Author: David Shama

Dick Ames has been a loyal Gophers supporter for decades, spending “millions of dollars” with the school.  Last week he was questioning whether he wants to spend $100,000 now for a TCF Bank Stadium suite, and renew his men’s basketball season tickets.

Ames, like so many fans, is frustrated with the high profile sports at the University of Minnesota.  He has been supporting the Gophers since the 1960s and when he looks back at the last “50 years” he isn’t all that happy with what U teams have done on the field and court.

The Gophers haven’t won a Big Ten football championship since 1967.  They have played in one New Year’s Day Bowl Game since 1962.  The men’s basketball program was stripped of its 1997 Big Ten title and Final Four appearance because of NCAA rules violations.  Since the beginning of this century only four times has the U seen its basketball and football teams (twice each) win more than half of their conference games.  Add up the combined performances of the football and basketball teams in the conference for the last 16 years and the Gophers rank at or near the bottom.

Even the treasured men’s hockey program is the target of critics who point out Minnesota hasn’t won a national championship since 2003 and was 20-17 this season, while often playing before empty seats at Mariucci Arena.  Fans are now debating whether the U should extend coach Don Lucia’s contract that has one year remaining.

Off the field the Gophers’ image has taken a pounding because of poor hires, missed opportunities and controversy.  In 2012 University president Eric Kaler hired athletic director Norwood Teague who resigned last year amid allegations of sexual harassment.  Teague admitted to having a problem with alcohol.

Teague came from VCU and so did one of his key hires, Mike Ellis.  The two had a reputation as smart basketball administrators but they turned off Flip Saunders who would have been a savior for the program and was a candidate for the Gophers’ job in 2013.

When presented with opportunities to hire or retain the best people, the U track record comes into question.  Jerry Kill accomplished a lot as Gophers football coach including his emphasis on academics and the behavior of players, but after health issues forced him to resign Kaler didn’t find a place for him in the Athletic Department.

In recent weeks University Board of Regents members have clashed over different views on whether the group should be empowered to approve Athletic Department contracts.  One position is that should be one of the board’s fiduciary duties, to provide a review and approval process of recommended compensation for coaches and administrators.  The other view is contracts are the responsibility of the president and athletic director who need to be astute decision makers and accountable.

No doubt regents heard from the public about the over-the-top $7 million buyout in basketball coach Richard Pitino’s contract.  That agreed upon figure came about under Teague’s watch but Sports Headliners is told the paper work wasn’t signed by the University until after his departure.  Pitino has struggled to show he has a solid plan to rebuild the basketball program.  Last season his 2-16 conference record was the Gophers’ worst ever.

In addition, six players have left Pitino’s program since 2013 with the most recent last week when freshman guard Kevin Dorsey said he was moving on.  Dorsey, along with sophomore guard Nate Mason and freshman guard Dupree McBrayer, were suspended earlier in the year for team rules violations.  This wasn’t the first time questions about character and player behavior have arisen during the Pitino era.

Al Nuness is a former Gophers basketball captain and assistant coach.  His loyalty to the program runs deep but he isn’t renewing his membership in the Golden Dunkers, the booster group that for decades has assisted U basketball coaches including Tubby Smith who was fired in March of 2013.

“I am very disappointed (with the program) because expectations have not been met,” Nuness said.  “We released a coach who had won the first round of the NCAA Tournament because he hadn’t reached our expectations.  Well, I feel the same way, that Richard Pitino has not reached our expectations.  So I am disappointed at this point.”

Kaler is looking for a new athletic director and last month announced the appointment of a 16-member search committee to help him work with a professional search firm.  The exclusion of former Gophers football star Jim Carter from the volunteer committee is another source of frustration for Ames and others.

Ames, who runs Burnsville-based Ames Construction, is drafting a letter to the Board of Regents to express concerns about the Athletic Department and the high profile sports.  “It’s not going to be a kind one,” he said.

Ames has empathy for Gophers fundraisers from the Athletic Department.  “That poor person that comes out to us boosters and asks us for money, don’t they think we want something for our money other than embarrassment?”

Carter was a great high school football player at South St. Paul.  He turned down Notre Dame to play for the hometown Gophers and was a starting fullback on the 1967 title team.  He went on to play for the Green Bay Packers and enjoy a successful business career.  He’s never lost his passion for the U and he sets a high bar for expectations.  He wants Gophers football to be great again as part of a strong Athletic Department.

