Facilities

[vu72]

Oh, and the state doesn't fund athletic facilities at most state schools).

True enough, but the DO fund everything else! They pay for dorms, academic buildings, student unions, grounds, etc. etc etc.  We will always have a struggle to keep up with state schools and their giant alumni bases.  Next thing we'll hear--oh wait someone already said it--is that our facilities caused sprained ankles.  Geez.

[wh]

When the university is ready to remodel the ARC, rest assured they will roll out a fundraising initiative, complete with scope, goals, timelines, suggested giving levels, matching fund incentives sponsored by big-time donors, name recognition opportunities, etc.

Until then, here's a word of advice from someone who's been down the fundraising block a few times. Don't listen to people who say "put your money where your mouth is if you think a new/revamped ARC is so important."  Never contribute your hard earned money to a cause that doesn't exist and expect your donation to go there. It's completely counterintuitive to what you're hoping to accomplish.

It's your university's responsibility to put the ball in play first. Once they do, that's when you jump in with both feet to help make your dream a reality.

[vufan75]

Agreed. 1st steps need to come from Valpo U and then solicit support. Need big time donor(s) to step up first before anything gets released or unveiled by the university. That is how previous campaigns were announced as I recall.

Interesting article on MVC programs and a subjective ranking based on selected criteria. Saw this today on Twitter. Interesting read and analysis. Hard to argue with the report rankings. Apparently facilities matter. [emoji6]

https://watchstadium.com/news/missouri-valley-basketball-coaches-rank-the-best-jobs-in-the-conference-02-01-2019/amp/?__twitter_impression=true


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[vu72]

Agreed. 1st steps need to come from Valpo U and then solicit support. Need big time donor(s) to step up first before anything gets released or unveiled by the university. That is how previous campaigns were announced as I recall.

Interesting article on MVC programs and a subjective ranking based on selected criteria. Saw this today on Twitter. Interesting read and analysis. Hard to argue with the report rankings. Apparently facilities matter. [emoji6]

https://watchstadium.com/news/missouri-valley-basketball-coaches-rank-the-best-jobs-in-the-conference-02-01-2019/amp/?__twitter_impression=true


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Don't disagree other than the "game atmosphere" thing.  Perhaps it is dead last for an opponent, but when the ARC is rockin you can't get much better.

[crusader05]

I do wonder about whether we have some sort of plan ready. I can't say anything for sure but I thought I remember hearing that part of the Strategic Plan involved a concrete plan for Athletic and ARC renovations and needs to be completed sometime this year to begin looking for funding and plans for the future. My guess is that unless someone in the know let's the news leak somehow that we won't see any plans et al until a funding stream/lead donor is found. But I wouldn't be surprised if some donors have not already been talked to about plans and ideas for the renovation in an attempt to get them to sign on.

[bigmosmithfan1]

A "quiet phase" is a part of every fundraising campaign. But it's been a decade now since the topic first started getting discussed publicly (shortly after we joined the HL!). Get a "wish list" out there, some renderings of renovations, something, anything tangible that donors big and small can get behind. This "oh, we'll get around to it as part of the campus master plan after we build a student rec facility that may or may not ever get built" stuff has outlived its sell-by date by several years.

[VU2010]

Thank you for sharing that article. Cracked me up when I read what was written about Valpo:

7. VALPARAISO (29) – The Crusaders have gone to the NCAA tourney six times. Homer Drew took them in 1996, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '02 and '04. Bryce Drew took them in 2013 and 2015 while they were in the Horizon league. Valpo has some history, but the facilities and game atmosphere are ranked dead last.

Where they win: "It's in a good spot, about an hour from Chicago and two from Indy. The program also has a national brand because of the Drew family and the fact they won a bunch in their previous league." – Missouri Valley head coach

The knock: "Facilities. They suck." – Missouri Valley assistant

[crusader05]

I guess what I was trying to state in my comment is that I wonder if we are not now in the silent phase of the fundraising or about to enter it. For several reasons. 1. A lot of the initial building concerns have been addressed and Heckler has stated he thinks there will be no major building projects in the next few years 2. the Endowment is nearing an ending, 3. We have entered the MVC and there has been plenty of anecdotal evidence that ARC renovations were known to be something that needed to be done. 4. recently updated part of the strategic plan still included a time table for Athletic developments and 5. it has been discussed that they are no longer waiting to build the rec center to move forward with ARC renovations.

[VU2010]

Great points - let's hope!

[wh]

Thank you for sharing that article. Cracked me up when I read what was written about Valpo:

7. VALPARAISO (29) – The Crusaders have gone to the NCAA tourney six times. Homer Drew took them in 1996, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '02 and '04. Bryce Drew took them in 2013 and 2015 while they were in the Horizon league. Valpo has some history, but the facilities and game atmosphere are ranked dead last.

