David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Kill Invaluable to Gophers AD Search

Posted on August 10, 2015August 10, 2015 by David Shama

There are two individuals at the University of Minnesota who should have the most say in who becomes the next athletic director—president Eric Kaler and Gophers football coach Jerry Kill.

Kaler and a few others hired Norwood Teague for the job three years ago. Teague was a poor choice and his flaws were seen long before he became a national news story because of sexual harassment. A trusted source told Sports Headliners that no one in the small group who finalized the hire of Teague was a University of Minnesota coach.

That is an error in judgment which can’t be repeated in hiring Teague’s successor. Kaler and other academics need a small number of administrators and coaches from the athletic department’s 25 sports to lend expertise and balance to the vetting process. A couple of the best and brightest from the athletic department should be part of the inner circle making the final selection. An extraordinary business person with expertise in athletics, hiring, fundraising and marketing is a must-have member, too.

Could you imagine a search committee comprised only of Gophers coaches and athletic administrators selecting the school’s next president? With no representatives from the academic world, the makeup of such a group would make no sense.

Kill can be invaluable to Kaler. The two are men of high character and they have a relationship of trust. They care deeply about the University, and it’s been generations since the school had such a supportive president for athletics.

Kaler is a career academic with a doctorate degree in chemical engineering. He is also an accomplished administrator, and sports fan, but he can’t match Kill’s longevity, experience and success in athletics. Kill, 53, has been coaching football since 1985 and starting in 1994 has been a head coach at five different schools.

Kill has seen the inside workings of athletic departments and the management style of athletic directors. As a head football coach, his responsibilities have mirrored many of those required of an athletic director including hiring and managing personnel, running a department, setting proper direction in the classroom and community for student-athletes, working with the media and school faculty, and fundraising.

In five seasons as Gophers football coach Kill has proven worthy of Kaler’s trust and has more than earned a preferred seat next to Kaler in choosing the next athletic director. Kill has turned around a football program that creaked and cracked on the inside and outside. His football team collectively had a 3.04 GPA last spring semester and his players are earning their degrees after he inherited a program where players were on academic probation and not attending classes. Also, ask the University police and Minneapolis police if there hasn’t been a dramatic change in off-field behavior.

On the field the Gophers have gone from being a joke to commanding respect. Minnesota’s consecutive 8-5 records are the school’s best two-year run since 2002-2003. The 5-3 conference record a year ago was tops since 2003. Last season’s team played in the school’s first New Year’s Day bowl game since 1962 and Minnesota came within one win of advancing to the Big Ten Football Championship game.

Kill, a cancer survivor who works to control his epilepsy everyday, has won the respect of Minnesotans and many others beyond the state’s borders. His tireless willingness to speak around the state and assist charitable organizations says volumes about his character. The fact a national poll of college football coaches last year placed him near the top as a coach his peers would want their sons to play for is the highest of praise.

Kill has become the face of the athletic department. School administrators sometimes talk about sports being the “front porch” the public sees first when looking at a university. If so, at Minnesota a big part of that picture is Kill—maybe sitting there on the front porch humbly dispensing wisdom and life lessons to all who listen.

Kaler needs to listen to Kill who is popular with Gophers fans and big time donors. Those who are influential contributors found Kill to be much more likeable than Teague who could come across as aloof and arrogant. Kill has been and will continue to be heavily involved in the Gophers $190 million project to upgrade athletics facilities including a new football complex and indoor practice building that still looks on schedule for this fall despite Teague’s departure.

Kill isn’t ready to step down as Gophers football coach but otherwise would be a top-shelf choice as athletic director. Some have suggested that at least for awhile he could lead the athletic department and be the football coach. This would be an enormous workload and seems impractical even with the best surrounding administrative support staff.

Dan O’Brien is likely to receive Kill’s support for athletic director. O’Brien was already on the Gophers football staff when Kill was hired in late 2010 from Northern Illinois. O’Brien started at Minnesota as director of football operations and has been promoted a couple of times since with his most recent title being senior associate athletic director. He was one of Teague’s top assistants.

