BleedGopher
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per Yahoo:
In the bathroom of a Minneapolis hotel room, one of college basketball’s most promising young coaches splashed cold water on his face and talked to his reflection in the mirror.
It was July 1999, and Dan Monson was a wreck. He had only a few hours to make a career-altering choice between one job that made him happy and another that provided greater financial security.
Monson had every intention of remaining the coach at Gonzaga for many years when he returned home from three weeks in Spain and found a voicemail from Minnesota athletic director Mark Dienhart on his answering machine. Dienhart had fired disgraced coach Clem Haskins amid an academic fraud scandal the previous month and wanted to interview Monson as a potential replacement.
“As a courtesy, I returned the call to let him know I hadn’t been big-timing him or anything,” Monson said. “When I called, I said, ‘How are you doing?’ He said, ‘I’m doing a lot better now that I’ve gotten a hold of you.'”
Hearing back from Monson was a relief to Dienhart because his efforts to fill the job had so far been a bust. Rick Majerus and Virginia athletic director Terry Holland were among those to turn it down, citing concerns over potential looming NCAA sanctions.
Dienhart’s gusto in pursuing Monson led the Gonzaga coach to explore the job further. Monson agreed to board a flight to Minneapolis to chat in person, though he remained convinced the timing was wrong for him to leave Gonzaga.
Having led the Zags on an improbable run to the Elite Eight only four months earlier, Monson was a beloved figure in his hometown of Spokane. Many key players from the previous season were due back, his assistant coaches were some of his best friends and he was about to marry his fiancee in only two weeks.
Minnesota made Monson an offer that dwarfed his $100,000 salary at Gonzaga. Monson turned it down.
Minnesota came back with a couple hundred thousand more. Monson turned it down again, citing the distance from his loved ones in Spokane.
Minnesota countered with a friends and family travel budget that would cover flights to and from Minneapolis. Only then did Monson retreat to the solitude of his hotel room bathroom and weigh the pros and cons of leaving the comfort of Gonzaga to take a Big Ten job with more resources, greater risk and higher upside.
“It was going to take me 15 years to make the same amount of money at Gonzaga that I would make in two at Minnesota,” Monson said. “I asked myself in the mirror, ‘Does it really make sense to turn down the chance to set your family up for life just because you’re comfortable where you are?'”
To this day, it’s still a question with which Monson wrestles.
A handful of programs with coaching vacancies reached out to Monson after the Elite Eight run, but none tempted him to leave. Only after Dienhart left his fateful voicemail for Monson a few months later did he first consider departing Gonzaga.
When Monson finally made an agonizing decision in that Minneapolis hotel bathroom, his rationale appeared sound.
He thought Minnesota’s impending sanctions could benefit him if they guaranteed him more patience from administrators. He feared Gonzaga’s run of success could be short-lived the same way Santa Clara fell off after Steve Nash and Pepperdine dipped after Doug Christie. And he couldn’t resist the life-altering sum of money Minnesota was offering, enough to make sure his soon-to-be wife and future kids could afford everything they wanted.
“One hundred people out of 100 would have made that decision,” Few said. “He went from where he was making $100,000 to $800,000. He also went from having to win the league tournament here to knowing he could finish fifth, sixth, seventh and make the NCAA tournament there.'”
The challenge of overcoming Minnesota’s NCAA sanctions proved tougher than expected for Monson, especially after the athletic director and president who hired him were forced to resign a year later. Monson made one NCAA tournament in seven full seasons and accepted a buyout amid dwindling attendance early in his eighth.
The great irony of Monson’s departure for Minnesota is that it turned out better for Gonzaga than it did for him.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-the-...egrets-about-leaving-it-behind-152128964.html
Go Gophers!!
In the bathroom of a Minneapolis hotel room, one of college basketball’s most promising young coaches splashed cold water on his face and talked to his reflection in the mirror.
It was July 1999, and Dan Monson was a wreck. He had only a few hours to make a career-altering choice between one job that made him happy and another that provided greater financial security.
Monson had every intention of remaining the coach at Gonzaga for many years when he returned home from three weeks in Spain and found a voicemail from Minnesota athletic director Mark Dienhart on his answering machine. Dienhart had fired disgraced coach Clem Haskins amid an academic fraud scandal the previous month and wanted to interview Monson as a potential replacement.
“As a courtesy, I returned the call to let him know I hadn’t been big-timing him or anything,” Monson said. “When I called, I said, ‘How are you doing?’ He said, ‘I’m doing a lot better now that I’ve gotten a hold of you.'”
Hearing back from Monson was a relief to Dienhart because his efforts to fill the job had so far been a bust. Rick Majerus and Virginia athletic director Terry Holland were among those to turn it down, citing concerns over potential looming NCAA sanctions.
Dienhart’s gusto in pursuing Monson led the Gonzaga coach to explore the job further. Monson agreed to board a flight to Minneapolis to chat in person, though he remained convinced the timing was wrong for him to leave Gonzaga.
Having led the Zags on an improbable run to the Elite Eight only four months earlier, Monson was a beloved figure in his hometown of Spokane. Many key players from the previous season were due back, his assistant coaches were some of his best friends and he was about to marry his fiancee in only two weeks.
Minnesota made Monson an offer that dwarfed his $100,000 salary at Gonzaga. Monson turned it down.
Minnesota came back with a couple hundred thousand more. Monson turned it down again, citing the distance from his loved ones in Spokane.
Minnesota countered with a friends and family travel budget that would cover flights to and from Minneapolis. Only then did Monson retreat to the solitude of his hotel room bathroom and weigh the pros and cons of leaving the comfort of Gonzaga to take a Big Ten job with more resources, greater risk and higher upside.
“It was going to take me 15 years to make the same amount of money at Gonzaga that I would make in two at Minnesota,” Monson said. “I asked myself in the mirror, ‘Does it really make sense to turn down the chance to set your family up for life just because you’re comfortable where you are?'”
To this day, it’s still a question with which Monson wrestles.
A handful of programs with coaching vacancies reached out to Monson after the Elite Eight run, but none tempted him to leave. Only after Dienhart left his fateful voicemail for Monson a few months later did he first consider departing Gonzaga.
When Monson finally made an agonizing decision in that Minneapolis hotel bathroom, his rationale appeared sound.
He thought Minnesota’s impending sanctions could benefit him if they guaranteed him more patience from administrators. He feared Gonzaga’s run of success could be short-lived the same way Santa Clara fell off after Steve Nash and Pepperdine dipped after Doug Christie. And he couldn’t resist the life-altering sum of money Minnesota was offering, enough to make sure his soon-to-be wife and future kids could afford everything they wanted.
“One hundred people out of 100 would have made that decision,” Few said. “He went from where he was making $100,000 to $800,000. He also went from having to win the league tournament here to knowing he could finish fifth, sixth, seventh and make the NCAA tournament there.'”
The challenge of overcoming Minnesota’s NCAA sanctions proved tougher than expected for Monson, especially after the athletic director and president who hired him were forced to resign a year later. Monson made one NCAA tournament in seven full seasons and accepted a buyout amid dwindling attendance early in his eighth.
The great irony of Monson’s departure for Minnesota is that it turned out better for Gonzaga than it did for him.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-the-...egrets-about-leaving-it-behind-152128964.html
Go Gophers!!
