Huh?

I think that sums up my initial reaction to hearing the news that Rick Goeb would be out as Athletic Director at the end of the school year.

Unfortunately for AD’s, many of them are hired to be fired. Same thing goes with coaches. While you might be a good fit at first in your tenure, times, and circumstances change. At most big-time schools losing precipitates a new hire or a fire. That’s usually not the case at the D-2 level.

Money does change things, though, at ANY size school.

When Rick Goeb was hired in 2001, the hockey teams were going Division 1…and he became the FIRST full-time athletic director in Bemidji State history. Now, Goeb runs a department with a budget of $7.32 million a year.

According to numbers released by the NSIC, Bemidji State offers 48 scholarships in its division two sports (non-hockey) and 36 in hockey. The NSIC average for scholarships at the division two level is 64. That’s 18 fewer scholarships being offered at BSU than the AVERAGE NSIC school!

Do the math. Even at simple math ($10,000 per scholarship)…that’s an extra $180,000 EACH YEAR that BSU needs to raise just to get to AVERAGE! And what college sports fan wants to be average?

There’s no doubt that the “new” WCHA is going to cause some changes at Bemidji State. When the hockey teams were admitted to the current WCHA a lot of people saw dollar signs with extra tickets being sold for marquee games at the Sanford Center with Minnesota, North Dakota, Duluth, etc. And while those teams will still be on the schedule in the future, no league points are on the line…just a non-conference game like in years past.

I guess I understand that BSU needs to move away from the “just like years past” mentality.

When President Quistgard retired from Bemidji State, a major budget shortfall was hitting the campus. President Hanson was brought in because he’s a fund-raiser.

The University of Michigan just hired a new AD. He came from Dominos Pizza, where he was the CEO.

I guess money changes everything!