An interview primer for TU’s next AD

zamani

This could be Temple after winning the Cotton Bowl under the next AD. (Photo courtesy of Zamani Feelings.)

Because Pat Kraft agreed to remain on at Temple until July 1 to ease the transition in the athletic department at Temple University, the Board of Trustees now has some time to get the right fit for its next sports steward.

Let’s hope it’s put to good use.

Screenshot 2020-06-03 at 9.36.12 PM

UAB athletic director Mark Ingram could be THE GUY for Temple.

Simply, the next AD has to be one to sell the BOT that the vision of Temple University is to join the other 64 great universities in the Power 5.

Playing Wagner, Lafayette, Rhode Island and Norfolk State in football is blurring that vision and not providing the right prescription for 2020 and beyond.

That’s why this interview process is the most important one. Asking the right questions and getting the right answers so here is how that process could go. THE GUY will be able to provide those answers.

BOT: I’ve heard you want the job. Sell us on why you are the guy.

THE GUY: Temple belongs in the top 65, not the bottom 65, and everything I’m going to do is designed to get us there. First, while I know Pat and like Pat, I’m was and always will be against playing the Stony Brooks and the Bucknells and I let him know that.

BOT: Why?

THE GUY: Let me give you an example. In 2016, we won the AAC and probably should have been in the Cotton Bowl but Western Michigan got that spot. If, say, instead of beating Stony Brook 38-0 at home that year, we win at Florida State, 35-14, we’d probably get that Cotton Bowl. Since we gave Penn State a better game on the road that year than Wisconsin did in the Big 10 title game at a neutral site, we probably had a decent chance at winning the Cotton Bowl. That’s one thing.

BOT: What’s the other?

THE GUY: The other is what happens in the future if we strike lightning in the bottle and go 12-0. If a couple of those 12 are Lafayette and Rhode Island, we have no shot at the college football playoff. The first thing I’m going to do is get out of those types of contracts, have one less home game and start picking up 2-for-1s with P5 schools. That’s going to benefit us in the long run. If we substitute two road P5 wins for those FCS wins, we become the first G5 team invited to the four-team playoff. Say, instead of beating Rhode Island, 59-0, and Lafayette, 55-12, we go to Indiana and beat Purdue, 30-19 and take down Washington State, 23-18, in Pullman, that’s the difference.

BOT: Why does that benefit us?

THE GUY: Our attendance goes up from a 28,000 average to nearly 50K and our TV ratings in the largest available market to the Power 5 also doubles. When the next round of expansion comes in 2023, we get invited and the rest of the G5 becomes marginalized and forced to have their own championship, a minor league of college football. Temple in my mind is not minor league nor should it be in yours. We have a small opening in that window and I’m going to pry open that window for us and get us all to the other side.

BOT: Gentlemen, as Bill Bradshaw wrote on that yellow legal pad some 15 years ago, this is our guy. Congratulations, Mark, you start on July 2.

Monday: The Kraft Post-Mortem

Saturday: Some Early Stat Predictions

Monday (6/15): A special addition

Saturday (6/20): A sad subtraction

Monday: (6/22): How other AAC approach schedules

Saturday (6/27): Drop Dead Date

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8 thoughts on “An interview primer for TU’s next AD

  1. Keep dreaming Mike, this ain’t gonna happen. The actual question #1 will be: what is the least amount of money you would be willing to work for? Question #2: would you be willing to make phone calls to sell season tickets and possibly some beer and popcorn on Saturdays? Question #3: We think we pay too much for local tv/radio coverage, we’ve heard about a guy in Lansdale with really strong ham radio frequency get in touch with him? Question #4:

    • Nah, Pat made $750K. Mark will be able to work for that much (he’s probably making no more than 300K at UAB). Come at me with a vision for Temple to get a double pay raise. The $750K is already budgeted.

  2. Mike, seems like your whole hypothesis hinges on not just playing but winning against P5 teams. Given what happened as recently as the last year couple bowl games against mediocre P5s, this is a big expectation especially if moving up is based on P5 WINS. I know it remains to be seen, but is Carey the guy to get these wins? Beating FSU by 3 TDs? I think not. I will say playing no more than one FCS team per season should be ok – all the P5 teams do it. And if all we can do is barely beat P5 bottom feeders like last year, is that really going to help? And frankly, is TU really ready for a P5 schedule and still go bowling? It’s doubtful. On the flip side if it’s really all about the money feeding on P5 conferences just to stay in business, as some here seem to think, then I guess we need to try to do it. You also didn’t mention whether an AD question should be getting a better deal from Lurie or finagling an OCS deal, somehow.

    • If you are going to get in the Power 5, you’ve got to play those games and win them. It’s a tough job and, if Carey can’t do it, then get someone in here who can. But first you can’t win them unless you schedule them. If you don’t schedule them, you have no shot (none) of going into the Power 5. I believe Temple can win in the P5 with P5 resources. The Owls beat Maryland twice in a row without any P5 resources and the Maryland team they beat two years ago scored 51 points on Texas. School’s goal should be to get to the Power 5 period.

      • Hi Mike, I would like the new AD to take it a step further. 2 for 1 to the following schools… Penn St., Rutgers, Maryland, Pitt, BC, Syracuse, V-Tech, W. Virginia

  3. If bsaseball can’t get it’s act together to have a season, is it possible to move games to the Bank and get a refund from Lurie? Did the law school people who hopefully reviewed the contract put some kind of out clause in? I would think John Middleton would be happy to get some revenue. That could be a first day task for the new AD.

  4. If MLB and MLBPA can’t get together, could games be moved to the Bank? Surely John Middleton would be interested in some revenue.

    IS there an out clause in the Lurie lease? Did the law school grads review the language and work an out clause into the contract?

    • We would have a huge homefield advantage at CBP. I’ve been praying for the Phillies to follow the Atlanta Braves model and dump a new stadium (Fulton County) for a newer Center City location. Temple football would be the logical tenant to slide into across the street with an occasional Billy Joel or Taylor Swift concert helping fill other dates. 🙂

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