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'm curious whether anyone else on this board attended the VU/Evansville game on January 8, 1966 - VU beat #1-ranked Evansville 83-73, ending UE's 25 game winning streak. I suppose anyone who did, and who can remember the game, would have to be close to my age (67).

It is hard to describe the atmosphere - Hilltop was completely jammed. There was even an extra set of bleachers set up along the south side. You could not find a seat anywhere. I sat in the second row from the top of the bleachers and they were shaking from the students down below who were swaying back and forth with arms held high in the final seconds as they chanted "Ding Dong! Ding Dong!" My brother was scared the bleachers would collapse. I was too.

At that time UE wore long satin warm up robes when they came out on the court (not sure what else to call them; sort of like what a boxer would wear when he enters the ring). They were different colors  - some were purple, some were blue - as well as orange, red, and white ones. Their attire was fitting, I suppose, since they were the kings of small college basketball, having won several national championships.

Tom Smith and Dick Jones were superb in that game.

When the game ended the UE players stood around for a few seconds as if they could not believe they lost.

My brother, dad and I did not miss a game at Hilltop for 10 years. I'm kinda proud of that. We saw some good ballgames, I can tell you that.

I was 10 years old and it was an unforgettable experience. I have been to several thrilling athletic events in my life, but nothing as memorable as this game.

Paul

I'm sure I was at the game -- I remember the robes, and I remember the temporary stands, but other than that I have no specific memories of the game.  That entire era was an exciting time for Valpo basketball.  The Hilltop stands were full (maybe not all the way up to the top of "Gym 2" stands) and the environment was electric. 

The stands were full clear up to and including the top row of the gym 2 stands. My evidence? I was sitting in the second row from the top and had to squeeze in to get that seat.

One more memory from a VU/Evansville game from long ago.

I was a senior in high school in 1974, and VU was playing Evansville at Hilltop, and at one point in the second half we had a 15 point lead. Although I don't recall this specifically, I think I remember that Evansville had a really good team that year and was ranked very highly.

Anyway, sure enough Evansville stormed back and won the game, 74–73. The Evansville players gathered on the court after the game for a couple of minutes, pounding each other on the back because they could not believe they rallied to win a game that seemed all but lost.

Because the Evansville players lingered on the court after the final buzzer, I actually happened to walk out of the gym with the starting UE center right beside me. I turned him and said "you guys were lucky to win tonight" and he replied, "absolutely."

We had a lot of really close games over the years with Evansville, it seems.

Paul

I'm curious whether anyone else on this board attended the VU/Evansville game on January 8, 1966 - VU beat #1-ranked Evansville 83-73, ending UE's 25 game winning streak. I suppose anyone who did, and who can remember the game, would have to be close to my age (67).

It is hard to describe the atmosphere - Hilltop was completely jammed. There was even an extra set of bleachers set up along the south side. You could not find a seat anywhere. I sat in the second row from the top of the bleachers and they were shaking from the students down below who were swaying back and forth with arms held high in the final seconds as they chanted "Ding Dong! Ding Dong!" My brother was scared the bleachers would collapse. I was too.

At that time UE wore long satin warm up robes when they came out on the court (not sure what else to call them; sort of like what a boxer would wear when he enters the ring). They were different colors  - some were purple, some were blue - as well as orange, red, and white ones. Their attire was fitting, I suppose, since they were the kings of small college basketball, having won several national championships.

Tom Smith and Dick Jones were superb in that game.

When the game ended the UE players stood around for a few seconds as if they could not believe they lost.

My brother, dad and I did not miss a game at Hilltop for 10 years. I'm kinda proud of that. We saw some good ballgames, I can tell you that.

I was 10 years old and it was an unforgettable experience. I have been to several thrilling athletic events in my life, but nothing as memorable as this game.

Paul

I attended a meeting at Homecoming maybe 3-4 years ago and listened to a presentation from a consulting group the university had hired. Nothing but platitudes like "VU prepares its students to succeed" - stuff anyone could come up with, slogans that could apply to any university in the country. Not impressive in the least and for sure not worth whatever VU was paying.

