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Coaching movement that might affect SLU


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I give Coach Ford credit for what he did this season and all the recruiting, but the reality is he hasn't won anything yet. Why are we discussing how crazy he would be to leave SLU? I'm pretty sure Jay Wright has had some good offers to leave Villanova over the years and he is still there, right? Why is that? It's because places like Villanova, Georgetown and Creighton are supported financially from the university the way they need to be, in order to really compete. Before everyone starts the hate mail and bashing, think about this, would Villanova fans be excited if Jay Wright left and Travis Ford was hired as his replacement? I do not think so.

I think the bar has been too low at SLU for years and the university president has to want to fund athletics the way it needs it be funded in order to really compete on a national scale. All the talk about the AD, coach, marketing, conference, recruiting, academic help, etc can be fixed by a bigger, stronger budget. You tend to get a better quality of employee and product if you are willing to invest as an organization.

For the record I really like Coach Ford and think if he stays here he will do very well and actually reach a higher level as a coach. But, whether it's Ford or any other coach trying to build a bigger, better program they need the resources to compete, that is just the world of college athletics we live in now. Just my opinion. 

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1 hour ago, majerus mojo said:

The amount of conjecture in this thread is astounding. Here's the obligatory 'the media are shitstirrers' comment someone mentioned that clearly does need to be reiterated 

I asked for it, and I agree with it 100%.  That being said, my main point is that I don't want to lose all the momentum we have here, because the University fails to live up to its promises with regard to funding athletics, particularly basketball.  Even if Ford is not going anywhere this year, I don't want him having a bad taste in his mouth about the university that will cause him to have one foot out the door his entire stay here.  Just give him what he was promised.

I heard that they are raising the funds for this project.  Is that what Ford was told was going to happen?  Does anyone know?  If he was told the University was going to do this, and then later the Athletic Dept. was told sorry now you need to raise the funds, that falls into the same category of not reimbursing a coach for buying the team ice cream.  It's not going to leave a good impression.

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1) Do we know what Ford was promised?

2) Do we know those promises have been delayed or postponed?

There's been a lot of talk about that and I'm genuinely curious if these are truly facts. 

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No worries, if Ford leaves I coach the f-ing team.  My 1st grade YMCA team is currently 2-6 but that's only because this "every kid plays crap".

I would be pressing the out of these little turds too if the rules allowed.  Run and Gun. 

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1 hour ago, Bizziken said:

1) Do we know what Ford was promised?

2) Do we know those promises have been delayed or postponed?

There's been a lot of talk about that and I'm genuinely curious if these are truly facts. 

3 hots and a cot.  First of all nobody knows if anything was promised or not nor if Ford even asked for anything other than the locker room/lounge area which we have been told already  has 75% of the money raised and drive to get the rest is to be announced soon from what others have shared.  Somebody says something with no real evidence to support it and all it takes is a couple of days for this board to blow it out to proportion and start the "sky is falling" routine.  Try reading all the entries in the thread and you will have a good idea of what is really being reported since you are genuinely curious about these facts of which you do not list even one.

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6 hours ago, cgeldmacher said:

Also, someone questioned my previous post about why I blame Pestello.  Simple answer: He buried his head in the sand for several years while the finances went to s#*t.  Now we have something like a $16 million dollar deficit.  He knew when he came in that Biondi was out because he was "the bad guy" and Pestello decided he needed to be liked by everyone instead of making hard decisions about finances.  Now its biting him in the ass.  Also, if this is the reason Ford hasn't got his locker room and lounge, then it's also biting the athletic department in the ass.  That would not be May's fault.  That would be Pestello's fault if non-athletic budget problems are affecting money for athletics.

I have no inside knowledge, but I did read much of the consultant's report. My net takeaway is that the current financial problems largely stem from having a large number of longstanding programs and degrees offerings that are unprofitable and in low demand, combined with a declining enrollment due to age-related demographic changes. Effectively, Costello inherited the problem and is now faced with making the difficult decisions as to where and how to cut programs and costs to make the school more efficient and relevant for the current era. Maybe Biondi could have raised more donations to fill the budget gaps this year, but the long-term problems would have remained. I also understand that many universities are facing the same challenges. 

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I want to remind everyone here that Mizzou is the enemy. Watch this video and remember how much you hate them: 

We are Mizzou

Have a good weekend Bills fans. I will be playing cornhole on a Bills themed set and pouring one out for the season before the Dallas St. Patrick's Day Parade. Bright days ahead. 

Burn in hell Como. 

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26 minutes ago, prebilliken said:

I want to remind everyone here that Mizzou is the enemy. Watch this video and remember how much you hate them: 

We are Mizzou

Have a good weekend Bills fans. I will be playing cornhole on a Bills themed set and pouring one out for the season before the Dallas St. Patrick's Day Parade. Bright days ahead. 

Burn in hell Como. 

