Dave Heeke

[wyo-cat]

Not shitcanning Heeke for cause just points the spotlight on Prez Bobby even more.

It’s like a bribe at this point.

[Chicat]

So the two people who screwed up big time on campus, the AD and CFO, are still getting paid $1M and $500K for not doing anything during a huge budget crisis.

This is. Arizona.

Robbins has to go. He was either surrounded by corrupt incompetents that he chose and continues to pay or he was complicit. Either way, I’m sick and tired of our administration being a fucking punchline.

[Postmaster]

Hey Candrea, I need you to do this job for $200k while I pay this guy not to do that job for $1.1 mil.


BTW, Steve K is a bitter former employee. He may have some points but he didn’t say anything when he was assistant AD (and on the City Council).

[84Cat]

[Postmaster]

So that was the audit?

[Lute4God]

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/colleg ... 234651231/

This article reports on power 5 schools with around $20M in interest payments on facilities... maybe 15% of their budgets in interest payments.

But the departments keep building and borrowing, and having their debts absorbed into the schools' general budgets.

"J. Paul Getty famously said: “If you owe the bank $100, that’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem.” In 2022 and beyond, the Illinois athletic department—and likely others—will test that maxim with the school that serves as its bank."

[Merkin]

Dunno about that.

[Postmaster]

What did Heeke do wrong?

[Alieberman]

What did Heeke do wrong?

He had a shitty boss

[UAEebs86]

Bobby took Chris Carter's quote to heart: "You got to have a fall guy on your crew"

[CalStateTempe]

So do we just fire him for no reason other to let Bobby LARP as trump for a few weeks?

[dovecanyoncat]

What did Heeke do wrong?

He had a shitty boss

A modern version of "He was rather, um, unfortunate in his choice of ancestors.”

[Postmaster]

So do we just fire him for no reason other to let Bobby LARP as trump for a few weeks?

Every time I see “LARP” on think of a Reno 911 episode with Patton Oswald as some sort of wizard.

[84Cat]

[TheCat]

Well that will give ABOR some pause. You have a financial crisis partly caused by your AD and you terminated him and now you are paying him through 2025? That sir is questionable decision making at best and covering your own tracks at worse. Time for Bobby to go.

[ChooChooCat]

Well that will give ABOR some pause. You have a financial crisis partly caused by your AD and you terminated him and now you are paying him through 2025? That sir is questionable decision making at best and covering your own tracks at worse. Time for Bobby to go.

Arizona finally stopped paying Kevin Sumlin his buyout money, and it didn't know what to do with itself, so Robbins decided to fire Heeke so they could continue to pay someone to not work at Arizona.

[pc in NM]

Well that will give ABOR some pause. You have a financial crisis partly caused by your AD and you terminated him and now you are paying him through 2025? That sir is questionable decision making at best and covering your own tracks at worse. Time for Bobby to go.

Contract law.

[UAEebs86]

Well that will give ABOR some pause. You have a financial crisis partly caused by your AD and you terminated him and now you are paying him through 2025? That sir is questionable decision making at best and covering your own tracks at worse. Time for Bobby to go.

Arizona finally stopped paying Kevin Sumlin his buyout money, and it didn't know what to do with itself, so Robbins decided to fire Heeke so they could continue to pay someone to not work at Arizona.

[IrishAzCat]

[TheCat]

Well that will give ABOR some pause. You have a financial crisis partly caused by your AD and you terminated him and now you are paying him through 2025? That sir is questionable decision making at best and covering your own tracks at worse. Time for Bobby to go.

Contract law.

Firing for cause is in most employment contracts. If he mishandled funds or simply did not manage them that is part of his job. Deciding not to fire him for cause makes everyone including fans wonder WTF.

[UAEebs86]

Well that will give ABOR some pause. You have a financial crisis partly caused by your AD and you terminated him and now you are paying him through 2025? That sir is questionable decision making at best and covering your own tracks at worse. Time for Bobby to go.