O’Brien was athletic director at Concordia-St. Paul from 1999-2002 and Hamline from 2002-2007. He didn’t come to the Gophers from glamorous programs but neither did Kill whose coaching stops before Northern Illinois included Emporia State and Saginaw Valley State.

All you need to know about O’Brien regarding Kill’s feelings is this: “I’d jump off a bridge for Dan O’Brien,” Kill said last week.

Kaler needs to decide what qualities and characteristics he wants and values in his next athletic director. The advice from here is that a big time athletic director needs the skill to identify and hire the right coaches and other staff, know how to fundraise and have the acumen to run a $100 million, 25-sports department. He or she needs to be an authentic person who treats everyone with respect and dignity—even those who offer no direct benefit to Gophers athletics.

An athletic director’s staff can provide the expertise and sweat to help make the department successful and avoid problems with the NCAA, media and other potential critics. Being the AD at Minnesota is a huge challenge but the requirements of the job to be successful are simple. It’s critical to hire top performing coaches because those who win and demand excellence on and off the field will be the bedrock of a successful athletic department. Winning generates the most money possible and those revenues will fund competitive salaries and facilities. But it takes more than gate receipts, broadcast revenues, stadium revenues and such to stay relevant in the arms race of college athletic departments. It takes aggressive fundraising and the next Gophers athletic director will pick up at midstream where about $70 to $80 million has already been secured. That’s a long way to $190 million and a stark reminder why the Gophers athletic director needs to be an accomplished fundraiser.

Teague was an outsider who didn’t have relationships in Minneapolis when he was hired from VCU. His successor might well have ties to the state and the Gophers. Names that could draw public speculation and social media endorsement include interim athletic director Beth Goetz, former Gophers football coach Glen Mason, ex-Gophers quarterback and Super Bowl winning coach Tony Dungy, and Phil Esten and Tom Wistrcill, both former associate athletic directors at Minnesota.

Goetz won’t be the only woman considered and she shouldn’t be. She seems approachable and sincere, and has a quiet leadership style that is authentic. Her career experiences include five years as associate athletics director at Butler and since March of 2013 with the Gophers where she has been Deputy Athletics Director and senior woman administrator.

Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips might be a long shot for Minnesota but why not knock on his door? He is one of the country’s most respected athletic directors who has reportedly turned down opportunity to work elsewhere. He was also Kill’s boss at Northern Illinois. He’s a man the Gophers coach admires.

Whatever Kill says to Kaler about candidates should carry a lot of weight.

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U Not Switching Prize QB to Defense

Posted on August 7, 2015August 7, 2015 by David Shama

The Gophers have their first official practice today and in the weeks ahead it will be interesting to watch the quarterbacks. All of Dinkytown knows redshirt junior Mitch Leidner is the starter but what will the pecking order be behind him? Will fans see prize freshman Demry Croft this season?

Jerry Kill made it clear earlier this week Croft will remain a quarterback. “He’s a guy that played receiver but we’re not doing that,” the Minnesota head coach said.

The 6-5 Croft was a wide receiver at Boylan High School in Rockford, Illinois before switching to quarterback. Kill, who said after signing Croft to a National Letter of Intent last winter that the young QB was a “steal,” is high on the 18-year-old’s athleticism and poise. Defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys has even asked about Croft’s availability for defense.

“I know coach Claeys would like to have him over on defense, so any time he does that, that means he’s a pretty good athlete,” Kill said. “I informed coach Claeys that will not happen.”

Kill told Sports Headliners that Claeys thought the 198-pound Croft could add weight and with his athleticism become a defensive end. Kill has made defense the priority at Minnesota but he’s keeping Croft at his present position. Scout.com ranked Croft No. 1 among Illinois senior prep quarterbacks.

Last spring offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover raved about Croft. “We feel like the sky’s the limit for him,” Limegrover said.

Kill will think about redshirting Croft—just like many programs do with true freshmen quarterbacks. Redshirt sophomore Chris Streveler was last season’s No. 2 quarterback and also during spring practices. He is a gifted runner who Kill said is one of the five fastest players on the team. During offseason informal workouts, Kill told Streveler to not only work on passing but also catching the ball.

