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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Oct 6, 2021 8:13:24 GMT -5
At the recent BoT meeting, there was discussion of the future strategic direction of the college, and incorporating such into the strategic plan that's being developed. These strategic prongs are (with a bit of my re-phrasing):
1.) Reaffirmation of the Jesuit mission 2.) Promotion of academic excellence 3.) Achieve strength in athletics 4.) Promote the reputation, and improve the position (standing) of the college
Vince Rougeau intends to embark on a several months-long set of listening sessions soliciting views on these themes, before finalizing the strategic plan.
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Post by trimster on Oct 6, 2021 8:32:13 GMT -5
At the recent BoT meeting, there was discussion of the future strategic direction of the college, and incorporating such into the strategic plan that's being developed. These strategic prongs are (with a bit of my re-phrasing): 1.) Reaffirmation of the Jesuit mission 2.) Promotion of academic excellence 3.) Achieve strength in athletics 4.) Promote the reputation, and improve the position (standing) of the college Vince Rougeau intends to embark on a several months-long set of listening sessions soliciting views on these themes, before finalizing the strategic plan. I am surprised #3 made the list. Probably nothing more than a nice-sounding talking point.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Oct 6, 2021 8:47:44 GMT -5
At the recent BoT meeting, there was discussion of the future strategic direction of the college, and incorporating such into the strategic plan that's being developed. These strategic prongs are (with a bit of my re-phrasing): 1.) Reaffirmation of the Jesuit mission 2.) Promotion of academic excellence 3.) Achieve strength in athletics 4.) Promote the reputation, and improve the position (standing) of the college Vince Rougeau intends to embark on a several months-long set of listening sessions soliciting views on these themes, before finalizing the strategic plan. I am surprised #3 made the list. Probably nothing more than a nice-sounding talking point. Au contraire. I think it reflects an endorsement of FADMB's strategic plan for athletics, which, inter alia, called for more scollies, better pay for coaches.
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Post by rgs318 on Oct 6, 2021 8:49:28 GMT -5
If HC is serious about that 4th point, it (along with better pay for coaches) could go a long way toward solving #3.
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Post by Xmassader on Oct 6, 2021 19:32:45 GMT -5
PP Your point 3 is “Achieve strength in athletics”. I think the FADMB program had a point which said “achieve and sustain competitive excellence in athletics”. Do you see a substantive difference in these points or is it simply a difference in phraseology? Hopefully, it’s the latter. As purplehaze has pointed out in a number of posts, we’ve been far from achieving, let alone sustaining, competitive excellence. IMO, in order to do so, PVR and the Trustees should be focused on doing so by providing the requisite resources and should hire as AD the person most likely to retain and hire coaches who can lead us to some Ws.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Oct 7, 2021 6:58:08 GMT -5
PP Your point 3 is “Achieve strength in athletics”. I think the FADMB program had a point which said “achieve and sustain competitive excellence in athletics”. Do you see a substantive difference in these points or is it simply a difference in phraseology? Hopefully, it’s the latter. As purplehaze has pointed out in a number of posts, we’ve been far from achieving, let alone sustaining, competitive excellence. IMO, in order to do so, PVR and the Trustees should be focused on doing so by providing the requisite resources and should hire as AD the person most likely to retain and hire coaches who can lead us to some Ws. This was the phrasing used by someone who was present at the recent BoT meeting where the BoT was setting out the strategic direction of the college for the rest of this decade. I do not know whether this person was verbalizing a major point, or this was scribbled verbatim from a slide deck. A key member of the BoT is the chair of the BoT athletic committee, a person whose corporate management background ought to make him familiar with strategic planning. So I strongly suspect that development of ADMB's strategic plan, and the goals therein, were guided by the chair of the athletic committee, and the basic thrust of that plan is now affirmed by the whole Board itself. I would expect that the Board, as a whole, gives much deference to the reports and recommendations of its various committees. One thing I know for certain is that if one hopes for a long and successful career, one does not get out in front of one's bosses. So ADMB publicly publishing the strategic plan for athletics, his public presentation of the reconfiguration and reconstruction of playing fields on the top of the hill, and his announcement of a study looking at renovating / expanding the Hart rink were done with the okay of the BoT athletic committee. The chair of the athletics committee is also heading the search committee for the next AD, so I expect he will be looking for someone who can carry out the strategic plan for athletics. As this most recent Board meeting also set the general budget for fiscal 2022-23, its possible that increases in the # of scollies, and/or coaches' salaries for 2022-23 are part of the college's budget for this future fiscal year.
