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Mr. LaBarbera did a commendable job at Valpo. He was essentially given five loaves of bread and two fish and figured out a way to feed an entire campus.

So the school's marketing arm put exactly zero dollars into a critical aspect of one of its most important projects in recent history and turned it into a contest where the winner is just getting his/her feet wet? That's too incompetent to be believable. Seriously. Someone tell me I'm completely wrong. 

At first glance, the lighthouse looks like a salt shaker. Looking at it closer, why is the lighthouse in wastewater? Can there be lighthouses on land? Will the university build a lighthouse on campus?

Nicknames are for athletics. As long as the school continues to think of athletics as a necessary evil, we're just wasting key strokes.

If nothing else, the Mascot Committee has provided a ton of comedy material. The Lightning Hawks? Tempest? I haven't had a laugh that good in awhile.

This is like watching a movie you never want to end. I can only hope they go back to the drawing board for eight more "fresh, inspired, and improved" ideas.

At some point Donovan has to cut the cord and be his own person. Is dad going go with him on his Foot Locker interview in a couple of years?

If you're going to discuss Valpo's branding/logos, I'd be more interested in ditching the bathroom colors than the mascot or nickname.

Extreme? Maybe, but I doubt it. Between the law school debacle and now this, I simply don't see VU being able to compete with similar schools for a couple of the reasons listed by valpofb16 - most notably the tuition compared to what a student actually gets.

And I want to make one thing clear: this is an institutional fail. Today's disgrace runs higher than Mark LaBarbera. I'm sure he was just the messenger and not a happy one at that.

But leave it to our tone deaf jackals of campus administrators to launch a video game sports team knowing full well that two successful, real sports programs were on death row.

You couldn't make up this crap if you tried. Just one complete embarrassment after another.

Extremely disappointing but not surprising. Stayed away from speaking up here for awhile due to perceived "negativity". Well, hopefully, this is a wake-up call for some of you: Valparaiso University is on the endangered species list. Wouldn't be shocked to see it shut its doors within the next 20 years.

I have to think that if you're in the running for a position that you've worked at for over two decades (not VU HFC, but a college HFC) that you research that job as thoroughly as possible. You become as well read on the history of that organization, you know what and where has happened to at least the previous three predecessors, and what you're going to do to get your next job, because this job, in particular, better not be the end goal.

With that said, aside from a pay increase, I'm unsure what would attract a potential head coach to VU. What Cecchini accomplished here was meager in the grand scope of things but because the standards for VU football are so embarrassingly low, it seems like he was some sort of messiah. The impression of VU within the college football coaching circle can't be that positive. High academics? Great but almost every college is going to cherrypick numbers and figures about its academics and claim to be the Harvard of wherever they're from. Football and a number of other sports here are simply an enrollment strategy.

I've been scolded for being too negative and that's fine, but I've also adjusted my expectations. I expect men's basketball to be competitive and if any other program can finish with a winning record considering the obstacles they face, it's just icing on the cake.

$250k is still a lot of money .... especially for someone who hadn't ever been an HC before. But I get it ... it's The name of the game. Supply and demand. With that said, I certainly hope something tangible comes of these buyouts. Let's say we get $250k - $300k total, that's gotta be enough to make some sort of upgrades ... like, oh idk ... lights! Covering up the tinfoil over the air ducts ... painting the walls .... new PA system? Something ....

It may sound radical but might it make sense to go full cost cutting for just this season, pool those savings along the buyout money and put that chunk of money toward the PA system and lighting? Not saying starve the players but maybe bus instead of fly or not take international trips? It's kind of embarrassing to even propose that in a public forum but whatever is in place obviously isn't working. These facility issues have existed for over a decade.

It's a microcosm of the PFL as a whole. The league is a loophole organization that allows schools to halfass football and maintain Division I status. The Mercers and Campbells of the world can invest a little dough, strive to be bigger time and generate alumni excitement along the way. The PFL will always be there as a haven for schools that can pound their chest about being "D1!!!" without acting like a real Division I football program.

The school can't even provide a proper parking lot at the baseball complex. How can you honestly expect turf? 

Eddie Benton Jr.  hired as WBB assistant from Duquesne. http://www.valpoathletics.com/wbasketball/news/2016-17/17404/valpo-adds-benton-to-womens-basketball-coaching-staff/#.WRD3D1KZMo8

The news of the hiring is basically irrelevant because as all of us fans have figured out - the school doesn't want to buy out Dorow's contract and so we're in for a year long exercise of kicking the can down the road. What I am curious about is why he wasn't coaching in 2016-17.

Wow. Did not see Ljndfors as the one leaving. Two years in a row a starter has left. Don't forget Tabitha a few years ago either.

Safe to say most here agree the problem lies at the top. How much could it really cost to buy the HC out? $250k? Or just name one of the assistants as head coach and begin the search for 2018. Sad to already write off next year, but here we are.

