Why we can never be Gonzaga

[StLouBlue]

My guess on announcing the stadium deal was that Biondi believed we were going to build the arena in Grand Center area and receive a large amount of TIF money. Fortunately or unfortunately, whichever is your opinion, several building owners refused to sell and suddenly Biondi & SLU had to backtrack and find a plan B. Of course there might have been a money-man in place that fell through also, but I remember the amounts of TIF money being mentioned as being fairly large amounts which might have gotten the building started sooner.

[billiken_roy]

imo it was reinvested, but not on the basketball program likely. there were additional sports programs created a soccer field built, etc. not defending that practice. just stating likelies.

also, i say spoon not striking while the iron was hot was a problem.

[davidnark]

The TIF money would have been bigger in the Grand Center area, but not big enough to cover the anticipated property acquisition cost. This issue is something else.

[billiken_roy]

then again, if it wasnt a sure thing, then why announce?

[StLouBlue]

I posted the Budget figures and the link for people to do their own research if they wanted. I have done a little more looking into this and can see that a number of successful programs are within our budget range. The numbers do not tell the whole story though and since we only have a one year report, we cannot tell how they have changed over time, probably more important than anything else. I also don't know how some schools similar to SLU have over $1 million in operating budget, St Joes and Xavier.

Here are some other schools I thought might be decent to look at with SLU's.

SLU--$279,686

Gonzaga--$351,289

UAB--$295,334

Creighton--$213,993

Tulsa--$240,931

BC--$381,237

Stanford--$311,888

Pepperdine--$197,892

Utah--$286,016

These schools budgets are all within range of SLU's budget and have had recent success. I would say that from just looking at this number, the operating expense budget, that SLU could use an up tick in money, but that this is probably not the main reason we have been struggling to be successful.

Also, from reading the arguements about Biondi's promise of being a top 50 BB school. I think we should remember that when that statement was made SLU had just gotten into a new conference--the Great Midwest, that promised to be a Great basketball conference. I am certain no one saw the selling out to football schools and the watering down of basketball coming in CUSA followed by the move to a mostly east coast conference. A lot of things have changed in the years after that statement that make being a top 50 school a tough reality. I still believe though that this is the goal of the school, just getting there is a whole different matter.

[Schasz]

Like we have said before...it's not easy being a Billiken. Fr Biondi cannot wish us to success on the basketball court. He is the leader of SLU and his commitment to the program has to be there. Certainly, if and when we see a spade in the ground for the new arena that would be a big step forward. I concur that we did miss a real opportunity in the JR-SR years of Claggett and Highmark to be a big time program. I think Spoon get some blame no question, but if we were pinching the pennies then when the cupboard was flush with money that we got from the large gate then shame on Fr. Biondi and the SLU Admin.

[Quality Is Job 1]

SLU (Biondi) doesn't aspire to anything beyond mediocrity, let alone Top 50. Miklasz must have it right. And why should it be any different? St. Louis is a baseball town that loves pro sports and couldn't care less about basketball. The best basketball players to come out of St. Louis in the last 25 years have almost nothing to do with SLU, and the school's career leading scorer can't even be enticed (for whatever reason) to be a coach/spokesman for the program. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood today, but I think my sig is in question:

[billikenmetz]

Josh Edmonds, a to-be-junior at my alma mater, Peoria Notre Dame would be a terrific fit to SLU. Sharpshooter with amazing ball-handling. Playing AAU ball this summer and impressing a lot of coaches.

[billikenmetz]

Plus they have the cozy confines of the UNI-DOME up in Cedar Falls. Lovely.

[slufanskip]

Wisconsin got very lucky to make the final 4. They weren't that caliber of team, they got on a good run and sometimes that is what it takes. Give me Wisconsin's history the 5 years before the final 4 run.

Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman

[tseugnekillib]

MU88 stated "Soderberg coached South Dakota State to 2 of its worst years in past 30 years"..... that is a false statement.

