I'm curious if others share this opinion, but I really felt like Coach Abe was the "best" UCF coach - in any sport - at least in the timeline that I've followed the athletic programs (20+ years).
I base this on looking at the entire package - she can coach, she can recruit, she has a great personality, awesome with the media in interviews, etc. There have been other successful coaches at UCF, but I felt like Abe pretty much hit every mark you'd want.
Prior to her arrival, UCF WBB was a middling program aside from an occasional fluke conference tournament run. Abe made UCF an instant competitor - NIT appearances her first two seasons (close to making NCAAs), then finally breaking through to the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19. They could have likely been in the tourney again in 2020 but it was obviously canceled due to COVID. They're now coming off three seasons of NCAA appearances (skipping the COVID year).
While this was the first season UCF won a NCAA Tournament game, the trajectory was obvious to see. And doing it in a sport like WBB that doesn't have inherent advantages that I feel softball, soccer, etc. have just for being located in Florida and access to a great recruiting base.
If Abe remained at UCF, I have zero doubts the program would be an instant competitor in the Big 12. I can't say that about some other coaches on campus. It's as close to a sure thing that you're gonna get.
And if there's coach that's able to take a program into the higher eichelon of WBB - think of what Dawn Staley has been able to achieve at South Carolina - it's Coach Abe. I felt like she'd be able to do that in the Big 12, finally competing in a conference that gets respect.
I know UCF WBB is a relative newcomer to the party, but it had to be disheartening to pretty much roll through your entire schedule while being largely ignored by the national polls (how many weeks did it take to get ranked?), then underseeded by the NCAA Committee. That was largely non-P5 bias in play, but would have soon been changing with the Big 12.
Anyway, we all knew schools would be coming after her. Abe already has ties to UGA - she originally went there as a student-athlete before transferring back home to Iowa.
Per Jason Beede's reporting, Abe did receive a salary increase prior to the season that elevated her base pay at UCF from $400K to $575K.
I heard yesterday from a UCF source that Terry Mohajir was offering a raise that would put her salary in the "top 15" of WBB.
I learned today that offer was $900K with a bump in the budget pool for her staff. Then when UCF officially joins the Big 12, Abe would receive a subequent raise that would put her in the top 10 nationally along with another assistant pool bump.
Yeah, I've seen a couple people mention in other threads TMo put a time limit on the offer, wanting her to accept and not go forward with the interview at UGA. I've heard that too.
UCF is also lagging behind in facilities, and I've heard Abe was a bit frustrated by the lack of progress on that front. Some of the basketball "upgrades" (MBB and WBB) in recent years have essentially been the equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig, trying to make the most of the space they currently have.
I know UCF has plans - obviously funding is another story - but the only renderings that have been publicly released are the ones pertaining to football. Yeah, I know there's a lot currently on the plate, such as finalizing the AAC exit into the Big 12, determining if remaining in-house for corporate sponsorships, etc. is the best move, etc. I just know the lack of progress on the basketball facility (any new facility would double for both MBB and WBB) has frustrated her (and probably Dawkins too).
For a peer school, but Houston really is the model to follow. Their current facility opened in 2016 at a cost of $25M.
uhcougars.com
UCF's current facility is essentially the old UCF Arena - the old "upper deck" of bleacher seating was walled off on each side to give MBB and WBB their own practice court with offices/locker rooms nearby and a small weight room down one of the old hallways. It's functional, but lacks any sort of wow factor.
Could more have been done to keep Abe at UCF? Or was she always leaving anyway? It's hard to beat offering a top 15 salary and top 10 in another year. But sometimes decisions are made for other reasons, not just money. The SEC offers advantages that going to the Big 12 will still be difficult to counter. As her star continued to brighten, I always knew it would be increasingly difficult to keep her.
Obviously the search now begins. It will be interesting to see the direction TMo goes - obviously going to the Big 12 should make this a much more attractive job.
