SDPokeFan
Well-known member
Yah, I don't think that counts as running cover for the offense.
-
Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your WyoNation.com experience today!
Coach Presser 10/5
- Thread starter Vapoke
- Start date
I just wonder what it is going to take to fire Sawvel. Why haven't we moved on yet? I know there is still 2 years on his contract. Is this the only reason? I don't want Tom Burman to hire the next guy but who would do it if Tom is fired as well? Is the new president too busy with all the other issues at the university to change things in the athletic dept leadership? Are all of these things actually true or is the university just putting their heads in the sand and hoping that things get better next week.
The gap between us and a decent football team is huge. The gap between us and the top of our conference is not even in the same ball park. We just got beat like a drum by NDSU. This isn't BYU/Utah or TCU or even Boise State or Fresno State.
Why doesn't NDSU's Athletic dept use the same excuses our Athletic department uses?? They are remote with a low population. It is cold and hard to recruit to. haha it's because they don't care. They just win. We need a breath of positivity from our leadership in the worst way. Get rid of TB and all of his excuses on why Wyoming can't compete. Even if we move on and fail again, at least we are trying to change and improve. I feel like the last 20 years in football and basketball, all we hear are excuses and people wanting to drop to FCS because we are poor little Wyoming. When I was a kid, we were competing with most of the schools in the Big 12 week in and week out. Now the excuses are so ingrained into our heads that we are starting to believe them even on this board. Why doesn't Utah state and NDSU feel the same as we do about all of the excuses??? It's because their leadership has a positive vision and preach that vision to everyone that will hear. Even if it is unrealistic. NDSU has been preaching the playoffs to their fanbase ever sinse they made the move to FBS. Is that realistic. No, but I would love it if that was our leadership's vision. I still remember listening to Bryan Johnson when he played for Utah. He said they were shooting for the BCS every year. He said things like, if you aren't shooting for the BCS, then why do you have a football team? When I looked at our comments that year from our AD he said things like. Utah and BYU are out of our league or I hope we can finish in the top half of our conference or well Laramie is not for everyone. I knew then that we were doomed for failure for the foreseeable future.
If we stay with the same leadership, I would guess that in 5 years time CSU will be light years ahead of us just like BYU, Utah and TCU. We might have just witnessed it in the past 2 years already. I would also bet that the 2 Montana schools will pass us just like NDSU just did last week. We are so below all of those schools right now it is crazy. Our football team would not compete in a conference right now that includes the Montana schools, North Dakota schools and South Dakota schools. What is it going to take to move on from TB and Sawvel?? Please bring someone in with a positive vision of what can this become instead of all of the excuses we hear now.
Probably money. During the BoT meeting I will say President Reeves was the only one I saw not on his computer or phone when speakers were talking. He has only been on the job 3 months and is trying to drive up enrollment so UW does have money.
I know everyone wants President Reeves to make a move but Barlow will more than likely be the next Governor. You should email him and ask his vision is as four trustees terms are up in 2027.
This type of disengaging in meetings angers the hell out of me. As having been chair on several boards in the near past, I found it embarrassing to have to tell adults to stay engaged, silence and stow phones, and unless your PC has the agenda on it in front of you (so you can better see it), leave the PC off and stowed as well. Don't be on a board (talking to you as well trustees), if you cannot stay 100% engaged.
I don't have a ton of free time (2 year old at home), so it's hard for me to find time to watch the BoT meetings. Do you mind giving me a cliffs notes for what President Reeves' plan is to increase enrollment?
I would think they would need to target out-of-state students for that. As a parent of a senior in high school and sophomore in college, I can tell you that UW finding more scholarship aid for out-of-state students would be a big step in the right direction. My daughter that is a senior in HS is really looking hard at UW, but as acceptance letters and scholarship packages trickle in from other universities around the country, it is becoming pretty clear that she can get an education for a lot cheaper outside of UW. I love UW and Laramie, and so does she, but I'm not paying $40k extra for a bachelors degree just so she can go there.
I know for one thing, he "froze" tuition for next year...or requested it as such. What he needs to do, is think outside the box (which he likely is) to grow out of state enrollment. Something like "pay your instate rate, to attend out of state" - or similar.
I always thought of UW as "great deal" but that was coming from an in-state perspective. I still think UW is a great deal for in-state students, but there is almost no room to grow enrollment through in-state high school students.
My older daughter never considered UW, so this year was really my first time interacting with UW from an out-of-state perspective. It has been eye opening. My daughter has gotten four acceptance letters with scholarship package offers so far - they have all been from out-of-state or private universities - and UW is the highest cost of attendance. That blew my mind. The difference is not so much in the tuition and fees - in fact, most of the other universities have a higher tuition rate - but the scholarship package UW is offering is pretty anemic for her being such a good student. UW's reputation is not such that it can attract out-of-state students without offering some sort of financial incentive to do so.
