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Details on Friday meeting between Blake James and large donors

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TheOriginalCane said:
I expected a bunch of Blake-defending nonsense from you, but this is really stretching.

YOU claimed that Blake did well in a fund-raising role at Miami. I challenged you on THAT, and now you are saying "finding specific fundraising that occurred at a private university 20 years ago is going to be difficult."

So let me renew the question. When you wrote the following words:

"The fact is Blake has held roles at UM involving both gifts and ticket sales. Blake was good at both of these roles."

What were the specific reasons why you claimed that Blake was "good at" the job involving (major) gifts? Because now you are claiming it would be "difficult" to get such specific information. So which is it? Was your claim that Blake was "good at" gifts something that you claimed without any factual basis, or...well, I guess that there isn't really an option here. Either you have the specific knowledge, or you do not. I hope that Blake never calls you to testify on his behalf.

Now, moving on to your snide comments that I "probably don't have much experience dealing with individuals like our BOT member" (oh, and I do), I don't know why you think that a specific critique of SEVEN YEARS ON THE JOB is supposed to acknowledge "success in other positions". And, if you bothered to read closely, you would see that I DID ACKNOWLEDGE his success in the ticket office, even though I am capable of pointing out some ticket office disasters that have occurred since he became AD.

What I DID DO was to take issue with the myth of Blake's "fund-raising prowess" at UM, which even you were not able to rebut ("difficult" to get such information).

So please stop repeating false claims about my posts. I DID NOT say that "Blake is bad at every other position he has held at UM". That is an invention that you created. I never said it.

Finally, let's analyze the Blake Bio Hype:

"On the development front, the Hurricane Club continues to support UM’s student-athletes and coaches in record numbers. The Hurricane Club raised more than $16 million in 2018-19 and now boasts a record 12,500 members, an increase of 140 percent since 2010. Philanthropic annual fund gifts increased to $5.9 million in 2018-19 and the Hurricane Club secured 10 seven-figure leadership gifts."

Which are the record numbers?

HC raised more than $16 million? Do you have prior year numbers?

Philanthropic fund gifts increased to $5.9 million? Again, what are the prior year numbers?

Ten seven-figure leadership gifts? Any context for this? IPF-related (thus more of a one-time, non-recurring bump)?

Oh, the MEMBERSHIP of the Hurricane Club went up (or did it)? So we have 12,500 members (at the height of Richt-mania), and we are comparing it to mid-recession 2010 when Shannon was boring people to death. How about we compare it to 2002 or 2014? Any "percentage increase" is manipulable.

Look, if you want to cite Blake's Bio, that's up to you. I asked specific questions about the basis of your conclusions that Blake was "good at" his prior jobs at UM, and all you could do was say that it would be "difficult" to get the data I requested, and then you cut-and-pasted Blake's own self-serving bio.

Come on, man, just admit that you have no idea of the basis for the myth that "UM's BOT loves Blake because he has raised so much money for UM over his career".
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you got me. Blake was promoted twice by the board for being bad at his job.
 
One thing is for certain.....Blake is feeling heat like he never has before and that, in and of itself, is a good thing! IMO, Frenks is feeling the heat too, I can almost guarantee it!
 
Given that Blake James has seemingly tied his future to Manny, I fully expect them both to be gone next year. I’m more than happy to be wrong on that, but I don’t see it. This reeks of Taggart hiring Briles—too little, too late.

So my question, concern really, is how will the timing of this all work out? Who is going to lead the head coach search if the AD position is vacant? This could end up being (even more of) a disaster.
 
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Andrew said:
you got me. Blake was promoted twice by the board for being bad at his job.
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I don't care if he got promoted (and that happens when people above you take other jobs), but you still haven't addressed the myth of Blake being a good "fund-raiser" at UM. Or why you claimed he was "good at" his major gifts job during his 2 years on the job (and after which he was promoted to a DIFFERENT job).
 
dsddcane said:
The donor was paul dimare... and him and stu want a Alabama Clemson OSU type staff
Will clean house next year. No one will have a job including flake if they have their way. Let's pray
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A couple of thoughts.