Why is this so hard? Is the university being run by academics who are lacking in the common sense department? Go back to basics that, after all, worked for many years. Here are a few -

Recruit traditional places where VU has name recognition and support - Chicago suburbs, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio. Spend extra effort recruiting students of Christian faith whose parents would appreciate VU's culture and size. Don't just talk about being a different place - act like it. Emphasize the opportunity for spiritual growth. For Pete's sake, don't neglect Lutheran high schools. Tout VU's impressive array of academic programs not usually found in schools our size. Point out that classes are taught by professors, not teaching assistants. Casually mention you won't be in classes of 200 kids and won't have to take a bus to go from your dorm to class. Take full advantage of the opportunity to play D1 sports. 

Paul

I don't really know anything about the football program other than the scores of our games. I have little knowledge about the current make up of our team  and who will be graduating or otherwise leaving the program before next season. I don't know who will be joining the team next fall.

What I do know is that last year Drake was winless until they won their final three games. Drake was able to build on that success by having a fine season in 2023.

VU followed a similar script by winning two of their final three games (and coming close to beating a tough St. Thomas team in the road) after a disappointing September and October.

This gives me some hope that we can build on these final three games and, like Drake this year, have a more successful 2024 season.

Paul

I believe in Coach Powell, and I also believe the VU administration has made a renewed commitment to the basketball program.

Much better days are ahead. Unfortunately, the Illinois game will not be one of those better days.

Illini 79
VU 42

Paul

UWGB 71
VU 67

Paul

IUPUI 68
VU 65

Paul

if both of these outreach initiatives are successful.

This belated, renewed outreach to Lutheran high schools is going to be very hard.

In the legal world, if you take repeat clients for granted - if you don't make a consistent effort to make them feel special, that their business is not only of utmost importance but also very much appreciated and valued, they eventually go elsewhere. And they usually find a law firm they like just as well, if not better. After all, there are plenty of good law firms around, just like they are plenty of good colleges to attend.

Not just the legal world, but any business -including the business of running a private university.

VU should know this. But for some reason this philosophy got put on the back shelf. To borrow a legal term, the decision to de-emphasize Lutheran recruitment was higher education negligence. 

One can only imagine the incredulity of the Concordia colleges when they realized VU wasn't going hard after the Lutheran high schools anymore, and the glee with which they renewed their already-determined efforts to recruit these students.

(Maybe 10 years ago the alarm bell sounded for me when I learned a football-playing, high caliber Lutheran high school student in Indiana had not received a SINGLE letter, phone call - nothing, zero interest - from VU.)

So, VU has ceded this territory to others and now wants it back. This might work, but I would not bet on it. While we were sleeping the Concordias - and others - have established relationships with these high schools that will be hard to dislodge.

Paul

[a concerted effort]

On a personal note, I am disappointed that VU does not put more effort into recruiting the Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana market for more students.  Concordia Lutheran High in FW gets bombarded by all the "mid-west" Concordias...AnnArbor, Chicago, Wisconsin(Milwaukee) and Seward , Nebraska.  Last year was really disappointing in that there were no Valpo selections but a good number of Concordia recruits for that senior class. 

I really think Valpo is sometimes a hidden gem and the great facts and attributes of our School are not being conveyed to the junior and senior classes of high schools in this area.

I have had communications with the VP of enrollment who assured me that a concerted effort to reach out to Lutheran high schools, particularly in the Midwest, is underway.

This is, to me anyway, the most disappointing and infuriating post ever on this board. Not because of what vu72 said (his insights and information are very much appreciated), but the fact that university vice president admits that a "concerted effort" to reach "Lutheran high schools" is now UNDERWAY. What the heck? Underway? What in the world has VU been doing the last 20 years? The answer, of course, is that the university HASN'T been making an effort to reach out to what should be a natural source of prospective students. And the results speak for themselves.

Paul

For YEARS now I have advised anyone who would listen that we need to renew our emphasis on recruiting Lutheran kids since, you know, we brand ourselves as an "independent Lutheran university." I pointed out that Lutheran kids were attending college SOMEWHERE. 55 Lutheran kids in last year's freshman class is a joke.

