Mary Sue Coleman's New Gig
She's the new president of the AAU (Not That AAU).
http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2015/09/former_u-m_presid…
Good luck to you, MSC. I know she did a lot of good here, but I have to think that if she was still U-M's president, we wouldn't have Harbaugh.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:33 PM ^
No way she could blackball Harbaugh. He holds a Michigan degree. He is more Michigan than MSC.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:43 PM ^
I think that if she hadn't left, Brandon would have survived, and thus, Hoke would have survived.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:46 PM ^
No way.
If she was willing to die on that hill, died she would have.
September 29th, 2015 at 9:15 PM ^
Let's just say that you're right and MSC does make a change and go for Harbaugh. I don't think she would have - after all, she didn't the first time she had the chance - but let's just say.
Do you think Harbaugh would have accepted her offer? That seems etremely unlikely to me.
September 29th, 2015 at 9:23 PM ^
Why is that extremely unlikely?
September 30th, 2015 at 10:02 AM ^
Because she didn't show him the love, so to speak.
He would know that she hired Brandon against the better instincts of the Regents, and he would know that she was a Brandon type of gal. He would know that she didn't go out of her way to hire him the first time.
Coming off his experience with York and Baalke, I think it's extremely unlikely that Harbaugh would have accepted an offer from an institution that was headed by someone that he knew he had conflicts with and who had a record of hiring ADs (= bosses for Harbaugh) that he didn't like.
September 29th, 2015 at 7:10 PM ^
That is an interesting proposition. The student unrest and overall state of affairs was dire in the fall of 2014 (paying for the stadium remodel with a rapidly declining program and shriking student ticket base). Plus the push from the Regents.
But it is certainly plausible she gives Brandon more rope, pushes for reforms to appease the rabble, etc., and Brandon is allowed to choose Hoke's successor.
September 29th, 2015 at 7:54 PM ^
There's no bigger reason that Brandon got axed. With the student revolt, it wasn't going away. That affects fundraising. University presidents are very sensitive to that and you can be sure they hear about it constantly. That affects them directly. Financial concerns within the AD, not so much.
A lame duck Brandon was never going to be allowed to hire the next coach. If he hung around longer, we probably still have Hoke.
September 29th, 2015 at 8:52 PM ^
September 29th, 2015 at 11:24 PM ^
to quit drinking and go to bed.
September 29th, 2015 at 7:15 PM ^
September 29th, 2015 at 11:25 PM ^
for someone who does not usually speak like Lou Holtz.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:43 PM ^
I admire her overall work as President. Having said that, her blackballing of Harbaugh would not have been direct. Her likely continued support of Brandon would have indirectly kept him away.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:45 PM ^
MSC and Brandon's relationship is one of the weirdest dynamics I've read about.
Like talk about being loyal...
September 29th, 2015 at 5:53 PM ^
"Loyal" is one way to put it. "Cronyism" is another.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:19 PM ^
He had lost the support of most of the regents and about everybody else. Mary Sue was as interested in maintaining the school's reputation as anyone. Given their relationship, maybe Brandon would have been more willing to resign. No point in running through a bunch of what ifs. Things would not have turned out better no matter what she would have done.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:45 PM ^
Ask Mark Schlissel how much better this year is than last now that he has a competent football coach (and AD). I'd bet raising money from our alumni base is a great deal easier also.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:33 PM ^
She is exceptionally well-qualified for that role, and will likely do a good job. She may have presided over the degradation of our beloved football program, but on the academic and financial sides of the equation, she was pretty good.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:37 PM ^
I wonder how her legacy will be impacted by the Brandon fiasco? Obviously the academic community won't care much, and her tenure at UM was in that sense very strong (along with fundraising, etc.). But amongst a lot of Michigan folks, the Brandon hiring will probably leave a pretty bad taste, whether that is fair or not.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:41 PM ^
to the people whose opinion she probably cares about, it won't have any impact whatsoever.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:01 PM ^
I hope she's been so inundated with hate mail that she has no choice but to care.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:24 PM ^
She'll just drink and forget about it. I never understood why people were so enamored with MSC. She managed to not completely wreck the school and kept it on its usual track. Did SHE have a net positive effect? I can't say anything she did was remarkable. Certainly, Schissel has had more of a positive impact in 1 year than she had in a decade... and I'm not just talking athletics. Michigan's rankings were with stymied or dropped during her tenure, the football program was in shambles (thanks in great part to her doing), and donations were going to come whether she was here or not. Plus, she treated being President like a part time job. She was on how many other Boards of Directors? She was a crony through and through.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:44 PM ^
you obviously have some sort of grudge against MSC for whatever reason based on your previous posts. For one thing, do you know for a fact that she has a drinking problem? I'm pretty sure in saying NO. She speaks to the crowd at Michigan Stadium once, probably under the influence of some alcohol, and you assume she has a drinking problem? Right.