“We may practice him a little bit there to see what he does, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to play him at wide receiver,” Kill said. “I just want to make that clear.”

Redshirt freshman quarterback Jacques Perra impressed Limegrover in spring practices. He’s a superior passer to Streveler, and the former walk-on from Roseville High School could some day be the No. 2 quarterback behind Leidner. Limegrover likes the consistency of Perra who during his senior season at Roseville threw for over 3,100 yards and had 35 touchdowns.

Leidner is the No. 1 quarterback and the Gophers are hopeful the former Lakeville South standout will impress with his passing this fall. He attended the famous Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana this summer and it was a growth experience for him. “He was a different kid when he came back from Manning’s camp,” Kill said. “He was down there with some of the best (college quarterbacks).”

How Leidner looks in practices and early games starting with September 3 against No. 2 ranked TCU will be a big part of the storyline about the quarterbacks. Just like the QB depth chart behind him.

Worth Noting

There will be a couple of high profile names that likely will circulate fast online as Gophers fans think about who the University of Minnesota should consider for the next athletic director. Two names could be Tony Dungy, the former Gophers quarterback and Super Bowl winning coach, and Pete Najarian, the ex-Gophers linebacker and financial investing authority. (Read a lot more about the AD topic here on Monday).

Mick Tingelhoff, the former Vikings All-Pro center who made 240 consecutive career starts for the Vikings, will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio tomorrow. Former Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton, also a member of the Hall of Fame, will be his presenter. Live TV coverage of the ceremonies for the inductees, including Tingelhoff, starts at 6 p.m. Minneapolis time on the NFL Network.

The Vikings preseason Hall of Fame game on Sunday in Canton against the Steelers begins at 7 p.m. Minneapolis time. The game will be televised on NBC and KARE 11.

Richard Pitino’s basketball team leaves Monday for exhibition games in Spain. The Gophers will play against Spanish club teams and Pitino admitted he doesn’t know a lot about the competition. His coaching approach won’t be as intense as during the season, and part of the mission in Spain is to bond as a team. Planned activities on the trip include visiting the famous Barcelona soccer stadium and seeing a flamenco show in Madrid.

Pitino was asked about the recent announcement that Wisconsin’s legendary coach Bo Ryan will retire after next season. This spring the Badgers made it to the Final Four before losing to Duke in the national championship game. Ryan has coached the Badgers to a fourth place finish or better in the Big Ten during each of his 14 seasons in Madison. “What he accomplished was miraculous,” Pitino said.

Then the Minnesota coach laughed in telling a story. Prior to the 2015 Final Four, Pitino texted Ryan that he hoped for a Badgers NCAA championship—and that the coach would retire.

The Vikings have exclusive five-year rights to pursue a Major League Soccer team in the new downtown multipurpose stadium once it opens in 2016. However, Dr. Bill McGuire and his ownership group have emerged as the MLS favorite if Minneapolis-St. Paul is granted an expansion team. McGuire is trying to win approval from MLS by building an outdoor soccer stadium in the Twin Cities, but that doesn’t mean Vikings owners (the Wilfs) won’t consider promoting soccer exhibitions involving international teams in the new covered stadium.

With or without the Wilf family, the new U.S. Bank Stadium may host soccer, according to Lester Bagley. The Vikings executive vice president for stadium development told Sports Headliners the building’s management company, SMG, is interested in booking soccer matches.

Bagley said that while the Vikings are disappointed the MLS aligned with an outdoor stadium plan, they understand. “They want to play outdoors on grass, and God bless them. We’re supportive of MLS coming here and we’re supportive of what Dr. McGuire is trying to accomplish.”

Bagley said MLS soccer in U.S. Bank Stadium would have an “indoor-outdoor” feel because of the building’s 60 percent clear roof, and the five glass pivoting doors that will be 95 feet at their peaks and can be open weather allowing. Part of the Wilf’s plan for MLS soccer was a stadium curtaining system allowing seating setups for 20,000, 30,000 and 40,000 fans. The stadium will have a Vikings game day capacity of 66,000.

