Phoenix

"Will Fiacchi starting camp as No. 1 QB for @UAlbanyFootball - Ford said contingency plan includes Drew Smith, who was QB in HS, & Jake Meek" - Santillo

Santillo reporting that Romain will RS this year because of a shoulder issue. Smith and Osbourne will get the RB time. That's new news, right?

I'm still pretty confident most..if not all..of the candidates the TU published are 'dropping out' because they're being told they're no longer a candidate. 9 people is not a finalist list..it's an interviewee list. Ballard was a finalist for the Kansas State job in 2009 and then 'dropped out.' A true 'finalist' list will consist of 3 candidates. For some information..I believe Pres. Philip makes $280k right now. No idea what they're willing to offer. Ballard is currently making $315k at ECU. Of the 4 who remain (Santiago, Roberts, Hardcastle and Montemagno)..my best guess is Carlos Santiago.

Quinnipiac should be fun..solid mid-major over the past few years. Return of former Associate Head Coach Eric Eaton and UAlbany star Jon Iati. And a possible America East target should the conference decide to grab another school or two.

There are SUNY guidelines requiring a minimum of 16 people on the search committee. Campuses with over 10,000 students..such as UAlbany..can have 19. This search committee has 19.

Came to UA as the sitting President of Utah State University, was in a leadership position at Ohio State before that (IIRC). Was seen as a bit of a coup to get him to come from USU to UA.

It's not exactly engineering/physics, but "Hardcastle’s areas of research specialization are cognitive neuroscience, philosophy of neuroscience/biology, bioethics, and philosophy of mind. Her areas of teaching interest include metaphysics, neuroscience, and neuropsychology." Also, an interesting tidbit to note..Santiago succeeded SUNY Chancellor Zimpher as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee after he left UAlbany when Zimpher went to Cincinnati.

The irony is CNSE was born under Hitchcock..who was also our last science President. CNSE has thrived under Hall (legal history) and Philip (non-academic).

Former RPI Provost Robert Palazzo is also no longer a candidate.. http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/UAlbany-presidential-finalists-withdraw-3746773.php That leaves: Carlos Santiago, chief executive officer of the Hispanic College Fund and a former UAlbany provost John Roberts, dean of University of Houston College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Valeria Hardcastle, dean of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati Carlo Montemagno, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Cincinnati Steve Ballard, chancellor of East Carolina University

If you think the TU..or any newspaper/media outlet..cares more about "what's best" for a university in it's area than breaking stories (and generating $)..then you're a much more altruistic-assuming than I am! With 9 people..this isn't as much a 'finalist' list as it is an interviwee list. It was either leaked by someone with access to it who want to feel important..or it was purposely leaked in order to get unofficial public comment/thought on the candidates.

Heard that the UNH coaching staff has been saying that UA will be joining the CAA for football. Heard that they are/were concerned about the lack of northern schools in the conference.

Looking strictly from an athletics point of view..Chancellor Ballard at East Carolina is interesting. ECU is an FBS school (C-USA)..with a 50,000 seat football stadium. Ballard actually played baseball for Arizona and reached the CWS in 1970. He's been at DI institutions basically his entire life, studying at Arizona, Ohio State and Oklahoma. His working career includes: Provost, Academic Affairs University of Missouri-Kansas City Vice Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate College, Bowling Green State University, 1998-June 2001. Founding Director, Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy, University of Maine, 1989-1998. Director, University of Maine System/State Government Partnership Program, 1990-1992. Chair, Department of Public Administration, University of Maine, 1991-1994. Director, Science and Public Policy Program and Professor of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, 1987-1989. Associate Director, Science and Public Policy Program, University of Oklahoma, 1978-1987 *All info from Wiki

Dane Pound..feel free to kill this thread.

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/UAlbany-finalists-revealed-3735797.php

Now that would be a fun division! And it looks like there's a 'Phoenix Drive' that runs through Elon's campus..sounds like fate to me.

I know this has been discussed a ton already..but assuming it plays out like Coach Ford said with UAlbany, SBU and URI all in the CAA..what would be the likely conference/division scenario? CAA North: UAlbany Stony Brook Rhode Island Maine New Hampshire CAA South: William & Mary Richmond James Madison Remainders: Villanova Towson Delaware 1 more team to make 2 six-team divisions? Additional thought: Put Nova, Towson and Delaware in the South and grab CCSU for the North. That would look nice.

