Floreal leaves Stanford

whattoknow wrote:

Why would he leave STANFORD for kentucky?

Plug your salary in this link and compare it to Palo Alto.

That is all I would need to see... He can officially hire all the assistants that couldn't afford to live in Palo Alto.

Kentucky is a much better place to live!!! Much much cheaper - easier to get around Lexington. New facilities - new salary - better weather - better comp - Easier to recruit sprinters/jumpers/hurdlers/throwers by far - Better place to raise kids. They (UK) have sucked ass the past 30 yrs under Weber who was a complete moron! So anything Floreal does will be much much better than him right away!! Edrick kicked butt as jumps/sprints coach back in 96-98 if you do your research! They can only get better....

Wonder who Edrick will hire as distance coach(es)?

is that why Floreal left....how does the campus of Kentucky feel? What race are you, and why does it matter? If you don't like it, don't go there....I've been to Boise State and it feels really white too....does that upset you?

and why aren't there more asian track and field/xc athletes in the NCAA...quotas again?? Where do we write to complain??

Can we please get back to discussing the main topic at hand?

I honestly don't care what the ethnic composition of Palo Alto or Stanford is.

And I have no idea why Floreal left, and it probably doesn't really matter. At least it does not appear to be some sort of scandal.

I was actually curious to hear people's thoughts on who might replace him and what impact, if any, it might have on the track and cross country programs there.

No one thinks Jason Dunn will become head of the program, and then hire another distance coach?

Thanks.

Stanford is guilty of "greenism" as in cash money is king. That is not tied to skin color, but entitlement and you are discriminated against if you are middle-class or below at Stanford.

Dunn won't be around very long. Kelly Strong will take over the distances.

How do you figure Lanana was forced out because of his lack of achievement? He won a national T&F championship and several x-country championships. I have no inside knowledge, but my understanding of why Lanana left has to do with the thing that's always the toughest about turning an elite university into an athletic powerhouse: Admission policies.

I never understood the Floreal hiring, to be completely honest. He seemed like a nice guy, a man of character, but I'm not sure what he brought to the table. You have to be driven to make a go of it in Stanford athletics. Plus it's pretty damn tough to be an elite program when your top 100-meter man runs a 10.70, and your 4x400 Relay has a best of 3:13.96. The team has once again sunk into ordinariness, with a few bright stars. Quite honestly, except for the Lanana years, that's been the story of post-World War Two Stanford Track & Field.

That's right. Kentucky is a much easier school to get into as a student-athlete. Yes Stanford would be a great track job, but it is too expensive and its admission standards are beyond many top athletes. I would think UK would be a very intriguing place to coach because it does have great facilities and Kentucky has great potential as a Track powerhouse because you can cast your recruiting net pretty wide due to easier admission standards. As long as the AD is going to want to make the Wildcats a track powerhouse, I think this would be a coveted job for any coach. Why couldn't Kentucky be just as attractive of a track school as the other top SEC schools? Now whether Floreal is the man to take them to the elite level is to be determined.

so i wonder whats gonna happen to his son, who runs a 21 200 and a 10.5 wind aided 100? and also erica mclain?

This is all hearsay, but my understanding was that Lanana's wife worked in the Admissions office, and they found all sorts of creative ways to provide "academic" scholarships to runners and field men... For Stanford to focus on the distances (with the help of one discus thrower, if memory serves, middle- and long-distance runners won that NCAA T&F championship all on their own) makes a lot of sense, because the discipline required to succeed at distances, married to native intelligence, produces outstanding high school students. So keep building there, which I guess is what they'll keep doing...

I agree that one issue was likely the program's failure to produce enough NCAA championships or Olympians. I met the guy and no one would ever accuse him of not being hard-working and driven. He's really intense and pushes his athletes hard. In fact, that could be part of the problem he had, if there was one--some kids don't respond well to his hard-nose style and quit.

Kelly Strong could be a good candidate for womens xc, but they have to hire a new director first. Also doubtful that Kelly would head the mens team, so there are several dominoes left to fall here.

Dunn must not be too confident in promotion because he is already campaigning for a few open positions.

starmiler wrote:

... because the discipline required to succeed at distances, married to native intelligence, produces outstanding high school students.

distance running requires no more "discipline" than sprinting or any other sport

starmiler wrote:

This is all hearsay, but my understanding was that Lanana's wife worked in the Admissions office, and they found all sorts of creative ways to provide "academic" scholarships to runners and field men...