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Post by rgs318 on Oct 7, 2021 7:25:07 GMT -5
Your observations are appreciated, Pak. I do hope higher coaches' salaries are part of that budget. If not, we will be what we seem to have become in recent years...a developmental site for people who will be moving on and up.
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Post by Xmassader on Oct 7, 2021 7:51:09 GMT -5
PP Thanks for the clarification. Hopefully, the selection of the new AD will fall squarely in line with the strategic plan for athletics outlined by FADMB before his departure.
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Post by longsuffering on Oct 17, 2021 9:48:58 GMT -5
The last two AD hires were both polished people who had worked their way up in subordinate roles with increasing responsibility at larger D-1 institutions. No hint of trying someone in the Chesney mold who had dramatically turned things around as the head honcho at one or more smaller institutions.
Any chance a proven winner will be selected over a polished subordinate this time?
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 17, 2021 10:07:14 GMT -5
Yesterday I checked with some locals; some HC staff; a retired professor who lives locally and on campus often; and it appears no one has a clue what Holy Cross is looking for in an AD.
There is some sentiment among alums that whoever it is is someone with "institutional knowledge" and who will be willing to stick around for more than 2-4 years.
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Post by rgs318 on Oct 17, 2021 10:25:19 GMT -5
Sounds like those alums have good sense about what the position needs.
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Post by longsuffering on Oct 18, 2021 4:58:42 GMT -5
Willing to stay more than 2-4 years comes right after "looks good in a suit".😂
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 18, 2021 7:13:07 GMT -5
Former 1970 Class Dean Charlie Baker and I were talking at the football game as he lives close to campus and follows men's and women's hockey very closely and taught and knows Paul Pearl very well and the reasons why he left Holy Cross (essentially what's been posted by others - lack of support for hockey). Charlie thinks Paul would be a great AD. He certainly has the "institutional knowledge" and maybe with a new president attitudes might have changed. Who knows?
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Post by Chu Chu on Oct 18, 2021 20:59:52 GMT -5
Former 1970 Class Dean Charlie Baker and I were talking at the football game as he lives close to campus and follows men's and women's hockey very closely and taught and knows Paul Pearl very well and the reasons why he left Holy Cross (essentially what's been posted by others - lack of support for hockey). Charlie thinks Paul would be a great AD. He certainly has the "institutional knowledge" and maybe with a new president attitudes might have changed. Who knows? Wow, could be a good fit!
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 18, 2021 21:06:44 GMT -5
But two questions:
1. Can HC pay him enough? 2. Is he still ticked off too much at Holy Cross to take it?
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Post by longsuffering on Oct 18, 2021 21:40:43 GMT -5
But two questions: 1. Can HC pay him enough? 2. Is he still ticked off too much at Holy Cross to take it? 3) Has Charlie Baker's voice dropped yet? He's had the longest adolescence on record.😊 In all seriousness, Charlie is a wonderful fellow. I had him for a film class. HC should be able to Paul Pearl more than prep school Cushing Academy where he is currently coaching and probably like most prep school staff, wearing many other hats, too.
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Post by HC92 on Oct 21, 2021 7:35:37 GMT -5
But two questions: 1. Can HC pay him enough? 2. Is he still ticked off too much at Holy Cross to take it? I think he was probably more disappointed at the lack of a plan of any sort than ticked off. Becoming AD would allow him to build and execute the type of plan he thought was missing when he left. Maybe that opportunity would be attractive to him. That would have to start with someone convincing him we were going to loosen the purse strings.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Oct 21, 2021 8:21:45 GMT -5
M/W ice hockey scollies are funded to the NCAA cap. HC cannot give Pearl any commitment with respect to the Hart rink until the architects complete feasibility studies on the cost of reconstructing / expanding the Hart rink, and those studies, if they've even started, are months away from being done.
