$1 Challenge For Bill Byrne
by Beergut on Jul 9, 2009 6:09 AM CDT
24 comments
I have a simple challenge for our athletic director, Bill Byrne. Our athletic department is currently operating at a deficit. We recently cut seventeen people from the athletic department staff in part because of this deficit. We have record revenue coming in to the athletic department, but we're still operating in the red. As the de facto CEO of our athletic department, Byrne shoulders the blame for the inability of the department to operate efficiently and to be fiscally responsible. Since Byrne is our athletic department CEO, I'm challenging him to act like a famous former CEO, Lee Iacocca from Chrysler.
I want Byrne to agree to take a salary of $1 per year until he can get the athletic department operating in the black again. Byrne received a salary of $690,000 for the 2008-09 school year, so it isn't like he can't afford to take a paycut. If Byrne can't afford to subsist on $1 for the next year after receiving a salary of $690,000 last year, he needs to resign his position, because anoyne who is unable to live comfortably on a budget of that much money has no business running an athletic department.
Taking a salary of only $1 would save the athletic department $689,999 for the next year, which would have been more than enough to pay the salaries of many of the people Byrne just cut recently. More importantly, taking this challenge would show people that Byrne is serious about making it work at A&M, and bringing us back to profitability. It would show that Byrne cares about the athletic department as a whole, and that it isn't just about him. Right now, Byrne doesn't look too good after these job cuts, because he received a 42% raise in pay over the last year. Taking this challenge would generate some good publicity for him, and for A&M.
If Byrne chose to take this challenge, he could hold a press conference and announce it. A&M would be making national headlines, not for a president resigning, not for secret $16 million loans, not for legends being forced to retire, but for an athletic department official guaranteeing he would be making less than any coach, less than any professor, less than any student who holds a minimum wage job. The media coverage would be priceless, and it would show that Byrne has acknowledged his own role in our current predicament.
Taking the $1 Challenge would guarantee that Byne won't profit from any revenue brought in from increased ticket prices, from the neutral site game against Arkansas at Jerryland. Agreeing to take the $1 Challenge would show that Byrne actually means it when he says he considers himself an Aggie, and it would show that he actually feel as attached to A&M as he claims he does.
Most importantly, tkaing on the $1 Challenge would mean Byrne has finally learned that we're all in this together, and that a shared sacrifice is what is needed to accomplish our goals.
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I realize that the comment that I thought was here was pretty … flaming or trolling.. but the guy did bring up some good points.
more like: too close to idiocy
you were attacking the person, not the argument
that will get a comment deleted every time
The only part of your comment that was valid was where you said it isn’t difficult to spend $690,000 if you live a certain lifestyle. I woulds argue that if you are a hyper-consumer in your personal financial life (and let’s face it, only someone who is a hyper-consumer is going to go through $690k in one year), you definitely are not fit to be an athletic director of a major D-IA athletic department.
Flaw in your Arguement
I would like to point out that if Byrne was to follow your challenge, then he would be working with $345,000 this year, not $690,000. That because he would have to make his salary last over two years, which most people would not anticipate. Besides that, he wouldn’t have the full 690 grand because of taxes.
I am aware of the bite taxes would take
regardless, if he could not afford to take on such a challenge after six years of making a six-figure salary, why is he our athletic director? If he is that poor at handling his own finances, why is he heading up a corporation?
Difficult to change lifestyle on the fly
I doubt, Beergut, that if you had the same salary for the past six years, that you would be able to adequately live on no salary for one year. This is even with the anticipated reduction in pay and having managed finances, etc.
Kind of a ridiculous argument. Big difference in what you or I earn per year as opposed to Bill Byrne.
I respectfully disagree
Even if you earn a lot of money, unless you’re really stingy, you’re spending most of your income. Last I checked, the average American was saving less than 40% of their income each year and that’s been going down. If you don’t expect on not having any salary for a year, taking on this challenge would be difficult, if not impossible.
Where did you get those stats? Last I heard, less than 1 percent of Americans were saving any money. Those that are saving, are saving a whole lot less than 1 percent. Have to agree with beergut on this one, if you are Byrnes age and cannot retire tomorrow then I don’t want you managing the financial aspects of my program because you are not personally responsible. Btw, Tom Leppert the mayor of Dallas has refused to accept a salary. THAT guy knows how to run his money.
by miketag on Jul 11, 2009 4:01 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Proving my point
If you aren’t saving any money, then it’s rather difficult to stretch an expected year’s finances over two years.
actually
he proved my point.
If Byrne is not able to manage his own finances, i.e. he spends every dollar he earns, he is not fiscaly responsible enough to run an athletic department.
