42-24-10 in conference play. Should have gotten a raise and multi year contract. What is AD thinking?
Cursory review: 122 RPI; 53 SOS More international players than Mercer or Furman Good mix of upper and lower classes Assistant coaches there 3 years Guess: Let’s assume AD isn’t crazy and/or coach(es) has done nothing wrong Program’s past history, mix of talent and SOS indicated this should have been a “good year” and expectations were likely higher than .500 record, 122 RPI and loss in conf tournament. After multiple years at the helm and missed expectations, school goes in different direction. Conclusion?: Short of an external factor this looks like a soccer team being managed the same way a football or b-ball team would be managed if they had a similar history and expectation.
There are only two sports that create revenue... Football and Men's Basketball. Women's Basketball who generates losses in the millions of dollars has coaches making $750,000 a year... UNCG probably pays $75,000.... https://www.app.com/story/sports/co...eives-four-year-contract-extension/826000001/
What have most athletic departments done to increase revenue of men's [or women's] soccer? There's numerous soccer coaches that have had buyouts in their contracts though. Some departments will offer them, others won't. Depends on program, school, and possibly conference.
One HoF coach doesn’t constitute a basis for comparison. Of the 351 D1 women’s b-ball coaches there are going to be a handful that mean enough to a program that they are subject to retention incentives. I would suspect Pat Summit was worth more to Tenn than the sum a few years of women’s b-ball revenues. Some might serve roles in the general athletic department or provide as a school wide spokesperson, fundraiser or icon. In general, that isn’t the case and buyouts are relative to demand, replacement costs, continuity and cost/benefit views. In this forum there is periodic wonderment that coaches hang on when results are not commensurate with their tenure. There is also sentiment that it is good for the game if there are high expectations for coaches...they may not make more than football coaches but D1 soccer head coaches make more than their assistants or most D2-3 coaches...so, they hold relatively “high paid” jobs and the expectations will be higher.
Other than maybe UConn, almost any other program, Women's basketball as a whole is the biggest loser in revenue vs. cost.. All the perks of men's basketball, chartered flights, etc. but no TV money to back it up. Salaries have to be fairly big to help with Title IX. ... but there is also sentiment on this forum that soccer coaches get treated like basketball and football coaches... Charlie Weiss got paid $25 million from Notre Dame and Kansas to not be the coach ... If they're terrible, have discipline or academic issues in the program I get it...but everyone on this site screams for ADs to treat soccer like football and basketball when it comes to coaches...Does a career .500 record, 62 percent conference winning percentage and one NCAA tournament justify being fired ? Maybe ??? .... but until the salaries match the pressure and expectations ($75K is less than what a teacher makes with similar education and tenure) I don't always see it the same way... If the expectations are high and winning the only thing that matters, then shortcuts might be taken to insure that winning is the only thing that matters (lying about players who are former pros, payoffs to athletes and their families, academic fraud, etc. (See almost every top football and basketball program) Be careful what you wish for...
Anybody hearing anything about the Rutgers search? AD has been very tight lipped about the search. Only name I've seen mentioned anywhere is Dave Brandt. Other than that, it's been pure speculation. This article gives some background on what went wrong with Donigan and throws out some other names. https://247sports.com/college/rutgers/Article/Rutgers-Mens-Soccer-Coaching-Search-Update-124408031/ Of that bunch, only Carlo Acquista (current RBNY scout, former Adelphi & St. Francis NY head coach) seems intriguing. Also heard fans mention Mike Miller from UConn (although he might be head coach in waiting?). Don't think they can afford to gamble on a local former pro with little or no college coaching experience (like Meola or Ritchie Williams), or seemingly 'comfortable' veterans (like Masur or McCourt, who were candidates during the last search). Most Rutgers people have no issue with the $143k buyout, and feel the change was made one year too late. It's a relatively small price to pay for a program that should be nationally relevant. Especially for an athletic department that's not really competitive in football or basketball, and needs to find success wherever it can, and will be getting full Big Ten revenue soon.
You’d think RU needs to get somebody soon...if recruiting was a problem they just missed one day and another is a few months out. The article points out academy recruiting is important...no offense to any of their players but a Big10 team in N.J. should be able to recruit better than they have. Being from that general neck of the woods and having recently done both the USYS Nationals and MLS academy path with one of ours, never so much as heard the name Rutgers mentioned by any family, club coach or player. There are some colleges that really do their work in recruiting...this has been discussed previously. If we could take every email and phone call we got and lay them out I suspect Rutgers wouldn’t be in there at all while other, bigger and smaller schools, were working hard to at least be relevant. So, a new coach will endure some challenges but at least there is cause for optimism.
Rutgers is expensive for out of State players, and like a lot of Big Ten schools, little in the form of academic scholarships to count on. So using the 9.5 scholarship money carefully is likely the big challenge, to supplement the in-state talent. They should follow in the path of Mich State and Michigan that does a nice job of keeping the Michigan talent. Michigan out of state tuition is also very high without a lot of academic scholarship money for coaches to use at either program. Just hope they don't go the international route leaving a lot of USSDA talent looking for spot. Academy players should look at Rutgers as a great opportunity to make a difference, instead of heading to top five programs where they warm the bench and cheer on international players.
