I thought I would relay a quick conversation I had with my new knee doctor today, when he learned I went to Valpo for undergrad. I don't know if it goes in this section, but it does involve Valpo basketball.
I saw Dr. Keith Meister today for the first time to get a cortizone shot in my knee, and during the 15 minutes he spent with me, he complimented Valpo a few times. If you don't know him, just google his name, as if a guy like this knows us, it is a huge positive for how our name is thought of outside of the Midwest (Rangers surgeon, also many other MLB and other sports stars, most recent fame due to Ben Sheets' resurgence in Atlanta)!
He asked where I played baseball, and when Valpo came up, his mood shot right up. 'Oh yeah, you guys make the tournament just about every year in basketball.' When I corrected him that it had been a few years, he mentioned that, 'well, it still seems like it with how much I have seen you on TV. All that Butler talk over the last few years didn't mean much to me, as I will always consider Valpo the country's favorite Cinderella. I have watched a few games when you are on, especially the game against Butler each year. It is a good school too from what I have heard.' I couldn't stop laughing when he mentioned the Butler part. I seem to get this type of reaction from people down here often, but not really the Butler part. I figured it was worth sharing as it shows we are still in people's minds (my age and older at least) :)
Quote from: valpotx on August 15, 2012, 12:12:08 AM
I thought I would relay a quick conversation I had with my new knee doctor today, when he learned I went to Valpo for undergrad. I don't know if it goes in this section, but it does involve Valpo basketball.
I saw Dr. Keith Meister today for the first time to get a cortizone shot in my knee, and during the 15 minutes he spent with me, he complimented Valpo a few times. If you don't know him, just google his name, as if a guy like this knows us, it is a huge positive for how our name is thought of outside of the Midwest (Rangers surgeon, also many other MLB and other sports stars, most recent fame due to Ben Sheets' resurgence in Atlanta)!
He asked where I played baseball, and when Valpo came up, his mood shot right up. 'Oh yeah, you guys make the tournament just about every year in basketball.' When I corrected him that it had been a few years, he mentioned that, 'well, it still seems like it with how much I have seen you on TV. All that Butler talk over the last few years didn't mean much to me, as I will always consider Valpo the country's favorite Cinderella. I have watched a few games when you are on, especially the game against Butler each year. It is a good school too from what I have heard.' I couldn't stop laughing when he mentioned the Butler part. I seem to get this type of reaction from people down here often, but not really the Butler part. I figured it was worth sharing as it shows we are still in people's minds (my age and older at least) :)
What? He didn't mention the women's bowling team?? :crazy:
I'm guessing Meister is an approved surgeon under the MLB Player's Alumni Association insurance plan. Tommy, let me know if this is accurate.
Good to hear anytime people recognize the Valpo name...but we shouldn't be too surprised anymore.
Quote from: valpotx on August 15, 2012, 12:12:08 AM
I thought I would relay a quick conversation I had with my new knee doctor today, when he learned I went to Valpo for undergrad. I don't know if it goes in this section, but it does involve Valpo basketball.
I saw Dr. Keith Meister today for the first time to get a cortizone shot in my knee, and during the 15 minutes he spent with me, he complimented Valpo a few times. If you don't know him, just google his name, as if a guy like this knows us, it is a huge positive for how our name is thought of outside of the Midwest (Rangers surgeon, also many other MLB and other sports stars, most recent fame due to Ben Sheets' resurgence in Atlanta)!
He asked where I played baseball, and when Valpo came up, his mood shot right up. 'Oh yeah, you guys make the tournament just about every year in basketball.' When I corrected him that it had been a few years, he mentioned that, 'well, it still seems like it with how much I have seen you on TV. All that Butler talk over the last few years didn't mean much to me, as I will always consider Valpo the country's favorite Cinderella. I have watched a few games when you are on, especially the game against Butler each year. It is a good school too from what I have heard.' I couldn't stop laughing when he mentioned the Butler part. I seem to get this type of reaction from people down here often, but not really the Butler part. I figured it was worth sharing as it shows we are still in people's minds (my age and older at least) :)
Sounds like your knee didn't need the cortizone shot for a few minutes, while you were beaming with pride!!
I remember being on a plane a few weeks after the '98 run and wearing a Valpo golf style shirt - several people said nice things or made comments. Good feeling. Thanks for the story.