I'm not trying to defend MSC and say she was a perfect President. But, you dismiss all of her accomplishments as nothing by not recognizing them - probably with no inside knowledge either. Did you ever hear of the Campaign for Michigan and the billions of dollars they raised while she was President, exceeding the original goals? No, probably not.
Where do you get your statement "she treated President like a part time job"??? Evidence? Proof? C'mon. If you're going to post here, at least bring some facts instead of your biased personal agenda.
September 29th, 2015 at 10:00 PM ^
These comments about her drinking really irritate me. I sat in her suite for football games plenty of times during her tenure. Alcohol is not even served. I never saw anything other than respectable and upstanding behavior from her during games. She was always engaging and made it a point to visit with everyone in the suite. To be very clear, I was not in her suite for the game in question, but I find it difficult to believe that she could even have access to the quantity of alcohol needed to get as hammered as the internet has now convicted her of.
In addition, this very blog demonstrated compellingly (http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/microphone-feedback-caused-msc-slur) in the days after the incident that she had not been drinking (eyewitness accounts from people who were with her at the game, etc) and that in all likelihood the delay caused the slow cadence and slurring of words. Specifically, she heard her own words with slight delay as she was trying to give the remarks. It is very confusing to the speaker.
I know some people just like to troll and it bugs me that these comments get a rise out of me. I too was bothered by the description of her support for DB in JUB's book. And, I know as a public official that her every action and comment is subject to criticism. However, I think she was an outstanding president for the university and I don't think characterizing her as a drunk or a party gal does us, this board, or the university any good. It's ok to be disappointed in the DB chapter of her tenure, but let's not engage in the collective defaming who has done an enormous amount of good for the Univeristy of Michigan community.
September 29th, 2015 at 11:29 PM ^
However, I think she was an outstanding president for the university and I don't think characterizing her as a drunk or a party gal does us, this board, or the university any good.
I'd be surprised if that wasn't the point of his post.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:01 PM ^
Probably will be somewhat similar to Bollinger's legacy.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:55 PM ^
It will take a bit of the shine of an otherwise brilliant career as University President. She really hit home runs on fundraising, building out the campus facilities and increasing the academic profile of the University. The DB thing sucked but I give her a pass on it given the other success' during her tenure.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:39 PM ^
Don't forget: She pushed Brandon through for the AD job despite not being qualified. Then pushed through a contract extension for him for no reason when no one else was looking to hire him.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:39 PM ^
at the AAU universities?
thought so.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:26 PM ^
It was an audio issue! THAT is NOT what a drunkard sounds like!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yZh004_MHY
What an embarassment.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:44 PM ^
Meh if the AAU wants money, they hired the right person.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:54 PM ^
Which is all that matters to most people anymore, sadly.
September 30th, 2015 at 9:01 AM ^
a lesson in misplaced priorities from the person judging a university president based on football results.
September 29th, 2015 at 5:58 PM ^
If she is so good at raising money, maybe she can kick in for the remainder of Brandon's contract that she extended. Didn't cost her anything, so what the hell.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:01 PM ^
Yup. Wasn't just the hire itself that MSC is to blame for. It was giving DB complete autonomy to run the department however he wanted and the golden parachute on her way out the door when it was already clear the guy had done a poor job.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:07 PM ^
September 29th, 2015 at 6:01 PM ^
She was a good president. Best of luck to her.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:02 PM ^
September 29th, 2015 at 6:05 PM ^
She'll represent Morchigan well.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:28 PM ^
The only other time I've seen a Coleman that lit up, I was camping.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:31 PM ^
September 29th, 2015 at 7:48 PM ^
Hey congratulations! You can steal other people's jokes!
September 29th, 2015 at 6:49 PM ^
September 29th, 2015 at 6:52 PM ^
When I saw the AA in the title, I immediately thought of the Nebraska half time speech and thought she was starting up Alcoholics Anonoymous University.
It would probably be the #1 rival of South Hampton Institute of Technology (SHIT) from the movie Accepted.
September 29th, 2015 at 7:19 PM ^
September 29th, 2015 at 7:09 PM ^
September 29th, 2015 at 7:44 PM ^
until I read about her involvement with Brandon's hiring and tenure at U of M. So many poor decisions with negative consequences.
September 30th, 2015 at 1:18 PM ^
I can forgive her for the initial hire, but giving Brandon a contract extension (with a $3 million buy-out) was croniysm at its finest.
September 29th, 2015 at 7:48 PM ^
but most of you ragging on her about her Brandon loyalty were probably the same idiots that were also sucking Brandon's dick during his "Pimp Hand" days.
"he's no pussy like Sailboat Bill" everyone screamed on this blog.
I think Brandon pretty thouroughly bamboozled her when a regent himself, and she just never understood how his grand plans were hurting Michigan rather than just modernizing.
It's her fault for not taking some action, but I'd say 90% of the Michigan fanbase loved Brandon his first 2 years too.
September 29th, 2015 at 9:45 PM ^
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