The decision to keep bzz has nothing to do with money

[Caturday]

I've heard the tired refrain that we're stuck with Bzz because we can't afford to fire him. This is bullshit.

Wake has the money to pay Dino, fire Bzz and hire a top notch coach and pay him a top salary. So for those LOWFers out there, please understand this. Bzz costs the AD a great deal because of his salary+lost revenue+lost donations. Wellman could end the Bzz error, pay Dino and be done with it in minutes.

I believe that Wellman is too stubborn to fire Bzz, some men can't admit their mistakes.

Wake is a wealthy university and will grow wealthier as the enrollment increases. Our endowment/student is about just under $400k, that ranks pretty high amongst national universities. Our alumni are generally successful and well-off.

Again, this has nothing to do with money.

 

[DirkTheDeac]

It probably would mean that we're stuck with the same old bathrooms at BB&T for another year.

I could live with that.

 

[Strickland33]

I've heard the tired refrain that we're stuck with Bzz because we can't afford to fire him. This is bullshit.

Wake has the money to pay Dino, fire Bzz and hire a top notch coach and pay him a top salary. So for those LOWFers out there, please understand this. Bzz costs the AD a great deal because of his salary+lost revenue+lost donations. Wellman could end the Bzz error, pay Dino and be done with it in minutes.

I believe that Wellman is too stubborn to fire Bzz, some men can't admit their mistakes.

Wake is a wealthy university and will grow wealthier as the enrollment increases. Our endowment/student is about just under $400k, that ranks pretty high amongst national universities. Our alumni are generally successful and well-off.

Again, this has nothing to do with money.

Do you know this? It's a HUGE call on Ron if you're right. He should be fired on the spot. His track record indicates that we should at least give him the benefit of the doubt. Also it's hard to tell between information and lies lately, so I'll bet the truth is somewhere in between. Always is...

 

[BeachBumDeac]

a large endowment doesn't necessarily mean that the athletic department has a ton of money to throw around.

 

[Caturday]

I'm not RW, I don't know this. I very, very strongly believe this. I wasted a better part of the afternoon running the numbers.

 

[DirkTheDeac]

a large endowment doesn't necessarily mean that the athletic department has a ton of money to throw around.

As a rule, I don't believe the athletic department gets to dip into the general endowment. I may be incorrect but that has always been my understanding.

 

[Caturday]

a large endowment doesn't necessarily mean that the athletic department has a ton of money to throw around.

I know this, but endowment/student is a barometer of the financial health of a university and the AD is part of the university.

 

[Strickland33]

I know this, but endowment/student is a barometer of the financial health of a university and the AD is part of the university.

Would the Gaudio buyout, two-strikes in a row reality, cast some doubt on Ron's ability to manage funds well/make a move on a university-wide level?

 

[ArlingtonDeac]

I'm not sure I agree. What's killing the math is what we would owe for next year: Dino's buyout + Bzz's buyout + a new coach's salary (higher than Bzz?). Dino should be out of the equation after next season, so we'd be back to where we are now -- one buyout plus one active coach. So that double-buyout factor must be added impetus for Ron to give his mistake one more shot at a miracle next season. If I have something wrong here, please let me know.

Ron created this sinkhole, so in my opinion, the Bzz buyout should come out of his own salary, freeing up more funds to hire a new coach.

 

[TBR]

Wake's endowment has very little to do with our athletic department.

I still agree as the new TV deal went into effect for the 2011-2012 season. This will increase revenue by $6mm per year. Even a 10% bump in all expenses would leave almost $2mm in free revenue. $2mm alone may not be sufficient, but when you consider what [Redacted] is costing the athletic department beyond his salary then it is easy to imagine that we would have enough money to hire pretty much any coach we would want.

Another facet worth noting is that there is a good chance that Dino will be hired this season which will take that $400k off the book I believe (Duquense has targeted him, though from my understanding he may not be looking to coach again).

