Initially, this thread was entitled "UCLA track coach, Sean Brosnan, Fired for NCAA violations" but we changed it as Brosnan told us he was simply not renewed for next year.
Skimming this thread, it's kinda hard not to notice how most of the people ripping SB are registered users, and almost all the people defending him are anonymous.
Not all. It is still not clear on why he was let go? No chatter from the athletes or folks around him. Something is fishy here.
Dalia Frias - Mira Costa HS = 14 miles from UCLA - 2229 miles from Duke University Mia Barnett - Crescenta Valley HS - 16 miles from UCLA - 2221 miles from Univ. of Virginia Sam McDonnell - Newbury Park HS - 30 miles from UCLA - 1803 miles from Univ. of Alabama
I don't think it is a stretch to assume these girls just wanted to be closer to home and run for their local university. They obviously all saw first-hand the success Brosnan had at Newbury Park (especially McDonnel). There is a legitimate probability that no tampering was needed at all to bring them home to Los Angeles.
Your general point -- they all wanted to be back to SoCal, and Brosnan going to UCLA was enough to tip the scales -- makes sense. But that does not mean that UCLA didn't also help them along. It's also possible that UCLA violated the NCAA rules but that the NCAA could not prove this cleearly enough to prosecute the case. Remember, as a matter of fact, "not guilty" and "not a winnable case" is not the same as "innocent."
I would presume that Brosnan's 1 year trial contract at UCLA ran from 8/1/22 to 8/1/23. They only gave him a few days of notice that it wasn't going to be renewed? If that is the case, it is pretty bad for both the coach and the athletes in terms of their potentially lining up opportunities elsewhere before school starts. The Fall semester begins in mid-August at most colleges.
As a former Bruin, I hope they promptly land a quality replacement coach. They have not had a top tier distance program since Bob Larsen retired in 2000.
Dalia Frias - Mira Costa HS = 14 miles from UCLA - 2229 miles from Duke University Mia Barnett - Crescenta Valley HS - 16 miles from UCLA - 2221 miles from Univ. of Virginia Sam McDonnell - Newbury Park HS - 30 miles from UCLA - 1803 miles from Univ. of Alabama
I don't think it is a stretch to assume these girls just wanted to be closer to home and run for their local university. They obviously all saw first-hand the success Brosnan had at Newbury Park (especially McDonnel). There is a legitimate probability that no tampering was needed at all to bring them home to Los Angeles.
Your general point -- they all wanted to be back to SoCal, and Brosnan going to UCLA was enough to tip the scales -- makes sense. But that does not mean that UCLA didn't also help them along. It's also possible that UCLA violated the NCAA rules but that the NCAA could not prove this cleearly enough to prosecute the case. Remember, as a matter of fact, "not guilty" and "not a winnable case" is not the same as "innocent."
When is the last time the NCAA has decided anything let alone an infraction case in 6 months it's more likely "haven't proven anything" means they haven't gotten around to it because it takes them 3 years to investigate rules.
Ucla just seems to be getting ahead of it because the last thing you want is your cross country coach embarrassing you before you go to the big 10. Especially if he wasn't easy to work with of course you're going to get let go
Bad Fit. UCLA doesn't need unwanted attention out of a non-revenue producing sport. The UC system is hyper worried about NCAA violations now that they are joining the Big 10. Yes, UCLA would rather have a mediocre XC and distance team than bring unwanted attention their athletic program. Only coaches bringing in real money to the school can push the legal limits of recruiting.
Sean is a obviously a rebel, a very aggressive, independent minded recruiter, coach and innovator of some sorts. He pushed every boundary in HS and was prepared to do the same in college.
Bad Fit. UCLA doesn't need unwanted attention out of a non-revenue producing sport. The UC system is hyper worried about NCAA violations now that they are joining the Big 10. Yes, UCLA would rather have a mediocre XC and distance team than bring unwanted attention their athletic program. Only coaches bringing in real money to the school can push the legal limits of recruiting.
Sean is a obviously a rebel, a very aggressive, independent minded recruiter, coach and innovator of some sorts. He pushed every boundary in HS and was prepared to do the same in college.
Bad Fit.
I would argue that being so bad at pushing the limits that multiple coaches appearently call you on it less then a year into your college coaching career isn't being good or innovative. Especially in this day and age it's pretty difficult to get caught let alone multiple times
Skimming this thread, it's kinda hard not to notice how most of the people ripping SB are registered users, and almost all the people defending him are anonymous.
Not all. It is still not clear on why he was let go? No chatter from the athletes or folks around him. Something is fishy here.
Not sure what you've missed, but let me fill you in:
Mia Barnett, Sam McDonnell, and Dalia Frias all were illegally recruited to UCLA by Brosnan. High school recruits looking at UCLA were being told by Brosnan in the recruiting process that these athletes would be transferring to UCLA well before they were ever in the transfer portal or announced their commitments. This is a violation. Some recruits actually were the ones to report him, whether it was to other coaches they were being recruited by or as part of the NCAA investigation. The main medium of communication with athletes on other college teams was through Brosnan's wife, which is a violation. These athletes committed to UCLA literally within hours of entering the transfer portal, which is hilarious because there was never even an effort to cover up how obvious this whole scheme was.
Maybe he somehow thought he'd get away with it. Maybe he was that desperate to prove to other recruits that these athletes were really going to come to UCLA. I don't know. All I know is that it was all done with zero effort to cover it up, and UCLA wanted nothing to do with it. Maybe they were given the option of program sanctions or not renewing Brosnan. That's the most likely scenario. But either way, this is all well-known amongst D1 coaches dating back to December, when it was just Barnett and then McDonnell not long after. To triple down with Frias was maniacal behavior.
Personally, I'm just relieved to know that tampering like this is actually being taken seriously. I'm at a mid-major and have had a handful of All-American individuals over the years, and in the last couple of years it's ridiculous some of the DMs my athletes have gotten from athletes at Power 5 schools, clearly at the direction of their coaches. However, it's very hard to prove that the coach is directing it, and sadly it's legal for the athletes to do this (just a poor look on them and their team), and thankfully none of my athletes have actually left to this date. As much as I think it's funny to dump on Brosnan about this, the reality is that other prominent coaches at national caliber programs have been getting away with this for much longer, and it's gotten even worse in the last few years with the transfer portal. Hopefully he becomes a scapegoat that scares off others from doing this (at least as blatantly and frequently).
Yep. I do not understand why people are confused. A guy with no college coaching experience is hired as an assistant coach in a non-revenue producing sport and is given a one year contract. And then upon being hired, rather than showing good judgment or any discretion, he immediately gets the university in hot water with the NCAA regarding possible recruiting and tampering violations. Even if the NCAA was prepared to look the other way due to the supposed lack of definitive proof or whatever, what AD would renew a coach who immediately repaid the university who hired him by involving the university in shady behavior, especially a coach who has no NCAA background and in a minor sport? Presumably as a newly minted hire being given his first stint in college coaching he should have been on his best behavior and he was already creating an NCAA investigation. Look I do not know the guy and I never cared at all about his abilities as a coach. But it just seems like he severely overvalued his worth and never thought through the consequences of entering his first college coaching job in this manner. Because good high school coach or not, in the grand scheme of things he was a comparative nobody.
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