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UA president, athletic director will talk about Brookhart's job next week
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 09:10 p.m. EST, Nov 23, 2009
It is a question on the lips and minds of anyone even remotely interested in the football program at the University of Akron.
That is, will J.D. Brookhart return as head coach of the Zips in 2010?
The answer likely will come next week during a meeting between Luis Proenza, university president, and Tom Wistrcill, UA's new athletic director, just days after the season finale Friday afternoon at home against Eastern Michigan.
''I never evaluate a team and a coach until after the season, and we have one more game left,'' Wistrcill said today. ''After that, the president and I will have a conversation and evaluate the program and make some decisions.''
Brookhart, 45, has a 29-42 record in six years with the Zips. The last four seasons produced losing records, including a 2-9 mark so far in 2009.
That will be a factor in whether Brookhart will be back to finish his contract that runs through 2010 and pays him $250,000, but not the only one.
''There is a long list of things I have to consider, but I do have a 1 and 1A. One is the student-athlete experience. Obviously, that's our No. 1 concern in college athletics,'' said Wistrcill, who succeeded Mack Rhoades as athletic director in early September. ''One-A certainly is our won-loss record because this is Division I.''
The importance of wins and losses is magnified this season for the Zips because of the $61.6 million investment in InfoCision Stadium, an on-campus facility that opened in September.
The crowd of 27,881 for the opener against Morgan has been followed by four home games that averaged 16,613 as the Zips' losses mounted on the field. The full-season average of 18,866 likely will drop significantly with a small crowd expected Friday for winless Eastern Michigan.
Even with suites and loges close to being sold out at InfoCision Stadium, that would put the average crowd not far removed from the 14,342 in 2008, the last season at the antiquated Rubber Bowl.
''It's important that we win games and are able to sell tickets and sell suites and sell premium seats. Certainly winning goes with that because we built a brand new stadium and I think made a great commitment to football,'' Wistrcill said. ''The president hired me here at Akron to assist in putting lots of people in that stadium and build a great program because it's important to both the university and the athletic department.''
Brookhart, a married father of four, said at his weekly news conference today that he wants to continue.
''I want to be here, I would love to be here. Absolutely. This is a great place and a great commitment. I have been very fortunate,'' Brookhart said. ''I have turned down opportunities to leave and would do it again to stay here. It's become home and I absolutely love it.''
Brookhart said speculation about his job status is nothing new in his profession.
''There is heat every day. Every Sunday when we come in and finish the last game, the pressure is there to win,'' he said. ''It always is.''
The 2009 season began with plenty of optimism for the Zips and their fans because of the return of 15 starters and the presence of the new stadium.
But the suspension and later dismissal of Chris Jacquemain, a three-year starter at quarterback, for a violation of team policy started the team's downward spiral.
Three weeks later, UA lost Jacquemain's replacement, sophomore Matt Rodgers, to a season-ending knee injury. That meant Patrick Nicely, a freshman scheduled to be redshirted, had to start at quarterback.
In addition, recruiting coordinator Reno Ferri was suspended and later resigned for alleged NCAA infractions, and stalwarts such as receiver Deryn Bowser and linebacker Aaron Williams were lost to season-ending injuries.
As losses mounted and frustrations grew for the Zips, Brookhart said his team never quit, an assessment shared by Wistrcill.
''The coaches and players are unhappy with the record this year, but I know they have worked hard and stuck together,'' Wistrcill said. ''I have been impressed with their dedication, especially since their record is not what they would like.
''There is a tendency to see guys check out, but I have not witnessed any of that. I am proud of their effort this year.''
Skeptics have said that the Jacquemain situation showed that Brookhart lost control of the team and should be a major reason to fire him.
But Wistrcill indicated there are many things to weigh when evaluating Brookhart.
''You take everything into account. You don't separate things out.'' Wistrcill said. ''It's unfortunate that a three-year starting quarterback did not play this year. Certainly, we will take that into account, just like everything else.''
Wistrcill said a decision about Brookhart's future has no set timetable and will be somewhat shared by him and Proenza.
''The president ultimately makes the decision. I make a recommendation to the president,'' Wistrcill said. ''I have only been here almost three months, but we have established a great working relationship and certainly communicated well.
''He and I will have a discussion and he's been good about saying my recommendation is extremely important in the process. We will see where it goes from there.''
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
It is a question on the lips and minds of anyone even remotely interested in the football program at the University of Akron.
That is, will J.D. Brookhart return as head coach of the Zips in 2010?
The answer likely will come next week during a meeting between Luis Proenza, university president, and Tom Wistrcill, UA's new athletic director, just days after the season finale Friday afternoon at home against Eastern Michigan.
