Miami AD Blake James

[CaneInHeelCountry]

So what do you really think a stadium would accomplish? More revenue, who knows, better attendance, doubtful, what you may gain from being closer to campus you'll lose in fans from Palm Beach and north counties, call it a wash. At this point the program needs to win and that in itself would cause an increase in revenue due to ticket sales and whatever revenue situation they have with Sunlife.
Personally I would love a 55k seat stadium that is just Miami's, similar to what Baylor is building, but I can't fault the admin for not making it a priority at this time.

Our current situation is excellent.

It's virtually the same situation we've had since the dawn of UM football: playing in a stadium we don't own located off campus. I haven't heard a single AD "make a priority" of getting an on-campus stadium in the way that you're expecting James to do. Blaming him for not publicly pushing the issue is retarded.

While the orange bowl was better because it felt like our home, the current situation at dead life is terrible. Also please
Stop saying on-campus, we just want our own 50k place. We never really had that, I am curious why our own fans are so against this plan.

No one's against it. But I don't see any of "our fans" stepping forth with big checks or doing any sort of grass-roots organizing to get things going.

I saw Alonzo Highsmith's efforts a while back--any idea how many fans signed up and donated anything? Looks like it's taken them about 1 1/2 years just to scrape together 6k signatures on an online petition--never mind getting any actual donations. My guess is maybe a hundred people out of those 6k signatures would actually come through and donate any money, and the sum would be paltry.

If there's no urgency on the part of the fan base, why should there be urgency on UM's part?

The facts are that we've always averaged around 45-55k in attendance each year, regardless of whether we were doing well or not, and regardless of whether we were in the OB or in Sun Life. Why would the UM admin feel any need to sink the effort, man hours, and hundreds of millions of dollars into a stadium that ultimately wouldn't generate much more (if any more, honestly) money via attendance, would sit dormant for 8-9 months of the year, and would be a helluva financial burden in terms of upkeep and maintenance?

BTW, we're getting off track here--what does any of this have to do with Blake James? As I noted, none of our previous ADs has seen fit to make your desire for a 50k stadium a priority either...so why are you holding the guy who's only been in place for a few months responsible for it?

 

[The Franchise]

I dunno, maybe its a goal of his and also maybe the goal is further down the list to umm lets say, getting back to a Nat'l Championship status FIRST!!

What's your issue(s) with James?

Lack of desire for a stadium, I just think he is a JAG. Nothing that special IMO.

Yes, those two goals are mutually exclusive. Good call.

So let's say it is a goal further down the line, does that mean he is going to announce it in 7 years and then follow the announcement with a 5 year plan? Roughly 12 years from now there is a chance then?

I think it isn't a priority of his, the AD needs to get the HC what he needs to win. How about a place to call our home that would actually give us a home field advantage?

If it was a possibility, why would the AD not make it a priority?

How is it not a possibility?

 

[CaneInHeelCountry]

I dunno, maybe its a goal of his and also maybe the goal is further down the list to umm lets say, getting back to a Nat'l Championship status FIRST!!

Lack of desire for a stadium, I just think he is a JAG. Nothing that special IMO.

Yes, those two goals are mutually exclusive. Good call.

So let's say it is a goal further down the line, does that mean he is going to announce it in 7 years and then follow the announcement with a 5 year plan? Roughly 12 years from now there is a chance then?

I think it isn't a priority of his, the AD needs to get the HC what he needs to win. How about a place to call our home that would actually give us a home field advantage?

If it was a possibility, why would the AD not make it a priority?

How is it not a possibility?

I'm sure it's a possibility--but it may not be a financially viable one, which is the key, and is what the AD and the UM admin has to look out for.

Again, since no AD in our history has sought to make it a reality, I'd have to think that the financial projections do not work in our favor.

 

[The Franchise]

What he did with the Women's soccer program tells you he knows what UM is. Hocutt was actually a decent AD, Eichorst was a disaster. James, so far so good.

What did he do with the women's soccer program?

Fired an abusive coach that the previous guy had hired from the midwest and hired a future superstar with the same Northeast/east coast type pedigree that Golden and Larranaga have. He sensed a situation that could turn ugly and moved very quickly to snuff that out. 60 days later he had made a great hire. In two years the soccer team will be in the top 10.

Womens' soccer? LULZ.

