(02-01-2022 10:54 AM)ksu315 Wrote: Where's Dave at to weigh in on RR and all this as he was the main driver on getting Joel out???
Yes Joel may have had arrogance and wasn't beloved by coaches or some donors. But maybe just maybe he was trying to make his team accountable and sometimes elevating a team people are uncomfortable and don't like it. But all leaders aren't going to be loved.
So you have a comfortable happy staff now allegedly but does that put dollars in the coffers and elevate the dept?? In the process you lose donors and season ticket holders??? My brief and very brief discussions with RR it feels like he has zero interest in you and its just awkward and ehh.
Hi ksu315,
Unfortunately, I've had no time for anything outside of work and trying to deal with some family health issues.
I have watched only one men's basketball game this year, and I only had a chance to see a couple of football games. This is the first time I have visited the message board in months. I jumped on to see what people thought about the men's basketball team stringing together a few wins (hopefully they have turned a corner), and saw Jeff Kurtz's name. Jeff is a friend, so I clicked.
Anyway, I haven't spoken with Randale or anyone else at Kent State since the hire, so I don't know enough to have a worthwhile comment on the current state of the department. I am very much out of the loop.
Regarding Joel, while I might have been the most vocal person about him on this board, I doubt that I had any real impact on Kent State's decision to not renew his contract. Just like Danny said about Jeff Kurtz, Kent State also could care less about me or my opinion. While I have loved KSU since I was a little kid and I once held a very minor position within the athletic department for a short time, I have no real juice that would allow me to impact change.
The people who did have an impact on getting Diacon and the board of trustees to finally listen were the coaches, former coaches, former student athletes and donors who were able to get face time with those decision makers. A few of them put their money where their mouth was. There was at least one offer to pay off Joel's salary to help Kent State end Joel's contract early. While Kent State did not accept the offer, it did listen to the reasons as to why the offer was being made.
I hope Randale can right the ship with the donors and fans who feel alienated. My past experiences with Randale have been nothing but positive. I think he is a genuinely good person, and hopefully he will also be a good athletic director. But, he is also a young AD with very little experience at this level, so he will have a learning curve.
Like many of the people on this board, I am also bothered by what happened to Jeff Kurtz and Ty Linder. I think the world of Jeff and Ty as people and professionals. Joel treated both poorly long before he forced them out. Randale had (and still has) the opportunity to do the right thing and bring both back into the fold. Nobody cares more about Kent State than Jeff and Ty. When I finally can get to a game, I know it will seem hollow to walk into Dix Stadium or the M.A.C. Center and not hear Jeff's voice and see Ty behind the mic. It's very sad.