Trending in the Wrong Direction

[LawPoke]

I will give Sawvel a chance - I actually think that he can win and do well. The fact that he was able to hold current players on the roster and recruit solid freshmen appears to show he is a players coach.

Linder is a lost cause to me. Absent a huge leap next year, with a clear showing that his incoming recruits can pan out AND STAY - I think he is cooked. A repeat of this year or - worse - a repeat of 2022-2023...you risk a lot by keeping him.

Now we are seeing a decline in the women's program under Ezell. Her rotations make no sense. Her propensity to pull a hot shooter is mind boggling. She is not even passable as an in-game coach and manager.

Women's volleyball is meh. Soccer was meh. Golf? Wresting has one guy by all accounts.

The weight of NIL and the portal have irreversibly shifted Wyoming's fortunes - and in a direction none of us like. Football is one thing - the BIG and SEC have salted that ground. But the other sports - c'mon. We are circling the toilet almost across the board. CJC is a joke. The collective has not gained any traction that I can see. The Admin has hamstrung it with a very conservative set of sideboards - but even without them, I can't ever see the people of the state embracing donations to pay players. It is antithetical to how most of us - myself included - see college athetics. We are about to start another fight with reseating in the War - when feelings are still strained over the AA debacle (the only good news is that no one is clamoring for those seats anymore). Meanwhile, UW is under attack (right or wrong) in the legislature and enrollment is floundering. Well done Admin. Well done Trustees.

[OrediggerPoke]

I agree with a lot of what you say.

I do disagree on volleyball. That program is on this rise. I’m skeptical whether we will be able to keep Coach Prigge for long.

We just lost our women’s soccer coach to St Louis. Huge hit to a surprising program she built.

In wrestling, I hope Volk wins it this year because I don’t see us paying the money it would take to bring him back. But you’re wrong on the one guy thing. We have a freshman Novak who has improved leaps and bounds and almost beat Buchanan at the Big 12s (our former finalist who transferred to Oklahoma). Novak is a wild card who could become an All American as a freshman.

I’m excited for Sawvel. I am actually worried he is TOO nice of a guy. All my interactions with him, I’m left wondering how he ever is able to get into the face of a player if ever need be. He’s the kind of guy you really enjoy going to the bar with for a beer.

Linder is the opposite. I can’t imaging grabbing a beer with him at the bar would be any more fun than having a tooth pulled at the dentist.

[LawPoke]

I should have held my tongue on wrestling and some of the other sports - as I don't care or know a lot about most of them to be quite honest. That said, men's and women's basketball are not inspiring any confidence in me...

[bladerunnr]

Because last year was such a trainwreck, I think I felt somewhat relieved that this year's team wasn't as bad. But in reality, it was still a pretty awful result. Another losing season and not really competitive with the better teams in the conference. As others have posted, we will basically start over again as 3/5 of the starters are gone. What's returning is not going to compete next year either. Short of pulling a BB version of Josh Allen out of his hat, Linder is not going to survive. I'm wondering if he cares. He has made comments about attendance and NIL that make me think he would be out of here if another school approached him.
I've defended Linder because I don't see an alternative. Is he right? Are we at the bottom of the NIL barrel in the conference? Thorburg's interview with the One Wyoming NIL collective seemed to indicate we are way behind the other teams in the league. I made a donation to One Wyoming several months ago. I never got a thank you email and I have not been solicitated for further contributions. So I wonder how active One Wyoming is.

[OrediggerPoke]

Because last year was such a trainwreck, I think I felt somewhat relieved that this year's team wasn't as bad. But in reality, it was still a pretty awful result. Another losing season and not really competitive with the better teams in the conference. As others have posted, we will basically start over again as 3/5 of the starters are gone. What's returning is not going to compete next year either. Short of pulling a BB version of Josh Allen out of his hat, Linder is not going to survive. I'm wondering if he cares. He has made comments about attendance and NIL that make me think he would be out of here if another school approached him.
I've defended Linder because I don't see an alternative. Is he right? Are we at the bottom of the NIL barrel in the conference? Thorburg's interview with the One Wyoming NIL collective seemed to indicate we are way behind the other teams in the league. I made a donation to One Wyoming several months ago. I never got a thank you email and I have not been solicitated for further contributions. So I wonder how active One Wyoming is.

You could be on to something. Is Linder hoping to get fired and cash in on the large contract buyout? He can then go wherever he wants and take pretty much any job he wants because of the money he will inevitably receive from Wyoming. I’d have to think he would have too much pride but his comments and coaching decisions make me wonder.

