Carried over from another thread:
BTW, The first home game for StL City SC is Saturday night, March 4th, 7:30 pm, during Arch Madness at their brand new stadium just down the street at Market Street and 21st. (Look towards the big Ferris Wheel) They will draw a full house--sold out (22,500)--with upper deck tickets having gone for $273 (against Charlotte FC). St Louis has been "soccer mad" since the early 1900's when Catholics came to St Louis in large numbers. Saint Louis U used to sell out every match and season tickets for StL City SC were reserved with deposits about 3 months after the team was announced.
StL City SC wins tonight in Austin 3 - 2 (Feb. 25) in first game ever.Late goal makes expansion St. Louis City a winner over Austin FC | National Post (https://nationalpost.com/pmn/sports-pmn/late-goal-makes-expansion-st-louis-city-a-winner-over-austin-fc)
I seem to remember that the new stadium's naming rights were bought by Centene Bank and will be Centene Stadium.
EDIT: Apparently Centene Bank withdrew it's name from the CITYPARK StadiumFormer names: Centene Stadium (February–October 2022)
https://www.stlcitysc.com/stadium/ (https://www.stlcitysc.com/stadium/)
Stifel Theater (the former Kiel Auditorium) is at 14th & Market and sits against the Enterprise Center at Clark & 14th. CITYPARK Stadium sits at Market & 21st, 7 blocks west of Stifel Theater (Kiel Auditorium) and roughly 2 blocks west & north of St Louis Union Station.(1900 Market St - Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6295757,-90.2073308,3a,75y,180h,98.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sag1iSMLgCLvBU6JazwyO_A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192))Enterprise Center to CITYPARK - Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Enterprise+Center/CITYPARK,+2100+Market+St,+St.+Louis,+MO+63103/@38.6287729,-90.2082134,17z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x0:0x16d092e190f89a21!2m2!1d-90.2026783!2d38.6268402!1m5!1m1!1s0x87d8b3ff8262f1cd:0xbeb570e20891a890!2m2!1d-90.2104856!2d38.6312285!3e0)
The St Louis Wheel is at 201 S. 20th Street. 201 S 20th St - Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6278089,-90.2098276,3a,75y,106.19h,119.42t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYzJE7JqbhX3HJKE404xB1A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192)
St Louis City SC is hosting a party in downtown St Louis from Friday, March 3, 2023 in the afternoon till game time on Saturday, March 4th at 7:30 pm.
https://www.ksdk.com/amp/article/sports/soccer/st-louis-city-sc/st-louis-city-sc-block-party-inagural-home-match-march-4/63-ec3a3676-d073-456a-83cc-b7d241e43008 (https://www.ksdk.com/amp/article/sports/soccer/st-louis-city-sc/st-louis-city-sc-block-party-inagural-home-match-march-4/63-ec3a3676-d073-456a-83cc-b7d241e43008)
Coming off the high of winning its first match in franchise history, the team will host the celebratory block party from Friday afternoon until kickoff Saturday.
While a victory against MSU yesterday would have felt nice, strictly from a seeding prospective I kind of like where we are.
1. I would much rather face Murray again than any of the trio of ISUb, UNI, or Missouri St.
2. AND If we beat the Racers I would much prefer to face Drake rather than Bradley. I could take this a step further because I would also prefer Drake over SIU or Belmont. I'm not making predictions here but I am stating my preferences taking into account our now determined list of bad options.
Just Ducky, I agree 100% on the seedlings for Valpo. Prefer what we have most definitely.
Quote from: tiny707 on February 27, 2023, 11:48:20 AM
Just Ducky, I agree 100% on the seedlings for Valpo. Prefer what we have most definitely.
Little 🌳s? ;)
Well. Hard to beat a team 3 times in one season. Valpo has a chance against Racers. Good matchup, but clearly this team doesn't know how to close games, so if it's close we have no shot to pull it out. Maybe the team will try something new, attack, draw fouls instead of holding and winding shot clock down. If we advance and play Drake, only way Drake looses is if they are emotionally spent from Bradley game and or they are overlooking us. Either way.......If we hear nothing by 2:00 Monday then yeah.......Apathy goes to another level.
Quote from: AB on February 27, 2023, 12:50:36 PMWell. Hard to beat a team 3 times in one season.
It's been totally proven that this is not true and it does happen more often than you think. It just doesn't stick out in your memory.
