Wendelprof

[This is in response to Old Guy's posting about SLU official NIL policy] There's always the official, written policy for legal purposes, and then there's how the entity operates. Sometimes the two are fairly aligned, sometimes not. My assumption is all schools are saying one thing and doing another, not necessarily because they are intentionally misrepresenting the situation but because the landscape is so new and is changing so fast they are just trying to stay competitive.

Not that it is a controlling consideration, but at most universities these days the "free tuition" starts at 50% and goes up with each year of service. And I have a vague recollection that the board discussed this years ago, and someone posted about NCAA regulations that overlap. I wouldn't assume he will be on a non-basketball scholarship.

Hmm, did someone find a Billiken bone near Grand Ave way back when?

Hate to be lawyerly, but I assume the contract language has a lot to do with the earliest date SLU can make the decision, assuming they are leaning towards terminating the contract. Assuming the buy-out drops each year, the key is when "the year" ends. I assume it ends after "the last game." The last game of the conference season or the last game of the season, including the conference tournament? What's the contract say? Assuming the buy-out amount drops with each passing year, there could be quite a bit of money riding on these last few days. If a million dollars or more is riding on the extra few days, at this point my guess is the school would wait the extra few days. Again, all this depends on the language in the contract, a document that none of us has seen. It really is unfair to criticize the school without knowing the exact language and terms in the contract.

Pepperdine announced about a month ago that the athletic director, Steve Potts, would be resigning at the end of the semester. This will permit the new AD to hire the new coach. I assume the new AD will appreciate that opportunity.

Soderball, couldn't agree with you more (yes, I'm old enough I was at many of those games) - but that wasn't about hate and looking to spill the opponent's blood; that was just good old-fashioned passion for winning and the crowd getting caught up in the excitement as well. But we need a team that plays with that passion and desire, and more importantly, coaches who put them in a position to win. I'm not sure we have that combination currently. Hard even for passionate fans to get passionate about this year's performance.

Ha-ha. Played 3 sports in college. Any you Roy?

"SLU, the program, and our fans need some HATE. We need some RAGE. We should be looking for blood to spill when hated VCU and UD come to town." Couldn't disagree more. We need players and coaches who hate to lose and are willing to do what it takes to win, but you don't need to hate opposing teams and players. Most of the best players I've met respected the opposing team and players. That didn't mean you didn't want to beat them. "We should be looking for blood to spill when hated VCU and UD come to down." Again, couldn't disagree more. We should be ready to look them in the eye and go toe to toe with them, but no need to go looking for blood. That type of attitude is not appropriate on or off the court (or field, depending on your sport). If the other team wants to play physical, by all means, be prepared to match that play (see the great Brian Conklin video), but no reason to adopt that attitude before the game has even begun. Focus on winning, on playing the perfect game, not on looking for blood.

Has he offered to donate his salary to SLU's NIL fund to help turn things around?

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39466589/nlrb-regional-official-clears-way-dartmouth-hoops-union

I prefer not to assume the worst (though I appreciate that the internet often does). Didn't SLU recently hire a guy who was instrumental in setting up Mizzou's NIL program? I wouldn't be surprised if they put SLU's current approach (BVF) on hold until he has an opportunity to review and modify it.

(I'm a non-techie, so feel free to correct my posting if someone with better computer skills can do so). Pete

My apologies if someone already posted this. I didn't see it (and frankly I can't believe no one else has seen it), so here goes ...

Loyola of LA just announced it is terminating 6 sports programs to better position itself to be competitive in the new NIL and transfer portal sports world. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/thousands-sign-petition-after-lmu-cuts-6-sports-programs/ar-BB1hhOa2?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=227df1251f62490ea1ae702551797935&ei=21 While some student-athletes no doubt will benefit from the new approach, many student-athletes will be hurt.

I've got to agree with Doc on this one. SLU is not the type of school to dismiss a coach mid-season. If they haven't taken any action by now, it is unlikely they are going to do anything the rest of the season. Let's give it a break. I'd like to see some discussion of the team and the players. I'm tired of reading about all the criticism of the coach. I get it, and I agree it is probably deserved, but the points have been made. I think most fans prefer to talk and read about the team and the players. If you want to throw in your two cents about the coach every now and then, OK, but this constant writing about nothing but the coach has gotten old. That's my two cents.