Town Hall with Dr. Small

[vu72]

I presume all you sports fans were on the call yesterday with Dr. Small and Brandon.  I found it very enlightening and he clearly indicated support from not only President Padilla but also the Board.  Accountability, accountability, accountability!

Also loved the fact that he recently watched the Valpo-Florida State NIT game to see what the packed ARC is like.

[vu84v2]

i had something come up at the last minute and was not able to make it. Glad to see that you felt Dr. Small seems to have a strong sense of urgency regarding athletics.

I would have watched the St. Mary's game to really see what a packed ARC is like.

[valpopal]

I appreciated the zoom session, though I viewed it merely as an introduction meeting smoothly hosted by Brandon in which hard questions would have been inappropriate. For that reason, I did not discover anything new and I wouldn't label it "enlightening." Proof of true support from Padilla and the Board beyond words will not materialize until financial backing is needed. In fact, the timeline of a possible facilities upgrade seemed to be once again placed on delay with a proposal of whether even to consider building a new arena or updating the ARC only being proposed to the Board next summer. I thought Padilla had put to rest the idea of renovating the ARC as a solution!


I was disappointed when Small stated his expectations for athletics was that Valpo teams appear "in the upper-half of conference standings." I didn't expect a Deion Sanders type of address from Small, but I was hoping for more assertiveness and a resolve to build championships. I too was pleased Small had watched a video of the Valpo-FSU NIT game to get an idea of what fans expect in terms of quality of performance and game-day experience. However, in the past, fans also expected first-place finishes from our basketball team, and just making the top half of the conference didn't cut it.   

[vu84v2]

valpopal - Appreciate the observations. I was not there, but saying "Valpo teams appear in the top half of the conference" seems like a dodge. It is great when any Valpo team does well, but men's basketball is the marquee sport. Winning a few conference titles in some sports, being in the upper half in quite a few sports, etc. is not success - basketball must be successful. And that program is not close to the upper half of the conference.

[JD24]

"we'd like to win but we really don't want to commit to what's required".

The basketball program is going to have to have the good fortune of running into the next version of the Drew family to get anywhere. Not likely.

[VULB#62]

I, too, fully intended to attend the session. Unfortunately, life has a way of forcing plans to change. But I appreciate the observations of those who did  attend.   Thank you. Hopefully there will be additional firsthand contributions.

From the small sample so far, the thing that strikes me are the observations regarding MBB. They read like  BB was lumped in with all the other offered sports as aspiring to the top half of the MVC. Was MBB even discussed in depth?  It seems not.

Huh?  Folks, there has always been and always will be a hierarchy. MBB is always the elephant in the room. Heck, the ARC arena was built specifically for MBB. No other sport has come close to attendance figures even close to capacity.

Let's be honest. For as long as I can remember (at least back to 1962  ), MBB was the flagship. Always has been.

The next tier, arguably includes, in no particular order, FB, WBB, SOC, VB and Baseball.

The third tier IMO is led by SB but includes all the other "olympic" sports. [Note:  some of these are actually outperforming our ostensibly heavy hitters despite few resources and no athletic scholarships].

So it's reasonable to expect all but the flagship to pursue the TOP HALF.  I agree with that. And I laud coaches like Carin Avery, Bob Modesto, John Marovich, Dave Gring, and Landon Fox who have pushed to get to that level.

But it is unacceptable for the flagship to settle for just the top half. In the twelve school MVC that means MBB is striving to be #6.  This is in the face of, like, a two decade history of BB excellence in two separate D-I conferences before the MVC.   That cannot be allowed to fly.

[4throwfan]

I also want to thank those who attended for their observations.  I did not attend.

I'm curious as to whether 'top half' is a metric conveyed to the current coaching staffs (including MBB) as a threshold for continued employment.

I would hate for a new staff for MBB to be told 'top half' is sufficient for continued employment. To be honest, I could be sold on consistent top third or fourth.

Pretty sad when slightly above average (i.e., mediocrity) is the goal.  Does anyone know whether mediocrity is the goal for academics?  Doesn't seem like a formula for success for an institution with above average costs of attendance.

[crusader05]

I kind of interpret the top half piece as that should our floor at all times, vs like as long as we are all here it's gravy. More like, look we need to always be in the top half even if we're rebuilding or struggle. No more consistent losing seasons if you want to have time "to build your team"

I also am one who is pretty meh on the building of a whole new arena unless we get a huge donor that demands it or some sort of city partnership. I think a revamp of our current arena with more money being poured into the building blocks of successful teams (quality practice facilities like a dome, consistently good equipment, a robust and well funded and fully equipped sports medicine facility. The losing record is one thing, but the seeming consistent injuries and our seeming inability to physically compete is probably a function of off season training and in season sports medicine staff. Valpo has been trying to do too much with too little and I also think that spending time and effort on a giant arena will look like a waste of money to a lot of people on campus, potentially even some of the athletes who don't even have a real nutrition center on campus and who's sports medicine area looks like a crappy high schools one.