Quote from: historyman on February 28, 2023, 04:31:04 PM
Quote from: AB on February 27, 2023, 12:50:36 PMWell. Hard to beat a team 3 times in one season.
It's been totally proven that this is not true and it does happen more often than you think. It just doesn't stick out in your memory.
This will be explored on The Victory Bell this week.
Will tomorrow be the last time we see Ben Krikke play in a Valpo uniform?
https://twitter.com/tvboren/status/1631044314145992705?s=46&t=cNk7taMAYtxNl1Q0_O79Gw
I would like to see a decent bunch of guys conclude their season with at least a win in Arch Madness.
Hello from beautiful St Louis!!!!!
[/color]This week, St. Louis CITY SC will play the Inaugural Home Match at CITYPARK. We've been waiting to say that for a long time. We hope to see all of you this weekend. Whether you have tickets or not, we have a ton planned for fans inside CITYPARK and out.
[/color]CITY Block Party
[/color] Let's make every matchday a block party for all of St. Louis. [/color]FRIDAY We have a sold-out show featuring St. Louis' own Metro Boomin along with DJ Pee .Wee (Anderson .Paak), Mvstermind and Kennedy Holmes. [/color]SATURDAY The fun starts at 4PM before the match at Lou Fusz Plaza. DJ Mahf will provide the soundtrack to a festival filled with food, games, fun and activities for the entire family. Be a part of this historic day in St. Louis history. [/color] |
| [/color] [/color]THE MATCHUP [/color][/size]
MATCHUP: STL CITY SC vs. Charlotte FC KICKOFF: Saturday, March 4 @ 7:30PM WHERE: CITYPARK |
[/color]HOW TO TUNE IN [/color][/size]
[/color]MLS Season Pass is the new home of STL CITY SC. Watch (https://mail.stlcitysc.com/e3t/Ctc/5F+113/d2vqS004/MWJnRNBVz5NW96F7bd2S97VgW5NMkyh4XBhtNMZjDWN2-MbyV1-WJV7CgPWlN1ZHFSkMxPD1W1hMQpW3rjDCbW2VHJ-r5FFNtMW20BhLL7TSK_0W4xv-T320_P1DW5H87lf55nGSWW6CDGnD3RsfCtW6wtGtV3FY-QyW73Fj0_88k-xKW2ltwtm1r4ZpSVPxBc64sXJfHW3-JkMR8MM7w_W8GYt292-NvJKW8Vq-g95ggBVlW5JWh9B8TyZ_HW7D44rS2ykp6bW2vvPrh4_nt90N5mS3JCKct0dW7HbMcT639tvBN3jZpw2SHd52W44bTZf2rj2tbVZKWVh6B_fTwW5vGM5Y8jKPSmW4f6rfh85RP_0W2bcrlP6CSRKsW3XVLhT1qR9jN3lJt1) on the Apple TV app. Or join coverage on the air from our radio partners KYKY 98.1 FM and en español on KXOK 102.9 FM.
[/color]CITY ON TAP WATCH PARTIES
[/color]From Florissant to Fenton to O'Fallon, you're sure to find a place to watch with your fellow fans all over St. Louis. Check out our list of official bar partners (https://mail.stlcitysc.com/e3t/Ctc/5F+113/d2vqS004/MWJnRNBVz5NW96F7bd2S97VgW5NMkyh4XBhtNVZjDT-4MYxF-W7_ts6387wXXGW8m8k8z6zYc2SW696QmY1CNbT-W9bKYcP2VCmBtW31dR2V69ppW7W8kp8ZK3YbZ7cN5cp_211v82cVW34c25czl5RW8n2_cT97Qzf6W9lcfwf3CSvbCW4lNgfY2D9XjcW1C1HrH5Ct9k2W8fMWkS7R5mFfW1x010h2NnxvGW986Z7D7xBrL2103) who are a part of CITY On Tap presented by Michelob ULTRA. |
CITY on Tap | St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com) (https://www.stlcitysc.com/ultra-city-on-tap)
Very interesting that the betting line for the Valpo-Murray State matchup has Murray State as only a 1 pt favorite.
Quote from: vu84v2 on March 02, 2023, 11:52:04 AMVery interesting that the betting line for the Valpo-Murray State matchup has Murray State as only a 1 pt favorite.
Both games between the two this season went to overtime.
It is hard to beat the same team three times in a season. Here's hoping!
