Whitey tightened his grip on the reins of power at Bielfeldt Athletics Administration building Wednesday morning. Embattled Athletic Director Mike Thomas hired Matt Bollant — a French-Bohemian white man whose family name is pronounced at least three ways within the family, but is in fact Boe-LAHNT.
Strangely, perhaps, AD Thomas received no input on this hire from university trustees. Black woman fired, white man replaces her, and Trustee James Montgomery saw no opportunity to further wheedle the Obama Administration for an ambassadorship. Weird.
Bollant comes from Wisconsin-Green Bay, a directional school that he’s kept in the top ten for something like 50 consecutive weeks. Green Bay finished 34–2 last year, and 31–2 this year.
He runs dribble-drive motion on offense, and an attacking pressure defense. He’s a tireless recruiter who graduates his kids. It’s pretty much everything we want in a basketball coach, except that it’s the women’s team so nobody cares… yet.
The only problem with Bollant, as far as I can tell, is that is he and his family are god botherers. But then, so are a lot of people, and mostly for the right reasons.
I talked god politics with Matt’s wife Kari (KAH-ree, like my all-time favorite game show eye candy) who says the family is non-denominational, and looking for a church with no rigid doctrinal dogma, and a diversity of personalities. The Vineyard caught her eye, on a cursory search. Daughters Abi (13) and Regan (11, pronounced like the president, and not his chief-of-staff) will attend Judah Christian School in Champaign.
Kari says they plan to live as close to campus as possible, because the family likes to be together as much as possible. I recommended a drive through the Greencroft area. They can afford it. Bollant’s initial contract runs six years with a base salary of $330,000 plus a package of performance incentives, both for winning games and academic achievements (a nice touch).
He’s already met the team, and knew many of the players from recruiting wars. He said the players were all excited, thrilled even, to have him on board.
So, with a “home run hire” and all that love and warmth and godliness on a gorgeous day with no clouds in the sky and crocuses in full bloom with temperatures in the low 70s and still in March, it’s hard not to think that all is well with Illini sports.
Right?