Thad To Kentucky?

[pup]

I was in Kentucky last week and talking to some pretty big time UK fans who said Tubby is going to get shit canned, and the big talk was that they were going to do everything they could to lure Thad Matta. The belief is with tOSU being a football school, Matta would be happier being the BMOC at a hoops school.

That would suck!

[consigliere]

Didn't Thad just sign like a 7 year extension to stay in Columbus?

[pup]

So?

[consigliere]

So why would OSU let him out of it?

[pup]

Coaches get out of contracts all the time. Nobody wants a guy that wants to be somewhere else.

I am not saying he is going anywhere, but to count the reason of him being under contract is a little wishful.

[swerb]

Matta can go whereever he wants without the Buckeyes having to let him out of anything.

Tubby's not gonna get canned. Every time the Wildcats have one of these 20-10 seasons this talk starts up. The bottom line remains ... a large segment of that fan base is still uncomfortable with an African American coach, and they look for any reason to start the Fire Tubby talk up.

Tubby Smith is a great coach, that's won a national championship there. Kentucky would not be that stupid.

And I can't see Thad going anywhere after resisting Indiana's advances this past off-season. He's an Indiana guy, and that job is on par with the Kentucky job.

The problem for the people set on wooing Thad is the fact that OSU has become an elite job in the industry. The city lives and dies with college athletics, the recruiting base is vast, and they have the best facilities in the nation.

[pup]

http://www.firetubbysmith.com/

[swerb]

http://firebelichick.blogspot.com/

[pup]

The difference is those are people that hate the Patriots. Look at their "sister site" on the right hand side.

They firs Tubby is from UK fans.

how long have you had that link saved up to repsond with?

[furls]

People in Kentucky have an inflated sense of their program's prominence.

Could Thad Matta leave OSU? Sure. Would he leave? I think so, if the job was right.

Here is why Matta would not leave OSU for UK. It just doesn't make sense. He is a HIGHLY paid coach, UK would have to reach deep to pay him enough to make the money worth it, even still, I am sure OSU could and probably would match any offer he were to get from UK. OSUs athletic budget... $100,000,000.00 per year, most in the NCAA.

Prestige? Is UK a prestigous job? Is it really an upward move in the heirarchy of programs. I am not sure if OSU is a top tier program like UNC or Duke, I tend to think not. But, if it isn't a top tier job it is clearly a second tier job, second only to those insanely successful programs. UK is not one of those programs now, and has not since Pitino left. The recent difficulty at UK is not a problem with Tubby. THe problem is that Kentucky is now not only not a national power, it is not even a state power. I am not even sure you could say that UK is a better job or program that Louisville.

Would Matta really want to leave a school/program where he is getting every recruit he wants for a struggling program that is losing out to players in its own state? Look at Mattas recruiting, his 2006 class is famous, his '07 class is terrific, and his '08 class is nearly full. When a coach is getting his commitments that far in advance it is pretty clear that he is getting his first choice players. Hell, recently OSU has gotten some kids that were looking at UNC and Duke too, I am not so sure Matta would be as successful in Lexington such as it is right now.

[pup]

This is an article from a Cincy paper about the timeline with Matta being hired by OSU. I don't know how damning it really is, but it does show that coaches, including Matta, will always lie in refernece to other jobs:

http://www.enquirer.com/xavier/2004/07/11/xu1t.html

[Eric]

http://www.firejimtressel.com/faq.html

man you can almost type in any famous coach after the word "fire" in a search engine and get a ton of results

some of them are good

[swerb]

Classic ...

[FUDU]

Have not read this whole thread so not sure if anyone mentioned this yet, but interesting that Thad, coaching OSU, is going up against his former team, Xavier, in the building in which he is rumored to soon be the future coach, Kentucky.

Just here to help.

[Dozen]

I was in Kentucky last week and talking to some pretty big time UK fans who said Tubby is going to get shit canned, and the big talk was that they were going to do everything they could to lure Thad Matta. The belief is with tOSU being a football school, Matta would be happier being the BMOC at a hoops school.

That would suck!

I hope this doesnt pick up any steam now.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

That was the first thing I thought when I heard that Tubby was going to Minnesota. I figured that UK would at least target Matta due to his success in turning around Ohio State after O'Brien flushed the program down the toilet.

I could see Matta being interested. No matter how good the basketball team is, OSU will always be a football first school. Kentucky is a basketball school and always will be. Of course the OSU fans will likely be much kinder to Matta than the UK fans, but everything depends on what Matta wants. If he wants Kentucky then the job is pretty much his.

Although there's also been talk of UK really wanting Donovan. Same applies to him. Florida is a football school and football is king down here. Donovan and Matta may be the top two targets.

[consigliere]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?news ... 6370&rfi=6

Matta free to talk with Wildcats
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
03/24/2007

SAN ANTONIO -- If Kentucky is interested, OSU athletic director Gene Smith said yesterday he will grant permission for the school to speak with Thad Matta about replacing Tubby Smith as the Wildcats' next head coach. But Smith believes the Ohio State job is better.

Asked directly yesterday if he would talk to UK officials should they inquire, Matta said no.

