SLU Baseball 2024

[CenHudDude]

11 hours ago, Taj79 said:

@CenHudDude: c'mon, man.  It's a cliche.  

Seriously, in most cases, you take the time to write a letter to just about any company, and you will more than likely get a response.  Let's change 'fat, dumb, and happy' to 'content' and you likely don't bother to write a letter or drop a line if you are content because anger is the typical great motivator.  

Hell, I played baseball at SLU in the mid-70's and we had to practice in Forest Park, Carondolet and Tower Grove.  I am in no position to offer any decent perspective based on that experience.

I didn’t take any offense to it.  I took it as humorous.

[billikenfan05]

11 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

Ha I'm a retired middle management banker.   He has to sell some of the greatest business minds in America.  Hard no nonsense guys.   Big difference 

We know. You’ve only projecting that role all over May. He’ll keep giving you a couple belly scratches a year, tell you he’s done his best and you’ll keep believing that the BoT is the bad guy because you want to believe he can relate to you. Chris May is a DIRECTOR, not a middle manager. He is a decision maker. He decides what fundraising  Billiken Athletics does and does not prioritize. You do not hire an athletics director and not give him autonomy to decide what projects are fundraised and what are not. Just like you don’t hire a basketball coach and not give them the autonomy to recruit the players and call the plays they want. So again, I’m asking if Chris May was hired as an athletics director and has been spinning his tires for 20 years to get things done, only to be beaten down over and over by the BoT, why has he not taken another job? Even a lowly middle manager such as yourself would have had enough of that work environment by now.

 

Then again, maybe my assertion is correct that May is a great Assistant Athletics Director for Development and Fundraising but does not have the organizational chops for an AD role. 

[billiken_roy]

So you think Chris May alone has complete authority to hire the highest paid employee at all Saint Louis University and probably one of the highest paid employees in the state of Missouri?  

Right.   Again, there is no point discussing anything with you.  

[Taj79]

We all know f05's agenda ..... he wants a job in the AD and he won't get one as long as May is AD.  In that regard, May is a failure and will continue to be one in f05's eyes.  

[johnbj14]

1 hour ago, billiken_roy said:

So you think Chris May alone has complete authority to hire the highest paid employee at all Saint Louis University and probably one of the highest paid employees in the state of Missouri?  

Right.   Again, there is no point discussing anything with you.  

He is the hiring manager for the Athletic Department in his role as Director. Yes, the BOT has to approve the contract, but the decision to hire a head coach ultimately lies with Chris May. If he tells the board he thinks a coach is a good hire, they’re going to approve it. 

[billiken_roy]

13 minutes ago, johnbj14 said:

He is the hiring manager for the Athletic Department in his role as Director. Yes, the BOT has to approve the contract, but the decision to hire a head coach ultimately lies with Chris May. If he tells the board he thinks a coach is a good hire, they’re going to approve it. 

That's an insult to the BoT to insinuate they don't pay attention or do any due diligence for a high level hire and just rubber stamp whatever is put in front of them 

[billikenfan05]

49 minutes ago, Taj79 said:

We all know f05's agenda ..... he wants a job in the AD and he won't get one as long as May is AD.  In that regard, May is a failure and will continue to be one in f05's eyes.  

You speak so surely about my feelings, yet so incorrectly. I haven't worked in sports in a decade. I have no interest in returning to sports. 

It's objectively true that Chris May's decision making regarding the direction of Billiken Basketball has been a net negative. He did not hire Majerus, he did not build Chaifetz. He hired Crews, he hired Ford, missed out on the Big East, watched the Billiken RPI drop to historic lows. That's 10 years of missed opportunities. There are a lot of people in here that say Basketball is the only thing that matters. So what now? 

[billikenfan05]

Here's the bottom line:

The Billiken Baseball bleachers are not ADA Accessible. The only thing that needed to happen is a concrete walkway and a ramp. It's been this way since May arrived. If May is the decision maker, this should have been sorted at some point in the last 10-15 years. If May is not the decision maker and the BoT would not approve ADA Accessibility additions then what is May still doing here. They are making him look incompetent. 