Word 

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5 hours ago, Billy Ken said:

I give Coach Ford credit for what he did this season and all the recruiting, but the reality is he hasn't won anything yet. Why are we discussing how crazy he would be to leave SLU? I'm pretty sure Jay Wright has had some good offers to leave Villanova over the years and he is still there, right? Why is that? It's because places like Villanova, Georgetown and Creighton are supported financially from the university the way they need to be, in order to really compete. Before everyone starts the hate mail and bashing, think about this, would Villanova fans be excited if Jay Wright left and Travis Ford was hired as his replacement? I do not think so.

I think the bar has been too low at SLU for years and the university president has to want to fund athletics the way it needs it be funded in order to really compete on a national scale. All the talk about the AD, coach, marketing, conference, recruiting, academic help, etc can be fixed by a bigger, stronger budget. You tend to get a better quality of employee and product if you are willing to invest as an organization.

For the record I really like Coach Ford and think if he stays here he will do very well and actually reach a higher level as a coach. But, whether it's Ford or any other coach trying to build a bigger, better program they need the resources to compete, that is just the world of college athletics we live in now. Just my opinion. 

Hey Billi Ken, money does not grow in trees, and endowments are not there to provide spending money by draining the principal. SLU is in a bind, they will cut programs and faculty just as sure as they cut administrative staff. The question is how and how deep are they going to go in their cuts and how many semi marginal or low income programs are they going to keep. These are decisions that cannot be taken in a casual fashion and extensive future projections must be made before they get there. At least that is what I would do. This is a matter of planning necessity not foo fooness.

The Athletic Department like all other departments of the University has its losers. We carry a number sports and teams that basically generate only losses. Basketball is not one of those and probably has the best potential for being a money maker. However the issue of cutting programs is coming straight at the Athletic Department as it is to all other departments, and the AD is faced with the same decisions that must be made by all other department heads. I think it is not unreasonable for the AD to try to maintain a few of the less profitable or even money losing programs alive when faced with that decision. IF (notice I said if) that is the case, which I think is most probable, there is or will be a relative scramble for funds within the department. In this case Ford should do what he can to assure Men's basketball's budget and finance are not cut too deeply. Ford has to play the game as all the other coaches are or will be doing, he has not choice.

If you look at the forest (the Athletic Department budget and finances in the light of the financial situation of the University) instead of the trees (the prospects and needs of the men's basketball program) things will look different to you. Mind you, I do believe the men's basketball program future is looking extremely promising at this time and that they need the funds. The issue is how is Ford going to manage to get such funds ahead of the other coaches... I think he will do a great job about this.

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57 minutes ago, Old guy said:

Hey Billi Ken, money does not grow in trees, and endowments are not there to provide spending money by draining the principal. SLU is in a bind, they will cut programs and faculty just as sure as they cut administrative staff. The question is how and how deep are they going to go in their cuts and how many semi marginal or low income programs are they going to keep. These are decisions that cannot be taken in a casual fashion and extensive future projections must be made before they get there. At least that is what I would do. This is a matter of planning necessity not foo fooness.

The Athletic Department like all other departments of the University has its losers. We carry a number sports and teams that basically generate only losses. Basketball is not one of those and probably has the best potential for being a money maker. However the issue of cutting programs is coming straight at the Athletic Department as it is to all other departments, and the AD is faced with the same decisions that must be made by all other department heads. I think it is not unreasonable for the AD to try to maintain a few of the less profitable or even money losing programs alive when faced with that decision. IF (notice I said if) that is the case, which I think is most probable, there is or will be a relative scramble for funds within the department. In this case Ford should do what he can to assure Men's basketball's budget and finance are not cut too deeply. Ford has to play the game as all the other coaches are or will be doing, he has not choice.

If you look at the forest (the Athletic Department budget and finances in the light of the financial situation of the University) instead of the trees (the prospects and needs of the men's basketball program) things will look different to you. Mind you, I do believe the men's basketball program future is looking extremely promising at this time and that they need the funds. The issue is how is Ford going to manage to get such funds ahead of the other coaches... I think he will do a great job about this.

If we agree that mens' basketball is the money maker for the athletic department, then I think you have to look long and hard at the school's commitment to that program. I realize the economy in higher education is near crisis mode, but that doesn't mean that every program (academic, athletic, and other) is going to get the ax. I agree that there will be much deliberation over what programs stay and what programs go; but there has to be some commitment to the athletic department if we want to hit any of the goals that fans, coaches and players have. 

I think you might be mistaken about Ford having no choice (if we are using the assumption that MBB is the moneymaker). Ford has leverage in that respect because those Billiken Club members and big donors are more likely to donate to a winning program than one that is not winning. His leverage will go way up if these players he has coming in can increase the profile of SLU basketball to where Coach Majerus had it or better. 

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32 minutes ago, JettFlight5 said:

... the profile of SLU basketball to where Coach Majerus had it or better. 

Majerus not only brought us wins, memories and pride but he also left us with a stacked team resulting in 3 straight years of NCAA payouts (2 games each year) which will soon be falling off. 

