LaSalle President and AD

[explorer88]

Apr 24, 2013 8:19:30 GMT -5 MisterD said:

But isn't when things are good and the most people are paying attention exactly the time to start lobbying for improvements?

Agreed. That is why I said the next two years are the most critical. I am the last guy to give rope on this subject but I think we owe it to the administration to let this play out for a couple of years and see what happens. If Brother Mike is publicly saying it is the next project on the radar we can circle the wagons and see where we are in two years. If nothing has been done then I think the fans have a right to unload. A month after the Sweet 16? I think the program and school earned some time, even if it was all G's doing.

Now G's contract? That may be another story.

[las71]

88 I also feel like G's contract should be the highest priority and I'm sure they are working on this. He despite inadequate facilities has done a great job putting together this team and his latest signings convince me that he can keep us relevant going forward.

[luhoopsfan]

I have to wonder if G is making the facilities part of his contract. If I'm G, my approach is that I want an incentive-laden contract with a facilities commitment. basically, betting on myself that with better facilities i can reach the post season regularly and cash in while making my life a little easier b/c the increased exposure for the program will make getting a foot in the door that much easier for him.

[durenduren]

Maybe this is why G's contract talks are taking as long as they have. Got to imagine any commitment from the University regarding a new facility isn't going to be churned out overnight. If this is the case, I could see this delaying things a bit. Hopefully they've agreed on numbers, just sorting through the fine print regarding a new roof.

[explorerburger]

I had a chance to chat with one of the younger members of the board during the run, and I mentioned this issue to him. He told me that absolutely everyone on the BOT recognizes the urgency for a new arena, and that it will be addressed in the mid-to-near term. But he also said that the business school is THE critical next item, and that building a modern school of business in this day and age is a far different prospect than it was ten or fifteen years ago.

I have to admit that I see their point....I work with a lot of kids who come out of large state schools, and I am consistently knocked out by the quality of skills and the number of resources they had at their discretion in school. These are not standard brick and mortar skills or resources. La Salle has to compete.

Its a lousy choice to have to make. Thanks again, Brother Joe.

[luhoopsfan]

We do have to realize that the ship was already way out to sea on the Biz school project when this run came on and it's not like they can just suddenly switch gears on it. However, because they have a priority project underway right now, it doesn't mean they can't start planning the next priority project at the same time. Plus, it's conceivable that they may be able to get the new athletics facility off the ground before the biz school is finished without over-extending themselves because alumni support for a new facility will be a lot easier to rally at this time more than ever.

[explorer88]

Apr 25, 2013 9:47:52 GMT -5 luhoopsfan said:

We do have to realize that the ship was already way out to sea on the Biz school project when this run came on and it's not like they can just suddenly switch gears on it. However, because they have a priority project underway right now, it doesn't mean they can't start planning the next priority project at the same time. Plus, it's conceivable that they may be able to get the new athletics facility off the ground before the biz school is finished without over-extending themselves because alumni support for a new facility will be a lot easier to rally at this time more than ever.

Exactly. It makes no sense to work on one project at a time. Why not two? We need to take advantage now.

[ck]

And the NCAA money from this run, plus perhaps another next year, is "found" money. Why can't some or all of it be seed money for a new arena, without effecting the Business School project at all?

[explorer88]

Apr 25, 2013 11:32:23 GMT -5 ck said:

And the NCAA money from this run, plus perhaps another next year, is "found" money. Why can't some or all of it be seed money for a new arena, without effecting the Business School project at all?

It should all be used for the program. I menioned this a month ago.

[MisterD]

Absolutely. I don't mind if they use whatever they get upfront to pay down debt or something, but if we made $5MM, there should be $5MM more than previously budgeted spent on basketball in the short term.

[jellybean]

Apr 25, 2013 11:46:09 GMT -5 explorer88 said:

Apr 25, 2013 11:32:23 GMT -5 ck said:

And the NCAA money from this run, plus perhaps another next year, is "found" money. Why can't some or all of it be seed money for a new arena, without effecting the Business School project at all?

It should all be used for the program. I menioned this a month ago.

