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Pete Thamel
@PeteThamel
Sources: Northern Iowa is hiring Megan Franklin as the school’s next athletic director. She comes from Drake where she’s the senior associate athletic director.
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Pete Thamel
@PeteThamel
Sources: Northern Iowa is hiring Megan Franklin as the school’s next athletic director. She comes from Drake where she’s the senior associate athletic director.
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The McLoud Center -Bob Lutz, Wichita Eagle, 2/3/2010 -
Not among the three names we were hearing before. Seems like her role was similar to Harris' role at ISU before coming to UNI.
Not much mention of fundraising experience, other than replacing Drake's basketball floor.
I look forward to hearing more about her vision for UNI.__________________
The McLoud Center -Bob Lutz, Wichita Eagle, 2/3/2010 -
Well that is out of left fieldComment
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Official Announcement: https://insideuni.uni.edu/campus-com...ctor-athletics__________________
The McLoud Center -Bob Lutz, Wichita Eagle, 2/3/2010Comment
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Let's go.
I don't exactly see the type of bio I was hoping for but I'm not going to judge before she gets to work. I'm also a bit confused on why the other names leaked when they had, on paper, better resumes.
Let's get this new era rolling and get back to where we belong!#MACtionComment
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What are her fund-raising credentials?
I've read the official announcement from UNI and her bio on Drake's web-site and they don't show up.
There are some references to being involved in a soccer stadium.
The bio on Drake's site looks a lot like one I read in 2016.
Looking forward to the press conference.
Last edited by Blue42; 05-06-2024, 01:41 PM.Winning is more fun than losing.Comment
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Hopefully she doesn't suck like David did.
Fairly impossible to tell by resume if she will be good. But the leaked names had more "Wow" factor. but again I just want her not to suck. This hire has to be a good one. if not RIP UNI athletics... so LFGComment
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She absolutely HAS to win the press conference. I don't at all disagree with you there. Need to see some charisma and a presence.Originally posted by Blue42 View Post
It's not fair to judge her based on the leaks that all apparently passed. It'll also be real interesting to see what the salary looks like.
If she's it, I'm in. This department is in real trouble and, hopefully, she's the right person at the right time to get this thing turned around before it's too late.#MACtionComment
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Atrocious. Has BOR written all over it. No fundraising and no football experience. This speaks volumes to me. Cannot believe this was Bowlsby’s recommendationComment
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I want to know what her vision is to put UNI in the best possible position with the current NIL/Transfer landscape and I want to hear about getting the Dome renovation done and shovels in the ground on the two practice facilities.
I'm less concerned with our current Title IX situation, academic success, or risk management plan. Yes, those things are important - but really won't matter much at all if we don't address the critical issues.__________________
The McLoud Center -Bob Lutz, Wichita Eagle, 2/3/2010Comment
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In 2016 we hired the no. 2 person from an in-state school who had a heavy administrative focus and marginal if any fund raising focus in his background.
And by all accounts the department languished as a result.
It would appear we have now hired a no. 2 from an in-state school with a heavy administrative and strategic planning focus and minimal fund raising success to speak of.
To say that is not what I hoped to see is an understatement.
We'll see what she has to say at the presser. If it's "I can't wait to get to campus and listen..." or "we're going to spend the next year assembling a strategic vision for the department"...well that won't be good.
Hopefully it is something very different.Winning is more fun than losing.Comment
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There's fundraising experience. She's done a lot with corporate partners in Des Moines and got a stadium that wasn't exactly a popular decision built, that's not nothing.Originally posted by Mudrafan View Post
Football experience really doesn't matter as we're at the 4th level of college football unless everything just blows up. It's a matter of keeping it competitive without spending a fortune on it. Hopefully that's where she's at with it too.#MACtionComment
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I will say her involvement in bringing the NCAA tournament to Des Moines is encouraging. I would like to think a renovated UNI-Dome could potentially bid to host things like indoor Track & Field nationals, maybe Big 12 wrestling? Other events that help bring in revenue and visibility to the campus.__________________
The McLoud Center -Bob Lutz, Wichita Eagle, 2/3/2010Comment
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I'm hopeful.
Much of it isn't direct "raised X dollars" fundraising, but her specialist is strategic planning and community involvement it seems. She seems to be good at networking and getting partnerships on board for what she was tasked with. Let's hope he can bring that over and use that to get the facility issues finished here.
David was good at saying things fans wanted to hear, but he had zero ability to follow through, engage donors, sell a vision, etc.
Between David's attempt at a strategic plan (as half-cocked as it was) and what Bob has done as an interim to set it on the right path I have faith (until/unless proven otherwise) that her experience is such that she can use it to sell and implement the plan.
Something else to consider is David never felt like he belonged, or wanted to be here. He didn't want to be in Iowa anymore. He didn't want to be at a smaller school. He didn't want to be at UNI. However, he had to be here to work up the chain further. It was just a check on his resume. If Dr. Franklin can come in with the personality and passion to sell her vision, and her want to be here, she will be more successful than David was.
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