Where they win: "It's in a good spot, about an hour from Chicago and two from Indy. The program also has a national brand because of the Drew family and the fact they won a bunch in their previous league." – Missouri Valley head coach

The knock: "Facilities. They suck." – Missouri Valley assistant

Would our ranking have been higher if the writer knew how to count to 9 instead of stopping at 6?

[VULB#62]

Thank you for sharing that article. Cracked me up when I read what was written about Valpo:

7. VALPARAISO (29) – The Crusaders have gone to the NCAA tourney six times. Homer Drew took them in 1996, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '02 and '04. Bryce Drew took them in 2013 and 2015 while they were in the Horizon league. Valpo has some history, but the facilities and game atmosphere are ranked dead last.

Where they win: "It's in a good spot, about an hour from Chicago and two from Indy. The program also has a national brand because of the Drew family and the fact they won a bunch in their previous league." – Missouri Valley head coach

The knock: "Facilities. They suck." – Missouri Valley assistant

Would our ranking have been higher if the writer knew how to count to 9 instead of stopping at 6?

That Valpo nine appearances is second only to SIU's 10 BTW. I aso take exception to the #10 rating on game experience. These jokers weren't there for recent  games like FSU or St. Marys.

[Valpo2013]

Agreed. 1st steps need to come from Valpo U and then solicit support. Need big time donor(s) to step up first before anything gets released or unveiled by the university. That is how previous campaigns were announced as I recall.

Interesting article on MVC programs and a subjective ranking based on selected criteria. Saw this today on Twitter. Interesting read and analysis. Hard to argue with the report rankings. Apparently facilities matter. [emoji6]

https://watchstadium.com/news/missouri-valley-basketball-coaches-rank-the-best-jobs-in-the-conference-02-01-2019/amp/?__twitter_impression=true


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Don't disagree other than the "game atmosphere" thing.  Perhaps it is dead last for an opponent, but when the ARC is rockin you can't get much better.

When was the last time it's been "rockin"?
St Mary's?

[VUGrad1314]

The Illinois State comback? The UNI game was pretty good.

[usc4valpo]

Ok, I have heard enough. It's been 35 years and if the university has any credibility they must address this.

[vu84v2]

The ARC was rocking for Rhode Island. Several more recent conference games probably approached that level too.

[VU2010]

Watching this UNC game and I remembered .... were you guys around when Dickie V come to Valpo? I was. Do you remember that? The atmosphere. Unbelievable. The student section? Huge. Spirited. I think we played Missouri State? How could we have regressed so much since then? National TV.

Same crappy arena. But, the atmosphere itself was so much different. Gotta get back to that level. Paul Oren hit the nail on the head when talking about simple things we could improve on. Like the music. Simple, cost-neutral things.

[VU2014]

Watching this UNC game and I remembered .... were you guys around when Dickie V come to Valpo? I was. Do you remember that? The atmosphere. Unbelievable. The student section? Huge. Spirited. I think we played Missouri State? How could we have regressed so much since then? National TV.

Same crappy arena. But, the atmosphere itself was so much different. Gotta get back to that level. Paul Oren hit the nail on the head when talking about simple things we could improve on. Like the music. Simple, cost-neutral things.

I think consumers have become more picky with their entertainment $s. Valpo needs to vastly improve the fan experience. Improving the fan experience doesn't have to mean spending lot's of money on halftime shows. It means originality, improved music, fan engagement during timeouts, clever games on the video board, an acceptable sounds system (seriously this shouldn't be hard to fix...), a well funded and performed pep band (bring the band back on the court to taunt the opposing team, get someone with some personality and charisma in the Crusader mascot, think outside the box like bringing in the jazz band one night a year and have them perform. A big thing is getting the students riled up. The student section has been noticeably better the last few weeks, but I mainly attribute that to the fraternities. Much of that was self coordinated by the students and not encouraged or assisted by the athletics department. There still seems to be not much coordination between the greek life office and the athletics dept. Have a night to honor greek life and don't just call it "greek life night" and do nothing special other than announce names over the PA system.

[VU2014]

Watching this UNC game and I remembered .... were you guys around when Dickie V come to Valpo? I was. Do you remember that? The atmosphere. Unbelievable. The student section? Huge. Spirited. I think we played Missouri State? How could we have regressed so much since then? National TV.

Same crappy arena. But, the atmosphere itself was so much different. Gotta get back to that level. Paul Oren hit the nail on the head when talking about simple things we could improve on. Like the music. Simple, cost-neutral things.