''That thought has honestly never crossed my mind,'' Matta said. ''I haven't had time, to be honest. But, no.''

Matta gave a similar denial while at Xavier, when he insisted he was not a candidate for the Ohio State job even though he had already interviewed for it. Days later, he accepted it. But Matta is under contract at Ohio State for nine more seasons in a deal guaranteed to pay him $18.6 million. With a base salary of $1.8 million, Smith said he's among the top 10 highest paid coaches in the country and second in the Big Ten behind Michigan State's Tom Izzo, who has won a national championship.

''I think our job is a better job than the Kentucky job because of what Thad and his staff have done,'' Smith said. ''I know everyone will talk about the rich Kentucky basketball tradition, but I still think ours is a better job.''

A clause was inserted in Matta's contract last year that gives him 30 days following the Big Ten tournament to discuss other coaching vacancies around the country. He is currently in that window.

''I think the great thing that I've enjoyed is I love the path we're on to what we set out to do at Ohio State when we came here, and that was to build a championship-caliber basketball team,'' Matta said. ''In three years, we won two Big Ten championships, we've been the 2 seed and 1 seed in this tournament. I love where we are in regards to recruiting.''

Florida coach Billy Donovan is expected to be Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart's first choice. But if Donovan decides to stay with the Gators, the field becomes wide open and Matta certainly could be an appealing candidate.

''When you look at how our fans responded this past season, almost all of our games were sold out, all of our Big Ten games were sold out and the fans showed up,'' Smith said. ''Our atmosphere continued to get better in (Value City Arena). We have the ability to do the things that are necessary to ensure he has what he needs to be successful.''

[Guest]

I hate to say this, but why wouldn't he at least listen to them?
Does anyone think that Ohio State is a more high profile basketball job?
Kentucky and UCLA are the 2 most storied schools ever.

[furls]

We have the ability to do the things that are necessary to ensure he has what he needs to be successful.

$$ Ohio State has it, moreso than ANY other team in the country. I would expect to see Ohio State dwarf any other offer. THink about it, Indiana could not lure the Indiana boy out to that job (with a history that rivals Kentucky's), I am not sure that Kentucky could do the same.

I would expect Matta to use the UK opening as negotiating leverage, but I would be surprised to see him go. Look at the Ohio State job. Ohio State is a football first school, but that does not preclude Matta from getting the best recruits in the country. Additionally, he has the added benefit of not having the Kentucky expectations. There is really no instate competition at OSU, while UK is probably the second best job in Kentucky right now and has to compete with RIck Pitino for recruits.

Sweet 16 berths in Kentucky bring out the lynch mob, sweet 16 berths at Ohio State bring out the ticker tape parades. That is a fact. SO while some might think that Kentucky is "a bigger stage," I would argue that none of the "great stages" are what they used to be because of the parity in college hoops. THe expecations at Duke, UNC, and Kentucky are as high as they used to be, but the competition is much better. Sounds like a pretty rough job to me.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

We have the ability to do the things that are necessary to ensure he has what he needs to be successful.

$$ Ohio State has it, moreso than ANY other team in the country. I would expect to see Ohio State dwarf any other offer. THink about it, Indiana could not lure the Indiana boy out to that job (with a history that rivals Kentucky's), I am not sure that Kentucky could do the same.

I would expect Matta to use the UK opening as negotiating leverage, but I would be surprised to see him go. Look at the Ohio State job. Ohio State is a football first school, but that does not preclude Matta from getting the best recruits in the country. Additionally, he has the added benefit of not having the Kentucky expectations. There is really no instate competition at OSU, while UK is probably the second best job in Kentucky right now and has to compete with RIck Pitino for recruits.

Sweet 16 berths in Kentucky bring out the lynch mob, sweet 16 berths at Ohio State bring out the ticker tape parades. That is a fact. SO while some might think that Kentucky is "a bigger stage," I would argue that none of the "great stages" are what they used to be because of the parity in college hoops. THe expecations at Duke, UNC, and Kentucky are as high as they used to be, but the competition is much better. Sounds like a pretty rough job to me.

I think so much depends on if Matta or Donovan at UF feel like second fiddles. The expectations are lower at both schools because of emphasis on football, but neither coach will ever be truly deified by the school's fans like Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel already are. I'd say it boils down to ego. If Matta or Donovan want to be the center of attention then one of them will go to Kentucky. If not then they both will stay at their schools and get paid big money.

As for Ohio State money, I'm not sure if they're flush with more cash than UF right now. Florida is loaded. I'd say both have tons of jack, but I know how much the boosters are pooring in to UF after the year that they've had.

[furls]

http://sportsbiznews.blogspot.com/2007/ ... llars.html

The athletic department operates like a big times business in Columbus. Ohio State’s enrollment stands at 52,000 the largest in the United States. According to a report in Friday’s USA Today, the school became the first with a nine-figure athletics budget last year, spending $101.8 million, according to filings with the NCAA and the federal government.

Playing in a stadium that seats more than 102,000 (an average ticket price of $56) the football program generated a profit of more than $28 million last year – Tressel’s football team is why Ohio State can afford to offer 36 men’s and women’s varsity sports, again more than any other Division I athletic program. That's 16 more than the average in NCAA Division I-A.