Gotcha. Well I imagine it's probably less than what's assumed (if the assumption is half)..and I doubt we're much different than other teams around the country. I would disagree with this being an "NCAA..epidemic." We're focusing on bassketball team student-athletes transfering..but the fact is that college students (non-athlete) transfer all the time..for a wide variety of reasons. UAlbany brings in more than a thousand transfer students each year..and I'm sure a similar number transfers out as well. It's a part of being a young adult..and spending thousands of dollars on your future.

Logan graduated..he's going to Maryland for graduate school. And I wonder how close Watts was/is..since he red-shirted his first year..so 3 years + summer classes..gotta be pretty close. And that's Suero, Aronhalt and Watts leaving..correct? Math was never my strong subject..but 3 out of 13 or 14 isn't anywhere near 'half.'

My post(s) probably sounded more argumentative then I meant them to. If so, I apologize. I wish he was playing for us this year and also believe he likely would have benefited from another year of DI play. But I also am not going to knock a guy who made a personal career/life decision when I wasn't privy to that process and I also still think he's more than likely to have an enjoyable and successful professional career at whatever level he ends up at.

Geez..stuff like this can make the board intolerable sometimes. I'm not defending or incriminating anyone. Because of the lack of public information about this, I was simply posting information that the board might be interested in. I'll be sure to keep information like that to myself next time.

What's the alternative? Philip calling up the TU and saying Cuomo won't let us formally submit our proposal yet? I really only added my comment because I don't want people who should be the university's bigger supporters (people who post on this board) threaten to withhold contributions to the school simply because the media doesn't have/report the entire story.

The SUNY2020 proposal 'presentation' is a formality. The university and the Gov. office are working back and forth on it. The university had their plan and the Gov. office asked them to go back a tweak a handful of items before 'submitting their proposal.' Pretty straight-forwarded stuff in this realm.

Sanin was a UAlbany (WCDB) sports radio guy who can often be a Coach Brown detractor. Sam obviously follows the AE a ton..but gets way too irked when a player does something that runs counter to what he thinks the player should be doing to maximize his career (read: pro) potential. The result is Sanin thinking Suero left because of Brown and Sam thinking that Suero should've stayed at UA his last year because it could mean more money for him overseas.

He's on the freakin Dominican Republic's national team that missed this year's Olympics by one game! And if you seriously don't think he's ready for the pros "at any level" then I'm not sure anything anybody says to you is going to affect your opinion of him. Not being drafted by an NBA team =/= not being able to play professionally at any level. He barely played for a team that barely made the Olympics and a team that lost to Nigeria (a real power--YES). But I am NOT basing my position on these points; but on the fact that I saw him play more than 20 times this past year. I made my comments and formulated (as you say) my unchanging opinion not on his "olympic" experience but on what I saw at UA. I also did not say he would never play pro (even though I suspect strongly that he will never play in the nba), I only said another year at UA would have helped him A LOT. I'm not sure you actually read my post..or your own for that matter. 1) He did not make the Olympics. His team missed it by one game. 2) Is the 12th man on the US' national team going to be embarrassing his school because he 'barely' plays? 3) How many times have you seen the current Nigerian national team play? They're one of only 12 teams in the world that made this year's Olympics. 4) I never said you said he'd never play pro. I quoted your post saying that he "was no way ready for the pro's (at any level)." I pointed out that there's a HUGE difference between not being selected in the NBA draft (or even having a realistic future in the NBA..which I think most posters, including myself, would agree with) and not being ready for the pros "at any level." Do you know how many levels of pro ball there are? Look just down the street at the Albany Legends. Their roster has guys who were DI and DII role players. You don't think a top 10 DI scorer in the nation could play at that pro level? I get that you're disappointed he left..I am too..but that's no reason to bash him and ignore the talent he has or the impressive year he had with UAlbany.

He's on the freakin Dominican Republic's national team that missed this year's Olympics by one game! And if you seriously don't think he's ready for the pros "at any level" then I'm not sure anything anybody says to you is going to affect your opinion of him. Not being drafted by an NBA team =/= not being able to play professionally at any level.