I'm kinda saddened that prior to this reply, only 13 replies were posted and it's game time 🥺
Speaks volumes.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230303/44f0e80f12096feabc4f598ab33bb04c.jpg)
Not good
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Valpo does not have an offensive system.
Valpo hasn't had an offense system in years.
Remember there was a time we dreamed of a valpo vs Murray state in the mvc tourney game.
We never that it was possible.
Valpo is getting smoked at half. But it has been a great promising season based on the Valpo spin doctors.
Good defense by Murray. Better game to game adjustments by Prohm. I think we might make it interesting but I wouldn't bet on it.
I am not being sarcastic. Let's let the second half play out. I'm from Bastin (Boston) and "ya nevah know." We could have a wicked pissah second half - right David?
To our players, come on guys, this is Arch Madness, rise to the moment!
Outside of Ben this team is bad
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Only good thing about this game was I passed the stone at halftime. Now if somehow Valpo could find their way back into this game it could be a real good day.
Then again, maybe I should be content with I have, or rather, don't have anymore.
This is getting pretty vintage in a hurry.
Thank goodness Murray went cold
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It appears Murray's plan was to go at Ben right away. From LiveStats he has the fewest first half minutes of the starters. I guess their plan (he had 2 first half fouls) sorta worked. Anybody know what was our plan? Didn't Matt say it was a no brainer after our last loss. Just wondering.
10 minutes left. Down by 25. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED???????
OMG, this is more than embarrassing. Let's sell a fourth painting and buy out Matt's contract.
Can we fire Lottich by 10pm please ?
Will Remax or Century 21 be knocking?
Heck of a performance. Memorable! If I am provided with any hope I might be back next year or not. I just can't picture the team being better in 23-24 even without Lottich but a rebuild year without him would be preferable to a rebuild year with him.
Pathetic.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230303/bd5763231ce084799f077efb51456164.jpg)
Wtf
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Shout out to everyone on here for hanging in this year. There is nothing left to say that we haven't said over and over.
Thanks to PO for his coverage this year and also Todd Ickow for continuing to be the voice of Valpo basketball. Those two were the highlights of this season for me.
Pathetic. Valpo needs to do the right thing. Let Small do his job.
I just feel for the players. They did not come onto the court and decide to lose. They deserved better.
Quote from: Chairback on March 02, 2023, 08:06:58 PMShout out to everyone on here for hanging in this year.
Thanks! That almost makes me feel a little better. Maybe we should get together for a bonfire? We can set ablaze our old Crusader gear and toss in the new Beacon stuff too.
Totally different set of circumstances, but - for whatever reason - I was reminded of the loss in the Horizon League tournament back in 2017 when Valpo came out embarrassingly. If you recall, they only scored 12 1st half points. Fortunately, Milwaukee wasn't very good - so that only put Valpo down 4 pts at the half. I bring it up because it was the same feeling watching tonight ... it was just like ...??? ... absolute dumbfoundedness. That night, a 24-8 Valpo team lost to a 10-23 Milwaukee team.
Who was the head coach that year for Valpo ...?
I used to think 2008-2009 was the most depressing season of Valpo basketball. 2022-2023 might be worse.
Quote from: mj on March 02, 2023, 10:01:57 PM
I used to think 2008-2009 was the most depressing season of Valpo basketball. 2022-2023 might be worse.
Wait till next year if Matt stays and Krikke decides he wants a chance to play in the NCAA tournament and transfers. 2023-2024 will be worse.
Quote from: VULB#62 on March 02, 2023, 06:09:13 PM
I'm kinda saddened that prior to this reply, only 13 replies were posted and it's game time [emoji3064]
Speaks volumes.
We have a game today? Someone forgot to tell the team, because they didn't appear to show
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Quote from: mj on March 02, 2023, 10:01:57 PM
I used to think 2008-2009 was the most depressing season of Valpo basketball. 2022-2023 might be worse.
Don't forget the Smith years. Apathy run amok
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Wasn't able to see the game live. For those who watched...did the team finally get tired of fighting wave the white flag or was it more the coaching adjustments of Prohm? Does anyone think Murray has 25 pts better talent? Asking a fair question.
Quote from: AB on March 02, 2023, 10:32:25 PM
Wasn't able to see the game live. For those who watched...did the team finally get tired of fighting wave the white flag or was it more the coaching adjustments of Prohm? Does anyone think Murray has 25 pts better talent? Asking a fair question.
