Kent State University President interview - some interesting words on Geno Ford

[tornado]

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2012/05/mid-american_conference_a_good.html

Some very interesting comments...and the take on it on the Kent State boards is that the Prez really does not have fond feelings for Geno and believes there were some problems left behind...

"..The other side of that (coaches' contracts) ..is Geno Ford, who had a five-
year contract and walked away from that, two weeks after telling
everybody, 'Oh no, this is my home, I'm here to stay.' We gave him a five-
year contract and he walks. The length of the contract, I don't think, keeps
somebody or doesn't keep somebody. If Notre Dame wants our basketball
coach, or Ohio State wants to steal back our football coach, there is nothing
I can do.

"He had a 21-11 season, which is good, but he didn't get to the dance (NCAA
Tournament). So it wasn't the best year ever. Had he got us to the dance,
I'm sure he would have been in Joel's office saying I'd like an extension of my
contract and a bump in my salary. And we probably would have said yes. He'll
have another shot at it this year.

"We want to keep good talent. When (Jim) Christian left, there was no way
we could have kept him. And he didn't do so well after he left.
Geno, don't get me started on Mr. Geno."

"Basketball has always been a stronghold for Kent State. The last couple of
years have not been that great. If you look at the last 30 years we have
always been a good basketball school, and we will be again. Senderoff needs
a couple of years to build his team, to build his coaching staff."

So... he is saying the past couple years (under Geno)
..."have not been that great"

and that the new coach must rebuild what was left behind...
"..we have always been a good basketball school, and we will be again.
Senderoff needs a couple of years to build his team, to build his coaching staff."

[bradleybraves1]

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/coll...ce_a_good.html

Some very interesting comments...and the take on it on the Kent State boards is that the Prez really does not have fond feelings for Geno and believes there were some problems left behind...

"..The other side of that (coaches' contracts) ..is Geno Ford, who had a five-
year contract and walked away from that, two weeks after telling
everybody, 'Oh no, this is my home, I'm here to stay.' We gave him a five-
year contract and he walks. The length of the contract, I don't think, keeps
somebody or doesn't keep somebody. If Notre Dame wants our basketball
coach, or Ohio State wants to steal back our football coach, there is nothing
I can do.

"He had a 21-11 season, which is good, but he didn't get to the dance (NCAA
Tournament). So it wasn't the best year ever. Had he got us to the dance,
I'm sure he would have been in Joel's office saying I'd like an extension of my
contract and a bump in my salary. And we probably would have said yes. He'll
have another shot at it this year.

"We want to keep good talent. When (Jim) Christian left, there was no way
we could have kept him. And he didn't do so well after he left.
Geno, don't get me started on Mr. Geno."

"Basketball has always been a stronghold for Kent State. The last couple of
years have not been that great. If you look at the last 30 years we have
always been a good basketball school, and we will be again. Senderoff needs
a couple of years to build his team, to build his coaching staff."

So... he is saying the past couple years (under Geno)
..."have not been that great"

and that the new coach must rebuild what was left behind...
"..we have always been a good basketball school, and we will be again.
Senderoff needs a couple of years to build his team, to build his coaching staff."

This really says a lot about the leadership (or lack of) going on at KSU right now. What a bumbling *****... I'd expect more class and public savvy from the leader of a major university.

[tornado]

he does sound petty as if airing some his sour grapes philosophy and almost seems to be wishing bad luck upon KSU's coaches who depart to go elsewhere in their careers - and gloating if they don't succeed...
.......wait - haven't we seen some people who say the same things about a certain departed BU coach?

[saluki762]

he does sound petty as if airing some his sour grapes philosophy and almost seems to be wishing bad luck upon KSU's coaches who depart to go elsewhere in their careers - and gloating if they don't succeed...
.......wait - haven't we seen some people who say the same things about a certain departed BU coach?

Serious question. Was it the BU President that said these things? If it was, it is highly unprofessional. If it was just message board posters of fans. Who cares?

[bradleybraves1]

Serious question. Was it the BU President that said these things? If it was, it is highly unprofessional. If it was just message board posters of fans. Who cares?

