Harsh reality on roster changes

[AllWeatherFan]

It's a little like sharing a jail cell with Foghorn Leghorn...

:lol:

 

[UMGriz75]

\Cool and interesting, but your sport wasn't college football. Again N/A. College football is a much different animal. I agree that coaches and others should take care of the student-athletes generally, and, in my view, that would include not dissing them in public right after they have been told they are not going to play, should move on, or have been cut. My view is the same, whether social media exists or doesn't exist.

The public is the same animal, and increasingly, the laws impact the same. It just depends more on awareness and experience of the reality of a rapidly changing communication world.

"Not dissing them in public" is precisely what I am saying. When you say nothing, that invokes the rumor mill. There's no speculation about that; that's what this whole minor controversy is exactly about. It just happened! And it happens all the time. The newsstands are full of them. This just isn't a "new" concept, nor did Colter do anything that does not happen in journalism every day precisely because authentic sources want to withhold information.

Speculation about Area 51 is rife with rumors of aliens and black projects and super secret weapons because of "classified information," but the fact is, the local college football roster is not "Area 51" and when a kid is let go, he is entitled to be let go with some dignity and at a minimum, a public thanks and recognition for his contributions. It's just the classy thing to do.

Let these kids go out with a public acknowledgment of their contributions, a pat on the back, and best wishes.

Then, when they are seeking out their next school, the "Internet" contains a positive, official communication about their termination. And the rumors can't start. But if it isn't there, the rumors show up instead.

Any program has to recognize times have changed dramatically. I am involved in sports that have to recognize this because we are national and international in scale and deal with far larger numbers of players and coaches, much larger publics, and much larger stakes, as well as Congressional oversight because we are federal and national in scope, not state with far lower levels of such scrutiny. Because of the much higher levels of publicity and public scrutiny, we have learned that we need to be proactive in protecting the athletes, because, above all, it is about the athletes and not their $300,000 a year coaches.

 

[UMGriz75]

You keep saying "athlete" when I think you mean "mathlete" and I'm pretty sure that the USOC isn't the governing body for debate teams!

You're much quicker at figuring things out than you let on.

 

[MsMaroon]

I would give my left arm for a tantrum-throwing, howling and thoroughly flummoxed "smilie".

 

[grizindabox]

75...LOL...

 

[UMGriz75]

Actually both Colter and coach Stitt should have handled this situation better. Colter clearly jumped the gun in terms of naming names. Has he published some sort of error correction?

Mr. Stitt should have said something like "Some players will be leaving our team, we appreciate their contribution and wish them the best". There is no big secret that players were cut, they tweeted it. Instead he said something about not coasting for 5 years, which didn't reflect well on anybody.

I think outplacement is an undervalued skill for college coaches. If it's done right, everybody wins.

Exactly. These are young people, not NFL athletes.

 

[UMGriz75]

Under the current "system," I have no concerns about terminating players either for "cause" or because the coach wants to go in a different direction. I had said that repeatedly. The problem I have is when it is done in such a fashion as to leave impressions that the termination "may" have been for improper conduct or athletic non-performance. When the coach says nothing at all, it leaves the door open to speculation.

And speculation, at the cusp of an athletic career, can be a career-killer.

Just as importantly, when enough people get pissed off at secretive coaches, secret terminations, public lack of acknowledgment, creating a "public" process that encourages speculation and derogation, you increase the risk of change your not gonna like.

And that's part of my concern. People that support the way this was done are the people that are going to wreck the system, and pretty soon, football is going to be a mighty expensive scholarship proposition.

The year-by-year scholarship system has already been headlined as "The Most Evil Thing about College Sports."

Last week, ESPN agreed to pay the Atlantic Coast Conference $3.6 billion to televise its athletic events through 2026-27. The ACC will earn those billions thanks to the free labor of Duke basketball players and Miami football players. Is there any rational argument that these unpaid performers shouldn’t get a chunk of that TV cash?

Back in September, Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis tried to mount such an argument. In response to Taylor Branch’s Atlantic polemic "The Shame of College Sports,” Davis wrote that it’s “indisputably untrue” that college athletes aren’t paid. “Student-athletes earn free tuition, which over the course of four years can exceed $200,000,” he wrote.

If you buy that star athletes are compensated with a valuable education, consider this complicating fact: An athletic scholarship is not a four-year educational guarantee. What few college sports fans—and not enough college recruits—realize is that a university can yank that scholarship after one, two, or three years without cause. Coach doesn’t like you? He’s free to cut you loose. Sitting the bench? You could lose your free ride to a new recruit.