We were missing shots all over, no rebounding, and just looked like most of the depth chart didn't give a fightin' poop what happened. Murray was hitting shots, getting inside, and looking like the veteran ballclub of the two transfer fancy teams on the court.
Quote from: truth219 on March 02, 2023, 06:30:26 PM(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230303/44f0e80f12096feabc4f598ab33bb04c.jpg) Not good Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I think your TV setup looks great. What don't you like about it?
Quote from: VULB#62 on March 02, 2023, 07:28:39 PMIt appears Murray's plan was to go at Ben right away. From LiveStats he has the fewest first half minutes of the starters. I guess their plan (he had 2 first half fouls) sorta worked. Anybody know what was our plan? Didn't Matt say it was a no brainer after our last loss. Just wondering.
Valpo was down 15 when he got his 2nd foul. They actually made it tighter prior to the half.
Asked elsewhere...yes...the team threw in the towel during the 2nd half.
Every program needs someone like Paul Oren covering the team- loyal, honest, realistic, and a true fan. Every team wants a guy like Todd Ickow calling its games- professional, consistent, trusted, and a homer only when deserved.
Embarrassing: no VU pep band at the game so UNI pep band helped us out and played for Valpo. They all wore MVC white t-shirts for the game. When game ended they took off the white t-shirts and had their purple shirts on underneath. Pathetic.
More evidence that Valpo is not committed to being a member of the MVC, for which they have to have second thought about inviting Valpo to join. Waiting to hear the excuses for this omission.
Valpo has been great and basketball for a very long time. They will be good again . It's cyclical. We just have the wrong guy.
Quote from: oklahomamick on March 03, 2023, 06:18:24 AM
Valpo has been great and basketball for a very long time. They will be good again . It's cyclical. We just have the wrong guy.
Having his own recruits would help. He keeps playing with other teams recruiting rejects.
Nope, we need a fresh start. ML has had a sufficient time window to succeed.
Ben looked pissed off and extremely frustrated walking back to locker room.
Quote from: historyman on March 03, 2023, 06:22:18 AM
Quote from: oklahomamick on March 03, 2023, 06:18:24 AM
Valpo has been great and basketball for a very long time. They will be good again . It's cyclical. We just have the wrong guy.
Having his own recruits would help. He keeps playing with other teams recruiting rejects.
Most of his recruits leave the program. What does that say about his program?
I think the hard reality is that the close games we lost this season were more a matter of teams playing down to our level and catching themselves just in time to win versus us actually be nearly as good as a team like Murray State or others. People, Kobe King, our second best player, shot 13% from the 3 this conference season. I don't think Max Nelson is a D1 player, at least not yet. We've got 21 feet of basketball players riding the pines when what we need is smaller guys who actually can shoot!
So the Matt spin includes all the transfer stuff and how hard it is to put a team together when they don't know each other. Well Steve Prohm proved that a good coach can get it done. Follow fans, Prohm had, ready, ONE, read that, ONE player come back from last year and he hadn't even coached that player. So maybe our problem is that we just need to adjust to the tougher league and then we'll be fine. That doesn't fly either and both Belmont and Murray did better than us and Murray just smoked us.
I'm glad President Padilla was at the game and saw this embarrassment.
Finally, I'll conclude with a financial justification for moving on from Matt. Here it is--the last time we had a winning record was 2019-2020 at 19-16. That year we drew 2971 per game in attendance. The last two years we have averaged 1692 per game. Without specific knowledge, other than seeing the chairbacks half full, I'll use $20 as the average ticket price. That means we lost an average of 1,280 ticket sales at $20 or $25,600 per game or 256,000 per season based on 10 home games. So over the last two season, a combined loss of $512,000. There is your justification for his buyout.
Ironic that both our men's and women's team were blown out by newcomer Murray, on the same night. time to move on.
Keeping the program as is will be more burdensome financially beyond the well thought out analysis by vu72. Think about the apathy, school spirit/attitude, enrollment - it all plays in. Quit the excuses and move on. Act like you are a division 1 program.
There is this belief that Lottich only has one year left on his contract. At the time of the extension it was reported that his contract goes through the 2024-25 season.
So given Valpo financial state and the fact that there are 2 years left, I am afraid that he will be around for next year. Too bad, because with this years seniors departing, there would be very little to worry about retaining players, because what is left shows little promise. This is very sad state for our program.
Quote from: tjjvalpo on March 03, 2023, 08:57:34 AM
There is this belief that Lottich only has one year left on his contract. At the time of the extension it was reported that his contract goes through the 2024-25 season.
