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Hands down the highest profile staff in the MVC. It doesn't even need to be researched.

this is laughable

Why cant we get the mens coach to take on the women?
That team is and has been awful...

HaHa
If...and its a big if...despite the enthusiasm that we will win....He will take the next biggest job

What is Padilla's sons role at the university?  He mentioned his son was part of the interview process and had "spidey senses"

I think it points out the process Padilla was willing to go through to get the right hire.  He wanted to have his son involved--though not an employee of the university--because, among other reasons like a father/son understanding of what he wanted in a coach, but further that his son had been a head coach at the college level at a small private university and as a result at a very good understanding of how a coach needed to fit in or have the personality to fit in.


He was fired from a lacrosse job-how does that translate to basketball?  wtf

Yup, "spidey senses" counted with this hire. Both Padilla and Small knew that this was a major decision that could well have positive or negative ripple effects for the entire sports program and even the University at large.

I read Paul's Victory Bell piece this morning and came away very impressed by the systemic way in which Small, in particular, handled this hiring process. And when it came down to finalists, I'm sure the key decision makers had to search even deeper for the intangibles beyond the resume and overall interview impressions.

Of course, this only a first step, and time will tell if it was the right one, blah blah blah. But for a bunch of reasons, Valpo needed a "win" institutionally, and this is exactly that.

And all these teams like us have gone to conferences they should not be in
The good news is that obviously we are keeping both women and men coaches on for the foreseeable future so the topic of next head coach can die
On another note - my sister is on the track and cc teams and they just made the interim coach full time.
She speaks highly of him.

Most schools seem to make a change at the conclusion of the season
Why wait till the final 4?
Just seems as though we will be status quo with coaches.
Really doesn't matter - so few people really care anymore it's not a big deal

Students get in free and still dont go-bad product/bad environment

Both men's and women's programs are awful
Ask the former president and AD to help pay off contracts since they were the ones who created this debacle.   

Start with trying to make WBB better-not hard to do as they are at an all time low
It shows that the President and AD are serious about improving athletics-while not having to come up with 500 k give or take

I'm not sure they are at an all time low but they must be very close. OK. Who would you reccommend taking over for coach Evans?

Unlike most of the "basketball experts" here I have no idea how to find a new coach.
I would leave it to the new AD -someone actually who has been at a high level in Athletics -rather than some that think their season ticket payment or small donation each year permits them to criticize a program-coach and school.
It is hilarious reading some of the comments here...10 dudes that have it all figured out

Nice that you enjoy discussing a man losing his job.
Really seems you embody the spirit of a Lutheran University.

This thread is an epic waste of time
Valpo will not pay out a contract of this magnitude for someone "not" to coach
Like it or not Matt Lottich is our HC for the remainder of his contract

We do not have the resources nor the alumni base(donors) to pay to make a change

Start with trying to make WBB better-not hard to do as they are at an all time low
It shows that the President and AD are serious about improving athletics-while not having to come up with 500 k give or take

Actually, based on the source below (brought over from the MBB Coach speculation string) that predated their removal, MT had a net profit of + $23,070 and accounted for 8 members.  MSO had a net loss of - $15,018 but accounted for 28 members. Combined,  those sports still accounted for a net profit of + $8,052.  Basically, they didn't cost the university anything.  MT was doing exceedingly well record-wise at the time with some incredible student athletes - I think the team GPA was over 3.75 or something like that.  MSO competed against nationally ranked D-I teams (beat or tied some), had one HL regular championship, and competed in the middle of the MVC pack and never embarrassed the athletic department on the field score-wise or off it in their work in the community.  I'm still wondering.........


https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/valparaiso-university/student-life/sports/#:~:text=Did%20the%20Valpo%20Athletics%20Program,paid%20out%20%2413%2C496%2C863%20in%20expenses

Question:  This is way off the thread but...how does baseball, a Non-revenue sport, make the university $616,000? Does baseball share some revenue like basketball?

Has to be based on amount players pay to come here.
I would think very few get full ride scholarships
Baseball is just another sport where the school is using athletics to increase enrollment.

How can our Women's golf team be so bad? 15th out of 15 today.
Can our Men's coach oversee both?
Men's team competes at the top of the conference yet Women consistently bottom

30 pt blowout today-perhaps start transitioning basketball programs with them
At least our mens team is competitive

Paul's article is solid. I will consider subscribing as Part 2 is years in the making. I appreciate his sentiments about the human side of things, and I respect his analogy to the GB Packers.

On the other hand, Matt does have a job to do. In part, that job is contingent on winning. From a business standpoint, Return on Investment (ROI) matters. As Paul points out, attendance and interest are (without a doubt) significantly down.