After reading this story I thought I would add mine. When we were at the airport ready to board our flight to visit Valpo for the first time before Ryan had accepted the scholarship, I overheard an American guy talking about Indiana and basketball. I turned around and asked him what he thought about Valpo as we were going for a visit and he spoke glowingly about the school, coaches and basketball program. If I remember right he went to Indiana State University but said he had a soft spot for Valpo. It certainly made us feel better knowing that this might be the right school for Ryan and it sure was. Nice to speak to someone that was neutral and to hear such nice things :)
Since we moved to Lawrence (which has something of a basketball pedigree), I have met many people who have praised the Valparaiso program.
Not to throw water on the fire, but I've been in New England for way too many years (moving to WI inside of a year though) and very much to my chagrin nobody really is aware of the school out here. But NE is very regionalist and adheres to the position that nothing exists west of the Hudson River. The other factor is that it's hard for a Lutheran university to make in-roads in an area that is Irish Catholic and Italian Catholic to the core. Glad the rest of the middle of the country (and Australia) are more aware.
Quote from: VULB#62 on August 15, 2012, 08:30:13 PM
Not to throw water on the fire, but I've been in New England for way too many years (moving to WI inside of a year though) and very much to my chagrin nobody really is aware of the school out here. But NE is very regionalist and adheres to the position that nothing exists west of the Hudson River. The other factor is that it's hard for a Lutheran university to make in-roads in an area that is Irish Catholic and Italian Catholic to the core. Glad the rest of the middle of the country (and Australia) are more aware.
Wicked man, just wicked! Directions to Valpo from New England: Take I-80 or I-90 West. Turn left where the Dunkin' Donuts used to be, and you'll find Valpo!
Been there, done that. It's not fun being a loner out here. I have yearned for VU teams to come east a bit. So far, FB at Marist has been the bulk of that.
Quote from: VULB#62 on August 15, 2012, 08:30:13 PM
Not to throw water on the fire, but I've been in New England for way too many years (moving to WI inside of a year though) and very much to my chagrin nobody really is aware of the school out here. But NE is very regionalist and adheres to the position that nothing exists west of the Hudson River. The other factor is that it's hard for a Lutheran university to make in-roads in an area that is Irish Catholic and Italian Catholic to the core. Glad the rest of the middle of the country (and Australia) are more aware.
That is interesting, VULB#62. The first time I was ever wearing a Valpo sweatshirt outside of the Chicago and northwest Indiana region and it was recognized by a stranger was when I was in grade school in the '70's (my relative who was a staff member at VU had given me the sweatshirt) was at a pizza parlor near Fenway Park. I'll never forget the experience. My family and I were on vacation while my dad was at a symposium at Tufts University. At that time, in the '70's, before "the shot," and before Valpo had gone div.1, I couldn't believe anyone would know the name Valpo. They actually knew someone at Valpo that my sister, who was attending Valpo at the time, knew about. That's when I realized for the first time in my life what a small world it truly could be.
Contrary to the picture I painted (mainly to make my point), there really are Lutheran churches out here, so my stereotyping of all of New England is a bit unfair. I, myself, every once in a while, have seen a Valpo car window decal. But it has been an infrequent exception. President Heckler did a Strategic Plan briefing here in the Boston area not too long ago. Wish I could have attended but was out of the area at the time. I'm sure it was well attended, but probably not as heavily numbers-wise as, say, Cleveland or Cincinnati, Ohio.
But to support my point I emailed the admissions people and Barb Lieske, Director of Admission Programs in Valpo's Enrollment Management Office, replied immediately. She is in the midst of the beginning of the school year, but got back to me right away. She couldn't ping the Registrar office for new raw data, but she gave me a snapshot of the 2009 New England profile.
Connecticut = 5
Massachusetts = 3
Maine = 0
New Hampshire = 1
RI = 0
Vermont = 2
That's 11 out of an undergrad population of 2600 +/- or about 0.4%. But then the VU.edu site profile shows that Lutherans make up only 36% of the enrollment. So the congregations out here apparently don't understand their role as feeders to the mother university (tongue in cheek).
As an aside, Barb's rapid response is just one more reason why I cherish my Valpo experience.