So given Valpo financial state and the fact that there are 2 years left, I am afraid that he will be around for next year. Too bad, because with this years seniors departing, there would be very little to worry about retaining players, because what is left shows little promise. This is very sad state for our program.
Many of us have been suggesting that a negotiated buyout may be possible, especially because Coach Lottich is a good man who might well accept a year's salary as severance when it appears he's signed through 2 more seasons. It would be reasonable for him to hold out for that. But even one year's salary is a lot for a school doing a lot of belt-tightening.
Had the team made even a tiny run in Arch Madness, say, a win followed by a close loss, the optics might look slightly different in terms of sticking with him for another season. But the sound of that 28 point loss was the thud of the program hitting its rock bottom (so far). I cannot imagine next year's roster with the same coaching staff in place.
I can imagine it, and it is real ugly! Our average attendance probably drops below 1000!
Quote from: vu72 on March 03, 2023, 08:15:25 AMI think the hard reality is that the close games we lost this season were more a matter of teams playing down to our level and catching themselves just in time to win versus us actually be nearly as good as a team like Murray State or others.
After watching Bradley vs Northern Iowa live it's very hard not to agree with you. Valpo is no where near the level of the top of the MVC teams.
Quote from: usc4valpo on March 03, 2023, 08:24:45 AMAct like you are a division 1 program.
Valpo no longer has the financial situation to be a Division I athletic program plan & simple. If you can't financially find a solution to end Lottich's contract then you can't be Division I. Valpo as a school will survive. Tough decisions are ahead.
Quote from: tjjvalpo on March 03, 2023, 12:07:04 PM
I can imagine it, and it is real ugly! Our average attendance probably drops below 1000!
Average home attendance this year was 1,603 and 32.06% of seating capacity.
Bradley and UNI are going toe to toe today! This is Valley Basketball. What we saw yesterday all four games was not. The reason that our conference net rating is down is the four bottom feeders and sadly Valpo is one of them. I still don't think it is a talent gap, this year. Next year, when we fighting to stay out of last place probably.
Quote from: Just Sayin on March 03, 2023, 01:32:38 PM
Quote from: tjjvalpo on March 03, 2023, 12:07:04 PM
I can imagine it, and it is real ugly! Our average attendance probably drops below 1000!
Average home attendance this year was 1,603 and 32.06% of seating capacity.
And you know, the attendance figures are usually just a somewhat educated guess by the sports information staff. I don't think there's any science to it.
I'm afraid 1,600 is highly inflated if you actually count AIS - Asses in Seats (tributed to Everybody Loves Raymond).
Quote from: David81 on March 03, 2023, 10:08:31 AMQuote from: tjjvalpo on March 03, 2023, 08:57:34 AMThere is this belief that Lottich only has one year left on his contract. At the time of the extension it was reported that his contract goes through the 2024-25 season. So given Valpo financial state and the fact that there are 2 years left, I am afraid that he will be around for next year. Too bad, because with this years seniors departing, there would be very little to worry about retaining players, because what is left shows little promise. This is very sad state for our program.
Many of us have been suggesting that a negotiated buyout may be possible, especially because Coach Lottich is a good man who might well accept a year's salary as severance when it appears he's signed through 2 more seasons. It would be reasonable for him to hold out for that. But even one year's salary is a lot for a school doing a lot of belt-tightening. Had the team made even a tiny run in Arch Madness, say, a win followed by a close loss, the optics might look slightly different in terms of sticking with him for another season. But the sound of that 28 point loss was the thud of the program hitting its rock bottom (so far). I cannot imagine next year's roster with the same coaching staff in place.
If the school's negotiator didn't leave room for an escape in a reasonable timeframe then I hope the school has changed negotiator's...whoever that may have been or be today. That's just incompetence.
Indiana State vs Belmont another great game!
Quote from: tjjvalpo on March 03, 2023, 04:40:26 PM
Indiana State vs Belmont another great game!
Indiana St holds on to win. I had great difficulty finding this game but did manage to catch the last couple minutes. Hope the evening 2 games are equally competitive to the first 2.
Quote from: tjjvalpo on March 03, 2023, 01:40:15 PM
Bradley and UNI are going toe to toe today! This is Valley Basketball. What we saw yesterday all four games was not. The reason that our conference net rating is down is the four bottom feeders and sadly Valpo is one of them. I still don't think it is a talent gap, this year. Next year, when we fighting to stay out of last place probably.