The stats on the enrollment #s for the Concordia schools posted by valpo95 are completely disheartening. I'm done - finished - trying to get VU to adjust its recruitment strategy which, if we go by the numbers for the past 10-20 years, is NOT working.

There are a lot of smart people running this place, to be sure, but they don't seem to make smart choices in a lot of areas.

(I have to say this - at a get together of 12 VU grads recently, only 1 thought the Beacon name was a good idea. And since we play Drake this weekend, I've heard from 5 or 6 from my Drake Law colleagues, all but one of whom gave me grief about the Beacon name and our mascots (if you can call a cartoon dog a mascot). Point is, this name change (the election results were never made public, to my knowledge) and mascots are a flat -out embarrassment to this University.)

Sorry, in a pessimistic mood today.

Paul

If the NHP headcount is lower this year than last year, that adds even more support to my position that a new NHP should be top priority. Local community colleges have way upped their game on NHP facilities and I can't help but conclude they are taking away kids that would otherwise consider VU.

Paul

Two thoughts -

First, it shouldn't be hard to let people know in a clear manner how many new students have arrived on campus.

Second, the NHP number of 183 new students - which to me is surprisingly high - lends support to my position that a new nursing building, not a new arena, should be the top priority for the university at this point in time.

Paul

I want to believe VU is still a faith-oriented university, but photos of weekday morning chapel, with perhaps half a dozen students in attendance, makes for a rebuttal argument difficult to ignore.

Paul

The point that comes across to me in this Liberty/Grand Canyon discussion is that there is still a market, and a pretty good size one at that, for conservative, faith-based students - a market that VU unwisely has not prioritized (at least from what I can see) in the last 10 years or so.

That has cost us in the short term, and will continue to cost us in the long run.

VU is now viewed as too liberal for most conservative kids, and too conservative for most liberal kids. Perhaps this would have happened anyway, but VU's "try to please everyone" approach sure didn't help.

Side note: the attendance at morning chapel is, to say the least, sad and pathetic - at least from what I can gather from some photos posted online. Do we even have a morning service anymore? And does anyone attend?

Paul

Do we have anyone who can shoot the 3? Or consistently break a press?

Paul

vu72, I got the 55 Lutheran kids number straight from the horse's mouth - President Padilla gave out this figure at a gathering I attended at Homecoming last fall.

What has riled me up for years is VU's attitude that it now must look for students in every nook and cranny except Lutheran schools and churches. Yes, there are fewer Lutheran kids now - but VU seems to think they are as rare as Republican aldermen in Chicago.

This is an old table - from the US Department of Education, 2015 - but the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (just one synod, mind you) ranked 5th out of all religious affiliations in the number of students enrolled in private schools, with 158,300 (Catholic #1, non denominational #2, Jewish #3, Baptist #4).

55 Lutheran kids out of a class of over 700 is a joke.

We live in a time in which even an extra 20 kids per class would make a big financial difference. Yet the numbers strongly suggest that VU doesn't make a serious effort to get Lutheran kids to enroll in a university that markets itself as a "Comprehensive Independent Lutheran University."

Maybe I'm dead wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. But before you call me out, first check with Concordia Lutheran in Ft. Wayne - a mere two hours from the VU campus - and see what kind of a recruiting effort/presence VU has had in the last 5-10 years with that school.

Paul

Valpopal reports that 65.3% of new undergraduate students who enrolled last fall are white.

VU gets most of its undergraduate students from Indiana and Illinois. Indiana is 84% white and Illinois is 76% white, according to the latest Census statistics I could find.

The efforts to recruit a diverse student population are laudable - and appear to be working. I just wish some of the same concentrated effort would be made to recruit, you know, Lutheran students. Last time I looked we billed ourselves as an "Independent Comprehensive Lutheran University." The class of 2022 had all of 55 kids who identified as Lutheran.

Paul

I'm getting the idea that most people on this board and elsewhere just assume VU is not doing a good job of bringing in diverse freshman classes. But is that actually true? Honest question here.

Paul

At Homecoming last year President Padilla said that each project would have a $50 million+ price tag.

