CU AD Gets Canned For Fundraising Failures

Mike Bohn axed at CU

A very interesting article in the Denver Post today on the University of Colorado Athletic Director getting fired this week. These are unbelievably challenging times for collegiate athletic departments. 

In March, Chancellor Coombe cut the DU Athletic Department budget by $500,000 for next fiscal year. He also froze faculty salaries and raised tuition by 3.8% for 2013-14 as well. No doubt the Gwozdecky firing, the golf coach resignation and reported budget problems on the ski team were related. More painful cuts are sure to come.

This week DU extended Bill Tierney's contract, joined the Big East in lacrosse and priority number one is to expand seating capacity at Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

The point of this is that the facilities arms race, wild television contracts, huge coaches contracts and conference affiation roulette will call for elite fund raisers to run the athletic departments and universities of tomorrow.

From: Denver Post

"One day after Colorado chancellor Phil DiStefano had his say about why the university abruptly decided to let its athletic director go, Mike Bohn took his chance for rebuttal.

Tops on the list? Fundraising not matching expectations.

"The insinuation that we don't have a (fundraising) plan is offensive at best," Bohn said. "Our Sustainable Excellence Initiative is one we've been working on for three years. And we've been working hard on what works. How do we work within the footprint we have?" [read entire article].

Denver Post Announces Tierney Contract Extension

Denver Post
by Mike Chambers

Bill Tierney, who has guided the University of Denver to four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, including two to the Final Four, has signed a five-year extension [read entire article].

NCAA Semi-Finals: Syracuse 9 - Denver 8

(above) #1 ranked Syracuse scored with 39 seconds remaining to stun DU

See Game Photos

More Game Photos

From: LaxPower.com

The University of Denver lacrosse led for 59 minutes in the NCAA Lacrosse semi-finals, but top seed Syracuse staged a 5-1 fourth quarter rally. The Orange tied the game with just under a minute remaining on Luke Cometti's third goal and then scored the winner on a rebound put-back by Derek Maltz at 0:19 to defeat the Pioneers  at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Denver (14-5) got out to a 3-0 lead, and led by 4-1 and 5-2 in the first half. The Pioneers entered the fourth quarter holding a 7-4 edge.

DU goalie Ryan LaPlante made 13 saves for Denver in the first half, while giving up just two goals. Regardless, Tierney stuck with what he had been doing throughout the season, rotating goalies and replacing LaPlante with Jamie Faus, who allowed seven goals on 11 shots in the second half.

“This is what we’ve done all year, and none of those goals were Jamie’s fault,” Tierney said. “Jamie’s our closer, and he’s done a great job all year. We unfortunately didn’t cover up the rebound. I didn’t know heading out on the field after halftime how many saves Ryan had. I didn’t think much about it.”

Tierney talked about the transformation of the DU lacrosse progarm since his arrival.
 
"I'm so proud of that group [DU's Seniors] and so proud of what they've done for the program,” Tierney said. “Now we have some goals to set. Somebody's got to be better than four-straight tournaments, [and] two Final Fours out of four years. Look around, there's not many [other programs] doing that...I'm so proud and I'm so happy I made the move there, and I'm so proud, and I'm so happy for these young men. They're just a fantastic group of people.”

Matlz scored twice for Syracuse, and All-American JoJo Marasco added a pair as well. Eric Law had a hat trick for Denver.

ESPN Breaks Out Hi-Tech Gadgets For Lax Telecasts

(above) ESPN's SkyCam

From: Inside Lacrosse

The SkyCam returns for the fourth year to the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship on ESPN Saturday, May 25, and Monday, May 27, from Philadelphia. SkyCam footage will be used throughout the weekend telecasts.

The semifinals will be on ESPN2 as No. 7 seed Duke faces unseeded Cornell at 2:30 p.m., followed by top-seeded Syracuse against No. 4 seed Denver at 5 p.m. The National Championship game will air Monday at 1 p.m. on ESPN and WatchESPN. Eamon McAnaney will call the action with analyst Quint Kessenich and sideline reporter/analyst Paul Carcaterra.

• Microphones will be worn by all three officials during the semifinals and championship, providing on-field dialogue throughout the telecast with periodic switches to each official.

•  Additional microphones will be mounted on the goals and on-field audio will also be present.

