Gene Smith gets rewarded for Stieber's title??!

• It is what it is

  Just saw an article stating Ohio State AD Gene Smith is getting an $18K+ bonus for Logan Stieber winning the NCAA wrestling title at 141lb! Wth??! :RpS_blink:
  
  Total waste of money and what did he do to earn that?!! I could see the coach getting a bonus for having a national champ....or better yet, the ATHLETE who earned it!! :RpS_angry:
• Fab1b

  

  Read it...according to the article he receives an $18k bonus for any athlete that wins an individual national title in a long list of sports. He makes bank! I do agree though with what did he do to earn that when the kid gets $0? I wish stuff like this didn't get out as it makes OSU look even worse to the haters but I am also sure he isn't the only AD out there compensated like this.
• Heretic

  

  Fab1b;1596564 wrote:Read it...according to the article he receives an $18k bonus for any athlete that wins an individual national title in a long list of sports. He makes bank! I do agree though with what did he do to earn that when the kid gets $0? I wish stuff like this didn't get out as it makes OSU look even worse to the haters but I am also sure he isn't the only AD out there compensated like this.

  There's a Dan Wetzel column on Yahoo now that mentions that other ADs get even sweeter perks when their athletes accomplish something of note. It's all part of the sham that is college athletics. All the higher-ups constantly talk about the integrity of amateur athletics and the student athlete...while constantly using their hard work to line their own pockets.
• bases_loaded

  

  Once again something everyone does but OSU(who does it to a lesser extent) makes headlines.
• It is what it is

  I did read it....and it still stinks! I don't care what university does it, it makes no sense!! Pay the AD whatever salary you want (i.e. think they deserve), I don't care, but the idea that an athlete who puts in tons of time and effort (blood, sweat, tears) can get in trouble if someone buys them a big mac (insert any other asinine NCAA violation!) while an administrator (not a coach, not a coach!) gets rewarded for someone else's effort/talent is...LUDICROUS!!! :thumbdown:
• Blast82.5

  Consider the other side of the coin ...
  
  The AD has a huge say in how the department's funds are allocated, what coaches are hired, how much they are compensated, what training facilities are constructed, etc. Surely Gene Smith will notice the success of the members of the team if he has a financial interest in said success.
  
  Although he may consider the $18k a lucky windfall, he may also consider that he has helped put the right staff in place, and helped provide the right training environment that allowed it to happen ... and it may inspire him to push further in that direction, the direction of giving the wrestling program financial support.
• Roadkill

  Pretty good payout to the man who probably should have been part of the Tressel purge
• 1_beast

  

  "It is what it is"
  
  Just sayin!
• HorseShoe289

  

  To say that the AD had no part in an individual athlete's success is insane. The AD is huge in developing, maintaining, and growing a winning culture, the culture in which champion wrestlers thrive. (Can a title be won without a supportive administration? Sure. Do some coaches and athletes succeed regardless of the forces at work against them? Sure. But a good AD, good administrative support, makes it so much easier.) As a head coach, I'll state plainly: having an AD who not only supports wrestlers, but who goes the extra mile for wrestlers is HUGE for a program's success. A program's success, which ultimately leads to an individual's success, starts at the top. And, as Blast82.5 said, ADs and administrators have a lot of say on a lot of things that affect a program. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes--paperwork, scheduling, fundraising, legal stuff, facility upgrades, youth/feeder programs, strength and conditioning--that an AD is directly in charge of, stuff that is absolutely crucial to creating a winning environment for the athlete that most fans never know about. When all that stuff is being handled well, when that stuff is being maintained by a supportive AD, you never hear about it. But when it's not--if facilities are poor, if feeder programs are non-existent, if funds for the things a program needs are simply not there, if relationships between colleagues are broken--the individual athlete suffers...and getting that championship is so much tougher.
  I would imagine such an incentive as Smith's $18K bonus really strengthens the relationship with Tom Ryan and tOSU team. I would venture to say that an incentive like that serves as a nice impetus for any AD to go the extra mile for a coach, a program, and, ultimately, the individual wrestler.
  In no way am I saying it is the soul motivator for guys like Ryan and Smith. Certainly, they're both character guys, like most coaches and ADs I know, who'd go the extra mile for their team and guys anyway because it's in their make-up. Just saying that a bonus like that certainly doesn't hurt the individual wrestler in any way.
  Now...all that being said, do others deserve some bonus bucks in that title? Yes.
• 1prouddad

  I agree with Blast82.5 - pay for performance - build great programs and facilities, hire great coaching, and attract top athletes. It brings in more money for the University. The OSU Duals I've been too are pretty packed. Pay for performance is never a bad thing.
  
  On another note - I just read "The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football" by Michael Benedict and Armen Keteyian. Great Book- I know it has nothing to do with wrestling, but it does have a couple of chapters on OSU - "Tattoo Gate" is covered in depth. I highly recommend it.
• bigdogdad

  Isn't this really how it is with any job? You bust your tail to get something done regardless of the effort yet some joker higher up gets the accolades (aka bonus) for it. When they interviewed Logan, he had no issue with it.
  
  Totally agree with having a superior on your side that believes in what you do and supports you. Eventually that will put some reward in your bank account. To these guy's 18k is chump change. It is a three day week-end with the wife. Everything regarding amateur athletics is getting out of hand. I will be very curious how the f-ball fiasco is going to play out with other sports. Some thought Title IX was a mess, just wait.
• cruiser_96

  

  I do. Especially when Coach Ryan says the exact same thing.
• It is what it is

  Smith gets paid almost $1,000,000 to do his job (all the things mentioned by horseshoe) and should be expected, as any AD should, to do his very best. My issue remains, IF ANY bonus was to be received, then it should have gone to Ryan and Stieber (although we know athletes can't receive any $$$)! But, as 1_beast stated, It is what it is!! LOL
• 112in84

  

  What a joke, maybe Smith will donate the money to the wrestling team.