Outside of Krikke and King, there was definitely a talent gap between this year's team and most of the MVC. Nowhere near enough skilled players, hence the three-point shooting woes.
Good shooting and low turn overs gave Drake a very comfortable win over Murray. Impressive win! At this point there is still a very remote chance for 2 bids so I'd love to see Bradley- Drake in the final game. Clearly they are the best 2 teams in the league and each might be about #2 seeds for the NIT if they stumble.
Post-game presser. Matt, Kobe, Ben. Starts at 17:30
https://youtu.be/k2N9mpLmQ-U
I couldn't begin to fathom how the Valpo v. Murray State NIGHT game was played in the same building ... as part of the same tournament ... in the same conference ... mere hours apart from the Bradley game that was an AFTERNOON game on a weekday. And, yet, the energy was ELECTRIC!!! What a shame. We are an embarrassment to the conference. I cannot use the excuse of being the new school any longer ... no excuses. Not a new coach ... and not the only one dealing with the transfer portal & NIL deals. Did I hear correct that we didn't even have our band there last night, so another team's band played for us? Northern Iowa or something? Unreal.
Bradley vs. Drake for the MVC title. Two teams with talent and excellent coaching. This should be a great game with certainly the 2 best teams in the conference duking it out. We should watch and appreciate this matchup.
Quote from: usc4valpo on March 05, 2023, 07:24:45 AM
Bradley vs. Drake for the MVC title. Two teams with talent and excellent coaching. This should be a great game with certainly the 2 best teams in the conference duking it out. We should watch and appreciate this matchup.
Great basketball yesterday and should be better today. Maybe we should refrain from pissing on Matt or his boots between the hrs of 1:00 and 3:00 central while we watch the automatic bid get decided. Prepare for the chance of multiple over times. I'm thinking it will be Drake which means you should go with Bradley.
I am rooting for Des Moines' team and hope for a big party in Dogtown.
Wasn't Tahvanainen checked and cleared yesterday, Friday or both for concussion and now today he can't dress. Am I confused or how does this work?
They are currently partying at the University Library and Lucky Horse at the greatest city in the world!
Drake already a popular first round pick to upset. They were certainly on fire. They are partying on Court Ave.!
I'm glad to see Drake move on. I've seen some recent talk on twitter from a few Alums questioning the move to the MVC.
Drake is probably the most similar school in our Conference to us. They are going to the ncaa tournament now.
They made 2 pretty strong coaching hires in a row and look at them now. Mark LaBarbera and the University botched the Lottich hire and it has cost the athletics department dearly.
We need Dr Small to mail the next hire whether that be this offseason, next or in 2025 (... :'( ). We can thrive with the right coach and if the university comes up with a realistic plan for a new arena.
Quote from: usc4valpo on March 05, 2023, 08:23:00 AM
I am rooting for Des Moines' team and hope for a big party in Dogtown.
How 'bout them Bulldogs (the Iowa kind). They were much more impressive but Bradley coach, Wardle laid another egg.
I know this - if Drake can do it, certainly Valpo can if they are committed.
Quote from: usc4valpo on March 05, 2023, 06:57:21 PM
I know this - if Drake can do it, certainly Valpo can if they are committed.
Indeed. Drake, Bradley, and Belmont are all mid-sized private universities, none are instantly identified as being mid-major MBB powers (solid, yes; exceptional, no), none are awash in cash, and each must also cope with the transfer portal. Yet more often than not, each has the potential to compete for a conference championship during a given season.
So maybe VU's path back to competitiveness may not be as elusive as it seems.
I believe Drake and Bradley arenas are owned by the city? Maybe we should recruit in our back yard? Roman Penn, DJ, Connor all at Drake. Drew Scharnowski headed to Belmont.
Drake owns the Knapp Center.
Just got back from STL. The crowds, in terms of butts in the seats, were way higher this year than the past 5 years. Just absolutely awesome environments Friday thru Sunday. Bradley and SIU brought massive crowds. Drake, Murray, UNI, and both ISUs had strong showings. Those 7 sold out their allotments. People who aren't going are really missing on an insanely fun weekend.
I really, really hope we can bring a crowd someday that can respectably measure up to some of those schools. It makes me sad that we only have a few dozen. Props to the fan with the white beard (don't know his name) who shows up every year in that old school Valpo shirt.
