Leach & Belotti: Which school would they prefer Minnesota or Colorado?

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Given the two, Leach better off at Colorado [PAC 10] and Belotti better off at Minnesota [not in PAC 10]. IMHO. Other than that both are pretty equal challenges and pretty equal reward.
 

GopherGod said:
Does Boulder get more snow yes, does it melt pretty quickly, yes. Is it warmer than Minneapolis, yes. You also seem to be equating the snowfall in Denver and Boulder to that of Vail for instance and they are vastly different. A ton more snow in the mountains than in the foothills of Boulder.

Correction: Boulder actually gets about half an inch less snowfall on average per year than Minneapolis
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Dec and Jan are the coldest months in Boulder, with avg highs of 46.
 

Location and climate are going to have very little to do with where Belotti and Leach go. The most important factors will be: (1) impact on career advancement and/or coaching legacy; (2) perceived opportunity and/or challenge of coaching in Big 10 versus Big 12; and (3) money.
 

Personally, I'm biased because I was born and raised here and thus am a fan of the Big Ten; thus, i feel the Big Ten is a more attractive conference to play in, especially now with Nebraska coming. CU also has the other in-state University (CSU) to compete against, which should be a factor.

That being said, despite having been born and raised here, I think Boulder is one of the prettiest communities around, is a short drive from Denver, and they've got some pretty sweet unis to boot. 2 million a year for five years would put me in a pretty nice little house at the base of the Rockies, and I could have my getaway condo down in the Bahamas as well.

I have ties to MN, so I would pick UMN, but if I'm a neutral party and am offered the same amount of money, I personally would go Boulder.
 

Seany said:
Colorado is somewhat hamstrung by many of the same things we are, most notably a definite sense of tension between the football program and some of the ultra-liberal faculty who resent football and the money it receives (while apparently failing to note the income that football also generates for the school).

I'd say that's even worse in the Peoples Republic of Boulder. I mean there is some serious resentment there bordering on active dislike, and that's only been exacerbated by the problems that Neuheisel and Barnett had at the school. The forces of political correctness are just incredibly strong in Boulder, so my opinion is that Leach would probably fit in there like a sore thumb.
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I've never been to Boulder, but I'm fairly certain that the politics there wouldn't be much different than what they are in Madison.

My guess is that Leach would fit football-wise in Colorado, but that the legacy of Neuheisel and Barnett may preclude his being considered. Talk about a place that is going to need "squeaky-clean." That's really unfair to Leach.
 


Rosemountian said:
Neither gets consistent snowfall in November. Who is more likely to get a freak blizzard?

I am also on record as saying weather has no impact on how attractive the Minnesota job is, so there really isn't a weather argument.
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You know who we really need to settle this weather argument is dance4raiders! Where is she when you need her?
 

If each school offered the same amount of money, Leach would choose Colorado and Belotti would choose Minnesota
 

The people saying the finances are similar have no idea what they are talking about.

Minnesota's athletic dept budget was $69 million in 2008-09. Comparatively Colorado's budget was $45 million. That is a 54% difference and the margin is increasing as the year before it was only a 48% difference.

The athletic dept staff in Boulder is under a salary freeze for next year's budget. Money is so tight in Boulder that CU planned to wait until 2012, when the buyout would decrease due to giving two years advanced notice instead of one, to switch conferences. The Pac Ten allowed CU to borrow against future distributions because they wanted them to join next year with Utah to make the schedules easier and allow for one quick rebranding. Moving to the Pac Ten may help CU revenue-wise but the distributions from the Pac Ten are not going to match what the Big Ten gives its schools because we are in more attractive tv markets and get higher tv ratings across the conference. The capacity at Folsom Field in Boulder is 53,613 with less premium seating than TCF Bank Stadium so without an expansion it isn't like they have more revenue potential with ticket sales than we have here either.
 

I don't think we're going to be battling CU. Their fans really want their former head coach Bill McCartney. And apparently he wants back in coaching.
 




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