''I never evaluate a team and a coach until after the season, and we have one more game left,'' Wistrcill said today. ''After that, the president and I will have a conversation and evaluate the program and make some decisions.''
Brookhart, 45, has a 29-42 record in six years with the Zips. The last four seasons produced losing records, including a 2-9 mark so far in 2009.
That will be a factor in whether Brookhart will be back to finish his contract that runs through 2010 and pays him $250,000, but not the only one.
''There is a long list of things I have to consider, but I do have a 1 and 1A. One is the student-athlete experience. Obviously, that's our No. 1 concern in college athletics,'' said Wistrcill, who succeeded Mack Rhoades as athletic director in early September. ''One-A certainly is our won-loss record because this is Division I.''
The importance of wins and losses is magnified this season for the Zips because of the $61.6 million investment in InfoCision Stadium, an on-campus facility that opened in September.
The crowd of 27,881 for the opener against Morgan has been followed by four home games that averaged 16,613 as the Zips' losses mounted on the field. The full-season average of 18,866 likely will drop significantly with a small crowd expected Friday for winless Eastern Michigan.
Even with suites and loges close to being sold out at InfoCision Stadium, that would put the average crowd not far removed from the 14,342 in 2008, the last season at the antiquated Rubber Bowl.
''It's important that we win games and are able to sell tickets and sell suites and sell premium seats. Certainly winning goes with that because we built a brand new stadium and I think made a great commitment to football,'' Wistrcill said. ''The president hired me here at Akron to assist in putting lots of people in that stadium and build a great program because it's important to both the university and the athletic department.''
Brookhart, a married father of four, said at his weekly news conference today that he wants to continue.
''I want to be here, I would love to be here. Absolutely. This is a great place and a great commitment. I have been very fortunate,'' Brookhart said. ''I have turned down opportunities to leave and would do it again to stay here. It's become home and I absolutely love it.''
Brookhart said speculation about his job status is nothing new in his profession.
''There is heat every day. Every Sunday when we come in and finish the last game, the pressure is there to win,'' he said. ''It always is.''
The 2009 season began with plenty of optimism for the Zips and their fans because of the return of 15 starters and the presence of the new stadium.
But the suspension and later dismissal of Chris Jacquemain, a three-year starter at quarterback, for a violation of team policy started the team's downward spiral.
Three weeks later, UA lost Jacquemain's replacement, sophomore Matt Rodgers, to a season-ending knee injury. That meant Patrick Nicely, a freshman scheduled to be redshirted, had to start at quarterback.
In addition, recruiting coordinator Reno Ferri was suspended and later resigned for alleged NCAA infractions, and stalwarts such as receiver Deryn Bowser and linebacker Aaron Williams were lost to season-ending injuries.
As losses mounted and frustrations grew for the Zips, Brookhart said his team never quit, an assessment shared by Wistrcill.
''The coaches and players are unhappy with the record this year, but I know they have worked hard and stuck together,'' Wistrcill said. ''I have been impressed with their dedication, especially since their record is not what they would like.
''There is a tendency to see guys check out, but I have not witnessed any of that. I am proud of their effort this year.''
Skeptics have said that the Jacquemain situation showed that Brookhart lost control of the team and should be a major reason to fire him.
But Wistrcill indicated there are many things to weigh when evaluating Brookhart.
''You take everything into account. You don't separate things out.'' Wistrcill said. ''It's unfortunate that a three-year starting quarterback did not play this year. Certainly, we will take that into account, just like everything else.''
Wistrcill said a decision about Brookhart's future has no set timetable and will be somewhat shared by him and Proenza.
''The president ultimately makes the decision. I make a recommendation to the president,'' Wistrcill said. ''I have only been here almost three months, but we have established a great working relationship and certainly communicated well.
''He and I will have a discussion and he's been good about saying my recommendation is extremely important in the process. We will see where it goes from there.''
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Posted 05:42 AM, 11/24/2009
J.D. is a fine man, no question. Just as Eric Wedge is a fine man. Sometimes, though, a change is needed to inject new life into a program. If there had been even a hint of success during the last four years--when the team was 100% J.D.'s players--then there might be reason to reconsider.
But big-time college athletics is about money these days, and Akron socked a lot of cash into a facility which much make a return on the investment. Five losing seasons out of six (with only a barely-above .500 winning season in the other) just isn't getting it done. Sadly, the teams made the decision for the administrators.
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:43 AM, 11/24/2009
No need to wait - FIRED!
norka, OH
Posted 08:18 AM, 11/24/2009
Nice guy.. but very egotistical behind the scene.would like to see an O H I O guy as the next HC with strong recruiting background in the area lot of local talent that might like to stay close to home ( 150 mile radius) just a thought new Stadium and all!!
Hudson, OH
Posted 09:27 AM, 11/24/2009
How about Mangini? He'll need a job soon. Might be more his speed.