 

[SFbayCane]

FTR, dee hired butch, who put the pieces of UM back together, and Coker who (like it or not) **** near won back-to-back NCs. Hindsight being what it is, you can say it was dumb to extend Coker, but he was the coach we needed to reach 2 BCS champ games--there's no guarantee that we get there if we bring in an outsider who overhauled the staff and mucked with the play book.

He also brought in Jim Morris, who won a couple of NCs and put us in the CWS for the first 7 or 8 years of his career here.

Anyone who says he didn't make any good hires is full of ****. He also made some decisions, to be sure--extending Coker and hiring SHannon stand out as the worst. I give him a pass on Clark and Haith, as it's not like UM was ever a big basketball school, and those 2 coaches combined took UM to 3 of our 7 NCAAT appearances and a few NITs...neither was a great coach, and obviously Clark in particular turned into a lazy sack of crap, but they both accomplished more than nearly all other b-ball coaches we've ever had.

Correct me if Im wrong but werent every single one of the hires you mention already on campus when Dee hired them? Well, maybe not Butch but he was a UM legacy guy so it wasnt like Dee went on some major national search. Dee basically went with the low hanging fruit for all of his hires. My favorite example was seeing sorry *** paul dee hire an outside consultant, pay him $80K for us to hire a guy who was already on campus (Randy Shannon). LMAO!

Dee out lived his usefulness as an AD the moment our mid 90's probation ended.

 

[CaneInHeelCountry]

FTR, dee hired butch, who put the pieces of UM back together, and Coker who (like it or not) **** near won back-to-back NCs. Hindsight being what it is, you can say it was dumb to extend Coker, but he was the coach we needed to reach 2 BCS champ games--there's no guarantee that we get there if we bring in an outsider who overhauled the staff and mucked with the play book.

He also brought in Jim Morris, who won a couple of NCs and put us in the CWS for the first 7 or 8 years of his career here.

Anyone who says he didn't make any good hires is full of ****. He also made some decisions, to be sure--extending Coker and hiring SHannon stand out as the worst. I give him a pass on Clark and Haith, as it's not like UM was ever a big basketball school, and those 2 coaches combined took UM to 3 of our 7 NCAAT appearances and a few NITs...neither was a great coach, and obviously Clark in particular turned into a lazy sack of crap, but they both accomplished more than nearly all other b-ball coaches we've ever had.

Correct me if Im wrong but werent every single one of the hires you mention already on campus when Dee hired them? Well, maybe not Butch but he was a UM legacy guy so it wasnt like Dee went on some major national search. Dee basically went with the low hanging fruit for all of his hires. My favorite example was seeing sorry *** paul dee hire an outside consultant, pay him $80K for us to hire a guy who was already on campus (Randy Shannon). LMAO!

Dee out lived his usefulness as an AD the moment our mid 90's probation ended.

Dee arrived on campus in June of '93, and Morris was his first major hire in November; Butch was his second. And why downplay the Butch hire anyway? Yeah, the guy had coached at UM previously as DC, but he was an Arkansas alum, had coached at Okie State and had won a super bowl in the NFL when Dee brought him on. It's not like he was "low-hanging fruit," especially since he knew up front that we were in for major sanctions and a long rebuild.

Again, obviously Coker's extension and hiring Shannon were big mistakes, but let's not make out like he never made a good hire in his tenure here. As I said, even the Clark and Haith hires proved better than virtually any other b-ball hires (except maybe Hammy) that our previous ADs had made. And Haith, in particular, was certainly no low hanging fruit--at the time, he was one of the hottest assistants in the biz, and was thought of as a major get.

 

[Consigliere]

No one's against it. But I don't see any of "our fans" stepping forth with big checks or doing any sort of grass-roots organizing to get things going.

I saw Alonzo Highsmith's efforts a while back--any idea how many fans signed up and donated anything? Looks like it's taken them about 1 1/2 years just to scrape together 6k signatures on an online petition--never mind getting any actual donations. My guess is maybe a hundred people out of those 6k signatures would actually come through and donate any money, and the sum would be paltry.

If there's no urgency on the part of the fan base, why should there be urgency on UM's part?

The facts are that we've always averaged around 45-55k in attendance each year, regardless of whether we were doing well or not, and regardless of whether we were in the OB or in Sun Life. Why would the UM admin feel any need to sink the effort, man hours, and hundreds of millions of dollars into a stadium that ultimately wouldn't generate much more (if any more, honestly) money via attendance, would sit dormant for 8-9 months of the year, and would be a helluva financial burden in terms of upkeep and maintenance?

