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I can confirm that JFL is not going back to Valpo, but will likely turn pro even if that means going overseas. I get the impression he's done waiting for that money.

Valpo sponsored 21 sports up until they cut MSO and MTN. I should know. The NCAA counts them as 21.

As for the Drew's, please note that they had no part in the move to the MVC. Continuing to point out the sweet 16 run from 1998 means nothing to anyone. Its a great piece of nostalgia, but the University missed a huge opportunity when they treated it like a one-off. See Gonzaga for further information, since they started becoming big in the same year.


Finally, facilities, University leadership and the support of rich donors would have an impact on one's ability to run a successful athletics program. If you don't have permission from the top administrators of the university to cultivate big money makers as athletics donors, you're dead in the water.

As a former staff member, I will tell all of you that the sports mix of Valpo athletics has been a topic of conversation at the board level for some time. It is sad and unfortunate when any team gets cut at any institution, and I will be honest that some of my best memories of working in athletics was my interactions with the young men of the men's soccer and tennis programs. That being said, anyone who puts this directly on Mark is uninformed and unwilling to see the big picture of higher education, Valpo, and how the entire system works.

*First, Valpo athletics is not a business. If it was, it would have been shuttered decades ago since it hemorrhages money. (only about 20 of 350 D1 schools make a profit FYI) It is an educational program.
*Second, higher education is in trouble across the country. The economy has been good which means fewer people go to school. Also, there are and will continue to be fewer 18 year-olds in the US. Enrollment everywhere will be down due to a lack of people actually being born.
*Third, the decision to cut any sport does not come from the AD or the athletics department. The board is the ultimate decider, and I know for a fact that a lot of thought was put into this choice.
*Finally, not every AD is perfect all the time. Like any human being, we all make management decisions that may turn out to be bad ones - but they happen. To say that Mark is a terrible AD or to even say that he has destroyed Valpo athletics is completely false. He twice elevated the department to two superior conferences, improved facilities the best he could with the minimal donor and university support that athletics has, increased the support staff that helps run athletics, and has expanded the coaching staffs to be more in line with the support other institutions have. If anything he has fought tirelessly to improve a department that the University seemingly just tolerates despite the incredible students that represent Valpo in the most positive of lights.

For years I have seen the complaints about what Valpo athletics isn't doing and how terrible it is. Just know that everyone who works in athletics is doing what they can with what they have. The University community as a whole (including alums, booster, etc. ) need to take some ownership rather than point the finger at the guy standing at the front.

I think the answer is "yes".  It seems the scholarship offers are on an annual basis, not for four years. 

This I'm aware of but is there a specific point in time that all parties would need to have their decisions made?

The NCAA rules allow a school to cancel a scholarship at the end of the semester that a student requests transfer (this was the part B to the new transfer rule). His aid would be in play until the end of spring and then would not be renewed for the coming year. Valpo has a policy for this - if Markus decided to stay, then Matt could decide he would give him back his roster spot and his scholarship.

Why would anybody be off limits?

Whether you understand it or not 80% of Valpo's big donors don't care a bit about the Athletic Dept and won't donate to it. Ask people on campus if they care about the Athletic Dept & Valpo sports. Most I believe detest Valpo Athletics and think Athletics is most campuses waste money. That is just the way it is at Valpo. They go to Valpo to get away from major college sports.

Because they have them waiting in the wings to do other things. There are donors, who given the chance to get excited about the future of Valpo, would be down for gifting to athletics. 

The other piece of this puzzle is that support for athletics on campus has to come from the top. Athletics is a part of the university, no matter how some may detest it. Athletics, particularly football, brings in students and money to the university that they may not have had otherwise (see Evansville after cutting football). There are so many advantages to lifting up athletics in the right way, and part of that is making an investment to get winners in the door.

Back when the university built the addition to the chapel while the ARC has changed very little, I was definitely salty. What program within the university has the best chance of being broadcast on national television? What facility is shown to a large audience?

Of course a donor gave money specifically for the chapel project.

Of course. Athletics is responsible for recruiting their own major donor, but have a list of Valpo supporters who are off limits.

There are renderings. The university is not going to pay for new facilities - they may assist in the upgrading of parts of the ARC (arena A/C, new lights, sound system, chairbacks) It has been made very clear that any new athletics facilities will require a major donor to come to play.

The university is having serious financial woes due to the law school debacle - but even before that it was made clear that any improvements had to come from donors. It is a shame that dating back to 1998, there has been a short-sighted view that investment in athletics would not help to build Valpo as a national brand.

Back when the university built the addition to the chapel while the ARC has changed very little, I was definitely salty. What program within the university has the best chance of being broadcast on national television? What facility is shown to a large audience?

Valpo has been lucky in recent years not to have the transfer carousel hit. Now that the rules have changed permitting student-athletes to notify they want to transfer, rather than having to ask for permission, many are seeing it as an easier out with less obstacles. This is not all that different than other schools.

Right now, there are over three hundred student-athletes in Division I Basketball who have been added to the NCAA's transfer portal. I can tell you with confidence, that number will sky rocket as teams are knocked out of various post season tournaments. It should not be a shock that Javon has requested to transfer - he has proven to be an incredible player who will more than likely have the chance to play for someplace with more money and better facilities (not to say that that the grass will be greener, but it sure looks it). With each transfer that leaves for greener pastures, others will come Valpo's way after seeing the greenery where they came from isn't all that spectacular.

Give it some time. Doing things above board and within the rules takes time, but I would consider giving Matt and his crew another year.