BD

[Barou]

Or does Ben Asken understand how social media works and continue to make statements and appear at events that promote his interests for free.
Good on him, it's a smart plan.
Ben showed zero interest in doing what the UFC required of him to get in (not that I know if he really wanted too) he only made public posts and pod casts criticizing the UFC and claims he is qualified to be a UFC fighter with out going through there process.
The coaching scheme seems to look a awful lot like how he handled the UFC situation, again great marketing but I am not falling for it.
Ben Askren (over opinionated at times) seems to be a very intelagant young man with a deep understanding of wrestling and the NCAA scene. "No" Big Ten team is going to hire a coach with out years of NCAA experience, why would a successful AD making big money take a chance on a unproven coach, it could cost him his job. Ben I am sure understands this and knows if that's what he wanted he would grab an asst coaching job for three short years to land the UW job. I highly doubt at this point of his life he can put his successful life on hold and tell his wife and kids we are going to move and take a huge pay cut for a few years.
Can we stop with the unrealistic crazy talk...

Askren has years of NCAA experience as a wrestler and a coach.  Sanderson had 3 years of coaching experience before being named HC.  Askren probably has that many years as well.  

Alvarez just hired a Defensive Coordinator for the UW football team whose coaching experience is all of 1 year as a DB coach.  Some might argue the DC for the football program is a much higher profile position than HC of the UW program.

[Barou]

Would Askren generate more donor money than Barry Davis?

I do think he would.  The question is could and would Ben put the UW above his private business interest?

If we can trust Trump to put America above his private business interests we can surely trust Askren; right?!

I think Askren has put himself out there enough on the forum over the years for us to know how he rolls.  I believe he even recently made a comment "I put in 100% in everything I do and that seems to work for me".....something along those lines.  Anyway, I think we can safely assume if his heart/head is more into his business than with UW, he wouldn't take the job.  Conversely, I think we can assume if he takes the UW job he would be all in. 

[Barou]

Or does Ben Asken understand how social media works and continue to make statements and appear at events that promote his interests for free.
Good on him, it's a smart plan.
Ben showed zero interest in doing what the UFC required of him to get in (not that I know if he really wanted too) he only made public posts and pod casts criticizing the UFC and claims he is qualified to be a UFC fighter with out going through there process.
The coaching scheme seems to look a awful lot like how he handled the UFC situation, again great marketing but I am not falling for it.
Ben Askren (over opinionated at times) seems to be a very intelagant young man with a deep understanding of wrestling and the NCAA scene. "No" Big Ten team is going to hire a coach with out years of NCAA experience, why would a successful AD making big money take a chance on a unproven coach, it could cost him his job. Ben I am sure understands this and knows if that's what he wanted he would grab an asst coaching job for three short years to land the UW job. I highly doubt at this point of his life he can put his successful life on hold and tell his wife and kids we are going to move and take a huge pay cut for a few years.
Can we stop with the unrealistic crazy talk...

Askren has years of NCAA experience as a wrestler and a coach.  Sanderson had 3 years of coaching experience before being named HC.  Askren probably has that many years as well.  

Alvarez just hired a Defensive Coordinator for the UW football team whose coaching experience is all of 1 year as a DB coach.  Some might argue the DC for the football program is a much higher profile position than HC of the UW program.

Sanderson was an associate coach for two years before he was promoted to ASST. Coach. That's 5 valuable years of coaching before the best wrestling mind of our time took over as head coach (9 uninterrupted years).
Ben Asken was an associate coach and trained with Sunkist for the Olympics at ASU IN 2008  almost 10 years ago. He is a great promoter and entrepreneur and co owns and runs a successful youth wrestling club. There is no doubt to me that B Askren could be a head coach if he choose to get back involved at the NCAA level for a couple year's. I bet there isn't a single college that would not love to have Ben in as an ASST Coach. My question is he willing to become an employee for possibly the first time in a decade? 

Sanderson began coaching in 2004.  He was named head coach in 2007.  He had 3 valuable years of coaching not 5.

[aarons23]

Or does Ben Asken understand how social media works and continue to make statements and appear at events that promote his interests for free.
Good on him, it's a smart plan.
Ben showed zero interest in doing what the UFC required of him to get in (not that I know if he really wanted too) he only made public posts and pod casts criticizing the UFC and claims he is qualified to be a UFC fighter with out going through there process.
The coaching scheme seems to look a awful lot like how he handled the UFC situation, again great marketing but I am not falling for it.
Ben Askren (over opinionated at times) seems to be a very intelagant young man with a deep understanding of wrestling and the NCAA scene. "No" Big Ten team is going to hire a coach with out years of NCAA experience, why would a successful AD making big money take a chance on a unproven coach, it could cost him his job. Ben I am sure understands this and knows if that's what he wanted he would grab an asst coaching job for three short years to land the UW job. I highly doubt at this point of his life he can put his successful life on hold and tell his wife and kids we are going to move and take a huge pay cut for a few years.
Can we stop with the unrealistic crazy talk...

