cares) who some of the countless VPs are at these schools. Yet, the whole town knows who the football coach is.

That is an excellent point. How many VP's does IUP have?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That is an excellent point. How many VP's does IUP have?

If you ever want a chuckle look up how many VPs your typical bank has listed.

[Fightingscot82]

That is an excellent point. How many VP's does IUP have?

By my count, with full Vice President title, I think just four. IUP consolidated senior administration several years ago. If you want to include Associate VP and Assistant VP, you add another 3 or 4.

In higher ed, VPs run an entire division of the university's operations and report to the president obviously. But sometimes functions are an independent divisions at one school and a subdivision at another. A good example might be Enrollment Management (admissions, transfer, retention programs, etc) - sometimes they fall under Student Affairs. IUP's vice presidents:
Provost/Academic Affairs: all things academics & professors
Student Affairs: admissions, enrollment, housing, student programs, etc
Administration and Finance: accounting, budget, facilities & grounds, HR, IT, police, etc
University Advancement: alumni, fundraising, etc.

[Fightingscot82]

Lehigh promoted their OC to head coach. Weird.