Thoughts on the season

DuneHwx · March 18, 2022, 12:50:08 PM

Fair enough. It seems that the choice has been made to favor equality between all students over attracting top recruits. It's a decent choice to make as long as everyone is aware that the trade off is there.

vu72 · March 18, 2022, 01:22:38 PM

Maybe the answer is to move the athletes into Beacon with other students having backup opportunities. Obviously, Beacon is the best dorm, air conditioned with suite style rooms. Take a look!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nimiWF3qe00

tjn2004 · March 19, 2022, 02:48:15 PM

Reading through all 3 pages of this we're missing 2 VERY big points here...

We were "competitive" and "in the game" for many of our losses. This is true. And most of them were a case of the coaching on the other bench overcame the talent on our roster. Lottich cost us quite a few games this year with late game decisions and/or lack of decisions. The Loyola game comes to mind, you could see that collapse coming at halftime.

And all the talk of Brandt Hall. I made the decision to move 500 miles to transfer to VU from a little state school back home that I was commuting to, 20 years ago. 20 years ago Brandt was already behind the curve and almost caused me not to transfer to VU. Brandt isn't just affecting athletic recruiting, it's probably a big driving force in the lack of enrollment overall. Valpo isn't keeping up with the competition in that regard, and hasn't been for 2+ decades.

In the early/mid 2000's we had a new library, union, the Huegli replacement, "welcome center," meteorology building, and other construction projects. It was honestly a bit annoying going to college on a giant construction site knowing by the time that stuff got built I'd already be graduated and never get to enjoy most of them. Also in that time, VU made arrangements with Compass Pointe for off campus housing and then that "Uptown" or whatever it was called was built as private partnerships costing VU almost nothing. Why not more private partnerships for housing like almost all other universities do these days? Law school land could be Valpo's "investment" with the developer to develop that housing. With the significantly reduced enrollment these days, does Brandt even need to exist capacity wise? Furthermore, with all of those buildings going up 20ish years ago, one would think that any/most notes/bonds taken on those projects are close to or already paid off by now. That should free up some capital.

DuneHwx · March 19, 2022, 04:14:46 PM

Agree 100% on freshman housing inhibiting enrollment as well as recruiting.

vu72 · March 19, 2022, 08:55:15 PM

Quote from: tjn2004 on March 19, 2022, 02:48:15 PM
Reading through all 3 pages of this we're missing 2 VERY big points here...

We were "competitive" and "in the game" for many of our losses. This is true. And most of them were a case of the coaching on the other bench overcame the talent on our roster. Lottich cost us quite a few games this year with late game decisions and/or lack of decisions. The Loyola game comes to mind, you could see that collapse coming at halftime.

And all the talk of Brandt Hall. I made the decision to move 500 miles to transfer to VU from a little state school back home that I was commuting to, 20 years ago. 20 years ago Brandt was already behind the curve and almost caused me not to transfer to VU. Brandt isn't just affecting athletic recruiting, it's probably a big driving force in the lack of enrollment overall. Valpo isn't keeping up with the competition in that regard, and hasn't been for 2+ decades.

In the early/mid 2000's we had a new library, union, the Huegli replacement, "welcome center," meteorology building, and other construction projects. It was honestly a bit annoying going to college on a giant construction site knowing by the time that stuff got built I'd already be graduated and never get to enjoy most of them. Also in that time, VU made arrangements with Compass Pointe for off campus housing and then that "Uptown" or whatever it was called was built as private partnerships costing VU almost nothing. Why not more private partnerships for housing like almost all other universities do these days? Law school land could be Valpo's "investment" with the developer to develop that housing. With the significantly reduced enrollment these days, does Brandt even need to exist capacity wise? Furthermore, with all of those buildings going up 20ish years ago, one would think that any/most notes/bonds taken on those projects are close to or already paid off by now. That should free up some capital.

You may have missed this from a different thread, but the development is already underway which will include the old law school property.

https://www.yahoo.com/now/avro-development-announces-vitalize-valpo-150400227.html

oklahomamick · March 19, 2022, 09:59:03 PM

Watching the NCAAT and all the screens and movement. Hope Lottich is watching it too. Also watched Valpo vs. Maryland NCAAT game.

We are going to need a really good coach to overcome the facilities and a small town/small school. I'm afraid will become Wichita St. in the American, Butler in the Big East, should I dare to say it, Oklahoma in the SEC.

bmlvu97 · March 20, 2022, 11:17:34 AM

Dont crucify me for this thought, but...
Maybe the question needs to be asked - does Valpo really belong in the Valley and should they consider a move back to the Horizon or

If the commitment isnt there from the University BOD and Administration (Padilla can talk all he wants, it is actions that matter), then maybe the best step is to take a step back. Something that the next AD may need to think about.

Brian

justducky · March 20, 2022, 12:41:16 PM

Quote from: bmlvu97 on March 20, 2022, 11:17:34 AM
Dont crucify me for this thought, but...
Maybe the question needs to be asked - does Valpo really belong in the Valley and should they consider a move back to the Horizon or If the commitment isnt there from the University BOD and Administration (Padilla can talk all he wants, it is actions that matter), then maybe the best step is to take a step back. Something that the next AD may need to think about.

Brian

Great question and I will also think about it.

valpotx · March 20, 2022, 01:54:36 PM

Absolutely not. Much more athletic and financial stability being tied to the MVC versus the HL. The MVC is a long-term conference for a school like Valpo

usc4valpo · March 20, 2022, 02:28:03 PM

Too bad Valpo doesn't have a coach and team like St. Peter's. Very impressive performance indeed.

justducky · March 20, 2022, 06:01:40 PM

Quote from: valpotx on March 20, 2022, 01:54:36 PM
Absolutely not. Much more athletic and financial stability being tied to the MVC versus the HL. The MVC is a long-term conference for a school like Valpo

You gave the right answer but I think Brian was implying the deeper question which is also a point of honor. If we are not committed to compete with the best in the Valley then why are we hanging around and spongeing off its productive members?

vu72 · March 21, 2022, 08:42:48 AM

Quote from: justducky on March 20, 2022, 06:01:40 PM
Quote from: valpotx on March 20, 2022, 01:54:36 PM
Absolutely not. Much more athletic and financial stability being tied to the MVC versus the HL. The MVC is a long-term conference for a school like Valpo

You gave the right answer but I think Brian was implying the deeper question which is also a point of honor. If we are not committed to compete with the best in the Valley then why are we hanging around and spongeing off its productive members?

[/b]

This is premature to say the least. We've been in the Valley for 5 years. Evansville has been in the Valley for 28 years. We had a big hole to fill to get up to Valley standards and it will take a while but progress is being made--witness the new broadcast abilitiy of both baseball and softball. This was a Valley requirement.

The more important question is where do we "belong" and the answer is clearly with schools like Belmont, Drake, Bradley, Indiana State and Evansville or with schools like Cleveland State, Youngstown State, Fort Wayne and IUPUI?

David81 · March 21, 2022, 11:35:41 PM

This may belong in a separate item, but because it's so relevant to this thread about the future of VU's MBB program, I thought I'd post it here. It's about a forthcoming book by Graham Honaker and Jerry Logan, Unbracketed: How Four College Basketball Programs Burst the Bubble and Made the Big-Time, to be published in November. It purports to be the inside story about how Villanova, Gonzaga, Loyola-Chicago, and Davidson found a key to long-term success. Here's the link to the publisher's description:
https://www.pediment.com/products/unbracketed-college-basketball-hardcover-book