Men Would Jim Penders leave UConn? Nah… “It’s a Family”

[huskymedic]

My gut says no way at this time but Kendall Rogers threw his name out for the recently vacated Michigan Head Coach job.

Penders never seemed like “it’s all about the money” guy and he seemingly gets University/Athletic Department support here. His roots run deep here and recent messaging is he is very happy here.

I think Roger’s is just spitballing and trying to connect dots (w/ maybe an agent whisper ) but it will create some noise…




-> Three Quick Michigan Candidates (which he made four this morning):

With Erik Bakich heading to Clemson, here are three candidates we know will be in the mix for the Michigan head coaching job:

Jim Penders, Connecticut: The addition of this candidate’s name to our list will surprise some. But dig a little deeper into the resumes of Penders and Michigan AD Warde Manuel, and it will start to make sense. Manuel, before he was the AD at Michigan, spent four years as the athletic director at Connecticut. During his time in Storrs, Penders guided the Huskies to a Super Regional and Regional appearance. Most recently, Penders has guided the Huskies to four-straight NCAA tourney appearances including an obvious Supers appearance this season. <-

 

[The Viking]

Cav just got a raise I’m wondering if Penders is in line next. Where does his salary compare with contemporaries?

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Nope, he ain't leaving. That is just lazy reporting. It's not like Manual brought Penders to UConn...Manual just happened to be here.

There is zero chance Penders is leaving UConn for Michigan. Zero. I don't think there is any chance that Penders is leaving UConn even if Florida St, Texas, or some other elite baseball power called. But certainly not for Michigan.

 

[UConNick]

Not a chance. Honestly it’s something I don’t even worry about, given his deep, deep personal and familial connections to the university and the state as a whole.

That said, if it weren’t for those connections, I’d be deadly worried, as he’d be a prime candidate for a bigger job. And even then, I agree Michigan wouldn’t be the fit. Not big enough.

 

[Sea Goat]

I say "no", but money does talk. What are the financial implications? Big 10 baseball is better and has a much higher profile than the BE.

 

[huskymedic]

Cav just got a raise I’m wondering if Penders is in line next. Where does his salary compare with contemporaries?

I say "no", but money does talk. What are the financial implications? Big 10 baseball is better and has a much higher profile than the BE.

Think Penders was @ $280k +/-.

Michigan’s Erik Bakich was @ $400k +/- and he’s heading for $1m @ Clemson

I still think its not happening and hopefully gets put to bed quickly to not have any transfer portal implications.

 

[uconnbaseball]

Doubt he goes to UM but damn he deserves a raise, as do his assistants.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Never say never in anything. Without getting too into details which I won't do on a message board, certain situations have changed with Penders outside of UConn's control and I know at one time there was an issue within UConn's control that wasn't resolved.

 

[8893]

I would be surprised given his deep ties to the state, but iirc he also family in Texas. If so, that could be something to watch down the road.

 

[CL82]

Never say never in anything. Without getting too into details which I won't do on a message board, certain situations have changed with Penders outside of UConn's control and I know at one time there was an issue within UConn's control that wasn't resolved.

(Yeah, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. If you feel like it, PM me to let me know.“)

 

[businesslawyer]

There is always an amount for which someone would leave their present job and take a different one. It might not be an amount that anyone is likely to offer them, but there is always an amount.

I have no idea if Penders would or wouldn't go for, say, $1M a year, but he's not a multi-millionaire, he's a coach with a safe job making $280k a year.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Here is where Michigan falls within the ranking of possible next jobs for Penders:

1. Full Retirement
2. UConn Athletic Director
3. Semi Retired - UConn Fundraising/Development job
4. Semi Retired - MLB Scout
.
.
.
33. Stratford High School or East Catholic High School Baseball Coach
.
.
.
78. Texas or Florida State Baseball Coach
.
.
.
127. US Congressman or Governor of Connecticut
.
.
.
352. University of Michigan Baseball Coach




So I guess theoretically there is a chance he is the next Michigan Baseball Coach.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[dbmill]

Anything is certainly possible, but from reading and listening to Penders interviews in the past, I have had the impression that UConn baseball was his dream job. I have also heard the suggestion that he become the UConn athletic director before as well.

 

[Sea Goat]

Think Penders was @ $280k +/-.