[LawPoke]

My dad indicated that Linder did not appear for any post-game comments with Keith and Kevin. Was that due to MWC conference tourney obligations? Or was he consoling his team? Or was he just pouting and avoiding having to face any music for his spiraling program?

[TheRealUW]

Because last year was such a trainwreck, I think I felt somewhat relieved that this year's team wasn't as bad. But in reality, it was still a pretty awful result. Another losing season and not really competitive with the better teams in the conference. As others have posted, we will basically start over again as 3/5 of the starters are gone. What's returning is not going to compete next year either. Short of pulling a BB version of Josh Allen out of his hat, Linder is not going to survive. I'm wondering if he cares. He has made comments about attendance and NIL that make me think he would be out of here if another school approached him.
I've defended Linder because I don't see an alternative. Is he right? Are we at the bottom of the NIL barrel in the conference? Thorburg's interview with the One Wyoming NIL collective seemed to indicate we are way behind the other teams in the league. I made a donation to One Wyoming several months ago. I never got a thank you email and I have not been solicitated for further contributions. So I wonder how active One Wyoming is.

You could be on to something. Is Linder hoping to get fired and cash in on the large contract buyout? He can then go wherever he wants and take pretty much any job he wants because of the money he will inevitably receive from Wyoming. I’d have to think he would have too much pride but his comments and coaching decisions make me wonder.

I highly doubt this is the case. That approach would be career suicide. If you fail at Wyoming and get fired, you aren't going to have many coaching opportunities present themselves. Maybe an assistant at a mid-major or a D2 team might take the chance to hire you as a head coach. The fastest way out of Laramie would be to win - two back to back NCAA Tournament level seasons would get the attention of the high major programs.

You can turn a basketball program around very quickly. One good recruiting class coupled with one or two impact transfers could change everything in just one season.

[OrediggerPoke]

You could be on to something. Is Linder hoping to get fired and cash in on the large contract buyout? He can then go wherever he wants and take pretty much any job he wants because of the money he will inevitably receive from Wyoming. I’d have to think he would have too much pride but his comments and coaching decisions make me wonder.

I highly doubt this is the case. That approach would be career suicide. If you fail at Wyoming and get fired, you aren't going to have many coaching opportunities present themselves. Maybe an assistant at a mid-major or a D2 team might take the chance to hire you as a head coach. The fastest way out of Laramie would be to win - two back to back NCAA Tournament level seasons would get the attention of the high major programs.

You can turn a basketball program around very quickly. One good recruiting class coupled with one or two impact transfers could change everything in just one season.

Is it though? He’s made a few million at Wyoming. He makes a few more million if he’s fired. That sets up anyone pretty good. He can latch on as an assistant for some D1 program, and, then he can continue to finger point to NIL and Wyoming’s lack of attendance for the struggles at Wyoming.

There are plenty of examples of coaches fired at MWC programs who go on to have later success.

[LawPoke]

You are seeing a growing number of head football coaches in mid-tier FBS schools leave for assistant jobs in the higher end of the P5 (or whatever you want to call the BIG and SEC these days). You are even seeing coaches like Chip Kelly - at UCLA - who saw the writing on the wall and left to coach the O at Ohio State. Football and basketball are different, but IMHO Linder is best suited to serve as an assistant at a bigger school or in the NBA where he doesn't have to manage a program. I think he does have a high BB IQ, but his personality and style are seemingly impenetrable barriers to success as the head man in the porthole era. With players having the ability to transfer at will, his 'my way or the highway' attitude will leave the cupboard bare year after year after year. Sure NIL sucks for the have nots, but his real issue is the porthole. Napoleon is going to Napoleon and players don't have to put up with it anymore.

[TheRealUW]

I highly doubt this is the case. That approach would be career suicide. If you fail at Wyoming and get fired, you aren't going to have many coaching opportunities present themselves. Maybe an assistant at a mid-major or a D2 team might take the chance to hire you as a head coach. The fastest way out of Laramie would be to win - two back to back NCAA Tournament level seasons would get the attention of the high major programs.

You can turn a basketball program around very quickly. One good recruiting class coupled with one or two impact transfers could change everything in just one season.

Is it though? He’s made a few million at Wyoming. He makes a few more million if he’s fired. That sets up anyone pretty good. He can latch on as an assistant for some D1 program, and, then he can continue to finger point to NIL and Wyoming’s lack of attendance for the struggles at Wyoming.