Fact of the matter is that VU is a great educational value that many here in $$$-jaded New England don't quite grasp. And it is only a 2 hour flight to O'Hare and a short ride to get here. A lot of New England colleges are a 3 and 4 for drive and the tuition now is $50K plus.
You hit it on the head 62. Barb Lieske is a star but indicative of the people who are Valpo. Remember that Valpo is not nearly as Lutheran as when we were in school but certainly should be regarded as the Notre Dame of Lutheran higher education.
That 36% Lutheran figure is way high and is about double the actual number.
Paul
Quote from: 78crusader on August 16, 2012, 06:40:02 PM
That 36% Lutheran figure is way high and is about double the actual number.
Paul
And your source? Or are you focused just on LCMS students?? Or are you just speculating?
The 36% came off the VU.edu site.
VULB#62, you said: "And it is only a 2 hour flight to O'Hare and a short ride to get here". Short ride from O'Hare???? :crazy:
Quote from: VULB#62 on August 16, 2012, 08:02:40 PM
The 36% came off the VU.edu site.
My question was why he said it was "way high".
Quote from: koala on August 15, 2012, 05:14:27 PM
After reading this story I thought I would add mine. When we were at the airport ready to board our flight to visit Valpo for the first time before Ryan had accepted the scholarship, I overheard an American guy talking about Indiana and basketball. I turned around and asked him what he thought about Valpo as we were going for a visit and he spoke glowingly about the school, coaches and basketball program. If I remember right he went to Indiana State University but said he had a soft spot for Valpo. It certainly made us feel better knowing that this might be the right school for Ryan and it sure was. Nice to speak to someone that was neutral and to hear such nice things :)
Quote from: valpospartan on August 16, 2012, 08:59:58 PM
VULB#62, you said: "And it is only a 2 hour flight to O'Hare and a short ride to get here". Short ride from O'Hare???? :crazy:
An hour and change, maybe on a good day versus two - three hours in my book is a short ride. It's all relative.
Interesting addition from my physical therapy session today, as my PT's Assistant noticed my Valpo baseball shirt. He asked what I thought of Scott Drew, and I told him that he was a good Recruiter for us when at VU. He said the general impression everyone else has outside of Baylor is that Scott is a cheater and a manipulator (he went to Texas A&M). He did say that he likes Bryce and Valpo though :)
Quote from: VULB#62 on August 17, 2012, 08:02:34 AM
Quote from: valpospartan on August 16, 2012, 08:59:58 PM
VULB#62, you said: "And it is only a 2 hour flight to O'Hare and a short ride to get here". Short ride from O'Hare???? :crazy:
An hour and change, maybe on a good day versus two - three hours in my book is a short ride. It's all relative.
The 80-mile trip to/from OHare is far less drudgery than it was even 4 or 5 years ago. Lanes additions and major redesign of on/off ramps on the Borman have all but eliminated delays on the IN side. And- with the advent of I-Pass, travel on the Tri-State is normally a breeze. Typically, I can get door-to-door from Valpo in 90 minutes.
I just made the trip from Valpo to USCF 3 times a couple of weeks ago. Now I got off at Indianapolis street and took 41/LSD to what ultimately becomes 39th street and I'd say it still took between an hour and an hour and half.
Quote from: StlVUFan on: Today 02:53:11 PM
I just made the trip from Valpo to USCF 3 times a couple of weeks ago. Now I got off at Indianapolis street and took 41/LSD to what ultimately becomes 39th street and I'd say it still took between an hour and an hour and half.
Ok, I'll act stupid and ask what is "USCF?"
US Cellular Field. I usually make it in exactly an hour, and that's with a bit of traffic.
Wow, 1.5 hours to Sox park? That seems long. Back in the day when I used to live in NWI I found that taking the Cline Ave. extension to the Toll Road was the quickest way to get to Chicago if taking 80-94 west. Maybe that's no longer the case. By the way, I always enjoyed taking Cline Ave. and running right through all of the mills and oil refineries. Yeah, the scenery is dirty and industrial, but you get to see a piece of Indiana that is unorthodox to the rest of the state as a whole and is very nostalgic in many ways.
Quote from: chef on: August 27, 2012: 10:53:55 PM
US Cellular Field. I usually make it in exactly an hour, and that's with a bit of traffic.
