What do you make of Bubba Cunningham

[WoadBlue]

according to Brett McMurphy?




Brett McMurphy

@Brett_McMurphy

UNC AD Bubba Cunningham said college athletics may be 2-3 years away where student-athletes relationship w/colleges “may be employee & employer”

7:33 PM · Dec 8, 2021·TweetDeck

 

[tarheel0910]

It's been that way for decades. The players are just allowed to make money now.

 

[riverswe]

not sure it's the same for non-revenue sports. seems pretty crazy that players can get lots of money from anyone now and just a few years ago we had guys busted for sleeping on a friend's couch and not paying for it

 

[WoadBlue]

not sure it's the same for non-revenue sports. seems pretty crazy that players can get lots of money from anyone now and just a few years ago we had guys busted for sleeping on a friend's couch and not paying for it

Bubba is not talking about Name, Image, Likeness being rented for a feee. He's talking about players being direct employees of universities. That has been the dream of a horde of SEC boosters (and their ilk from Texas, OU, Ohio St, SoCal, etc.) for a couple of decades.

 

[tarheel0910]

Bubba is not talking about Name, Image, Likeness being rented for a feee. He's talking about players being direct employees of universities. That has been the dream of a horde of SEC boosters (and their ilk from Texas, OU, Ohio St, SoCal, etc.) for a couple of decades.

They've been employees. This is nothing new. Just because they said they weren't employees doesn't mean they weren't.

 

[riverswe]

there does seem to be a great deal of room for improvement in the student athlete - university relationship. not sure the current path is going to be any better but it will likely turn the table for a while. it's pretty easy to see how it could lead to the rich getting richer and a break from the NCAA by a conference or two. still think there will be a difference between men's football/basketball and all the other sports.

 

[Xlance]

Bubba is a poor excuse for an AD.
The ideas are good, but the execution of his department leaves a lot to be desired.
The Carolina job is too big for Bubba.

 

[tarheel0910]

Bubba is a poor excuse for an AD.
The ideas are good, but the execution of his department leaves a lot to be desired.
The Carolina job is too big for Bubba.

I know you think you know what you're talking about, but you don't. Bubba didn't have any input on hiring Hubert, Mack and to a somewhat lesser extent Forbes. No UNC AD will ever have the power to do that.

 

[Xlance]

I know you think you know what you're talking about, but you don't. Bubba didn't have any input on hiring Hubert, Mack and to a somewhat lesser extent Forbes. No UNC AD will ever have the power to do that.

I'm not talking about the hires, but the day to day operations of an athletic department.
The department under Bubba has become arrogant. Treating advertisers and vendors poorly. Making promises to fans that are not "big donors" and never following through or even acknowledging the commitments at all.

 

[tarheel0910]

I'm not talking about the hires, but the day to day operations of an athletic department.
The department under Bubba has become arrogant. Treating advertisers and vendors poorly. Making promises to fans that are not "big donors" and never following through or even acknowledging the commitments at all.

That seems to be wrong, but I would love to hear a few examples of what you're talking about.

 

[ticket2ride04]

I'm not talking about the hires, but the day to day operations of an athletic department.
The department under Bubba has become arrogant. Treating advertisers and vendors poorly. Making promises to fans that are not "big donors" and never following through or even acknowledging the commitments at all.

Become arrogant? Are you new to UNC?

 

[DonBrown]

LMAO at some of the negative comments about Bubba.

Bubba is the best damn AD in the country. Name another AD who would have circumnavigated us out of the AFAM/ NCAA bullshit like Bubba did, an unnecessary, self-inflicted bunch of BS created by our previous administration, with the cooperation of our previous AD. We came out of that without a single scratch -- as well we should because there wasn't a violation, to begin with. Most other ADs would have rolled over and voluntarily, unnecessarily taken an undeserved steel boot up the ass, succumbing to BS pressure from the ignorant media. Bubba played the whole orchestra like a maestro. He inherited the most challenging, self-inflicted shitstorm, largely created by Thorpe, Tom Ross, and others, and brought us out masterfully. And BTW, it was Bubba who brought back Mack.

 

[blazers]

LMAO at some of the negative comments about Bubba.

Bubba is the best damn AD in the country. Name another AD who would have circumnavigated us out of the AFAM/ NCAA bullshit like Bubba did, an unnecessary, self-inflicted bunch of BS created by our previous administration, with the cooperation of our previous AD. We came out of that without a single scratch -- as well we should because there wasn't a violation, to begin with. Most other ADs would have rolled over and voluntarily, unnecessarily taken an undeserved steel boot up the ass, succumbing to BS pressure from the ignorant media. Bubba played the whole orchestra like a maestro. He inherited the most challenging, self-inflicted shitstorm, largely created by Thorpe, Tom Ross, and others, and brought us out masterfully. And BTW, it was Bubba who brought back Mack.

 

[bluetoe]

It's been that way for decades. The players are just allowed to make money now.

exactly. Previously, they've been paid only (ostensibly) with the currency of a learning institution, a chance to get a diploma. When you are brought on board and given a task to perform in exchange for some form of currency, you have an employer/employee relationship. You can call it whatever you want to, but a rose by any other name...