There are plenty of examples of coaches fired at MWC programs who go on to have later success.

I suppose if Linder is actually looking to completely get out of coaching basketball, what you are saying is a possibility. But he is relatively young...$3-4 million does not last long in today's United States. Outside of that, you would have to be an insanely selfish individual to actually try to fail and sabotage your career simply for monetary gain. That is a real low life thing to do, especially when your career involves the development of young people. Linder may be an asshole, but I just don't believe he would stoop to that level.

[Itsux2beaewe]

Is it though? He’s made a few million at Wyoming. He makes a few more million if he’s fired. That sets up anyone pretty good. He can latch on as an assistant for some D1 program, and, then he can continue to finger point to NIL and Wyoming’s lack of attendance for the struggles at Wyoming.

There are plenty of examples of coaches fired at MWC programs who go on to have later success.

I suppose if Linder is actually looking to completely get out of coaching basketball, what you are saying is a possibility. But he is relatively young...$3-4 million does not last long in today's United States. Outside of that, you would have to be an insanely selfish individual to actually try to fail and sabotage your career simply for monetary gain. That is a real low life thing to do, especially when your career involves the development of young people. Linder may be an asshole, but I just don't believe he would stoop to that level.

Crap, if $3 - $4 million don’t last long, I’m screwed come retirement.

[TheRealUW]

The generally accepted recommendation is that you should save a minimum of 10x your annual salary if you want to retire at age 67 and live a similar lifestyle in retirement. If you want to travel and have some fun in retirement, you will need much more than that. This also assumes you have a home that is completely paid off. If you are renting, still paying a mortgage, or in some kind of assisted living facility, you will need even more.

Jeff Linder is 46 years old. With the salary he is used to earning and the lifestyle he is used to living, $3-4 million would be very unlikely to last him more than about 10 years.

I know many Wyoming communities have seen an increase in housing costs since the pandemic, but I don’t think many people in Wyoming realize how much a simple 3 bedroom house costs in many other areas of the United States. And I’m not talking just cities like NYC, San Francisco, etc. I live in Austin, Texas. My wife recently became pregnant with our third child. As such, we are looking for more space. A 2700 sqft home on a small lot with 4 bedrooms is going to cost us a minimum of $800k. Then there will be about $12-15k in property taxes on that home every year. Cost of living has increased tremendously in the last 5 years and it will eat through many people’s retirements much quicker than they realize.

[stymeman]

D1 doesn't mean anything like it used to. Those that think it still matters then they enjoy middle of the pack performances and medocre conferences! UW just doesn't matter anymore...play somewhere and others that are in the same frame of mind! I want wins to matter and mean something for a change!!

[bladerunnr]

The generally accepted recommendation is that you should save a minimum of 10x your annual salary if you want to retire at age 67 and live a similar lifestyle in retirement. If you want to travel and have some fun in retirement, you will need much more than that. This also assumes you have a home that is completely paid off. If you are renting, still paying a mortgage, or in some kind of assisted living facility, you will need even more.

Jeff Linder is 46 years old. With the salary he is used to earning and the lifestyle he is used to living, $3-4 million would be very unlikely to last him more than about 10 years.

I know many Wyoming communities have seen an increase in housing costs since the pandemic, but I don’t think many people in Wyoming realize how much a simple 3 bedroom house costs in many other areas of the United States. And I’m not talking just cities like NYC, San Francisco, etc. I live in Austin, Texas. My wife recently became pregnant with our third child. As such, we are looking for more space. A 2700 sqft home on a small lot with 4 bedrooms is going to cost us a minimum of $800k. Then there will be about $12-15k in property taxes on that home every year. Cost of living has increased tremendously in the last 5 years and it will eat through many people’s retirements much quicker than they realize.

I think my post was misconstrued. I don't think Linder would fail on purpose. But if UNC came calling again, I think he would take it. And frankly, he would have a better chance in a weaker conference than at Wyoming. It's going to be monumental for any coach to succeed at Wyoming. The smallest school and smallest town in the conference is going to be a challenge for any coach to recruit to. Without a competitive NIL fund, I'm not sure who would want the job.
Regarding your cost of living post: the property tax number you stated is shocking. My home in Fort Collins has a market value at roughly 800k and my property tax is 3800/year. I did a little digging and you are correct. Only 3 states have higher property taxes than Texas. Colorado is nearly the lowest. This is an interesting chart.

https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/pr ... s-by-state

[Wyokie]

The generally accepted recommendation is that you should save a minimum of 10x your annual salary if you want to retire at age 67 and live a similar lifestyle in retirement. If you want to travel and have some fun in retirement, you will need much more than that. This also assumes you have a home that is completely paid off. If you are renting, still paying a mortgage, or in some kind of assisted living facility, you will need even more.