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Back to the topic of the thread: who is Mizzou going to hire now that they fired Andersen? Tom Crean is the answer.

I've hated Crean for about 15 years now. He was a punk at Marquette and he's been a punk at Indiana. While he will be a formidable foe on the recruiting trail at Mizzou, a large part of me hopes he ends up in COMO so that I can get back to hating MU the way I did when Quin and Haith were there. I tried my best to hate them when Kim Andersen was there but ended up just feeling sorry for them. Crean has the ability to restore my absolute hate for that program. Let it be Tom Crean!

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4 hours ago, davidnark said:

I have no inside knowledge, but I did read much of the consultant's report. My net takeaway is that the current financial problems largely stem from having a large number of longstanding programs and degrees offerings that are unprofitable and in low demand, combined with a declining enrollment due to age-related demographic changes. Effectively, Costello inherited the problem and is now faced with making the difficult decisions as to where and how to cut programs and costs to make the school more efficient and relevant for the current era. Maybe Biondi could have raised more donations to fill the budget gaps this year, but the long-term problems would have remained. I also understand that many universities are facing the same challenges. 

You know who isn't having enrollment problems?  Creighton.  The team that got that last Big East spot on Biondi's watch.  Creighton had record enrollment last year and near record enrollment this year.

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53 minutes ago, kshoe said:

Back to the topic of the thread: who is Mizzou going to hire now that they fired Andersen? Tom Crean is the answer.

I've hated Crean for about 15 years now. He was a punk at Marquette and he's been a punk at Indiana. While he will be a formidable foe on the recruiting trail at Mizzou, a large part of me hopes he ends up in COMO so that I can get back to hating MU the way I did when Quin and Haith were there. I tried my best to hate them when Kim Andersen was there but ended up just feeling sorry for them. Crean has the ability to restore my absolute hate for that program. Let it be Tom Crean!

Cream to Missouri and Archie Miller to IU is what I've heard is the hot rumor. 

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14 hours ago, Old guy said:

Hey Billi Ken, money does not grow in trees, and endowments are not there to provide spending money by draining the principal. SLU is in a bind, they will cut programs and faculty just as sure as they cut administrative staff. The question is how and how deep are they going to go in their cuts and how many semi marginal or low income programs are they going to keep. These are decisions that cannot be taken in a casual fashion and extensive future projections must be made before they get there. At least that is what I would do. This is a matter of planning necessity not foo fooness.

The Athletic Department like all other departments of the University has its losers. We carry a number sports and teams that basically generate only losses. Basketball is not one of those and probably has the best potential for being a money maker. However the issue of cutting programs is coming straight at the Athletic Department as it is to all other departments, and the AD is faced with the same decisions that must be made by all other department heads. I think it is not unreasonable for the AD to try to maintain a few of the less profitable or even money losing programs alive when faced with that decision. IF (notice I said if) that is the case, which I think is most probable, there is or will be a relative scramble for funds within the department. In this case Ford should do what he can to assure Men's basketball's budget and finance are not cut too deeply. Ford has to play the game as all the other coaches are or will be doing, he has not choice.

If you look at the forest (the Athletic Department budget and finances in the light of the financial situation of the University) instead of the trees (the prospects and needs of the men's basketball program) things will look different to you. Mind you, I do believe the men's basketball program future is looking extremely promising at this time and that they need the funds. The issue is how is Ford going to manage to get such funds ahead of the other coaches... I think he will do a great job about this.

I realize money doesn't grow on trees and I also realize the university knows this as well. I'm making a bigger point than this isnt just an athletics problem, it's a university problem. My whole life as a Bills fan has been just wait until next year or three years and we have so much potential. That's been over 50 years! The university has to prioritize athletics and they don't. Pestello had no clue what he was walking into and thats not entirely his fault. I do think he's made many mistakes though. He's basically kept all the same people Father B had in place. So here we are now and the same people that caused all the problems are now in charge to fix them? It makes zero sense. That I blame Pestello for, if we don't have the money why isn't he getting people that can fundraise in there? So now Father B has to come back and that creates a whole other story. It just seems like SLU can't get out of its own way. We are worried about Travis Ford leaving when no other Power 5 team a year ago wanted him and they could have got him. I like Ford, I do. But, I just wish athletics was in a stronger position within the university like a Villanova or a Georgetown. It just isn't. All we heard about was WBB going to the NCAA, that didn't happen. No offense but outside of UCONN, WBB usually isn't your tent pole sport. I guess I'm just frustrated bc I think ford has so much potential to help slu get back on track, the track record of the university and its leadership is what worries me more than loosing our coach.

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1 hour ago, tarheelbilliken said:
 
On Archie, maybe wishful thinking. Crean is probably out at IU but will probably wait till after the NIT to announce.

 

Why would that be wishful thinking? We need Dayton, VCU, etc. to be as good as possible.

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