Call it a state of denial.
Bowling Green coach Dan Dakich may leave town for West Virginia? Yeah right!
Why would Dakich want to go coach the 8-20 West Virginia Mountaineers when he has such a great thing going here? Besides, he loves BG, the townspeople and the program.
Maybe I bleed a little too much orange sometimes. The question we all should be asking is why wouldn’t Dakich make the move to West Virginia?
First and foremost, Dakich would make considerably more than he makes here (around $600,000 total from WVU). Sure, Dakich talks about how much he loves this town, the people and the program, but money talks too. It’s a lot of money to pass up.
It’s not all just money either, but also opportunity. Going from the BG athletic program to West Virginia is like a baseball player getting promoted from AAA ball to the Major Leagues. Unlike the Mid-American Conference, if a Big East team like West Virginia wins 20 games, it would get an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament. Plus, if Dakich has success at West Virginia, the national recognition that is so hard to get at BG could get him coaching anywhere.
BG could give him another raise, but I imagine that an athletic program that is $3.6 million in debt won’t be able to line the coach’s pockets much more.
He also just graduated his four seniors, the heart of the team. At one press conference he called them irreplaceable. A lot of questions still stand about whether the underclassmen can fill the seniors’ shoes. Some have even called next year a rebuilding year.
Maybe West Virginia caught Dakich at the perfect moment. Big bucks and big opportunities can convince many coaches to make a big move. As much as I cringe to say, it would be a smart move. This leaves a lot of questions if he takes the job. Where does this leave the BG Athletic Department? Dakich held one of the strongest voices in building a new convocation center. It will be interesting to see what will happen with the project if Dakich leaves.
What will happen with junior Falcons, the youth basketball program? Will the high school recruits still stay committed? Would his assistant coaches follow?
It also poses another question to the Athletic Department: How will it ever get out of debt? The Athletic Department is banking on future success of revenue sports like football and basketball to draw in money. If every couple years a successful Falcon coach leaves for a bigger program, does this leave the Athletic Department in a constant state of rebuilding with new-faced coaches?
So many questions, so few answers. All we can really bank on is that time will tell.
