Are we all being duped??
By MountaineerBob on Dec 18, 2007 in Coaching, Football
The saga continues. It now seems that Rich Rod’s demands weren’t as big or “crazy” as have been reported. Check out this article from the Post Gazette in Pittsburgh.
The donors seem pissed, and I don’t blame them (if this is true).
“I tell you what, I’ve never seen anything mishandled as much as this was,” Bob Reynolds, former chief operating officer of Fidelity Investments, said yesterday. “Here’s a university that made a $200,000 decision — it probably could’ve cost less than that [to keep Mr. Rodriguez] — and it’s going to cost them millions” in booster support, potential bowl money and revenue from football success.
“I’ve had calls from at least six major contributors to the program, and they’re all done [donating] because they know the Mickey Mouse things that have gone on there,” Mr. Reynolds continued. “I’ve been in business 36 years, and it’s the worst business decision I’ve ever seen. I’ve been the COO of a 45,000-person company. When somebody’s producing, you ask, ‘What can I do for you to make your life better?’ Not ‘What can I do to make your life more miserable?’ They have no idea how big this is. It’s frightening.”
Mr. Reynolds declined to discuss it, but one source said he informed university officials yesterday that he planned to withdraw $12 million in donations he pledged to the school.
I don’t take any blame off Rod for being a scum bag and egotistical, but it seems to be on both sides. The problem with the Athletic Department if this is true, is that the more egotistical one might be Ed Pastilong or Mike Parsons or Mike Garrison or Joe Manchin.
I am hesitant to call anyone out anymore though as this article could also be “spin” put out by Rich Rod’s agent. If so, this is turning into a nasty political fight and who will suffer most from it? The students and fans and players of WVU. And that sucks.
Part of me wants this all to go away and lets just move on, but how are we going to attract a new high profile coach with such bad blood and slimy tactics happening on both sides of the ball?
How do we salvage this? Easy, clean house in the AD and hire a highly respectable West Virginia Hero to be the Athletic Director: JERRY WEST!
What do you guys think? Here are his “reported” list of demands to stay at WVU:
Allow at least an additional $100,000 in bonus money for his assistants.
Allow scholarship players to retain possession of textbooks at the end of each term, which meant they could have sold them, as apparently happens at other programs.
Waive a $5 ticket fee for each high-school football coach attending Mountaineer home games, a fee that generates an estimated $5,000 for the university each season.
Hire seven graduate assistants and a new recruiting coordinator, to ease the duties performed by secondary coach Tony Gibson.
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Couchburner | Dec 18, 2007 | Reply
look at the money that UConn has spent on their athletic facilities (add
look at the results they’ve had on the field) and then look at ours. If
you build it they will come. I’m not saying we have to spend a gazillion
dollars, but the Coliseum is a dump. WVU football is the only show in
town and we only have a 60K seat stadium? It took a threat to go to
Alabama to get a student athlete learning center constructed at the
stadium. Shouldn’t that be a no-brainer???…everyone says athletes are
students first. I totally understand Coach Rod’s philosophy, to be the
best, you have to recruit and attract the best, to attract the best, you
have to have first class facilities.
All he wanted was to put WVU on the same playing field as the Ohio
States and USCs. What is so wrong about that? Change the mentality of
“hoping to win a national champ” to “EXPECT to win a national champ.”
Ed Pastilong and his buddies just @ss raped the University, the Alumni,
and the state of WV without the decency of a little lube. “Going to kill
the program” you say. They’ve officially succeeded in killing the
program. Coach Rod could’ve be a Lifer with WVU. Now all we can do it
sit around and think “What if” while he turns another program into a
powerhouse. Why would any coach with a brain want to come to WVU after
this when they know that they’ll have no leverage against the politics
of Pastilong in negotiations?
I willing to bet that Bob Huggins is gone in five years b/c Pastilong
won’t meet his demands for new/better facilities. Another potential Life
jumps ship.
russdigga | Dec 18, 2007 | Reply
EP is a good place to start if youre looking for the root of the problem
Beezner | Dec 18, 2007 | Reply
So now the turd formerly known as Coach Rod is saying that he was duped into signing a contract with a buyout? I figured he was stupid after this stunt, but I didn’t know he couldn’t read either.
IwantSaban | Dec 18, 2007 | Reply
He is using these piss ant requests as an excuse for why he just left our program in peices. Why go to Toledo and not tell anyone in the program. He didn’t even give them the chance to make these requests. Wake up people, this guy loves the golden boy image and doesn’t want the nation to think what he really is (an asshole). Why won’t he pay back the money. He fucked us!!! Wake up mounty nation!!!!
Robb | Dec 19, 2007 | Reply
The whole Rich Rod thing feels that same as finding out your long-term girlfriend got pregnant when you went out of town with your family for the weekend.
COAL MINERS DAUGHTER | Dec 19, 2007 | Reply
Would have helped if he had beat PITT too. Then maybe he could have walked in with some more demands……
Seems to me that Coach Rod lost sight of what it’s all about…
Joe Blow | Dec 21, 2007 | Reply
If you believe that spurious garbage about rinky-dink “demands” that weren’t met by WVU, then I have an overpriced house in Greystone to sell you…..
RR went for one reason and one reason alone - a lot more money including as much booster cash that can be passed under the table as possible.
More importantly how is EP going to keep his job after losing 2 coaches to UM, and not having a clue as to what was going on? I guess he needs to be at work more than 1 hour every other day.