Fee Me

When you got that first paycheck you were dismayed to learn that the amount was less than the simple equation of the hours work times the rate. Yes, there were deductions eating into the total and while the incomes taxes would come back to in a check from Uncle Sam the FICA was going to your blue haired neighbor for use at the bingo hall.

When Anna Nicole Smith and her late husband's son fought over how to divide up the estate the lawyers, one might suspect were willing to take the case based on the ability of the winner to pay them off. In the recently resolved Rich Rodriguez v. West Virginia University case we can see that the lawyers for the winning side were paid about 10% commission for their work (not a contingency case). Meaning the university will recover $3.6 million. Robert Fitzsimmons and son of Wheeling have donated their services valued at $109,577 which is less than they would have paid for an equal amount of exposure via advertising.

For comparison, back in 2001 Peter G. Angelos, owner the Baltimore Orioles wanted 25% of the $4 billion that the state of Maryland won from the tobacco companies. He later settled for a mere $132 million slice of the pie, but only looking greedy to the public.

The only piece left in this puzzle is the cost of the combined University of Michigan/ Rodriguez legal fees.

Blinking Rich

(Note: Use of a persoanl story to make a point.)

Having little in the way of coordination and having an aggressive streak, the only sports for which I was any good at was wrestling. After a mediocre high school career I did enter an intramural as a college freshman only to learn the I was terribly out of shape and not appreciating the conditioning the sport took. Feel exhausted at the start of the third period, I put my arm around my opponent only to realize that his wild heart rate meant he too was out of shape. The only question was who would give in first.

In the case of West Virginia University v. Rich Rodriguez, Mr. Rodriguez blinked. Or more correctly the University of Michigan blinked:

One key that triggered a settlement appeared to be the pressure brought by WVU to depose Michigan President Sue Coleman and Athletic Director Bill Martin. There was a hearing scheduled in Michigan this afternoon on WVU’s attempts to force the two to testify under oath what they knew about the hiring of Rodriguez and the buyout clause in the contract with WVU.

Mr. Rodriguez may not come up the $4 million out of his own pocket with an organization associated with the UM athletics coming up with the cash. That still leaves Mr. Rodriguez with the legal bill and more importantly the IRS bill. West Virginia University will payoff their lawyers and try to move on.

Next time get that lawyer that wrote the Duke football contract.

Earlier post: Soap Opera Star

Question of Character

Consider the big and small betrails in your life of the trust placed someone be they close or distant. In Confess Your Grudge is the story of a business associate that "forgot" what he had said and taught a young salesman the importance of that confirmation letter. (And the people from Ken's salad dressing are still on the list of those that should rot in hell.)

Think of those people that have betrayed your trust or even societies trust. Once the Catholic Priest was among the group of people that had a solid reputation for doing the right thing. Now that sadly is not true. Or remember in your childhood when your mother told you that you could rely on a police officer. Again not always true. Like may professions the priest and officer has little tangible to offer others expect the element of trust. Diminishing that level of trust and the value of the job is also diminished.

We do not have the time to put the multitude of like transactions into a written and notarized contract. Instead trust is extended the transaction along with the expectation that the other party will treat us in a fair manner.

In current money driven environment college football has entered trust has been replaced with the contract. Players enter into a contract to play for a particular school on the highly anticipated National Signing Day with coverage on ESPNU starting at noon. And as the, The ugly landscape of college football , points out an offer form the old coach need not be honored by the new administration.

In the case of the now very ugly and very public divorce between West Virginia University and Rich Rodriguez, we can see that the contract too has a flaw in that both sides (most aggressively by Rich Rodriguez's agent Mike Brown) are publicly jockey for the low ground in order to undermine the other party. Mike Brown early decided that given that trust was long ago replaced by a contract decided that the be strategy was to intimidate the other side with accusations that undermine the university's position. Memo to Mr. Brown: It is not working.

The actions of Rich Rodriguez and Mike Brown are understandable. The old saying about how adversity reveals character maybe true but as anyone that has been in the position where money is at stake knows the dollar can be a true a test of character as you will find.

You can imagine conversion that Rich Rodriguez and Mike Brown early December.

Rodriguez: "What about the buyout?"

Brown: "Don't worry. We'll play hardball, they'll buckle...It's just a contract. Not like you gave your solemn oath."

In the case of $4 million how would you act?

Which means more to you a promise or the text of a contract? Which would you be more likely to break?

The Money Just Rolls In

The one thing that really jumped out at me from your column is the idea that the head football coach has to be the chief fundraiser. Not at Michigan! That's the difference between the flagship programs and a WVU. The athletic dept and the development office do the fundraising.

The head coach just has to pick a charity and show up for it (and, to Lloyd Carr's credit, he has been a leader in the fundraising for the new Mott's Children's Hospital).*

The recent post on the departure of Rich Rodriguez brought an interesting comment that call for clarification of what is meant here with calling the football coach the chief fundraiser. The dance and procedure is not one where the coach is going to meetings and passing the hat for contributions. Chief fundraiser does mean that as the front man for the team the head coach is the uber-saleman that gets the season ticket holder to fork over a contribution to buy season tickets, gets the more casual fan to tune in on Saturday or gives the confidence to the big time boost to pleas millions for new facilities. The dance between coach takes place at all levels of college sports from a Division III school up to flagship institions.