I think consumers have become more picky with their entertainment $s. Valpo needs to vastly improve the fan experience. Improving the fan experience doesn't have to mean spending lot's of money on halftime shows. It means originality, improved music, fan engagement during timeouts, clever games on the video board, an acceptable sounds system (seriously this shouldn't be hard to fix...), a well funded and performed pep band (bring the band back on the court to taunt the opposing team, get someone with some personality and charisma in the Crusader mascot, think outside the box like bringing in the jazz band one night a year and have them perform. A big thing is getting the students riled up. The student section has been noticeably better the last few weeks, but I mainly attribute that to the fraternities. Much of that was self coordinated by the students and not encouraged or assisted by the athletics department. There still seems to be not much coordination between the greek life office and the athletics dept. Have a night to honor greek life and don't just call it "greek life night" and do nothing special other than announce names over the PA system.

The ARC staff should probably also try and not kill the vibe of the building by blasting commercials all throughout the timeouts. Other arenas have commercials during timeouts but it feels like the ones at the ARC are a little more jarring and in your face. It takes fans out of the moment if that makes any sense. Just try and find a way to blend them in more subtly without smacking people in the face. I understand it's a revenue generator but I think there should be ways to more tactfully present them.

[JD24]

Paul Oren hit the nail on the head when talking about simple things we could improve on. Like the music. 

So the board is in agreement that a little more Jerry Vale will improve the basketball viewing experience at The Arc?

[VU2014]

Paul Oren hit the nail on the head when talking about simple things we could improve on. Like the music. 

So the board is in agreement that a little more Jerry Vale will improve the basketball viewing experience at The Arc?

Not going to lie, I had to google Jerry Vale. Just better music (I don't care the era) and better timing of when to play which song and sound effect.

[valpopal]

Though I disagree with Paul's complaints about the type of music played, I agree with him that the game experience needs to be improved, as I have said a number of times in the past. In fact, I have suggested that the loss of entertaining halftime shows is part of the problem. When acts such as the Jesse White Tumblers, the Bucket Boys (see below), the unicyclists, the juggling acts, and others were regular features, the excitement of the game did not drop to a lull. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the change is due to budget restrictions; therefore, as I have also mentioned previously, I believe various forms of local on-campus talent could be recruited, which would provide free entertainment and engage more of the student population.

[VALPO LI]

Ok the ARC is turning 35 this November!  35 years young.  WOW! time does fly.  I hear that some want to give the ARC a fairwell birthday gift by closing down its doors and build a new state of the art arena next door.  Others say just remove the bleachers and make room for comfortable chair backs in an enclosed oval around the court.  To many expressed a need for better parking.  A number of fans just want to have updated lighting, a better sound system, a nicer press room, and better services.  Some want beer. A few fans just want their programs and not to move the ticket table after the game.  These are just a few of the concerns on this thread.

Instead of saying what is wrong with the ARC let's welcome what went right!  Let us embrace it's history, victories, players and fans.  This November will be the perfect time to do this for the ARC turns 35 years old.  Let's schedule Western Michigan who we played 35 years ago when we opened up the ARC.  Bring back great players like Peters, Broekhoff and others to introduce our team and meet our fans.  Have a meet and greet before the game in our historic renovated hilltop gym from 1939.  Promote the ARC with the good times that were had here.  The big games that were played, Nortre Dame, Purdue, Florida St., Butler are a few that walked through these doors.  Remember the games that took us to the big dance, the Lutheran miracle and the NIT.   How great would it be to open next years season with a game that had significance 35 years ago.  The University should play this game by embracing its past and promoting its future what ever that may be.

[usc4valpo]

That comment is very sweet, but Valpo needs to move forward and get with the times. This place needs an overhaul. Opponent schools are critiquing it, and it is a detriment to recruiting. It is time to address this.

[VALPO LI]

Agreed.  Just a way to get people excited again!  We have all heard that the game atmosphere is "dull & atrocious" and that our facilities well "they suck".  The administration is aware, the league is aware and so are the fans.  Maybe the University has something in the works for upgrades or a new arena , maybe not....all one big secret.  In the meantime we can not give up on this program, we need to find ways to promote it and make it fun for our fans.
2019 season home opener vs DII program 2,100 fans...blah
Or
Promote with some history season opener vs DI program 4,000+fans ....now that would be sweet!

[elephtheria47]

It's easy to recruit when we are the at the top or towards the top of the conference (summit, horizon league, etc.) We are all here because we support Valpo so not sure why there's such a big divide regarding the facilities. Our peers and our competition now is the Missouri Valley and they all have better arenas, game day experience, etc than us. What used to be neutral in recruiting is now a big negative. We need higher caliber players in the MVC to be competitive and we need to have success on the court to continue recruiting and so far it's not happening. It is concerning. I feel the team can be/should be successful. . .why keep on hindering ourselves.