It is true that he did not say which building would come first. My impression from his comments was that the arena would have priority - but of course I could be wrong.

Paul

From an article in Quillette - "After College - the Coming Cultural Collapse of American Higher Education"

"The members of the public on the other side of this chasm are still willing to consider college as the surest path to a career, but they are growing skeptical. That skepticism, however, turns into outright disaffection when they ponder how our colleges and universities often foster what is worst in young people: ingratitude to their families and their nation, self-centeredness, and aimless alienation. Colleges ignite group resentment, unwarranted pride, or equally unwarranted shame. And the education that colleges provide has been hollowed to near pointlessness. Students graduate with a veneer of knowledge rather than a core. An increasingly obsolescent institution has wedded itself to an increasingly noisome cultural stance.

The braver students are already finding viable alternatives to college. More and more will follow. A substantial number of Americans now look at college as something that menaces the psychological wellbeing of their children. If they send their sons and daughters to college, it is with well-warranted apprehension, and because they cannot yet think of what else to do."

I hope our new president gets this. I think he does but not sure yet.

Paul

ps I still think he's wrong to prioritize a new basketball arena over a new health sciences building. The ARC was built in 1984. LeBien went online in 1970.

Would we all be as excited about this recruiting class if these players had been recruited by Coach Lottich?

Paul

Coach Powell is by all accounts off to a fine start - but I have to say that whenever a tall recruit's profile includes the words "all he needs is time, reps, and patience" - as is the case with Manyang - my expectation level drops several notches.

Paul

I was reminded of something a couple days ago while reading yet another post about the art sale.

I was a member of the VU Alumni Board in the early 1990s. I knew even less then than I do now, which is saying something. But one night I got to sit next to President Harre at dinner. He had been president for maybe 3-4 years but was already feeling pressure to replace inadequate facilities.

President Harre (I admit I am a big fan, I think next to OP our best president) talked about the need/desire for a new library and a new union (the ARC was less than 10 years old at the time but even then there were murmurs of discontent).  He acknowledged the library and union clearly needed to be replaced - but his top priority was a new art/music facility. His rationale: it was best for the university.

He made this happen and the building came to pass in, I think, 1993 - complete with an art museum that allowed folks to see and appreciate the university's substantial art collection.

It would be another 10 years for the library to come on line and 6 more years after that for the new union to open its doors. Think about what a tough decision that had to be for President Harre and the BOD.

Of course, we are still waiting for a new sports facility.

Maybe this little story doesn't mean anything, especially to those who strongly oppose the art sale. But to me it means the university supported the arts at a difficult time, even though it meant making a sacrifice by waiting many more years for other, badly-needed facilities to get built. Perhaps now it is time for those opposed to the art sale to make a similar sacrifice for the good of the university.

For those who think the current and, in today's culture anyway, inevitable legal struggle playing out in the courts will certainly be over in the coming year, a word of caution. I haven't followed this at all, but after the hearing the court will have to prepare a written decision. That could take months for the  judge assigned to the case.  After that there could be an appeal. If that happens, tack on at least 1 more year and probably two.

Paul

I attended a meeting last fall at Homecoming. President Padilla shared his vision of a new basketball arena and a new nursing building - perhaps located side by side on the old Porter Memorial Hospital site.

He estimated the cost of each structure would be $50M (he also mentioned that a new nursing building could be located off campus, which IMO would be a mistake).

Unpopular opinion time - but I think a new nursing/health sciences facility should top the list rather than a new arena. Nursing/health sciences is one or our strongest programs and LeBien, which in now over 50 years old, does not measure up to the nursing facilities of many community colleges, let alone four-year schools.

The applicant pool crunch is coming in a couple years. A new academic facility - on campus - would be a big selling point for admissions. We haven't turned the first shovel of dirt on a new academic building since 2015 (I believe this is longest period without a new facility of any kind since the '80s; maybe longer). President Padilla and the BOD obviously share a sense of urgency - witness the art sale.

Raising the funds to build one new facility in the next 3-4 years will be tough. Raising the money for two such facilities in that timeframe seems out of our reach.

Paul