Carter thought he could bring a commitment to excellence, along with his football and business experiences, to help Kaler and the search.  In December Carter met with the president and volunteered to head a small search group and save the University the expense of an outside firm.  The president turned him down and in February Kaler announced nominations were being taken for people to be on a selection committee for the next athletic director.

Carter’s name was advanced many times for membership on the committee.  “There were 301 total nominations for the selection committee,” Carter wrote in an e-mail to friends.  “I received 150 of the nominations and yet the president of the University decided not to put me on the committee.  He went back 41 years to find an example of my pre-recovery bad behavior to use as an excuse to keep me off the committee.

“Kaler and his team ignored all my years of hard work in recovery to overcome my addictions.  He and his associates have neither respect nor regard for the redemption and transformation of my many years of recovery work.  As most of you know, it has been 34 years since my last drink and I’m in my 14th year of recovery from all my other addictions.

“I have never relapsed in all these years.  When Kaler called to tell me he didn’t want me on the committee, he basically said I didn’t have the integrity or character to serve!  BTW, there were no background checks, nor any vetting of other prospective committee members.”

Gophers fans may remember three years ago assistant basketball coach Kimani Young was hired by Pitino, and approved by Teague and presumably Kaler.  Young, according to numerous online reports, was arrested in 1999 for possession of 96 pounds of marijuana and later incarcerated.

Carter believes his exclusion from the committee was based on his views about athletics at the U.  “I am pretty well convinced that he and the people around him don’t think that the Athletic Department needs blowing up, or needs changing like I think it needs, and like most of the Warmath guys think it needs,” Carter said.

Murray Warmath coached the 1967 football team that included Carter and captain Tom Sakal.  Both are done sending money to the U.  Carter annually gave $20,000 to the President’s Council and $10,000 to Kill for his football camps.  Over the years Sakal, a retired insurance executive, was approached by U representatives and asked to give money.  He considered leaving a six-figure sum as part of his estate.

“As a matter of fact I am very glad I didn’t sign the papers to do it,” Sakal said.  “I am just very, very disappointed with what’s going on at the University, the direction it’s going.  I think it’s a joke with what they’re doing with this athletic directorship.”

Sakal is upset Carter wasn’t given a place at the table in choosing the next AD because of an incident that happened more than 40 years ago.  Alumni, he said, are turned off.  “That’s big time.”

Sakal, Carter and others want an experienced and talented athletic director for the Gophers.  In short, a change agent.  They would love to have that person be a former U football player who truly understands the commitment and resources necessary to compete on the highest levels of college football—something the Gophers did decades ago when Big Ten and national championships were part of the school’s DNA.

Kaler appointed Beth Goetz interim AD in August and since then she has declared her candidacy for the permanent job.  Well liked and organized, Goetz is a Teague hire from Butler University.  She has never been an AD and is learning more about the job during her interim tenure while working to develop relationships inside and outside the University.

“This isn’t the place for someone who doesn’t have a great deal of experience,” Sakal said.  “I think the whole University situation is much like it was back in the 1980s when (nationally prominent football coach) Lou Holtz came in.  You need somebody with big time credentials.  Somebody with a proven track record to generate money, to bring money back into the program.

“From what I’ve been told, they’re struggling…to raise just $190 million (that) they want for a new athletic complex.  They’re $110 million short.  How long has this thing (project) been going on? …

“My goodness, gracious, you look at any other major university—especially the top ones—the Ohio States, the Michigans, Michigan States, they need to raise $200 million (and) that’s a done deal.”

Carter is skeptical of the selection committee’s makeup and ability to select someone he would choose.  The committee is led by co-chairs Katrice Albert and Perry Leo.  Albert is the University’s vice president for equity and diversity.  Leo is professor of aerospace engineering and the U faculty athletics representative.

“…If you’re looking for an athletic director wouldn’t the chairs of your committee be athletic people?” Carter asked.  “I would (think so), but maybe I am crazy.”

In 2012 there was a Gophers AD search committee of more than 20 people that included U alum and Minneapolis businessman Mark Sheffert.  He recalled that his group was told a four-person committee (including University staff) would narrow down the field of candidates for athletic director.  Then the large committee would vet the finalists for presentation to Kaler for a decision.

