GENERALLY, columns about sports don't belong in the Opinion section. Yet some areas of sport could be compared to our University as an academic institution, thus rendering them a distinctly opinionated column. One such shared area is hiring. As an institution with limited resources, we are remarkably and necessarily dedicated to hiring only the most qualified faculty. However, it becomes painfully obvious that, in the realm of sports, nepotism, not merit, is the rule of the day.
Consider the department closest to my experience at the University: the history department. Those involved in hiring for the history department cannot speak of the process without stressing the ludicrous level of rigor with which candidates are examined: what the individual has published, their graduate program, the interviewing process, etc.
Take, for example, the recent spot made available for an assistant professorship in U.S. history. For one assistant professor position, there were 220 applications examined by a trained search committee. In an e-mail interview, members of this committee have mentioned that at least 100 of these applications came from the very best graduate programs in the country and had "impeccable credentials." With so many qualified intellectuals applying for one position, it is almost guaranteed that the hired professor will be one of the most qualified U.S. history professors in the country.
And, for all this individual's hard work and intelligence, he or she will be lucky to make $50,000 annually. One might imagine where the rest of this conversation goes: that Al Groh, as a coach with only slightly more wins than losses, should not be signed for $1.7 million (as the third highest paid coach in the ACC). One would expect, naively, that he could at least match his salary's rank with our ranking in the ACC, meaning we would hope to see Virginia be at least the third best team in the ACC.
Yet that digression, however noteworthy, belongs in a Sports column. What belongs here is a brief discussion of the obvious nepotism that dictates Virginia football's hiring methods. Last year, Al Groh decided to hire his son, already our team's recruiting coordinator. As recruiting coordinator, Mike Groh was ranked 10 in the ACC by scout.com and 12 by ESPN.com, making him one of the worst recruiting coordinators in the conference. To his defense, he was, according to the Roanoke Times, cited as the lead recruiter for 90 percent of Virginia recruits.
Mike Groh's prior experience included a successful career as Virginia's quarterback, followed by a short experience as quarterback coach. This career hardly qualified him to be hired as an offensive coordinator for a competitive ACC team. More importantly, compared to the rigor with which the history department is choosing a U.S. history assistant professorship (for a salary in the $40,000 range), the process by which the much higher paid Mike Groh was chosen would be laughable if it wasn't so depressing.
This fact did not go unnoticed by local and national sports commentators, many of whom considered the decision to hire Mike Groh a lamentable if not blatant display of nepotism. While Mike Groh has his defenders, it seems they were simply wrong, as Virginia's offense was ranked 104 (out of 119) in the nation. This inexcusable performance was not due to a poor team, but to terrible offensive play-calling, and the inexperience of a coach not ready to be an offensive coordinator for a team facing a high-powered ACC schedule.
The point of this column is not that Al Groh and his son are paid too much. Nor is it that Mike Groh is not cut out to be an offensive coordinator for Virginia football. These are points that had to be made in the process of addressing the larger issue: why is the Athletics program seemingly insulated from the rigorous, viciously merit-based hiring that goes on in the rest of the University? One could argue that Mike Groh was qualified, but he obviously did not face the sort of competition that took place for a spot in the history department.
Hiring Mike Groh should have raised more red flags than it did. Surely if a professor's questionably qualified son was hired as an assistant professor, students would be up in arms. Unfortunately for Virginia fans, the Athletics department enjoys an unhealthy degree of unchecked autonomy. This special status, best represented by the disproportionate influence exercised by Al Groh when hiring his son, should be the source of overwhelming disappointment in a school that not only loves its sports, but preaches honor.
Sina Kian's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at skian@cavalierdaily.com.
Read More
PARTING SHOT: No man is an island
By Ava MacBlane | YesterdayRetirement, as you can tell, has been treating me well. When people ask me now if I miss it, I laugh and tell them some things I definitely don't miss. But I don't always get to tell them about the things I really do miss.
PARTING SHOT: You never know unless you try
By Lexi Baker | 2 days agoMy time at the University was shaped by the people who showed me grace and kindness and by those who had confidence in me, even when I struggled to have it in myself.
PARTING SHOT: A love letter to Cav Daily and Connection
By Ava Proehl | 2 days agoMy time here taught me to look for the genuine, human connection in every moment.
