Still no word on a new AD

[Beninator]

Three major revenue producing positions are open with BU Athletics...

Director of Athletics
Director of Corporate Sales
Assistant Director of Marketing

With the chief internal officer running the department as the Interim AD, no one is doing her job internally.

We are three people down with less than 3 months before the start of basketball practice.

And we go into a 4th month with no word from Glasser...

I would think that the corporate sales and marketing plans for the athletic department for the year have been in place for some time. At least I hope so........

I have heard word that it is hectic with the shortage of manpower...

Given what was written by inquiringmind, this statement makes perfect sense. It sounds as if we are implementing the sales and marketing plans with a smaller than usual staff... Not a good thing.... IMO, the public may not notice these shortcomings until next year.

Shaunguth, Have you ever been in a job situation where you are not sure where you stand and further the staff is not sure what is going to happen. What if a new person comes in and want to clean house. Inaction like this with any staff in any business rarely ever increases productivity. Facts lie that it does the opposite. When was the last great company ran by a interim CEO? It just never happens because the stock price would plummet for good reason. Who is creating that needed vision for the future?

Why yes I have.......

The main thing that troubles me here is that there has been no announcemement that we are at least starting the hiring process for a new AD! VHB may very well be the right person for the job. I really don't have an opinion either way on that matter. We should however at least take steps to see what talent out there is interested in the job. My biggest fear is that the new AD will be a puppet.

[BradleyBrave]

From what I understand, she took a bigger stance on certain "off-court" situations than the AD she "ran out of town". I don't know or even pretend to know any of the people involved or the inner workings of the Bradley athletic department. Therefore, I would never make the claim that there is or isn't a "plan". I also don't believe there has to be a public "reason" as to someone applying for and getting a new job elsewhere.

Well, I look at the way other schools do things, and I look at the way BU does things, and most of the time it just makes me shake my head. I never thought I would shake my head more than the last basketball coach hiring, but that pales in comparison to what's been going on at the hand of the President since she took over. My neck is hurting, with no relief in sight.

[InquiringMind]

Boy, I wish I could just take the last two quarters off in my sales job... which is exactly what BU Athletics has done. When you have no one selling, you come up short on money. That means cuts. That means doing more, with less - or at least being expected to. BU basketball is not a Valley contender, which means no hope of NCAA cash coming in to the coffers. Also, we are a Private School so no big State cash is coming down from Springfield anytime soon to save the day. Glasser has paralyzed this department, and no, VHB cannot do both her original job and KKs job and them well for an extended period of time. Glasser is killing this institution one day at a time, like lethal injection. Shaunguth is a pollyanna for thinking that this has no effect. If BU Athletics were a stock, we'd be akin to GM or Chrysler. We are not on the way up in either basketballs and baseball is in the toilet too. Only soccer and softball are representing. I am not satisfied with going to the third and fourth tier postseason.

[BUBrave28]

Things were slowly taking form during the PAST basketball season in our Athletic Department. Even a poster from THIS SITE had time to seek a new position, go through the interview process and get hired before there was ever a peep about KK going to Florida. Many people knew what was going on as the Prez began to micromanage. If there was any sort of contingency plan, it could have been started then. It wasn't, and here we are. Indecision is really no decision, which easily becomes a bad decision, especially when you're talking about a leadership position. The funny thing is, the only result I have seen so far was a lower grade in my sports marketing class because our professor was smart enough to jump ship when he could, so our final project was graded by an outsider that was basically the equivalent of William Hung being a judge on American Idol!

[real fan]

This kind of reminds me of the baseball job hiring in that all of a sudden someone was hired with no names of any list being talked about in the papers or anywhere else. Bradley needs a strong athletics director in order to lead us into a better future .

[it's boogie time]

is there any evidence that anyone is suffering because of the current situation?

So we are suppose to wait until we see problems before we become concerned? Interesting.

I don't pretend to know anything about the inner workings of an athletic program, but I'm assuming that both KK & VHB had a full plate of responsibilities when they worked together. I don't think it is too much of a stretch to say that one person can not do the work effectively previously done by two.

[Da Coach]

So we are suppose to wait until we see problems before we become concerned? Interesting.

No, but I don't think it's realistic to presume there are problems, when there is no evidence of that, or to panic about a situation that we don't even know exists.

