Mayo Interview

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I was told by someone VERY close to the program that Mayo was the worst human being to ever play at Marquette. Believe or not, I trust my friend. There were some bad things going on during Buzz's time and LW was not the devil some have made him out to be.

I think I know what your talking about. If it has to do with how Mayo was recruited then I for sure know what you are talking about.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I was told by someone VERY close to the program that Mayo was the worst human being to ever play at Marquette. Believe or not, I trust my friend. There were some bad things going on during Buzz's time and LW was not the devil some have made him out to be.

Oh no you didn't.....the Lenny posse is going to come down on you now.  For the record, those are pretty harsh words about TM, all in the eye of the beholder.  The last sentence....well, many people don't want to hear it, but.....

[Nukem2]

Amazing how some posters can make salacious allegations about those who have left the program.  If one won't or can't back up those allegations in "print", perhaps it's better to be silent...

[jesmu84]

I think I know what your talking about. If it has to do with how Mayo was recruited then I for sure know what you are talking about.

Care to share with the class?

[jesmu84]

I was told by someone VERY close to the program that Mayo was the worst human being to ever play at Marquette. Believe or not, I trust my friend. There were some bad things going on during Buzz's time and LW was not the devil some have made him out to be.

I, for one, would very much enjoy knowing what you speak of

[Black Swan]

I honestly don't know everything. I was just told that he was not a very good representative of Marquette . That appears to be an understatement. I am pretty sure that there are some reading this from inside the program that would agree with me. I probably should not have used the phrase that I did...that is what I was told but it is pretty harsh. Delete it if needed.

[Archies Bat]

While I like to hear all the gory details, I think it best that the details be kept off the board.

[MUCam]

LW was not the devil some have made him out to be.

Whether Buzz was a fraud or the real deal, whether Mayo left in disgrace or simply made a business decision, none of those things affect the following:

(1) LW's complete inability to connect with the Marquette BOT and the big MU donors;
(2) LW's public comments (whether warranted or not) about Marquette's head coach wherein he criticized him in a newspaper;
(3) LW's overall lack of gravitas and appearance of professionalism.

These are the main reasons LW was shown the door. LW was instrumental in pulling Marquette through the Big East fall apart and had a decent role in the formation of the New Big East. He certainly did some things right and was effective at times. That said, LW wasn't polished enough for Marquette's AD position and it showed. MU reached when they hired LW and they suffered the consequences.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Whether Buzz was a fraud or the real deal, whether Mayo left in disgrace or simply made a business decision, none of those things affect the following:

(1) LW's complete inability to connect with the Marquette BOT and the big MU donors;
(2) LW's public comments (whether warranted or not) about Marquette's head coach wherein he criticized him in a newspaper;
(3) LW's overall lack of gravitas and appearance of professionalism.

These are the main reasons LW was shown the door. LW was instrumental in pulling Marquette through the Big East fall apart and had a decent role in the formation of the New Big East. He certainly did some things right and was effective at times. That said, LW wasn't polished enough for Marquette's AD position and it showed. MU reached when they hired LW and they suffered the consequences.

The public comments about Buzz should have been seen as prescient to most people here. 

Do you think Cords is polished enough?  I'm a fan of his, but people have different definitions of polished.  Some people hate over polished people as coming across as fake, or like politicians.  Others don't like blunt speakers and call them unpolished, when in reality they just tell it like it is.  There are grey areas for all of this.

I'm not going to disagree with #1, there is truth to it.  Number 2 is a red herring.....far more could have been said and what was said was benign.  The defenders of Burt lost their collective minds, but if the defenders of Burt knew the whole story they would be asking for a mea culpa.

#3....that goes back to the polished commentary.   

[jesmu84]

The public comments about Buzz should have been seen as prescient to most people here. 

Do you think Cords is polished enough?  I'm a fan of his, but people have different definitions of polished.  Some people hate over polished people as coming across as fake, or like politicians.  Others don't like blunt speakers and call them unpolished, when in reality they just tell it like it is.  There are grey areas for all of this.

I'm not going to disagree with #1, there is truth to it.  Number 2 is a red herring.....far more could have been said and what was said was benign.  The defenders of Burt lost their collective minds, but if the defenders of Burt knew the whole story they would be asking for a mea culpa.

#3....that goes back to the polished commentary.   

PM sent

[GGGG]

It very well could be argued that because of #2, LW was never really given a fair shot.  It seems to me that he did some good work later on with regarding to helping MU and the new Big East, and his latter interviews were much more polished than the earlier ones.

That being said, #1 was big...big enough to lose his job.  And since a new President was going to be named, it was probably best that MU went with a fresh start.

[MUCam]

#2 - The public comments about Buzz were foolish and showed a remarkable lack of organizational understanding and leadership. Whatever the pissing match between Buzz and LW may have been, and regardless of who was more in the right in the "whole story" situation, Buzz never aired the grievances publicly (until he left MU, of course).

#1 and #3 go hand in hand. And, unfortunately, the same lack of awareness and leadership that created #2 are what made #1 and #3 so obviously present in LW's tenure.

Trust me when I tell you that #2 did not affect LW's complete inability to politic in the proper manner with the BOT and the major donors. The big players behind the MU curtain couldn't care less about #2. But, #2 was another piece of evidence exemplifying LW's lack of leadership skills from a fundraising and politicking point of view.