I understand that there are better deals for students residing in WUE states. That is great for them. But there are a lot of potential students that live outside of WUE states.
I watched the BoT and another YT video with him. I think he understands that word of mouth is still powerful in the world. He said they get a bunch on international students from Bangladesh and he asked why is because people head back after college and talk about UW.
Athletics was big as well saying you are not generally going to recruit a student from South Carolina without Athletics.
Enrollment was up 4% this year and transfer students up 6%.
I know he was talking about how to fix the transfer process for students with credits.
Unless you live in Wyoming or WUE then it is not a valuable university anymore, but if you send President Reeves those facts he would probably respond.
He had the agenda in an old school binder and paper. Gave me a chuckle and thought man that reminds me of every admiral/general I met who loved the paper vice the screen
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
I believe that the answer is Tom Burman tied the University's hands with the indefensible contract that he gave Sawvel (absent a big donor stepping up and willing to fork the money over for Burman's massive mistake of a contract).
The contract provides that Sawvel will be paid the balance of his compensation under the contract ($1.25 million per year through the 2028 season) upon his termination. So bringing in any new head coach requires at least $2.5 million in cash to pay Sawvel (not including compensation for this season) PLUS the likely large amount of money for a new head coach and staff.
It is unlikely that the University has accounted or has any reserves for such large expenses. The University can't operate on a hope and a prayer and thus will need the funds to actually go forward with such a firing. To make that happen - the University would likely have to solicit donors to step up...but Tom Burman is usually the one who coordinates with donors on behalf of the athletic department...and I don't think Burman going out and soliciting dollars solely to fix his mistake will be all that popular...
So realistically, the University has to let Burman's contract expire in June with the announcement of his 'retirement'...get the new AD in place in July that can then generate buzz for the program and get donors on board to fire Sawvel sometime in the 2027 season and to bring in a new/competent staff.
Reality sucks...the McMurrys and Maury Brown have unfortunately passed on...don't see those big checks coming until we have the new AD in place (if ever)
WyomingCoog
Well-known member
The main bullet points he seems to hammer on in every speech/meeting are the following:
- Improving Campus Culture
- Athletic Success
- Leading the way in AI for the region, if not the nation
- Connecting UW research to important Wyoming state economic drivers (rare Earth minerals, energy, etc.) and providing the workforce for the state
- Going across Wyoming and outside state lines to actively recruit students and tell the story of UW
Are assistant coaches still year to year or are they on multi year contracts as well? Could you imagine Aaron Bohl on a guaranteed contract for 5 years.....
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
I don't think Wyoming publishes Aaron Bohl's and the coordinators contracts online (I could be wrong). My understanding is that they are all year to year and Aaron Bohl's current 1-year contract ends February 28, 2027.
Betting on AI to increase enrollment is risky.
Young people are deeply skeptical and anxious about AI primarily driven by their legitimate concerns for how it may negatively impact their job prospects. I'm sure you've seen the videos of last spring's graduations around the country in which students routinely booed speakers who even dared to mention AI. I'm not sure how prospective students will view a school that positions itself as a regional leader for AI development.
I don't pretend to know enough about AI to make any claims in regards to whether it will ultimately be a good thing or bad thing once it all plays out. I do know that there is a lot of distrust and skepticism amongst the younger generation, especially as they see cohort after cohort struggle to find jobs after graduation.
phxpoke
Well-known member
I work at a golf course (it’s a perfect retirement job) if you shoot in the mid 80’s, you don’t suck my friend. In fact, you would be considered decent
I love your analogy about missed golf shots and Sawful’s excuses btw.
phxpoke
Well-known member
Won’t your daughter get the “parent attended UW” discount? My youngest is now a senior at UW. I have been paying 150% of instate tuition.
WyomingCoog
Well-known member
His thoughts on AI
Wyoming Must Lead in the AI Revolution
By Shane Reeves. Artificial intelligence is no longer a future possibility. It is already transforming the way we work, learn, conduct research and solve problems. The graduates leaving our universities today will enter careers where AI is as commonplace as the internet is today.
www.uwyo.edu
He's said on multiple occasions that AI is here to stay and you can't put the genie back in the bottle.
From the article:
"....our goal at UW is not to teach students to rely on artificial intelligence. Our goal is to teach them to master it."
"The purpose of higher education has always been to equip students with the knowledge, skills and judgment to succeed in a changing world. Artificial intelligence changes the tools our graduates will use, but it does not change that mission. If anything, it makes our mission even more important."
He has also talked about the worry about lost jobs and fear from people who say AI will take jobs....about this he said the way to look at it is, those who use AI are going to replace those who don't use AI in the workforce.