• The telecast will use nine cameras, plus the SkyCam and Super Slo Motion camera.

• Among the stories ESPN will be tracking, include: Cornell’s Rob Pannell’s quest to break the NCAA Division I all-time scoring record; Denver’s Wesley Berg, averaging six goals per game during the postseason, is positioned to break the tournament scoring record; Duke, under coach John Danowksi, has been to the Final Four in each of his seven years; Syracuse returns to the semis for first time since 2009; and Denver coach Bill Tierney has amassed an impressive resume in his 27 years of coaching.

Tierney Era At DU Began With Syracuse Implosion

From: Philly.com
by Matt Breen
 

In just seven minutes, his team trailed by seven goals. But the coach's plan was working just fine.
 

It was Bill Tierney's first game as coach at the University of Denver in 2010. He wanted the Pioneers to get a taste of big-time college lacrosse and they opened the season with a 15-9 loss at Syracuse's Carrier Dome.

The freshmen who were on that Denver team are now seniors. On Saturday, the fourth-seeded Pioneers (14-4) will have a chance to show how far they have come when they meet No. 1 Syracuse (15-3) in the semifinals of the NCAA lacrosse tournament at Lincoln Financial Field.

"They feel that they were given a great opportunity by Syracuse to let us come to the dome and find out what it was all about," Tierney said.

After accepting the Denver job in 2009, Tierney called Orange coach John Desko and told him the Pioneers needed to know what it was like to be a championship team. There's no more daunting task than the Carrier Dome, Tierney told Desko.

Cameron Flint was the lone freshman to score that day, and on Saturday he will be leading the charge. The senior midfielder from Canada has 36 goals and 14 assists this season. He had three assists in the team's 12-11 quarterfinal win over North Carolina.

Midfielder Wesley Berg a sophomore, has 56 goals and 16 assists for the Pioneers this season. Eric Law, a senior attack, has a team-high 75 points. He scored three times in the quarterfinal win to help Denver erase an early five-goal deficit.

"We talk about playing the game fast but playing it smart as well," Tierney said. "Our guys take great pride in that."

Tierney coached 22 seasons at Princeton and returns to Philadelphia 21 years after capturing his first title with the Tigers at Franklin Field. The main difference this time will be the color of his hat, he said. The Hall of Fame coach won six NCAA championships at Princeton and this is his second final four with Denver.

"We're getting there," Tierney said.

Lacrosse Magazine Details DU's Epic Comeback

From: Lacrosse Magazine

by Paul Krome

In the NCAA's first quarterfinal doubleheader foray away from the East Coast, college lacrosse's flag-bearer for the West created a lasting memory.

Denver's Eric Law stuck a rebound off a Kieran Burke deflection of an Eric Adamson shot with 13 seconds left to lift the fourth-seeded Pioneers to an improbable 12-11 win over fifth-seeded North Carolina in a quarterfinal at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday.

Law's sixth point (three goals, three assists) punctuated the Pioneers' comeback from a 6-0 deficit — the largest ever overcome in this round — in the game's first 10 minutes, sending them to their second NCAA semifinal in three seasons and a matchup with Syracuse on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

"The play was designed for Adamson. He was the hot hand," Law said. "Burke made a great save. I saw it on the ground, picked it up and threw it as fast as I could. It wasn't until I got out of there that I realized we were up one and there were 13 seconds left." [read entire article]

DU Looks To Bring Lacrosse Championship Out West

From: Denver Post
by Mark Kizla

Three of the most daunting words in sports: Never been done.

We are crazy for lacrosse in Colorado. Men wielding sticks. Scoring that lights up the board. What's not to like? Denver is a boomtown.

So what's the next step in the revolution?

It's up to you, DU Pioneers [read entire article].

Gwozdecky's Contract Impasse Has Long History

(above) DU has scheduled a Press Conference for 11 AM today to announce the contract buyout of head hockey coach George Gwozdecky

University of Denver head hockey coach George Gwozdecky was fired yesterday, when the university bought out the final year of his contract.  Gwozdecky had a 10-year contract signed [mid-season] 2002 when DU was the #1 team in the polls and Michigan State and the University of Wisconsin were conducting informal coaching searches. A provision in the contract was a rumored $1 million dollar balloon payout, to be paid at the conclusion of the contract, designed to keep the Gwozdecky at DU for the duration of the contract.