Some schools have recognized that one-year scholarships, renewable at the school’s pleasure, are morally indefensible.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2012/05/ncaa_scholarship_rules_it_s_morally_indefensible_that_athletic_scholarships_can_be_yanked_after_one_year_for_any_reason_.html

But the vast majority of wannabe college athletes don’t have Cousins’ strong bargaining position. Rather, they serve at the whim of coaches like Nick Saban and Tennessee’s Derek Dooley. "We forget this is a contract, a two-way street," Dooley said in February, explaining why he doesn’t like multiyear scholarships. "I think it's humorous that the academic institution can give an academic scholarship and take it away when a student doesn't perform at a certain GPA level, but it's absolutely the worst thing you can do as a coach—it's so wrong what you do to these young people—when he doesn't do what he's supposed to do."

According to a report in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, some schools opposed multiyear scholarships because they could “[reduce] the flexibility of a new coach to get rid of players who didn't fit his style.” Remember that line the next time an athletic director bloviates on the glories of amateurism and the student-athlete: Your athletic ability is a ticket to a free education, so long as the new guy in charge doesn’t want to run the spread offense.

Be careful what you wish for. Those who defend a coach's unilateral right to do what he wants, and defends any monumental discourtesy to the athlete in the process, runs the risk of propelling college athletic scholarships to a level that simply disqualifies schools like Montana from participating entirely.

Moral of the story: do it right. Make it a win for the kid as much as you can. Send him off with best wishes and a publicly acknowledged contribution, and eliminate the possibility of rumor and error. It's the easiest thing to do, and the best thing to do.

 

[Spanky]

Yes, young people with parents they are hoping to please....

 

[PlayerRep]

\Cool and interesting, but your sport wasn't college football. Again N/A. College football is a much different animal. I agree that coaches and others should take care of the student-athletes generally, and, in my view, that would include not dissing them in public right after they have been told they are not going to play, should move on, or have been cut. My view is the same, whether social media exists or doesn't exist.

The public is the same animal, and increasingly, the laws impact the same. It just depends more on awareness and experience of the reality of a rapidly changing communication world.

"Not dissing them in public" is precisely what I am saying. When you say nothing, that invokes the rumor mill. There's no speculation about that; that's what this whole minor controversy is exactly about. It just happened! And it happens all the time. The newsstands are full of them. This just isn't a "new" concept, nor did Colter do anything that does not happen in journalism every day precisely because authentic sources want to withhold information.

Speculation about Area 51 is rife with rumors of aliens and black projects and super secret weapons because of "classified information," but the fact is, the local college football roster is not "Area 51" and when a kid is let go, he is entitled to be let go with some dignity and at a minimum, a public thanks and recognition for his contributions. It's just the classy thing to do.

Let these kids go out with a public acknowledgment of their contributions, a pat on the back, and best wishes.

Then, when they are seeking out their next school, the "Internet" contains a positive, official communication about their termination. And the rumors can't start. But if it isn't there, the rumors show up instead.

Any program has to recognize times have changed dramatically. I am involved in sports that have to recognize this because we are national and international in scale and deal with far larger numbers of players and coaches, much larger publics, and much larger stakes, as well as Congressional oversight because we are federal and national in scope, not state with far lower levels of such scrutiny. Because of the much higher levels of publicity and public scrutiny, we have learned that we need to be proactive in protecting the athletes, because, above all, it is about the athletes and not their $300,000 a year coaches.

Sorry, just don't agree. In fact, I think you are off on much of what you are saying. In this type of situation, a coach remaining silent would not feed the rumor mill. And people were not and would not assume someone was departing or being dismissed for doing something bad. It was clear that the coaches were having post-season discussions with players. Everyone knows that players leave programs for various reason, including when they see the handwriting on the wall. No need for the coach to name-names and provide specifics at this point. Later on--perhaps some additional general information.

If a kid is going to another program, and the program has any questions, they will call the coaches at his prior team. In fact, most of the time coaches at the new school will call the coaches at the prior school to do due diligence and inquire about the quality of the player. You cite a problem that didn't, doesn't and won't exist in this situation.

Again, your Olympic sport experience is not application to college football at UM's level.

 

[UMGriz75]

In this type of situation, a coach remaining silent would not feed the rumor mill.

The problem is, that is exactly what happened.