According to the USA Today report, Ohio State's $104.7 million in athletics revenue a year ago also ranked first. The athletic program as a whole turned a $2.9 million profit, its fiscal filings show, and is self-supporting. Ohio State football generated $60.8 million last year, finishing $28.5 million in the black, according to its NCAA and federal filings. Men's basketball (currently a strong favorite to make it to the Final Four) was the only other money-maker, finishing a 26-win, Big Ten Conference championship season $7.6 million in the black. Those two sports finance Ohio State's 34 others. And "as the football team goes," Ohio State AD Gene Smith told the USA Today, "the whole thing goes."

http://www.schottensteincenter.com/sect ... istory.asp

The Jerome Schottenstein Center is the largest arena in the Big Ten - seating up to 17,500 for hockey, 19,500 for basketball and up to 21,000 for concerts.

With no major public funding committed to the project, private support, contributions from alumni and friends - was a critical element in the Jerome Schottenstein Center's funding. Named as the result of a generous $12.5 million lead gift, the Center pays tribute to Jerome Schottenstein, late Columbus businessman, philanthropist and founder of Schottenstein Stores Corp. Additional building "partners" in the truest sense of the phrase include Huntington Banks, after which the venue's luxurious 2nd level The Huntington Club is named - the result of a $5 million gift; The Kroger Company which pledged $2.5 million to help create The Ohio State University Hall of Fame; and Nationwide Insurance, which contributed $1.5 million towards the venue's extraordinary terrazzo floorscapes.

Over $40 million was raised through naming gifts and private donations from loyal Buckeye supporters. Almost half came from the sale of 4500 personal seat licenses and leases for the Center's 52 luxury boxes. Remaining costs were covered by bonds. Although the University did receive $15 million from the state legislature for an initial design study, no tuition money, student fees or University General Funds were used for the building.

Still looking for the figures, but Ohio States alumni donations to the athletic department are SICK. The Woody Hayes Facility renovations are ridiculous and will cost the university nothing.

[disappointmentzone]

This year's current group of freshman have been pretty incredible and Matta has received a lot of publicity about recruiting such talent--talent that is vital to the team's success so far this season. Next season's class is already loaded Kousof and Deibler and Turner and the 2008 class is even better (Crater, Mullins, et all). Kentucky does not have nearly the same talent coming into Lexington. Prestige might matter to Matta, but if winning is important too, then OSU is the place to be, at least for the next few years. Besides, Kentucky is a pretty terrible place to coach. There are drawbacks to being at a school that values basketball as much as KU. Just ask Tubby Smith.

[furls]

good point disappointmentzone and welcome to the boards!

[Mr. MacPhisto]

OSU might have more revenue, but Florida is more profitable. I didn't know that before today, but digging around Google brought up this CNN Money article.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/08/comment ... /index.htm

According to filings college athletic departments make with the U.S. Department of Education, Ohio State is only the seventh most profitable team to go to a bowl this year, with revenue in the football program exceeding expenses by $28.5 million during the 2005-06 school year. Meanwhile Florida is No. 5, with an operating profit of $32.4 million.

However, Ohio State does spend more on their football program than any other school, so that's commendable. Both Florida and Ohio State also give some of the profits from their athletic programs to the academic end of the schools (a couple million each - close to $3M or so it seems). That's very commendable. Michigan actually doesn't give money to academics even though their athletic program is also very profitable.

But Ohio State spends far more on its football program than any other school - $32.3 million, according to last year's figures. That's 55 percent above the next-biggest spender among this year's bowl participants, the University of Iowa.

So Ohio State's profit margin is therefore modest by standards of big-time college football (although I'm guessing most corporate CEOs would send their grandmother out to face a blitzing defense without pads or helmets if it meant if they could achieve these kinds of operating margins).

Michigan and Georgia post the best profit margins of any athletic programs - 75% of all revenue generated is profit. As a businessman I can tell you that that's an amazing return. What's most amazing is how competitive they are with other teams that spend much more.

Interesting stuff really. OSU should be commended for how much they spend, essentially putting money back into the university, the programs, and the community. It's disappointing that Michigan doesn't do the same. Even up-and-comer USF gives a % of athletic profits to the academic interests on campus; that I know from personal experience.

OSU and UF won't have any problem throwing money at Matta and Donovan. Like I said, it's an ego thing. If either feel that basketball needs to be the central focus of the university then they'll move on to basketball schools with histories like Kentucky when those jobs open. In that case it's not about the money, though both guys are going to be well paid from here on out.

I'd personally like to see both stay at their respective schools. I do like Billy Donovan a lot. His first year as head coach happened concurrently with my freshman year at the University of Florida. I remember those early teams and watching them at the O-Dome in Gainesville. There was a lot of optimism surround this young (just slightly over 30 years old) coach and he managed to build the Gators up after they'd fallen down under Lon Kruger (who did manage to build them up and get them to the Final Four).

Matta's another one who I like. I'm hoping we can tag a good young coach down here at USF to build up our program.

[leadpipe]

Do these figures include player salaries?