List of potential current & localish list head coaches who have brought programs to the NCAA at least once or at the very least been in the national rankings or close in their tenures...In no particular order 1. McElderry-Fordham 2. Inverso-Rider (former Rutgers asst) 3. McCourt-Monmouth 4. Barlow-Princeton 5. Rees-Fairfield 6. Hennessy-Delaware 7. Anderson-Columbia 8. Nuttall-Hofstra 9. Russell-Army 10. Koski-Lehigh 11. Roland-FDU This assuming that someone like Chaka Daley-Michigan, doesn't see this as a bus ride home to the East Coast, where his roots are. That would be a good coup on many fronts and a good story for Rutgers. Aside from that associate/assistants not mentioned Samol-G'Town.....RBNY pipeline is more G'Town than Rutgers Totten-Princeton Adams-UMBC
I think not including internationals, or any player anywhere, would be a fatal mistake in building this program back up. Not saying they should not chase the "Garden States" best, but leave no stone unturned here in a promising job that the local "joisey" crew will be quick to jump on if don't happen fast. Michigan States best defender, Michigan's best attacker are both international. In recent years Rutgers best attackers have also been international. Wright left for Clemson and now Hall is a UConn transfer and to be fair they were both good pickups for Donigan. They were not his problem https://uconnhuskies.com/index.aspx?path=msoc
American University is now available as the school announced that head coach Todd West, who had been there since 2000, has left the school to pursue "other professional opportunities." Don't know if that means fired, resigned or contract not being renewed, but AU has been an afterthought in DC soccer in recent years after being a strong program in the 80s and 90s. Under West, AU made the NCAA Tournament in 2001, 02 and 04 but hasn't been there since. It's an expensive place to live but it's also an attractive place to live and a good conference close to an MLS academy so it should be an appealing job for an up-and-coming coach.
Thanks for the info. I would totally be shocked if Zach Samol (Gtown asst.) isn't given serious consideration for this position. Zach is tied to the DC area because of his wife's education/training/profession. AU is just a few miles from Gtown. AU doesn't have lights which impacts recruiting because of the lack of night matches and reduces student interest, etc. But, the field is right in the middle of campus (then again, I've only been to the soccer field and not to other parts of AU.
I have been there a few times and it is a nice field but not a real nice overall set up or atmosphere. Always a decent team, but probably should have done better in the Patriot League. Figure the GU asst to be a good candidate. Some AU alumni would be good possibilities as well including the former GU coach Keith Tabatznick and Duke's assistant Mike Bradey. Think Bradey coached the women at AU before so he has that connection as well? Maybe also one of MD assistants with local ties?
Salcedo is terrible. Clueless coach. But can charm his way out of anything. Talent is very strong and still only produces .500 win record. It’s a shame for every UCLA fan and alum.
My guess is the Kentucky coach isn’t going anywhere but has built a nice team. That facility must help a lot. Looked very nice Saturday. BTW, Lipscomb played a nice game.
Speculation from Rutgers sources on the coaching shortlist: -Acquiesta -Brandt -Franks -McElderry -Miller If accurate, all would be solid options. Franks would probably be the sexiest name of the bunch, but not sure how strong his recruiting contacts still are back east. Brandt has won everywhere. Acquiesta seemingly has the local MLS Academy contacts, and previous head coach success in difficult places. McElderry has also built a solid A-10 program. Miller has never been a head coach, but a big pedigree as an assistant and recruiter. I'm not really plugged into the recruiting scene, but the knock on Donigan was that he only established a pipeline with one of the big clubs (PDA), and his relationships everywhere else were basically non-existent. That, and he couldn't keep his top players from transferring out.
Somewhat surprised Andy Fleming (Xavier) wouldn't be on the Rutgers' radar. A bit of a down year, but he's been in the mix for some big jobs (Ohio State, most recently). A move to Rutgers seems fitting for the northeasterner.
From left field, anybody who is a HC at a moderately successful program would likely think twice about going to RU. That athletics program has had its share of issues. So, aside from a sick mother nearby I’d be surprised if somebody would leave “a good situation” to take on that role, in central Jersey. I have no insights into the real situation but won’t be surprised if they get an assistant from somewhere ... unless they are talking so much money that they can paper over some of the obvious concerns. Just $.02
Unfortunately, the UCLA AD is even more clueless. His track record in hiring and retaining coaches speaks for itself. One only has to look at the sports that pay the bills in both football and basketball as an example. Having said that, I am amazed Jorge hasn't been released and still has his job after two consecutive miserable seasons. Every program has a down year but what was telling to me was how this year's team faltered down the stretch heading into the tournament and ultimately losing 5 of their last six games and scoring but a single goal in their last four matches. IMHO, the program needs a jump start and a new vision.
What’s the word on UAB? Who is rumored to be interested? Wouldn’t be surprised to see them go after ACC, Big Ten, etc. top assistants. Is it a good enough job to lure any Head Coaches?