Duke Hires A GM

[naija 2854]

Put this here because it has more to do with the new recruiting/NIL landscape than anything.

But here we are, GMs for universities.

[Ricky's one-hitter 9084]

5 minutes ago, naija said:

But here we are, GMs for universities.

Baker isn't really a GM in the traditional sense. It doesn't appear she has any roster management influence. Rather, it looks like Baker will be generally managing athlete and team brand marketing initiatives separate from the athletic department. 

I'm a big proponent for a revenue sport dedicated AD or GM, but as a rung above the HC. This aint that. 

[naija 2854]

12 minutes ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

Baker isn't really a GM in the traditional sense. It doesn't appear she has any roster management influence. Rather, it looks like Baker will be generally managing athlete and team brand marketing initiatives separate from the athletic department. 

I'm a big proponent for a revenue sport dedicated AD or GM, but as a rung above the HC. This aint that. 

well, yeah. of course this isn't to replace or come close to the AD position, but that doesn't make it any less significant of a move. I also don't think they happened on the job title by mistake. if you are a recruit or the parent of a recruit, it can only reinforce the idea that this is a school well aligned with your professional goals.

as to the roster, I would say that at every campus, this person will have quite a bit of influence on that, if indirect. gotta get them (and keep them) on campus in the first place.

lastly, I think it also gives the coaches some distance from talking or being questioned about NIL, which I can only believe they want. Imagine if Fisher had someone like this to immediately point to or direct questions to when the Saban/Fisher saga occurred...

[SL Xpress 7513]

Does she even have any direct reports? Has she ever had any? It's not clear from reading any of that what the answer is. She's working within the confines of the basketball program. Just sounds like another staff addition to me. Doesn't mean it can't be important, or that more programs will add a similar position, but it's not very groundbreaking.

Show me a school that creates a high level admin position with a decent sized staff whose only responsibility is to coordinate and grow NIL opportunities for the athletic department. Not possible yet because of state restrictions, but given the trajectory of NIL around the country, it's a matter of time before it's legal in every state. 

[Js1 85257]

Is the General Manager position that different than Chris Ogden as Managing Director at Texas?

I guess I don't know what he does.  But they sound similar. 

[Henry Hill 3156]

Plonsky lite

[RollLeft 5040]

It don't make a shit.

[TwiceHorn 31431]

It's not the hire or the position or her duties that makes this interesting.

It's simply that they used NBA/pro sports terminology for her title.

[Rockethorn1978 6072]

[SL Xpress 7513]

1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

It's not the hire or the position or her duties that makes this interesting.

It's simply that they used NBA/pro sports terminology for her title.

But that doesn’t make it interesting. It’s not like she’s an actual general manager of anything. It’s just a title. What makes it interesting is people going gaga over it. Because Duke.

Turns out she was paid a salary by Nike to be a bag man to make sure great basketball players went to Duke. Now she’s being paid a salary by Duke to be a bag man to make sure great basketball players go to Duke. And she’s being called a general manager to do that. 

What an innovation.