The Mine – Page 2 – Kyyote's Den

Football Team Seniors and Academics

We know that the football team lost every single game they played but led C-USA in academic performance. I wanted to know if there is a correlation and if the UTEP coaches have been given orders to get grades up beyond what the NCAA requires. Would it explain the losses from the football team for years and an offensive line built to push and punish but had the force of a marshmallow being pushed by a pill bug. More importantly would it explain why both the football coach and the basketball team just up and gave up in the middle of the season. In the last post I looked at the basketball team.

This time I looked at the Senior Class of the UTEP football team. There were 20 players listed. Six of the 20 already had degrees. Five more had academic recognition in the bio’s. Sounds pretty impressive to me! But, maybe every team nowadays is like this. I don’t think so.

What I did go find out is how UTEP’s basketball team compared to a randomly picked fellow C-USA member’s team, the UTSA Roadrunners. They list 15 on the roster. I believe there are 5 members of the team that are academically recognized. UTEP has three students who already have earned degrees and 5 others are recognized for their academic performances.

Many would say that it seems like UTEP is doing the right thing and ask me why am I complaining. Let me be clear. I am a retired teacher. I value education. There is a good chance that I value it more than most. I am happy to recognize the academic accomplishments of the players. What I am not so good with is UTEP allowing the teams to be non-competitive because of it AND not even at least explaining that it is because the coaches are handicapped. It is kind of an honesty thing in a strange way. I know it sounds very odd for me to complain that the university is making the players get good grades. That isn’t my complaint. It is a matter of what the product is expected to be and it not being what it is expected to be.

The fans who shell out their money do so to watch a football team that are students at UTEP and are not paying to watch students at UTEP play football.

Follow Up To Higher Standards Question

Well, I decided that my questioning the standards set academically behind closed doors possibly wasn’t completely insane. So, I went to the UTEP Basketball website, looked at the biographies of the players on the roster. Maybe I am crazy, but I think we happen to have a pretty damned smart basketball team.

The team lists 13 players. Of the 13 players, three of them already hold degrees. Matt Wilms and Keith Frazier are grad students and Jake Flaggert earned a degree in marketing and is working on a second degree in General Management.

Juniors Paul Thomas and Isaiah Rhyanis are shown as Honor Roll student as a prep and National Honor Society student, respectively. Fellow Junior Trey Touchet ,”…maintained a 4.0 prep grade point average” and is working on his degree in Kinesiology.

Sophomore Isiah Osborne transferred from Windsor University, and the biography tells us “…honor roll student”. Then there is the Freshman Deshaun Highler is an “…Honor Roll student and recipient of Scholar Athlete Award”.

How we doing, so far. Eight of the 13 are above average I would say. Perhaps way above average is not a stretch. Omega Harris did have to sit out one session, if I remember correctly. Freshman Trey Wade sat out last season to concentrate on grades. That leaves three other freshmen, Evan Gilyard, Tirus Smith, and Kobe Magee that no comment was made about academics.

Now, those are the facts as best I can see. You can look at them the same as I can look at them. Ask the questions! When Wilms, Flaggert, Touchet, Thomas, and Frazier are on the floor there are three college graduates and two honor roll students on the floor! I swear to God, if we were Harvard or Stanford or something that would be Hellaciously impressive. We are UTEP! Geezus corn sake! Why make it a secret? Man! Someone at UTEP media relations has sat and watched the Titanic sink without saying a word! This should be national news, not that Tim quit. Shit! If people knew that he was winning the games he has won with the fricken’ Einsteins he should get academic athletics coach of the year something or another! Instead he was berated and driven from the job he loved! I may be as wrong as wrong can be, and if I am, I will happily admit it but from where I sit there is a story here that should be told. Next stop, a look at the football roster. Anyone want to bet on what I will find?