Jeff Linder is 46 years old. With the salary he is used to earning and the lifestyle he is used to living, $3-4 million would be very unlikely to last him more than about 10 years.

I know many Wyoming communities have seen an increase in housing costs since the pandemic, but I don’t think many people in Wyoming realize how much a simple 3 bedroom house costs in many other areas of the United States. And I’m not talking just cities like NYC, San Francisco, etc. I live in Austin, Texas. My wife recently became pregnant with our third child. As such, we are looking for more space. A 2700 sqft home on a small lot with 4 bedrooms is going to cost us a minimum of $800k. Then there will be about $12-15k in property taxes on that home every year. Cost of living has increased tremendously in the last 5 years and it will eat through many people’s retirements much quicker than they realize.

I think my post was misconstrued. I don't think Linder would fail on purpose. But if UNC came calling again, I think he would take it. And frankly, he would have a better chance in a weaker conference than at Wyoming. It's going to be monumental for any coach to succeed at Wyoming. The smallest school and smallest town in the conference is going to be a challenge for any coach to recruit to. Without a competitive NIL fund, I'm not sure who would want the job.
Regarding your cost of living post: the property tax number you stated is shocking. My home in Fort Collins has a market value at roughly 800k and my property tax is 3800/year. I did a little digging and you are correct. Only 3 states have higher property taxes than Texas. Colorado is nearly the lowest. This is an interesting chart.

https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/pr ... s-by-state

Take a look at the state I live in now...Oklahoma. It's #25 Sounds about right.

[LanderPoke]

The generally accepted recommendation is that you should save a minimum of 10x your annual salary if you want to retire at age 67 and live a similar lifestyle in retirement. If you want to travel and have some fun in retirement, you will need much more than that. This also assumes you have a home that is completely paid off. If you are renting, still paying a mortgage, or in some kind of assisted living facility, you will need even more.

Jeff Linder is 46 years old. With the salary he is used to earning and the lifestyle he is used to living, $3-4 million would be very unlikely to last him more than about 10 years.

I know many Wyoming communities have seen an increase in housing costs since the pandemic, but I don’t think many people in Wyoming realize how much a simple 3 bedroom house costs in many other areas of the United States. And I’m not talking just cities like NYC, San Francisco, etc. I live in Austin, Texas. My wife recently became pregnant with our third child. As such, we are looking for more space. A 2700 sqft home on a small lot with 4 bedrooms is going to cost us a minimum of $800k. Then there will be about $12-15k in property taxes on that home every year. Cost of living has increased tremendously in the last 5 years and it will eat through many people’s retirements much quicker than they realize.

Congrats on the new baby. Yeah, with kids myself, I cannot believe how much it costs to live. If you told 21 year old LanderPoke what he wnd his wife would be making now, 21 year old LP would have thought we were royalty, but we are just as regular people as you can get.

[sandiegopoke]

Take a look at the state I live in now...Oklahoma. It's #25 Sounds about right.

People are always surprised that California ranks #19 (top half). Prop 13 makes a big difference. I pay 50% more property tax for my empty land estimated sales price at 50% of what my house in Irvine is estimated to sell for.

[Itsux2beaewe]

Justin Hutson’s looking for a job.

[Itsux2beaewe]

I think my post was misconstrued. I don't think Linder would fail on purpose. But if UNC came calling again, I think he would take it. And frankly, he would have a better chance in a weaker conference than at Wyoming. It's going to be monumental for any coach to succeed at Wyoming. The smallest school and smallest town in the conference is going to be a challenge for any coach to recruit to. Without a competitive NIL fund, I'm not sure who would want the job.
Regarding your cost of living post: the property tax number you stated is shocking. My home in Fort Collins has a market value at roughly 800k and my property tax is 3800/year. I did a little digging and you are correct. Only 3 states have higher property taxes than Texas. Colorado is nearly the lowest. This is an interesting chart.

https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/pr ... s-by-state

Take a look at the state I live in now...Oklahoma. It's #25 Sounds about right.

I’ve decided I’ll save what I can for retirement - if I die a year after it’s irrelevant, and we’re all gonna die. If not, I’ve got kids if it runs out.