Valpo Hoops Trivia

[bbtds]

I am sure that is a true from my meetings with Schnabel. Back then <Valpo went Div. 1 for the sake of being Div. 1

The real push to go to Div 1 came from Dick Koenig, the VP for Public & Alumni Affairs. He had a lot of connections to the NCAA through serving as Secretary/Treasurer for the NCAA governing body. He knew what success in sports could do for a university. He also knew from being around Valpo since he was a student that pushing too hard for athletic success would not work. He got Valpo as far as he could in Athletics.

Also at the time the old Indiana Collegiate Conference was breaking up with Butler and Evansville going to Div. 1, Depauw, Wabash, Indiana Central (now UIndy) & St. Joe staying in lower divisions and Valpo needing to make a big decision.

Also remember that the Valpo founder, Henry Baker Brown, never believed that Athletics should be a part of education at his university. I think he would be appalled that a football field was named after him.

http://www.valpoathletics.com/athletics/hofmembers/1997-98/2895/richard-koenig/

[bigmosmithfan1]

I will say this - Hilltop was the Division 1 facility I ever saw in the life time, and I saw some inadequate places - the old Loyola Alumni gym, Northwestern McGaw hall, Chicago State's old gym, Western Hall at WIU.

Loyola's old Alumni Gym was pretty bad but at least it had all the history from the 1963 championship team there. Northeastern Illinois' gym would've been considered small by Porter County Conference standards, but at least it was more modern than Hilltop was (built in the late 80's, I think).

Chicago State's old gym was pretty awful too and only held about half as many as Hilltop, so that would get my vote as "worst," but not by much. That said, I'm pretty sure the old University of Baltimore facility was the worst we've ever played in as a D-1 team back in the late 70s/early 80s... it was a converted armory.

[bigmosmithfan1]

So I ran into Tom in Minneapolis at, I think, was a final four, many years ago.  This was after Homer was in charge.  Tom told me that he had a conversation with Schnabel about Cleveland State's (a conference mate at the time) success in the NCAA tournament and how that success equated to Valpo getting some share of the funds.  Schnabel response was priceless.  He said:  "Well let's hope Cleveland State continues to be successful".  True story.

I've heard that story as well, and I know it to be true. As someone noted above -- Smith was a great player for VU but also was a flawed coach -- he was way too stubborn with his system, and way too quick to run guys off over minor disagreements. He seemed to lose sight at times that unlike at a D-2 state school in Missouri, there wasn't an endless array of talented D-1 players that he could get and keep in school at Valpo at that time.

That said, I don't think we've ever had a coach that absolutely busted his butt to the degree Smith did to try and make the program work. This is a guy who, when told the university wouldn't cover a hotel room or airfare for a recruiting trip, borrowed a season-ticket holder's conversion van, drove on the recruiting trip and slept in the back of it for a week. He and his staff would absolutely work themselves ragged on the recruiting trail because they had to, with very little in the way of returns. He finally saw the ARC open, only to see the university half-ass every detail, to the point of *not ordering Valpo name placards for the scoreboard* (which we lost a big-time recruit over at the ARC dedication game). He and his staff worked all summer running large stay-on-site basketball youth camps (at a time when only P5 schools really did so) in an effort to not only get local families excited about cheering for their hometown team, but also to remind prospects from the area that there was a Division I team in their backyard.

So yeah, mixed legacy in terms of results, but no one should question his dedication to VU.

[cornonthe]

What I most remember, other than the dead spots on the gym floor, is the basketball office in what was really a closet!!! Even though I was a kid, I knew it was not up to D1 standards...

[bigmosmithfan1]

is the basketball office in what was really a closet!!! Even though I was a kid, I knew it was not up to D1 standards...

Yeah, if I recall, Steinbrecher was the only one who had a real office in the building, and even that was so small, whenever he'd have a cigarette while working (which was frequently), it would fill the hallways around it with clouds of smoke.

[usc4valpo]

oh the memories when we were the Kmart of college basketball!

[bbtds]

oh the memories when we were the Kmart of college basketball!

Rainman would say "Kmart..................."