TheChosenOne

I legitimately have so little going on coupled with what some might call a drinking problem, that I would be game for helping put any of the above events on.

They need '05 hosting an event at Humphrey's shooting the crap with his buddies/former players after a few man sodas. I will pick up the bar tab, '05 is the host, so we just need some talent. I am volunteering you for this '05 and realize the BVF would likely distance itself from some idiot like me, but this would be gold for those of us who support the program in a less formal way.

I'd be curious of that 40 how many were new donors, but the point remains and is why many on here were happy to see this event being offered. I follow college football/basketball way too closely and find myself wanting to know the "pay scale" so badly. With just 13 scholarship players it wouldn't seem like the most difficult task for a school without big time college football to be competitive in NIL, but I say that merely as a fan posting on a message board.

Haha, I didn't think much of the photo until this post and you are right. Maybe due to the surrounding arena being darker? I don't find the photo cringe. However, good call on Brian Kelly, I will pay for the equipment so Travis can get the 360 videos with recruits. Maybe don't grind on the recruits though!

No need to post anything negative about the event since this is the sort of thing I am happy to see them doing. Plus, practice and some form of meet and greet with drinks and appetizers for $250 to me is a solid event and deal. My only recommendation would be sending out the invitations with a bit more lead time before the event. I think I spent about half of that ordering Luther Burden chips, so if anyone wants a bag we can arrange a meet up.

Thanks for the updates and posting the clips! Absolutely love to see it!

Big time credibility at this point, thanks for the teaser @BLIKNS

Yeah, I was going to let you do the homework on where we could be admitted and follow your lead. A nurse comes in every morning and tells us the Billikens won last night. We (sick fans who care too much) needed this. This team will rally around Trent! I am back baby!

I saw a quote on another fan message board that Calipari talked about supporting a return to the five years to play four seasons rule that was in place prior to COVID saying something about 28 year olds playing 18 year olds which I found amusing. I have been quite surprised to see the age of some of the guys playing on Saturdays this fall and was this past March Madness as well. It certainly would seem like this will have to normalize with the COVID year filtering out and the enforcement of the one time transfer.

I've always said we should be recruiting California... On paper this definitely looks like a quality get and we beat out some solid programs to land his commitment. Well done.

I meant the coach speak/bs he says in these types of interviews. Since so many coaches do it, I’m not going to take a shot at Ford for doing so as well. The roster construction is certainly problematic.

I am convinced Ford has bets with his assistant coaches with respect to the things he says in the off season. I bet you won't say French is working on his 3 point shot feels similar to saying the front court is as deep as ever when mentioning Hargrove playing the 5. Nothing he can say will satisfy a restless fanbase, so this isn't a shot at Ford. Ultimately, the team just needs to exceed expectations this fall/winter and get us all back on board.

Goodwin is just an absolute dog. One of those guys you can put on any team and no matter how talented the team is, he will find a role and produce. Just so damn competitive and tough. And he clearly has worked his tail off developing his game, so I don’t want the first few lines to be seen as implying he is merely a junkyard dog, the guy is a player. So proud to see what he has done, dude earned it.

Good point on the candidate. Seldom is a hire truly a home run without questions and some level of doubt. I am closer to you and torch with respect to my opinion of Ford, but less aggressive with wanting to fire him (and I suppose the discussion doesn't matter at this point). I would have given him this season with it being make or break. Unfortunately, the offseason did little to ease my concerns and now I am so concerned with our ability to compete in NIL under this current regime. Nobody took the bull by the horns with respect to NIL and the interview Troy did with Slaten further supported those concerns. This isn't on Troy, but the athletic department and program in general failing to see an opportunity. Instead, Troy talks about Mizzou almost taking passive aggressive shots at them in his interview, well I see their basketball program currently has the top recruiting class for 2024 on rivals (I assume it will not finish that way, but still) and a lot of smoke around their football program. Maybe mock them less and follow their lead. If Ford goes after this season, I hope May is gone too. We need leaders that see a changing landscape and view it is an opportunity and work to position the program to take advantage of those changes. Instead, we are once again playing from behind.

@thetorchthat is a reasonable response to my question (I had not really considered a comparison to that Sodie final season, but that is fair). I think I had checked out and didn’t realize just how many folks supported Ford being fired after the season. I assumed most would be more in line with 05 and driven more to that point after you layer on the off-season activity. What are we thinking the buyout looks like?

I think that’s close to where I am at now too unfortunately. Hopefully the team surprises us. And if not, we can discuss who our next coach should be.

Absent the contract, did folks actually think Ford was deserving of being fired? I was disappointed with last season and questioned the future of the team, but would not have supported firing Ford without some exciting candidate essentially lined up that would not be around down the line. I don’t know his contract, but think asking folks to buy him out in the spring wouldn’t get much support. Six months from now that might be a different discussion.

I do think if Hargrove is having to play the 5 that Ford might not have any choice. Might not be the worst thing. Having to play that way essentially by default.

If you had concerns with our NIL efforts being insufficient or falling behind, I’d recommend not listening as it will just affirm your opinion and possibly make you throw something hearing the guy leading the NIL effort at SLU bemoaning NIL. Also, he makes it pretty clear SLU had nothing to do with the state legislation as they won’t pursue it since it is state law vs. NCAA rule. So bad. I do plan to have Jimerson making balloon animals at my next birthday though.

Copied directly from the website: The Billiken Victory Fund is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization with approval pending from the IRS.

Troy was on Kevin Slaten’s show, the King’s Court. Give it a listen, but my initial thoughts are that our fears are well founded and not doing interviews was probably the right decision. https://590thefan.com/radio-shows/the-kings-court-with-kevin-slaten/

What show was he on? Might be good for someone to link it since I doubt many folks were listening live to 590 the fan this afternoon.

I have no involvement in the show. I get your primary point, just maybe not how you brought it up using their podcast that has made an effort to assist the group. My only contribution to Billiken fandom was hosting one tailgate a few years back which was a bust (ended up being brutally cold) and I think maybe hosting one with Zac and Peter's show could be fun this season. I have not mentioned this to them, so this is not something in the works at all. I have essentially no life, so if anyone is interested maybe we can pick a game that makes sense. The preseason has been so quiet and we seem to be sniping a lot with each other, why not bring fans together to share a beer and fellowship before a game? My wife did enjoy hearing folks introduce themselves by their screen name, not sure she has ever been so attracted to me hahaha. But, it was really enjoyable to meet some of the folks who did brave the brutal weather.

Assuming we do in fact see a team that pushes tempo and presses, it will certainly be an interesting season.

Right. I don’t understand the argument. You all have offered up your platform and it is really strange you weren’t taken up on that offer. Trust me, I get that NIL is primarily for the whales, but to not talk to the passionate fans and let them know what the group is doing and how they can contribute is a missed opportunity.