Danielle Surprenant named Interim AD

Athletics Department, Facilities, etc.
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ST_Lawson
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RedNeck wrote:I'm sure Ms. Surprenant is qualified to be AD.

How many ADs has Western been through in 10 years? Must be a a pretty shitty gig.
When did Tommy Bell start here? I think he did ok, but then his dream job opened up at SIU and he pretty much had to take it. Tanney was after him, but then it was a similar situation...AD at his alma mater. Someone who knows him well said that he could have been AD at Stanford and still would have left for that position.

Was there someone else? Lisa Melz-Jennings was an interim AD for a bit sometime in there, right?

Edit:
Van Alstine - fired
Melz-Jennings - interim, voluntarily took another position on campus
Bell - left for "dream job"
Tanney - ditto
Suprenant - currently Interim AD


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sealhall74
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ST_Lawson wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 8:59 am
RedNeck wrote:I'm sure Ms. Surprenant is qualified to be AD.

How many ADs has Western been through in 10 years? Must be a a pretty shitty gig.
When did Tommy Bell start here? I think he did ok, but then his dream job opened up at SIU and he pretty much had to take it. Tanney was after him, but then it was a similar situation...AD at his alma mater. Someone who knows him well said that he could have been AD at Stanford and still would have left for that position.

Was there someone else? Lisa Melz-Jennings was an interim AD for a bit sometime in there, right?

Edit:
Van Alstine - fired
Melz-Jennings - interim, voluntarily took another position on campus
Bell - left for "dream job"
Tanney - ditto
Suprenant - currently Interim AD


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Now fill in the blanks for what the most significant accomplishment of each of them is.
And keeping us off NCAA probation is not good enough for me. :lol:
Embrace the pace of the race.
leatherneckcountry
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sealhall74 wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 9:19 am
ST_Lawson wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 8:59 am
RedNeck wrote:I'm sure Ms. Surprenant is qualified to be AD.

How many ADs has Western been through in 10 years? Must be a a pretty shitty gig.
When did Tommy Bell start here? I think he did ok, but then his dream job opened up at SIU and he pretty much had to take it. Tanney was after him, but then it was a similar situation...AD at his alma mater. Someone who knows him well said that he could have been AD at Stanford and still would have left for that position.

Was there someone else? Lisa Melz-Jennings was an interim AD for a bit sometime in there, right?

Edit:
Van Alstine - fired
Melz-Jennings - interim, voluntarily took another position on campus
Bell - left for "dream job"
Tanney - ditto
Suprenant - currently Interim AD


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Now fill in the blanks for what the most significant accomplishment of each of them is.
And keeping us off NCAA probation is not good enough for me. :lol:
TVA hiring Mo and Gravina was probably his most significant. Bell was probably getting the department GPA's up. Tanney was bringing in the current football staff, continuing the classroom success, and the renovations of Western hall.
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sealhall74
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leatherneckcountry wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 9:39 am
sealhall74 wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 9:19 am
ST_Lawson wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 8:59 am

When did Tommy Bell start here? I think he did ok, but then his dream job opened up at SIU and he pretty much had to take it. Tanney was after him, but then it was a similar situation...AD at his alma mater. Someone who knows him well said that he could have been AD at Stanford and still would have left for that position.

Was there someone else? Lisa Melz-Jennings was an interim AD for a bit sometime in there, right?

Edit:
Van Alstine - fired
Melz-Jennings - interim, voluntarily took another position on campus
Bell - left for "dream job"
Tanney - ditto
Suprenant - currently Interim AD


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Now fill in the blanks for what the most significant accomplishment of each of them is.
And keeping us off NCAA probation is not good enough for me. :lol:
TVA hiring Mo and Gravina was probably his most significant. Bell was probably getting the department GPA's up. Tanney was bringing in the current football staff, continuing the classroom success, and the renovations of Western hall.
Jury still out on current football staff but I agree, Matt did a good job with GPA and community service things.
Embrace the pace of the race.
wiu712
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ST_Lawson wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 8:59 amWhen did Tommy Bell start here?
Tommy Bell came to Western in 2013 and left 2 years later.

Several long-time Western people were convinced that he was brought in with the purpose of transitioning Western back to NCAA Division 2.
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ST_Lawson wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 8:59 am
Tanney was after him, but then it was a similar situation...AD at his alma mater. Someone who knows him well said that he could have been AD at Stanford and still would have left for that position.
ST - If you believe this, I have a bridge over the IL River at Beardstown to sell you. You didn't know I own it!? Well I do! And I'll give you a heck of a deal on it...

The optics of an AD leaving a D1 program from a D3 program is bad, no matter which way you try to spin it.

The optics of losing a Head FB Coach who claimed he wanted nothing more than to be a HC to a position coaching job for HERM EDWARDS, is bad, no matter which way to try to spin it.

The optics of empty stadiums and abysmal attendance statistics is bad, no matter how many excuses we come up with.

The optics of every other directional school and conference school beating the heck out of us in donor fundraising is bad, no matter how many new $20 LNC members we add.

We have ONE legit NCAA Div. 1 program- WBB (I'll put FB in the 'wait and see, kinda-sorta' category). I'd personally hate to see a D2 move, but I also think that's where Leatherneck athletics fits right now and in the foreseeable future.
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LocalYokelFan wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 9:46 am
ST_Lawson wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 8:59 am
Tanney was after him, but then it was a similar situation...AD at his alma mater. Someone who knows him well said that he could have been AD at Stanford and still would have left for that position.
ST - If you believe this, I have a bridge over the IL River at Beardstown to sell you. You didn't know I own it!? Well I do! And I'll give you a heck of a deal on it...