Askren has years of NCAA experience as a wrestler and a coach.  Sanderson had 3 years of coaching experience before being named HC.  Askren probably has that many years as well.  

Alvarez just hired a Defensive Coordinator for the UW football team whose coaching experience is all of 1 year as a DB coach.  Some might argue the DC for the football program is a much higher profile position than HC of the UW program.

Sanderson was an associate coach for two years before he was promoted to ASST. Coach. That's 5 valuable years of coaching before the best wrestling mind of our time took over as head coach (9 uninterrupted years).
Ben Asken was an associate coach and trained with Sunkist for the Olympics at ASU IN 2008  almost 10 years ago. He is a great promoter and entrepreneur and co owns and runs a successful youth wrestling club. There is no doubt to me that B Askren could be a head coach if he choose to get back involved at the NCAA level for a couple year's. I bet there isn't a single college that would not love to have Ben in as an ASST Coach. My question is he willing to become an employee for possibly the first time in a decade? 

Sanderson began coaching in 2004.  He was named head coach in 2007.  He had 3 valuable years of coaching not 5.

Did you read Caels Bio???  No other canidate in the entire life of wrestling has accomplished what Cael did.  I not sure you can compare the two canidates. Maybe there are other coaches with the about the same creditials as Ben and then that would be a great arguement...but not Cael.

[littleguy301]

Roger KISH became the head coach of North Dakota State in 2011 after serving as the assistant wrestling coach at North Dakota State and became the youngest NCAA Division I head coach in any sport.
And for sure he has been successful.  I think he was 25 years old when he became head coach. 

And I do not think anybody actually thinks that BD knows the Wisconsin high school talent better than Ben Askren.

yes kish has done very well and he seems in years past to like to recruit wisconsin kids also.

[littleguy301]

From what I can gather just about everything Ben has done involving wrestling/mma he has done very, very well.

His AWA is top notch and it is known state wide.
His MMA gyms seem to draw in some people.
His MMA fight career is very, very good
His social media skills is very good
He draws in college kids to train, see realbouto
His pod cast is very good
He gets outstanding guest on his pod cast and while wrestling isnt all main stream boy Ben seems to be main stream when it comes to getting guest on his show.

While I understand that Mr Askren might not have the top tier coaching credits at this point, I do think a guy of Bens weight in the wrestling world would set the Badger program on its ear!!!!

Also, who remembers Barry Alvaras coaching back ground. I am sure when he got hired at Wisconsin I am sure their were many that thought there were much better canidates out there than BA himself.

O well, good luck to the Badgers wrestling team this year. I do wish each and everyone of them the best. Just not looking forward to a another ho hum year of really no hype and no intereaction with the UW and the rest of the state.

[Barou]

Or does Ben Asken understand how social media works and continue to make statements and appear at events that promote his interests for free.
Good on him, it's a smart plan.
Ben showed zero interest in doing what the UFC required of him to get in (not that I know if he really wanted too) he only made public posts and pod casts criticizing the UFC and claims he is qualified to be a UFC fighter with out going through there process.
The coaching scheme seems to look a awful lot like how he handled the UFC situation, again great marketing but I am not falling for it.
Ben Askren (over opinionated at times) seems to be a very intelagant young man with a deep understanding of wrestling and the NCAA scene. "No" Big Ten team is going to hire a coach with out years of NCAA experience, why would a successful AD making big money take a chance on a unproven coach, it could cost him his job. Ben I am sure understands this and knows if that's what he wanted he would grab an asst coaching job for three short years to land the UW job. I highly doubt at this point of his life he can put his successful life on hold and tell his wife and kids we are going to move and take a huge pay cut for a few years.
Can we stop with the unrealistic crazy talk...

Askren has years of NCAA experience as a wrestler and a coach.  Sanderson had 3 years of coaching experience before being named HC.  Askren probably has that many years as well.  

Alvarez just hired a Defensive Coordinator for the UW football team whose coaching experience is all of 1 year as a DB coach.  Some might argue the DC for the football program is a much higher profile position than HC of the UW program.

Sanderson was an associate coach for two years before he was promoted to ASST. Coach. That's 5 valuable years of coaching before the best wrestling mind of our time took over as head coach (9 uninterrupted years).
Ben Asken was an associate coach and trained with Sunkist for the Olympics at ASU IN 2008  almost 10 years ago. He is a great promoter and entrepreneur and co owns and runs a successful youth wrestling club. There is no doubt to me that B Askren could be a head coach if he choose to get back involved at the NCAA level for a couple year's. I bet there isn't a single college that would not love to have Ben in as an ASST Coach. My question is he willing to become an employee for possibly the first time in a decade?  