It is not the same as if we did not have an AD at all. VHB is a highly capable person.

[it's boogie time]

I don't doubt that VHB can do the job. Who is doing her old job then? It sounds like it must have been important since we think it prepared her to be the head of the department.

[wizard1]

New AD

Coach ---I usually don't take issue with you since you are very wise and generally right, however I have to question your logic on this one. In my opinion, the best time to conduct a search and hire a new AD is in the summer. Think about it---Once school starts the window starts closing for good candidates. Students return and the level of activity heats up. Fall sports start up and BB practice begins in Oct. Members of the athletic dept have a reduced teaching load in the summer but this ends when school starts so there is less manpower available to handle the workload. Big preseason BB events which require much planning and management direction are conducted and we will have a new building to open very soon not to mention the ongoing pressing need for athletic fund raising which is super important for BU.
In effect, while we may have been able to relax a little during the Summer, things really change when school starts.
In my judgement, the search and hiring of the new AD should have been done by now UNLESS the PRES. has already made a deal and hired someone who will be in place very soon. If this has happened, then the timing is probably OK.

[Da Coach]

Wizard- I don't disagree with you. I would like to see a search started, and get the matter settled as soon as possible. All I am saying is that the situation is not chaotic or desperate, and that the athletic department is in good hands for now.

[Out of Balance]

No, but I don't think it's realistic to presume there are problems, when there is no evidence of that, or to panic about a situation that we don't even know exists.

It is not the same as if we did not have an AD at all. VHB is a highly capable person.

Realistic OK Realistic
The Prez runs off one of the best AD in the profession despite his plea to stay
She either had NO plan in hand for a replacement or the plan failed or it's a control thing.
There has been NO search for a replacement or there has been No announcement of one.
A young assistant has been put in as acting AD of a mid-major college and NO one has filled her position.
With school starting soon, there is NO AD and at this point all good AD's are under contract and not wanting to make a move at this point (for a lot of reasons) or go through the pain of asking to be released from the school

At this point, insiders and outsiders (that I am, just a fan) would have to ask why a prez would run off a qualified AD with a resume that most can't compete with As for VHB, I'm not sure about her resume and if she has been a AD at any level. Bradley is a mid-major college and one would think it would hire the best seasoned and qualified AD they can find. This is in NO way a knock on VHB Just the correct and professional way it is done

This type of management has to be questioned and is

[leebiddlecome]

Wizard- I don't disagree with you. I would like to see a search started, and get the matter settled as soon as possible. All I am saying is that the situation is not chaotic or desperate, and that the athletic department is in good hands for now.

Agreed. No need to rush. The coaches are all in place. The facilities are being built. Things are fine.

Im not downplaying the role of AD right now but the program has a lot of capable people willing to run their own "ships". All the AD needs to do is oversee that and I'm sure that is getting done.

Jim DeRose doesn't need a lot of direction. Jim Les doesn't need a lot of direction. The SID staff doesn't need a lot of direction. Etc, etc. Just let those coaches/people run their own departments the best they can. No need to have a micromanager there.

[Da Coach]

A young assistant has been put in as acting AD of a mid-major college

Just for the record- Virnette is no novice. She is about the same age, 44, that Ken Kavanagh (45) was when he was named Athletic Director at Bradley in 1996, and her experience level is comparable or higher than Ken's was. Ken had been an assistant AD at Bowling Green for 9 years before getting the Bradley job. Virnette has been an assistant AD at Bradley for 13 years, and she had worked 1 year as an Assistant AD at Bowling Green before coming to Bradley.

[QPS]

At Bradley, interim administrators are charged with keeping the ship on course but they do not make any significant changes. There is an all university conference the week before school starts. If President Glasser has something to say about the AD position, I would expect her to announce it at that time.

[Out of Balance]

Just for the record- Virnette is no novice. She is about the same age, 44, that Ken Kavanagh (45) was when he was named Athletic Director at Bradley in 1996, and her experience level is comparable or higher than Ken's was. Ken had been an assistant AD at Bowling Green for 9 years before getting the Bradley job. Virnette has been an assistant AD at Bradley for 13 years, and she had worked 1 year as an Assistant AD at Bowling Green before coming to Bradley.

Well she looks young I can't help it Ken looked older Sounds like your campaigning
Just do a search, if she stands above the others than offer her the job