BTW, we're getting off track here--what does any of this have to do with Blake James? As I noted, none of our previous ADs has seen fit to make your desire for a 50k stadium a priority either...so why are you holding the guy who's only been in place for a few months responsible for it?

Sorry for the delay, no disrespect. People clearly are against it because the attitude of these beaten fans are IT CAN'T BE DONE!!! Mostly because it is hard work and very time consuming....but

Perhaps leadership needs to come from the top, if DS wanted the stadium she could raise the money and start an organized fundraising campaign. Then through an organized fundraising campaign, we would have a better chance to raise the necessary funds and build the excitement that is necessary to build the stadium.

I believe the leaders need to lead, the fans need to support. The urgency needs to come from the top because the fans are irrational and lack the information necessary for such decisions. Even I admit that I don't know the terms of the current lease (buyout provisions, revenue splits etc.), how can I make a proper decision without that information. If the campaign to get a stadium does not start from the top, it will be next to impossible to organize our incredibly stupid fan base.

If we have averaged 45-55 (50K) let’s build a place with our average and make it our home. Lets raise the funds and get the plan going. Why have 50K sit in 72K place that is a rented pro football stadium. Why settle for an empty mess? There is no college feel and there is no loyalty (remember the stupid Gator Celebration).

UM should sink the time and effort because the current situation is terrible. This effort to build a stadium will take a lot of time, revenue and burn a lot of calories. But it is worth the effort clearly.

Another stupid idea, "sit dormant for 8-9 months." Then rent it out, have concerts, bowl games, track meets and other events that would facilitate revenue. How about we think a little, how about we do a little more creative thinking on revenue generating so it doesn’t sit dormant for 8-9 months once we own the stadium...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/02/us-soccer-beckham-miami-idUSBRE9500EZ20130602

This all has to do with Blake James because this is what our AD needs to do, he needs a plan. Eventually our $hitty lease will end at no-life and then what. Eventually we will need to do something. Also, just because no AD did anything [towards our own stadium] doesn't mean that the current one has to be a lump too. I am holding the guy responsible be he is IN CHARGE of the athletic department, he has a voice and he seems content with the current situation. The guy was incredibly content with the renovations even though they did not pass.

Please note, I take this stuff seriously because I know we are capable of doing so. I know Donna could do it and it would be another great achievement here if she lead the effort.

Here is a quote... We continue to build on the remarkable success of Momentum: The Campaign for the University of Miami which closed in 2007 and raised $1.4 billion from more than 131,000 donors.

If we wanted it, we could have 250,000,000 before we broke ground in 2018. This is just fundraising, the troll is an expert.

 

[Consigliere]

I dunno, maybe its a goal of his and also maybe the goal is further down the list to umm lets say, getting back to a Nat'l Championship status FIRST!!

Lack of desire for a stadium, I just think he is a JAG. Nothing that special IMO.

Yes, those two goals are mutually exclusive. Good call.

So let's say it is a goal further down the line, does that mean he is going to announce it in 7 years and then follow the announcement with a 5 year plan? Roughly 12 years from now there is a chance then?

I think it isn't a priority of his, the AD needs to get the HC what he needs to win. How about a place to call our home that would actually give us a home field advantage?

If it was a possibility, why would the AD not make it a priority?

How is it not a possibility?

It is not a possibility, no small private school can do it. We have a 20000 year lease, we can't move. Life sucks, settle at no life stadium.

 

[CaneInHeelCountry]

No one's against it. But I don't see any of "our fans" stepping forth with big checks or doing any sort of grass-roots organizing to get things going.

I saw Alonzo Highsmith's efforts a while back--any idea how many fans signed up and donated anything? Looks like it's taken them about 1 1/2 years just to scrape together 6k signatures on an online petition--never mind getting any actual donations. My guess is maybe a hundred people out of those 6k signatures would actually come through and donate any money, and the sum would be paltry.

If there's no urgency on the part of the fan base, why should there be urgency on UM's part?

The facts are that we've always averaged around 45-55k in attendance each year, regardless of whether we were doing well or not, and regardless of whether we were in the OB or in Sun Life. Why would the UM admin feel any need to sink the effort, man hours, and hundreds of millions of dollars into a stadium that ultimately wouldn't generate much more (if any more, honestly) money via attendance, would sit dormant for 8-9 months of the year, and would be a helluva financial burden in terms of upkeep and maintenance?