Contract law.

Firing for cause is in most employment contracts. If he mishandled funds or simply did not manage them that is part of his job. Deciding not to fire him for cause makes everyone including fans wonder WTF.

It would probably cost a lot more than a million in legal fees and other costs. Easier to just let him go.

[PHXCATS]

Well that will give ABOR some pause. You have a financial crisis partly caused by your AD and you terminated him and now you are paying him through 2025? That sir is questionable decision making at best and covering your own tracks at worse. Time for Bobby to go.

Contract law.

Firing for cause is in most employment contracts. If he mishandled funds or simply did not manage them that is part of his job. Deciding not to fire him for cause makes everyone including fans wonder WTF.

It would probably cost a lot more than a million in legal fees and other costs. Easier to just let him go.

This

With President Robbins having a lot of say in Athletics, Heeke can easily sue and it would cost way more than the remainder of Heeke's contract. Plus Heeke is the fall guy

[pc in NM]

Well that will give ABOR some pause. You have a financial crisis partly caused by your AD and you terminated him and now you are paying him through 2025? That sir is questionable decision making at best and covering your own tracks at worse. Time for Bobby to go.

Contract law.

Firing for cause is in most employment contracts. If he mishandled funds or simply did not manage them that is part of his job. Deciding not to fire him for cause makes everyone including fans wonder WTF.

Obviously. I/We haven't read the contract. Poor or unsatisfactory performance very likely wouldn't qualify as "for cause" - "Cause" typically requires valid, legally classified reasons, and these kind of contracts probably narrow what would qualify - plus, a court challenge would require depositions, etc. - that could be worth the avoiding in a situation like this...

[TheCat]

Well that will give ABOR some pause. You have a financial crisis partly caused by your AD and you terminated him and now you are paying him through 2025? That sir is questionable decision making at best and covering your own tracks at worse. Time for Bobby to go.

Contract law.

Firing for cause is in most employment contracts. If he mishandled funds or simply did not manage them that is part of his job. Deciding not to fire him for cause makes everyone including fans wonder WTF.

It would probably cost a lot more than a million in legal fees and other costs. Easier to just let him go.

I don't think contract litigation is that expensive. You are basically stating what you determined to be the cause and whether it fit the contracts definition of "for cause". If anything Heeke would probably negotiate to avoid having his name attached to suing a former employer if he intends to work again.

[Postmaster]

I don’t think there was cause. There was just a fall guy.

[TheCat]

I don’t think there was cause. There was just a fall guy.

I think ABOR will think the same and Bobby will be their fall guy.

[Fishclamps]

[UAEebs86]

Boom!

[PHXCATS]

How is this a good thing for Athletics?

[Winger]

Was at a table a couple months back with several Robbins acolytes and told them my understanding was that Robbins will be done when this contract terms (end of summer). They all skoffed, told me how many ABOR members he had “in his back pocket”, and one Arizona coach actually said to me “you need better sources”. It was all I could do to not tell that coach that I was the guy who broke that Livengood’s contract wasn’t being renewed. Lol.

Good day for Arizona athletics.

[CalStateTempe]

Love that winger is back and love that someone like him is at the big boys arizona table.

Smart, connected dude.

[Postmaster]

How is this a good thing for Athletics?

Because he has shown he lacks understanding of finances. He fired the AD to cover his own mistakes. He was too enamored with Crowe. His decisions have cost the school and AD money and prestige. He did nothing to get rid of Scott.

[Postmaster]

Was at a table a couple months back with several Robbins acolytes and told them my understanding was that Robbins will be done when this contract terms (end of summer). They all skoffed, told me how many ABOR members he had “in his back pocket”, and one Arizona coach actually said to me “you need better sources”. It was all I could do to not tell that coach that I was the guy who broke that Livengood’s contract wasn’t being renewed. Lol.

Good day for Arizona athletics.

The ABOR ain’t what it used to be. Haha.
I would pay for your extra grease at Greasy Tony’s if you tell me the name of the coach.