I also wanted to say I didn't think it was possible but this year's Arch Madness was even better than some of the other Arch Madness' tournaments I've experienced in the past years. I did not attend during the COVID years 2021, 2022. It is simply an amazing event that not many conferences can compete with.
I do wish Todd Thomas, the entertainer on the microphone that does things during breaks in the action in the Enterprise Center and I believe he does things for the Cardinals all year in Busch Stadium would change up his act a little. There hasn't been a change in his act in probably 6 years.
Quote from: vu72 on March 03, 2023, 08:15:25 AM
Finally, I'll conclude with a financial justification for moving on from Matt. Here it is--the last time we had a winning record was 2019-2020 at 19-16. That year we drew 2971 per game in attendance. The last two years we have averaged 1692 per game. Without specific knowledge, other than seeing the chairbacks half full, I'll use $20 as the average ticket price. That means we lost an average of 1,280 ticket sales at $20 or $25,600 per game or 256,000 per season based on 10 home games. So over the last two season, a combined loss of $512,000. There is your justification for his buyout.
72, I don't think your numbers quite make sense. The attendance numbers surely include students: To my knowledge, they are not paying to go to the games, and certainly not $20 per ticket. Said another way, if attendance is down by 1,280, could student attendance account for half of that drop? Hard to say from my vantage point, yet it looks like there are fewer student-age fans in the seats.
Clearly, there still could be a buyout, and I'm sure the Department has been running some numbers about the costs associated with declining attendance. This also may include others who have cut or cut back on their donations.
Quote from: valpo95 on March 06, 2023, 09:57:44 AM
Quote from: vu72 on March 03, 2023, 08:15:25 AM
Finally, I'll conclude with a financial justification for moving on from Matt. Here it is--the last time we had a winning record was 2019-2020 at 19-16. That year we drew 2971 per game in attendance. The last two years we have averaged 1692 per game. Without specific knowledge, other than seeing the chairbacks half full, I'll use $20 as the average ticket price. That means we lost an average of 1,280 ticket sales at $20 or $25,600 per game or 256,000 per season based on 10 home games. So over the last two season, a combined loss of $512,000. There is your justification for his buyout.
72, I don't think your numbers quite make sense. The attendance numbers surely include students: To my knowledge, they are not paying to go to the games, and certainly not $20 per ticket. Said another way, if attendance is down by 1,280, could student attendance account for half of that drop? Hard to say from my vantage point, yet it looks like there are fewer student-age fans in the seats.
Clearly, there still could be a buyout, and I'm sure the Department has been running some numbers about the costs associated with declining attendance. This also may include others who have cut or cut back on their donations.
Quote from: valpo95 on March 06, 2023, 09:57:44 AMif attendance is down by 1,280, could student attendance account for half of that drop? Hard to say from my vantage point, yet it looks like there are fewer student-age fans in the seats.
95, the attendance is down 1280 PER GAME! if the students made up half then 640 students per game were missing. We may not have drawn 640 students to any game. Your point is well taken however. I still think that is chairbacks made up a quarter of the drop or 320 per game, at what? $35 per game? That is and of itself makes up $11000 lost per game. Is 35 right for chairbacks?
I think ticket prices are too high. If I lived in Valpo, I would think twice before paying anything more than $15 for a ticket. $35 a ticket for chairbacks? Forget about it.
I mentioned in another thread that Valpo signed an agreement with Van Wagner to take over sponsorships, media sales, game day promotions, and more. I believe they are also responsible for the TickPick ticket resale website.
Considering how the game day environment has declined, maybe it's worth revisiting that agreement?
Students get in free and still dont go-bad product/bad environment
I paid $35 for chairbacks ONE time this year, and that was ONE time too many. I only did it out of necessity - the bleacher seats don't give back support. Spend the money on seats or a chiropractor appt. thereafter. Needless to say, I suppose it was a ~$150 donation :)
Quote from: historyman on February 28, 2023, 04:31:04 PM
Quote from: AB on February 27, 2023, 12:50:36 PMWell. Hard to beat a team 3 times in one season.
It's been totally proven that this is not true and it does happen more often than you think. It just doesn't stick out in your memory.
Case in point, Penn State beat Illinois 3 times this year despite Illinois finishing 3 spots ahead of the Nitpicking Lions in the B1G standings. Three fricking times!
EDIT: It was actually a spell check error I missed but I kind of like "Nitpicking Lions" better.