kevinfootes Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Biondi has had a long run at SLU. I've expressed my thoughts on here before regarding his performance...the results are good but his methods can be farily ruthless at times and his priorities can be debated. Has the athletic department come as far as he's willing to take it? many of us feel that the new building is nice but there are other problems including marketing, assistant coaches' salaries, etc. Brad and Cheryl could be replaced, but their successors will face the same problems. Could a change in direction from the top breath new life into athletics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milwaukee Billiken Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 No. Biondi is very good at his job and he's staying put. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Definitely, but it could also be much worse if the new President was of an old-school mentality that only believed in planning and investing directly in academic programs. As I understand Biondi, he has supported the basketball program to the minimum extent he believes necessary to obtain the desired exposure for the university. A President with a more fantastic view of the potential for the program would obviously be a big improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted February 17, 2007 Author Share Posted February 17, 2007 Baseball and soccer have nicer facilities, and basketball will soon follow. If he put 10% of the effort into marketing as he's done facilities, things would be much better. However, that's not Biondi. He's more about real estate than things that are less tangible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ready2repent Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Most Assuredly!! As it stands now, coaches pay for their own cell-phone bills. Coaches make recruiting trips over five hours away by car, in one day, because the budget is tight. (Not very safe having a coach driving at 2:00am) Cheryl begs and pleads for her staff to receive the same resources as the majority of Valley schools. It's also been said that when the new arena arrives, the teams will only play in it, not practice, in an effort to save on the light bill! This is information coming out of midtown and cannot be proven, but does come from reputable sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 I would prefer the school do away with all athletic programs before the Province recall Biondi. Are you people for real? Seriously? If Biondi was a corporate CEO he would be Jack Welch, or better. Since 1818 Saint Louis University has had a Ignatian mission to EDUCATE young adults. The things that Father Biondi has done to further that mission are really beyond compare. I was at a meeting today discussing the academic improvement at the University. It is really unbelievable how for this school has come. Just because the basketball team is struggling since conference play, does not mean the demise of the oldest University west of the Mississippi no matter how much Bernie M. may hope, wish, and pray for it. And the "ruthless" comment??? That is a pretty strong word. Merriam Webster defines it as: having no pity : MERCILESS, CRUEL. I would like someone to show me consistent, definitive, and materially frequent evidence that Father Biondi has been "ruthless". He may be driven. He may be blunt. He may be shrewd. He may be demanding. He may even, at times, be a jerk. But "ruthless" belies a true understanding of Father Biondi as a person especially in light of his accomplishments, which, by the way, are 100% altruistic in the common societal and cultural sense of the word. You and I get a salary for our accomplishments. He gets an "attaboy" and a lot of snide comments. I love Billiken basketball. I go to every home game. I get sick after losses. I follow the team religiously. However, I understand that basketball is but ONE small component of the University. Perhaps the rest of you should step back and realize that beyond all those trees is a forest.... "A strong man stands up for himself; a stronger man stands up for others." - Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 "You and I get a salary for our accomplishments. He gets an "attaboy" and a lot of snide comments." LOL. You aren't serious with that comment are you? You really think he only gets an "attaboy"? I have my issues with Biondi; however, i also recognize the really great things he has done. I assume your comment was just hyperbole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Do you think he actually receives a salary??????? "A strong man stands up for himself; a stronger man stands up for others." - Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Biondi has been a good president - he has upgraded SLU when very few others could have pulled it off. As far as athletics are concerned, he seems he has tried to strike some balance but predictably what has occured is that you can not be all things to all people. The money being spent on athletics is not terrible as some might lead you to believe but it is not overly generous either. Biondi is not the problem but who he hires. Debbie Yow and CL have been good hires but Woodard was only so so. Spoon was good, Romar was so so and Brad - the jury is still out. Thus, your organization is only as good as its people - any successful leader will tell you that hiring the right people is