After the 2004 National Championship, DU and Gwozdecky extended the contract to expire after 2013-14 season.  The extension included raises and bonuses that would make him among the highest paid coaches in college hockey at the time [base $250,000-$300,000].

In June 2009 DU signed lacrosse legend Bill Tierney for significantly less than market value and less than Tierney made at Princeton. Suddenly DU is on the map in lacrosse, and the hockey program, for the first time in its history has to share the limelight on campus.

In February 2010 Gwozdecky wanted to extend his current contract to carry him to retirement. Around the same time DU re-upped basketball coach Joe Scott, to become the highest paid employee at the university. At the time, the hoops program was struggling to draw 1,000 fans most games. Someone ran to the Denver Post with all the juicy contract numbers, the basketball attendance numbers and DU's dirty laundry was splashed all over town.

In April 2010, the Ohio State ice hockey job became available and Gwozdecky went from consultant to candidate in the blink of an eye. But to hire Gwozdecky, OSU would have to pay the annuity, give Gwozdecky his money and purchase all the bells and whistles Gwozdecky would need to build a winner. Ohio State, with all the money in the world says, "No thank you."

Throughout the Gwozdecky contract negotiations the Athletic Department remained confident they could re-sign Gwozdecky & Tierney to deals, but there was no hurry with Gwozdecky because of the balloon payment.

Gwozdecky wanted at least to receive rolling four-year extensions so his contract couldn't be used against DU on the recruiting trail. Once it became obvious that DU was not going to agree to an extension, Gwozdecky decided to be the good soldier and fulfill his contract confident that everything would work out.

Between 2010 and today, the University of Denver has been knocked around like a beachball because of conference affiliation issues [WCHA->NCHC, Sunbelt->WAC->Summit League]. DU spent millions trying to find a home for hoops only to discover that hockey, skiing, lacrosse and gymnastics success isn't worth much in the "new world order." Not fielding a football program has made finding a conference home almost impossible.

So the decision was made a few weeks ago to buy out the final year of Gwozdecky's contract and employ the same formula to find a coach they used back in 1994 when hiring Gwozdecky.

If DU gets the candidate they are targeting, you'll find similarities to Gwozdecky hiring in 1996.

DU Lax Rolls Over #12 Lehigh 18-10

From: LaxPower.com

The University of Denver lacrosse team outscored Lehigh 12-3 in the second half en-route to an 18-10 victory over #12 Lehigh on Saturday afternoon in the Frontier Airlines Face-Off Classic at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. The win brings Denver's record to 2-1, while Lehigh now sits at 2-1.

"We've been working hard all week," said head coach Bill Tierney. "We asked the guys to come out and play hard this week and even though we made some of the same mistakes in the first half that we did last week, I thought we played much better in the second half. Once we got on a roll, it really got their confidence up and we really shot well today."

Freshman Gordie Koerber tallied a career-high four goals and his second career hat trick, while Law finished with three goals and four assists for his seventh career hat trick. Sophomore Wes Berg finished with his fifth career hat trick, second of the season, while senior Cameron Flint recorded two goals and two assists. Sophomore Eric Adamson and junior Jeremy Noble scored two goals apiece.

Denver Post: Lax Tourney Keys Busy DU Weekend

From: Denver Post
by Mike Chambers

Year No. 4 of coach Bill Tierney's tenure with the University of Denver men's lacrosse team includes high hopes of advancing to its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament.

The Pioneers, who made it to the Final Four in 2011 and to the Elite Eight last year, begin their home schedule this weekend with the Face-Off Classic at Barton Stadium.

No. 11-ranked DU (1-1) plays No. 12 Lehigh (2-0) on Saturday and Canisius (0-0) on Sunday [read entire article].

DU Lax Stuns Maryland In Fallball Exhibition

(above) DU's Eric Law on the attack against Maryland

Inside Lacrosse Game Recap & Photos

From: DU Athletics Website

The University of Denver men's lacrosse team stunned the University of Maryland lacrosse team 12-9 in a fall-season exhibition at the Seattle Sounders FC practice facility on Saturday afternoon in front of 3.589 fans. The game was the first NCAA DI Lacrosse game played in the Seattle and was a part of the first-ever Seatown Classic.