Looking On the Bright Side

UTEP does have a whole lot of extra money that they wouldn’t have had to spend on a new coach or two. Sean Kugler resigned so his salary would be stopped being paid. I’m sure that UTEP paid Mike Price to fill in, but a substitute teacher doesn’t make nearly as much as the regular teacher. Not only that, but I would expect that Kugler, Price and Floyd are all members of the Texas Retirement System, and as such Price’s pension would be set up to allow him to fill in. It gets complicated because Texas educators pay into TRS INSTEAD of Social Security. Anyway, Floyd’s and most of Kugler’s salaries were not paid even though they were budgeted. So, there should be an extra million, maybe million and a half dollars of salaries and benefits saved and in the bank.

I am getting into the weeds pretty deep here, but K. C. Keeler is a member of the TRS, I believe, and if that is true, the fact that he would be staying within the system may be a factor to consider for all parties concerned. As would be his coaches if he or they decided to come along.

Now, onto a question that I have been asking on the Kyyote’s Den http://kyyotesden.com/den/index.php?board=1.0 message board is did Dr. Natalicio impose standards for grades expected by players above those set by the NCAA? Kugler recruited local players of high quality and great students in the classroom, Unfortunately, it is pretty much believed that the players were just not competitive on the field. Was Kugler a really good guy who was all about educating young men and therefore willing to be non-competitive if necessary to make sure his players got an education? Or was he told to do this by Dr. Natalicio? Did Floyd get the same marching orders and finally get tired and frustrated by it to the point that with all of the other factors he realized that he would never be able to meet her standards and be able to rebuild the program? I am asking for a simple yes or no. Did Dr. Natalicio in her attempt to achieve Tier 1 status demand more from her coaches than other coaches? If she did, to tell the world that is what you have done is one thing, but if she did and didn’t tell the world she has committed what I would consider somewhat of a fraud on the ticket buyers and fans of the Miners. If you tell me that my team that I am paying to watch is fighting with one hand behind its back, for good reasons maybe, I can decide if I am willing to pay for the tickets knowing that. But if you are putting a team on the field with one hand tied behind its back and don’t tell me, you are committing a fraud as far as I am concerned. Sell me a car that is a V8 but you have plugged two spark plug holes up to be eco-friendly I am going to be pissed if you don’t tell me up front. I ask the question because Sean Kugler was an offensive line coach for the Steelers and he couldn’t put together a line that could get a single yard when they needed it. For years! But, the kids were getting good grades. And from local schools. Was Kugler’s recruiting affected by orders from Dr. Natalicio? The same question goes for Tim Floyd. I have noticed that the basketball players are really doing pretty well with their grades. Maybe even better than one might expect. Flaggart, Touchet, Wilms, how many of the basketball players are performing better in the classroom that the , oh let’s say, average school at this level? Is there any connection to Floyd giving up? Did health concerns added to the frustration of trying to win with added restrictions cause him to just throw his hands up and quit? Ask yourself this question. How many times have you ever heard of both the football coach and the basketball coach quitting, just quitting in the middle of the year? To me, the way this all went down smells fishy. The language I am hearing from Senter somehow kind of fits in with my conspiracy theory. I do have a lot of time on my hands, I have to admit. I would just like for someone in the know to tell me that I am wrong. I won’t be holding my breath, though.

Let’s Look At the Next Head Coach According To Senter

Let’s take a look at what the man has said a little closer.
“Senter said Monday he wants to win, but his priority is making sure student athletes are successful. “Our job is to educate young people and my job is to make sure student athletes reach their highest potential,” Senter said, “You can get caught up in the business of athletics, of raising money, but you need to focus on the business of making sure student athletes maximize their potential.”

He has been given the task of keeping the grades up and the athlete’s noses clean. Kugler has given him the players that fit the description. Perhaps Kugler was told how things were going to be and did the best he could, given his orders.

“Senter said he and his staff wants to engage the El Paso and Juarez communities to make sure the university and its teams have the support they need. “Great organizations start with great people. We want to build a culture of family and it comes down to the idea that everyone is valued. Every person makes a difference,” Senter said.”-KVIA

First thing, I don’t know if he can truly be this unknowing and just spewing some bullshit, but most of the people of El Paso don’t give a rat’s ass about UTEP, and the people of Juarez? Really? Did he just Google Map El Paso? The culture of family is great. But, a family of really good football players would be really great. The family that just lost all of their 11 games I’m sure Kugler let them know that each of them was needed and a valued member etcetera, etcetera.