So 88, I would take it that if the University decided to use some of that money to resurface the track or install a Bubble that would not be acceptable?

[explorer88]

Apr 25, 2013 13:48:03 GMT -5 jellybean said:

Apr 25, 2013 11:46:09 GMT -5 explorer88 said:

It should all be used for the program. I menioned this a month ago.

So 88, I would take it that if the University decided to use some of that money to resurface the track or install a Bubble that would not be acceptable?

How much would that cost? I would want a high majority of those funds being used for the program.

[MisterD]

The other sports would all benefit from a new facility so I'd vote no.

[explorerman]

Apr 25, 2013 11:46:09 GMT -5 explorer88 said:

Apr 25, 2013 11:32:23 GMT -5 ck said:

And the NCAA money from this run, plus perhaps another next year, is "found" money. Why can't some or all of it be seed money for a new arena, without effecting the Business School project at all?

It should all be used for the program. I menioned this a month ago.

It should also be mentioned that John Lyons should be on the phone with UnderArmour asking them if they want to extend their sponsorship deal and try and leverage this past season's success into an all sports deal. It would save the athletic department damn near $100K per year of which can be thrown in the basketball program.

[jellybean]

Apr 25, 2013 14:00:17 GMT -5 MisterD said:

The other sports would all benefit from a new facility so I'd vote no.

Just to be clear on what you are saying so I can understand. You would vote NO to spend any money now on something that would be an immediate help. Tell those other sports that they need to wait til a new athletic facility (which may or may not include facilities which could accommodate them) is built years from now. Til then they can continue to van all over the Delaware Valley and pay rental fees to use indoor practice facilities during the Winter.

[calsufan]

Apr 25, 2013 14:40:15 GMT -5 jellybean said:

Apr 25, 2013 14:00:17 GMT -5 MisterD said:

The other sports would all benefit from a new facility so I'd vote no.

Just to be clear on what you are saying so I can understand. You would vote NO to spend any money now on something that would be an immediate help. Tell those other sports that they need to wait til a new athletic facility (which may or may not include facilities which could accommodate them) is built years from now. Til then they can continue to van all over the Delaware Valley and pay rental fees to use indoor practice facilities during the Winter.

I won't answer for MisterD, but I'll answer for myself. Yes, absolutely! The funds were earned by the basketball team and they are in dire need of upgrades on several fronts. Why dilute your main product that has been waiting for years for improvements so you can take money that they earned and give it to other programs? Now all of a sudden you have limited funds which may be available for a limited time and you're handing it out around the school. I would say no.

[durenduren]

Apr 25, 2013 14:40:15 GMT -5 jellybean said:

Til then they can continue to van all over the Delaware Valley and pay rental fees to use indoor practice facilities during the Winter.

I'm not sure if that's actually the case. To a limited extent for a few programs, but I believe most stay on campus, many using Haymen in a variety of ways. The weight rooms MBB uses, those are also used by everyone else. The athletic trainers are used by every other sport. The soccer teams even use the tennis courts for training. A lot of programs use Gola for practices too. You get the idea...

We're not a large enough school to have dedicated facilities for each program. And from a business perspective, any improvement made will need to, at least, indirectly benefit other programs.

That said, I think any 'arena' improvement will benefit every other program on campus, whether or not they are specifically designed to include them or not. Either way, they'll see perks. But I think it's important to remember that these other programs are not nearly as profitable as basketball, if at all. To help these programs be competitive moving forward, you need to pull from other areas. These other sports do impact the MBB's market worth. In a time where conference realignment seems to be happening every day, being able to say we boast so-and-so competitive sports programs is highly undervalued when all I think is basketball.

I'm not saying basketball shouldn't be the focus, and I'm not saying they shouldn't have claim to the lion's share of what they earned through these NCAA credits. Hell, they're by-far the most profitable program by a landslide, I get that. I just don't think it's wise to forget the other programs too, and I might be the most guilty of this.

[MisterD]

To answer for me, yes, for all those reasons above plus the fact that money for an arena is an investment with a return, not just an expense.