At what point does one opt to cut their losses? That's what we, as fans, are awaiting. As for salaries, it's all relative to an extent. Sure, we could compare Matt's reasonable salary to the John Calipari's of the world. But he's still likely in the top 10%. As of 2020, the average income for someone in the US within the Top 10% was $173,00. I have a feeling he makes substantially more than that. According to what I see other posters state on this messageboard and elsewhere, he may be in the Top 5% (~$342k) - or at least close to it. Either way, he's making more than 90-95% of adults in America. I'd assume the rest of us have expectations to keep our jobs, right? We're likely evaluated on an evaluative rubric that extends beyond being "nice" or "good" people. So, it's fair to raise the question when in the spotlight, especially when involved in a sports entertainment profession.

This is a very good post

I don't see issue with doing 300-400 pushups over a 1 hour period, but no water is ridiculous

Wow...hahaha

I think an interview at a minimum should be in the works. I still think the mascots suck.

if this guy tonagel was so good why hasn't he been picked up by another d1 team?
Obviously he isnt d1 level
Some think only Valpo guys can/ coach...so short sighted

I think Heckler had a leadership role at UC-Denver.  So he didn't walk out of the faculty lounge with a pipe and board a flight to Valpo. Ha. But he definitely leaned toward drama and woke agendas. He got pretty political in his inauguration speech.

He may not have known anything about sports growing up. He didn't look comfortable in a baseball cap or seem to know how to wear one when one was handed to him at the first basketball game. I think he was also a vegan, making chats around a grill with coaches at a golf outing or a tailgate a little less natural. My sense is that Padilla can pull that off better but I don't know that.

Board hired him and the other admins who dismantled this place.
For a bunch of supposed"leaders" we sure ended up with some dopey adminstration.

This is great and just as I assumed...Heckler screwed up so much around this place....

Here is the thing
We have facilities worse than most high schools
No marketing department
What do you expect this staff to do?
If the school and alums would actually put some cash into the program maybe we would have better results.
If a player comes here and does above average he will leave-why would you stay at a place with terrible facilities and game environment
And stop bringing up Rowdy Peters etc
They played in leagues that were awful

Definitely a statement from an ignorant/unaware individual.  You are saying that NBA/top European league players, couldn't cut it in the MVC?  When they were playing, the Horizon League was at the same conference RPI level that the MVC now sits.  We were routinely in the 12-16 range, but the MVC during those years was closer to 7-10.  We would beat MVC teams, which were better than the current MVC teams.  Peters put up 30+ during his FR year at Evansville, which was a better team than they have been the last few years.  Rowdy played in a league that had back-to-back National Championship appearances by Butler.  Hell, even our Mid-Con teams were in the same situation, in often beating the same quality of teams that we have struggled to beat in the last few years.  I will give you a pass here, in probably being a recent graduate, and not knowing the history.

You know how someone is from Texas?
Stick around thhey will let you know...
First big mouth...never said they could not play in this league
Just stating that dudes like you are re living the glory days that are gone and not coming back

Thanks to our former President and AD we are in a hole I am not sure we can get out of.
My younger sister is on the Track team and suggests that students just have no desire to go to games with morgue like atmosphere and a bad product.

Here is the thing
We have facilities worse than most high schools
No marketing department
What do you expect this staff to do?
If the school and alums would actually put some cash into the program maybe we would have better results.
If a player comes here and does above average he will leave-why would you stay at a place with terrible facilities and game environment
And stop bringing up Rowdy Peters etc
They played in leagues that were awful

Back in November, vu72 posted that Mary Evans knows how to blend together new, transfer personnel.  What are your thoughts now?

I hereby rescind any previous statement or opinion either verbal or written, concerning Mary Evans, her knowledge of blending together new, transfer or any other type of personnel.

5th year here....rebuild?

It's hard to blend this team to win games, when we have ZERO height or physicality inside to contend with other team's frontcourt defense on the boards. We don't have the true shooters and floor general that we had in recent years. Graduation and injuries make this year a rebuild. Hopefully, Evans is out recruiting the height, and not focused on 4 guards who can shoot and dribble, but can't get inside to battle for boards.

valpofb16 - You need to look at the discounted tuition, not the list price. As mentioned in other discussions, Valpo's discount rate is about 40% on average for students. I am confident that Ball State's, like most state universities (and all non-flagship universities), is only a few percent.

I also do not accept that a school like Ball State offers anything comparable regarding academics. They may have more majors, but the quality of teaching is far better at Valpo (admittedly, my perspective is engineering and business). Butler does have very good academic quality.

As I have mentioned in other posts, I think that Valpo needs to make a far more concerted effort to sell the difference in academic quality - not just at the macro/university level, but primarily by each of the colleges.

Is this true that the teaching is better at Valpo?
How is this determined and quantified?
Or is it your subjective opinion

Good chance for a win tonight vs Evansville...