I base this on looking at the entire package - she can coach, she can recruit, she has a great personality, awesome with the media in interviews, etc. There have been other successful coaches at UCF, but I felt like Abe pretty much hit every mark you'd want.
Prior to her arrival, UCF WBB was a middling program aside from an occasional fluke conference tournament run. Abe made UCF an instant competitor - NIT appearances her first two seasons (close to making NCAAs), then finally breaking through to the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19. They could have likely been in the tourney again in 2020 but it was obviously canceled due to COVID. They're now coming off three seasons of NCAA appearances (skipping the COVID year).
While this was the first season UCF won a NCAA Tournament game, the trajectory was obvious to see. And doing it in a sport like WBB that doesn't have inherent advantages that I feel softball, soccer, etc. have just for being located in Florida and access to a great recruiting base.
If Abe remained at UCF, I have zero doubts the program would be an instant competitor in the Big 12. I can't say that about some other coaches on campus. It's as close to a sure thing that you're gonna get.
And if there's coach that's able to take a program into the higher eichelon of WBB - think of what Dawn Staley has been able to achieve at South Carolina - it's Coach Abe. I felt like she'd be able to do that in the Big 12, finally competing in a conference that gets respect.
I know UCF WBB is a relative newcomer to the party, but it had to be disheartening to pretty much roll through your entire schedule while being largely ignored by the national polls (how many weeks did it take to get ranked?), then underseeded by the NCAA Committee. That was largely non-P5 bias in play, but would have soon been changing with the Big 12.
Anyway, we all knew schools would be coming after her. Abe already has ties to UGA - she originally went there as a student-athlete before transferring back home to Iowa.
Per Jason Beede's reporting, Abe did receive a salary increase prior to the season that elevated her base pay at UCF from $400K to $575K.
I heard yesterday from a UCF source that Terry Mohajir was offering a raise that would put her salary in the "top 15" of WBB.
I learned today that offer was $900K with a bump in the budget pool for her staff. Then when UCF officially joins the Big 12, Abe would receive a subequent raise that would put her in the top 10 nationally along with another assistant pool bump.
Yeah, I've seen a couple people mention in other threads TMo put a time limit on the offer, wanting her to accept and not go forward with the interview at UGA. I've heard that too.
UCF is also lagging behind in facilities, and I've heard Abe was a bit frustrated by the lack of progress on that front. Some of the basketball "upgrades" (MBB and WBB) in recent years have essentially been the equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig, trying to make the most of the space they currently have.
I know UCF has plans - obviously funding is another story - but the only renderings that have been publicly released are the ones pertaining to football. Yeah, I know there's a lot currently on the plate, such as finalizing the AAC exit into the Big 12, determining if remaining in-house for corporate sponsorships, etc. is the best move, etc. I just know the lack of progress on the basketball facility (any new facility would double for both MBB and WBB) has frustrated her (and probably Dawkins too).
For a peer school, but Houston really is the model to follow. Their current facility opened in 2016 at a cost of $25M.
Guy V. Lewis Development Facility - University of Houston Athletics
QUICK FACTS Name Guy V. Lewis Development Facility Location Corner of Cullen Boulevard and Holman Street on UH campus Cost $25 million Size 52,923 square fee...
UCF's current facility is essentially the old UCF Arena - the old "upper deck" of bleacher seating was walled off on each side to give MBB and WBB their own practice court with offices/locker rooms nearby and a small weight room down one of the old hallways. It's functional, but lacks any sort of wow factor.
Could more have been done to keep Abe at UCF? Or was she always leaving anyway? It's hard to beat offering a top 15 salary and top 10 in another year. But sometimes decisions are made for other reasons, not just money. The SEC offers advantages that going to the Big 12 will still be difficult to counter. As her star continued to brighten, I always knew it would be increasingly difficult to keep her.
Obviously the search now begins. It will be interesting to see the direction TMo goes - obviously going to the Big 12 should make this a much more attractive job.