BTW, we're getting off track here--what does any of this have to do with Blake James? As I noted, none of our previous ADs has seen fit to make your desire for a 50k stadium a priority either...so why are you holding the guy who's only been in place for a few months responsible for it?

Sorry for the delay, no disrespect. People clearly are against it because the attitude of these beaten fans are IT CAN'T BE DONE!!! Mostly because it is hard work and very time consuming....but

Perhaps leadership needs to come from the top, if DS wanted the stadium she could raise the money and start an organized fundraising campaign. Then through an organized fundraising campaign, we would have a better chance to raise the necessary funds and build the excitement that is necessary to build the stadium.

I believe the leaders need to lead, the fans need to support. The urgency needs to come from the top because the fans are irrational and lack the information necessary for such decisions. Even I admit that I don't know the terms of the current lease (buyout provisions, revenue splits etc.), how can I make a proper decision without that information. If the campaign to get a stadium does not start from the top, it will be next to impossible to organize our incredibly stupid fan base.

If we have averaged 45-55 (50K) let’s build a place with our average and make it our home. Lets raise the funds and get the plan going. Why have 50K sit in 72K place that is a rented pro football stadium. Why settle for an empty mess? There is no college feel and there is no loyalty (remember the stupid Gator Celebration).

UM should sink the time and effort because the current situation is terrible. This effort to build a stadium will take a lot of time, revenue and burn a lot of calories. But it is worth the effort clearly.

Another stupid idea, "sit dormant for 8-9 months." Then rent it out, have concerts, bowl games, track meets and other events that would facilitate revenue. How about we think a little, how about we do a little more creative thinking on revenue generating so it doesn’t sit dormant for 8-9 months once we own the stadium...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/02/us-soccer-beckham-miami-idUSBRE9500EZ20130602

This all has to do with Blake James because this is what our AD needs to do, he needs a plan. Eventually our $hitty lease will end at no-life and then what. Eventually we will need to do something. Also, just because no AD did anything [towards our own stadium] doesn't mean that the current one has to be a lump too. I am holding the guy responsible be he is IN CHARGE of the athletic department, he has a voice and he seems content with the current situation. The guy was incredibly content with the renovations even though they did not pass.

Please note, I take this stuff seriously because I know we are capable of doing so. I know Donna could do it and it would be another great achievement here if she lead the effort.

Here is a quote... We continue to build on the remarkable success of Momentum: The Campaign for the University of Miami which closed in 2007 and raised $1.4 billion from more than 131,000 donors.

If we wanted it, we could have 250,000,000 before we broke ground in 2018. This is just fundraising, the troll is an expert.

I like that you don't let your clear and admitted lack of knowledge of the situation influence your belief on the matter in any way, lol.

This whole thing boils down to money. Fan experience is secondary at best. You and others can complain about how crappy DS is, how far away the stands are from the field, how it doesn't have a good atmosphere, etc...but if building/owning our own stadium isn't going to make UM money in the long run, UM isn't going to even consider it. And they shouldn't. UM isn't in the business of giving out fun times for free to fans.

If you don't know the financials of the deal we've got at DS, how can you even begin to speculate on how much better of a fiscal opportunity it would be to have our own stadium? Don't you think the folks who actually DO know that stuff (eg, Blake James, Shalala, and previous ADs) would have some sort of better understanding of the situation?

Keep in mind, this isn't just about raising the hundreds of millions to build the stadium--we're all aware of Shalala's fundraising prowess, and no one doubts that it could be done over the course of several years. But what then, once the stadium's built? The goal is to make money off of it, not just to built it to break even, at best. Would the stadium generate enough revenue to cover the millions in annual maintenance and repair? If the solution was as simple as scheduling a few off-season events like MLS or World Cup games, or maybe a WWF match or monster truck rally, don't you think that it would be done by now? Don't you think that every college in the nation would be scrambling to host such events at their stadiums, to boost their own revenue? Use some common sense, man.

And if you're going to consider Blake James a crappy AD because he doesn't have a plan in place to get us a stadium, then wouldn't you also consider every other AD that we've ever had to be just as crappy?

