MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Knightmare]

Olivet has what they're calling their final 4 candidates coming in this week for the head coaching position. 

http://www.olivetcomets.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/releases/20120324bjfic9

I'm wondering why Olivet would send out a release with their final four candidates and not hire any one of them?

That does seem to be a peculiar move.  I would think that it wouldn't endear Olivet College to future prospective candidates for any other coaching positions that might come open in other sports either, doesn't really reflect very well on the college. Also makes you wonder if someone wielded some individual power near the end of the process that may have had personal connections to the new hire causing this to come out of left field.  Just doesn't make sense.

Exactly, Knightmare...........

Olivet basically screwed the four "finalists" they previously named. Having them travel to beautiful downtown Olivet when they apparently didn't really have a chance at the job. 

A better question might be what kind of a ditz does Olivet have as its Athletic Director?? She basically lied to the supposed four finalists. Was Coach Coles among those that originally applied for the position and whose credentials  were initially missed in what was a case of exceptionally poor prospective employee analysis, or was he ushered in through the back door by a well connected alum at the last minute? Either way, still a screw job to the applicants brought to campus for interviews.

Maybe Olivet's recent record was more reflective of the abilities, or lack thereof, not of it's former coach, but of its Athletic Director. I felt sorry for the Olivet players, who never quit, when we beat them in football 86-14 last fall, and I still do. However, I now view it as a fitting gift for one Heather Bateman who of course is free to change her mind, and apparently recently did.      

With apologies to OK, we were typing at the same time   

Do either of you know enough about the situation to cause such jumping to conclusions?  Can you not fathom a half a dozen situations where this outcome might make sense?  And do you have to reduce yourself (AndOne) to male chauvenist name calling (ditz?  really?)?  For what reason? 

Perhaps the situation is exactly as Knightmare speculated, and someone hammered out a behind closed doors deal.  Or perhaps 2 or 3 of the remaining candidates dropped out, leaving a less than desireable one.  Or perhaps upon further interviewing none of the 4 seemed to be the best fit, and instead of starting from square one another solution was found.  And perhaps the situation is even dirtier than implied above.  But whatever the case, why go on such an accusitory tirade?  I don't understand someone being so vindictive as to delight in a long-done football game because of perceived but not proven actions of an AD.  What am I missing?

Let me make clear that I don't know anything of the situation and I also am not jumping to any conclusions at all.  Only that through the viewpoint of outsiders (of which I am one) it doesn't seem to reflect well on Olivet's program or hiring practices.  There very well may be a very legitimate and logical reason for the 180 degree turn or there also may be no reason at all except for incompetence from the athletic and college leadership.  We don't know and likely never will.

Just please don't group my post in with Andone's as mine does have a very different tone to it and also not naming any names.  Thanks 

[sac]

Trine with another nice get from Michigan, Clarkston marksman Nick Tatu.

Kids a sniper!

The beginning of this highlight package is some of his 47 against Troy HS where he hit 12 three's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21eOvgjN8FM&feature=relmfu

...its pretty much 9 minutes of Nick hitting 3's. 

[sac]

A further write-up on Tatu from this blog...... http://burneysbytes.blogspot.com/

"Tatu shot 50 percent from 3-point range for his prep career".   ----This is insane for someone who played 4 years of varsity basketball.

[AndOne]

Olivet has what they're calling their final 4 candidates coming in this week for the head coaching position. 

http://www.olivetcomets.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/releases/20120324bjfic9

I'm wondering why Olivet would send out a release with their final four candidates and not hire any one of them?

That does seem to be a peculiar move.  I would think that it wouldn't endear Olivet College to future prospective candidates for any other coaching positions that might come open in other sports either, doesn't really reflect very well on the college. Also makes you wonder if someone wielded some individual power near the end of the process that may have had personal connections to the new hire causing this to come out of left field.  Just doesn't make sense.

Exactly, Knightmare...........

Olivet basically screwed the four "finalists" they previously named. Having them travel to beautiful downtown Olivet when they apparently didn't really have a chance at the job. 

A better question might be what kind of a ditz does Olivet have as its Athletic Director?? She basically lied to the supposed four finalists. Was Coach Coles among those that originally applied for the position and whose credentials  were initially missed in what was a case of exceptionally poor prospective employee analysis, or was he ushered in through the back door by a well connected alum at the last minute? Either way, still a screw job to the applicants brought to campus for interviews.

