[Spiny_Norman]

If and when the University makes an announcement, it will include Muir's accomplishments while at Stanford. The number of national championships, conference championships, the Director's Cup results, the APR rankings, the consecutive years NC streak, Olympic medals won. Things that can be measured. By those numbers, Muir has been a very successful AD.

But I will remember Bernard Muir as someone who presided over dark times at Stanford Athletics. When he could have been a guiding light, he instead preferred darkness. The 3 issues that stand out to me are 1) John Rittman's ouster; 2) Varsity Blues scandal; 3) the debacle of the 11 sports that were cut and reinstated. I won't rehash them here because they we have discussed them at length. Each of them a serious situation with significant consequences for the affected parties. Muir said virtually nothing about any of them. He would not answer questions publicly or privately. That's poor leadership. I don't think he was hiding anything nefarious. I think that's just how he prefers to operate. In general, Muir seemed to shy away from anything that could be confrontation. See also the years of basketball mediocrity and the years of football decline and the listless fan support for both with little action taken by Muir. As I saw this more and more, it certainly caused me as a fan and a donor to lose trust and confidence in the AD leadership.

Whomever replaces him will be working from a deep hole that seems to get deeper every day. The department has a significant operating gap that it only balances with a large subsidy from the university. There is no energy around athletics on campus or in the community. Stanford is aligned with the ACC which it needed to do to be able to be nationally competitive in sports (or at least to attempt to be nationally competitive). But playing cross-country games and matches seems to result in teams being less competitive. And all of the other external forces of college athletics are working against Stanford. 

But I take confidence in the future of Stanford Athletics because of Jon Levin. He seems to have a clear-eyed understanding of other issues on campus. I believe that he is taking an active role in Athletics too. I can see his impact on Muir's resignation, maybe directly or indirectly. For now, I'll give the benefit of the doubt to Levin and Jenny Martinez that they will make a smart hire to replace Muir.

I will thank Bernard Muir for his outstanding ability to schmooze mega-wealthy donors and parents to host the Coach's Roadshow in LA at some amazing locations. Those have been fantastic events.

[Spiny_Norman]

If and when the University makes an announcement, it will include Muir's accomplishments while at Stanford. The number of national championships, conference championships, the Director's Cup results, the APR rankings, the consecutive years NC streak, Olympic medals won. Things that can be measured. By those numbers, Muir has been a very successful AD.

But I will remember Bernard Muir as someone who presided over dark times at Stanford Athletics. When he could have been a guiding light, he instead preferred darkness. The 3 issues that stand out to me are 1) John Rittman's ouster; 2) Varsity Blues scandal; 3) the debacle of the 11 sports that were cut and reinstated. I won't rehash them here because they we have discussed them at length. Each of them a serious situation with significant consequences for the affected parties. Muir said virtually nothing about any of them. He would not answer questions publicly or privately. That's poor leadership. I don't think he was hiding anything nefarious. I think that's just how he prefers to operate. In general, Muir seemed to shy away from anything that could be confrontation. See also the years of basketball mediocrity and the years of football decline and the listless fan support for both with little action taken by Muir. As I saw this more and more, it certainly caused me as a fan and a donor to lose trust and confidence in the AD leadership.

Whomever replaces him will be working from a deep hole that seems to get deeper every day. The department has a significant operating gap that it only balances with a large subsidy from the university. There is no energy around athletics on campus or in the community. Stanford is aligned with the ACC which it needed to do to be able to be nationally competitive in sports (or at least to attempt to be nationally competitive). But playing cross-country games and matches seems to result in teams being less competitive. And all of the other external forces of college athletics are working against Stanford. 

But I take confidence in the future of Stanford Athletics because of Jon Levin. He seems to have a clear-eyed understanding of other issues on campus. I believe that he is taking an active role in Athletics too. I can see his impact on Muir's resignation, maybe directly or indirectly. For now, I'll give the benefit of the doubt to Levin and Jenny Martinez that they will make a smart hire to replace Muir.

I will thank Bernard Muir for his outstanding ability to schmooze mega-wealthy donors and parents to host the Coach's Roadshow in LA at some amazing locations. Those have been fantastic events.