Also, let me reiterate that Dino's contract should have two more years on it, unless the buyout is not for the full length of the contract (it was through 2014).

 

[Strickland33]

Wake's endowment has very little to do with our athletic department.

I still agree as the new TV deal went into effect for the 2011-2012 season. This will increase revenue by $6mm per year. Even a 10% bump in all expenses would leave almost $2mm in free revenue. $2mm alone may not be sufficient, but when you consider what [Redacted] is costing the athletic department beyond his salary then it is easy to imagine that we would have enough money to hire pretty much any coach we would want.

Another facet worth noting is that there is a good chance that Dino will be hired this season which will take that $400k off the book I believe (Duquense has targeted him, though from my understanding he may not be looking to coach again).

The other thing to realize is that we have other sports besides basketball, other coaches besides [Redacted]. Has this been taken into consideration? How legit is Dino -> Duquesne?

 

[ArlingtonDeac]

By all reports Dino its very happy working for ESPNU in Charlotte and getting paid by Wake at the same time. I don't blame him at all.

 

[TBR]

The other thing to realize is that we have other sports besides basketball, other coaches besides [Redacted]. Has this been taken into consideration? How legit is Dino -> Duquesne?

Like I said, a 10% bump in everything would only eat up $4.2mm of that $6mm.

Duquesne is definitely interested in Dino. Very interested. I am not sure the interest is mutual, in fact I would say that it isn't, but that's based on 4th hand information and may reflect spurned feelings/saving face.

 

[Deacon2002]

I have to imagine there are plenty of Deacon Club members who would write nice checks to help get rid of Bz. I know I would significantly increase my yearly contribution...

 

[Caturday]

I guess I have to do the math for you guys again...

From 2010-2011 we averaged 9200 people in attendance at games (we know actual attendance was much lower), we generated $9m in revenue and had 16 home games. 9m/9200/16=$61revenue/ticket sold.
Now lets assume that actual attendance was more like 7000. We get 9m/7000/16=$80 revenue/ticket sold.

Say now that we can get a coach to reenergize the fan base and get actual attendance to 11,000 (plug in other numbers if you see fit). Lets use the above as our parameters for revenue/ticket {$61,$80}....11,000*61*16=10.8m; 11,000*80*16=14m

Remember intro to econ...opportunity cost is the value of the next best option...{10.8,14m}-9m={1.8m,5m}

 

[Caturday]

You guys are getting hung up on the endowment thing, I just included that to show that we have a financially VERY healthy school.

 

[Caturday]

Originally Posted by KVegasDeac
If Ron Wellman wanted the buzzard gone, that 400k we owe Dino could be gone in a minute.
Buzzard's salary could be paid off as well. A few phone calls, a few emails and the debts are paid.

At this point, it's just a matter of wanting to fire Buzzard...and Ron clearly does not.

 

[Wakelaw2006]

You guys are getting hung up on the endowment thing, I just included that to show that we have a financially VERY healthy school.

Except our endowment per student isn't anywhere close to $400k and as compared to what we like to think of as our peer institutions, we are not really all that financially healthy. As of 6/30/11, Wake's endowment per student was $148k. As as comparison, on the same date, Duke's was $383k, Vanderbilt's was $269k, W&L's was $561k, Davidson's was $293k.

That said, I agree that money, especially because of the increased TV revenue and what will assuredly be decreased basketball revenue because of Bzzz, is not the reason that we are apparently going to be stuck with Bzzz for another year.

 

[Caturday]

Good thing you're a lawyer. Let's play math...1.5B/4400=$340k

We also received a very large donation that I'm 90% certain isn't included in Jim Dunn's latest figures.

 

[KidA23]

By all reports Dino its very happy working for ESPNU in Charlotte and getting paid by Wake at the same time. I don't blame him at all.

I agree with all of this, but from what I understand, he may be looking to get back into coaching next season now having taken 2 years "off" to do broadcasting work.