Storyline No. 10: AD's future
Monday marks the start of fall semester classes at the University of Illinois. With the UI athletic calendar about to get busy again, HQ's Jeff Huth gives us 10 storylines for the 2010-11 school year.
10. How much longer will Ron Guenther serve as athletic director?
The future employment of the longest-tenured AD in the Big Ten might not be as hot a topic in Illini Nation as Zook's status. But whether Ron Guenther — who turns 65 in October and has a contract that runs through Jan. 1 — remains on the job beyond this school year is a question with major ramifications for the athletic department. It seems likely the choice is Guenther's, although he would want to be assured by new UI President Michael Hogan that he has the support of the university's top administrator. According to UI sports information director Kent Brown, Guenther still is mulling his next move. In an e-mail to The News-Gazette, Brown said: "At this point, Ron has indicated he'll address his status once he's made a decision on whether he'll continue or not. Knowing the timing of his contract, I'm pretty confident he'll have a decision fairly soon. I know one factor was getting to know the new University administration before making a decision."
81-126-2. 3 bowl games in 15 years. 0 back-to-back winning seasons. That's all you need to know about Ron Guenther. He has been an abject failure at running the football program.
Ain't broke? Find someone who can be a good athletic director and not be awful at running the most important sport. It's not Ron Guenther.
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