In defense of Mike Bohn.

Ringo had an article today that got me thinking about the awesomeness of Mike Bohn. In the article Ringo talks about the swirling rumors that Mike would take a potential job offer from his alma matter KU. I don't know if Mike will or won't take a probable offer from KU, all I know is that if Mike leaves it would disastrous for CU athletics. I have numerous thoughts on Mike and the job he has done here. I've thrown them into 2 different parts. The first is a standalone thought-piece on his efforts at CU, and his continuing value to the university. The second is in defense of his oft-maligned coaching hires.

I should say that I have a personal reason for admiring Mike. Beyond his work helping recover the athletic program after the Tharp years, he also revitalized the connection between the athletic department and the marching band. During my senior season he stepped in and made the band one of his focuses; improving relations, ensuring we had a voice on the Buff Club Board, and engaging the band members face to face. From my perspective, having been part of the institution when it was largely ignored by Dick Tharp and his cronies, Mike's involvement was a breath of fresh air. (Tharp can suck a bag of dicks) So yes, I am biased to like Mike and his efforts, but so what.

Pt 1. Mike Bohn has been awesome for CU, and I'd be sad to see him go.

Mike Bohn's leadership in a time of financial and political hardship for the University as a whole has been stellar. Think of this: despite all of the on-field losing, despite the financial hardships, despite the state of the athletic department when he took over, and despite the general apathy (even disdain) the State outside of Boulder has for this University, the Athletic department has vastly improved since Mike came to CU.

Throughout his tenure he's helped raise the level of donations, fill seats in what should otherwise be (and what historically has been) an empty Folsom Field, improve our football, basketball and volleyball facilities (Seriously, the spring teams used to practice in a high-school gym across town), improve relations with the City of Boulder, renew a focus on integrating past stars into current promotions to build a sense of history, and help the department recover from the taint of the football scandal (as bullshit as that scandal may have been). When you walk into Folsom 1 week after being blown out by Cal and see an almost full stadium, including a full suite section (which was once embarrassingly empty), to see CU play a no-name Hawaii team, you know how good Mike is at his job.

For further proof, just look at the Pac-12 situation. A university down on its on-field luck, strapped for cash because of the never-ending cuts from the stat's budget, and without a marquee following was at the forefront of conference realignment. It still amazes me to this day how Mike and the AD staff was able to pull this off. While ADs and Presidents at KU, Missouri and Baylor ran around like 3rd-rate whores, sniping at rivals behind their backs and prostituting themselves to big-brother UT, Bohn and CU were already 10 steps ahead, and continued to handle themselves with grace and professionalism when others couldn't be bothered. It was a master class in how to work a situation to your advantage.

(Wait, how did we end up in the Pac-12 again? From: TRR)

In the end, Mike Bohn has done his hometown proud. He has reinvigorated the CU fan base even when there has been nothing to be reinvigorated about. While I desperately want him to continue his good work here, should the offer from KU come, at this point I feel he has earned the right to call his own shots. If he wants to go to his alma mater, he's earned that right, and I'll do nothing but tip my hat to him for a job well done.


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Pt 2. On Mike's coaching hires.

Many people attack his high-profile coaching hires, but what else could he have done? Sure, Hawk and K-Mac have been awful, and the decision to let RP coach for one more basketball decision was semi-idiotic, but he was kind of set up to fail in each of those cases. While I don't believe you can really blame Mike for wins and losses on the field/court (his job is to market and fund-raise, not coach), it is a valid topic of discussion. Here then is my defense of each hire:

Hawk was a prime head coaching candidate in the winter of 2005; anyone suggesting that Mike should've seen that Pederson was the genius at Boise St. has their head up their ass. Boise gets by with big wins of shitty programs, and has produced a prime coaching candidate that had flopped before (Dick Koetter). I'm still not convinced that Pederson would succeed if he had been hired, and I imagine he'd be another Boise St. coaching flop if he left the Broncos (Which is why I imagine he's not going to leave). Hawk was a good hire; we got him relatively cheap he was excited to be here, and it was a nationally recognized positive step. To look back and say "Oh, Hawk sucks so obviously Bohn didn't do his job right" is a bullshit reconstruction of past events. Anyone who uses Hawks hire against Bohn is an asshole. (I'll even defend the extension, but that's a whole separate issue)

K-Mac was going to fail regardless of he on the court exploits. She was following the winningest head coach in CU Women's Basketball history. Ceal Barry is an institution in Western Women's athletics and following her would be like following Chris Rock in a comedy club. Absolutely, a .500 record in conference would've been nice, but I don't think anyone could've succeeded as a Ceal Barry followup. Furthermore, do you really care about the Women's basketball team? Be honest.... At least with Linda Lappe you have a direct line to the Ceal Barry days.

The end of the RP era was a legitimate disaster. Letting him coach in '06-'07 was a mistake that even Bohn would admit was egregious. Unfortunately I think he might've been forced into the situation through the financial distresses of the time. Hawk had just begun to lose (The decision came on the heels of the 0-6 football start), and I wonder if Bohn had the money to re-sign Patton. In that situation, Mike now realizes he should've just fired him, rather than let the situation play out. That decision ultimately set the program back 2 years. But look at his replacement; Jeff Bzdelik was an excellent hire. We got a high profile head coach, on the cheap, who helped turn the program around. The absolute worst thing you can say about Coach Bzdelik's time in Boulder is that he left the program in better shape than he found it, and that's a hell of a thing to say when you're talking CU Men's Basketball. Good hire there, and a potential good hire in Tad Boyle. Overall, from better coaching to a VAST improvement in facilities, the men's basketball program is where CU has seen the most progress under Mike Bohn's tenure (not surprising coming from a KU grad).

(Mike with KU buddy, and new CU head coach, Tad Boyle. That KU focus on basketball has really helped us out. From: The BDC)