 

[dk72]

For those saying we should have a plan for a new stadium, exactly where would the stadium be located? You can fund raise all you want, but you can't build the stadium in mid air. People often mention Tropical Park. Could be a good site. However, it's a Miami-Dade County Park, owned by the county, and used by county residents. It's a bit of a unique location because it is such a large (200+ acre) park in an urban setting. Is the county just supposed to give, sell, or lease the very popular park to UM? The same county that has shown little regard for the needs of UM on other issues, including the Orange Bowl debacle, suddenly is going to get rid of a very popular public park to help UM out? So if not Tropical Park, then where? Is there another suitable site that's not in the boondocks like Sun Life?

 

[Consigliere]

For those saying we should have a plan for a new stadium, exactly where would the stadium be located? You can fund raise all you want, but you can't build the stadium in mid air. People often mention Tropical Park. Could be a good site. However, it's a Miami-Dade County Park, owned by the county, and used by county residents. It's a bit of a unique location because it is such a large (200+ acre) park in an urban setting. Is the county just supposed to give, sell, or lease the very popular park to UM? The same county that has shown little regard for the needs of UM on other issues, including the Orange Bowl debacle, suddenly is going to get rid of a very popular public park to help UM out? So if not Tropical Park, then where? Is there another suitable site that's not in the boondocks like Sun Life?

We already own land near the zoo, this has been stated before. Miami-Dade is bleeding money so the probably would not want to sell land to the school and create jobs (tax revenue) in the process to build a stadium.

 

[Consigliere]

I like that you don't let your clear and admitted lack of knowledge of the situation influence your belief on the matter in any way, lol.

This whole thing boils down to money. Fan experience is secondary at best. You and others can complain about how crappy DS is, how far away the stands are from the field, how it doesn't have a good atmosphere, etc...but if building/owning our own stadium isn't going to make UM money in the long run, UM isn't going to even consider it. And they shouldn't. UM isn't in the business of giving out fun times for free to fans.

If you don't know the financials of the deal we've got at DS, how can you even begin to speculate on how much better of a fiscal opportunity it would be to have our own stadium? Don't you think the folks who actually DO know that stuff (eg, Blake James, Shalala, and previous ADs) would have some sort of better understanding of the situation?

Keep in mind, this isn't just about raising the hundreds of millions to build the stadium--we're all aware of Shalala's fundraising prowess, and no one doubts that it could be done over the course of several years. But what then, once the stadium's built? The goal is to make money off of it, not just to built it to break even, at best. Would the stadium generate enough revenue to cover the millions in annual maintenance and repair? If the solution was as simple as scheduling a few off-season events like MLS or World Cup games, or maybe a WWF match or monster truck rally, don't you think that it would be done by now? Don't you think that every college in the nation would be scrambling to host such events at their stadiums, to boost their own revenue? Use some common sense, man.

And if you're going to consider Blake James a crappy AD because he doesn't have a plan in place to get us a stadium, then wouldn't you also consider every other AD that we've ever had to be just as crappy?

If I had the balance sheets, income statements and contract for the lease with No Life stadium...I would have more information. I would be more prepared to discuss via cost/benefit analysis. I readily admit that I don't have the information, neither do you. Just because that information is not publicly or readily available does not mean it couldn't be true.

I truly believe that this is not a priority for the Admin, AD and President. This is my point. I don't believe they have given this situation a full look, I don't believe they hired an independent team to collect the information needed to make this decision. I just believe they are content with the situation.


As for other ADs, I don't have real feelings towards the other ones per se. I just believe they have three jobs (1) Get the coaches what they need to win, (2) maximize the brand and (3) Fund raise like crazy. I think, IMO, this stadium debate fits into 2.

We can go back and forth, we will never agree. I believe our fans have this attitude similar to yours (no disrespect) that we ASSUME it was examined and denied. I really believe it is not a priority and we are content with how things are.

 

[dk72]

I like that you don't let your clear and admitted lack of knowledge of the situation influence your belief on the matter in any way, lol.

This whole thing boils down to money. Fan experience is secondary at best. You and others can complain about how crappy DS is, how far away the stands are from the field, how it doesn't have a good atmosphere, etc...but if building/owning our own stadium isn't going to make UM money in the long run, UM isn't going to even consider it. And they shouldn't. UM isn't in the business of giving out fun times for free to fans.

If you don't know the financials of the deal we've got at DS, how can you even begin to speculate on how much better of a fiscal opportunity it would be to have our own stadium? Don't you think the folks who actually DO know that stuff (eg, Blake James, Shalala, and previous ADs) would have some sort of better understanding of the situation?

