UD President Harker Resigning, Leaves Mixed Athletics Legacy

[superman7515]

Didn't see this posted anywhere, but President Harker is resigning as the head of the University of Delaware to take a 10-year appointment as the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

For the feeling around campus...

http://www.delawareonline.com/story/...ping/24256057/

"We're celebrating. E-mails went all around this morning saying: 'Yippee!' It's cathartic," said Sheldon Pollack, a professor of business law, legal studies and political science. "I couldn't name a single faculty member who is sad."

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According to Pollack, who once headed the UD Faculty Senate, Harker started off on the wrong foot. His marketing slogan about raising the university to the next level implied the faculty was "mediocre," Pollack said.
Faculty raises have been paltry, while Harker added administrators at big salaries, he said. Morale has fallen, he said.

"His legacy will be that he raised expectations and didn't deliver. That leaves people bitter," Pollack said.

"I think he has the wrong model," said Jan Blits, UD professor emeritus of education. "He has a corporate model for the university and it is top-down management and no respect for faculty governance. Under Harker, the tone of many deans and high-level administrators was: 'Do what I say, I'm the boss.' "

[superman7515]

http://www.delawareonline.com/story/...tics/24284323/

A graduate of Gloucester Catholic High in New Jersey, Harker had actually been recruited to play football at Delaware by Hall-of-Fame coach Tubby Raymond in the 1970s. He instead landed at Penn, playing on the freshman football team before moving to the varsity his sophomore year.
A popular debate topic during Harker's tenure has been whether Delaware's football program move up from NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division I-AA, to the Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A). Harker has expressed concern such a switch could undermine academics and be too expensive. Some UD fans, however, may want to see Harker's successor pursue such a move.

"In simply trying to maintain the status quo, UD watched as many top-level I-AA/FCS football programs that were once contemporaries, like Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, built or extensively remodeled their stadiums and moved to I-A/FBS," said Carl Eissner, a Newark resident with undergraduate and master's degrees from UD.

"What do they, and the dozens of other schools to make the jump, know that UD doesn't or vice versa? The college football world has and will continue to undergo huge changes and UD is getting left behind at a level that fewer fans care about, especially millennials. UD needs a president that has a passion for making the football program the best it can be and guide it through the second decade of the 21st century and beyond.''

A familiar sight at UD sporting events, Harker regularly donned blue and gold gear and commiserated with coaches, athletes and fans. Vice President Joe Biden, a Delaware graduate who played football as a freshman, sat alongside him on occasion.

Harker traveled to the football team's NCAA title game in Frisco, Texas, in January, 2011, the women's basketball team's 2012 and 2013 NCAA Tournament appearances and the men's basketball team's 2014 NCAA tourney game in Spokane, Washington.

Since Harker came on board, UD also has undergone major athletic facility upgrades, including an addition with two volleyball/basketball courts and offices at the Carpenter Center; a complete makeover at Hannah Stadium for baseball and the newly christened Grant Stadium for soccer and outdoor track; the Delaware Field House receiving artificial turf so it can serve as an indoor practice field for outdoor teams; and expansion of Carpenter Sports Building, highlighted by a modern fitness facility.

Harker also garnered headlines with contracts he gave – and didn't give -- to his high-profile coaches....

[Lehigh Football Nation]

"In simply trying to maintain the status quo, UD watched as many top-level I-AA/FCS football programs that were once contemporaries, like Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, built or extensively remodeled their stadiums and moved to I-A/FBS," said Carl Eissner, a Newark resident with undergraduate and master's degrees from UD.

Hard to decide whether to laugh or cry at this statement. There are not in any way academically contemporary, and it's debatable whether App's and GSU's 10 combined national championships made Delaware contemporaries in football, either.

And that's not even tackling the more obvious question: if the "best UD football can be" is permanent residence in the Sun Belt, is it worth it?

[PAllen]

Hard to decide whether to laugh or cry at this statement. There are not in any way academically contemporary, and it's debatable whether App's and GSU's 10 combined national championships made Delaware contemporaries in football, either.

