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iirc there was some frustration with him not internalizing that kentuckistan will be a basketball first, second, and third school and he just won't get their level of resources

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Apologies if this has been asked before, but of the $212M, what amount (if any) is already secured?

Assuming there's an amount not secured, is the plan just to increase donations or have large scale donors already been engaged to a point that it's likely this money ends up at VT?

COE and CALS are usually the two highest ranked colleges in research expenditures/grants awarded. COE outpaces us, but not by this amount. I found the figures as I was investigating a related issue, and it just exposed a fundraising gap that I thought was interesting.

I questioned it as well because taking this job would be akin to him giving up on getting a NFL GM spot, and by all accounts it seems like he has a good shot to land a spot somewhere in the next few years. That is not to say that you could go from College GM to NFL GM but I think if NFL GM is really what he is shooting for then staying on his current path would be the way.

NFL GM are more similar than they are dissimilar.

I look at what Andrew Luck is doing at Stanford... he's involved with Practices occasionally, he's going to dictate the high level scheme his coaches run (Frank Reich is an interm - when he's fired, Luck is going to hire a coach to run a scheme he thinks they should run). Luck is the driver of scouting. He will fire a coach, etc.

I don't see that model holding up at most place. Stanford is unique and I think it might work there.

But they don't build statues for GMs, and I don't think they ever will.

But I could be very, very wrong.

I doubt you'd find a single D1 college that does not have some level of infighting between academic and athletic sides.

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There is really no evidence any current GM has been overly successful regardless of their background. This is an office/position that is in its infancy across college football. Hard to discount the experience of someone with an NFL background versus "knows college ball" when the ins and outs of the portal, the NIL landscape and almost every other aspect of the financial landscape of college football are being overwritten every year and in some cases week to week. There aren't many college background guys that have much experience in contracts and the business side of this emerging field and when it comes to talent evaluation and approach I think it really will come down to how well they identify staff to pursue this.

I would argue that the activities for "Director of Player Personnel + Spreadsheet" and NFL GM are more similar than they are dissimilar. At its core, they boil down to "what are the desired players for our football team" with "how do we get and keep these players".

Obvious (and significant) differences being what you mentioned: college players have virtually unrestricted movement, they don't sign with the GM, essentially renegotiating for money every year, etc.

Also I think it's very unlikely an NFL GM is leaving their job to become a college GM, so likely you'd be getting someone from an NFL front office who would probably be more aligned to the specific activities of a college GM (i.e. head of scouting, analytics, etc.)

A college GM is probably more similar to a pro GM than it is to 90% of other careers a college GM could come from

This is where I disagree. I think College GMs are going to be either:

• Director of Player Personnel + a spreadsheet - Today, DPP are responsible for overseeing the entire recruiting operation, managing player evaluations, roster organization, and serving as a liaison for compliance and player support. Their role has expanded in recent years to include advanced analytics, transfer portal management, etc. The only 'new' thing added is managing rev share. Which, honestly, I think is a lot simpler than a lot of other pieces of their role.
• Associate ADs of Football - An Associate Athletic Director (AD) of Football on a college football team oversees major aspects of the football program's administration, strategic planning, compliance, and external relations. This leadership role functions as a bridge between the athletic department, coaching staff, support units, and university administration, directly managing key areas to support the program's athletic and academic success. The often have some football knowledge, and are expected to have the skillset to evaluate a coach's performance

Both of these titles/roles are pretty common today.

Contrast these jobs to the NFL GM, which is responsible for:

• Construct and maintain the team's roster by drafting players, negotiating trades, signing free agents, and releasing or reassigning personnel according to team needs.
• Oversee player scouting, including coordinating draft preparations, evaluating college prospects, interviewing athletes at the NFL Combine, and delegating work among a scouting department.
• Negotiate player and coach contracts, manage the salary cap, and ensure roster compliance with NFL rules and regulations.
• Collaborate with the head coach and owner to formulate team-building strategies and make decisions on hiring or firing coaches and staff.
• Has final veto authority on football-related decisions, even above the head coach in most organizations.
• Accountable for both the successes and failures of player acquisitions and draft picks, often serving as the key figure held responsible for team performance.
• Firing/Hiring staff

At the end of the day, college athletes have significantly more influence over what team they join than NFL players do... and college athletes don't agree to play for a GM; they play for a coach - Players follow a coach when they move (or at least leave their current spot) in an instant. Scheme often changes between coaching hires, so is a GM going to fire a coach then restrict his (or her) replacement search to only people who run the same scheme? I just don't don't buy it. I don't think an NFL GM role is as relevant to college ball as others do.

THAT SAID:

• if there's an antitrust exemption that passes, and that restricts player movement, then everything changes, and I can see the NFL model being more applicable
• I do think the NFL model is better at lower level schools that want to run a specific system (the Dakotas, the service academies, etc)