STLfan Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...NEWS01/60209005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Hammonds has been generous but he has also made a lot of money off the town and SMS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knight_rider Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 The Bears will more than likely be playing in a new arena before the Billikens will be, based on the fact that our Father does not place athletics on the list of priorities for a quality university. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 they serve fantastic ice cream in the Hammons Center it is incredible and very reasonably priced if you are ever there for a game i highly recommend highland dairy is the source Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 If not having a new arena means that the relative relationship between SMS and SLU remains - GOOD!!! I will take the research center over the arena any day, any time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STLfan Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 http://www.ky3.com/news/2293306.html?autovid=Y Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knight_rider Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 If you have the opportunity to be superior in education and athletics, what are we afraid of? Duke offers a great education, but their athletics allow them the opportunity for funding they might not otherwise receive. Duke's athletic success generates millions for their academic programs whether you want to admit it or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEE Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 you will never convince some of the folks here that spending major dollars on the revenue producing sports is a good thing for the Univeristy. for some reason, right or wrong, people don't have the vision to realize that, in SLU's case, sucess on the court/NCAA deep tournament runs, ESPN/CBS/ABC each time you play a game, what that does in terms of reaching high schoolers all over the country, getting great students/kids to come to the University. to be good, you have to spend lots of money. if we can get as good as we want Brad then gets paid a couple $million plus, a significant coaching staff budget, a sports med/fitness/training facility that is upgraded every 3 to 5 years, an athletic department training table that can feed an army, a student athlete support center. all of these things cost lots of money, but sucess on the court brings in serious revenue for the other sports and really makes the University an attractive place for great high school kids. The argument that "we won't sell out, or risk our academic integretity" doesn't fly because schools that are superior academic institutions (public/private) make athletics a real priority: Stanford, Cal. Berkley, USC, DUKE, UVA, Vanderbilt, the list goes on SLU is a awesome place, the campus is really really nice, How cool would that place be with a state of the art athletic complex attached to an Arena, ESPN college BBall gameday on a Saturday, National TV, students/Alums/fans at Humphries/Vito's etc. before and after the game. The buzz on campus the whole season, the build up to march, The Edward Jones Dome just happens to be hosting a regional, what happens if SLU gets a 2 or 3 seed on the STL regional, the caravan from campus to downtown for the games and the march to the final 4. It can HAPPEN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 You have to build the research center first to make it look like education is the priority. This thread is why I hate people on this board. Why is MSU jumping on the band wagon? SLU's arena has nothing to do with MSU arena. The world does not revolve around the bills and their dorky fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Would I like SLU to be a dominant school in athletics and a top notch academic institution? Do you really even have to ask? However, I am very familiar with the financial situation of Saint Louis University, including within the context of fund raising. We are not Duke or Harvard or Washington University. We raise a lot of money, but we are subject to capital rationing just like any company. That being said, we have to make decisions/choices about how we deploy our financial resources. If the choice is between a research center which will be an anchor to CORTEX or a sports arena, I will choose the research center every time. Fortunately, these projects are not mutually exclusive. However, the research center has to come first. We are an institution of higher learning FIRST and athletic institution second. Here is a practical example of why the research center is more important than the arena. I have participated in calling freshman who have been admitted to Saint Louis University, but have not yet accepted our offer. I have talked to both the students and their parents. I have NEVER had one student or parent ask about our athletic programs except where a student was also hoping for an athletic scholarship (soccer, volleyball, baseball, but NEVER basketball). They almost always ask about academics, academic reputation, career paths, professors, placement, sometimes the city, neighborhoods, campus life, etc. I have supported the arena as much if not considerably more than most, but that doesn't mean that I fail to recognize our true mission which is academics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonka Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I would agree with you on that one. The SMS arena does have nothing to do with us. I think the poster was just showing frustration that so many other schools are getting it done and we are still chasing the dream. We'll get ours done, I'm confident of that. AFan - keep in mind how big college sports are. There are many good fans that may not be alumni and who are purely Billiken basketball supporters and could care less about the research facility. I'm not one of them but there are plenty of them out there. A lot of them pay for season tickets, donate money to the Athl. Dept, are members of the Billiken club and hence only care about the arena. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knight_rider Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I totally understand your stance. Now, do not place high expectations on our coach's shoulders and fire them when they do not win. They do not have the resources to compete against other institutions nor have the confidence from upper brass that they have any backing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 It is not my "stance". It is reality. Certainly you are not suggesting that all other schools' basketball programs have more resources than SLU (your quote: "They do not have the resources to compete against other institutions") are you? Saint Louis University Basketball has a team, led ostensibly by two freshman, that is 12-9, plays a top 50 schedule, and draws over 8,000 per game. Think of the factual absurdity of your statement. Is your intent hyperbole or is it more sinister or is it, regrettably, simply uninformed? Clearly they have competed successfully. I understand that you would like to PERCEIVE more import given the basketball program from "the brass", but perception is not reality even if it is YOUR reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEE Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 In the many conversations that I have had with Coach he has stated his dreams and desires for the program, A FINAL FOUR. That is a big statement, I like it. This past summer when I asked him if he knew what took place at the ED in March of 2007, he asked what, I told him that STL hosts a regional, get a good seed, win two games and you hold your destiny and dreams in your hands. To do this once requires some serious luck, to be able to achieve this year in and year out requires a level of commitment that just "ain't" there. I'm not trying to get into a pissing contest with you. I appreciate your pride in Saint Louis. We can agree to disagree, I just think that you can do everything you talk about and still spoil the athletic dept. FIGHT ON! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STLfan Posted February 11, 2006 Author Share Posted February 11, 2006 "Why is MSU jumping on the band wagon? SLU's arena has nothing to do with MSU arena." Talk about reading to much into something. It was just a way to get people's attention. Besides there is an arms race in major D1 athletics right now. Is it a coincidence that in the last last few years Mizzou built a new arean, SLU is working on funding for a new arena, SMS just announced plans for a new arena, Gonzaga built a new arena, and unless I am mistaken in the valley alone Creighton and Wichita St have new arena's. Isn't UNI also building a new arena? In a way it is the in thing to do. Thus jumping onto the bandwagon. "The world does not revolve around the bills and their dorky fans." Who said it did? And if SLU's "dorky" fans bother you so much why come here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Not sure why you always bring up "pissing contests". IF Saint Louis University had limitless resources, then, of course, I would want to see the top training facilities, arenas, football team, etc. in the world. The point is that SLU DOES NOT HAVE LIMITLESS RESOURCES. If your argument is that SLU does have limitless resources, then, of course, you are wrong. Now, if your argument is that you would rather see less money spent on academics and on improving the physical campus which had been neglected for years and more money spent on athletics, then you are right, I adamantly disagree with that. It is my hope that through the generosity of alumni and the community, good fund raising, and prudent fiscal management, SLU can fund their very important academic endeavors (e.g. the Research Center, scholarships, professor salaries, building renovations like Cook Hall and the Law School), fund an endowment, AND provide adequate funds for athletic programs to prosper. At the end of the day, if the choice is between athletics and academics, I would choose academics every time because this is a SCHOOL first and a sports program second. Keep in mind that not all institutions of higher learning have state of the are on campus arenas. A lot of them have smallish, older arenas and do just fine. That point has been made over and over and over on this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I c.ome here because I am a huge fan of billiken basketball. Sometimes you get some good threads offering some insight into bills b-ball. I enjoy the knowledge of some great posters like VTIME. I also enjoy pissing off bills and illini fans who take cheap shots at the tigers. Normally if I want to chat with old, white, hypocritical racist I have to go to a klan meeting or republican convention. Now I just have to go to the billiken board. Big Ups to MU, SLU and Duke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knight_rider Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 A friend of mine had his CYC team at the women's games last night when they played #19 Temple. He said there were over 1200 people in the gym and he, along with most of the other people in attendance, will never go back to see a women's game due to the facilities. He said this is very unfortunate because the women's team played very well and had a lead late in the game, making this an exciting event for everyone there. However, the bathrooms did not hold the amount of people there and they were filthy with a bad odor. No place for ample room at the concession stands - on and on. His last comment was, "An other wise fine institution has a blck eye because of what they put the women in; Father Biondi and the rest of his administration should be ashamed to put any Division 1 team in such a horrible facility." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLUNATE Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I disagree with the premise that we need a state of the arts sports facility to lure competitive freshmen, as each year, we welcome a bigger, academically stronger class than we did the previous year. Would a final four sports team create some kind of insane demand to come to slu? I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 "Normally if I want to chat with old, white, hypocritical racist I have to go to a klan meeting or republican convention. Now I just have to go to the billiken board." Give me a f-ing break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 knight rider said, "They do not have the resources to compete against other institutions nor have the confidence from upper brass that they have any backing." just curious knight rider, other than the arena/practice facility, what resources are the billikens lacking and what have you seen to indicate they do not have the upper brass confidence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 and slu is trying to get the arena built that would fix that concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 tigerBILLdevilfan said, "The world does not revolve around the bills and their dorky fans." did you just call yourself a dork? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 to see a women's game due to the facilities." Did you talk to each of them? Do you really think this statement makes sense or is it just an attempt to emphasize a point by making a ridiculous assertion? I don't know when you graduated, but I went to school there when the streets were all open, there were abandon buildings all around, Laclede Town was 75% vacant and so bad that the cops wouldn't go in to it, there was a nursing home for the indigent across from the business school, and on and on. The obvious improvements from that period are far more crucial than West Pine. Again, would I like to see all of the athletic faciilities improved? Of course, and I have given a lot of money toward that end. But I am not going to make inane statements about attendance at West Pine to get my point across. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knight_rider Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I would say that the arena is a huge factor when it comes to competing on a level playing field in the recruiting battles. This also is a prelude into the next point. "Several" years ago it was stated the a new arena was in the works. Any recruit with the right guidance can see that this project has been continually put on the back-burner, which I feel is very indicative to a lack of support, at the top, for a quality athletic program. I firmly believe in academcis being the number one priority. However, right, wrong, or otherwise, athletics teaches a kid how to compete and is a valuable asset in the overall educational experience. Everyday life is nothing but competition, unless you are a loser. So what is wrong with building an athletic program that competes among the nation's elite, instead of wallowing in mediocrity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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