Keep in mind, this isn't just about raising the hundreds of millions to build the stadium--we're all aware of Shalala's fundraising prowess, and no one doubts that it could be done over the course of several years. But what then, once the stadium's built? The goal is to make money off of it, not just to built it to break even, at best. Would the stadium generate enough revenue to cover the millions in annual maintenance and repair? If the solution was as simple as scheduling a few off-season events like MLS or World Cup games, or maybe a WWF match or monster truck rally, don't you think that it would be done by now? Don't you think that every college in the nation would be scrambling to host such events at their stadiums, to boost their own revenue? Use some common sense, man.

And if you're going to consider Blake James a crappy AD because he doesn't have a plan in place to get us a stadium, then wouldn't you also consider every other AD that we've ever had to be just as crappy?

If I had the balance sheets, income statements and contract for the lease with No Life stadium...I would have more information. I would be more prepared to discuss via cost/benefit analysis. I readily admit that I don't have the information, neither do you. Just because that information is not publicly or readily available does not mean it couldn't be true.

I truly believe that this is not a priority for the Admin, AD and President. This is my point. I don't believe they have given this situation a full look, I don't believe they hired an independent team to collect the information needed to make this decision. I just believe they are content with the situation.


As for other ADs, I don't have real feelings towards the other ones per se. I just believe they have three jobs (1) Get the coaches what they need to win, (2) maximize the brand and (3) Fund raise like crazy. I think, IMO, this stadium debate fits into 2.

We can go back and forth, we will never agree. I believe our fans have this attitude similar to yours (no disrespect) that we ASSUME it was examined and denied. I really believe it is not a priority and we are content with how things are.

..and you ASSUME that it was not examined and that it was not a priority. I've seen comments from Shalala about how they've looked into options and none of them make fiscal sense. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not, but you have no more information than anyone else on how much the school has looked into it.

 

[CaneInHeelCountry]

I like that you don't let your clear and admitted lack of knowledge of the situation influence your belief on the matter in any way, lol.

This whole thing boils down to money. Fan experience is secondary at best. You and others can complain about how crappy DS is, how far away the stands are from the field, how it doesn't have a good atmosphere, etc...but if building/owning our own stadium isn't going to make UM money in the long run, UM isn't going to even consider it. And they shouldn't. UM isn't in the business of giving out fun times for free to fans.

If you don't know the financials of the deal we've got at DS, how can you even begin to speculate on how much better of a fiscal opportunity it would be to have our own stadium? Don't you think the folks who actually DO know that stuff (eg, Blake James, Shalala, and previous ADs) would have some sort of better understanding of the situation?

Keep in mind, this isn't just about raising the hundreds of millions to build the stadium--we're all aware of Shalala's fundraising prowess, and no one doubts that it could be done over the course of several years. But what then, once the stadium's built? The goal is to make money off of it, not just to built it to break even, at best. Would the stadium generate enough revenue to cover the millions in annual maintenance and repair? If the solution was as simple as scheduling a few off-season events like MLS or World Cup games, or maybe a WWF match or monster truck rally, don't you think that it would be done by now? Don't you think that every college in the nation would be scrambling to host such events at their stadiums, to boost their own revenue? Use some common sense, man.

And if you're going to consider Blake James a crappy AD because he doesn't have a plan in place to get us a stadium, then wouldn't you also consider every other AD that we've ever had to be just as crappy?

If I had the balance sheets, income statements and contract for the lease with No Life stadium...I would have more information. I would be more prepared to discuss via cost/benefit analysis. I readily admit that I don't have the information, neither do you. Just because that information is not publicly or readily available does not mean it couldn't be true.

I truly believe that this is not a priority for the Admin, AD and President. This is my point. I don't believe they have given this situation a full look, I don't believe they hired an independent team to collect the information needed to make this decision. I just believe they are content with the situation.


As for other ADs, I don't have real feelings towards the other ones per se. I just believe they have three jobs (1) Get the coaches what they need to win, (2) maximize the brand and (3) Fund raise like crazy. I think, IMO, this stadium debate fits into 2.

We can go back and forth, we will never agree. I believe our fans have this attitude similar to yours (no disrespect) that we ASSUME it was examined and denied. I really believe it is not a priority and we are content with how things are.

In the absence of actual evidence, I think it's safe to say that we're both ASSUMING here.

