Here is an edited excerpt of a post I made at the end of a thread a few days ago. The “Note“ at the conclusion is particularly relevant. Bottom line : on an increasingly illiberal campus, ESG and DEI initiatives are perceived as virtuous whereas athletics expenditures may border on anathema:
1. This is another story of societal and regulatory environments changing but leaders unwilling and/or unaware that they needed to adapt, change their behavior and change the practices of their organizations. ( For a business parallel, see Hank Greenberg and AIG ). This alleged ( and abhorrent if accurate ) behavior might have been acceptable at NU prior to the University becoming an Ivy League-aping institution, but beginning even before the 2020s, Fitz should have completely eliminated this hazing. He didn’t and paid the price.
2. IMO, the Fitz firing is only the part of an NUFB iceberg that is presently above the water. There are other knives out for the program more generally : the new $800M stadium, coaches who get paid $5M, NIL with players making more than some professors, etc. There are many in the NU community who respond with a visceral : “Hell no!“ to all of these. Watch for news on a delay in the stadium timetable as a clue as to which side is prevailing on the future arc of NUFB. ( N.B., NU will without a doubt continue to field a football program. The question is whether this will be a program that can actually compete in the B1G or one that other teams schedule for Homecoming —think 1979 vintage ). Will we hear from Messrs. Ryan, Walter or others ( perhaps a group of former players ) on their support for and commitment to doing what it takes to rebuilding a competitive football program? BTW, the Board has much to answer for. Both Schill and Gragg are clearly substandard hires. Was Schill the third choice? Yes. But he’s a choice the board did not have to make.
3. Kellogg needs to either revamp its crisis management playbook or at least make sure NU leaders have read it before assuming their new posts. What an embarrassment of communication and leadership at all levels.
I’m still an NUFB fan. Just a really hurting one. I knew the next several years would be tough, but this is much worse than I thought would be the case.
Note: Within hours of this ( original ) post going up, it emerges that a group of NU faculty now ask for a delay in the Ryan Field project. Game on. Now players are out in the open.
1. This is another story of societal and regulatory environments changing but leaders unwilling and/or unaware that they needed to adapt, change their behavior and change the practices of their organizations. ( For a business parallel, see Hank Greenberg and AIG ). This alleged ( and abhorrent if accurate ) behavior might have been acceptable at NU prior to the University becoming an Ivy League-aping institution, but beginning even before the 2020s, Fitz should have completely eliminated this hazing. He didn’t and paid the price.
2. IMO, the Fitz firing is only the part of an NUFB iceberg that is presently above the water. There are other knives out for the program more generally : the new $800M stadium, coaches who get paid $5M, NIL with players making more than some professors, etc. There are many in the NU community who respond with a visceral : “Hell no!“ to all of these. Watch for news on a delay in the stadium timetable as a clue as to which side is prevailing on the future arc of NUFB. ( N.B., NU will without a doubt continue to field a football program. The question is whether this will be a program that can actually compete in the B1G or one that other teams schedule for Homecoming —think 1979 vintage ). Will we hear from Messrs. Ryan, Walter or others ( perhaps a group of former players ) on their support for and commitment to doing what it takes to rebuilding a competitive football program? BTW, the Board has much to answer for. Both Schill and Gragg are clearly substandard hires. Was Schill the third choice? Yes. But he’s a choice the board did not have to make.
3. Kellogg needs to either revamp its crisis management playbook or at least make sure NU leaders have read it before assuming their new posts. What an embarrassment of communication and leadership at all levels.
I’m still an NUFB fan. Just a really hurting one. I knew the next several years would be tough, but this is much worse than I thought would be the case.
Note: Within hours of this ( original ) post going up, it emerges that a group of NU faculty now ask for a delay in the Ryan Field project. Game on. Now players are out in the open.