My guess would be Schofield. After a couple seasons she hasn't developed into the pivotal player that the coaching staff made it seem like she would be when she signed. Then again who knows. The fact this staff is still around tells me plenty about how much of a priority WBB is to the school. 

I'm still completely confused as to how and why the University purchased a piece of property (condemned parking garage) without performing basic due diligence.

A number of concerning issues regarding the University/athletic dept lead me to believe the window is slowly closing:

1) an absolutely dull facility; sorry, but I have to believe that plays a significant role in recruiting. Would you rather live in a 600 square foot apartment with no dishwasher, no A/C, and a leaky roof or a 3,000 square foot house with modern amenities? Few choose to work/live like a hobo.

2) the majority of the fan base (STHs) is in their 70's/80's. Considering the discussed apathy of the student population, the ARC could be a library in ten years.

3) lack of institutional support. ML's comments scream that the problem is over his head.

Valpo just graduated that once in a generation player and have nothing to show for it but a 2nd place trophy in a 2nd place tournament, and a loss in the real tournament.

It may be years - if ever - before we see another Bryce or Alec, the type of player who can elevate a program despite their institution yawning in their face.

Mid major basketball is going to experience coaching changes but as others have said this seems to be a trend. Can't be easy for these young women to be coached by so many different people in their 4 years. If Dorrow is still around for next season, it's a safe bet that it will be a brand new cast the year after. Very difficult to succeed in such a position.

Men's Final Scores: 1. Oakland 839.5  (Natatorium has a 50m x 25m pool with seating for 1000; opened 1998) 2. Cleveland State 663 (Natatorium has a 50m x 25yd pool with seating for 1500; opened 1973) 3. UIC 522 (Natatorium has a 50m x 25m pool; opened 1982; site of 2017 HL championships) 4. Wright State 423.5 (25 m competition pool with ajoining diving tank and warm up tank) 5. Green Bay 391 (96' 8 lane pool ) 6. Milwaukee 384 (25 m 8 lane pool; opened 1977) 7. Valparaiso 148 (25 yd 6 lane pool; opened 1962) Order of finish for men and somewhat similar finish for women looks to be directly proportional to the type of facility each team calls home.

An item of continued humiliation. Not just the results, but the fact that Valpo has a bathtub to train in while the majority of the league swims in a real pool. How does the program retain student-athletes??

Regardless of the circumstacnes, St. Joe's is one less non-D1 that we would lose to. Sorry to hear of the troubles, but maybe we can take on some of their football players? Would any scholarship players join a non-scholarship team or would they go elsehwere?

IMO, the program has fallen into a very dangerous state: indifference. It wasn't that long ago that Betsy Reitema, Jamie Gutowski, and others made Valpo women's basketball something to talk about, something to be proud of. The absolutely pathetic and embarrassing product on display right now should have us alums disgusted. However - no one cares. This horsehockey operation which has only gotten worse as the season has gone on will only continue on until Dorrows' contract is up. What a disservice to those trying especially Franklin. Then again, no one cares enough for the problem to be fixed obviously. Total trainwreck.

This team can turn the ball over with the best of em. What's the story with Dorrow? When did she decide to start sitting at the scorer's table and not on the bench? 

I'm curious to get some thoughts here that don't really correspond to the game itself. I thought the "in-arena" music tonight was the worst I've heard in a long time. There was some sort of Hawaiian night promotion which seemingly came out of the blue. I saw one person in the stands wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Was the music picked to represent some sort of island theme? I heard more Beach Boys than I was used to. Regardless, here is my question...should the music be catered to the older chairback fans or to the younger student fans? I thought Kentucky's gameday atmosphere was outstanding as they had an in-house DJ that was spinning music. The vibe was upbeat from the moment I entered Rupp. I know the ARC isn't Rupp, nor does it pretend to be, but there was absolutely no energy in the building tonight. The music was flat. The only thing to ever look forward to music wise is if Valpo goes on a run and Timber gets played for 10 seconds before we get an ad for a muffin. I'm not quite old enough to be complaining about the music being too loud and to be yelling at kids to get off my lawn. Stop playing music from the 50's, 60's and 70's at games. It's old, it's tired and it drains the energy. Create a strong gameday atmosphere that doesn't revolve around Dion and the Belmonts.

Considering the average age of a season ticket holder is probably 84 years old - and they're paying customers - I can understand why the music selection is more subdued. Not my preference in the least, but I can understand.

Wasn't Dorow given an extension recently? Even in the embarrassment that was Valpo football a couple years ago, the school showed it will not part ways with a coach based on poor performance. Carlson had only six days left on his contract when he was let go after the Butler fiasco, so his firing was more symbolic than anything else.

There are other programs that are consistently poor (swimming/women's tennis), but the coaches typically remain.

Looking solely at RPI, it may be awhile before the Crusaders get back into the win column. Maybe at YSU (1/14)? Maybe at home against NKU (1/20)?

What the heck is going on?