 

[mtgrizrule]

Why is this such big deal here this year? Every year the roster changes. The changes are usually a little higher after the 1st year of a coaching and/or system change. I posted just after Stitt's hiring we would likely see a lot of roster changes after his 1st year, and it is happening.

It does suck for the impacted players and their families. Most of the players will find a new home to continue their playing and academics. I am glad to see Stitt wasted no time in doing so. He witnessed 1st hand the separation between Montana and NDSU. Like it or not, they are the program setting the bar for the FCS. Fortunately, Montana is 1 of the few programs in position to compete with them soon. With the right roster changes, the GRIZ very well could be going from pretenders to championship contenders again.

This is also a good sign for the program to the players and the fans. To me, it means Stitt is not wasting time to dwell on the 2015 season. He immediately dedicated himself to the 2016 season. 2016 began as soon as the NDSU game ended. He is busting his ass for 2016 and setting the tone for the returning players. He is 100% correct in his approach. I agree with him, once you have your scholarship, a player cannot and should not coast. The scholarships are a year to year commitment by each party. Stitt has given the impacted players as much time as possible to find a new program and school to be part of. Most of them will still be getting a scholarship, just not at Montana. To each of the impacted players, I wish them well. To the new players, welcome to GRIZ Nation. To coach Stitt, thank you for your dedication to your job, especially the toughest part of roster changes.

Here is to hoping the roster changes/cuts have sent a loud clear message to every returner and every recruit that excellence and dedication is expected your whole time as a GRIZ! GO GRIZ!!!

 

[PlayerRep]

In this type of situation, a coach remaining silent would not feed the rumor mill.

The problem is, that is exactly what happened.

Sorry, but don't agree. The information was coming from tweets of players and some reporters, and maybe a few egriz posts from friends or families of players. It was immediately known that coach/player meetings had occurred. No reason for coaches to start providing additional information or specifics. Plus, this whole "controversy" is a big nothing that the vast majority of people will never know or care about, and a bunch of us who follow football carefully don't care about either. Are there 50 out there who care about the "controversy"? Obviously, the affected player and their friends care about the individual players, but that is not the "controversy" in my mind.

 

[PlayerRep]

Why is this such big deal here this year? Every year the roster changes. The changes are usually a little higher after the 1st year of a coaching and/or system change. I posted just after Stitt's hiring we would likely see a lot of roster changes after his 1st year, and it is happening.

It does suck for the impacted players and their families. Most of the players will find a new home to continue their playing and academics. I am glad to see Stitt wasted no time in doing so. He witnessed 1st hand the separation between Montana and NDSU. Like it or not, they are the program setting the bar for the FCS. Fortunately, Montana is 1 of the few programs in position to compete with them soon. With the right roster changes, the GRIZ very well could be going from pretenders to championship contenders again.

This is also a good sign for the program to the players and the fans. To me, it means Stitt is not wasting time to dwell on the 2015 season. He immediately dedicated himself to the 2016 season. 2016 began as soon as the NDSU game ended. He is busting his ass for 2016 and setting the tone for the returning players. He is 100% correct in his approach. I agree with him, once you have your scholarship, a player cannot and should not coast. The scholarships are a year to year commitment by each party. Stitt has given the impacted players as much time as possible to find a new program and school to be part of. Most of them will still be getting a scholarship, just not at Montana. To each of the impacted players, I wish them well. To the new players, welcome to GRIZ Nation. To coach Stitt, thank you for your dedication to your job, especially the toughest part of roster changes.

Here is to hoping the roster changes/cuts have sent a loud clear message to every returner and every recruit that excellence and dedication is expected your whole time as a GRIZ! GO GRIZ!!!

I don't think it is a big deal. It's just a few people not analyzing (in my view) the situation properly and/or trying to use it to dig at Stitt.

 

[mtgrizrule]

In this type of situation, a coach remaining silent would not feed the rumor mill.

The problem is, that is exactly what happened.

Sorry, but don't agree. The information was coming from tweets of players and some reporters, and maybe a few egriz posts from friends or families of players. It was immediately known that coach/player meetings had occurred. No reason for coaches to start providing additional information or specifics. Plus, this whole "controversy" is a big nothing that the vast majority of people will never know or care about, and a bunch of us who follow football carefully don't care about either. Are there 50 out there who care about the "controversy"? Obviously, the affected player and their friends care about the individual players, but that is not the "controversy" in my mind.

To me, this is not even a controversy. Roster cuts and changes are part of the game every season. I honestly don't see why this is such a big deal this year? I just wish signing day would get here, then we could see which new players the changes allowed us to bring in.

