Over the last several days I have been talking to people in the college athletics industry and will tell you Turnkey-ZRG is the one with the best reputation going. They are landing a lot of major searches in sports and the business world.
One thing Turnkey is known for, is working with confidentiality. It is a firm known for very few leaks.
I have taken a lot of notes and will give you some trends and notes on past searches with Turnkey and how it might tie in with KU.
I think its been very interesting hearing some of the stories familiar with Turnkey. For example they did the search for Central Florida where Terry Mohajir was hired. They also handled the football search with Gus Malzahn. I was told the AD search at UCF was moving along and at the time they thought they were getting close they had a leader. And that leader was Mark Alnutt from Buffalo. I know people who thought he was the front-runner and then Mohajir got more involved.
Another interesting story I got is that when Alnutt was hired at Buffalo who was thought to be the runner-up at Buffalo? Mike Harrity.
I mentioned Alnutt's name a few days ago as someone who wanted to be involved in the search. He was the Deputy AD at Memphis, the AD at SE Missouri State, and associate AD at Missouri. He played football at Missouri. His name on a short list up G5 AD's who are ready for a bigger job. Now, let's be real. This is the real world so the question comes down to how people involved feel about Alnutt graduating from Missouri. Some people may shake their heads and roll their eyes but it will be a legit question that will come up. I have no idea how it will factor in.
That also brings back in Harrity because he is known to search firms. Firms always have a list of people they have talked to and liked in the past. They have vetted people like Alnutt and Harrity.
This doesn't mean those individuals will be in the final interviews but I wanted to pass along from people I know those two names are going to be familiar with Turnkey.
Now, a firm doesn't make all the calls. KU can also give them parameters what they are looking for. Do they want someone who has specialized in fund-raising? Do they want someone from a football school? Do they want a sitting AD? Do they want someone familiar with contract negotiations? Or someone who has fired and hired coaches? Do they want someone familiar with KU ties, etc.?
That will all be things they figure out. Word I get is the committee has reached to key stakeholders to ask what is important to them. So, they will put everything together and use some of Turnkey's information and go from there.
One thing I was told is two names who will likely be presented to at least look into will be Rick Hart (SMU) and Joe Parker (Colorado State). Hart was heavily involved in the search when Jeff Long was hired. Parker has worked at Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma to name a few. They are names that show up consistently on search firms looking for a Power Five AD.
Having talked with people in the industry hiring a search firm means the committee will cover all angles. They aren't just settling on one person as the leader and calling it a day. They are going to look at the best people for the job regardless of whether they went to KU, or grew up in the area. And maybe the best candidate just happens to have some of those qualities.
Turnkey can also help to speed things up. They will have a big reach of speaking with candidates, gathering information, and working with the committee.
One thing Turnkey is known for, is working with confidentiality. It is a firm known for very few leaks.
I have taken a lot of notes and will give you some trends and notes on past searches with Turnkey and how it might tie in with KU.
I think its been very interesting hearing some of the stories familiar with Turnkey. For example they did the search for Central Florida where Terry Mohajir was hired. They also handled the football search with Gus Malzahn. I was told the AD search at UCF was moving along and at the time they thought they were getting close they had a leader. And that leader was Mark Alnutt from Buffalo. I know people who thought he was the front-runner and then Mohajir got more involved.
Another interesting story I got is that when Alnutt was hired at Buffalo who was thought to be the runner-up at Buffalo? Mike Harrity.
I mentioned Alnutt's name a few days ago as someone who wanted to be involved in the search. He was the Deputy AD at Memphis, the AD at SE Missouri State, and associate AD at Missouri. He played football at Missouri. His name on a short list up G5 AD's who are ready for a bigger job. Now, let's be real. This is the real world so the question comes down to how people involved feel about Alnutt graduating from Missouri. Some people may shake their heads and roll their eyes but it will be a legit question that will come up. I have no idea how it will factor in.
That also brings back in Harrity because he is known to search firms. Firms always have a list of people they have talked to and liked in the past. They have vetted people like Alnutt and Harrity.
This doesn't mean those individuals will be in the final interviews but I wanted to pass along from people I know those two names are going to be familiar with Turnkey.
Now, a firm doesn't make all the calls. KU can also give them parameters what they are looking for. Do they want someone who has specialized in fund-raising? Do they want someone from a football school? Do they want a sitting AD? Do they want someone familiar with contract negotiations? Or someone who has fired and hired coaches? Do they want someone familiar with KU ties, etc.?
That will all be things they figure out. Word I get is the committee has reached to key stakeholders to ask what is important to them. So, they will put everything together and use some of Turnkey's information and go from there.
One thing I was told is two names who will likely be presented to at least look into will be Rick Hart (SMU) and Joe Parker (Colorado State). Hart was heavily involved in the search when Jeff Long was hired. Parker has worked at Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma to name a few. They are names that show up consistently on search firms looking for a Power Five AD.
Having talked with people in the industry hiring a search firm means the committee will cover all angles. They aren't just settling on one person as the leader and calling it a day. They are going to look at the best people for the job regardless of whether they went to KU, or grew up in the area. And maybe the best candidate just happens to have some of those qualities.
Turnkey can also help to speed things up. They will have a big reach of speaking with candidates, gathering information, and working with the committee.
