The Wojo Question

[Steve Buscemi]

If that's true, and I shudder to think it is, I hope all the big swinging dicks in the meat summit/underboard are prepared to voltron a massive cash pile to get this S.O.B. outta here ASAP and save the program.

Who, after Hausershima in 2019, had the GALL to write a contract extension and give Blojo that much leverage.  As George Bluth would say, "I've got the worst f*****g lawyers"

[Silkk the Shaka]

I'm a 1977 MU grad who grew up in western New York state. If not for McGuire & his highly ranked teams, I never would have heard of MU. Basketball wasn't the main reason I ultimately picked MU. But I would not have looked into what academic programs MU offered if I hadn't become a Warrior fan as a high school freshman.

Western New Yorker here. Wade's freshman year was my senior year of HS and it absolutely tipped the scales for me to pick MU. Those who think it doesn't matter are delusional.

[curbina]

There are many things that could be done to convenience wojo to leave MU. Cut his budget to near zero would be a good start.

[muwarrior69]

I'm a 1977 MU grad who grew up in western New York state. If not for McGuire & his highly ranked teams, I never would have heard of MU. Basketball wasn't the main reason I ultimately picked MU. But I would not have looked into what academic programs MU offered if I hadn't become a Warrior fan as a high school freshman.

It was the opposite for me. I became a basketball fan while at Marquette.  As a freshman if we bought season tickets the price was grandfathered for our 4 years at MU. I paid $64 for two reserved seats for all 4 years.

[tower912]

I picked MU because of the campus visit.    The tour guide was cool and the freshmen who put me up for the night got me drunk.    The second night, the different people I was staying with scavenged a pair of basketball shoes and we played hoops until one in the morning.   MU was the place for me after that.   

[muwarrior69]

Western New Yorker here. Wade's freshman year was my senior year of HS and it absolutely tipped the scales for me to pick MU. Those who think it doesn't matter are delusional.

I would expect some here on Scoop to share your experience and would concede that some students chose MU because of the basketball program; but I would bet most students picked MU because it was the right fit academically for them. Growing up in New Jersey I never heard of Marquette until my cousin from Indiana a foreign language major at Marquette took a year to study french at the Sorbonne came to visit us before she departed for Europe.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Who, after Hausershima in 2019, had the GALL to write a contract extension and give Blojo that much leverage.  As George Bluth would say, "I've got the worst f*****g lawyers"

He recieved a standard extension with a buyout in line with the market. MU can pay it in a normal year. In a COVID year? Maybe not. Unforeseeable at the time

[5DollarPitcher]

He recieved a standard extension with a buyout in line with the market. MU can pay it in a normal year. In a COVID year? Maybe not. Unforeseeable at the time

But Wojo held no cards whatsoever. Why give him a buyout in-line with the market? Why not offer him an extension with no buyout, or an under-market-value buyout? Was there a legitimate concern he'd bolt? If he did did we really think it would hurt our program that much?

[MU82]

But Wojo held no cards whatsoever. Why give him a buyout in-line with the market? Why not offer him an extension with no buyout, or an under-market-value buyout? Was there a legitimate concern he'd bolt? If he did did we really think it would hurt our program that much?

I'm having trouble believing you're not a P6 athletic director or university president.

You should get your name out there!

[5DollarPitcher]

I'm having trouble believing you're not a P6 athletic director or university president.

You should get your name out there!

As if the one at MU has done well for the basketball program in his tenure?

[Silkk the Shaka]

I would expect some here on Scoop to share your experience and would concede that some students chose MU because of the basketball program; but I would bet most students picked MU because it was the right fit academically for them. Growing up in New Jersey I never heard of Marquette until my cousin from Indiana a foreign language major at Marquette took a year to study french at the Sorbonne came to visit us before she departed for Europe.

Agreed it's not the reason for everyone, or even the majority. But for a school with enrollment problems, a moribund flagship program is going to tip less scales in your favor. Not good. Needs a reboot badly, for the overall University's sake.

[MU82]

As if the one at MU has done well for the basketball program in his tenure?

I'm not close enough to the situation nor privy to enough inside information to judge.

[5DollarPitcher]

I'm not close enough to the situation nor privy to enough inside information to judge.

Wojo has been employed 7 years. Scholl has been employed 7 years. MUBB is under .500 in Big East play with 0 NCAA tournament wins during that span. Stop trying to make it more complicated than it is.

[Billy Hoyle]

Hmm....you really think most students pick MU because of the basketball program? If so that is pretty sad. I know I didn't.

It helps.

In my case, MU was already on my radar because of a colleague of my dad but I'd first heard of it thanks to basketball. Others schools I was considering out of my home state I also learned of thanks to basketball (Evansville, Xavier). This was 1993, no internet. MU's hoops success that year got me to look closer. What my parents saw was a higher ranked, more selective, and academically rigorous school than the in-state school they were hoping I'd attend (and the other two), with a strong service component, something important to them. In fact, my dad would not let me apply to Xavier while my MU app was pending because, to him, MU was a better school, and harder to get into.

