Former Gopher Senior AAD David Benedict was named the new AD at Connecticut. He had been the CFO for Athletics at Auburn after he left the Gophers after 1+ years here. He told us several times in several different ways that his goal was to be an AD at a better D1 school & he is well on his way there. A lot of people who know the inner workings felt that Benedict was Mark Few to N. Teague's Dan Munson & was the one VCU import that knew how to get things done. I mostly agree with that line of thought..
Did we miss out on a potential candidate? In my opinion, no, not at this time for sure. I spent some time around David & appreciated his directness and pretty clear vision but his abrasive manner, lack of follow through along with a bit of arrogance did not always smooth his path with coaches, fans or donors. Perhaps he has rounded some of the sharp edges while at Auburn & good luck to him but I do not believe that he will be a candidate for a Minnesota job for a long, long time...
Did we miss out on a potential candidate? In my opinion, no, not at this time for sure. I spent some time around David & appreciated his directness and pretty clear vision but his abrasive manner, lack of follow through along with a bit of arrogance did not always smooth his path with coaches, fans or donors. Perhaps he has rounded some of the sharp edges while at Auburn & good luck to him but I do not believe that he will be a candidate for a Minnesota job for a long, long time...
