It was announced Thursday that Joel Maturi's time as athletic director at the U of M will end June 30, almost exactly 10 years after he took over the arduous task of leading a combined men's and women's department. You can determine Maturi's legacy however you see fit -- and judging by the comments on various stories yesterday, many of you have concluded that Maturi was a nice guy who sometimes seemed overmatched in the world of big-time college athletics. You might not be too far off in that sentiment, which we believe was summed up perfectly by a coach who worked alongside Maturi for a decade. "Joel's a good person, a wonderful person, his heart's in the right place, but the big business system got him," Gophers baseball coach John Anderson said. College sports = big business, more so in 2012 than at any other time. The snowball is rolling down the hill. Chip Scoggins believes the next AD should be more of a CEO, and he's probably onto something. Even Dr. Eric Kaler, the University's new president, acknowledges that he will seek "good business acumen" in his new hire. Indeed, in print today we identified five major questions that will greet whomever is hired (and if you're curious about a potential candidate, please check the bio of Jim Fiore, AD at Stony Brook, where Kaler was formerly provost). All five big questions had to do with money: 1) Tubby Smith's contract; 2) A potential basketball practice facility; 3) Attendance and premium seating renewal at TCF Bank Stadium; 4) The scheduled start of premium seating next year at men's basketball and hockey games; 5) The financial viability of keeping all the sports currently offered at the U of M.
Our questions to you, then, are these:
1) What qualities do YOU want to see in a new AD?
2) If you read the Fiore bio, what do you think about someone from a small school?
3) Which of those five issues identified for a new AD to tackle do you consider the biggest priority?