How often do we see that a coach is getting fired because the alumni, the best source for money, are unhappy with the on the field results. The UM faithful may find themselves tested if there new coach has sold them more than he can deliver. The most expensive element of the UM and Rodriguez relationship may be time although with the price both have paid they may find that they have a great deal in common with the folks in South Bend.

*The full comments have be posted here.

Rich Rodriguez--Soap Opera Star

***Disclaimer***
The current situation involving West Virginia University football and Rich Rodriguez needs to be addressed in this blog. In the interest of full disclosure I am graduate of WVU and a season ticket holder (be it cheap endzone seats). Note the grammar issues in this blog are the responsibility of the author and not the schools that I attended.

There are too may aspects to this story for a unified theme therefore:

1. Divorces are rarely polite affairs. Change despite what people say is rarely welcome. One of the few things that stuck in my head after 25 years for Management 101 is that people resist change and the departure of Rich Rodriguez is a big change for the fans for both schools. In retrospect, Rich Rodriguez's departure should not be much of a surprise after the flirtation and eyes (ego) of Rodriguez was clearly 12months ago with Alabama.

The other thing that happens in a breakup is that the two parties do their best to blame the other especially when there is a $4 million buy out clause. The lawyers get involved and the battle via proxy beginslike third party interviews and leaks to the press. This behavior is amusing when it is a couple of celebrates you care little about but when your dirty laundry gets aired (truth is optional) the feelings are a combination of being embarrassed and defensiveness. There is a direct relationship between the amount, in this case money, at stake and the willingness of the parties to throw dirt. The current set of issues being put forth by Rich Rodriguez's camp seem like nothing more than excuses/positioning not to pay the buy. If you want out of a relationship be willing to pay the price.

2. This situation and the other recent moves by college head coaches confirms what has been previous said in this blog, "So not only does the coach have to win on Saturday, manage the team, recruit the players but the head coach is the top fund raiser." Not only is the coach the manager of a multimillion dollar operation but is also the face of the team. The college salaries still trail those of the NFL but are far ahead of state governors. Try this exercise: Name all the head coaches and then name the governors of the same states. Embarrassed? So was I. Head coaches are paid fair value as they promise to provide the services and value the university administration is seeking.

3. Why not put a head coach on a one year contract? Under the current system if they do well and are looking to jump your give them a raise via a contract extension but if they do poorly you're stuck with them. By comparison cellphone contracts seem fair and reasonable as while they will be sticking it too you the terms are fixed for two years.

4. From--"Hey, that thing is COLD!"
In that light the pay will never be enough. Further, once you arrive at the top of the college football coaching ladder there's really nowhere to go but down (see Frank Solich and Steve Spurrier). There are those that thrive despite (or because of) in the limelight and pressure. The problem is that UM is searching for a football coach and not a Wall Street shark.

If Rich Rodriguez was the person looking for the next challenge then he will find it a Michigan. Given the culture shock of transforming the Wolverines to the spread the next 20 months (now to the beginning of the 2009) could try both Rich and the UM faithful. What are the expectations for the 2008 season? 2009? When will playing for the MNC be required?

"Hey, that thing is COLD!"

During the past week Greg Shiano was rumored to be considering the coaching position at the University of Michigan only to have that story squashed within a matter of hours. Just the latest in a list of, "No thank you's", to one of the premiere programs in college football. Looking at the Rutgers coach as an example it is easy to see where the problem may be. The 2007 Scarlet Knights were a disappointment but by posting a winning record and going to a bowl game, be it the International Bowl, are by historical standards doing quite well. Yes, there are critics of the coach but nothing approaching the firestorm a coach of the Wolverine's would experience for taking the team to the conference's lowliest bowl game.

Quoting the Bible , "Much will be required of the person entrusted with much and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more." is a call to duty to your fellow man in most cases. In the case being the UM coach the stewardship of the football program has a vengefully ruler that puts the God of the Old Testament to shame, alumni and fans. From August to November, even in election years the UM coach's actions receive scrutiny beyond that of the state's governor to the point of being reminded of the statement of Richard Nixon “It’s the responsibility of the media to look at the president with a microscope, but they go too far when they use a proctoscope."

In that light the pay will never be enough. Further, once you arrive at the top of the college football coaching ladder there's really nowhere to go but down (see Frank Solich and Steve Spurrier). There are those that thrive despite (or because of) in the limelight and pressure. The problem is that UM is searching for a football coach and not a Wall Street shark.

Note: I never expected to quote Richard Nixon and the Bible in the same paragraph.

And he finds time to write a book

While most of us struggle to keep our heads above water on the job, Nick Saban had time to wite a book.

Make sure to read what customers are saying about the books.

And it is now marked down to $11.16!

(Gram) Pa Joe Gets Tough

Even if he looks like a used car salesman you must take your hat off the the punishment Joe Paterno has for his football team after the latest off field incident. That punishment is for all the players too clean up Beaver Stadium after home games. Yes, clean up the stadium and yes that is all the players. Hopefully this will include cleaning the restrooms which can be a humbling experience. The purpose here is to make the team functions as a group with both the rewards that come from being a member but the cost when a part of that team makes a poor choice in behavior. This is akin to that old coach's tactic of making the whole team run lap fro the transgressions of the few.

It will be interesting to see the reactions of the players and down the road the impact on recruiting. How will that blue chipper react to the prospect of team punishment? Will he see the wisdom or go looking for a better deal down the road? Will that "stage parent" be mature enough to recognize the life lesson being taught? Sadly, this action will deter several players. Yet, Joe being a living god has the latitude to thumb his nose at the conventional.