Posted 10:27 AM, 11/24/2009
Do not Fire J.D.
You can't blame him for the injuries that basically killed UA's season and the ignorant QB that got kicked off the team.
J.D. is a good man and he did win a MAC Championship and has wins against NC State and Syracuse.
Wadsworth, OH
Posted 10:34 AM, 11/24/2009
JD needs to go. He is not the right coach for the job. He won one MAC Championship, but that isn't good enough.
Stow, OH
Posted 10:48 AM, 11/24/2009
I hate to see anyone be out of work. If he is let go, I hope that both he and his assistants find jobs.
akron, oh
Posted 01:21 PM, 11/24/2009
The only reason he won a mac championship is because Lee Owens and charlie Frye set him up to be successful his first year. Obviously he couldn't generate anything from that point on! I would say the decision has already been made. In the words of Donald Trump...YOUR FIRED !
Pataskala, OH
Posted 01:46 PM, 11/24/2009
I think JD is actually a very good coach or coordinator just not necessarily a great head coach at this point.
Due to performance I can certainly understand if he is let go, but if they maintain the coaching staff citing that this was the first year for this staff that includes Walt harris and Shane Montgomery I can't blame them for wanting to keep around those guys either. You hear that often times it takes a while for a team or part of the team to gel. I'm wondering if this is true with coaching staffs too. Couple that with the ungodly number of injuries and I can understand a decision in either direction.
Akron, OH
Posted 02:34 PM, 11/24/2009
Hire Lou Holtz!
_________, OH
Posted 02:38 PM, 11/24/2009
Let him finish out his contract. This season was a wash almost before it began. He seems genuine and lordy that's a quality hard to come by. And as far as being "very egotistical" kind of goes with the territory I would think. One more year for J.D.
Akron, OH
Posted 02:44 PM, 11/24/2009
Honestly, UA should look into a big name coach. At the very least they need to get a good recruiter in this area. There are way too many kids leaving the area.
Posted 02:59 PM, 11/24/2009
You can blame JD for the injuries and for the thing with Jacquemain. Remember that he was the one who brought Jacq into the program, and the one who kept him around despite him getting in trouble before. He's also the one who made the decision to forgo heavy contact in the pre-season, which led to weaker players once the games started. You can also blame him for calling plays that put his players into positions where they were vulnerable to getting injured.
JD is a good guy, but so were Lee Owens and Gerry Faust. I'm tired of seeing "good guys" who are mediocre coaches. The AD shouldn't base his hire on how nice a coach is to his players.
Akron, Oh
Posted 03:18 PM, 11/24/2009
How bought that soccer team of theirs? That's the sport that should be filling their stadium. Football's overrrated
San Diego, CA
Posted 03:26 PM, 11/24/2009
@TomDaSpeechFixr: A big name coach is going to command a salary of close to a million a year. How would Akron justify that? They have a 30,000 seat stadium, not 100,000.
I can't understand what happened to the team this year. They were bad before a lot of the injuries. I think JD's teams will usually do well offensively, but he needs to find a defense. He's got to somehow get some studs for the defensive line. Otherwise, AU will never be able to compete with teams like the one Temple has this year. They just beat Akron up.
Highland Square, OH
Posted 05:03 PM, 11/24/2009
@ Think
Trust me, JD will land softly on a nice fat cushy assistant job at a BCS school or an NFL team. The same can be said for his assistants.
JD seems like a good guy. Not a good Head coach. Fire Him. Trust me, it will end up costing the school a lot more than it will cost JD anyways.
Canton, OH
Posted 05:03 PM, 11/24/2009
I like J.D. .. .
Lorain, oh
Posted 05:55 PM, 11/24/2009
You just can not buuild a new stadium and go in like UA did and have the type of season they had. The QB situation was something that was being kept under raps for a while and finally boiled over, plus other discipline issues and recruiting violations. He should be let go.
Wadsworth, OH
Posted 06:57 PM, 11/24/2009
J.D.: Nice guy, for sure. But you expect signs of improvement in six years, which we are not seeing. A sportscaster on TV mentioned that the Zips have 21 scholarship football athletes out for injuries. Not a good excuse, in my opinion. Are the Zips coaches lean on conditioning, or are recruits not Division I caliber?
J.D.: Nice guy, for sure. But not ready for a Division I football program, sorry to say.
Kandi, SL
Posted 09:01 PM, 11/24/2009
Gerry Faust and Lou Holtz called. They want Mr Wistrcill to know that Charlie Weiss is about to become available.
Akron, OH
Posted 09:48 PM, 11/24/2009
@Knight - Frye was not the quarterback when they won the MAC. He graduated in May and they won the MAC following fall. That QB was Luke Getsy.