Thanks, chef, maybe I should have figured it out but I'm not sure everyone on this board knew what it meant especially those outside of the Chicago area.
Quote from: crusaderjoe on: Today 06:15:27 AM
Wow, 1.5 hours to Sox park? That seems long. Back in the day when I used to live in NWI I found that taking the Cline Ave. extension to the Toll Road was the quickest way to get to Chicago if taking 80-94 west. Maybe that's no longer the case. By the way, I always enjoyed taking Cline Ave. and running right through all of the mills and oil refineries. Yeah, the scenery is dirty and industrial, but you get to see a piece of Indiana that is unorthodox to the rest of the state as a whole and is very nostalgic in many ways.
One thing I do know is the Cline Ave Bridge was torn down for safety reasons and Cline Ave is no longer an option for getting to Chicago.
Also agree that if it's taking more than an hour to get to US Cellular Field (without a major accident or other delay) you are going the wrong way.
I'm going the way I know, and I usually leave early enough to be seated for the Thunderstruck, which is all I care about.
Now, what I absolutely need to start doing is go find the shuttle parking, which is cheaper, plus they drop you off at the gate which helps my Dad.
At any rate, the original point here was that it shouldn't take one 2 hours or more to get from Valpo to Chicago or vice versa.
Someone gave you some bad advice, StlVUFan. It's easiest to stay on either I-80/94 to I-94 (Borman to Bishop Ford to the Dan Ryan--when I was a kid we jokingly called it the "Damn Ruined Excessway") or take I-65 or Hwy 130 to the Indiana Toll Road to the Dan Ryan. Get off at the 35th Street exit and go west and you are there. That will cut your 1.5 hour trip to an hour.
Quote from: historyman on August 29, 2012, 12:13:05 AM
Someone gave you some bad advice, StlVUFan. It's easiest to stay on either I-80/94 to I-94 (Borman to Bishop Ford to the Dan Ryan--when I was a kid we jokingly called it the "Damn Ruined Excessway") or take I-65 or Hwy 130 to the Indiana Toll Road to the Dan Ryan. Get off at the 35th Street exit and go west and you are there. That will cut your 1.5 hour trip to an hour.
I'm fine, thanks.
Earlier in this thread there was some discussion about the percentage of Lutherans in the VU population. I mentioned that I felt the 36% figure put out on the VU website was way overstated. Last night my wife and I manned the VU booth at a college fair in Des Moines. The materials we were given included a "VU fact sheet" that says that VU has 25% Lutheran students. 21% Catholic, too, by the way.
The Torch reported in September this year's freshman class actually had more Catholics than Lutherans.
My question is: at what point does the percentage of Lutheran students get so low that VU can no longer claim to be a Lutheran institution? 20%? 10%? We are heading in that direction, I think.
Paul
25 + 21 = 46. Who are those other 54 percenters?
Fact sheet says: 19% non responders; 27% other Christian faiths; 8% other faiths.
Paul
Quote from: 78crusader on October 30, 2012, 10:12:37 AM
Earlier in this thread there was some discussion about the percentage of Lutherans in the VU population. I mentioned that I felt the 36% figure put out on the VU website was way overstated. Last night my wife and I manned the VU booth at a college fair in Des Moines. The materials we were given included a "VU fact sheet" that says that VU has 25% Lutheran students. 21% Catholic, too, by the way.
The Torch reported in September this year's freshman class actually had more Catholics than Lutherans.
My question is: at what point does the percentage of Lutheran students get so low that VU can no longer claim to be a Lutheran institution? 20%? 10%? We are heading in that direction, I think.
Paul
The percentages will vary from year to year, but the fact is that the total number of college age Lutherans is in constant decline. I, for one, have encouraged the admissions staff, to target areas where Lutherans reside--like Minnesota! Yet, there are more kids in this freshman class from Texas than from Minnesota.(no further comment from me on that one!)
There are 40 Lutheran colleges across the country with a total enrollment of about 100,000. There are few with a higher Lutheran enrollment than Valpo--next time you do a college fair, ask the competition.
Now, as to Valpo's Lutheran identity, that should never change anymore than Notre Dame's or other schools should change theirs. There is no Lutheran requirement in enrollment. There isn't even a class in Lutheranism offered. The Chapel is Lutheran and available to all who seek more knowledge concerning Lutheran beliefs. Still, if we seek high level students we will never have the luxury of confining our search to just one denomination, even if some believe we should have never accepted anyone who wasn't LCMS.
