HOOSIERS AND WILDCATS---STEP UP AND DO THE RIGHT THING

Last week the Indiana Hoosiers and University of Kentucky announced that their annual basketball series would no longer take place.  With both schools boasting tremendous fan bases that are fanatically passionate about a sport  (basketball) that is part of the very foundation of the culture of each state, it would seem unthinkable to cancel the long standing rivalry between these two states that perceive themselves as the Mecca of high school and college basketball.   Having played 56 times since 1924, the rivalry has showcased great players, great teams and great coaching while providing the fans a tremendous  platform to express their passion for the programs.

Why has the series run its course?  The coaches, Tom Crean at IU and John Calipari at UK, cannot agree on the venue.  Crean wants the games on campus and Calipari wants to play at a neutral site.  If I did not know better, I might think that this is a case of big egos getting in the way of doing the right thing.  Could it be that one or both of these coaches want to show that they control every decision and that their  leadership style is “my way or the highway”.   Sadly everyone suffers from the coaches' inability to figure out a way to make this work.

Being objective let’s look at the pros and cons!

PROS

1.     The Universities receive tremendous national exposure and a significant opportunity to expose their brand.

2.     The Universities have significant opportunities to engage their total constituent base.

3.     Fans have another opportunity to support their state university.

4.     The game receives major television exposure on national television that helps recruiting of student-athletes and students.

5.     The game will generate significant revenue for both programs through ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, merchandising and broadcast rights.

6.     The tradition of maybe the two most storied and respected basketball states and universities grows.

7.     Playing other non-conference powerhouses always helps in the NCAA Tournament seedings and pairings.

8.     Numerous other smaller benefits that are too numerous to mention.

CONS:

1.     Uuh

2.     Huum

Earlier in the week, Hoosier Athletic Director Fred Glass offered Coach Cal an alternative where a four game series would take place with the first two games at neutral sites and the last two games on campus.  The defending NCAA Champion responded, “Thanks, but no thanks.”  This situation is clearly a situation where the leadership of the athletic departments just needs to tell their coaches, “We are going to play this game every year.  Either you figure or it out or the Athletic Directors will.”  Sometimes as a leader you have to insert your will when you know what the correct decision is.  Mitch Barnhart and Fred Glass need to tell the coaches, “this game, the states of Kentucky and Indiana and two great Universities are bigger than either of you.  Make it happen!"

 

Coach Calipari and UK---The Perfect Match

With the UK Wildcats cutting down the nets in NOLA Monday night, both the critics and the advocates of John Calipari had plenty of fuel for discussion. Basketball fans across the country complained loud and hard that the Lexington campus had just turned into a prep school for the NBA. Players would come and spend a year in limbo to get them ready for the “pot of gold” awaiting them after they passed the NBA final exam with Professor Calipari. Many of the naysayers wondered if UK would have to vacate this national championship just like Coach C’s previous two college employers (Memphis and UMass) had to vacate Final Four appearances. Would major violations surface like those surrounding Marcus Camby (UMass) or Derrick Rose (Memphis) and raise their ugly head resulting in the forfeiture of games and Final Four appearances?

Fans from the Bluegrass state scoffed at the critics. After all this is the same program that gave you Adolph Rupp and the forced cancellation of the 1952-53 season for point shaving and paying players. Rupp who won 861 games was reprimanded along with the UK in the point shaving criminal case by judge Saul Streit for creating an environment where violations were accepted as part of the business and for “failing in his duty to observe amateur rules, to build character, and to protect the morals and health of his charges.” Interestingly the Baron of the Bluegrass bounced back after the cancelled 52-53 year with a 25-0 record and told the NCAA thanks but no thanks for their invitation to the 53-54 NCAA Tournament. Clearly the University looked at the de facto “death penalty” as a cost of doing business. The University administration understood that its constituency and the proud citizens of the Commonwealth placed a tremendous value on having the Big Blue win and dominate the hardwood.

The Cats were back at in 1989 when coach Eddie Sutton’s program was found to have multiple violations ranging from sending recruit Chris Mills an Emory package with $1,000 to academic fraud to a systematic pay for play program. Already on probation for providing illegal inducements to players, UK basketball was sanctioned for three years including bans on television and NCAA Tournament appearances. However the real problem was the Cats went 13-19 and University of Kentucky president David Roselle forced Athletic Director Cliff Hagan and Coach Eddie Sutton to pack their bags and find a different home.

So while many critics question Coach Calipari’s methods, the reality is that he took a bunch of big ego high school superstars and was able to blend them into a cohesive team that was willing to sacrifice their personal statistics for the good of the group. If the Cats main competition had been the Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Bobcats, et al, the season would have been an unbelievable success. The only problem was that these student-athletes are attending an institution of higher learning where most folks would say one of the purposes of attending is getting a degree. To be fair to Calipari, he was hired to win games and apparently graduating players has minimal importance to the leadership of the institution. The University leadership has made a decision that by having a brand that demonstrates a total commitment to men’s basketball, the University of Kentucky is better able to fulfill its mission.

The leadership knew what they were getting when they chose the former UNCW Seahawk letterman to coach the Wildcats; a coach who could win games and compete for a national championship. They were willing to accept the previous issues and the noise from many college basketball insiders such as Bob Knight. In a public speech the always opinionated Knight stated, “You see we’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.” For the leadership at UK a paraphrasing of their leadership philosophy might be, “Winning's not the only thing, winning the national championship is.”
One of the important principles of leadership is having everyone in the leadership inner circle be on the same page. Clearly the UK administration is committed to the winning in basketball at all cost and Coach Calipari is just following that philosophy.