That didn’t happen.  A decision to hire Teague, Sheffert said, was made without his group’s knowledge and approval.  “We didn’t get a chance to vet the candidates including Teague, and (that) made us feel as though we got circumvented in the process.  It made us feel bad because we could have helped, and in retrospect should have helped.”

Carter said Illinois and Michigan recently hired athletic directors in faster time than Minnesota is doing.  “Like half the time we’re going through,” he said.  The new Gophers athletic director is likely to start work around July 1.  Carter believes the long process favors a Goetz hire by Kaler.

“I assume he took this long to give Beth a chance to get on the job and get some experience,” Carter said.  “…She’s got a lot of support.  People like her.  I like her.  I think she’s smart.  I think she is capable.  I don’t think she’s the person to do the turnaround right now at the U but I do think that she is the odds-on favorite.”

Carter wants the next athletic director to be a person with Minnesota roots.  He favors Bob Stein, his teammate with the Gophers who has a law and business background including being president of the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Stein, who declared his candidacy last week, wants to see a high level athletic program that competes for national championships.

“I think Bob would be great for four or five years, and hopefully Beth would stay while he was in it (the AD job),” Carter said.  “They could be a great team and I think they could turn it.  He would be my odds-on favorite.”

Kill might have been part of a strong athletic department team if he and Kaler had worked out a deal.  Kaler offered a full-time position at the University that didn’t include athletics.  Kill said Kaler wanted him to raise money for and speak on behalf of the University, plus teach classes.  “I think he felt that was the best fit, and I understand that,” Kill said.

Kill, though, wanted to work with student-athletes and coaches, and saw a possible role as an assistant AD helping to oversee football and a couple of other sports.  “Sometimes ex-coaches they get hired in the athletic department to help coach the coaches and help all the coaches when they need things and so forth,” Kill said.

Kaler may have been concerned that Kill’s presence in the Athletic Department would overshadow the leadership of Tracy Claeys, his longtime assistant and defensive coordinator who was promoted to head coach last November.  In the end Kill and Kaler agreed to an independent contractor role where the popular former coach will make appearances for the University.

Kill isn’t upset with Kaler, said the president was fair with him, and refers to him as the boss.  Kill said he is happy and busy with various activities in his new life including writing a book and making speeches before various groups.

There’s no doubt, though, Kill’s many supporters fault the University for not keeping him on as a full-time employee.  They look at his knowledge of athletics and popularity as valuable resources the Athletic Department should benefit from.

University alum Rob Marx referenced his disappointment about cutting ties to Kill in a recent e-mail to Kaler in which he also talked about the athletic department’s image.  “…I just returned from a trip to Florida and was asked many times from friends about the situation.  I had no explanation, but I can tell you that the public perception around the country is one of total dismay.  I am friends with many alumni as well as ‘M Men’ and all are about ready to toss in the towel in disgust.

“The Athletic Department is the window into the University.  It is what people talk about all over the country.  It is what instills pride among the alumni.  It is what people talk about in coffee shops around the state.”

Marx’s e-mail also included this:  “I am part of a group that is considering dropping all of our season tickets because we do not want to support a program with no hope for the future.  We haven’t even been close to a Big Ten championship in football or basketball for several generations.  Meanwhile, Wisconsin and Iowa are going to Rose Bowls, Sweet 16’s, Final 4’s, all of the things we covet.  The state of Iowa put 3 teams into the Big Dance this year and we can’t even win 3 conference games all year.”

Sheffert, with strong relationships in the business community and with U leaders, knows better than most how much frustration there is about the University.  He mentioned recent resignations outside athletics as news that has also drawn attention to the school.

“I don’ think there is any question based on the phone calls and based on the conversations I’ve had with boosters and alumni…there is clearly concern about what’s going at the University, (and) not just athletics,” Sheffert said.  “It seems to manifest itself more in athletics.  It seems to be more transparent because of the Teague situation and Jerry Kill leaving, the AD search and so on. …The University is going to have to address those things in a way that regains some stability and predictability.”

Sakal hopes in the not too distant future the high profile sports including football will regain a place of prominence.  He is skeptical, though, and not holding his breath.

“It’s going to be 50 years—five generations—since the last championship team (in football). …The tragedy of all this is when I die I am going to put on my tombstone, ‘Here lies the last captain of the last Gopher football championship team.’ ”