The optics of an AD leaving a D1 program from a D3 program is bad, no matter which way you try to spin it.

The optics of losing a Head FB Coach who claimed he wanted nothing more than to be a HC to a position coaching job for HERM EDWARDS, is bad, no matter which way to try to spin it.

The optics of empty stadiums and abysmal attendance statistics is bad, no matter how many excuses we come up with.

The optics of every other directional school and conference school beating the heck out of us in donor fundraising is bad, no matter how many new $20 LNC members we add.

We have ONE legit NCAA Div. 1 program- WBB (I'll put FB in the 'wait and see, kinda-sorta' category). I'd personally hate to see a D2 move, but I also think that's where Leatherneck athletics fits right now and in the foreseeable future.
The person was semi-joking when they said it (about Stanford), but they weren't kidding that Wabash was his "dream job" and he would have left just about anywhere to go there...including many DI institutions. I'm not saying that we're not struggling in many areas right now, but I think that he would have left even if we were doing really well and getting plenty of money from the state.
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LocalYokelFan wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 9:46 am
ST_Lawson wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 8:59 am
Tanney was after him, but then it was a similar situation...AD at his alma mater. Someone who knows him well said that he could have been AD at Stanford and still would have left for that position.
ST - If you believe this, I have a bridge over the IL River at Beardstown to sell you. You didn't know I own it!? Well I do! And I'll give you a heck of a deal on it...

The optics of an AD leaving a D1 program from a D3 program is bad, no matter which way you try to spin it.

The optics of losing a Head FB Coach who claimed he wanted nothing more than to be a HC to a position coaching job for HERM EDWARDS, is bad, no matter which way to try to spin it.

The optics of empty stadiums and abysmal attendance statistics is bad, no matter how many excuses we come up with.

The optics of every other directional school and conference school beating the heck out of us in donor fundraising is bad, no matter how many new $20 LNC members we add.

We have ONE legit NCAA Div. 1 program- WBB (I'll put FB in the 'wait and see, kinda-sorta' category). I'd personally hate to see a D2 move, but I also think that's where Leatherneck athletics fits right now and in the foreseeable future.
I completely agree with your first 4 points. And I add this question here, due to topic, not being accusatory as I don't know you. But I think we all need to ask ourselves, What can I do to help, and, am I doing it? While I agree, that adding $20 LNC members doesn't solve the fundraising issue, it is a start. It gives the Athletic dept a base to market to. Whether they will take full advantage of that base is yet to be seen. My hope is that they do.

Also attendance; how many games are we getting to? Is WIU Athletics doing everything they can to give us a good experience? My son and I went to a softball game when we were in town for the Spring Football game. There were a decent amount of people in the stands for a College Softball game; maybe 200. I was shocked to see that it was free admission. I was also shocked to see that the concessions were run by 2 students in a small wooden shed. Cooking hot dogs and brats on a table top grill. There was always at least a 3 or 4 deep line there. I really doubt that a $5 admission would have driven anyone away that was in attendance. And a small investment in a concession stand would create a much better experience, and also likely increase attendance and revenue. ( There were no concessions open for the Spring Game either, from what I remember). Sports like softball will probably never be self supportive, but $1500 in revenue that day would not have been difficult to achieve. Every dollar helps.

This is the only non-football event I have attended. However, if this is an example of the way things were ran under Tanney I say have fun at Wabash. We need an AD that will run the Athletic dept as a business, and with some creativity.
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Tere North
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GV Dad wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 1:14 pm My son and I went to a softball game when we were in town for the Spring Football game. There were a decent amount of people in the stands for a College Softball game; maybe 200. I was shocked to see that it was free admission. I was also shocked to see that the concessions were run by 2 students in a small wooden shed. Cooking hot dogs and brats on a table top grill. There was always at least a 3 or 4 deep line there. I really doubt that a $5 admission would have driven anyone away that was in attendance. And a small investment in a concession stand would create a much better experience, and also likely increase attendance and revenue. ( There were no concessions open for the Spring Game either, from what I remember). Sports like softball will probably never be self supportive, but $1500 in revenue that day would not have been difficult to achieve. Every dollar helps.
The concessions for Basketball games are abysmal. Hot dogs, popcorn, candy, soda, water, and PowerAid is it for choices, but worse is the long line with only 1 taking money and 1 getting items. Even with just 1,000 fans at a game the line is way, way, too long. Heaven forbid should be actually get a crowd.
GV Dad
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Tere North wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 2:23 pm
GV Dad wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 1:14 pm My son and I went to a softball game when we were in town for the Spring Football game. There were a decent amount of people in the stands for a College Softball game; maybe 200. I was shocked to see that it was free admission. I was also shocked to see that the concessions were run by 2 students in a small wooden shed. Cooking hot dogs and brats on a table top grill. There was always at least a 3 or 4 deep line there. I really doubt that a $5 admission would have driven anyone away that was in attendance. And a small investment in a concession stand would create a much better experience, and also likely increase attendance and revenue. ( There were no concessions open for the Spring Game either, from what I remember). Sports like softball will probably never be self supportive, but $1500 in revenue that day would not have been difficult to achieve. Every dollar helps.
The concessions for Basketball games are abysmal. Hot dogs, popcorn, candy, soda, water, and PowerAid is it for choices, but worse is the long line with only 1 taking money and 1 getting items. Even with just 1,000 fans at a game the line is way, way, too long. Heaven forbid should be actually get a crowd.
Poor concessions = lost revenue. Something that it seems WIU can't afford. And something a good AD would notice.
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