Rebecca Tillett hired as Women's Basketball Coach

[brianstl]

1 hour ago, billiken_roy said:

i agree with Metz.   Chris May took his time and obviously thought through his decision.   second, is it really good to have a overwhelming majority of your roster local?   is there really enough high level talent to field an NCAA tourney level roster just from the metro St Louis area?  (and that goes for the men's team as well)  let's let the lady do her job.  if after 5 years the program has indeed failed, we can move on.   God knows the billikens are used to the move on phase in my lifetime.

When you have never made the NCAA tournament in the program’s history, you aren’t going to be able to recruit nationally.

[3star_recruit]

If this is yet another Chris May hire that works out, what will we make of it?  Will it continue to be just dumb luck?

[billikenfan05]

50 minutes ago, thatskablamo said:

McGinty was the Crews of the pitch, but Doogie was great and so was Warming. Donovan was a three time conference coach of the year; Warming took the Bills to the 97 College Cup…two out of three pretty darn good. 

Completely wrong on so many levels I have no idea where to begin.

[thetorch]

1 hour ago, 3star_recruit said:

If this is yet another Chris May hire that works out, what will we make of it?  Will it continue to be just dumb luck?

I don't have an infallible view of May.

He's made some good hires. Kalish, Shields, Hendricksen, Stone.

He has some bad ones. And he had Crews, which frankly should have been a career killer.

Is Ford a great hire? I'd say no, not bad but not great...yet.

Was hiring Crews dumb luck?

May said the expectation is that the Women make the NCAAs every year. Do you think hiring a little known coach from Longwood the solution to making the NCAAs every year? 

I expected more. It may work out. You have to admit that his grandiose declarations about the program he made 3 weeks are not backed up with the level of this hire.

[3star_recruit]

7 minutes ago, thetorch said:

I don't have an infallible view of May.

He's made some good hires. Kalish, Shields, Hendricksen, Stone.

He has some bad ones. And he had Crews, which frankly should have been a career killer.

Is Ford a great hire? I'd say no, not bad but not great...yet.

Was hiring Crews dumb luck?

May said the expectation is that the Women make the NCAAs every year. Do you think hiring a little known coach from Longwood the solution to making the NCAAs every year? 

I expected more. It may work out. You have to admit that his grandiose declarations about the program he made 3 weeks are not backed up with the level of this hire.

May isn't infallible.  No person is.  But he's good at his job.  I'm glad he's here.

 

[billiken_roy]

1 hour ago, Billikenbooster said:

There is a bigger upside financially to the womens program than the men’s. When MoState’s wbb program was rockin’, there attendance rivaled the men’s. Think of the increased revenues from parking and food as well as ticket revenue. The net increase possibilities are greater than the men’s.

Since the new arena the mens attendance has been great, the women’s i dare say hasn’t changed much from the small on campus arena days.

mhg

wasnt southwest missouri state a top ten team back then when they were packing the place?   at this point i would settle for winning the conference and going to the ncaa tourney.  one level of accomplishment at a time.

[willie]

1 minute ago, 3star_recruit said:

May isn't infallible.  No person is.  But he's good at his job.  I'm glad he's here.

 

In my opinion he is the best AD we've had going back to Larry Albus. 

[willie]

1 minute ago, billiken_roy said:

wasnt southwest missouri state a top ten team back then when they were packing the place?   at this point i would settle for winning the conference and going to the ncaa tourney.  one level of accomplishment at a time.

They made the final 4 with Jackie Stiles. 

[billikenfan05]

1 hour ago, willie said:

In my opinion he is the best AD we've had going back to Larry Albus. 

I would say Cheryl was better, she just got hosed.

May is a great schmoozer and fundraiser.

[thetorch]

I liked Cheryl and Yow.

May, again is not bad but not great. 

When he makes really ridiculous statements like he did and doesn't back them up i question his leadership. Just like i questioned Biondi's when he'd do the same thing.

[cgeldmacher]

I get the support for Stone, but every coach's tenure at a university is subject the the momentum of the program.  The women's basketball program's momentum under Stone peaked and was now on the way down.  The current players saw it as evidenced by the defections.  Recruits see the same thing.  If you stick with a coach much longer after realizing that this is the case, you could end up with a much worse situation.

As far as Tillett, I like the idea of a coach  who has proven success in building a program.  Let's see what she can do.

[billikenfan05]

1 hour ago, cgeldmacher said:

I get the support for Stone, but every coach's tenure at a university is subject the the momentum of the program.  The women's basketball program's momentum under Stone peaked and was now on the way down.  The current players saw it as evidenced by the defections.  Recruits see the same thing.  If you stick with a coach much longer after realizing that this is the case, you could end up with a much worse situation.