I would add that the 46 plus 27 plus a high percentage of non-responders equals probably 90 plus percent Christian. This won't make LCMS folks happy but some Lutheran bodies (ELCA) have full communion with churches like Episcopal and United Methodists among others. This makes Valpo a place they may seek although the reality is very few kids start out seeking a "Lutheran", "Catholic" or "Methodist" school.
Quote from: 78crusader on October 30, 2012, 10:12:37 AM
Earlier in this thread there was some discussion about the percentage of Lutherans in the VU population. I mentioned that I felt the 36% figure put out on the VU website was way overstated. Last night my wife and I manned the VU booth at a college fair in Des Moines. The materials we were given included a "VU fact sheet" that says that VU has 25% Lutheran students. 21% Catholic, too, by the way.
The Torch reported in September this year's freshman class actually had more Catholics than Lutherans.
My question is: at what point does the percentage of Lutheran students get so low that VU can no longer claim to be a Lutheran institution? 20%? 10%? We are heading in that direction, I think.
Paul
A very sad fact in IMHO, accelerated by the university's embrace of a much more liberal lutheran stance.
Quote from: FWalum on October 30, 2012, 11:03:23 AM
Quote from: 78crusader on October 30, 2012, 10:12:37 AM
Earlier in this thread there was some discussion about the percentage of Lutherans in the VU population. I mentioned that I felt the 36% figure put out on the VU website was way overstated. Last night my wife and I manned the VU booth at a college fair in Des Moines. The materials we were given included a "VU fact sheet" that says that VU has 25% Lutheran students. 21% Catholic, too, by the way.
The Torch reported in September this year's freshman class actually had more Catholics than Lutherans.
My question is: at what point does the percentage of Lutheran students get so low that VU can no longer claim to be a Lutheran institution? 20%? 10%? We are heading in that direction, I think.
Paul
A very sad fact in IMHO, accelerated by the university's embrace of a much more liberal lutheran stance.
That is the direction the university is headed...told to me by my wife who worked for Valpo. They'll still be a Lutheran school, but it won't be a feature of the school.
Quote from: milanmiracle on October 30, 2012, 11:52:58 AM
Quote from: FWalum on October 30, 2012, 11:03:23 AM
Quote from: 78crusader on October 30, 2012, 10:12:37 AM
Earlier in this thread there was some discussion about the percentage of Lutherans in the VU population. I mentioned that I felt the 36% figure put out on the VU website was way overstated. Last night my wife and I manned the VU booth at a college fair in Des Moines. The materials we were given included a "VU fact sheet" that says that VU has 25% Lutheran students. 21% Catholic, too, by the way.
The Torch reported in September this year's freshman class actually had more Catholics than Lutherans.
My question is: at what point does the percentage of Lutheran students get so low that VU can no longer claim to be a Lutheran institution? 20%? 10%? We are heading in that direction, I think.
Paul
A very sad fact in IMHO, accelerated by the university's embrace of a much more liberal lutheran stance.
That is the direction the university is headed...told to me by my wife who worked for Valpo. They'll still be a Lutheran school, but it won't be a feature of the school.
If that occurs it will be a major change, as the Lutheran nature of the University is prominently displayed at present. Other "Lutheran" schools, like Gettysburg or Wagner, require indepth research to find any acknowledgemnt of the faith connection.
What I have never, ever understood is what I perceive as VU's reluctance to emphasize its Christian heritage as a way to attract more students. Forget about our Lutheran heritage -- I get the fact that there are fewer Lutheran kids now than there were 30 years ago -- but why not emphasize the Christian heritage? Are we a Christian school, or not? There are Christian schools out there that are thriving. Wheaton and Belmont come to mind. Instead, VU chooses to focus on other ways of growing enrollment, like recruiting international students. By doing this we become less of a Christian institution. We will wind up too secular for the Christian kids and not secular enough for those who are not Christians. I've said this before on this board -- if you try to please everyone, you wind up pleasing no one.
Paul
To be honest, I had no clue what a Lutheran was until I went to Valpo :). SMU has similar problems I believe, in that they truly don't attract mainly Methodist students.