Michigan’s Erik Bakich was @ $400k +/- and he’s heading for $1m @ Clemson

I still think its not happening and hopefully gets put to bed quickly to not have any transfer portal implications.

Tough to compete with those numbers although Benedict did manage to hike Cavanaugh substantially for hockey. I know there are different dynamics,but Penders is a real gem...

 

[Alum1620]

Anything is certainly possible, but from reading and listening to Penders interviews in the past, I have had the impression that UConn baseball was his dream job. I have also heard the suggestion that he become the UConn athletic director before as well.

Especially his latest interview John Fanta where he even talks about it and why the men in his family seem to stay at a job for a long time

 

[Alum1620]

This individual would later make a Faldo connection by saying that Penders was hired by Manuel

 

[huskymedic]

This individual would later make a Faldo connection by saying that Penders was hired by Manuel

He corrected it…

 

[HookC22]

I guess you can never say never. College sports are changing drastically right now and the separation between P5 and non-P5 is only growing.

 

[Alum1620]

He corrected it…

It seems as if the reason he has been mentioned so far is only been because he worked under their AD but his recent words show is connection to the university

 

[Shortking98]

You could argue that it is a step forward in terms of a bigger conference with more money but based on where the two programs are Michigan feels too much like a lateral move to make sense. Anything is possible though I suppose

 

[HookC22]

You could argue that it is a step forward in terms of a bigger conference with more money but based on where the two programs are Michigan feels too much like a lateral move to make sense. Anything is possible though I suppose

Not quite sure I agree with that at all...

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I imagine there is a possibility for Penders to leave here but my guess is that it would need to be an ideal situation on many levels for him to even consider it.

It would need to be a place where he is confident he'd be comfortable finishing his career (my guess another ~20 years).

It would need to be a place where he would (if he performs well) he would more often than not be playing in Omaha at season's end.

It would need to be a situation that would not have the feel of a mercenary position for the coach and his staff.

I don't know if Michigan can fit the bill (they did recently make the CWS, and they possibly could fill all other slots) but I personally would be far more concerned about losing him if Michigan came calling than if for example a Georgia or an NC St tried to land him.

 

[Kemba Time]

Jim Penders, Connecticut: The addition of this candidate’s name to our list will surprise some. But dig a little deeper into the resumes of Penders and Michigan AD Warde Manuel, and it will start to make sense. Manuel, before he was the AD at Michigan, spent four years as the athletic director at Connecticut. During his time in Storrs, Penders guided the Huskies to a Super Regional and Regional appearance. Most recently, Penders has guided the Huskies to four-straight NCAA tourney appearances including an obvious Supers appearance this season. <-

God this is lazy. Not only did Manuel not hire Penders, but UConn also most certainly did not make a Super Regional while Warde was here. UConn went to the supers in 2011 and Manuel came to UConn in Feb. 2012. Warde also seemed pretty content to have UConn baseball play in a glorified HS stadium before AD David Benedict came in and immediately stressed (this was from before he even started the job for example) the need to build facilities that would turn the program into a national power -- then got a stadium built that turned UConn baseball into a national power.

Look, maybe there's some reason we don't know about that Penders would consider another job two years after the school he's called the only place he ever wants to coach over and over built him an absolutely perfect stadium to get him even closer to the one goal he's ever stated for this program -- but it's sure as heck not going to be because Warde Manuel happened to have an office in the same zip code when UConn went to the Blacksburg Regional.

 

[businesslawyer]

God this is lazy. Not only did Manuel not hire Penders, but UConn also most certainly did not make a Super Regional while Warde was here. UConn went to the supers in 2011 and Manuel came to UConn in Feb. 2012. Warde also seemed pretty content to have UConn baseball play in a glorified HS stadium before AD David Benedict came in and immediately stressed (this was from before he even started the job for example) the need to build facilities that would turn the program into a national power -- then got a stadium built that turned UConn baseball into a national power.

Look, maybe there's some reason we don't know about that Penders would consider another job two years after the school he's called the only place he ever wants to coach over and over built him an absolutely perfect stadium to get him even closer to the one goal he's ever stated for this program -- but it's sure as heck not going to be because Warde Manuel happened to have an office in the same zip code when UConn went to the Blacksburg Regional.

The only reason would be money. And it would take a lot of it. Probably more than Michigan would be willing to pay him. But as I said above, is there a number that he'd have to take? Of course there is.