I hope Loyola doesn't (again) fall into the trap of overcompensating for the shortcomings of the previous incumbent as we've done so many times before in the athletic department. It seems like time and time again we let the pendulum swing too far in the other direction when we change regimes... think about the Farmer to Whitesell to Moser transitions.

In addition to having a full executive search on a national level, maybe there should be some internal candidates or people with Loyola ties specifically asked to participate in the search. Personally, my biggest criteria would be the ability to think big. I don't know if they'd be interested, and I don't know how it would play out given whatever the search criteria would be at the Presidential level, but I think Doug Bruno, Dave Klusendorf, and Pat Schultz should be asked to apply.

I think Tom Levin should be invited to serve on any Search Committee for the Athletic Director position, to represent the viewpoint of former student athletes of recent vintage.

Just a question-- After a recruit is chosen and he possibly accepts, does the AD have an input, or is it exclusively in the venue of the Head Coach ?? I ask this because we need someone in place quickly ih he is involved.

Advise--THNKS !!!

Thank you Swella, appreciate that.

Brot - I wouldn't think so, that'd be more on a compliance desk. Maybe in a case of wanting to take on an exception?

Too bad Bruce Pearl already has another job.

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Let's go Braden!

Technically no. AD's are not really involved in recruiting. As 08 mentioned, maybe in the case of a guy who doesn't have the grades, but that is usually a big political move and one Grace probably never had the power to really pull off.

On the surface, I was really indifferent to this move at first, but Brot does bring up a decent point about basketball.

A change in power (and probably from the outside as well) will likely mean PM's seat getting even hotter. A coach who is even slightly on the hot seat always impacts recruiting, especially the classes of 2015 and 2016.

Personally, if I inherited this job, I would not have much patience for a coach that I didn't hire and who is 32-61, coming off a season where his program took a step back. I think if Grace was coming back, she would probably be content with what Porter's done and he's in the clear. Now, not so much. From the outside, our season was a disappointment, even with the Doyle buzzer-beater at Arch Madness. It'd be interesting to see how this affects the b-ball program.

To expand on what 08 wrote, I think the AD would only be involved in the case of a special circumstance, such as a Prop 48, a disciplinary issue, a kid with marginal qualifications, etc. I know that in the absence of a coach in 2004, Planek stepped in to approve scholarships and recruits during the interim (Farmer was fired March 11, and Whitesell wasn't hired until April 14 that year). I believe Tracy Robinson was one of the recruits he approved.

The next hire will tell us a lot about how serious the administration is about elevating the basketball program. Do we get a bureaucrat or an established person with a magnetic personality? I have a feeling we go big.

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I say we go BIG.

We need an entrepreneur, a promoter, a fundraiser, a man with connections, a personality. Somebody who knows how to generate publicity and who can put Loyola back on the map.

If he wins his pending appeal soon and gets his prison sentence reduced to time served, I say Rod Blagojevich is the man for the job!

Vince McMahon?

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