That was very revealing IMO. She is a puppeteer.

I exchanged several emails with Rowe after the Shaver firing (to no avail, of course). I have not written her yet after the Tribe7 were cut because I didn't think it would help (although I have financially supported the Save the Swimming group). Now, however, I will write to Rowe and I will reference this latest open letter extensively. This is incompetent; it is incomprehensible that it has gone unquestioned; and it is most probably illegal on several fronts. Huge must go, and if Rowe does nothing then she needs to go, too!!

P.S. - Does the Patriot League sponsor rowing? Softball? If Huge does want to change conferences then she would be better off trying to get in the Patriot League rather than the A-10. She probably thinks that W&M would dominate the Patriot League in football and basketball. I'm not so sure.

(10-01-2020 10:44 AM)ScottyB757 Wrote:  On the Save Tribe Swimming Facebook page this morning...

https://616e0124-2790-47d0-96a7-e87abf76...index=true

The best lines were:

"Stop listening to every expensive consultant and out-of-touch advisor and start listening to the chorus of people who make this fine institution what it is. Without them—without their trust, without their support—everything you endeavor will be in vain."

and

"The “Opportunities” section dedicates a distressing number of paragraphs to using spectacular basketball success to generate web traffic, social media engagement, new donations, and more applicants."

Well, thanks to the Tribe7 debacle, W&M has at least generated web traffic and social media engagement (negatively, of course)!

(10-01-2020 02:01 PM)Zorch Wrote:  I exchanged several emails with Rowe after the Shaver firing (to no avail, of course). I have not written her yet after the Tribe7 were cut because I didn't think it would help (although I have financially supported the Save the Swimming group). Now, however, I will write to Rowe and I will reference this latest open letter extensively. This is incompetent; it is incomprehensible that it has gone unquestioned; and it is most probably illegal on several fronts. Huge must go, and if Rowe does nothing then she needs to go, too!!

Zorch, it's obvious to me that people have different interactions with, opinions of, and biases towards Huge and Rowe. Most of the time they are based on somewhat limited set of information/experiences.

Now everything is getting laid out on the table. People are now speaking openly, people are leveraging public information to uncover some of the mismanagement, waste, and decision making.

Anyone who thinks this is no big deal is either delusional or nuts. Its too much dirt to wash off any time soon. I don't think Huge survives October.

(10-01-2020 03:00 PM)Tribe32 Wrote:  ...I don't think Huge survives October.

From your lips to God's ears ...or should I say:

From your keyboard to Rowe's and BOV's eyes!

P.S. I did email Rowe. I also emailed Hildebrand thanking him for all that he has done.

I don't think Huge is going anywhere until she decides to move on. Getting fired from W&M would be career suicide...she'd have to take an assistant job somewhere far away and try to rebuild from there. I'm sure she has networked enough to get an opportunity but not as AD of an FCS/P5 school.

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Sadly that is where I am too. I just don't see the BOV firing her. And, if she stays, I don't see any of the 7 sports being reinstated. If any are, they will only reinstate the women's sports as a Title IX compliance move. It is not like sports have never faced being cut before(wrestling was cut while I was a student). But, the manner in which all this has been conducted is brutal. Clearly, the choices are not about money since it appears enough has been spent to fully fund all 7 sports for a time(between the track expenses, all the executive coaching, consultants, Shaver's contract, and the additional 7+ people that have been hired within the department). I sure miss going to Charleston and Baltimore. I also miss going to Harrisonburg, Zable, and to Richmond. But, I don't regret at all withdrawing support and contact in March 2019. My gut feeling is that as long as a few big donors are still paying, nothing will change. I would love to know who some of the other 2017 AD candidates were.

If Huge were to be let go, I expect that she would get help from one of her former and well connected other AD's. She might even get another opportunity in the future somewhere else. But the current list of issues under her direct control is too long for it to blow over here.

Those in the know, why the pessimism? All the signals I've seen (from afar) out of the admin and BOV have been pointing towards letting Huge go. I think we need to grapple with the number of sports we offer as a school and that some of the cut sports may not be coming back but it seems to me that someone else will be leading that conversation.

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I haven't been a big fan of Hildebrand's to this point, because a lot of his early writing was overly dramatic and confused the issue more than made his case. But the most recent open letter... wow. Huge's gotta go. The deeper anyone looks at the moves she's made the worse they get. And I say that as someone who was on board with replacing Coach Shaver, although was unhappy with the manner in which it was carried out.

I'm going on a hunch, and nothing more. What I DO know is A) Rowe & the BOV have more than enough to fire Huge B) The Save the 7 alliance is growing exponentially and they aren't backing down. They will push this to the bitter end. What's more is they are extremely bright and have resources coming out of their ears. C) The first female President will do all she can to retain the first female AD. I'm not writing some loosely formed criticism there. These two hirings are extremely important for the professional advancement of women and [perceived] failure will cripple that effort. The same reason it was massively important for Obama to complete successful terms as POTUS.