[johnbj14]

27 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

That's an insult to the BoT to insinuate they don't pay attention or do any due diligence for a high level hire and just rubber stamp whatever is put in front of them 

Did I say that they don’t do any due diligence? No. My point is that they aren’t a hiring committee. That responsibility falls on Chris May and whoever else was involved in the search directly. They present their candidate to the board, as well as the reasons for hire and the contract. If the logic is sound and the money works out, the BOT approves it. At the end of the day, Chris May leads the Athletic Department, and the BOT isn’t there to do a deep dive on every single department of the university. 

[willie]

6 minutes ago, johnbj14 said:

Did I say that they don’t do any due diligence? No. My point is that they aren’t a hiring committee. That responsibility falls on Chris May and whoever else was involved in the search directly. They present their candidate to the board, as well as the reasons for hire and the contract. If the logic is sound and the money works out, the BOT approves it. At the end of the day, Chris May leads the Athletic Department, and the BOT isn’t there to do a deep dive on every single department of the university. 

Not disagreeing with anything you said but the Chair of the BOT was actively involved in the recruitment of Schertz. 

[Billiken Rich]

2 hours ago, billikenfan05 said:

You speak so surely about my feelings, yet so incorrectly. I haven't worked in sports in a decade. I have no interest in returning to sports. 

It's objectively true that Chris May's decision making regarding the direction of Billiken Basketball has been a net negative. He did not hire Majerus, he did not build Chaifetz. He hired Crews, he hired Ford, missed out on the Big East, watched the Billiken RPI drop to historic lows. That's 10 years of missed opportunities. There are a lot of people in here that say Basketball is the only thing that matters. So what now? 

Wow!  May did all the bad stuff and none of the good stuff Is he a member of Spectre too?  If you're right, blaming May for not being in the Big East is laughable.  Is he the small cog with no input on anything good that's happened or not?  

[billikenfan05]

48 minutes ago, Billiken Rich said:

Wow!  May did all the bad stuff and none of the good stuff Is he a member of Spectre too?  If you're right, blaming May for not being in the Big East is laughable.  Is he the small cog with no input on anything good that's happened or not?  

Of course he's only part of the Big East failure. However, the basketball program, the only thing I'm told matters to the Big East, did not reach a level suitable to the Big East. So yes, I'm sure there are some political behind the scenes BS with Biondi, the BoT whoever, but the one part of Billiken Athletics that needed to show out, sputtered for 10 years.

We're just talking men's basketball because that's all that matters right? 
 

I’m not going to include Crews or Ford firing. 
 

Schertz Hire

Champions Center

Locker Room Upgrade

Practice Court Renaming

Multiple 20 win seasons

2 NCAA Tournaments for the Crews years. 

1 NCAA Tournament in 2019.

Feel free to add more Men's Basketball accomplishments. 

[slufan13]

Is Hendrickson staying or not

[Billiken Rich]

3 hours ago, billikenfan05 said:

Here's the bottom line:

The Billiken Baseball bleachers are not ADA Accessible. The only thing that needed to happen is a concrete walkway and a ramp. It's been this way since May arrived. If May is the decision maker, this should have been sorted at some point in the last 10-15 years. If May is not the decision maker and the BoT would not approve ADA Accessibility additions then what is May still doing here. They are making him look incompetent. 

If we were charging admission that might be a problem.  Should we also make West Pine ADA compliant because I'd be shocked if it is.    

[Littlebill]

9 minutes ago, Billiken Rich said:

If we were charging admission that might be a problem.  Should we also make West Pine ADA compliant because I'd be shocked if it is.    

What west pine is now is absolutely going to be ADA-compliant

[billikenfan05]

45 minutes ago, Billiken Rich said:

If we were charging admission that might be a problem.  Should we also make West Pine ADA compliant because I'd be shocked if it is.    

