As beautiful as our campus is and as great a place as Banterra is to watch a game, Carbondale is just not the place where major talent looks to go. The success of past teams was predicated on great coaches (Webber, Painter) who managed to lure top players to the program, not to the university. We were fortunate to have those men grace the hardwood of Banterra. I think it is time to slash the budget of athletics and offer the programs while acknowledging that they will never generate the kind of interest we enjoyed before the transfer portal and NIL. The core mission of education needs to be priority if SIU is to stay relevant.
Another D2er. Some of the worst ideas I've heard in a while. If Eisenhower and Patton had your attitude, we'd all be speaking German.
Weber wasn't scooping Big 10 recruits. He found talent, and there is a lot of talent to go around. Over 500,000 boys play high school basketball, and the best talent doesn't always win. It's a team game, a great game that is very popular around the world.
Athletics is very important to universities in this country. Check out the Big 10, etc. That does not mean the core mission isn't education and research.
Almost every school is struggling with less students going to college right now.
Getting rid of athletics would be disastrous for the school optics, especially after stabilizing a bit after years of down enrollment.
As beautiful as our campus is and as great a place as Banterra is to watch a game, Carbondale is just not the place where major talent looks to go. The success of past teams was predicated on great coaches (Webber, Painter) who managed to lure top players to the program, not to the university. We were fortunate to have those men grace the hardwood of Banterra. I think it is time to slash the budget of athletics and offer the programs while acknowledging that they will never generate the kind of interest we enjoyed before the transfer portal and NIL. The core mission of education needs to be priority if SIU is to stay relevant.
Another D2er. Some of the worst ideas I've heard in a while. If Eisenhower and Patton had your attitude, we'd all be speaking German.
Weber wasn't scooping Big 10 recruits. He found talent, and there is a lot of talent to go around. Over 500,000 boys play high school basketball, and the best talent doesn't always win. It's a team game, a great game that is very popular around the world.
Athletics is very important to universities in this country. Check out the Big 10, etc. That does not mean the core mission isn't education and research.
In addition to these points, I'm also not sure Carbondale "not being the place to be" is that valid. Look at the MVC. The team from Terre Haute, Ind., probably was good enough to play in the NCAA Tournament last season. The team from Cedar Falls, Iowa, usually is one of the top 3-4 teams in the league. And I'd pick Carbondale over Murray, Ky., in a heartbeat. Des Moines and Peoria are larger cities, but I wouldn't call either a major metropolis or great college town. If you go by locations, UIC and Belmont should be dominating -- and that isn't happening at this point.
Almost every school is struggling with less students going to college right now.
Getting rid of athletics would be disastrous for the school optics, especially after stabilizing a bit after years of down enrollment.
Absolutely correct. That would be a huge mistake..like saying we're no longer a major (or mid-major) university....we have given up that dream, and we're just hanging on. And the enrollment has increased a bit - good sign.
And I don't buy the idea that we will never again be good. I think there will be a lot of changes in athletics as regards the NIL and portal. Many, many coaches - probably the majority - DO NOT LIKE the NIL or portal as presently constructed.
A pro league would never go for absolute free agency every year. As constructed, NIL is one of the dumber developments in college athletics because it's turning into a nearly unregulated version of the pro leagues. I think it will change for the better, hopefully soon.
I also don't buy the idea that the enrollment will never bounce back. Like bunny rabbits, human populations have their cycles. People haven't stopped breeding last I looked and eventually the demographics will favor more college age, college-seeking people. (Assuming we don't nuke ourselves or completely poison the planet) I still think SIU could do a lot more to interest students. Years of Walter Wendler/Brad Coville/Randy Dunn were disasters but not fatal.
As beautiful as our campus is and as great a place as Banterra is to watch a game, Carbondale is just not the place where major talent looks to go. The success of past teams was predicated on great coaches (Webber, Painter) who managed to lure top players to the program, not to the university. We were fortunate to have those men grace the hardwood of Banterra. I think it is time to slash the budget of athletics and offer the programs while acknowledging that they will never generate the kind of interest we enjoyed before the transfer portal and NIL. The core mission of education needs to be priority if SIU is to stay relevant.
Another D2er. Some of the worst ideas I've heard in a while. If Eisenhower and Patton had your attitude, we'd all be speaking German.
Weber wasn't scooping Big 10 recruits. He found talent, and there is a lot of talent to go around. Over 500,000 boys play high school basketball, and the best talent doesn't always win. It's a team game, a great game that is very popular around the world.
Athletics is very important to universities in this country. Check out the Big 10, etc. That does not mean the core mission isn't education and research.
In addition to these points, I'm also not sure Carbondale "not being the place to be" is that valid. Look at the MVC. The team from Terre Haute, Ind., probably was good enough to play in the NCAA Tournament last season. The team from Cedar Falls, Iowa, usually is one of the top 3-4 teams in the league. And I'd pick Carbondale over Murray, Ky., in a heartbeat. Des Moines and Peoria are larger cities, but I wouldn't call either a major metropolis or great college town. If you go by locations, UIC and Belmont should be dominating -- and that isn't happening at this point.
Actually C'dale has some great advantages that many college towns don't have - besides a beautiful campus we have outstanding places to hike, canoe, kayak, bicycle, mountain bike, fish, etc. And contrary to the C'dale downers on here, the town is doing OK. Beautiful new transportation hub, new places to eat, microbreweries, etc., and work has started on the music venue/band shell downtown. Downtown looks better than it did 40 years ago. Murphysboro too.
I had the academics to go to University of Illinois. I chose Carbondale because I liked the other students I met there and also wanted beautiful outdoor spaces.
Not long ago we lost another KD, hopefully we don’t lose the current KD.
Honestly, I don’t think any 18 year old basketball recruit is choosing us because the beautiful campus or the transportation hub Carbondale has built. Also what 18-20 year current interests are might be different when we were the same age…..20,30,40 years ago. All SIU can do is build up the basketball program and get the recruits coming from that stand point…..high school kids don’t socialize like we are accustomed to.
I agree. But regular students might be enticed a little.
Best thing to do for basketball is try to build a winning team and a culture that players want to be a part of. I'm wondering if the Kennard stuff and why he didn't play will come out.
Nagy was supposed to be a culture builder. I still think he can be but not this year. It's a completely lost season
Speaking of Dillard. Dean_siu is still talking about him on other boards. It's genuinely creepy.
I doubt a nice campus would be an athlete's number one reason for choosing SIU but it sure does not hurt. I read blurbs from a number of athletes specifically female athletes on why they chose SIU and a number of them mention a beautiful campus or loving the campus but I imagine the coach's personality, the facilities, The opportunities to play, the conference, parental input, the people they meet on their visits, etc have a lot to do with it.
I mean we have internet everywhere and we now have eSports in the student center. No free prostitutes like Rick Pitino at Louisville though.
Right, you gotta pay for prostitutes just like a real American. When you draw a line in the sand, you never budge.