Gophers assistant head baseball coach Rob Fornasiere said the program will open its new 5,000 square feet indoor hitting and pitching facility later this year at Siebert Field. Gifts totaling $1 million from former Gopher and now Twins reliever Glen Perkins and ex-Gopher Dick McCullough (1964 national championship team) made the hitting and pitching facility possible. Perkins also contributed $125,000 toward construction of Siebert Field, Minnesota’s on-campus baseball home that opened in 2013.

Gophers baseball alums from 1956-1964 celebrated championships and other memories on Wednesday, playing golf at Dwan Golf Club in Bloomington, and with a party at one of the former player’s home. From 1956-1964 Minnesota won five Big Ten championships and had only one overall losing record. In 1956, 1960 and 1964 the Gophers won NCAA national championships.

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Lots of Questions about U Basketball

Posted on August 5, 2015August 5, 2015 by David Shama

The Gophers basketball team leaves for Spain next week, with the practices and games expected to improve the players and increase chances for a successful Big Ten season in 2016. When the Gophers return to campus later in the month they may have more answers, but there will still be intriguing questions about the future.

NCAA rules allow a college basketball program to schedule a foreign trip every four years. Because of the trip to Spain this summer, Minnesota has 10 extra practices and a few exhibition games to help prepare for next season. Here is a list of questions Gophers fans could be asking.

Q. What direction is the program trending?

Minnesota was a disappointing 6-12 in Big Ten Conference regular season games last season. Preseason expectations had them at 8-8 or better but the Gophers struggled in close games, losing eight league games by six points or less. Minnesota was 18-15 overall and not only missed an invite to the NCAA Tournament but also didn’t return to the NIT where the Gophers won the championship in 2014.

With key returnees a year ago including guards Andre Hollins and DeAndre Mathieu—and building off the NIT championship—the Gophers looked like a solid bet for the NCAA Tournament. Instead, they struggled through the conference season, producing a record that was better than only three other league teams.

Starters Hollins, Mathieu and forward-center Mo Walker, three of the team’s better players, have used up their college eligibilities. The returning personnel has plenty to prove, just like the team’s newcomers. That’s why the Gophers are a popular pick to finish again near the bottom of the Big Ten next season.

Head coach Richard Pitino acknowledged at his news conference yesterday that the expectations for next season by fans are low. “We try to get better everyday,” he said.

Q. Who steps up for the Gophers?

Everyone needs to but hopes start with sophomore guard Nate Mason and senior guard-forward Carlos Morris. Pitino wrote on his blog that Mason has all-conference potential. He’s also written that Morris, a very athletic but inconsistent player, will have much to do with determining the team’s success.

The 16-man roster consists of two seniors, four juniors, four sophomores and six freshmen. “We’re so young,” Pitino said.

Forward Joey King, a returning starter, is the team’s other senior and poster boy for max effort. Pitino has to hope his mostly unproven roster of players emulates King, and that they all try to take away his title as Minnesota’s best overachiever.

The Gophers will need help from newcomers including four-star freshman guard Kevin Dorsey from Waldorf, Maryland. Minnesota’s incoming recruits were rated No. 11 in the Big Ten by 247sports.com, and Rivals.com had four teams from the league in its top 30 national recruiting rankings but not the Gophers. Pitino’s incoming class has an opportunity to prove it’s better than expected.

Q. Will the roster stabilize after recent turnover?

During the last 12 months three players with remaining eligibility have left the program—Zach Lofton, Josh Martin and Daquein McNeil. Lofton and Martin transferred to other schools while McNeil has legal issues. A fourth player, incoming freshman Jarvis Johnson, was determined unfit to play because of a heart condition. All four players were once seen as either starters or key contributors. This spring the Gophers also lost assistant coach Dan McHale who became head coach at Eastern Kentucky.

Pitino and his staff have brought in two important transfers from other college programs, center Reggie Lynch and forward Davonte Fitzgerald. They will be eligible for the 2016-2017 season when the Gophers, with more experience and probably proven talent, could have their best team in four seasons under Pitino. With only two seniors on the roster now, the 2016-2017 team will be a veteran group.