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Post by rgs318 on Oct 21, 2021 8:23:29 GMT -5
It seems a shame that apparently no one ever thought of having such as study done. Ice hockey must be a very recent interest that no one thought of doing that...or there is no true interest among TPTB and the study is only another way to delay things.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Oct 21, 2021 8:28:59 GMT -5
I seems a shame that apparently no one ever thought of having such as study done. Ice hockey must be a very recent interest that no one thought of doing that...or there is no true interest among TPTB and the study is only another way to delay things. These studies were initiated by ADMB, with the blessing, I am sure, of the current chair of the BoT athletic committee who played ice hockey at HC. MB explained the current facilities were hampering recruiting on the men's side because they were outdated and second-rate (my paraphrasing). There were studies done in the past because Fr, McF discussed a price tag, and said no one was stepping forward to help pay the cost.
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Post by rgs318 on Oct 21, 2021 8:53:09 GMT -5
I should have noted my comment was meant to be sarcastic. I guess HC is not into the "my ice is better than your ice" competition.
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Post by HC92 on Oct 21, 2021 9:27:22 GMT -5
Do we really not know what the options are for a new/substantially revised on-campus arena at this point? Hope that’s not true. Of course, the cost of such a thing is going to be much higher now than it would have been when Pearl left.
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Post by matunuck on Oct 21, 2021 10:18:12 GMT -5
Do we really not know what the options are for a new/substantially revised on-campus arena at this point? Hope that’s not true. Of course, the cost of such a thing is going to be much higher now than it would have been when Pearl left. or when we had the construction workers and equipment on site to renovate/expand everything else except the rink.
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Post by beachbound on Oct 21, 2021 12:15:44 GMT -5
I cannot see a scenario where HC would bring in someone to be AD that has no experience with either football or basketball. So while I like Paul Pearl and would have been happy if MB hired him back to be the HC of M Hockey, I would be stunned to see an AD Paul Pearl.
I do get a little dizzy with all the spinning about a new rink. “Well, we just can’t find a donor” bs. The school rightly prioritized their athletic facility needs when developing the plan to transform the old hart center into the Luth. I probably would have made different choices, but I was not asked for my thoughts. That being said, since FADMB had to start from scratch in terms of looking into ways to expand and improve the locker and video rooms at the rink, the “studies” done in the “past” were probably scribbled on a cocktail napkin and there was never a serious effort to find a donor.
My hope is that the athletic department continues to go forward with these studies, develop a plan, design and budget, and then do some professional but targeted fund raising to make these improvements happen. Maybe start with the athletic chair of the BOT.
This will help stabilize the program and allow HC Bill Riga in recruiting and that will allow him to bring HC M Hockey back to a contending team in the AHA. And then at that point, maybe the school can look into a new rink.
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Post by longsuffering on Oct 21, 2021 12:40:14 GMT -5
I should have noted my comment was meant to be sarcastic. I guess HC is not into the "my ice is better than your ice" competition. Our ice is just as cold as their ice. Amenities are very important for the players who spend so much time in the facility, but keep in mind they aren't the only determinant of success. As an example, the HC Women, members of Hockey East, got shut out by Franklin Pierce 4-0. FPU skates across the state line at the Winchendon School arena, so their scholar athletes have to bus to practice and games. Nichols College used to bus across the state line to RI for their practices and games. Nichols is a few hundred yards from a state line, but that's the CT border, not the RI one. I acknowledge Coach Riga and staff have lower quality amenities than some AHA schools but players can walk to the Hart, use the Luth training facilities and go to a good school. The current arena by itself is not an insurmountable obstacle to success in the AHA.
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