knight_rider

At this point in time, your generous donations are going toward the main arena floor, weight facility, and training room. No offices, no practice facility, no pride in the project. We are trying to fix a bullet wound with a band-aid!

.......how importance athletics are to the University! Duke, Carolina and others offer a great education, but when you hear those names the first thing that pops into the mind is not how good the law program is. Revenue is waiting for the entire University good father, but you must put a little more heart into "your" athletics program. This arena needs built asap, complete with practice facility and coach's offices or we will continue to be also-rans!

The two basketball programs at this school are at a major disadvantage in the recruiting battles with our present facilities. Sure, we all want Brad and Shimmy to compete with the Illinois' and the Kansas' of the world, but both coaches are handcuffed with the limitations they are presently working under. If you want to make some money, you have to spend some to get to that point. Where is the Billiken Pride?

While I don't agree with that philosophy, you are correct. However, at the rate we are going with our arena project and the fact that as time moves on, more cuts are being made in the original design, it proves to me that the higher-ups do not understand the importance of this building. We are expecting Brad to compete within the top 50 while he receives a budget that does not equal most other schools and his team has no true home. The recruits see this when they come on campus: they are in West Pine six days a week and in the building formerly known as Savvis one day a week. Nobody cares about the women's team because they have consistently produced losing seasons. However, they are a representation of this University and the more successful they are, the better the department looks. There is no way they are on equal ground in the recruiting battles. Don't half-a$$ this project. If it's worth doing right, then do it right the first time! Do not come in five years later to add coach's offices and a practice faciltiy.

There are plans for new offices to house both programs. However, Father Biondi expects to "ADD" those offices at a later date. What good is a new facility if there is no coach's offices for each staff to perform their duties? This entire thing smells of a "Cash Cow" for the Father. Put a floor down on game day; any other time, the arena will be rented to an outside organization to generate money. What good does this do for our student-athlete? I'm not entirely sold on the notion that the student-athlete is our number one priority.

No coaches offices in the new facility leads me to believe the good Father is not the shrewd business man some people think he is. I was also in West Pine watching games the other day and the floor has two different colors of blue on it. When they repainted the lanes and placed the A10 logo under the free-throw line, we ended up with a bright blue. I have been told the outside of the court will remain the dull, faded blue. I realize the men do not play their games in their, but what message do we send when the A10 volleyball teams come in and see how stupid and unprofessional this looks. This is an institution of class, and that court does not resemble it at all. Only thing that needs to be said is, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression!"

I'm sure the arena will happen. However, what are the donors thinking when they are now realizing there will be no coaches offices in the facility. 77 million to construct a state-fo-the-art facility with no coaches offices; does not make any sense at all. I know Brad and Shimmy are not happy with this architectural flaw!