Box and Won Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 What concerns me is how few younger fans/supporters we seem to have. I'd like to see more people around my age (late 20's-early 30's) at the games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 fan Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Pretty sad commentary of your fellow students. Wonder why the University is setting aside seats for the student body in the new building? I guess you should start lobbying Biondi now for cheap beer night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Roy, I watched Donnie Dobbs. I knew Donnie Dobbs. Donnie Dobbs was a favorite of mine. Roy, Luke is no Donnie Dobbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 fan Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Actually Janet at the AD office is working on internships for all SLU athletes. It's a program being developed now and they are actively looking for companies willing to offer internships, full or part-time, to scholarship athletes. What is a large supporter? We don't have any Lauries associated with the program. My company commits tens of thousands to b-ball annually, is that big? The family of a person I know quite well donated $6,000,000 to SLU and $6,000,000 to Washington U. While he played b-ball at Illinois, he has no interest in SLU athletics. I think when it was received about 2 years ago, it was the largest gift to SLU. I was told just a couple of weeks ago, if you consider only the seats within the court on both sides of the lower bowl, the average donation to the Billiken Club is $22 per year per seat. So, for every Tucci or Fusz, there are dozens that give nothing to assist the AD. That's the problem. Sure, it would be great to have a couple of people foot the bill for all of us. But, that's not the case with SLU, or, I suspect, most universities. Wish we had a Hammonds like Missouri State, but we don't. The only way to improve the overall condition of the AD is to dig in our pockets, or write a check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 9,000 fans come to watch a quality product? I'd put that number more around 400 people that actually, really care about what is happening on the court on a consistant basis. St. Louis sucks, its plain and simple, there is nothing to do here in these monthes. I'd love for someone to argue me on this point, I'd have a good hardy laugh here. Whoever made the comparison to bloomington, des moines, etc. is a out of their mind. First off, St. Louis has a population of 1+ million in the metro area to draw off of. des moines has what 4 sets of related cousins and a few hundred cattle? come on, get serious. Secondly, the product on the court is better at an IU or Iowa. They have tradition, boosters up the wazoo, excitement. The Duke example was to highlight that if every big program had a gym as large as ours, we'd be right where our team stacks up, around 140 in the nation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 because it assumes that if you do not want to fire Brad then you are not passionate about the program. I am sort of a high $$ supporter and I know most of the big hitters. Unquestionably there is a level of frustration at our inconsitant play and some bad losses in conference. However, very few of those people view the wins and losses in a vacuum. You said the big boosters in Charleston were complaining because of the type of kids the coach was bringing in and his abrasive personality. Well, those issues, and the academic performance and graduation rates are very important to most of the SLU boosters. Brad has never had a problem with the kids he has brought in--they have all been solid citizens. He may be too honest but he is sure not abrasive. He is a nice guy who gives it everything he has to make the team better. His graduation rate is excellent and he demands that the players be not only real students but also that they give back to the community. These are very big things to most of the SLU boosters. The fact is that our boosters are for the most part not as insane as some boosters of some schools, particularly the football programs. In my view that is a good thing because, in my opinion, one of the reasons for many of the problems in NCAA sports, and recruiting in general, is the big money boosters and their "follow no rules" attitude that help people like Huggins and many others. Specifically, with regard to Brad, my feeling is that people want to see how we do this year and how we do in recruiting the next 12 months or so. Right now, we are only about 3 good players away from having an excellent team next year. If Brad fails to sign anyone in the spring and the fall recruiting fails as well then I could see the bigger boosters getting really restless. But the school will never do anything precipitous. These are just my thoughts based upon my interaction with a number of people. I have also talked at length with Cheryl about a number of issues but I will keep those in confidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I agree 100% with the idea that we do not have the type of super rich billionaire supporters that give massive amounts to the sports programs at a lot of schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majerus Magic Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Brian, what is your problem? The guy disagrees with you and you are flipping out. He asked who the big donors where at SLU and you come back with the typical " You are just a negative person and just shut up" response. Instead of aimlessly responding to his post why don't you go do something productive. It is typical at most colleges to know who the big donors are, and he was just asking the same question about SLU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Your company's donation would be considered a very big annual contribution to this program. I am very interested to see what happens at AB now that the fourth is in charge. His father still runs the board but the fourth is in charge of the day-to-day ops. He is a big sports fan and a SLU grad. There have already been rumors that he wants to get the company back into the baseball business. Let's see what kind of love he has for SLU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 72 said, "As an example of these types, the College of Charleston fired Tom Heron in June. It's a well known fact that there was a small core group of high $$ supporters that didn't like him or where he was taking the program. Even though Heron won a lot more