 

[berens007]

I am team Bubba - not just how he dealt with NCAA stuff (no small feat) but all of the recent change and the COVID challenges, it seems like he and his staff are on top of it from the outside. He seems like a CEO, and that’s probably what an AD needs to be these days. Only negative mark to me is how disingenuous some of these big time coaching “searches” have been, but not sure he had a choice as an earlier poster said. It’s almost ridiculous that he came out and acted like we were searching for Roy’s replacement when Hubert gives the story of his hiring which was basically Roy inviting him to his house, saying he was retiring, and de facto offering him the job right then.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Bubba is a mediocre AD from a hiring, athletics success standpoint.

He's an EXCELLENT AD in terms of compliance and walking a program through an NCAA investigation. Now that the NCAA investigation is over, he's kinda just a figurehead.

 

[tarheel0910]

Bubba is a mediocre AD from a hiring, athletics success standpoint.

This is pretty inaccurate when you consider the whole athletic department. I know you don't really care outside of football and basketball, but he's done a good job with the other sports that he controls.

ETA: I will say that it's still possible that some of the coaches he actually got to hire, could end up sucking. As of right now, they seem to be solid hires.

 

[bluetoe]

Bubba is a mediocre AD from a hiring, athletics success standpoint.

He's an EXCELLENT AD in terms of compliance and walking a program through an NCAA investigation. Now that the NCAA investigation is over, he's kinda just a figurehead.

I tend to agree with this, or at least this has been my feeling as well. But for all I know, the average AD is probably somewhat of a figurehead, considering who (and what) beats the drum.

 

[TVJ]

I strongly disagree that Bubba is "a mediocre AD from a hiring, athletics success standpoint." People who don't know what they are talking about claim he had nothing to do with hiring Mack. He had a LOT to do with hiring Mack. Of course some of the fat cats had their say, but that happens any time there is a search for a coach in a major revenue sport. As for Hubert's hiring, I have reason to believe that there were considerable discussions between Roy and Bubba and later Hubert before anything was ever made public. Bubba said all he could say up front - "we are searching...." But what AD in his right mind would ignore the recommendations of a Hall of Fame coach who has done for the University what Roy has (both in athletics and in many other ways).

 

[blazers]

fball/bball hires at big schools are tricky due to booster involvement.

Regardless i'd say Mack was the right hire at the right time. I'm not happy with the actual coaching, but the program has been primed for success with a few coaching tweeks.

Fed was not a horrific hire given that a few coaches wanted no part of the NCAA sanctions coming. Fed's defensive recruiting sucked, and without Chizik the D coaching was flawed, but his outcomes could've been vastly different if he hadn't been handcuffed by all the sanctions & attrition, insane injury luck, etc.

 

[DonBrown]

Bubba is a mediocre AD from a hiring, athletics success standpoint.

He's an EXCELLENT AD in terms of compliance and walking a program through an NCAA investigation. Now that the NCAA investigation is over, he's kinda just a figurehead.

Yep. HOF, a National Championship Coach, with the second-winningest record in College football only behind Saban, who has UNC football recruiting in the top 10, now, in fact, leading the ACC in recruiting, after being dominated recruiting-wise in our own state for years by the agricultural school in Rawlee, is a "mediocre" hire.

The verdict is still out on Hubert, but so far, after the Tennessee disaster, things are looking better.

 

[WoadBlue]

I am team Bubba - not just how he dealt with NCAA stuff (no small feat) but all of the recent change and the COVID challenges, it seems like he and his staff are on top of it from the outside. He seems like a CEO, and that’s probably what an AD needs to be these days. Only negative mark to me is how disingenuous some of these big time coaching “searches” have been, but not sure he had a choice as an earlier poster said. It’s almost ridiculous that he came out and acted like we were searching for Roy’s replacement when Hubert gives the story of his hiring which was basically Roy inviting him to his house, saying he was retiring, and de facto offering him the job right then.

Roy was not supposed to tell that. Davis had been hired from the start to be Roy's replacement. But the movie was supposed to play as if there would be a real search.

'Staged reality' is, of course, fake, like a TV show. It's a scam to please the truly powerful who intend to have things done in smoke filled rooms.

 

[WoadBlue]

Yep. HOF, a National Championship Coach, with the second-winningest record in College football only behind Saban, who has UNC football recruiting in the top 10, now, in fact, leading the ACC in recruiting, after being dominated recruiting-wise in our own state for years by the agricultural school in Rawlee, is a "mediocre" hire.

The verdict is still out on Hubert, but so far, after the Tennessee disaster, things are looking better.

Recruiting is a different thing than winning. So far, Mack has done what he did at Texas: recruit with the very best and fail to win championships. That plus his age make his hiring anything but a home run or a strike out.

 

[bluetoe]

Recruiting is a different thing than winning. So far, Mack has done what he did at Texas: recruit with the very best and fail to win championships. That plus his age make his hiring anything but a home run or a strike out.

not knocking Mack, especially since we could have ended up with another 'hat'. But Mack was nestled into arguably the hottest recruiting hotbed in the country in Texas, made bank on the opportunity in terms of recruitment, and came away with a very decent record overall but only one Championship riding on the back of a 'superman' QB. That was underperforming there, not sure I would call it that here. Not with a straight face anyway.

His first time here it took him a while, but he got us to the point that one season we had the third most players in the NFL, and we were kicking some serious ass. But we ran out of time with him, and he doesn't have the time to give this time around. I was initially against his hire but pretty soon got behind him and I still am, but probably won't be if we see similar results next year.

Wish Mack would just lead recruiting and general command and get us some top-notch co's And call me crazy, but I have a fantasy of Cutcliffe being our QB coach.