 

[mtgrizrule]

Why is this such big deal here this year? Every year the roster changes. The changes are usually a little higher after the 1st year of a coaching and/or system change. I posted just after Stitt's hiring we would likely see a lot of roster changes after his 1st year, and it is happening.

It does suck for the impacted players and their families. Most of the players will find a new home to continue their playing and academics. I am glad to see Stitt wasted no time in doing so. He witnessed 1st hand the separation between Montana and NDSU. Like it or not, they are the program setting the bar for the FCS. Fortunately, Montana is 1 of the few programs in position to compete with them soon. With the right roster changes, the GRIZ very well could be going from pretenders to championship contenders again.

This is also a good sign for the program to the players and the fans. To me, it means Stitt is not wasting time to dwell on the 2015 season. He immediately dedicated himself to the 2016 season. 2016 began as soon as the NDSU game ended. He is busting his ass for 2016 and setting the tone for the returning players. He is 100% correct in his approach. I agree with him, once you have your scholarship, a player cannot and should not coast. The scholarships are a year to year commitment by each party. Stitt has given the impacted players as much time as possible to find a new program and school to be part of. Most of them will still be getting a scholarship, just not at Montana. To each of the impacted players, I wish them well. To the new players, welcome to GRIZ Nation. To coach Stitt, thank you for your dedication to your job, especially the toughest part of roster changes.

Here is to hoping the roster changes/cuts have sent a loud clear message to every returner and every recruit that excellence and dedication is expected your whole time as a GRIZ! GO GRIZ!!!

I don't think it is a big deal. It's just a few people not analyzing the situation properly and/or trying to use it to dig at Stitt.

You just hit the nail on the head. :thumb:

 

[One.Cool.Customer]

Stitt's planning his work and working his plan!

 

[UMGriz75]

The information was coming from tweets of players and some reporters, and maybe a few egriz posts from friends or families of players.

That's the point. It wouldn't have happened had the coach or staff simply done the right thing. But when you have a policy that you don't owe anybody anything, that is precisely what is going to happen, it happened, here, and it will happen in the future.

Say "nothing" = rumors.

This is not news to anybody who has dealt with these situations.

 

[UMGriz75]

Why is this such big deal here this year? Every year the roster changes.

That's not even the point, not at all. It came up at a press conference this year. Coach acted petulant in public. Had he done the right thing. Nothing. He didn't.

If he throws another tantrum in public, same reaction. He caused this, then he blamed somebody else for the results.

 

[UMGriz75]

Pose the actual question correctly:

Let these kids go out with a public acknowledgment of their contributions, a pat on the back, and best wishes.

How would that hurt the program?
How would that encourage speculation about the wrong players?
How would that hurt the discharged players?
How would that hurt future roster changes?
How would that damage the idea of necessary roster changes?
How would that hurt player's future recruitment chances?

Why is it NOT the right thing to do?

Be specific.

 

[grizindabox]

Why is this such big deal here this year? Every year the roster changes. The changes are usually a little higher after the 1st year of a coaching and/or system change. I posted just after Stitt's hiring we would likely see a lot of roster changes after his 1st year, and it is happening.

It does suck for the impacted players and their families. Most of the players will find a new home to continue their playing and academics. I am glad to see Stitt wasted no time in doing so. He witnessed 1st hand the separation between Montana and NDSU. Like it or not, they are the program setting the bar for the FCS. Fortunately, Montana is 1 of the few programs in position to compete with them soon. With the right roster changes, the GRIZ very well could be going from pretenders to championship contenders again.

This is also a good sign for the program to the players and the fans. To me, it means Stitt is not wasting time to dwell on the 2015 season. He immediately dedicated himself to the 2016 season. 2016 began as soon as the NDSU game ended. He is busting his ass for 2016 and setting the tone for the returning players. He is 100% correct in his approach. I agree with him, once you have your scholarship, a player cannot and should not coast. The scholarships are a year to year commitment by each party. Stitt has given the impacted players as much time as possible to find a new program and school to be part of. Most of them will still be getting a scholarship, just not at Montana. To each of the impacted players, I wish them well. To the new players, welcome to GRIZ Nation. To coach Stitt, thank you for your dedication to your job, especially the toughest part of roster changes.

Here is to hoping the roster changes/cuts have sent a loud clear message to every returner and every recruit that excellence and dedication is expected your whole time as a GRIZ! GO GRIZ!!!

UMGriz75....