As far as Tillett, I like the idea of a coach  who has proven success in building a program.  Let's see what she can do.

I don't know if she built a program. She turned a program around. It's a small distinction but an important one.

[JMM28]

14 hours ago, NH said:

Do you know any of what you said to be true? What is the financial breakdown of men's and women's basketball? How much profit would say the men's basketball program makes? What about the women's program? Your entire response is unfounded and counterproductive.

At no point was the decision made that the men's basketball program will support the SLU athletic department. That is a cop out used to diminish the importance of the other sports. Saying there "isn't any additional revenue that goes along with" increased women's basketball is also not based on anything and not true for many women's basketball programs. 

There are a lot of fans, supporters, alumni, boosters, etc. who care about women's basketball. That is what drives the investment in the program.

Because I have a basic understanding of elementary math, the ability to count to 11,000, and common sense - I know those things to be true. 
 

If you can’t understand the concept that the revenue generated from SLU mens basketball makes the SLU athletics engine go, there really isn’t a point on continuing that discussion. It’s just fact. 

Other sports aren’t important. They cost lots of money and bring in very little revenue. If you’re going to sponsor those teams, you might as well win. But if mens basketball is making runs in the tourney and every other team wins 0 games/matches annually, Chris May would be getting contract extensions  

You think that womens basketball having maybe 500 paid tickets a game is self sustaining? Their ticket revenue doesn’t even cover the cost of their head coaches salary. Cmon. 

[NH]

8 hours ago, JMM28 said:

Because I have a basic understanding of elementary math, the ability to count to 11,000, and common sense - I know those things to be true. 
 

If you can’t understand the concept that the revenue generated from SLU mens basketball makes the SLU athletics engine go, there really isn’t a point on continuing that discussion. It’s just fact. 

Other sports aren’t important. They cost lots of money and bring in very little revenue. If you’re going to sponsor those teams, you might as well win. But if mens basketball is making runs in the tourney and every other team wins 0 games/matches annually, Chris May would be getting contract extensions  

You think that womens basketball having maybe 500 paid tickets a game is self sustaining? Their ticket revenue doesn’t even cover the cost of their head coaches salary. Cmon. 

Your understanding of elementary math is apparently not sufficient for understanding how athletic department budgets work. You said the men's basketball program supports the entire athletic department budget, which is false. The men's basketball program supports most, but not all, of the men's basketball budget. The program is not profitable, nor is it intended to be.

The athletic department itself is not run to turn a profit. Revenue from basketball does not support other budgets. Does basketball generate more revenue than the other sports? Yes, obviously. Does it also cost more than all the other sports? Yes, obviously. 

If your judge of how important sports are at SLU is to look at how much money they are making for other areas of the university, then no sports at SLU are important. As SLU fans, most of us are able to see how the importance in terms of university profile, fundraising, reputation and culture matter. 

[slufanskip]

A lot of inside knowledge about Women’s basketball coaches here. 
 

Just as I’m always surprised to hear Coach Ford doesn’t reach out to Billikens.com MBM’s for help on how to best utilize his roster ( Seriously we’ve seen some players almost  80 min over 3 months, how does he not get that MBM’s know more than he does) I’m surprised May didn’t reach out to the board for help on making this hire. So many of you are clearly in the know. 
 

The hot name or the most money doesn’t always spell success. Do any of you actually know anything about our new Coach? I’ll help with the answer. Outside of what you can gather from google, the answer is No. 
 

[JMM28]

19 minutes ago, NH said:

Your understanding of elementary math is apparently not sufficient for understanding how athletic department budgets work. You said the men's basketball program supports the entire athletic department budget, which is false. The men's basketball program supports most, but not all, of the men's basketball budget. The program is not profitable, nor is it intended to be.

The athletic department itself is not run to turn a profit. Revenue from basketball does not support other budgets. Does basketball generate more revenue than the other sports? Yes, obviously. Does it also cost more than all the other sports? Yes, obviously. 

If your judge of how important sports are at SLU is to look at how much money they are making for other areas of the university, then no sports at SLU are important. As SLU fans, most of us are able to see how the importance in terms of university profile, fundraising, reputation and culture matter. 

I'm going to say this in the nicest way possible. You're just wrong. In literally everything you said. 

[billikenfan05]

20 minutes ago, slufanskip said:

A lot of inside knowledge about Women’s basketball coaches here. 
 

Just as I’m always surprised to hear Coach Ford doesn’t reach out to Billikens.com MBM’s for help on how to best utilize his roster ( Seriously we’ve seen some players almost  80 min over 3 months, how does he not get that MBM’s know more than he does) I’m surprised May didn’t reach out to the board for help on making this hire. So many of you are clearly in the know. 
 

