MBB: Midwest Conference

[Titan Q]

Good Lord. He is not making $98k. This is an educated guess. He is making half that, and his salary is supplemented by teaching a badminton phy Ed section and putting a few regular hours into admissions Activities. Not that he's doing that exactly, but that's kind of the deal for D3 coaches.

There is no way he is only make half of $98k...I can promise you.

I'll go $70k with another $15k annually from camps.  Somewhere around $85k total.

[palum]

According to the UW System Salary Database UW WW coach Pat Miller is making $101,741 and Jeff Gard at UWP is making $78,872. Given Grzesk's record and tenure at St Noberts he is probably in that range.

[Gregory Sager]

Given the location, size, and endowment of St. Norbert, I'd say that $60-80k is a reasonable ballpark range for Grzesk's salary.

[Tko244227]

I still believe it's an absolute no brainer. I don't think there is a D3 head coach who would turn down these 4 things in combination : a chance to return to your alma mater, more than double your current salary, chance to go D1, while not having to relocate your family. Easy, easy decision.

[palum]

I still believe it's an absolute no brainer. I don't think there is a D3 head coach who would turn down these 4 things in combination : a chance to return to your alma mater, more than double your current salary, chance to go D1, while not having to relocate your family. Easy, easy decision.

I agree don't  know where his kids are in school or what his wife does for work. But the chance to more than double your salary without uprooting your family seems like a no brainer. Add to that at UW GB he would be part of the Wisconsin State Retirement system which is one of the best in the country. But he has to be offered the job first.

[gbpuckfan]

His son would be a sophomore in HS, I think, because he played soccer against my daughter years ago when that was coed. The daughter would be a couple of years younger than that.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

You all make interesting arguments about Grzesk ... I believe he is interested, but it is not cut and dry on whether he would take it. I think the glaring problems at UWGB (that would also lead to an unknown future) are worth considering. I think his family's situation and such is also worth considering. Sometimes, just because a job would pay more, it isn't the right move to make. While it isn't coaching, I have had to make similar decisions in my life ... working in Connecticut would have been a great resume boost, but it wasn't the right thing for me at the time (plus other issues).

[Greek Tragedy]

You all make interesting arguments about Grzesk ... I believe he is interested, but it is not cut and dry on whether he would take it. I think the glaring problems at UWGB (that would also lead to an unknown future) are worth considering. I think his family's situation and such is also worth considering. Sometimes, just because a job would pay more, it isn't the right move to make. While it isn't coaching, I have had to make similar decisions in my life ... working in Connecticut would have been a great resume boost, but it wasn't the right thing for me at the time (plus other issues).

True enough, but as mentioned, there are a host of other good reasons to take the job if it's offered. At least the last two times, it seems like he clearly wanted the job. Saying that he's interested for a 3rd time means something. Again, no uprooting the family, alma mater, pay raise. I'm not really sure how worried he is about his unknown future. He may want/need a new challenge. Aside from non-basketball problems, he probably isn't too worried about getting fired if he does a poor job. He can probably get another job, back in D3(?) pretty easily. His track record is proven.

[WUPHF]

I think the glaring problems at UWGB (that would also lead to an unknown future) are worth considering.

Do you mind elaborating on the glaring problems?

I mean, every public higher ed system in the United States is facing financial issues but the private, midwestern Catholic institutions are also at risk. At the late coaching change does raise eyebrows, but glaring?

[WW]

I think the glaring problems at UWGB (that would also lead to an unknown future) are worth considering.

Do you mind elaborating on the glaring problems?

I mean, every public higher ed system in the United States is facing financial issues but the private, midwestern Catholic institutions are also at risk. At the late coaching change does raise eyebrows, but glaring?

UWGB faced a structural deficit of $3 million before leadership changed. Don't know where that's at now but there appeared to be lots of back-patting going on in terms of addressing it. Enrollment is on a four-year uptick, which is more than can be said about many state schools. I think the university is on solid footing.

Athletics has challenges, but nothing I would call "glaring," and nothing a more competitive basketball team couldn't help fix. Same could be said about most any college with a head coach job opening.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

You might want to look at the team. They are losing a lot after this season and have relied heavily on transfers - which is feast or famine. And from asking around, there are others who feel the program and the department have been a bit rudderless.

They have also gone through coaches rather quickly and not necessarily for good reasons - i.e. they just fired their last coach. The reason Grzesk has been in the mix so often is because the job has been open so often.

[WUPHF]

So that is interesting and why I asked.

I am not sure if I would see a depleted roster as a glaring problem.

It is hard to know what the quick succession of coaches means for a school such as UWGB.

The second to last coach may have had other reasons to leave, but even if he loved UWGB, the move to Bradley was unquestionably an upgrade.

[WW]

What quick succession of coaches? Bennett 85-95, Heideman 95-02, Kowalczyk 02-10, Wardle 10-15, Darner 15-20. Three of the guys upgraded and left of their choosing. Besides Darner, the other guy "fired" was 9-21 and on his third straight losing season. Overall, that's pretty good stability, IMO, for a school at that level of D1. You win, you move up. Just the way it goes. And the perennial success of the women's program suggests the department is hardly rudderless.

[Titan Q]

What quick succession of coaches? Bennett 85-95, Heideman 95-02, Kowalczyk 02-10, Wardle 10-15, Darner 15-20. Three of the guys upgraded and left of their choosing. Besides Darner, the other guy "fired" was 9-21 and on his third straight losing season. Overall, that's pretty good stability, IMO, for a school at that level of D1. You win, you move up. Just the way it goes. And the perennial success of the women's program suggests the department is hardly rudderless.

I agree.  That is good stability for a program like UW-Green Bay, which is a stepping stone coaching job.  The coaches hired there, unfortunately, are not destined to stay.

[WUPHF]

What quick succession of coaches?

Honestly, I could not remember anything prior to Coach Wardle, so I when I said quick succession, I was just assuming that Green Bay had indeed gone through coaches rather quickly and not necessarily for good reasons as previously mentioned. 

That does not appear to be the case.