I assume that the admin has the best interests of UM at heart, and that they've examined various possibilities over the 40+ years since Howard Schnellenberger first made a small push for an on-campus stadium. I assume that when the OB was on the chopping block, Shalala and the admin considered all available options and found that the move to Dolphin Stadium was the most financially feasible. I assume that if they felt otherwise, they'd make owning our own stadium--either on- or off-campus--a priority and would make long-term plans to achieve that goal.

IMO, that's more plausible than your assumption that every president and AD at UM for the past several decades has had their heads stuck up their *** and hasn't bothered to examine the possibilities in full.

 

[Consigliere]

..and you ASSUME that it was not examined and that it was not a priority. I've seen comments from Shalala about how they've looked into options and none of them make fiscal sense. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not, but you have no more information than anyone else on how much the school has looked into it.

Show me these comments.

I don't think it is a priority, why do you think it is a priority? We only have little tidbits from Blake James on and the renovations

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/15/3182815/miami-hurricanes-excited-about.html

Here is our great quote from our AD

"In all seriousness, as I said before, there isn’t anyone who would enjoy an on-campus stadium more than I would, but it’s not a realistic situation to even discuss. We don’t have the land for it, and if we did have the land, there just isn’t the infrastructure in this place. We’re playing in a first-rate facility that is in the process of only getting better and I’m confident that we’re putting our student-athletes into a premier facility in the country and with the new additions we’re going to put our fans into an environment that will be even better. I’m not going to say it’s going to ever create anything what the Orange Bowl was, because those were special days and games that I would go to at the OB but I think it’s going to create a much different environment and an atmosphere that will much more closely resemble the atmosphere we had at the Orange Bowl."

Here is the problem, why does it have to be ON CAMPUS? Can't it be near campus, the OB wasn't on campus. We can have our own place off-campus. This quote above irks me because he said "ON CAMPUS" almost as if they did not look at a near campus stadium. As an alumni of UM, I know that an ON CAMPUS stadium is next to impossible. How about a near campus stadium? Was this fully examined?

 

[Consigliere]

In the absence of actual evidence, I think it's safe to say that we're both ASSUMING here.

I assume that the admin has the best interests of UM at heart, and that they've examined various possibilities over the 40+ years since Howard Schnellenberger first made a small push for an on-campus stadium. I assume that when the OB was on the chopping block, Shalala and the admin considered all available options and found that the move to Dolphin Stadium was the most financially feasible. I assume that if they felt otherwise, they'd make owning our own stadium--either on- or off-campus--a priority and would make long-term plans to achieve that goal.

IMO, that's more plausible than your assumption that every president and AD at UM for the past several decades has had their heads stuck up their *** and hasn't bothered to examine the possibilities in full.

I admit to assumptions. I admit that I don't have all the information. I am sick of fans (not you) just accepting that this can't be done without any information.

Also, why do you say ON CAMPUS? Why does it have to be ON CAMPUS? What about NEAR CAMPUS? The OB was NEAR CAMPUS, I don't think anyone would have an issue with our OWN PLACE that was NEAR CAMPUS.

While I think in general the Admins have the best interest at heart, I don't believe they examined this issue properly. I am entitled to my opinion and I base it on the actions they take and the decisions they have made. What happened in the past, is done? Why can't we plan for the future? Why can't we have a plan for down the line for a NEAR CAMPUS stadium?

 

[CaneInHeelCountry]

In the absence of actual evidence, I think it's safe to say that we're both ASSUMING here.

I assume that the admin has the best interests of UM at heart, and that they've examined various possibilities over the 40+ years since Howard Schnellenberger first made a small push for an on-campus stadium. I assume that when the OB was on the chopping block, Shalala and the admin considered all available options and found that the move to Dolphin Stadium was the most financially feasible. I assume that if they felt otherwise, they'd make owning our own stadium--either on- or off-campus--a priority and would make long-term plans to achieve that goal.

IMO, that's more plausible than your assumption that every president and AD at UM for the past several decades has had their heads stuck up their *** and hasn't bothered to examine the possibilities in full.

I admit to assumptions. I admit that I don't have all the information. I am sick of fans (not you) just accepting that this can't be done without any information.

Also, why do you say ON CAMPUS? Why does it have to be ON CAMPUS? What about NEAR CAMPUS? The OB was NEAR CAMPUS, I don't think anyone would have an issue with our OWN PLACE that was NEAR CAMPUS.