"I'm just really happy that our guys came and competed against a great Maryland team," said head coach Bill Tierney. "That's all we told them to do, just come out and compete. We knew the score wasn't going to mean a lot but we wanted to come out and compete against a Maryland team that has made it to the National Championship game the last two years."

"The Border" Is For Sale Again

The infamous University of Denver neighborhood bar and restaurant, "The Border" is for sale once again on Craigslist. The Border has been a popular if not star-crossed DU hangout for at least 40 years.

The Border was closed in 2009 after their liquor license was suspended for 30 days. The suspension resulted from an undercover police operation after the bar was accused of selling liquor to an underage person.

The bar reopened in 2010 under new ownership, but failed to draw students in numbers due to intense competition in the neighborhood.

It has often been said, "The Border is not classy enough to be classified as a sleaze bar."

It was an incident at the Border in 2008 that led to the eventual hiring of DU lacrosse coach Bill Tierney after charges were filed against two DU lacrosse players during Jamie Munro's regime. A 23-year-old female, who happened to be a DU alum, was allegedly attacked by a group of lacrosse players while she and a friend were leaving the Border.  After an investigation by the DU Athletic Department and a subsequent player revolt, Coach Munro was sacked and Tierney was brought in.

DU hockey goaltender Chris Burns was stabbed during a wild 75 person melee at the Border in 1994. It was business as usual the next night and another fight broke out. Burns finished his career with a 4.72 GAA and and .842 Save Percentage at DU.

For Sale: The Border $159,000 - Long term undermarket lease in place. There is another 13+ years left on the lease.

Annual sales over $325,000.

For sale by owner. Seller willing to finance the purchase price with $50,000+ down to the right candidate.

Party Boy Image Follows College Lacrosse

From: Business Week 
by Curtis Eichelberger

Duke University men’s lacrosse coach John Danowski still talks to recruits’ parents about the stripper party that led to false rape allegations six years ago. 

University of Virginia coach Dom Starsia won’t grant interview requests about a former player who beat his girlfriend to death two years ago. Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala says a survey that showed lacrosse players are the biggest users of illicit drugs among college athletes was “deeply concerning.”  [read entire article].

Baltimore Sun Rips Bill Tierney's Behavior

East Coast Bias = Refs steal the game & then the media puts Tierney on trial

From: Baltimore Sun

By Mike Preston

Denver's Bill Tierney is arguably the best coach in college lacrosse history, but he should be careful not to tarnish his legacy. Tierney, who won six national championships at Princeton, has done a great job of turning around Denver's program in recent years, but a lot of fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Saturday weren't applauding him. Rather, they were criticizing him for his behavior during the game.

On almost every whistle, Tierney seemed to be ranting and criticizing the officials in Denver's game against Loyola. A lot of the calls were obvious, some downright blatant, but that didn't stop Tierney from running up and down the sidelines screaming at officials. In the press box, members of the media became more entertained watching Tierney than the game. That should cause him to pause, and change his behavior.

Tierney has always been a mad man on the sidelines, and his behavior was acceptable when he was younger. But he's way too old for this stuff now. The temper tantrums are taking away from what he has done at Denver, and are becoming an embarrassment to the game. There are some opposing coaches who chide officials when they play against Denver because they don't want them to become overwhelmed or intimidated by Tierney, so they play the same game by riding the officials constantly.

Tierney is a good, polite, honest, modest Christian man. Off the field, you wouldn't be able to tell he is the same man that appears out of control on Saturday afternoons. Tierney has been great for the game of lacrosse because of his innovations and style. But at this point, he needs to modify his behavior on the sidelines. It's to the point where it might start to overshadow everything he has accomplished, and what he still might achieve.

And that would be a shame.

Coach Tierney To Work In ESPN Studio

(above) Bill Tierney will work in the ESPN studios next week to offer insight into the NCAA Lacrosse Semifinals

ESPN has just announced that Studio Hosts Anish Shroff and analyst Mark Dixon will cover the National Lacrosse Semifinals from ESPNU’s Charlotte, N.C. headquarters. Bill Tierney, head coach at the University of Denver and six-time NCAA Championship coach at Princeton, will join Shroff and Dixon in studio for the coverage of the semifinals.