[vu72]

I also want to thank those who attended for their observations.  I did not attend.

I'm curious as to whether 'top half' is a metric conveyed to the current coaching staffs (including MBB) as a threshold for continued employment.

I would hate for a new staff for MBB to be told 'top half' is sufficient for continued employment. To be honest, I could be sold on consistent top third or fourth.

Pretty sad when slightly above average (i.e., mediocrity) is the goal.  Does anyone know whether mediocrity is the goal for academics?  Doesn't seem like a formula for success for an institution with above average costs of attendance.

I was on the call and I think this "top half" thing is being taken out of context.  Remember that only Men's and women's basketball (and maybe volleyball) have a full compliment of athletics scholarships.  There was a fairly lengthy discussion about the draw of Valpo academics and accompanying academic scholarship, combined with partial athletic awards attracting certain students.

As for men's and women's basketball, Dr. Small used the word "essential" to have a "healthy" programs, focusing on our "history" and "national interest" as part of that "essential" need. He added "it is essential that we have "a really good basketball team and we've gotta get there" I don't think it was the time or place to tell a handful of fans that coaches jobs were on the line if specific goals weren't met.  I would think it obvious that if upper half was the goal then sports where we finished last would certainly be evaluated in a harsh light. (softball, baseball as examples)  Finishing in the lower half of men's and women's basketball clearly wouldn't be considered "healthy".

[historyman]

Valpo Athletics Insider with Charles Small, Ed.D. (Winter 2022) - YouTube

[valpopal]

I was on the call and I think this "top half" thing is being taken out of context. 

Here is what Small said: "One goal, just to make it straightforward, I'd like to see all our teams in the top half of the MVC, all of our teams having a plan to be in that top half." As an addendum, he stated if we think there is a chance for a championship, we try for it, and he cited the women's soccer team this past fall. I don't think this is "out of context." I appreciated the session and I like what I see of our new AD. He seems like a nice guy. But I just wish he'd been more assertive and hope he will reverse his stated aim to something like "we are intent on building championships as our primary goal" with his addendum then being that through such a high goal the teams, even in a season where they fail to achieve a championship, will be assured of finishing near the top of the conference.

[Pgmado]

Interviewed Charles Small for The Victory Bell: The Podcast and it will come out on Tuesday. He provides a detailed explanation as to what he meant by that comment and particularly what it means in regards to MBB.

[valpotx]

i had something come up at the last minute and was not able to make it. Glad to see that you felt Dr. Small seems to have a strong sense of urgency regarding athletics.

I would have watched the St. Mary's game to really see what a packed ARC is like.

That one was good, but the Valpo win over Butler in the HL conference tourney a few years before it, was much, much, much better .  I even flew up for that one to yell 'Buck Futler' over and over

[may know]

Expecting "upper half finishes" as opposed to championships is fine. Coaches are going to run away from a job when the offer is "worst facilities in the league but we expect championships". They'll just wait for a better job with lower expectations.

Part of offering a desirable work environment is realistic expectations considering what the coach is working with.

That doesn't mean they aren't trying for championships. They just want to set a consistent foundation so it gives you more opportunities to catch lightning in a bottle once in awhile - like being a consistent playoff team.

[crusadermoe]

Agree. Naturally winning a title is best.  But expecation need to match the ARC and small crowds.   

Yes, fan attendance and wins are a chicken or egg situation. But you need to eventually pull people. from Lake County. Someone told me faculty and staff families used to go to games for free in the upper seats until a few years ago. That probably took a bite our of the turnstile count when they stopped giving tickets away.

[4throwfan]

Commenting on the chicken & egg analogy:

I think the team should focus on winning first.  If large crowds were attracted because of something other than a good game, they will be turned off by the performance on the court, and then not return once the promotion is complete.  Then it will be harder to get them to come back.  So, first need excitement on the court, then promotions.  Can't let up on either after that.

[humbleopinion]

Agree. Someone told me faculty and staff families used to go to games for free in the upper seats until a few years ago.

Has this really stopped?

[crusader05]

No it hasn't. Faculty and staff still get into games free. The only times that wasn't true was for tournaments when we had them an the occasional big game where they knew they would sell out the upper decks like when Purdue came while Hummel played for them.