The hot name or the most money doesn’t always spell success. Do any of you actually know anything about our new Coach? I’ll help with the answer. Outside of what you can gather from google, the answer is No. 
 

Despite the title, I don't think this whole thread has necessarily been about Tillett or her ability as a head coach. It feels like it's more about the reasoning given for firing Lisa Stone by Chris May as well as the statement of goals for the future of the Women's Basketball program.

There is no question that Tillett's short stint at Longwood was incredibly successful and it's no question that Tillett is a good coach.

However looking at May's exact quote:

"Our goal is to play in the NCAA women’s basketball championship regularly. This is a great job in women’s college basketball, and our program is well positioned for sustainable, long-term success."

Back to Tillett's resume. She has made the NCAA tournament one time as a HC and WNIT as an Assistant. She has only recruited to the Patriot League and the Big South. Tillett's big thing is culture, there's no denying that culture is important in long term success but nothing concrete in her resume indicates sustainable and long-term success. That's just a fact. The issue people are having with this process is the disconnect between May's stated goals for the program and the choice of head coaching hire. They don't match up.

That being said, I'm behind Tillett from jump street. I'll be at her first game and as many games as my schedule allows. Let's ride.

 

[BrettJollyComedyHour]

2 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

Back to Tillett's resume. She has made the NCAA tournament one time as a HC and WNIT as an Assistant. She has only recruited to the Patriot League and the Big South. Tillett's big thing is culture, there's no denying that culture is important in long term success but nothing concrete in her resume indicates sustainable and long-term success. That's just a fact. The issue people are having with this process is the disconnect between May's stated goals for the program and the choice of head coaching hire. They don't match up.

This ^ I have no doubts about Tillett's ability as a coach, but, as someone stated here earlier, she seems like just a younger Lisa Stone with less concrete experience in recruiting and leading a larger program. This hire isn't congruent with the expectations Chris May outlined for the program going forward, the frustration stems from this.

[3star_recruit]

I think there's a big gap in our perception of how things work in women's college basketball and how they really work.  These are the winningest coaches in the A10 over the last five years:

Shauna Green, Dayton (now Illinois).  Previous head coaching experience: Loras College

Beth O'Boyle, VCU. Previous head coaching experience: Stony Brook

Stephanie Gaitley, Fordham.  Previous head coaching experience: Monmouth.  Career fixer-up at the mid-major level.

Rhode Island's Tammi Reiss admittedly does come from a more high-powered background but she's the exception to the rule.

 

[rgbilliken]

1 hour ago, NH said:

Your understanding of elementary math is apparently not sufficient for understanding how athletic department budgets work. You said the men's basketball program supports the entire athletic department budget, which is false. The men's basketball program supports most, but not all, of the men's basketball budget. The program is not profitable, nor is it intended to be.

The athletic department itself is not run to turn a profit. Revenue from basketball does not support other budgets. Does basketball generate more revenue than the other sports? Yes, obviously. Does it also cost more than all the other sports? Yes, obviously. 

If your judge of how important sports are at SLU is to look at how much money they are making for other areas of the university, then no sports at SLU are important. As SLU fans, most of us are able to see how the importance in terms of university profile, fundraising, reputation and culture matter. 

I don't know about SLU specifically but it is true that very very few college basketball programs turn a profit.

Per this article from Forbes the 20th most profitable college basketball program in 2020 was Texas with a 3-year average of 1M profit.

There is not a single non-P6 team above them on the list.

[courtside]

1 hour ago, 3star_recruit said:

I think there's a big gap in our perception of how things work in women's college basketball and how they really work.  These are the winningest coaches in the A10 over the last five years:

Shauna Green, Dayton (now Illinois).  Previous head coaching experience: Loras College

Beth O'Boyle, VCU. Previous head coaching experience: Stony Brook

Stephanie Gaitlyn, Fordham.  Previous head coaching experience: Monmouth.  Career fixer-up at the mid-major level.

Rhode Island's Tammi Weiss admittedly does come from a more high-powered background but she's the exception to the rule.

 

This is a good topic.

Shauna Green had 10 years assistant experience in combined, the Big East, Big 10, and A10 prior to getting hired. Her starting Dayton HC pay was $407k. 

Dayton had previously established a close to $400k HC pay with former HC Jim Jabir. He of course was a HC at both a Great Midwest Conference School,  and Big East School prior to Dayton. 

Tammi Reiss just signed a deal worth $4.4 million over ten years with a base pay of $425k. This was after just 3 seasons and a WNIT appearance. 