And that's not even tackling the more obvious question: if the "best UD football can be" is permanent residence in the Sun Belt, is it worth it?

Academically, UD was once far superior to ASU and GSU. Now? Superior, but not by as much as it once was.

In FB (which is what the original quote was referring to) UD was once a perennial playoff contender with a shot at a national title every few years. Now? Not so much, while ASU and GSU have taken their success, built on it, and moved up to dominate the Sunbelt Conference. Continued success there will have them on the short lists of a number of other conferences for the next round of realignment.

[DFW HOYA]

"He has a corporate model for the university and it is top-down management and no respect for faculty governance."

Read= "faculty governance": status quo. Why pursue the 21st century of education when the 20th was just fine enough?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Academically, UD was once far superior to ASU and GSU. Now? Superior, but not by as much as it once was.

In FB (which is what the original quote was referring to) UD was once a perennial playoff contender with a shot at a national title every few years. Now? Not so much, while ASU and GSU have taken their success, built on it, and moved up to dominate the Sunbelt Conference. Continued success there will have them on the short lists of a number of other conferences for the next round of realignment.

App State and GSU dominated FCS in a way which Delaware could only have dreamed. Delaware has a fine FCS history, but it's like putting the NFL's Saints as contemporaries with the Steelers and Patriots because their one Super Bowl run is somehow comparable to the combined 9 (I think) titles and countless playoff runs of the Steelers and Pats.

With an intact Big East football conference perhaps the dream of the "next round of realignment" would make more sense, but when the dream is the AAC with schools like Tulsa and Tulane, again, is it worth it?

[PAllen]

App State and GSU dominated FCS in a way which Delaware could only have dreamed. Delaware has a fine FCS history, but it's like putting the NFL's Saints as contemporaries with the Steelers and Patriots because their one Super Bowl run is somehow comparable to the combined 9 (I think) titles and countless playoff runs of the Steelers and Pats.

With an intact Big East football conference perhaps the dream of the "next round of realignment" would make more sense, but when the dream is the AAC with schools like Tulsa and Tulane, again, is it worth it?

So, if UD had beaten ASU in the 2007 final, then UD would be considered elite? Or would ASU just be a middling program at that point?

Is playing 3-5 nationally televised games a year on ESPN2 or ESPNU worth it vs getting stuck on ESPN3 unless you make it to the championship, and even then having to play on a Friday night or risk getting bumped for extended coverage of a mid season basketball game? If you're looking for exposure, then sure. Moving up isn't the answer for everybody, but for teams like GSU, ASU, JMU, Liberty, UD, etc, it makes a lot of sense if they are looking to build their national exposure and are willing to expand their support for the program.

[GannonFan]

App State and GSU dominated FCS in a way which Delaware could only have dreamed. Delaware has a fine FCS history, but it's like putting the NFL's Saints as contemporaries with the Steelers and Patriots because their one Super Bowl run is somehow comparable to the combined 9 (I think) titles and countless playoff runs of the Steelers and Pats.

With an intact Big East football conference perhaps the dream of the "next round of realignment" would make more sense, but when the dream is the AAC with schools like Tulsa and Tulane, again, is it worth it?

You're correct on GSU, but overstating Appy State a bit. Prior to their threepeat, UD clearly had a better FCS resume than Appy St did if you measure it by playoff appearances and how far in the playoffs those programs went.

And yes, moving up is worth it if you're talking about a packed stadium and schedules that include Temple and UConn and Army and Navy and yes, Tulsa and Tulane coming to Newark. FCS football isn't going to draw in new fans, so the current 15k is about all that UD could hope for and in a few years it will be closer to 10k, considering they ran the old-time fans off a few years ago with a clumsy money-grab. Those old fans aren't coming back and younger fans don't care for FCS football. Can't change that reality.

[Ivytalk]

Read= "faculty governance": status quo. Why pursue the 21st century of education when the 20th was just fine enough?

This squared.

That said, Dave Roselle was better company at cocktail parties!