Wow
censorship of an intelligent, well thought out comment
This is a blog, not texags. If beergut wants to express his opinions on his blog, so be it. If jarrett does not like his opinion, then there is no one pointing a gun at his head making him read it. There is a proper way to handle yourself. If jarrett really has a problem with what beergut writes, then he should take it up with him offline.
by miketag on Jul 10, 2009 1:39 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
But TexAgs is the king of unnecessary censorship.
I hate that site.
by FuturePants on Jul 10, 2009 12:52 PM CDT up reply actions
Umm
why should he not point out the obvious online?
You can attack the message without attacking the messenger. Besides, what he said was not true. Beergut does not hate any Aggie coaches. He just has high expectations and is not going to settle for mediocre results. No one I know roots more for the success of every A&M teams than beergut does
by miketag on Jul 10, 2009 7:19 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
high expectations or impossible expectations?
Maybe it would help all of us if Beergut defined those expectations.
Progress is clearly not good enough.
We hadnt won a Men’s national title since 1939 and any kind of title since 1987, but thats not good enough.
I’m not allowed to attack Beergut, but he is allowed to attack Bill Byrne?
Sidenote, IF (big if) A&M makes a bowl game this year, the revenue from that will pay off the note it owes Texas A&M University.
Q: why doesnt anyone questioning Dr. Gates for his invovlement in the $16million loan? (has been reported that he offered it to Byrne)
personally, I think no one questions Gates, because a) he is a living legend [i love the man] and b) no one could forsee the economic craphole we are all in now.
Also, the cut back of jobs is going on ACROSS the country, and even in successful NCAA programs, why the microscope on Bill Byrne?
again, I ask…how about a player/coach interview? or a roundtable with another blog instead of this….?
do you think receiving a 42% raise
when you have won only one conference title in baseball after 5 years of record revenue is commensurate compensation?
The raise was given to Byren BEFORE we won any national titles this past year.
I have attacked Byrne on the job he has done (or failed to do) as athletic director. I have not attacked him as a person. There is a difference.
Actually, you are incorrect about a bowl game. Even if we make it to a bowl game, we won’t make enough money to pay off the whole note. Even a BCS game, which would pay over $16 million now, I believe, wouldn’t give us a large enough share, after the conference takes their split, for us to pay off that note.
I don’t think Gates knew that 5 years later, Byrne still wouldn’t be able to pay off any part of this line of credit.
There is a microscope on Byrne b/c this is an Aggie blog, and he is A&M’s athletic director. Also, if you can find another athletic director who took a 42% raise in salary before cutting people from his staff despite making record revenue, then you’d have a valid point.
That reminds me, where is your Hutson Prileau interview?
That reminds me, where is your Hutson Prileau interview?
well, I would work on this blog for a $1/yr basis, bcuz that would be a $1/yr raise. However, you are paid to do this. I dont think asking for content that people would be interested in is a crazy thing to ask for. Neither would say….attending a game.
The Hutson interview fell through, that I have no excuse for. I suppose I could have gone after him harder, but my contact with him said he was tired of doing interviews. So I didnt press for it, sue me.
by jarrett.adams on Jul 13, 2009 11:47 AM CDT up reply actions
I have a $1 challenge for Beergut
This site gets much less traffic than BON…I say that until it has more traffic (making it the best site), Beergut refuses to take a salary from his employer.
I mean he is the head of the organization (~Byrne) and this blog is not one of the most high traffic blogs on SB Nation (~competing for Nat’l championships)
What do ya think?
hmmmm
well, if I had an average of 80,000+ readers paying me ~$70 per day for 7-8 days out of the year (the situation we have in football),. giving me record revenue for this blog, and I didn’t have the best blog on SBNation, then you’d have a case.
Since we talking about an athletic department compared to a blog, which is apples to oranges, and 6 years of a track record versus less than 1 year, you don’t have a case.
We have record revenue coming in to the athletic department, but we’re still operating in the red. As the de facto CEO of our athletic department, Byrne shoulders the blame for the inability of the department to operate efficiently and to be fiscally responsible.
In case you havent noticed, there are companies all over this country downsizing or ‘trimming the fat.’ While it is unfortunate that it had to happen in Aggieland, its not exclusively happening here.
list of companies that have laid off employees
sorry for all the post, just trying to state my case
ps no readers have defended you, other than MikeTag (who works for you)…. maybe if they could read what I wrote, they could make their own decision on who was right, but you took it down. So i guess we will never know.
you are totally missing the point
it isn’t just about the layoffs
it is about mismanagement, which has let a department producing record revenue lose money
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