very important and also very difficult to do all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clock_Tower Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Agreed but you are being quite kind to Woolard. Trivial example, vividly recall sitting at a table in JBucks restaurant after a game, noticing Woolard walk into the room and not one person in that part of the restaurant, said hello to him, seemed to notice or even look up from their table. Cannot imagine the athletic director of any Top 50 program receiving such treatment. More basic examples include the TV/radio packages he obtained, lack of decent marketing, poor fundraising, poor job on the new arena... Had heard second hand only that he alienating several key alumni who could have been/had been very large donors. In short, I truly blame him for our current situation. Could Biondi have done more? Absolutely. Has/is Biondi committed to making men's basketball a Top 50 program? Not at all. Would I take Biondi and SLU as it exists today over pre-Biondi SLU circa 1987? Absolutely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted February 17, 2007 Author Share Posted February 17, 2007 How about getting in bed with Mike McMillan to take property away from business owners? How about building fountains while the arts & sciences buildings didn't have a/c? How about firing two priests who were assigned to be student advocates for nothing besides doing their job? Is that part of the Ignation Vision? While the end results may be better for the university, it's not exactly in line with the mission of Ignatius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted February 17, 2007 Author Share Posted February 17, 2007 So if you're judging him by personnel moves in the athletic department Biondi is so-so? By the way, Yow's lying to season tickets holders isn't exactly part of the Ignatian vision either. Biondi kept his mouth shut on that one. They screwed over loyal fans to go afte bigger fish...very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 The question was limited only to his impact on the athletic program, not the school as a whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAG Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 "It's also been said that when the new arena arrives, the teams will only play in it, not practice, in an effort to save on the light bill! As it stands now, coaches pay for their own cell-phone bills. Cheryl begs and pleads for her staff to receive the same resources as the majority of Valley schools." - ready2repent Where do some of you get your information? You could not be more wrong. Have you even seen the designs for the new arena. It has full size practice courts built that are attached to the arena. $85mil - yeah, they went cheap on it. Your "reputable sources" must be well connected at SLU to have come up with that fact. I don't believe they pay their own cell phone bills and no one has proved that. To say Cheryl "pleads to receive the same resources of the Valley schools" is also a joke. She wouldn't be here if that was the case. CAG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Kevin wrote: "Biondi has had a long run at SLU. I've expressed my thoughts on here before regarding his performance...the results are good but his methods can be farily ruthless at times and his priorities can be debated." This statement clearly reaches beyond the athletic department. Kevin has every right to express his opinion. My point is that aside from the fact that Biondi has done very well for the University, I don't believe that he is A) "ruthless" and I think that, conceptually, replacing Biondi to help the men's basketball team (I know Kevin said athletic department, but the reality is we are talking about men's basketball) is like saying that BofA needs to replace Ken Lewis because brokerage revenues are down. Hence, my "forest through the trees comment". Here is another way to look at it: What if you get someone as the new President, an older Jesuit perhaps, who feels that athletics are not at all important? There would be those within the University and Jesuit communities that would DEFINITELY agitate for that. "A strong man stands up for himself; a stronger man stands up for others." - Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Kevin, the only problem with your comments are that there is a lot of other "stuff" behind those situations and your interpretation and there is more than what you see on the surface. That is all I will say. "A strong man stands up for himself; a stronger man stands up for others." - Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 CAG - there are those on this board with thinly veiled agendas and you have probably just responded to one of them. Good luck. "A strong man stands up for himself; a stronger man stands up for others." - Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted February 17, 2007 Author Share Posted February 17, 2007 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knight_rider Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 R2R is correct; Brad pays for his staff's cell phones out of camp money and the women are on their own to pay for theirs. That fact is common knowledge out on the recruiting circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted February 17, 2007 Author Share Posted February 17, 2007 If Ken Lewis promised good brokerage revenues to shareholders 20 years ago and only occasionally delivered, he would be in trouble. I believe that SLU is in a better place overall than they were 20 years ago, and Biondi has a lot to do with it. I do not believe that men's basketball or soccer is as good as it was 10 years ago. Biondi's overall performance aside (and sticking to athletics), how many schools have worse TV deals than they did 10 years ago? Going back even further, do you believe Debbie Yow screwing over season ticket holders when the team moved to the Arena reflected the Ignation vision? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 This is a ridiculous question to begin with. Judge Biondi because of the Basketball program? This guy has been a super president. I don't know how the budget works in the AD for cell phones, but I can't imagine they can't put those expenses on an expense account, but whatever. Biondi went out on a big limb to build an $85mm dollar arena at a private institution without all the funding in place. Without even met the initial funding goal of $45mil or so. Am sure he recognizes the value of a high profile hoops team, see Marquette, Zaga, etc. and is hoping SLU gets there as well someday. The fixing of our program squarely rests with CL and UB. Last time I checked I don't think Biondi was in charge of recruiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 I don't remember the Debbie Yow situation you refer to as being that big of a deal. So, I guess the answer to your question I don't see how it is really relevant to the Ignatian vision. "A strong man stands up for himself; a stronger man stands up for others." - Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clock_Tower Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Re-read your own post. Often times, people on this Board post without thinking. Perhaps this will help: Fr. Biondi has been on the job for 20 years!! Dating back to 1987, Fr. Biondi has only talked about improved facilities and arena. After 17 years of talk, SLU announced the new arena plan. Yes, the medical center was in the works, time, effort and large donations were already being committed to that project but Biondi controlled the timing of the new arena announcement. Fr. Biondi did not go out on any limb. Instead, he simply went forward with the arena project he had promised after the plan had languished for 2 years, many small donors had already committed and paid money, $6 million or so of TIF money would possibly be lost if not pursued and SLU was receiving negative press. Further, Fr. Biondi reduced the size and quality of the arena. SLU will not be only private institution to have its own facility. Drive up to see U of Dayton's facility (13,500) built in the late 70s/early 80s. Agreed that Fr. Biondi is not in charge of recruiting, but to imply no role or responsiblity rests with the President of the school who is in charge of facilities, budgets, etc. is just plain naive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billsboys Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 > >"It's also been said that when the new arena arrives, the >teams will only play in it, not practice, in an effort to >save on the light bill! > >As it stands now, coaches pay for their own cell-phone >bills. > >Cheryl begs and pleads for her staff to receive the same >resources as the majority of Valley schools." - ready2repent > >Where do some of you get your information? You could not be >more wrong. Have you even seen the designs for the new >arena. It has full size practice courts built that are >attached to the arena. $85mil - yeah, they went cheap on >it. Your "reputable sources" must be well connected at SLU >to have come up with that fact. It is a well known fact that all the coaches pay for their own cell bills. It's hard to beleive but it is true. To think the most fundamental way to recruit these days is a cell call or text and the coaches pay for it out of their own pockets is embarassing. > >I don't believe they pay their own cell phone bills and no >one has proved that. To say Cheryl "pleads to receive the >same resources of the Valley schools" is also a joke. She >wouldn't be here if that was the case. > >CAG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 I think it is inaccurate to say that Biondi "reduced the size and quality of the arena". My understanding is that the Board of Trustees was lobbied by a collection of individuals, including the two head basketball coaches, the AD, and a few others who all wanted to ensure that the facility had practice facilities, offices, etc. That lobbying of the Board of Trustees was successful and the new arena will have these additional facilities. The decision to reduce the size was related to this decision and was driven in part by cost. There has been a huge fundraising push by so many different areas of the University including and especially for the arena. Quite frankly, probably one of the toughest fundraising jobs has been for the arena. My opinion is that the responsibility for the issues with the delay of the arena and its reduced seating capacity rest at very least in part with the donors or lack thereof. If enough people stepped up and provided the funds, A) the thing would already be there and it could seat 100,000. "A strong man stands up for himself; a stronger man stands up for others." - Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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