As you said, Reiss has had previous experience as an assistant in the WNBA, as well as with two different ACC schools.

Beth O’ Boyle has had more of a smaller school background at VCU. She was previously making $265k. She recently signed a 5 year extension. She’s done well at multiple places to establish good WNIT teams/programs thus far. 

Stephanie Gaitley is a former long time HC at two different A10 schools, and she played in the Big East. 

……………………

Of course you have to consider assistant salary pool budget, recruiting budget, travel, and several other things at various places.

……………….

Regionally. Missouri State has been mentioned a few times. They have made 17 NCAA Tourneys since the 1990’s, and at least an NCAA Tourney Sweet 16 in each of those decades. 

More recently, Kellie Harper had some success there and she left for Tennessee where she makes $800k. Harper played at Tennessee, and, she was an assistant in the ACC and SEC, as well HC stops too. 

Amaka Aguagua Hamilton was making $320k as HC there and she left for UVA where Tina Thompson was making $700k before being replaced. Aguagua Hamilton was previously an assistant at VCU and two different Big 10 schools. 

Beth Cunningham will start at $340k. She of course played at Notre Dame, was an assistant there and Duke. And she was a long time HC at VCU. 

……………….

Upper tier Big East Schools not named  Connecticut, are paying mid $500k to mid $600k for Head Coaches. 

……………….

So that is some of the peer landscape. 

…………….

Also, Good Luck to Coach Tillett. I hope she has great success at SLU, and, that she is given the resources to do so. 

[A10Ref]

https://omny.fm/shows/total-information-am/welcome-to-st-louis-coach-tillet
 

Take a listen to Tom Ackerman’s interview (skip the first minute of ads). She seems to be a stud - I hope she finally brings the Billikens to the big dance. 

[cheeseman]

1 hour ago, A10Ref said:

https://omny.fm/shows/total-information-am/welcome-to-st-louis-coach-tillet
 

Take a listen to Tom Ackerman’s interview (skip the first minute of ads). She seems to be a stud - I hope she finally brings the Billikens to the big dance. 

Thanks for sharing she was impressive.

Also, people put too much stock in what an AD may say at a presser.  What do you want him to say - we are not very good and we don't expect to be very good.  Of course he is going to say we want to be successful.  I am sure he believes it but saying and doing are two different things.  If she takes us to the NCAA dance in 4 years we will all be throwing roses at her.  She did once so she can do it again.  

[slufanskip]

4 hours ago, billikenfan05 said:

Despite the title, I don't think this whole thread has necessarily been about Tillett or her ability as a head coach. It feels like it's more about the reasoning given for firing Lisa Stone by Chris May as well as the statement of goals for the future of the Women's Basketball program.

There is no question that Tillett's short stint at Longwood was incredibly successful and it's no question that Tillett is a good coach.

However looking at May's exact quote:

"Our goal is to play in the NCAA women’s basketball championship regularly. This is a great job in women’s college basketball, and our program is well positioned for sustainable, long-term success."

Back to Tillett's resume. She has made the NCAA tournament one time as a HC and WNIT as an Assistant. She has only recruited to the Patriot League and the Big South. Tillett's big thing is culture, there's no denying that culture is important in long term success but nothing concrete in her resume indicates sustainable and long-term success. That's just a fact. The issue people are having with this process is the disconnect between May's stated goals for the program and the choice of head coaching hire. They don't match up.

That being said, I'm behind Tillett from jump street. I'll be at her first game and as many games as my schedule allows. Let's ride.

 

My point is still the same. Anyone can google her resume and wonder. However the same can be said about every coach mentioned. 
 

You really don’t know if May’s stated goals and this hire match up. 
 

The point isn’t to get the coach the fans think has the best resume. The point us to get the best HC and fit to achieve the programs goals. 
 

And like the hire or not I know you’ll be supporting it. 

[billikenfan05]

6 minutes ago, slufanskip said:

My point is still the same. Anyone can google her resume and wonder. However the same can be said about every coach mentioned. 
 

You really don’t know if May’s stated goals and this hire match up. 
 

The point isn’t to get the coach the fans think has the best resume. The point us to get the best HC and fit to achieve the programs goals. 
 

And like the hire or not I know you’ll be supporting it. 

The stated goals and the resume don't match. Am I not allowed to question why Chris May stated that he was looking for regular apps in the NCAA tournament but hired a coach that's only been there once at any competition level or job level nor has she has been anywhere for sustained success? This is why people expected someone like Jackson-Durrett or a head coach that had spent a good number of years at a small program and made at 2 or 3 appearances over that span. That's all I have to go off as a fan. Nobody else was in the interview room... Clearly she knocked it out of the park in there.