Like @Littlebillsaid WPG is either already ADA accessible or absolutely should be. It's not really 1 to 1 situation either, you could easily access the court in a wheelchair. 

I can't believe you're arguing that because it's not legally required that we shouldn't have made it possible for people confined to wheelchairs to easily view Billiken Baseball games. Jesus F'in Christ. 

[OkieBilliken]

43 minutes ago, slufan13 said:

Is Hendrickson staying or not

If Indiana State makes a compelling offer, my guess is we are in trouble.   Their athletic department is in shambles right now though.   It’s a bit concerning that we haven’t made a portal signing yet.  We have usually been very early grabbing kids that want to come home. Bona already has 2 signings.  Fordham has 1 as well.  I’m checking the coaching rumor board and the portal several times a day.  

[slufan13]

Channeling my inner HoosierBot

[Taj79]

You can disguise your hatred of all things May f05.  We all know where you are at and why.  It’s hard for children to let grudges go until they reach adulthood.  Keep pluggin’.

[almaman]

grudges I'm cool with, boring, involving, trying to influence against..........GAFL

[TheA_Bomb]

May is what we call in the Army a Spot Light Ranger or Blue Falcon.

[thetorch]

9 hours ago, willie said:

Not disagreeing with anything you said but the Chair of the BOT was actively involved in the recruitment of Schertz. 

This is a big part of the problem.

SLU is and always has been run by micro managers.  

Name another BOT involved in coaching searches?  That BOT would be involved in all things athletics.

At SLU we give the AD limited powers, intervene on big decisions and then ignore everything else.

The BOT either needs to be all in or hire someone to head up the AD that they trust to do the whole job themselves.

Doing things halfway is why we've been mediocre as an athletic department for 40-50 years.

[willie]

4 minutes ago, thetorch said:

This is a big part of the problem.

SLU is and always has been run by micro managers.  

Name another BOT involved in coaching searches?  That BOT would be involved in all things athletics.

At SLU we give the AD limited powers, intervene on big decisions and then ignore everything else.

The BOT either needs to be all in or hire someone to head up the AD that they trust to do the whole job themselves.

Doing things halfway is why we've been mediocre as an athletic department for 40-50 years.

I think your take is wrong. The Chair happens to be a huge basketball fan. That is a positive if you care about the program. I truly believe the hiring of Schertz goes to May but if you can get help at the top that is a big plus. I also believe this whole BOT narrative let by Roy is vastly overstated. May and Fred are driving this bus with some help by the chair who happens to be a huge fan. MO s Board of Curators just got involved with their Athletics. Cost them an AD. Let’s see how that turns out. 

[TheA_Bomb]

14 minutes ago, thetorch said:

This is a big part of the problem.

SLU is and always has been run by micro managers.  

Name another BOT involved in coaching searches?  That BOT would be involved in all things athletics.

At SLU we give the AD limited powers, intervene on big decisions and then ignore everything else.

The BOT either needs to be all in or hire someone to head up the AD that they trust to do the whole job themselves.

Doing things halfway is why we've been mediocre as an athletic department for 40-50 years.

Most schools have big money donors and BoT Members intimately involved in big coaching searches.  If it's disjointed it goes really bad, see Texas A&M (always), see Texas 2009-2020, see Auburn after they fired Mahlzahn.

That's why a good AD is key.  Need someone that can herd cats, some call it alignment.

[almaman]

1 hour ago, willie said:

I think your take is wrong. The Chair happens to be a huge basketball fan. That is a positive if you care about the program. I truly believe the hiring of Schertz goes to May but if you can get help at the top that is a big plus. I also believe this whole BOT narrative let by Roy is vastly overstated. May and Fred are driving this bus with some help by the chair who happens to be a huge fan. MO s Board of Curators just got involved with their Athletics. Cost them an AD. Let’s see how that turns out. 

those 50 years we had Grawer, kept us D-1, made me 40 year STH, RM enough typed, a coach of the year, TF, & now we have this guy & ur raggin' the program? I'm not in any of u all's infighting but this is nutz