Let's face it; the AD at a major university with a strong athletic presence can't just be good at directing the athletics. He has to be the face of the department. He has to know when to kiss rings and know how to kiss rings. LW had none of that charm or gravitas and whether you like it or not, same is required once you get to that level.

You can't be a major level AD and not know how to play the game. LW did not know how to play the game.

EDIT: As a side note, LW will never receive enough credit for some of the good things he did. That said, he was, in many ways, a bumbling Neanderthal when it came to slimier side of the business.

[4everwarriors]

At the very least, the dude shoulda had enough sense not to wear a salt stained golf hat on national TV, aina?

[Texas Western]

#2 - The public comments about Buzz were foolish and showed a remarkable lack of organizational understanding and leadership. Whatever the pissing match between Buzz and LW may have been, and regardless of who was more in the right in the "whole story" situation, Buzz never aired the grievances publicly (until he left MU, of course).

#1 and #3 go hand in hand. And, unfortunately, the same lack of awareness and leadership that created #2 are what made #1 and #3 so obviously present in LW's tenure.

Trust me when I tell you that #2 did not affect LW's complete inability to politic in the proper manner with the BOT and the major donors. The big players behind the MU curtain couldn't care less about #2. But, #2 was another piece of evidence exemplifying LW's lack of leadership skills from a fundraising and politicking point of view.

Let's face it; the AD at a major university with a strong athletic presence can't just be good at directing the athletics. He has to be the face of the department. He has to know when to kiss rings and know how to kiss rings. LW had none of that charm or gravitas and whether you like it or not, same is required once you get to that level.

You can't be a major level AD and not know how to play the game. LW did not know how to play the game.

EDIT: As a side note, LW will never receive enough credit for some of the good things he did. That said, he was, in many ways, a bumbling Neanderthal when it came to slimier side of the business.

I agree with your overall analysis as to LW. He simply did not have the political IQ to handle the job properly . His personality simply was not one that would accept the reality at Marquette the AD/Coach relationship is inverted or at best pari passu. Also I did not see a lot of evidence that he was focused on the development of student athletes. Although it may have been too short a tenure to judge that aspect.

I do believe he was a driving force behind the formation and terms of the new Big East and that was to our benefit. I think he would have done a good job of negotiating our relationship with a new arena going forward.

Very grateful Mr. Cords came back when he did.  I had some very good conversations with him about his insights on the Wojo decision In particular  I liked how he described his perception that Cuonzo was running from something at Tennessee versus Wojo wanting to be here and understanding and embracing our tradition. Cords also understands and embraces what it takes for student athletes to be successful and I think that was his primary mission.

Looking forward to a high quality AD going forward.

[keefe]

if the defenders of Burt knew the whole story they would be asking for a mea culpa.

Are you talking about the Bert sh1t in the bowl story? If word of that leaked the whole thing would have gone right down the toilet!

[ChicosBailBonds]

I agree with your overall analysis as to LW. He simply did not have the political IQ to handle the job properly . His personality simply was not one that would accept the reality at Marquette the AD/Coach relationship is inverted or at best pari passu. Also I did not see a lot of evidence that he was focused on the development of student athletes. Although it may have been too short a tenure to judge that aspect.

I do believe he was a driving force behind the formation and terms of the new Big East and that was to our benefit. I think he would have done a good job of negotiating our relationship with a new arena going forward.

Very grateful Mr. Cords came back when he did.  I had some very good conversations with him about his insights on the Wojo decision In particular  I liked how he described his perception that Cuonzo was running from something at Tennessee versus Wojo wanting to be here and understanding and embracing our tradition. Cords also understands and embraces what it takes for student athletes to be successful and I think that was his primary mission.

Looking forward to a high quality AD going forward.

The process is already underway.  I'm aware of two that had phone interviews in the last month, both outstanding people.


Disagree with you and Cam on the political IQ stuff.  Remember, he reported to a President that was his boss and one cannot ignore that part of the story and the charter that he was given.  He was asked to put a clamp on some of the nonsense.....that rubbed some people wrong, but these are some people that have the attitude of just win baby and don't care about anything else.  LW did care about a few other things around the integrity of the program he was overseeing.  An unfortunate mix of oil and water for some folks. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Are you talking about the Bert sh1t in the bowl story? If word of that leaked the whole thing would have gone right down the toilet!

Nope

[keefe]

Nope

I have never used teal yet. Such an odd convention. Who came up with that? Jonathan Swift?

[keefe]

Obviously that town has a Krispy Kreme.

I love Santa wearing flip flops. What the hell is his role? To climb down chimneys in Hostage situations?

[Logi4three]

Obviously that town has a Krispy Kreme.

I love Santa wearing flip flops. What the hell is his role? To climb down chimneys in Hostage situations?

Ha!  I missed that guy due to the general lack of any diversity. 

[Dr. Blackheart]

Obviously that town has a Krispy Kreme.

I love Santa wearing flip flops. What the hell is his role? To climb down chimneys in Hostage situations?

It appears Santa is in a walking boot.

[Lennys Tap]

At the very least, the dude shoulda had enough sense not to wear a salt stained golf hat on national TV, aina?

Larry Williams WAS an athletic director. Now he's a "consultant" Epic fail.