Since 1974 USDS win-lost record has been: 12-12, 12-12, 10-16, 17-12, 13-14, 23-8, 13-14, 13-14, 16-12, 21-9, 26-7, 8-20, 16-12, 21-9, 16-12, 8-19, 24-8, 25-8, 19-12, then Soderberg at 19-8 and 17-10, 24-5, 26-3, 17-10, 21-9, 22-7, 24-6, 24-7, and 27-7 for 2003-4.

Why the bitterness?

[swenson]

It is the lack of financial commitment to the SLU program that is the problem. Romar did not go from a marginal coach to a an up and comer all on his own. Washington made a commitment to the hoops program. Soderberg can compete in the A-10 if he gets the support from the administration.

[former_d1]

Winning any the first and second year he was here at slu was proof he can coach. Last year we were hurt.

[xudash]

Allow me to offer a little perspective if I may, understanding that I am very pleased to have Xavier affiliated with SLU again:

1. On Campus Arena - I believe it makes a material difference, because it obviously makes any campus more complete. Students who can literally role out of their dorms and stumble next door to a major sporting event have an advantage over students who must shuttle off campus to attend such an event. It's your school's place - it is your place as an alumnus or student - you always get to attend events on the same property where you received an education while cocktailing and committing multiple "crimes" against humanity, mainly women. Plus we belong to private schools: the private sky boxes and the club level bar and the concession stands all serve alcoholic beverages.

2. The Right On Campus Arena - going into the year 2000, excluding the Cintas Center, Xavier had all the right program elements in place to sustain its success in basketball: total administrative support, strong tradition resulting from a winning culture, sustained strong coaching staff (Prosser at the helm at the time), strong fan support and at least a "reasonable" conference affiliation (more on that some other time). Once the Cintas Center came on-line, recruits were shown that, instead of the Cincinnati Gardens. The long point made short is that we recruit at the level we recruit at now because of the Cintas Center. I doubt that I need to describe it here, though I will point out two things that should be of interest here: [1] it has a beautiful practice facility and [2] it is a revenue engine for Xavier. It has a conference center and banquet facility built into it, along with student dining. The place hosts many events outside of athletic events. Your new place looks almost exactly like the CC looks on the inside, but with more seats (13k vs 10,250). I don't know what else is included in your place, but, if it only is an arena, I would question that move. The CC was billed as the Xavier campus' living room when it came on-line. It was designed to contribute to the fiscal well being of the school.

3. Admin support - this must exist - with talent - at three levels: the board of trustees, the President and the Athletic Director. If they all "get it" in unison, then your school's chances of achieving athletic success increase dramatically. And, as you know, if your school achieves athletic success - especially in this society - it will see its fund raising efforts succeed, its student application pool increase, the quality of that application pool rise, etc., etc.

4. St. Louis as a sports town - St. Louis is a great town and obviously loves its baseball, but Cincinnati has a little history there as well. You seem to be the big fish in the pond there, whereas X must deal with UC here. The point? It isn't a criticism, but I would think that with the program properly managed, getting back to 13k fans or even 17k fans would be achievable for SLU.

Personally, I assume you guys will be fine in the long run, but I am giving Biondi the benefit of the doubt. I simply believe that SLU has too much institutional "elasticity" for it not to succeed.

I'll leave you with this: Xavier had to rise from the ashes in the late 70's to get to where it is today. Gonzaga probably had as many liabilities as assets in building its program. But both schools took a disciplined focused course of action that got them where they are today.

SLU CAN get there. It has the resources to do so, period, end of story. The question is will its leadership guide it there, or allow someone on board to guide it there.

Good luck. Look forward to our approaching games.

[Box and Won]

Great thoughts!

XU was wise to make the Cintas the campus' "living room," as you described it. It was a perfect fit for XU, which has a more compact campus than SLU - the CC is nice and close to many of the dorms, and serves as a central dining hall.

SLU's situation is a little different - our dining halls are located in the individual dorms, and conference/meeting facilities are located in the Busch Student Center, which is fairly close to the site of the proposed arena. There's no need to move the dining and conference facilities to the arena, but it's sounding like we're definitely going to have to hold other events there besides SLU athletics.

[davidnark]

Good post. We appreciate the thoughts. Don't make yourself a stranger around here.