[Alieberman]

He did have ABOR in his pocket… don’t think there isn’t also going to be an ABOR shakeup as well

[84Cat]

Once he drew the ire of the Governor, he was toast

[Postmaster]

He did have ABOR in his pocket… don’t think there isn’t also going to be an ABOR shakeup as well

That’s what I meant by “ain’t what it used to be”.

Really surprised the Gov called them out so publicly.

[Postmaster]

How long is his contract?

[Chicat]

How long is his contract?

I heard through the summer but I also heard 2026. So not quite sure and this was essentially a useless post but that’s what I’m here for.

[Winger]

Was at a table a couple months back with several Robbins acolytes and told them my understanding was that Robbins will be done when this contract terms (end of summer). They all skoffed, told me how many ABOR members he had “in his back pocket”, and one Arizona coach actually said to me “you need better sources”. It was all I could do to not tell that coach that I was the guy who broke that Livengood’s contract wasn’t being renewed. Lol.

Good day for Arizona athletics.

The ABOR ain’t what it used to be. Haha.
I would pay for your extra grease at Greasy Tony’s if you tell me the name of the coach.

Evidently not. I can’t name the coach but I saw them again this afternoon and it was all I could do to not ask them how my sources look now lol.

I will tell you who it wasn’t. It wasn’t Candrea. Only say that because I like that dude and he got his wings clipped a bit by Robbins who thought he was angling too hard for the AD gig full time.

Also will relate that Robbins told one of my best friends a couple years back that he was done as soon as he had the new golf facility lined up, paid for, and on its way to completion. A certain media member OTOS used to give me grief for this one but maybe this was less a firing and more a mutual parting of ways.

Agree that once the Gov turned on him he was working up hill. Funny thing there is that it used to be said that Robbins was untouchable by the Gov because he was her COVID darling.

[Chicat]

Agree that once the Gov turned on him he was working up hill. Funny thing there is that it used to be said that Robbins was untouchable by the Gov because he was her COVID darling. Funny thing there is Robbins didn’t believe in anything he/they did on that front (allegedly, that is 2nd hand).

I can confirm the Governor turning on Robbins being the ultimate nail in his coffin. He was given a lot of free rein and could have led this university to heights we had not yet seen, but his ego starting writing checks his ass couldn’t cash (pretty much literally) and once the headlines turned bad it caught that office’s eye and no amount of firing his underlings was going to be good enough.

Robbins had a sweet deal. He fucked it up.

[Alieberman]

How long is his contract?

I heard through the summer but I also heard 2026. So not quite sure and this was essentially a useless post but that’s what I’m here for.

His contract is for another year+ but the search is on

[Alieberman]

Also…. Keep in mind…. The UofA has:

A lame duck president
An acting Provost (only on until June and can’t wait to get the fuck out)
And No CFO

GO CATS!

[Chicat]

Wikipedia says 2026 so I guess that’s a year+ but for all I know they got that from this website. I thought it was 6 or so months from the start of 2024 but I don’t know a whole lot.

Anyhoo, the Faculty Senate was about to issue Robbins his second vote of no confidence so he could see the smoke signals loud and clear.

Bye Bitch

[Winger]

Wanted to share something that I may have posted elsewhere here (if I have I apologize for the repeat).

There were several things about the end of this administration’s tenure that I never completely understood.

One of them was how Robbins could go MIA during the coaching search after his buddy Fisch screwed him (unofficial explanation was “covid”), allow Barnes/Heeke to hire Brennan, and then about a week later, the morning following a dinner with Heeke to celebrate the football players staying, fire him.

That to me is beyond unreal. A university President, under fire, who previously meddled in the A.D. to the point of ridiculousness, decides to not participate in the head football coaching search and hire, lets his athletic director see that to completion, and then fires him a week later.

One thing I wanted to share is that Heeke was completely blindsided. And I don’t know the exact term to describe how he felt but it was something like: betrayed, disbelief, and very unhappy or angry.

