Has Maggard hit his ceiling as AD

[ExecutiveCajun]

i am pro maggard camp but even i have noticed a change the last several months. something is different. i think it has a lot to do with university directives at this point. not necessarily pointing the finger at savoie

[ULGrad@HOU]

Have we gotten all we can get out of Dr. Maggard? Between a bad scheduling philosophy for both MBB and Football along with all the drama, miscommunications, silent periods, staffing challanges, game day experiences, parking, tailgating, RCAF issues, not reaching out to the small time donors, not leveraging what we have already in place, etc, etc.

I am not a Maggard hater. Dissapointed, sure. Mainly in not capitalizing on a football championship season. Good help and ideas are hard to find...but it just seems like we're stuck in the mud...

Are we looking at the Peter Principle sort of thing. Has Maggard reached his ceiling here?

Short answer: Yes.
So many of the issues fall in his lap. Is he being hampered by Dr. Savoie, could be.

[John Cocktolstoy]

Maggard has a hand in the MBB schedule. Per Maggard.

OK. Didn’t know that. That is different from previous ADs.

[RedTails]

I am still a believer of Dr. Maggard. We need to reload on some open key personnel positions. I would like to see some urgency placed on the following departments for the 2023 season and beyond:

1. MARKETING, PROMOTIONS, EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT & FAN EXPERIENCE
2. RAGIN' CAJUNS ATHLETIC FOUNDATION

Both need to set some long-term strategic goals, and short-term goals and operational changes heading into 2023 Football Season.

I know Jay likes to remind us that we're not made of money, which is why I'd like to see Sam's group try to reach out to Festival International either for collaboration or a playbook on promoting and putting on events.

[ExecutiveCajun]

does any body have any clue as to why its been over a year since we hired key rcaf personnel? creative personnel? promo and marketing personnel? boots on the ground engagement personnel?

[Bankruptcyman]

I think the athletic department is still trying to recover from deficits resulting for the COVID years. Martin Hall has taken a much closer look at athletic spending since the COVID deficits. Since that time it appears to me that athletic department decisions are all viewed, at least in part, through the financial lens. How much will it cost the University? Before COVID I think BM had a lot more autonomy in making athletic budget and spending decisions. After COVID I believe a major component of his decisions is the impact the decision will cost and how will it affect the budget.

[Cajunfever]

does any body have any clue as to why its been over a year since we hired key rcaf personnel? creative personnel? promo and marketing personnel? boots on the ground engagement personnel?

When Lee and Hans left, seems like the RCAF went into a death spiral. No communication on why they still have not been replaced. They are leaving it up to someone to make assumptions on why they aren't replaced. Could it be money savings? Could it be the board of directors is sleep walking? Do they think the positions are not valuable? Do they not care? Do they think we have maxed out the success of the RCAF? When you don't control the narrative, you lose control of the why.

[cajunref]

When Lee and Hans left, seems like the RCAF went into a death spiral. No communication on why they still have not been replaced. They are leaving it up to someone to make assumptions on why they aren't replaced. Could it be money savings? Could it be the board of directors is sleep walking? Do they think the positions are not valuable? Do they not care? Do they think we have maxed out the success of the RCAF? When you don't control the narrative, you lose control of the why.

That's why the RCAF needs to have autonomy and not be under the thumb of the UL foundation and Martin Hall. It will never be effective until this happens, will continue to have poor membership numbers and struggle to grow it.

[JamesTheJeweler]

Remember when.... right after after 2 Conference Championships, 3 Winning Seasons and a victory over a ranked Big 12 school, the President bled the Football Program dry?

I remember.

Pepperidge Farm remembers

[CajunNation]

That's why the RCAF needs to have autonomy and not be under the thumb of the UL foundation and Martin Hall. It will never be effective until this happens, will continue to have poor membership numbers and struggle to grow it.

This right here.

There will always be some financial calamity around the corner. That is life. As long as the RCAF is under The Thumb, it will guarantee cyclical, athletic failure. That is the truth.

[Cajunsmike]

Maggard has a hand in the MBB schedule. Per Maggard.

When Dr. Maggard arrived, we were playing three non D1 games in basketball. That was reduced to two and then one. We make the reduction by buying (paying people to come here) some D1 games at reasonable cost. Dr. Maggard helped make that happen. When the pandemic arrived, we no longer could afford to do so and went back to three non D1 home games. What I was hoping was that his relationships would allow us to get more home and home deals done. Now it may be that the requirement from some potential partners for us to go there first may be making that impractical. I say that due to the 14 home game requirement. Maybe we should get a waiver from LEarfield to drop that to 13 for a couple of years to get some of those series started. As far as football is concerned, we will start to see in 2024 some of the benefits of work previously done. Tulane comes that year. In later years this decade we will see Tulsa, UAB, Rice, and La. Tech come to Cajun Field. As far as RCAF is concerned, it is my understanding that the search for a director is now underway.

[LifeTimeCajun]

I dont think hes reached his ceiling, i think the money he was afforded in the begining is not there. As i understand it key positions within the building have not been filled and i can only believe its a financial pause. Otherwise, it doesnt make sense. Therefore, the result may look similar to the old days. One person wearing 5 different hats is an ineffective way to run things but you have to do what you have to do in the short term. Thats just business. Nobody likes it, and nobody wants to accept it. Covid will also have a long term affect on athletic departments of our size. It is what it is. I think his hands are totally tied in some instances bc of financial implications we are not fully aware of

[Turbine]

I don't think Maggard has hit his ceiling, I think he hit a brick wall.

He got shut down before the real money started rolling in.

jmo

[CajunVic]

The See-Come did not materialize and that together with Covid has resulted in the brick wall to which The Big Fan refers.

[Balanced_view]

IMO, i think he has. We had great personnel Hud, Napier, Nico, etc, that that carried Maggard this elevated status. We continue to bleed out top personnel talent, with no sense of urgency! We are in a serious state of decline.

Anyone worth their salt will tell you great leaders have great people in their organization. If we cant afford to replace great people with more great people, thats not on the AD. ever try to squeeze a pint of OJ from one orange? things are usual more complicated than just asking if someone you once thought was irreplaceable a short time ago, has now hit their ceiling. Blame is always easy to lay at someones feet without knowing details. Money is to blame for all the complaints people have, provide more money and watch every item get fixed.