[Mick]

There was genuine bad blood between Leland and His Royal Ungratefulness.  And the issue was...MONEY.    HRU thought he  deservedmuch more money.  Big time money by reports at the time.  Leland said no and countered with a raise offer that didn't come near to what HRU thought he was worth and, as it turned out, ND would pay.  HRU was a proud man and it seemed like an insult.  Some people privy to the process said that perception of insult,  of feeling unvalued,  was the source for much of HRU's  graceless behavior toward Stanford as he departed and afterward.  A lot of it was personal.

BTW garvin,  I never said money was THE reason HRU left for South Bend.  I said money (salary) was partly to blame.  See above paragraph,  which transpired before and during the negotiations w/ the University of South Bend.  But in general,  you're right.  If a school like the University of South Bend is making an offer and showing you the money,  that's almost impossible to turn down.  If your current employer is pissing you off,  I think we could drop the "almost" from the previous sentence.

I am by no means privy to the  private interaction between HRU and Leland.  What I find interesting is that HRU presented himself as an honorable man who expected and demanded honorable actions in return, yet acted so completely dishonorably subsequent to his break with Stanford, there had to be another explanation.  It was well known that he was underimpressed with his compensation package and I wonder...I just wonder if Ted said some things that were either unforgiveable or cruel or dishonorable (intentionally or unintentionally).  Several people have mentioned to me that Ted could act that way, so I just wonder...

[Mick]

There was genuine bad blood between Leland and His Royal Ungratefulness.  And the issue was...MONEY.    HRU thought he  deservedmuch more money.  Big time money by reports at the time.  Leland said no and countered with a raise offer that didn't come near to what HRU thought he was worth and, as it turned out, ND would pay.  HRU was a proud man and it seemed like an insult.  Some people privy to the process said that perception of insult,  of feeling unvalued,  was the source for much of HRU's  graceless behavior toward Stanford as he departed and afterward.  A lot of it was personal.

BTW garvin,  I never said money was THE reason HRU left for South Bend.  I said money (salary) was partly to blame.  See above paragraph,  which transpired before and during the negotiations w/ the University of South Bend.  But in general,  you're right.  If a school like the University of South Bend is making an offer and showing you the money,  that's almost impossible to turn down.  If your current employer is pissing you off,  I think we could drop the "almost" from the previous sentence.

I am by no means privy to the  private interaction between HRU and Leland.  What I find interesting is that HRU presented himself as an honorable man who expected and demanded honorable actions in return, yet acted so completely dishonorably subsequent to his break with Stanford, there had to be another explanation.  It was well known that he was underimpressed with his compensation package and I wonder...I just wonder if Ted said some things that were either unforgiveable or cruel or dishonorable (intentionally or unintentionally).  Several people have mentioned to me that Ted could act that way, so I just wonder...

[Mick]

Sneering at the Director's Cup came looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong before Wlat or even Ted's buddy. There was ambivalence from the beginning, statements like "Yeah, I got a cup from Sears." It was a stupid belief that somehow, excellence in women's basketball (at the time, we were on our way to our 2nd national championship) and tennis somehow prevented excellence in football.

....if it was the Neiman Marcus Cup.

[Mick]

Sneering at the Director's Cup came looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong before Wlat or even Ted's buddy. There was ambivalence from the beginning, statements like "Yeah, I got a cup from Sears." It was a stupid belief that somehow, excellence in women's basketball (at the time, we were on our way to our 2nd national championship) and tennis somehow prevented excellence in football.

....if it was the Neiman Marcus Cup.

[yvonne]

Can we use another sport besides volleyball when slurring the non-revenue sports, please?  ;)

That's just it. Whenever someone sneers at attempts to win the Director's Cup, he's sneering at someone's sport, a sport someone played and worked hard to perfect. It is given by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to represent the best in their field. It's like winning the Olympic gold in athletic directorship. No one at Stanford should sneer at overall excellence because that is what Stanford stands for.

The fact that David Shaw picked the Cup up this year also speaks volumes. It says that football is part of, and not separate from the rest of the athletic department, and football has played a part in gaining that cup the past two years.

[yvonne]

Can we use another sport besides volleyball when slurring the non-revenue sports, please?  ;)

That's just it. Whenever someone sneers at attempts to win the Director's Cup, he's sneering at someone's sport, a sport someone played and worked hard to perfect. It is given by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to represent the best in their field. It's like winning the Olympic gold in athletic directorship. No one at Stanford should sneer at overall excellence because that is what Stanford stands for.

The fact that David Shaw picked the Cup up this year also speaks volumes. It says that football is part of, and not separate from the rest of the athletic department, and football has played a part in gaining that cup the past two years.