Billiken Law

From all I've heard he has the skills but his head isn't screwed on straight.

retraction coming tomorrow. Think about it, why is a Syracuse paper pimping a league they are about to bolt?

No PE major at MU (that was a rumor started by DePaul fans). Never has been and I doubt there ever will be. Most MU players are in the school of Communications, which means they still have to take the core curriculum all students at MU have to take. Probably the easiest school at MU (just about every Comm person I knew was on the Dean's List during my time there) but no cakewalk. In addition, Duke's program is not "sociology of hoops" but rather just Sociology. However, it is considered the easiest major at Duke by the general student body and only 2% of gereral students major in Sociology.

And Coach Crean got his degree in something like Parks and Recreation Management because they knew what they wanted to do and that the degree would be useful to them. I am sure they also took other classes outside of basketball and swimming, which many JUCO's load up on. There is nothing wrong with taking PE classes or getting a PE degree, the problem is that that is all these kids take and as a result they are ineligible to come to a school like SLU without that major since they often haven't taken other classes that a freshman and sophomore at SLU would be required to take in order to graduate.

I'm not positive if that is the case - I'll have to check my NCAA book. However, in the case of Fericks he likely was able to transfer his UAB credits which could transfer to SLU and probably focused enough on taking the right courses at his JUCO so he could qualify anywhere.

Under the new JUCO transfer rules some JUCO's would not be eligible at a school like SLU. JUCO's had to have 35% of the requirements for their major at their transfer school completed to be eligible. Most JUCO's take nothing but PE and similar classes that SLU does not offer (I know of one JUCO transfer to DePaul a few years ago who had nothing but credits in basketball and swimming). Since SLU does not have a PE major JUCO's who took those classes would not be eligible if they came to SLU. Let's face it, not many JUCO kids are taking philosophy, theology and other classes required for a degree at schools like SLU, Marquette, Xavier, etc.

Hey Too, does the WCC (7 Catholic Schools, 1 very conservative Protestant school) promote religious intolerance and bigotry? Give me a freakin' break! I'm a Protestant attending my 2nd Jesuit university and have experienced none of what you seem to be claiming Catholic universities are promoting. I eat dinner with a group of Jesuits in training frequently and they don't care that I am a Protestant - that's not the Jesuit way. As for your Pulley prediction, I am sure you hated him when he was at SLU but I am sure he'll do well now that he won't have to deal with any pressure of actually doing academic work.

My bad, the MCC (typo). However, the MCC then was much stronger than the MCC/Horizon is now with Dayton, SLU, Xavier, Evansville, et al. I remember when I was looking at Evansville as a HS senior to play tennis they made the move to the MVC and I wondered why - it seemed to be a step down at the time but obviously it wasn't.

Roy, the thing to remember is that Marquette has always tied their success to the East Coast and that the formation of the Big East was one of the reasons MU fell from national power status in the 80's. It isn't that MU is saying "to hell with SLU, DePaul and Charlotte," instead they are taking stance that they are going to do what is best for the program and if that means going off on their own to the Big East or staying in a watered down CUSA with SLU, DePaul and Charlotte then obviously they have to take the first option. I know MU would prefer to remain in a conference with DePaul and SLU.

MU would prefer to remain with DePaul - they are one or our olders and most bitter rivals. Would it be a mistake for MU to abandon SLU and DePaul? Probably not, depending on what the conference looks like. The worry is that if they stick with DePaul and SLU and reject overtures from the Big East the conference that is formed is a glorified MVC which would be a major step backwards for MU. By the way, I believe MU was invited to join the Big East when it was first formed but turned them down - wanted to stay independent. Then when independents were made obsolete they were forced to join the MVC which set the program back a few years. If only the GMC hadn't merged with the Metro....

Fact - Marquette would like to remain with DePaul and SLU. Fiction - Marquette will turn down overtures from another conference (namely the Big East) if SLU and DePaul are not included. Marquette is in a position of power right now because of their Final Four run and marketability. 3 years ago things were different but now Marquette is a whole lot more attractive nationally. They have traditionally had a strong presence on the East Coast which makes them attractive to the Big East. Right now SLU, DePaul and Charlotte need Marquette much more than Marquette needs them - harsh but true.

I almost went to UE for undergrad - really nice campus, nice, mid-sized city, great arena to play in, good local support. They had a nice run in the 90's, I think they made the NCAA 3 times. The discussions of them dropping from D-1 revolved around the fact they are one of the smallest D-1 schools and there were funding problems. However, I think the whole thing was a ploy to get big-time boosters to pony up financial support and it worked.