Michael Kelly Named Vice President of Athletics

[Azmodi]

18 minutes ago, OcalaBull2 said:

Also could mean he’s just getting something new here. 

That's exactly what was brought up on the other board where I read it. Maybe he's tired of fighting traffic on I-4 and want's to move closer. I did not post it to be negative. The timing was weird though as it was supposed to have been listed the day before Kelley was announced.

[chapelbull]

22 hours ago, NewEnglandBull said:

Who the hell are the Rays? 

Not only that, but in what fantasy world would they sign Kershaw .... unless we are talking about famous fiddle player Doug Kershaw.

Edited June 28, 2018 by chapelbull

[Triple B]

7 hours ago, hm101 said:

I wonder why his name did not come up before. Why the sudden excitement? Was he a subpar candidate before and now he is magically an awesome hire because hes the one? We went from wanting Brooks/Jurich to this guy being perfect... really?

Mr Stuben mentioned him early on the AD Search thread. Don't think he was a subpar candidate but more an unknown one. The local media didn't mention him probably because none of them were familiar with his history here ......... plus maybe figured why would he leave the nice gig he had to come here.

[Ionbull]

On 6/27/2018 at 11:27 AM, Roaming Bull said:

I will just echo what others in this thread have said in that I will reserve judgment of this hire for 2-5 years....... But if he doesn’t have a plan out in 6 months for an OCS he’s a failure. 

This gets me every time. The plan is there needs to be private funding. What magical money are we building this OCS to where a plan should be made in six months? 

 

21 hours ago, hm101 said:

I got VP at Merrill at 29 so its all true. 

Back to actual analysis...

I like that he knows how CFB works at the highest levels. I don't think he can "get us into the playoffs" but he will have more insight into the process than anyone else. AND into how the P5/committees/ranking orgs think. That matters - if you want to sit at the adult table you cant act like youre at the kids table. 

I wonder why his name did not come up before. Why the sudden excitement? Was he a subpar candidate before and now he is magically an awesome hire because hes the one? We went from wanting Brooks/Jurich to this guy being perfect... really?

Michael Kelly wasn’t brought up because it was widely thought there was no way in hell USF could pull him away from his job with the CFP. His ties to USF, Tampa, the collegiate landscape and the CFP itself, as well as extensive work with a power conference (the ACC) is an absolute grand slam home run of a hire for USF to make. Everyone locally and nationally are raving about him, including folks from ESPN, The Athletic, TBSC, USF, the CFP, ACC, Derrick Brooks, Rob Higgins et al. The combo of Kelly-Higgins bringing events and publicity to the region and USF will be amazing. Kelly has made lasting relationships in this region and across the whole college football landscape. 

This is is the perfect hire for USF athletics. And the only folks that are upset are just saying “it’s not Jurich.” No one had any idea if Jurich was interesting, how much he would cost and what the perception of the hire would be. USF brought in a young mover and shaker with a fantastic track record and knowledge of the area, I’m not sure how you do any better. 

Edited June 28, 2018 by Ionbull

[bullsfan27]

With the news of us getting preeminent status, hopefully Kelly can work some magic and get us in the big 10 or big 12. My preference would be big 10 s its more stable and would bring more money but i'll take any P5 conference over the AAC.

[Bull Dozer]

1 hour ago, Ionbull said:

This gets me every time. The plan is there needs to be private funding. What magical money are we building this OCS to where a plan should be made in six months? 

 

Michael Kelly wasn’t brought up because it was widely thought there was no way in hell USF could pull him away from his job with the CFP. His ties to USF, Tampa, the collegiate landscape and the CFP itself, as well as extensive work with a power conference (the ACC) is an absolute grand slam home run of a hire for USF to make. Everyone locally and nationally are raving about him, including folks from ESPN, The Athletic, TBSC, USF, the CFP, ACC, Derrick Brooks, Rob Higgins et al. The combo of Kelly-Higgins bringing events and publicity to the region and USF will be amazing. Kelly has made lasting relationships in this region and across the whole college football landscape. 

This is is the perfect hire for USF athletics. And the only folks that are upset are just saying “it’s not Jurich.” No one had any idea if Jurich was interesting, how much he would cost and what the perception of the hire would be. USF brought in a young mover and shaker with a fantastic track record and knowledge of the area, I’m not sure how you do any better. 

All of this.  Also, Kelly's connections to the business community in the Tampa area and many of it's movers and shakers can't be talked about enough.  Because he is so well respected and liked in that community he will have instant credibility which will go a long way when he tries to get them to buy into future USF athletics projects like an OCS.   Jurich, like Harlan, would've needed probably at least a couple of years build any kind of relationships at all and even then they wouldn't be close to what Kelly has locally.   There is definitely some risk here because Kelly has never ran an athletic department but as far as fundraising potential Kelly checks all the boxes USF needs.    Hopefully he can get more pens put to checks than either of the previous two regimes.    If we are going to position ourselves for the next wave of realignment we need the bay area to buy in financially and Kelly has all the tools to do it.  

Edited June 28, 2018 by Bull Dozer

[Triple B]

1 hour ago, Bull Dozer said:

Hopefully he can get more pens put to checks than either of the previous two regimes.    If we are going to position ourselves for the next wave of realignment we need the bay area to buy in financially and Kelly has all the tools to do it

Some sobering figures from the most recent USA Today NCAA Finances article in case anyone still has their green and gold glasses on about where we are in relation to other AAC public schools when it comes to this:

Contributions 2017

Contributions: Includes amounts received directly from individuals, corporations, associations, foundations, clubs or other organizations for the operations of the athletics program. Amounts paid in excess of a ticket’s value. Contributions include cash, marketable securities and in-kind contributions such as dealer-provided cars for staff use. Also includes revenue from preferential seating.

Our Contribution levels going back to 2005 (not sure if criteria was same for all those years)

Edited June 28, 2018 by Triple B

[BucsandBulls]

Will be interesting to see if those large contribution amounts for other schools decrease with changes to the tax treatment. I would expect a lot of corporations and individuals to be more hesitant about large contributions when they aren't getting to write off the expense. Maybe we won't look as bad in comparison since we don't have much to lose in the first place.

[Flowers4Heisman]

On 6/27/2018 at 3:51 PM, Triple B said:

OK, if he's vice pres of athletics, who's president? Judy?

[Triple B]

7 minutes ago, Flowers4Heisman said:

OK, if he's vice pres of athletics, who's president? Judy?