Great point saluki! I would lose all respect for Bradley's President if she ever said such things publicly and in print.

[KSUFan]

I agree that it was a poor decision to be this irritated in an interview. As a KSU fan, I wish Dr. Lefton could have been more diplomatic. But, it does show how irritated people still are about how Coach Ford departed. And, now you know who is at the top of that list.

Aside from the poor choice of venue, Dr.Lefton's facts aren??™t wrong. Coach Ford handled his departure, in my opinion, very badly. In fairness, I??™ll just post the publicly known details. Even though Coach Ford lived next door to the AD - literally, next door - he left Kent on a Sunday under contract with us, signed at Bradley, then told his team he was leaving via Twitter. His old boss, our AD, got a message to check Bradley??™s web site. The question of whether Coach Ford had permission to sign with Bradley that Sunday night or whether he was still under contract with us is in dispute. One might think you??™d get your employer??™s permission to break your contract in writing to avoid these disputes, but I suppose that??™s just me. The matter of his buy out is in great dispute. Both sides will eventually have their day in court.

Maybe Geno will eventually break the track record of head coaches who did well at KSU and poorly after they left. Gary Waters got fired at Rutgers. Jim Christian left TCU after four unimpressive years just before their move to the Big 12. ( How often do you see a HC bail just as his team moves UP in conference quality?) And Geno, well, we know about Geno??™s success in his first year at Bradley. Looking at the bright side, maybe he??™s found the floor. So, while he??™s harsh, Dr Lefton is correct in citing that the coaches who left haven??™t done so well.

I don??™t know the reason why our coaches have a track record of bombing after KSU. A big part of it must have to do with the quality of MAC basketball. With the exception of four or five teams, it ranges from awful to bad with an occasional mediocre. Northern Illinois is more typical of MAC basketball than Kent State. The MAC has not had more than the auto bid to the NCAA for over a dozen years and the KSU AD was on the selection committee for five of those years. Do other programs see glitzy W-L records and assume it??™s coaching genius and not dreadful competition? You??™ll have to tell me.

I have no hard feelings against Bradley University. It??™s a great school; I??™ve worked with and been impressed by a number of your alumni. Your basketball program can be great again; time will tell if your current head coach is able to do it or it will take someone else.

[bradleybraves1]

...The matter of his buy out is in great dispute. Both sides will eventually have their day in court.

No doubt both sides have some truth in this case KSU. Until their day in court it is simply a case of "he said/she said" as far as I'm concerned... "innocent until proven guilty". As a Bradley alum I support Geno 100% until given a reason not too. It's a shame that your President chooses to dwell on those coaches that leave his program and becomes obsessed with following them to see if they fail. Maybe if he placed this ill-spent energy on revitalizing KSU athletics his basketball teams would not be playing in a 62-year old outdated gymnasium that only seats 6,300 (uncomfortably), is only half full with 3,400 butts in the seats, and looks like this:

[LittleBrave]

.......wait - haven't we seen some people who say the same things about a certain departed BU coach?

Oh - here we go again.

Seriously - does it make it any better to keep harping on people who say negative things about a certain BU coach than the people who actually bring up the negativity, or have in the distant past?
I know at times you're being sarcastic about this ordeal, but if you keep stirring the pot, even still, some chunks will not go away.

[tornado]

harping? The entire context and subject of the discussion is the bitterness and sentiment of hoping your departed coach does poorly in his next job...
that's hardly harping - it's the subject of this news article and.......
if you also know of some who claim to be BU fans who fit that description, then it would hardly come as a surprise, as they were quite outspoken and vocal, and still are as we speak.

Anyway - I thoroughly appreciate your input, KSUFan -- but I think I can add that it appears to be a given that Geno most certainly believes he did get permission to discuss the open coaching job at Bradley,
and the Bradley administration also believes they had proper clearance to do so - or contact would have never occurred.
Major corporations simply don't do business that way - it is unethical as well as obviously violations of the contracts involved.

But in all likelihood - there will be no "day in court" as these types of disputes (just like the one Jim Les had with BU after his departure) are almost always solved via negotiations and confidential settlement and I would be highly surprised if we ever hear any of the facts or even if and when the case gets settled.