True, heard it too and when the administration started to question these practices is when Lananna started to look elsewhere and eventually left.

Betty Lanana was a part-time second grade teacher in Palo Alto. She might have found creative ways to pass out cupcakes, but had nothing to do with Vin's job (apart from being a very patient wife).What's the rule on a private university using it's financial aid in regard to athletics? Is there a difference between how need based and "merit" or "leadership" scholarships are counted/can be used in relation to athletics?

Eric Cartman wrote:

starmiler wrote:

This is all hearsay, but my understanding was that Lanana's wife worked in the Admissions office, and they found all sorts of creative ways to provide "academic" scholarships to runners and field men...

True, heard it too and when the administration started to question these practices is when Lananna started to look elsewhere and eventually left.

Kentucky hires Stanford's Floreal to coach track and field July 9, 2012 2012-07-10T11:25:14Z

By Mark Maloney Herald-Leader

In a move that caught many collegiate track and field observers by surprise, University of Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart announced Monday that Edrick Floreal is the new coach of the Wildcats.

Floreal, a UK assistant from 1995 through 1997, returns after a highly successful run at Stanford University, where he was an assistant from 1998-2005 and director of track and field for the past eight seasons.

He soon will be heading to London as the Team USA jumps coach at the Summer Olympic Games.

That Floreal would leave national-power Stanford for Kentucky prompted Track & Field News magazine to label one of its tweets "a coaching shocker.

UK's men placed eighth in the Southeastern Conference outdoor championships and the women finished 12th.Floreal's deal with UK is for five years, with a base total salary of $1.14 million, plus incentives, endorsements and a $75,000 signing bonus. His salary is scheduled to be $200,000 the first year, $220,000 the second year, then $240,000 each of the next three years.

He will lead the UK men's and women's programs in cross country, as well as indoor and outdoor track and field.

Floreal succeeds the coach who brought him to UK, Don Weber, who recently retired after 34 years in the program and 28 years as head coach.

"I am very excited to return to Kentucky and guide this program into a new era of success," Floreal said in a statement issued by UK. "I am certain that with the support of the administration and the Wildcat community, we can accomplish great things. The new outdoor track and field facility provides the perfect venue to accomplish the many goals I have for UK. My wife and I are looking forward to being back in the SEC, competing against the best in track and field and taking part in the new rise of champions at Kentucky. The potential is limitless and I am excited to join the Big Blue Nation as part of the Wildcat family."

Floreal's wife, former Tennessee standout LaVonna Martin-Floreal, was the 1992 Olympic silver-medalist in the 100-meter hurdles.

Under Floreal's watch, Stanford had 91 athletes garner 197 All-America honors.

Last school year, the Stanford women finished sixth in the NCAA outdoor meet, with an individual champion in the pole vault, and they took 13th indoors. The Cardinal men placed 11th indoors and 18th outdoors, including an individual title in the 400-meter hurdles.

In all, Stanford athletes won 16 all-America honors last season. "Somebody I thought would be a good choice from the beginning," Weber said of Floreal. "I think it's a fricking grand slam of a hire."When he was here, he had an unbelievable work ethic. I described him to Mitch as 'he's a force when it comes to recruiting.' I know there's other great coaches out there, and I don't know all of them, but I know him, and he's a great one."

A two-time Canadian Olympian (1988, 1992), Floreal won five NCAA triple-jump titles while competing for Arkansas.He will have a new outdoor track and field facility at UK. The synthetic surface on the oval is scheduled to be poured next week."We couldn't be more excited for our track and field program, for our athletes," Barnhart said."He's a guy that brings an unbelievable passion for winning and academics."Stanford produced four Academic All-Americans last season, plus 41 on the Pac-12 All-Academic teams.As for staff, Barnhart said "we're working our way through that right now. It's real early. ... My gut feeling is that he would probably bring most of his own staff with him. I don't know that for sure."

With cross country season opening in less than two months, Floreal won't have much time to settle in. He will get to keep his commitment to the Olympics, though."We actually want him to be able to fulfill that obligation," Barnhart said. "Those opportunities don't come around very often, although I think they'll come around for Edrick again. But I want him to participate in the Olympics. It's our country, and I want him to be able to participate at whatever level he feels he needs to and wants to."Four of Floreal's Stanford athletes will be competing in London, representing the United States, Bermuda, Greece and Nigeria.

But she also worked in Stanford admissions.