Q. Will the Gophers receive commitments from top in-state high school talent like Amir Coffey and Gary Trent Jr.?

Coffey, who will be a senior guard-forward this fall at Hopkins High School, and Trent, a junior guard at Apple Valley High School, are nationally-recruited players. In recent years the Gophers have flopped in efforts to convince the state’s best prep players to stay home and play in Dinkytown.

Minnesota has homegrown talent that can compete with the better high school players in the country. Not every year will offer a prep group like 2014 with Tyus Jones, Rashad Vaughn and Reid Travis, but there are exceptional high school players in this state each season.

The Gophers have a 2016 commitment from Rochester John Marshall forward Michael Hurt. That’s a step forward in closing the recruiting borders but the Gophers will have to do a lot more lockdown in coming years with players like Coffey and Trent and their successors. Minnesota’s potential to contend for Big Ten championships depends on it.

Q. Can Pitino answer the critics?

Pitino impressed with his coaching in his first season at Minnesota. His 2013-2014 team was 8-10 in the Big Ten and surprisingly won the NIT championship. The league record was the same as coach Tubby Smith’s last Minnesota team, a group with more talent than Pitino worked with.

The disappointment of last season has been documented but the last several months have triggered controversy, too. During the offseason Pitino’s name was rumored with job openings at St. John’s and Alabama. He was too slow in countering speculation and declaring his commitment to Minnesota, according to critics.

Does the 32-year-old Pitino want to coach here long-term? An East Coast guy, he had no connection to the state before leaving his head coaching job at Florida International in 2013. Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague has been all in on Pitino—giving him an opportunity in big time college coaching, and, according to recent media reports, he is boosting the coach’s pay by a reported $400,000 to $1.6 million.

Media and fans ask what Pitino did to earn the $400,000? If you read his contract, though, it calls for annual increases, even though the $400,000 amount is much more than the University is obligated to provide. Advocates for the pay boost argue it’s the cost of doing business in the “arms race” to retain coaches (see Alabama rumors).

Pitino’s popularity, as with any coach, will be tied to winning games but he could become more engaged with the public and media. If he wants a role model, there’s a guy named Jerry Kill who offices within several hundred feet of the basketball office.

Q. When will the Gophers upgrade the nonconference home schedule?

For years now—long before Pitino arrived—Williams Arena has been the state’s largest “bakery” in November and December when the Gophers serve up a schedule of “cupcake” opponents. Yes, it’s understood all Big Ten teams do a lot of this “bakery” stuff to win enough games to make the NCAA Tournament. But the Gophers nonconference scheduling annually ranks with the most unappealing in the Big Ten and is a deterrent to buying season tickets.

In a competitive sports market, the Gophers need to upgrade the pre-Big Ten home schedule with a couple of big-time opponents that are in addition to those provided by the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. This December the Gophers play Oklahoma State in Sioux Falls in a neutral court nonconference game. Minnesota fans are being encouraged to make “the short drive” to Sioux Falls to see the game against the Big 12’s Cowboys. Sorry, that doesn’t count as an upgrade, critics respond.

Q. How much decline in fan interest could be ahead?

For years the Gophers program was among the most popular and lucrative in college basketball. Decades ago Minnesota led the nation in average attendance per game. But interest and attendance is trending downward. The Gophers sold out only one game last season at Williams Arena (14,625 capacity) after selling out four the previous year. The program has an aging season ticket base and younger basketball fans are drawn to the Timberwolves.

The Gophers and Timberwolves once had a sort of stand-off in competition for basketball fans in this market. But the Gophers haven’t had a winning season in the Big Ten for 10 years and while the Wolves’ losing ways have sometimes been even more abysmal, fan excitement surrounds the pro franchise that has a roster loaded with former first round draft choices. It’s a marketing mismatch for Gophers basketball right now when the Wolves can advertise players like last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins, hometown hero Tyus Jones and Karl-Anthony Towns, the No. 1 overall pick in last June’s NBA Draft.

It’s easy to see why Wolves fans are anticipating a bright future during the winters ahead. The Gophers’ future is less clear.

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