The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/418536
"But at the end of the day, if Brady Hoke and the Michigan football team were un- defeated, this would not even be an issue. He would be the athletic director today." Tom Dienhart, Big Ten Network: "The healing officially has begun and the build- ing can begin for Michigan with the resignation of athletic director Dave Brandon. "No sense in spending much time trying to analyze what went wrong in the Brandon era. It's over, finished, gone. It was an abject failure. "He seemed perfect for the job back in 2010, a 'Michigan Man' who was a slick package of business acumen and political savvy. Brandon became history at a press conference this afternoon in a move that was widely speculated … "Now, only a few scant months after arriving from Brown to take over Michigan, [U-M president Mark] Schlissel is tasked with perhaps the biggest decision he'll ever make in his tenure: Hiring an athletic director who must hire the football coach who will save the program. That's all. "Yes, nuclear reactors, Bunsen Burners, thermodynamics and lasers are important in Ann Arbor. But nothing swells chests quicker or makes hearts beat faster than winning football games. "Sorry, Professor. You aren't in the Ivy League anymore, Mr. Schlissel." John Bacon, Freelance Writer: "After the 2013 Notre Dame game, Brandon said, 'You're a 17-18 year old kid watching the largest crowd in the history of college football with airplanes flying over and Beyonce introducing your halftime show? That's a pretty powerful message about what Michigan is all about, and that's our job to send that message.' "Is that really what Michigan is all about? Fly-overs, blaring rock music, and Beyonce? Beyonce is to Michigan football what Bo Schembechler is to — well, Beyonce. "No, Michigan is all about lifelong fans who've been coming together for decades to leave a bit of the modern world behind — and the incessant marketing that comes with it —- and share an authentic experience fueled by the passion of the team, the band and the students. That's it. "In his speeches, Brandon often mentions he was the CEO of three Fortune 500 companies. Then why doesn't he know his customers, and what they want?" Andy Staples, Sports Illustrated: "Dave Brandon didn't wind up 'resigning' in his fifth season as Michigan's athletic director last Friday because he dared to propose shooting off fireworks at Michigan Stadium. The former Wolverines defensive end and Domino's Pizza chairman and CEO didn't get pushed out just for jacking up the prices on student tickets after eliminating priority seating for upperclassmen. Nor did Brandon hit the bricks solely because his handpicked head coach hasn't won enough games or because Brandon liked to watch film with coaches on Sundays and suggest strategy. "All of those factors conspired to spell doom for Brandon, who tried to run Michi- gan's athletic department the way he had run Domino's: He was a marketing guy in a performance business. He learned the hard way that you can't treat fans — espe-