“If I didn’t believe that we could win and be successful here, I wouldn’t be standing here, and I say that from the bottom of my heart,” Senter said.”

This is just snide, the result of being a Miners fan for many, many years, but I just wonder how many Miners’ AD has said those words before.

“We’re not going to sacrifice quality for speed,” Senter said, “We are going to hire someone with great integrity and the demonstrated ability to move the football and score points.”

It is easy to say the first part if you already have a pick in mind as it takes the time factor out of it. So, the person will be high quality and great integrity. I read that as squeaky clean. I think it probably is the “tell”. When you are thinking about the next head coach, of those that you have heard about, which does this describe most?

“I do not have a coach in mind already,” said Senter, who added that there is no timeline beyond “as quickly as possible.” “We’re already in search mode. We’ve been working on that since the job was offered. …

So, once again the timeline is of no consequence if everything is already done. Working on it since the job was offered….
The I don’t have a coach in mind already is what you would expect someone who is supposed to be paying for probably a search.

“I want someone with great integrity. I want to find somebody who has demonstrated the ability to move the football and score points. This is a high-scoring league. I want to find somebody who is a great recruiter, who can find people who are the right fit for this place. The type of young person who lives up to the values of UTEP athletics. We need someone who can evaluate talent and sell that vision to young people.

So high integrity, high scoring offense and a great recruiter. Hints. Strong hints. Which candidate has proven to be a great recruiter?
The kids that fit this place are evidently going to be kids that get good grades and are of good character. That is a strong hint.

“The next head football coach needs to build a staff that is talented, good coaches, good teachers, good character and able to hit the road recruiting.”

Highlight “good teachers” and “good character”. I think this is probably another description more than qualifications. Again, asking which candidate fits the description may be easier that a coach with those qualifications.

“We will be competitive with our salary, but it’s not always about money,” he said. “If somebody says you need the most money to hire somebody, I disagree with that.”

So, it is also someone that we can get for around $500k or maybe even less. Which coaches in the mix are making how much?

Some names that have been mentioned are K.C. Keeler, Eric Price, Graham Harrell, Guy Holiday, Phil Longo, Ed Lamb, Ty Detmer, Mike Houston, and Colby Carthel.

I hate to ne the one to say this, but UTEP is a graveyard for coaches. Old coaches on the way out. Young coaches willing to take an enormous chance. Coaches of any worth on Cartel teams rarely step down, take a pay cut, and risk soiling their resume’s. Graham Harrell is headed for bigger and better jobs, as is Ty Detmer. Eric Price would do it, but I think he is part of the past, as is Guy Holiday. By the way, assembling a high quality staff as described by Senter would be hard to do for a coordinator at a school in a hurry, but a head coach would have already assembled said staff(hint, hint). Scratch Longo. No way he steps down from Ole Miss OC job. Ed Lamb doesn’t fit.

So, you have Keeler who has been reported to have been at UTEP. Mike Houston from James Madison is another name that has been mentioned. Colby Carthel is the last one on the list. He would be making too much of a leap. Eliminate him. So, Keeler and Houston are the two likely candidates. Since Senter hired Houston, we know that he fits the bill on all of the high quality and staff thing. Let’s get real. Let’s talk money. Houston’s base salary is $375k + incentives and he signed a contract extension last January. K. C. Keeler makes a base salary of $250k. Houston is making almost as much as he would here and he is in an area of the country where he can build his resume, risk free. Keeler would make enough more to take the chance, he knows the state of Texas and what for others is a graveyard is for him a great next step and a damned good jump. If he can get it done he will be able to write his ticket for retirement somewhere. If he doesn’t, Sam Houston would probably be happy to have him come back. For Keeler it is all good. For Houston the risk is great for little reward.

Well, there is my detailed analysis. Worth every penny, too, I’d say!