than he lost, they didn't like the type of kids he was bringing in and they didn't like his abrasive personality. They presured the college to fire him and raised the buyout money, around $750,000. Does SLU have any of big $$ boosters who are this passionate about the program?" My problem was when he said that a passionate donor would be in the ear of the president and the AD asking for Brad's head. I don't think a big-time donor has to be doing that to be passionate about the program. There are people who give a large chunk of their earnings and spend a large chunk of their companies advertising budgets every year to support this program. I think it is totally unfair to question their passion for the program because they may not be working to get the coach fired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACE Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Interesting post, but I couldn't help but get a chuckle out of the comment "we are only about 3 good players away from having an excellent team next year" Wow! I would hope the big $$$$ folks would regard that as a reason for concern. After this year we will lose the best center we've had since I've been a SLU fan (agree that he's been disappointing this year) and will already be halfway through the KL/TL era with little other quality in the pipeline. To top it off, we are staring at a 3rd consecutive season with no postseason play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 fan Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I have had several discussions with people in the AD and other contributors to the program, and I believe you have very accurately described the current feelings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I believe that the biggest donor to the program is the Novelly family (current or former owners of Apex Oil and Winterpark Ski Resort). They have courtside seats near center court and the top reserved spot at the Saviss. They almost single-handedly funded the new CBC at 270/40. However, they operate very low key. Other big donors include Mike Shanahan Jr.'s family, Dennis and Judy Jones (of Jones Pharma), and the Jack Taylor foundation, each of which donated $1 million to the new arena. (Although I am not sure if the Taylors have any interest in SLU athletics beyond their belief that what is good for SLU is good for St. Louis.) Royal Bank and US Bank have been very large corporate sponsors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 fan Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Hope you are right, because it may take something like that to happen in order to improve the Athletic Dept. The school is not going to commit additional funds to the athletic program. My personal opinion is that CL has orders to do the best she can with what money she has, or go find more! Heck, I'm still not sure the university is putting any cash into the new athletic facilities. Wonder if the university will pay rent to the Athletic Dept. when they use the building for graduation or other non-athletic events? They have no problem charging the athletic dept for things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 How am I the bad guy for calling 72 out when he questions the passion of the few big donors this program has? Hell his daily whine fest is bad enough. He was not asking just who the big donors were; he was questioning their passion for the program. I would say it is far more than his, seeing as he has never saw fit to join the Billiken Club. Question the coach, the admin., and the judgment of those donors all you want. It is not wise to question their passion for the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 You are right about the Novellys, Shanahans, and the Jones. I forgot about them earlier. I know Jared Novelly from a while back and he is a really good guy. The new CBC is built on the site of their old family home. Their old house is now part of the campus. That land was worth major bucks. They have always seemed, at least to me, much more passionate about CBC than SLU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alonzo P Hawk Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 walt jocketty's daughter goes to slu if that means anything. i don't think it does. ------------------------------------------------------------ *Official Billikens.com sponsor of Mike Beczkala Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 It may mean something. What are her stats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Jared dated a friend of mine back in high school. I don't know the families relative passion about SLU v. CBC; however, I do know that Mr. Novelly was passionate enough about SLU that he did not give Jared an option of going anywhere else for college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 It might be that I am just much more aware of what they do at CBC. They really do, as you said, like to keep an extremely low profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Every time you post, it seems more obvious that academics is not a hinderence to getting athletes at SLU. At least it shouldn't be since it clearly isn't a hinderence to getting admitted as a regular student. You seem so uneducated that I truly find it hard to believe you are a student at SLU. If you are, I should be able to just talk to somebody in admissions and get a PHD just handed to me. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H Waldman Official Sponser of the Stemmler and Ahearn could and would have helped club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Doctor B doesn't want everybody to know his secret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I have a suggestion ... learn to write. Please don't respond to me except in a positive manner as you have made it clear that it is idiotic to attack a supporter of the program, which really confuses me, as it seems to be ok to you to attack the players. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H Waldman Official Sponser of the Stemmler and Ahearn could and would have helped club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Imo ... with Luke it's not how much he scores, but how much we give up as a team on the defensive end having him play the 4. There is a reason we give up so many offensive boards. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H Waldman Official Sponser of the Stemmler and Ahearn could and would have helped club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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