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Old sayings always have a grain of truth. Money talks and BS walks. Lack of $$$ will lead to Huge’s departure. Whomever is still donating, STOP. Set up an alternative site for the $$$ ala The General’s Redoubt at W&L and send your money there until the BOV and the President admit Huge was a poor hire (to put it mildly), swallow their pride, and hire a real AD.

(10-01-2020 11:27 AM)TribePride91 Wrote:  

(10-01-2020 10:44 AM)ScottyB757 Wrote:  On the Save Tribe Swimming Facebook page this morning...

https://616e0124-2790-47d0-96a7-e87abf76...index=true

That qualifies as an amazing rebuttal to my statement that I expect nothing to change. If nothing does, we are well beyond the massive dumpster fire on March 2019. I don't think anyone should want D.R. Hildebrand as an enemy. Wow.

The items described in this letter are not that unusual for the world of college athletics. Paradigm works with hundreds of colleges, including many P5s with very large athletics departments. It's clear that W&M has wanted to eliminate some teams for a number of years and it used the consultants to assist with that process.

I think people need to stop hoping that the eliminated teams are coming back. It's highly unlikely that it will happen or that Huge will get fired.

(10-01-2020 08:21 PM)Son of Iron Indian Wrote:  ... until the BOV and the President admit Huge was a poor hire (to put it mildly), swallow their pride, and hire a real AD.

Since Reveley hired Huge, not Rowe, that presumably could make it somewhat easier for Rowe to send her packing.

(10-01-2020 09:18 PM)Old tribe Wrote:  ... I think people need to stop hoping that the eliminated teams are coming back. It's highly unlikely that it will happen or that Huge will get fired.

If you are right and the sports do get axed...then the problem is that in 3-5 years when the football team still can't beat JMU and the basketball team still hasn't won the CAA tournament and Eva Hodgson has graduated and left the Women's basketball team ...that is, that the big three are NOT increasing the revenue stream nor raising the profile of the College (and that finally, by then, Huge is gone) THEN it will be almost impossible to bring these sports back. Certainly back at the level they are now, and they most certainly would not have the same coaches. In other words, NOW is when they should follow Davy Crockett's motto: "Be sure you're right, then go ahead". There are thousands and thousands of people telling them that they are not right.

What is Huge's guaranteed contract salary and length to go? Can W&M afford to pay her off right now.
Would it be a factor?

(10-02-2020 05:16 AM)bubbadog57 Wrote:  What is Huge's guaranteed contract salary and length to go? Can W&M afford to pay her off right now.
Would it be a factor?

This could be what's causing the delay. My attorney friends can write to this, but, I believe, if the BOV/Rowe fire Huge "with cause," Huge's contract is thereby terminated, too. Rowe could be mounting evidence to move forward with that. Huge, of course, could sue for wrongful termination, but I can't imagine she'd want the details of her termination to surface.

She's been on the job for 3 years at $255,000 annual. There's no way her contract was extended, so she probably has two years remaining IF there's a length of contract at all.

Some ADs sign term length contracts complete with base salary, bonuses, and perks. I can't imagine W&M offered Huge, an inexperienced Director, anything like that.

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Tribe website still shows this post as of 9/22/20:

"On Wednesday, the Board of Visitors will conduct an in-person listening session where attendees may share feedback and address the Board. Live audio will be available. Next week, Director of Athletics Samantha K. Huge will also address the topic during a moderated virtual conversation."

Anybody aware of the Huge doing this event?

(10-02-2020 12:44 AM)Zorch Wrote:  If you are right and the sports do get axed...

Small point of pedantry, the sports have been axed. At this point they would have to be brought back in a new action.

(10-02-2020 07:38 AM)wmmii Wrote:  Tribe website still shows this post as of 9/22/20:

"On Wednesday, the Board of Visitors will conduct an in-person listening session where attendees may share feedback and address the Board. Live audio will be available. Next week, Director of Athletics Samantha K. Huge will also address the topic during a moderated virtual conversation."

Anybody aware of the Huge doing this event?

My guess is that she's been temporarily censored. The General is now in place and her Twitter is gone. These two things may not add up to anything, but we haven't heard from her in a while.

I also don't think that it makes sense for her to be in the public eye from the College's perspective given all of the negative press on campus, locally, and nationally.

Per the FireHuge Twitter account: Huge cut 30% of cross country roster spots yesterday, 7 days after promising an open dialogue and transparency.

A quick search and I found nothing to corroborate this claim.

(10-02-2020 08:20 AM)Tribal Wrote:  Per the FireHuge Twitter account: Huge cut 30% of cross country roster spots yesterday, 7 days after promising an open dialogue and transparency.

That's unbelievable

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