This is not a fire Cal post, but rather an objective take on our current situation. There have been missteps from both Cal and the UK athletic department since Cal was brought here. The early success Cal had put the athletic department in a tight spot. It is really tough to go against a coach that is winning at such a high rate. The MAJOR problem that arose here was that Cal was allowed to determine how success as an UK head coach is defined. His statements of “regular season doesnt matter”, “SEC championships do not matter”, “National Championships do not matter” clearly state how he defines success as an UK head coach. The athletic department should never let the coach define success, but rather tell the coach what their view as success is. Instead of correcting Cal, the athletic dept. gave him an over the top contract, which validated Cal’s vision is what defines success. There have been other issues along the way, but I truly believe this is the main driving factor for how we got here, and the disconnect many fans are feeling. What is done is done and so now we have to look forward. What should happen now is that the Athletic dept. steps up, meets with Cal and explains to him what they define as successful. Their vision should align with what is best for the school based on heritage, fanbase input, and booster input. If Cal refuses to agree with the Athletic Department’s vision then it gets tricky with his current contract. The athletic department would then have to try and impose their will by taking away some of Cals power not spelled out in his contract. This would be things like scheduling, assistant and assistant pay etc. If this still does not work then it could end up badly, bc the next step would be the fight over boosters. This is the worst outcome for many reasons, such a large buyout would give the boosters A LOT of control over the program and it it could severely hurt the program for several years solely bc of the new NIL rules. Asking boosters to ”step away from Cal” would essentially be asking them to not support his teams with NIL money. Hopefully the Athletic dept. steps up and is able to change the way success is being defined, but I have serious doubts. Sorry for the long post, but sometimes it just helps to vent to people that are feeling the same pain
How we got here and what is likely to come
- Thread starter kntckfan
- Start date
That's a good take on things. But I will add that Barney shares Cal's vision of it means more than just winning. Which I believe factored into the contract. I believe both Cal and Barnhart are good people but they miss the point of what UK basketball means to the fans and that it is only sustained because of the fans.
How we got here? Mitch
Until Mitch is fired, none of this hand-wringing matters. Even if UK miraculously came up with $50M tomorrow and fired Cal, do you honestly think Mitch would get a better replacement? My kids are gonna think I'm senile when I talk about UKs glory days while they watch Holtmann take us to the NIT year after year
Until Mitch is fired, none of this hand-wringing matters. Even if UK miraculously came up with $50M tomorrow and fired Cal, do you honestly think Mitch would get a better replacement? My kids are gonna think I'm senile when I talk about UKs glory days while they watch Holtmann take us to the NIT year after year
Mitch thought he was losing Cal to UCLA and panicked, he awarded that contract solely on his desire to not be blamed for Cal leaving and also I believe his dread at trying to find a replacement. He did what was best for MITCH at the time not the school. I will never forgive his cowardly self interest. I want him gone even more than Cal if that's possible
Ultimately I see it playing out in a way where Mitch is forced out first and then Cal leaves, retires, forced out etc.. I will say this though, one good thing the Athletic department did recently was turn down Cal’s request on new practice facility. For 2 reasons, 1) boosters would be stretched very thin if it came to buying out cal and new facility 2) it is something that could be used to entice a new coach to come (never thought I would think that anyone needs something extra to want to be the UK head coach!!)
This is where I think Cal and Mitch really miss the mark, they fail to realize that be a blue blood school you have to have a deep History of success. To many UK fans this is generational. It is passed down that UK is the standard for college basketball. Fans feel entitled to great coaching, great players, winning seasons and national championships. Right or wrong, this is the way a lot of us UK fans think and feel
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