To get kids through the front door you have to get them on the front porch first so they can have a look inside. Hoops (football too) can do that. It's why The Flutie Factor is well known in academic circles.

[BM1090]

Wojo has been employed 7 years. Scholl has been employed 7 years. MUBB is under .500 in Big East play with 0 NCAA tournament wins during that span. Stop trying to make it more complicated than it is.

Men's basketball isn't MU's only sport. Scholl has made good hires.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Here is an idea, to save face on the budgetary front as that is a problem at MU right now and everyone says the buyout is what is forcing MU's hand.   MU just lays Wojo off as part of the layoffs/budget cuts.  Most people won't care or even know about the buyout.  They hire a slightly less expensive coach - if that is possible - and they claim all of it is in terms of cost savings but we really know why.  A little easier to save face and make the decision.  Especially if the buyout could be donor funded.

Not sure I want Wojo to leave myself, kind of like him and think the future will be bright, but an idea...

"27 English adjuncts, 12 dental school adjuncts, and Steve Wojo were let go today by Marquette University as the school seeks to reassess their staff needs as a result of declining enrollment."

- 6 pm Milwaukee news cast, 3/19/21

[5DollarPitcher]

Men's basketball isn't MU's only sport. Scholl has made good hires.

The original question was about the men's basketball team. No one is or was talking about other sports. Why does no one read the threads anymore?

[Billy Hoyle]

Here is an idea, to save face on the budgetary front as that is a problem at MU right now and everyone says the buyout is what is forcing MU's hand.   MU just lays Wojo off as part of the layoffs/budget cuts.  Most people won't care or even know about the buyout.  They hire a slightly less expensive coach - if that is possible - and they claim all of it is in terms of cost savings but we really know why.  A little easier to save face and make the decision.  Especially if the buyout could be donor funded.

Not sure I want Wojo to leave myself, kind of like him and think the future will be bright, but an idea...

We pay $7+ million now to Wojo then pay $1 to $1.5 million to a new coach and that's not going to be noticed by anyone, especially faculty?

[MU82]

Wojo has been employed 7 years. Scholl has been employed 7 years. MUBB is under .500 in Big East play with 0 NCAA tournament wins during that span. Stop trying to make it more complicated than it is.

I'd have fired him ... but I don't pretend to be qualified to be a D1 athletic director. Glad we have you!

[5DollarPitcher]

I'd have fired him ... but I don't pretend to be qualified to be a D1 athletic director. Glad we have you!

I don't think I claimed that, specifically. I just said the one we have now (AD) is not doing well with the men's basketball program. I think we agree on that (seeing as you have made it clear you think the coach should've been fired after DePaul).

Anything else you may have interpreted is, unfortunately, a construct of your imagination.

[MU82]

I don't think I claimed that, specifically. I just said the one we have now (AD) is not doing well with the men's basketball program. I think we agree on that.

Anything else you may have interpreted is, unfortunately, a construct of your imagination.

Okey dokey. As I said, I simply don't know enough about the inner workings of the Marquette administration, our budget, the many things Scholl does as part of his job, etc. You apparently do, and I congratulate you for the depth of your knowledge.

[5DollarPitcher]

Okey dokey. As I said, I simply don't know enough about the inner workings of the Marquette administration, our budget, the many things Scholl does as part of his job, etc. You apparently do, and I congratulate you for the depth of your knowledge.

Somebody, somewhere, somehow screwed up big time by putting us in this position, 7 years later. Pandemic or not.

Whether you think that's Lovell, Scholl, the BOT, or Wojo's mom - it doesn't really matter. But, as they say, mistakes were made (but not by me). Have a good weekend, 82.

[Shooter McGavin]

Western New Yorker here. Wade's freshman year was my senior year of HS and it absolutely tipped the scales for me to pick MU. Those who think it doesn't matter are delusional.

Yep. My son has been accepted to MU and several other schools.  He is now deciding between schools based on academic offerings.  But make no mistake the men's  basketball team will have an influence on his decision.  The fact that we have been terrible at the end of the last three seasons and that there is no light at the end of the tunnel will have an effect on his decision.  It's just reality. 

[MU82]

Somebody, somewhere, somehow screwed up big time by putting us in this position, 7 years later. Pandemic or not.

Whether you think that's Lovell, Scholl, the BOT, or Wojo's mom - it doesn't really matter. But, as they say, mistakes were made (but not by me). Have a good weekend, 82.

You too.

[1SE]

If that's true, and I shudder to think it is, I hope all the big swinging dicks in the meat summit/underboard are prepared to voltron a massive cash pile to get this S.O.B. outta here ASAP and save the program.

If that's true whoever negotiated the contract needs to be fired.