MUbasketball924

>The reason I raise these questions is because the article >insinuated that it wasn't fair to compare Marquette and SLU >due to the discrepancy in the number of undergrads living >on-campus. In reality, I think Marquette and SLU are very >similar situations. Just thought I'd try to help clear this up a bit. According to the Marquette ORL: 3200 students in Res Halls + 1000 students in Univ. Apartments= about 4200 students who live "on campus" This is kind of a distorted figure though, because the University only counts students who live in University-owned buildings as living "on campus". In reality, many students live in apartments in houses which are in the middle of many University buildings (and closer to the middle of campus than many Res Halls) but are considered "off campus". So, although the facts given (90%) are probably a bit misleading, so are the University's figures. Also... My cousin at SLU is a member of the Blue Crew, and we've had many heated discussions about the fans at our respective schools. As a Marquette student, I have to say that the participation of Tom Crean, and to a lesser extent the players, has by far been the biggest factor in building such a large student fan base. Besides the things mentioned in the article, Crean is constantly showing up at University events which aren't related to basketball, and he and players are also often seen at other university sporting events cheering on the team. He even bought doughnuts and distributed them to fans waiting in line outside last spring before the Louisville game. At the end of every school year, there is also a huge fan appreciation picnic where students (and the public) can get autographs and pictures and basically just hang out wtih Crean and the players (see link). And above all, Crean CONSTANTLY emphasizes the role of the student fans in the success of the team (the student section is introduced as the 6th player during intros at the beginning of games). Above all though, it seems that SLU (as a university) needs to look at what will make students more likely to come to games, and then cater to those needs feverishly. [http://www.gomarquette.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=4751]

Why all the ill will towards your Jebby brothers? Although SLU and MU don't have a long and storied rivalry, it has been a nice one that has developed in the past few years. It will be a shame that we won't be in the same conference in the future, but hopefully we can continue w/non-conference games once all these changes take place. That said, I'm kind of confused as to why some Bills fans are upset that MU is leaving. I don't think you would think more than 5 seconds if you were offered the same opportunity to move to a highly prestigious conference that all but guarantees increased money, publicity, etc. I've always considered SLU to be right up there w/UL and UC as our best conference rivals...you've got a good coach and staff that will make good decisions for your team. You'll have sucess in your new conference; don't let our decisions cause bad feelings...