Quote from: 78crusader on October 30, 2012, 01:40:20 PM
What I have never, ever understood is what I perceive as VU's reluctance to emphasize its Christian heritage as a way to attract more students. Forget about our Lutheran heritage -- I get the fact that there are fewer Lutheran kids now than there were 30 years ago -- but why not emphasize the Christian heritage? Are we a Christian school, or not? There are Christian schools out there that are thriving. Wheaton and Belmont come to mind. Instead, VU chooses to focus on other ways of growing enrollment, like recruiting international students. By doing this we become less of a Christian institution. We will wind up too secular for the Christian kids and not secular enough for those who are not Christians. I've said this before on this board -- if you try to please everyone, you wind up pleasing no one.
Paul
The answer, as Alan Harre has said, (hardly a liberal guy) is that the word "Christian" has been hijacked by the Liberty Universites of the world. Then we are in a position of not being "Christian enough" or being "too Christian" which scares off those who may percieve it as being a requirement to go preach on a corner or some such thing. Trying to water down your position (going from Lutheran to Christian) won't work.
QuoteAre we a Christian school, or not?
My mother also had high school students, and she would encourage the more gifted to join her at VU. One girl looked at her and said, "oh, no, I'm going to a Christian school!"
Emphasizing you're a "Christian" school to those who don't think anything other than like Cedarville College in Ohio, or Grace in Winona Lake, IN, is pretty much a non-starter. People looking for "Christian schools" are usually the kind of people likely to think Lutherans not Christian.
HOWEVA, Bryce has, like his father, built quite a niche as a "Christian program", if not a Lutheran one.
As for "Lutheran Identity", it is similar to what Catholic schools are, and have been, undergoing. Or other mainlines, to be honest. My alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan, is as Methodist as PNC, whereas Indiana Wesleyan is more like Calvin College.
Quote from: vu72 on October 30, 2012, 12:03:59 PM
Quote from: milanmiracle on October 30, 2012, 11:52:58 AM
Quote from: FWalum on October 30, 2012, 11:03:23 AM
Quote from: 78crusader on October 30, 2012, 10:12:37 AM
Earlier in this thread there was some discussion about the percentage of Lutherans in the VU population. I mentioned that I felt the 36% figure put out on the VU website was way overstated. Last night my wife and I manned the VU booth at a college fair in Des Moines. The materials we were given included a "VU fact sheet" that says that VU has 25% Lutheran students. 21% Catholic, too, by the way.
The Torch reported in September this year's freshman class actually had more Catholics than Lutherans.
My question is: at what point does the percentage of Lutheran students get so low that VU can no longer claim to be a Lutheran institution? 20%? 10%? We are heading in that direction, I think.
Paul
A very sad fact in IMHO, accelerated by the university's embrace of a much more liberal lutheran stance.
That is the direction the university is headed...told to me by my wife who worked for Valpo. They'll still be a Lutheran school, but it won't be a feature of the school.
If that occurs it will be a major change, as the Lutheran nature of the University is prominently displayed at present. Other "Lutheran" schools, like Gettysburg or Wagner, require indepth research to find any acknowledgemnt of the faith connection.
To be VERY clear, my last statement might have been a bit misleading. This isn't a university policy, but more in line with how the university intends to grow given their stated enrollment goals.
Quote from: 78crusader on October 30, 2012, 10:12:37 AM
Earlier in this thread there was some discussion about the percentage of Lutherans in the VU population. I mentioned that I felt the 36% figure put out on the VU website was way overstated. Last night my wife and I manned the VU booth at a college fair in Des Moines. The materials we were given included a "VU fact sheet" that says that VU has 25% Lutheran students. 21% Catholic, too, by the way.
The Torch reported in September this year's freshman class actually had more Catholics than Lutherans.
My question is: at what point does the percentage of Lutheran students get so low that VU can no longer claim to be a Lutheran institution? 20%? 10%? We are heading in that direction, I think.
Paul
I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it, and even if you did I still got a huge chuckle out of its reading, but I found that little subtle comment hysterical...as if the Catholics are spreading like the plague at VU which is a major cause for alarm. 21%
too? Lock the doors boys, don't let any more of them in!
Better watch out for da Cat-o-lics VU...more Cat-o-lic students means more Cat-o-lic alumni. Here we come baby, here we come!
LULZ.