Maybe Olivet's recent record was more reflective of the abilities, or lack thereof, not of it's former coach, but of its Athletic Director. I felt sorry for the Olivet players, who never quit, when we beat them in football 86-14 last fall, and I still do. However, I now view it as a fitting gift for one Heather Bateman who of course is free to change her mind, and apparently recently did.      

There is another possibility. It could be the four finalists named in the March 24 announcement all withdrew their names either before or after visiting Olivet's campus. That announcement mentioned that the four would make campus visits March 26-30.

In the April 9 announcement, Chris Coles stated he visited Olivet the previous week, which would have been after the four announced candidates did so. No matter what happened, it's an odd turn of events that's for sure.

oldknight----

I can personally assure you that this is NOT a possibility. I don't know about the other alleged finalists, but Todd Kelly very much looked forward to his interview, and drove to Olivet for his interview which took place on Friday, March 30. He was supposed to be the last candidate interviewed. He did not withdraw his name at any time.

[Pat Coleman]

Regardless, I know one candidate did. AO -- your vitriol here is your usual over the top. You might want to rethink your bitterness.

[AndOne]

Olivet has what they're calling their final 4 candidates coming in this week for the head coaching position. 

http://www.olivetcomets.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/releases/20120324bjfic9

I'm wondering why Olivet would send out a release with their final four candidates and not hire any one of them?

That does seem to be a peculiar move.  I would think that it wouldn't endear Olivet College to future prospective candidates for any other coaching positions that might come open in other sports either, doesn't really reflect very well on the college. Also makes you wonder if someone wielded some individual power near the end of the process that may have had personal connections to the new hire causing this to come out of left field.  Just doesn't make sense.

Exactly, Knightmare...........

Olivet basically screwed the four "finalists" they previously named. Having them travel to beautiful downtown Olivet when they apparently didn't really have a chance at the job. 

A better question might be what kind of a ditz does Olivet have as its Athletic Director?? She basically lied to the supposed four finalists. Was Coach Coles among those that originally applied for the position and whose credentials  were initially missed in what was a case of exceptionally poor prospective employee analysis, or was he ushered in through the back door by a well connected alum at the last minute? Either way, still a screw job to the applicants brought to campus for interviews.

Maybe Olivet's recent record was more reflective of the abilities, or lack thereof, not of it's former coach, but of its Athletic Director. I felt sorry for the Olivet players, who never quit, when we beat them in football 86-14 last fall, and I still do. However, I now view it as a fitting gift for one Heather Bateman who of course is free to change her mind, and apparently recently did.      

With apologies to OK, we were typing at the same time   

Do either of you know enough about the situation to cause such jumping to conclusions?  Can you not fathom a half a dozen situations where this outcome might make sense?  And do you have to reduce yourself (AndOne) to male chauvenist name calling (ditz?  really?)?  For what reason? 

Perhaps the situation is exactly as Knightmare speculated, and someone hammered out a behind closed doors deal.  Or perhaps 2 or 3 of the remaining candidates dropped out, leaving a less than desireable one.  Or perhaps upon further interviewing none of the 4 seemed to be the best fit, and instead of starting from square one another solution was found.  And perhaps the situation is even dirtier than implied above.  But whatever the case, why go on such an accusitory tirade?  I don't understand someone being so vindictive as to delight in a long-done football game because of perceived but not proven actions of an AD.  What am I missing?

Civic--

* First of all, I was in no way, shape, or form being chauvinistic. A "ditz" is defined as a scatterbrained or eccentric person. I have used the word to describe both men and women, including myself, at times when I did something stupid.
* If a "behind closed doors" deal was, as you say, hammered out, where is the ethical behavior in that?
* If none of the supposed 4 finalists were found worthy after being interviewed, what does that say about the AD's people and evaluation skills in naming them "finalists" in the first place?
* Of course the AD is free to change her mind, and I said that. However, something is a bit fishy here as evidenced by the fact that the Olivet news archive detailing the evaluation process, and names of the 4 finalists and the dates of their interviews, has been completely removed from the Olivet web site.
* As Knightmare touched on, inviting 4 candidates to campus under the guise of their being "finalists" for the job and then not hiring any of them, for whatever reason, is certainly reflective of scatterbrained or eccentric behavior. 

