Evaluation:
Fielding competitive teams: D. Face it, CU has been on the bottom half of the conference with the noted exceptions of skiing, distance runners, and the recent basketball NIT run.
From a competitive standpoint, CU has lost ground on OU, UT or Nebraska and may have been passed by Baylor, Mizzou, Okie Lite, and Texas Tech.
While Bohn gets high marks for fiscal responsibility, it's been mostly on the expense side. The facilities investments have trailed peers. A locker room update, a bubble, and the soon to be unveiled Basketball practice facility helps. But the lack of a permanent indoor practice facility, the delay in updating the scoreboard, overhauling the flatirons club and Balch, or installing a distributed antenna system does not put Folsom anywhere near the top of the heap in categories other than "scenic view"
Expense management means cutting sports (mens tennis) and offering coaches salaries on the low end of the spectrum.
Mike has fought the economic headwinds with aggressive ticket discounts, gimmicky nostalgia games, off-Saturday scheduling and a gawd awful long term contact with CSU that attracts C-list sponsorships like Cinch Jeans. In hindsight, that Toledo Friday night ESPN game was an unmitigated disaster.
On the revenue side, Mike Bohn has not landed any whales that can hold the jock of a T Boone Pickens or Phil Knight.
Bohn does, however, earn high praise for negotiating an exit from the Big teXIIs conference and it's poisonous conference class warfare. Landing CU in the Larry Scott led Pac 12 is the crowning achievement of Mike Bohn. He did a great job keeping a lid on the rumors (pissbomber be damned) and successfully negotiated a fair deal upon exiting the B12. He also did a good job ensuring CU got a good shake with the attractive P12 South conference allignment.
MB also has history of putting together good marquee games with each OOC schedule. The home-home schedule against the likes of West Virginia, Hawaii, Georgia and California have been positive. The Florida State and Ohio State deals also made a lot of sense.
Mike also deserves high marks for steering clear of major institutional scandals. CU has avoided shame suffered by Kansas for ticket fraud, for Ohio State tattoo/memorabilia disclosure, or Auburn money handshakes and church construction. The NCAA wolf isn't on CU's door (knock on wood). The post Thorpe program didn't get nationally stigmatized for the criminal behavior of Bernard Jackson, Lynn Katoa, Mike Sipili, and various petty thefts and brawling. It's hard to tell how much was attributed to the CUAD's improving relationships with the press, or how much was due to the irrelevance that comes with sequential losing seasons.
My biggest criticism with Mike has been that he generates big expectations for fans that get screwed up by poor coaching. Mike is a more sizzle than steak kind of AD. Once the coach is hired, he relegates himself to the booster/marketing role. His style does not include a coaching gravity like what occurs under a Belotti or Osborne. Mike doesn't offer a skill set that helps develop his hires into better coaches once they are under his watch. This role has effectively been relegated to McCartney.
