UTC's David Blackburn says no official contact with UT on job

#501
#501
Biggest problem I have with hiring Blackburn is that I'm afraid there won't be enough people screaming for him to be fired on day one. We have to honor tradition here, this is Tennessee!
 
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#502
#502
johnrlansford said:
Ok I heard this weekend an interesting conversation about the AD job and not everyone believes that it is Blackburn of Bust.

Let me clarify I believe that David Blackburn would be a very good AD here. That being said, I don't believe it is Blackburn or Bust! There are plenty of more qualified and More experienced ADs out there who could do just as good if not a better job.

I know that Blackburn is a "tennessee guy" but that doesn't make him the only candidate who could run the Athletic Department.

What do you all think?
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I agree that there are other qualified candidates, it's just nice to have a Tennessee guy who knows where this program was and should be. I think everybody here feels that with Blackburn he would do what was best for the program and not just appease the administration or boosters. He also would be able to rally the boosters, former players, alumni, and fans.

I really like Blackburn and he'd be my choice, but I'd accept someone else as long as they are truly committed to fixing the Tennessee program and not padding their own resume or solely focused on being politically correct. I get worried with outsiders or ADs who have no true experience. I want a person who is a sports guru and committed to resurrecting the Tennessee program. It'd be nice to see someone that is successful with money and fundraising, Blackburn is. I do not want someone who is just going to come to Tennessee and follow along with the administration and focus more on academics than athletics. I have two degrees from Tennessee, I'm proud of my school and I want it to be academically strong and respected, but we're a SEC football school, we have got to start focusing on that too.

I also like Byrne or Phillips. But I don't know a lot about them.
 
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#503
#503
johnrlansford said:
Ok I heard this weekend an interesting conversation about the AD job and not everyone believes that it is Blackburn of Bust.

Let me clarify I believe that David Blackburn would be a very good AD here. That being said, I don't believe it is Blackburn or Bust! There are plenty of more qualified and More experienced ADs out there who could do just as good if not a better job.

I know that Blackburn is a "tennessee guy" but that doesn't make him the only candidate who could run the Athletic Department.

What do you all think?
Click to expand...

One thread is enough....
 
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#504
#504
The University of Tennessee has zeroed in on the search firm it intends to use to find its replacement for outgoing Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Dave Hart, and it is line to be a bit of an upset over the firm that widely had been expected to be in place for the search.

Although Tennessee has a five-year contract in place with Parker Executive Search, sources this weekend and into today, both on the Knoxville campus and in state government in Nashville, indicated to 247Sports that UT, under new Chancellor Beverly J. Davenport, is expected to use Todd Turner’s Collegiate Sports Associates.

A former Vanderbilt administrator, among other stops, Turner helped grow the company since he left intercollegiate athletics in 2008. Among their employees includes Dave Odom, the former ACC and SEC basketball coach.

During its search to find Davenport, UT used Parker Executive Search out of Atlanta and paid $75,000 for their services, per open records. UT’s five-year deal with Parker does not obligate the school to use the firm, but it shows that the contract can have a maximum value of $3 million.

Tennessee has used Parker’s firm extensively in the past for both athletics and academics hires of top-level positions. Parker search firm was used last month by Chattanooga as it hired new football coach Tom Arth.-247
 
#505
#505
"Candidates widely mentioned thus far for the athletics director’s position on Rocky Top include, but are not limited to, Northwestern’s Jim Phillips, Arizona’s Greg Byrne, Chattanooga’s David Blackburn and Cincinnati’s Mike Bohn, as well as Kentucky’s Mitch Barnhart and Oregon’s Rob Mullens." - Brice from 247
 
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#506
#506
pismonque said:
Biggest problem I have with hiring Blackburn is that I'm afraid there won't be enough people screaming for him to be fired on day one. We have to honor tradition here, this is Tennessee!
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I didn't LOL but I SOL'd. (Smiled out loud).
 
#507
#507
A search firm does not recommend just one candidate but a small number to be be interviewed plus make sure they have been completely vetted.
 
#508
#508
Orange&White said:
"Candidates widely mentioned thus far for the athletics director’s position on Rocky Top include, but are not limited to, Northwestern’s Jim Phillips, Arizona’s Greg Byrne, Chattanooga’s David Blackburn and Cincinnati’s Mike Bohn, as well as Kentucky’s Mitch Barnhart and Oregon’s Rob Mullens." - Brice from 247
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Take Bohn off and that's not a bad list. I'm just worried their gonna kill all this time and end up picking someone like Gilbert that's never even officially been an AD before.
 
#509
#509
MrVolton said:
Take Bohn off and that's not a bad list. I'm just worried their gonna kill all this time and end up picking someone like Gilbert that's never even officially been an AD before.
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What makes Bohn a bad candidate? He's got plenty of experience and been a Power 5 AD.
 
