One month in, new Gophers AD looks to move beyond scandals

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per MPR:

Prosecutors say no criminal charges will be filed against University of Minnesota wrestlers allegedly involved in the sale and misuse of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.

Coach J Robinson remains on paid administrative leave as the university investigates allegations that he was involved in a coverup.

The future of the wrestling program is one of the challenges facing new Athletic Director Mark Coyle. He joined MPR's Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/07/01/coyle-looks-ahead

Go Gophers!!
 

Coyle arrived late enough that while this is a challange he's not personally involved in much of it so he has the freedom to lay down the law and look like the new sheriff still. That's a way better position than to have it hit the fan while you're there.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Coyle arrived late enough that while this is a challange he's not personally involved in much of it so he has the freedom to lay down the law and look like the new sheriff still. That's a way better position than to have it hit the fan while you're there.
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Agreed, to be coming in to set an Athletics Department straight, he couldn't be in much better of a position, since most everything happened before his hire. He has no connection to any of the incidents, and no real attachment to any coaches or other staff, so he can fire who he needs to and lay down the law without any personal relations getting in the way.
 

If there was ever going to be a time to eliminate a non revenue men's sport this would be it. Wrestling has to be expensive and the coach and these kids screwed up.
 

WorkingMyTailOff said:
If there was ever going to be a time to eliminate a non revenue men's sport this would be it. Wrestling has to be expensive and the coach and these kids screwed up.
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Respectfully disagree.

Wrestling has a really good fan base here, and it should be kept. There's a lot of interest. If the U for some reason decides a men's sport needs to be axed, either golf (a sport I love, for what it's worth), gymnastics, or tennis should be at the front of the line.
 


SelectionSunday said:
Respectfully disagree.

Wrestling has a really good fan base here, and it should be kept. There's a lot of interest. If the U for some reason decides a men's sport needs to be axed, golf (a sport I love, for what it's worth) and tennis should be at the front of the line.
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Yeah I know you are right. I was just thinking that in these times when non rev men's sports have a target on their back, doing something very dumb like this opens a door for this sport to be considered.
 

WorkingMyTailOff said:
If there was ever going to be a time to eliminate a non revenue men's sport this would be it. Wrestling has to be expensive and the coach and these kids screwed up.
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If a non revenue sport is cut highly unlikely wrestling is the sport.
 

WorkingMyTailOff said:
If there was ever going to be a time to eliminate a non revenue men's sport this would be it. Wrestling has to be expensive and the coach and these kids screwed up.
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I took a Title IX class with J Robinson back in the early 90's. One of the biggest unintended side effects of Title IX was the destruction of the sport of wrestling at major universities. The sport has lost almost half of the programs nation wide (146 in 1989 to 75 today). Title IX was never intended to curb participation by men in athletics, but all side acknowledge it did. Anyway, all that said, it would be a nightmarish irony if wrestling at the U were to survive all that to finally fall victim to the coach himself. My guess at this point is that Robinson will be let go and the program will continue. I hope the University can find a way to make that happen.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Respectfully disagree.

Wrestling has a really good fan base here, and it should be kept. There's a lot of interest. If the U for some reason decides a men's sport needs to be axed, either golf (a sport I love, for what it's worth), gymnastics, or tennis should be at the front of the line.
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We've put a lot of money into revamping the golf course and the indoor tennis facility. However boys Gymnastics is not a varsity high school sport in this state so without any Minnesotans on the team I don't see how there will ever be a connection to the team other than past members and their families maybe
 



bemidjigopher said:
We've put a lot of money into revamping the golf course and the indoor tennis facility. However boys Gymnastics is not a varsity high school sport in this state so without any Minnesotans on the team I don't see how there will ever be a connection to the team other than past members and their families maybe
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Good point. Agree that gymnastics would make the most sense.
 

As a sixteen year season ticket holder for wrestling I can't imagine they would drop wrestling, and I would no longer support the University in any way if they did...including getting rid of my Football season tickets. I think Beth Goetz dropped the ball and thankfully got out of town before it was discovered. Now unfortunately Coyle may come in and try to appease the media and put his stamp on things by doing something stupid. J Rob is a builder of men, if anything, get rid of the clown running the basketball team!

Here is what I think is a decent piece on J.

http://www.flowrestling.org/article/43101-editorial-flosports-ceo-martin-floreani-on-j-robinson
 

I dunno. How can J. Robinson be the builder of men? I think most moms are better builders of men than J. Robinson. Just a thought since I don't see wresters as being better human beings than average. In fact, I find them somewhat more thick skulled than most.
 

I respect what J has done for the wrestling program, and I understand his point of view on Title IX - but if you're going to rock the boat, or poke the powers-that-be with a stick, you'd better do two things: Win, and run a clean program. The Wrestling team is coming off a down season, and now J has put himself in a position that - while apparently escaping criminal charges - still looks really bad from a public-relations standpoint.

A lot of people on this board - including Me - feel the men's basketball coach needs to be held accountable for off-court problems. Here, we have wrestlers who were using prescription drugs during the season, and some were apparently selling prescription drugs. The Coach needs to be held accountable. If that means the end of the line for J, so be it. Covering up problems with his program, and refusing to cooperate with the police, does not earn you a gold star. It usually earns you a pink slip.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
A lot of people on this board - including Me - feel the men's basketball coach needs to be held accountable for off-court problems. Here, we have wrestlers who were using prescription drugs during the season, and some were apparently selling prescription drugs. The Coach needs to be held accountable. If that means the end of the line for J, so be it. Covering up problems with his program, and refusing to cooperate with the police, does not earn you a gold star. It usually earns you a pink slip.
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Very Logical & spot on. Not sure how anyone could disagree, yet some do.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

bemidjigopher said:
We've put a lot of money into revamping the golf course and the indoor tennis facility. However boys Gymnastics is not a varsity high school sport in this state so without any Minnesotans on the team I don't see how there will ever be a connection to the team other than past members and their families maybe
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Not sure why the U has non-revenue sports that are not common HS sports in MN. These 'opportunities' should be for Minnesota kids. As much of a golf fan as I am, I also don't think we should have an 'All-Australian' golf team.

Sparlimb said:
I took a Title IX class with J Robinson back in the early 90's. One of the biggest unintended side effects of Title IX was the destruction of the sport of wrestling at major universities. The sport has lost almost half of the programs nation wide (146 in 1989 to 75 today). Title IX was never intended to curb participation by men in athletics, but all side acknowledge it did. Anyway, all that said, it would be a nightmarish irony if wrestling at the U were to survive all that to finally fall victim to the coach himself. My guess at this point is that Robinson will be let go and the program will continue. I hope the University can find a way to make that happen.
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Not sure how anyone could have been surprised. Where was the money to double the amount of sports and scholarships going to come from?
 



For a school this size located in a metro area we should be adding sports not subtracting. Maybe it is time for a new wrestling coach. There should already someone waiting in the wings. Robinson is near retirement age and they have underachieved the last several years. The top recruiting classes I kept hearing about didn't produce any championships.
 


maroonfive said:
For a school this size located in a metro area we should be adding sports not subtracting. Maybe it is time for a new wrestling coach. There should already someone waiting in the wings. Robinson is near retirement age and they have underachieved the last several years. The top recruiting classes I kept hearing about didn't produce any championships.
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Until we reach what number?:confused:
 

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