Game 11: @ Chicago State 12/11/15

[vu84v2]

Chicago State is an absolute disgrace. The nice venue was paid for by the state of Illinois with taxpayer money and no business or other valid reason for building it. It essentially was agreed to by democrats in the Illinois legislature to appease former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones. The stadium is perhaps one of the greatest examples of a government leader building a monument to himself.

Additionally, Chicago State as a university as of 2013 had a 4 year graduation rate of 4% and a 5 year graduation rate of 15%. Any board of regents doing their job would shut the school down or replace most all leadership. Any state governent doing their job would dismiss a board of regents that didn't take action.

I, for one, would like to have Valpo cancel their agreement to play Chicago State next season and never play them again.

[vu72]

Chicago State is an absolute disgrace. The nice venue was paid for by the state of Illinois with taxpayer money and no business or other valid reason for building it. It essentially was agreed to by democrats in the Illinois legislature to appease former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones. The stadium is perhaps one of the greatest examples of a government leader building a monument to himself.

Additionally, Chicago State as a university as of 2013 had a 4 year graduation rate of 4% and a 5 year graduation rate of 15%. Any board of regents doing their job would shut the school down or replace most all leadership. Any state governent doing their job would dismiss a board of regents that didn't take action.

I, for one, would like to have Valpo cancel their agreement to play Chicago State next season and never play them again.

Not disagreeing with you.  Their athletes must be doing a lot better otherwise they would have lost scholarships etc ala Milwaukee last year.

[agibson]

Additionally, Chicago State as a university as of 2013 had a 4 year graduation rate of 4% and a 5 year graduation rate of 15%. Any board of regents doing their job would shut the school down or replace most all leadership. Any state governent doing their job would dismiss a board of regents that didn't take action.

The numbers certainly sound bad.  Objectively, I don't know if they're good or bad.  I'm hesitant to compare them to Valpo, for example. I suspect we serve very different populations and have very different educational missions.

I, for one, would like to have Valpo cancel their agreement to play Chicago State next season and never play them again.

There's an argument for getting people a game close to home.  But, I do wonder if Chicago State is any better than UIC, for that purpose.  (Or Loyola, Depaul, or Northwestern, have their appeals, if any would schedule us.)

I don't mind doing it once, just for the Adekoya sibling rivalry.

On the radio broadcast, Todd seemed happy to support the Chicago State program.

[chef]

I think from a basketball standpoint they are doing things correctly. They have an excellent arena and a very solid coaching staff. Their team is definitely a step up from the teams they trotted out in the mid-con days. I'm hopeful they can turn the program into a .500 program, and thus it would be a good game for us. Remember there are no travel costs, and considering how well we recruit the Chicagoland area, it's nice to play a non-conference game in the city. I will say if they continue to only win 7 or 8 games a year, it's not a good game for Valpo.

[Kyle321n]

Chicago State lays off all their employees

It doesn't say when the layoff takes effect and I'm not sure what this means for the rest of their basketball season, but man is this sad to see.

[talksalot]

This story made the Times today, but your link is more up to date about the employee statuses...

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/25/pf/college/chicago-university-spring-break/

[VULB#62]

Sad that it has come to this, but a couple of things could be in play here. Sometimes public institutions are legally bound to give advance warning far in advance. Sometimes public institutions give everyone a layoff slip and then selectively layoff only some but have the flexibility granted by the blanket notice. And finally what better way to bring attention to the situation and place increased pressure on legislators. I believe the President at the University of Arkansas has threatened to cut the football program unless he gets his budget approved - kinda the same political ploy (except the U of A thing is so blatantly transparent).  Everyone knows Chicago State is in real trouble. Edit:  sorry, it was LSU, not U of A.

[agibson]

And finally what better way to bring attention to the situation and place increased pressure on legislators.

Yes, this also absolutely has to be in play (left this off my note in the other thread).

Playing a game of chicken with the state budget, state services, public universities. What a horrible idea.

Makes the various federal shutdowns seem like a parlor game.