#511
#511
MrVolton said:
I think he got canned at Colorado. Maybe there were extenuating circumstances, but it is a red flag.
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Got there at the tail end of the Gary Barnett imbroglio. Dan Hawkins and Jon Embree were his contributions...pretty red. :ermm:
 
#513
#513
If the powers that be pass on Blackburn, then it better be a home run hire. I can only imagine the s***storm that will ensue if this athletic program takes yet another step backward. Good luck gentlemen. Now show us all why you're the smartest guys in the room.
 
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#515
#515
pismonque said:
Biggest problem I have with hiring Blackburn is that I'm afraid there won't be enough people screaming for him to be fired on day one. We have to honor tradition here, this is Tennessee!
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Hotel staff is going to wonder why there is sprite sprayed all over the wall. Thank you. :hi:
 
#517
#517
WE Volunteer fans are destined for mediocrity in sports while the BOT of a land grant state university is trying to become an Ivy League institution. Couple that with a milk-toast group of Big $$$ Boosters who don't appear to have the wherewithal to assert their collective power over the BOT and Chancy - they are the guys who donate the huge sums of cash that fund the new buildings on the hill. These people do not seem to understand their strength, position and station at the university. It is very unfortunate for us.
 
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#518
#518
patrick said:
WE Volunteer fans are destined for mediocrity in sports while the BOT of a land grant state university is trying to become an Ivy League institution. Couple that with a milk-toast group of Big $$$ Boosters who don't appear to have the wherewithal to assert their collective power over the BOT and Chancy - they are the guys who donate the huge sums of cash that fund the new buildings on the hill. These people do not seem to understand their strength, position and station at the university. It is very unfortunate for us.
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The boosters are all on a different page. The most powerful ones seem to be content with the yes men(women?) they've put in charge.
 
#519
#519
Whomever is hired will be whomever is hired and that person will be hired when UT is ready to hire the AD. No amount of carrying on will change that. And no amount of saying hire this one verses that one will change the hire.
 
#520
#520
volfan102455 said:
Whomever is hired will be whomever is hired and that person will be hired when UT is ready to hire the AD. No amount of carrying on will change that. And no amount of saying hire this one verses that one will change the hire.
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That can be said about anything. Why talk about games? It's not like we can have an effect on them.
 
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#521
#521
volfan102455 said:
Whomever is hired will be whomever is hired and that person will be hired when UT is ready to hire the AD. No amount of carrying on will change that. And no amount of saying hire this one verses that one will change the hire.
Click to expand...

Well damn, shut down the board.. We can't talk about it anymore..

You take the fun out of everything...
 
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#522
#522
patrick said:
WE Volunteer fans are destined for mediocrity in sports while the BOT of a land grant state university is trying to become an Ivy League institution. Couple that with a milk-toast group of Big $$$ Boosters who don't appear to have the wherewithal to assert their collective power over the BOT and Chancy - they are the guys who donate the huge sums of cash that fund the new buildings on the hill. These people do not seem to understand their strength, position and station at the university. It is very unfortunate for us.
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Yeah, look how well the boosters running the show works at Texas. I mean it's a no brainier.
 
#523
#523
secking said:
The University of Tennessee has zeroed in on the search firm it intends to use to find its replacement for outgoing Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Dave Hart, and it is line to be a bit of an upset over the firm that widely had been expected to be in place for the search.

Although Tennessee has a five-year contract in place with Parker Executive Search, sources this weekend and into today, both on the Knoxville campus and in state government in Nashville, indicated to 247Sports that UT, under new Chancellor Beverly J. Davenport, is expected to use Todd Turner’s Collegiate Sports Associates.

A former Vanderbilt administrator, among other stops, Turner helped grow the company since he left intercollegiate athletics in 2008. Among their employees includes Dave Odom, the former ACC and SEC basketball coach.

During its search to find Davenport, UT used Parker Executive Search out of Atlanta and paid $75,000 for their services, per open records. UT’s five-year deal with Parker does not obligate the school to use the firm, but it shows that the contract can have a maximum value of $3 million.

Tennessee has used Parker’s firm extensively in the past for both athletics and academics hires of top-level positions. Parker search firm was used last month by Chattanooga as it hired new football coach Tom Arth.-247
Click to expand...


I do not know when they officially hired them, but does the fact they hired a search firm add about a month from time they agreed to use them for hiring an A.D.?

I just figured they would not use one if even remotely close to knowing who they would hire for A.D.
 
#524
#524
The thing those boosters don't see from their ivory towers is how the fanbase is wilting. There will always be a great number of alumni, but the sidewalk fans bring a ton of money and more than anything they raise potential students. Personally speaking, Chattanooga and SE TN has always been a melting pot of UGA, Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee fans. But when Tennessee becomes a laughing stock for a decade and change, and the other three are winning conference and national championships in the meantime, kids that otherwise would have been Tennessee fans are becoming fans of other teams. That hurts every facet of the program from revenues, to prospective students, to prospective student athletes.
 
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#525
#525
volfan102455 said:
Whomever is hired will be whomever is hired and that person will be hired when UT is ready to hire the AD. No amount of carrying on will change that. And no amount of saying hire this one verses that one will change the hire.
Click to expand...

I bet this sounded more poignant in your head.
 
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