While I think in general the Admins have the best interest at heart, I don't believe they examined this issue properly. I am entitled to my opinion and I base it on the actions they take and the decisions they have made. What happened in the past, is done? Why can't we plan for the future? Why can't we have a plan for down the line for a NEAR CAMPUS stadium?

Please re-read my post. I said that if they felt it feasible, "they'd make owning our own stadium--either on- or off-campus--a priority and would make long-term plans to achieve that goal."

And you're certainly entitled to your opinion, though you must admit that it's far-fetched to think that the leaders and business heads of the university and the athletic department are so incapable and idiotic as to not even examine the prospect of owning our own stadium.

 

[Fzac75]

Get this straight for all you who don't live here, or for those of you who do but have no clue about Coral Gables and the inner workings of the city of Coral Gables. THERE IS NO WAY NO CHANCE NO HOW NO POSSIBILITY EVEN IF **** FROZE OVER AND L RON HUBBARD IS RIGHT THAT A STADIUM WILL BE BUILT IN THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES!

Yes I obnoxiously put it in caps for emphasis, I apologize slightly, it is obnoxious, but it has to be said. Whenever any of you want to get into this ridiculous discussion that goes nowhere over the stadium, just know that forget about on campus, it will not happen, the city of Coral Gables will never allow an on campus football stadium, they wont permit it.

As to Joe Robbie Stadium, and please pay the stadium respect enough to call it by it's builder, at least he didn't use public funds to build it in '86. Location wise it is the best place you can pick, unfortunately because the Dade County residents are too stupid to comprehend that they were not paying for it, and that that money is already set aside for projects like this and can not be used for anything else, thus why not use it to improve a stadium that will guarantee us future Super Bowl's and National Title games?

Also as to it being voted down, it was not, the brother of former Seminole Drew Weatherford shot it down didn't even let it get to a vote, because he was submitting his own bill to refurbish the Buccaneers stadium so he submarined not only Miami, but Orlando and Jacksonville as well. This was a package deal with those cities as well. He also now has a new backer in Norman Braman, what a coincidence huh? Either way the NFL then told the state of Florida "F You! no city there is going to get a Super Bowl"

Got sidetracked, either way when discussing this pointless argument again and again and again and again, remember nobody here does not want UM to have it's own stadium, we all do, but there is no possibility of on campus, and from a logistical and geographical standpoint there is no place that makes sense in Miami except Joe Robbie Stadium. And please don't give me Tamiami Park, logistically it is a freaking nightmare if the stadium were there, getting in and out would be 10 times worse than when we played at the OB.

 

[Consigliere]

Please re-read my post. I said that if they felt it feasible, "they'd make owning our own stadium--either on- or off-campus--a priority and would make long-term plans to achieve that goal."

And you're certainly entitled to your opinion, though you must admit that it's far-fetched to think that the leaders and business heads of the university and the athletic department are so incapable and idiotic as to not even examine the prospect of owning our own stadium.

My bad about the stadium (on or near campus), my assumption is they have not went into an full analysis of an off campus stadium. I base this on the current ADs comments, the lack of notification to the alumni of said search (it would end a lot of questions) and the track record.

Why is it so far fetched? Has every business decision been so good?

The Hospital for one seems to be a disaster. Business heads make mistakes all the time.

 

[Consigliere]

Get this straight for all you who don't live here, or for those of you who do but have no clue about Coral Gables and the inner workings of the city of Coral Gables. THERE IS NO WAY NO CHANCE NO HOW NO POSSIBILITY EVEN IF **** FROZE OVER AND L RON HUBBARD IS RIGHT THAT A STADIUM WILL BE BUILT IN THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES!

Yes I obnoxiously put it in caps for emphasis, I apologize slightly, it is obnoxious, but it has to be said. Whenever any of you want to get into this ridiculous discussion that goes nowhere over the stadium, just know that forget about on campus, it will not happen, the city of Coral Gables will never allow an on campus football stadium, they wont permit it.

Who said Coral Gables? Why not outside, was the OB in Coral Gables? It is the off-season, this is what people talk about. If you don't want to talk, then don't post on the subject.

Since the renovations to No Life Stadium failed, what is next? We just live out the next 15 years of our lease. That is the plan. Wonderful!

What about the land we own by the zoo, just leave it undeveloped?