“Wear your blue and gold to weelcome Marquette’s new men’s baskletball coach”
The foregoing was the opening line in the Special News Brief from Marquette University announcing the hiring of new head men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams. I count three errors. Let’s hope it’s not an omen.
The hurry to get out the News Brief, and hence the lack of appropriate editing, is indicative of the way this entire hire has gone: rushed and garbled.
Even if it’s not all their fault, the blatant mishandling of Tom Crean’s departure has left fans and students casting a skeptical eye at the athletics department. To earn that trust back, the Department needs to act humbly and recognize that process matters.
At a press conference immediately following Crean’s departure, Athletics Director Steve Cottingham said, “We are not going to have a search committee. I think that the level that we’re at, it is a management decision within the university.”
They followed through on that pledge, turned around a very quick hire, and promoted Buzz Williams. The Williams pick appears to be driven by a short-sighted desire to keep a few key recruits for next year rather than a long-term vision for the program.
There was no search committee for Cottingham’s job either. When Bill Cords departed as AD well over a year ago, we were told that Cottingham’s number one job as interim AD would be to recruit a great successor. Fourteen months later, not a single interview had happened, even though over 60 eager and qualified candidates had applied. One day, Cottingham decided he thought he should stay on permanently, and a “management decision” was made that gave him the job.
The athletics department did empanel a search committee once in the last few years, for the hire of the men’s soccer coach in 2006. Student-athletes were selected to interview candidates and provide feedback. Cords made a “management decision” to hire Louie Bennett, and the search committee was not involved at all.
Allow me to further note that the search committee for the provost (at least there is one!) does not have any student members, so this problem is not just in the Athletics Department.
My point is this: Process matters. When people trust the management, it is easier for the management to make an executive decision. When trust has been bruised, however, then a committee process that includes all the stakeholders is important. Transparency is important. Take your time and think things through.
We talk often at Marquette about dialogue, empowerment, and community. Perhaps we would avoid both superficial and substantive mistakes if we followed a process that made stakeholders feel confident and included.
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