NY Times: DU Lacrosse Seeks Redemption

(above) DU student Anna Gauldin wrote this article for the NY Times Blog

From: NY Times

by Anna Gauldin

After a heartbreaking overtime loss to Loyola in the semifinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament, the University of Denver men’s lacrosse team received an at-large bid to the N.C.A.A. tournament.

The No. 13 Pioneers (8-6, 3-3) will travel to North Carolina to take on the No. 8 seeded Tar Heels (11-5) in the first round of the tournament on Saturday in Chapel Hill. This is the third consecutive year the Pioneers have earned a spot in the the tournament, posting their first N.C.A.A. victory and Final Four appearance during the 2011 season before losing to eventual N.C.A.A. champion Virginia [read entire article].

Video: Indy Film About DU-Duke Lacrosse Game

(above) A short 1:20 film by Elevation Video

Film: Make Or Break
Produced: Chris Lewis
Shot & Directed: Jon Stevenson
Additional Camera: Andrew Tomasini
Watch In HD: http://vimeo.com/41805894

Clarion: Tierney Brings Culture Change To DU

(above) Besides success on the lacrosse field, DU's team GPA has gone from 2.6 to 3.2 under Tierney

“Since I’ve been in Denver, there hasn’t been a day gone by where I’m not excited to get up and come to work in the morning. That’s a pretty cool thing. It can sometimes be stressful, but it is also so rewarding."

- DU Lacrosse Coach Bill Tierney

From: DU Clarion

by Anna Gauldin

Men’s lacrosse head coach Bill Tierney has brought a winning tradition to the University of Denver, posting a 35-14 overall record in three seasons and leading the Pioneers to the program’s first NCAA tournament victory and Final Four appearance in 2011.

Tierney joined the Pioneer staff in July of 2009 after more than 20 years as head coach at Princeton. Since then, he has expanded the lacrosse program dramatically across all levels and garnered national attention for a Denver team that competes in a sport restricted primarily to the East Coast. Tierney has coached the Pioneers to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances; the program had only reached the tournament twice prior to his tenure [read entire article].

DU Season On The Line Against Loyola

(above) The tailgating kicks off at 3 PM on Wednesday

ECAC Semi-Finals

#10 DU vs. #3 Loyola

Wednesday @ 5 PM

Peter Barton Stadium

The University of Denver lacrosse team captured the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament last spring, grabbing the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament and advancing to the Final Four.  Due to three one goal losses to nationally ranked teams, the Pioneers face a much more daunting road to the NCAA Tournament this time around.

The #10 Pioneers must win the ECAC Semi-Final on Wednesday against #3 Loyola for a shot at repeating last season's magical run. They've compiled an 8-5 overall record and a 3-3 league mark, which made them the No. 4 seed behind No. 1 seed Loyola (12-1 overall and 6-0 in the ECAC), No. 2 seed Ohio State (8-6, 5-1) and No. 3 seed Fairfield (11-3, 4-2).

Denver jumped back on track with a 15-9 upset of #4 Duke last Friday, and coach Bill Tierney said that outcome should solidify a spot in the NCAA tournament.

“Absolutely,” he said in a conference call Monday of the four coaches participating in the conference tournament. “If you look at our body of work and our schedule and the teams we’ve lost to – which a lot of people forget comes into play in these talks at the committee level – if you go by this week’s rankings, you’re looking at a loss to Notre Dame which is No. 2, we lost to Loyola which is No. 3, we beat Duke which is No. 4. So we feel like we’ve played a good schedule, and we feel like we’re there, but that’s not what’s important this weekend. We’ve got Loyola on Wednesday. That’s the only thing we’re thinking about right now.”

Denver Post: DU Lax Goalie A Keeper

(above) Freshman goalie Ryan LaPlante will lead the Pioneers today against Duke

From: Denver Post
by Mike Chambers

The redshirt was removed in frantic fashion. University of Denver freshman Ryan LaPlante was on his couch March 18, watching the DU Lacrosse team go into a third overtime at Notre Dame, when sophomore goalie Jamie Faus suffered a torn Achilles tendon in what ended as a 10-9 loss.

"I was flying to New York four hours later," LaPlante said. "I was really excited. I just want to play."

LaPlante, who made his NCAA debut March 20 against Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., competed with Faus for DU's starting goaltending job since last fall [read entire article].