[Pat Coleman]

Your continued use of the word "guise" suggests some pretty, shall we say, "ditzy" thinking on your part. What school would go to the expense of bringing people in for interviews, not to mention using the time of everyone involved, as a ruse?

[sac]

You just can't trust people from Eaton County, they are a very deceptive people and will spare no expense just to inconvenience and lure people into their ruse.




ps  ...I might have grown up and currently reside in Eaton County.

[AndOne]

Your continued use of the word "guise" suggests some pretty, shall we say, "ditzy" thinking on your part. What school would go to the expense of bringing people in for interviews, not to mention using the time of everyone involved, as a ruse?

Perhaps the same school that seemed to go out of its way to post a detailed news story on their athletic/basketball site detailing the search background, the names and school affiliations of the finalists, and even the dates between which the interviews would be held, and then suddenly took the post down before the eventual hire was even named. Then, the ensuing announcement made no mention of why the person hired was not previously identified as a candidate. It was like no "finalists" were ever identified, no interviews were ever conducted, and the coach hired was really the only viable applicant ever considered. Very curious behavior indeed.

[Pat Coleman]

Actually, in real life, I doubt a school would be so forthcoming about its hiring process to talk about that. For example, I've never seen a professional news release that mentioned that one of the finalists turned down the job, yet that happens quite, quite often.

[AndOne]

Well, all I can do is assure you that there was a news release on the Olivet site that was pretty detailed in talking about their looking for a new coach, the names of the people on the committee formed to review the applications, the names of the "finalists" and their school affiliations, and the dates between which the final interviews would be conducted. Then suddenly, it disappeared.
Thats all i can say about the situation.
As another poster touched upon, I do think the sequence of events might cause a future prospective employee of the subject school to question the methods employed in the course of their hiring process.

[oldknight]

* If a "behind closed doors" deal was, as you say, hammered out, where is the ethical behavior in that?
* If none of the supposed 4 finalists were found worthy after being interviewed, what does that say about the AD's people and evaluation skills in naming them "finalists" in the first place?
* Of course the AD is free to change her mind, and I said that. However, something is a bit fishy here as evidenced by the fact that the Olivet news archive detailing the evaluation process, and names of the 4 finalists and the dates of their interviews, has been completely removed from the Olivet web site.
* As Knightmare touched on, inviting 4 candidates to campus under the guise of their being "finalists" for the job and then not hiring any of them, for whatever reason, is certainly reflective of scatterbrained or eccentric behavior. 

Unless you are inside the process, there is no way you can make these statements without appearing to be a ditz. Over the years, I have been on several search committees of various types, have chaired three of them, and you would be amazed at the unexpected curveballs that can come your way when looking for a new hire.

[almcguirejr]

Olivet made a mistake in sending out the press release with the 4 names on it.  They are a private institution and their effort to be transparent backfired.  It appears now, Chris Coles, was at best their fifth choice.

[Knightmare]

Olivet made a mistake in sending out the press release with the 4 names on it.  They are a private institution and their effort to be transparent backfired.  It appears now, Chris Coles, was at best their fifth choice.

I would agree with that.  The mistake was the initial press release of which that info could have been kept in-house.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Three thoughts:

1.  I've been involved with hiring employees and the fact of the matter is that sometimes even after a lengthy job posting period, evaluation of many candidates, multiple rounds of interviews.......a better candidate swoops in at the last minute.  The job of the hiring manager (athletic director, etc) is to hire the best person for the job, even if they didn't surface till the very end of the process.  Based solely on what we know about the Olivet situation (which isn't much), I would hesitate to throw the Olivet AD under the bus.

2.  That said, it seems to be quite unnecessary to post a news release detailing the applicants.  I can't say that I've seen many official news releases (rumor mill is unavoidable, but official press releases?) about the mere candidates for any job.  No upside, potentially big downside (Olivet men's basketball coach 2012, Exhibit A).

3.  Whenever posts like AndOne's descend on the MIAA board in a flurry, I'm reminded of how thankful I am for the general level of civility and thoughtfulness normally found on this board compared to the drivel and stone throwing that are ubiquitous on most internet boards.  It's a small pretty meaningless slice of life but it makes me proud to be an alum and part of the MIAA community.