[bradleybraves1]

Anyway - I thoroughly appreciate your input, KSUFan -- but I think I can add that it appears to be a given that Geno most certainly believes he did get permission to discuss the open coaching job at Bradley,
and the Bradley administration also believes they had proper clearance to do so - or contact would have never occurred.

My man!

[BUFanatic]

Thanks for your comments KSUFan, class act!

[KSUFan]

I agree with you that Dr. Lefton’s energy might better placed. However, don’t expect that to happen anytime soon. In business, I often encourage others not to worry about those who left, but the ones who stay. You’re right that he might be well served to do the same.

Only Geno knows why he did what he did. Maybe he just wanted to go when he won a post season game, as it took him four years to do it, and who knows when he’d get there again? Maybe he hated his boss, the school or both. Maybe he didn’t think he had the resources to win. But as a professional at anything at any level, who says they love where they are then secretly lobbies to leave? Who asks a team for loyalty then runs out the door with his pants on fire and sends them a Tweet that he’s gone? Those players never did anything but play hard for Coach Ford. In my opinion, Dr. Lefton is not the only who shows questionable character.

There is a big difference in “permission to talk” and “permission to be released”. If Geno had the later, why doesn’t he have an agreement signed by the AD that shows his release? Professional ball players and coaches know they have to have releases from contracts before they sign a new one. Seems to me good business people don’t rely on “he said” reports for such important matters. If I were a betting person, it’s going to court.

Yeah, we have a crappy gym. No argument from me. Bradley pays $750 K a year for a coach who couldn’t even win the weak MAC once in four tries, even though he inherited the best program in the league. So, who is worse off, the program that doesn’t have any money or the one that overspends?

As for attendance, see how it goes after a few years of “turn around” under Coach Ford. He’s never “turned around” a program. As a HC, he’s never won a DI title game and only been in one once. Maybe it will turn out differently for Bradley. But, so far doesn’t look so good.

[KSUFan]

P.S. I??™ll spare all of us and not even get started on recruiting.

[Beninator]

I agree with you that Dr. Lefton??™s energy might better placed. However, don??™t expect that to happen anytime soon. In business, I often encourage others not to worry about those who left, but the ones who stay. You??™re right that he might be well served to do the same.

Only Geno knows why he did what he did. Maybe he just wanted to go when he won a post season game, as it took him four years to do it, and who knows when he??™d get there again? Maybe he hated his boss, the school or both. Maybe he didn??™t think he had the resources to win. But as a professional at anything at any level, who says they love where they are then secretly lobbies to leave? Who asks a team for loyalty then runs out the door with his pants on fire and sends them a Tweet that he??™s gone? Those players never did anything but play hard for Coach Ford. In my opinion, Dr. Lefton is not the only who shows questionable character.

There is a big difference in ???permission to talk??? and ???permission to be released???. If Geno had the later, why doesn??™t he have an agreement signed by the AD that shows his release? Professional ball players and coaches know they have to have releases from contracts before they sign a new one. Seems to me good business people don??™t rely on ???he said??? reports for such important matters. If I were a betting person, it??™s going to court.

Yeah, we have a crappy gym. No argument from me. Bradley pays $750 K a year for a coach who couldn??™t even win the weak MAC once in four tries, even though he inherited the best program in the league. So, who is worse off, the program that doesn??™t have any money or the one that overspends?

As for attendance, see how it goes after a few years of ???turn around??? under Coach Ford. He??™s never ???turned around??? a program. As a HC, he??™s never won a DI title game and only been in one once. Maybe it will turn out differently for Bradley. But, so far doesn??™t look so good.

Interesting comment KSUFan. I have been of the opinion from almost day 1 that we overspent for Geno and to date, have not been entirely impressed with him as a coach. Personally hoping for a better impression this season.

P.S. I??™ll spare all of us and not even get started on recruiting.

Please please send me a PM about this!!!

[RedSeaElite1]

Please please send me a PM about this!!!

Just post it, he's not the only one you have intrigued!