Fwiw it is difficult for me to believe that Robbins fired Heeke thinking that might save him. For one, the Govenor couldn’t care less about who Arizona’s AD is, and for a second the Arizona AD, Heeke, etc. is not even a drop in the bucket when it comes to the significance of the things that threatened Robbins’ job. For a third, there is zero chance Heeke spent what he did without Robbins encouragement and approval, and the department’s loan and defecit were not out of line when compared with like athletic departments across the country. Byrne threw the “balanced budget” nature of Arizona’s AD out the window long ago.

To me, a strange deal, and the last marker of why I always say that you don’t want a university President who “is too into sports” and a prime example of why I also say that you should never hire a M.D. to be a university president; and especially one with zero meaningful experience.

[azcat49]

Great stuff as always. Was not a big Heeke fans. Saw he had a real mean streak in him and that soured me. Also his loyalty hires always bugged me. Still, his firing came as a surprise and I do wish him well. He seemed to love Arizona.

Most importantly though Winger, have you interacted with the new AD and do you like what she brings to the department?

[pc in NM]

Wanted to share something that I may have posted elsewhere here (if I have I apologize for the repeat).

There were several things about the end of this administration’s tenure that I never completely understood.

One of them was how Robbins could go MIA during the coaching search after his buddy Fisch screwed him (unofficial explanation was “covid”), allow Barnes/Heeke to hire Brennan, and then about a week later, the morning following a dinner with Heeke to celebrate the football players staying, fire him.

That to me is beyond unreal. A university President, under fire, who previously meddled in the A.D. to the point of ridiculousness, decides to not participate in the head football coaching search and hire, lets his athletic director see that to completion, and then fires him a week later.

One thing I wanted to share is that Heeke was completely blindsided. And I don’t know the exact term to describe how he felt but it was something like: betrayed, disbelief, and very unhappy or angry.

Fwiw it is difficult for me to believe that Robbins fired Heeke thinking that might save him. For one, the Govenor couldn’t care less about who Arizona’s AD is, and for a second the Arizona AD, Heeke, etc. is not even a drop in the bucket when it comes to the significance of the things that threatened Robbins’ job. For a third, there is zero chance Heeke spent what he did without Robbins encouragement and approval, and the department’s loan and defecit were not out of line when compared with like athletic departments across the country. Byrne threw the “balanced budget” nature of Arizona’s AD out the window long ago.

To me, a strange deal, and the last marker of why I always say that you don’t want a university President who “is too into sports” and a prime example of why I also say that you should never hire a M.D. to be a university president; and especially one with zero meaningful experience.

Some of my first and more serious disillusionment with the world we live in was when I became increasingly exposed to the actual operations and personalities in academic leadership (both admins and faculty, unfortunately) through my undergraduate and graduate (two universities) careers. My notions about correlations between knowledge and sound decision-making were repeatedly shattered.

IMNSHO, good leadership in higher academia is the exception to the rule.

[Fishclamps]

It was extremely weird he didn't have his tentacles all over the next coaching search, but I'm glad he didn't. I wanna see how Coach Brennan does, it's kinda fun to get a guy who really really wanted to coach here at Arizona.

[Postmaster]

I wonder if he thought he had cover via the ABOR And that’s why he thought firing Heeke would save him.

[pc in NM]

I'm pretty sure that the powers that be wanted both gone.

He was "doing his job" when hr fired Heeke. Looks like he landed and excellent replacement, BTW.

May we be so lucky with his replacement.

[Winger]

Most importantly though Winger, have you interacted with the new AD and do you like what she brings to the department?

No, not yet and haven’t heard a word. She looks very good on paper imo.

Leaving money aside, it appears to me that she has an immediate issue wrt Love coaching softball and, though there has obviously been a recent win streak, likely the same for Hale and baseball. Not sure yet with Barnes but there could be an issue there as well.

If she moves and how she handles those situations might be our first look at how good she is.