Sanderson began coaching in 2004.  He was named head coach in 2007.  He had 3 valuable years of coaching not 5.

Did you read Caels Bio???  No other canidate in the entire life of wrestling has accomplished what Cael did.  I not sure you can compare the two canidates. Maybe there are other coaches with the about the same creditials as Ben and then that would be a great arguement...but not Cael.

I read his BIO and he actually started as an associate coach in 2003 and was promoted to ASST Coach in 2005 and then head coach in 2007. Again because of his understanding of wrestling he was fast tracked with 4-5 years of coaching before he was made head coach. I think B Askren could do the same thing, a couple years as an ASST to learn the logistics side of things and he would be good to go.

Askren has a fine youth club with solid wrestlers, but its a far cry from coaching D1 or maybe even HS do to the employee aspects required.

"or maybe even HS"?  You have got to be kidding. 

This is what I'm reading from his bio: In 2004, Sanderson launched his wrestling coaching career, first as an assistant at Iowa State ... then was promoted to associate head coach. In 2007, Sanderson was named head coach of the Cyclone wrestling program.

Guess we'll disagree on the amount of years Sanderson coached before being named HC....among other things.

[wrestlemania]

These contract extensions are done every year, so its basically routine. It doesn't mean BD will be coaching until 2020. He'll coach until he decides he doesn't want to and if the plan is still departing when his daughter graduates UW, then that's when will happen regardless of the contract. It's when such contracts are not extended that the coach is in trouble.

It should be pointed out BD's contract expires about the same time Alvarez's current deal does he may also leave when the boss does too and let the new AD handle wrestling with a new coach.

UW gets out of wrestling what it puts into it, it's no different than life itself or wrestling for that matter.

I don't think Ben Askren is any "gamble" in the sense that he's not going to do any worse than BD (or any other previous UW coach for the matter who have won exactly zero NCAA titles and zero B1G titles, remember that). While I would like to see it happen like many others, after thinking it over, realistically I have to conclude it's a long shot and here's why:

1). Askren's business interests, would he be willing to give them up? I don't think UW is going to hire a coach with a lot business interests on the side, especially interests involving youth wrestling. Compliance anyone? Anyone whose been involved with the UW wrestling program will tell you the Athletic Department is incredibly anal when it comes to sticking with NCAA rules when it comes to wrestling considering the lack of such compliance got the UW program put on severe probation (probably more severe than the penalties called for but nevertheless...) and many believe one of the millstones the program has to deal with. Even the UWAD turned a blind eye to these interests (which they wouldn't) I guarantee you either Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, or Illinois would not and would be more than happy to turn UW in to the NCAA to keep them down in the standings if they through Askren was shading the rules any or was using his training centers to attract recruits.

2). 100 percent involvement. It's easy to say you're all in 100 percent to the task at hand but after half a year would that still be true considering you may have take a pay cut, you may have to give up your athletic career, you may well have a run-in with an administrator, your first few recruiting trips in which you find out admissions isn't going admit half the kids you talked to, some NCAA rule trips you up you think is ridiculous but there's nothing you can do about it.

Bottom line is, when you're the University of Wisconsin wrestling coach, that's what you are, period. That's your job and as they say, a man is his job. Any other identity isn't going to be there because the UWAD will make you give it up to be the head coach. That's the trade off, Askren will have to make and he has to decide is it worth if he wants to still pursue the job.

[bigG]

I wonder if it was told to BD the right way, he might be convinced that Ben would be a perfect predecessor and might have a much needed chat and recruit possibly the best coaching talent in the state. Mesenbrink might get his ear. If he were convinced he were handing the reigns over little by little and allow Ben to impact the style with his mojo. He got mojo, not juss funk. I bet BD, and subsequently, BA might listen a little louder to the desires of the (few) faithful left. I'm not even so invested in Badger rasslin'. Just love the team. But I think if this great change will be made, it won't be through ousting, or whatever. I bet Ben would make BD know he was the man for the job. Might not happen over night and the Barry haters might not have their blood. Best if happened day by day, and we can all go home happy. Just my wussy way of thinkin'. The idea of leaving a legacy with ,maybe the one that got away, might make the most sense in terms of openness for the future and a bit of humility.

I like the idea of the synergy between Ben and Trevor B. I think it could be a nice match. Pardon the (wrestling) pun.

[billymurphy]

Ben Askren sure the heck does not need to work as an assistant, he has already been that.   

[bigG]

I'm sure BA would take your word on that. Billymurphy says "no compromise"... Ben HC, now.

Good luck.