1) SM really has never cared about sports at all. If he is now that is a good thing, as he is by far the largest donor to the school. Think about how much he has given to the medical school and then little (if any) to the IPF.
2) If this is the case then we need to put away the “Donna’s board people are responsible for not bringing on AH and refusing to do anything to support athletics” narrative. Not to say it is entirely without merit, but he was Donna’s biggest supporter and ally, going back to his father.
3) There has to be more to the story and what happened if Stu wanted it done and it didn’t get done.
 
DMoney said:
Per a source with knowledge of the meeting, a group of high-level donors met with Blake James on Friday. The purpose of the meeting was to offer significant money if Manny was willing to make necessary changes.

Most notably, the group wanted Alonzo Highsmith to take on a general manager role that would usurp some of Blake and Manny’s power over the football program. One booster even offered to pay Highsmith’s salary for two years. Blake refused and instead offered a more traditional “chief of staff” role that was mostly administrative in nature.

Highsmith is not expected to accept the offer and instead is in discussions with Mario Cristobal at Oregon.
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Fvck Blake
 
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canes23 said:
One thing is for certain.....Blake is feeling heat like he never has before and that, in and of itself, is a good thing! IMO, Frenks is feeling the heat too, I can almost guarantee it!
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Frenks don't care about the heat, he's retiring this summer...
 
Problem2 said:
But Miami is poor!

See, we have the money available. We just don't know how to use or refuse to when given the chance.
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brother; we’re a multi billion dollars institution. The parroting of we’re broke has been blown out of proportion. We might not have state institutional $, but we’re far from broke. Blake has literally cost this school millions by bad decision after bad decision. Thank God Richt was man enough to just walk away. Dude is a hack, like fa real.
 
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dsddcane said:
The donor was paul dimare... and him and stu want a Alabama Clemson OSU type staff
Will clean house next year. No one will have a job including flake if they have their way. Let's pray
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Uncle Dee. Let me holla fam. If you’re right that it was big Stu, he was the chair of the BOT a few years back when I was there. Dimare and him are 2 of the top BOT members. If them boys say clap everyone claps. I don’t see what the hold up is if them boys involved.
 
Several UM donors and Board of Trustee members have met with athletic director Blake James over the past few days to express displeasure about the football program, hear him out and discuss different potential solutions.

But James appears disinclined, at this point, to execute one of the ideas that has been suggested: having a general manager for the football program and putting NFL executive and former Canes great Alonzo Highsmith in that role.

According to a source, James is reluctant to bring in Highsmith for a general-manager type position of authority over the football program because he does not believe it’s necessary and doesn’t want someone looking over Diaz’s shoulder.


As of Saturday, he remained employed by the Cleveland Browns as a vice president/personnel, amid reports that he would be out after the dismissal of general manager John Dorsey.

There is considerable anger among trustees, as we noted in this Dec. 4 column. Several trustees and boosters have complained to James, and one trustee said Saturday: “The trustees are up in arms, very upset about football. Blake and Manny are on notice.”


Another trustee said last week that there was concern about donations being withheld because of anger about the football program.

Still, both trustees said James’ and Diaz’s jobs remain safe at this time, as we’ve reported. UM never had any intention, or expectation, of dismissing a coach one year into a five-year contract.

Diaz and James are gambling that new coordinator Rhett Lashlee will solve most of the problems that ail the program.


And president Julio Frenk remains something of a passive observer, disinclined to inject himself into controversial athletic issues. Frenk is much different than predecessor Donna Shalala in that way, the trustee said.

 
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dsddcane said:
The role that stu spoke on and said was agreed to was same power as blake but in relation to football. Not sure if anything has changed as I didnt speak to either today. But I'm curious if that's what the lashlee announcement timing was about. I'm sure plenty will have issues with me. No problem. I understand. You fellas have a great weekend.
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Don’t sweat it Dee, haters goin ta hate. Keep it real, I for one appreciate the insights brought to CIS
 
darius19 said:
I fully trust DMoney, but this post almost sounds too ridiculous to be true. I have a suspicion that information is being leaked out to cause commotion in the Canes community and increase the pressure before a bigger meeting happens. Especially him taking a similar position at Oregon with Mario. That just SOUNDS like some **** someone would leak because they know Miami fans would freak out.

I highly doubt Blake has the authority to look at key BOT members and say no to Highsmith. That’s a fired on the spot kind of offense.
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My guess is that the incorrect info you allude to is that BJ was ASKED if he wanted this role and he said no. Not that he was TOLD to hire someone and did not.
 
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