Disciplining refs

[ydouask23]

I was on the phone earlier today with a former colleague of mine who graduated from Purdue and we got to talking hoops. He and his fellow Purdue fans are not big fans of T.C. BTW - they think there is a high "slime" factor (his word, not mine) with him and cited some examples, but I told him how grateful MU fans are for (or should be grateful) TC's tenure and I used DePaul as an example of a school that needs a T.C. to turn the program around in addition to the things you ticked off Gato. I was so underwhelmed with the Purnell hire - could not believe it. Get a high profile YOUNG assistant from a high profile program that bleeds energy - "there is no substitute for youth" pertains not only to women, but to the DePaul situation. If they do that along with a settling their arena situation you are going to wake one of the biggest sleeping giants in college b-ball - something that we need to add more credibility to the new league.

Pretty much agree with everything said above. I guess the only thing I would say to Gato is that I do not know if it is that easy. A lot of what you said should and could happen with DePaul- but its the reluctance of the Chicago market that also suppresses DePaul basketball. This is a pro sports town that is infatuated with all of their teams. The Bulls have kept sell out streaks alive through the post Jordan era. Even when DePaul was functional in the late 90s and early 2000s when a great team would come into town like a number 1 ranked Cincy- they didnt sell out. Its just not a college sports town. Northwestern football won 10 games this year and their stadium was always full----with other teams' fans. I love the success of Marquette and I don't mean for this to sound brash coming from a Chicago guy- but what else is there to do in Milwaukee in January. A Marquette game is about as alive as the city gets. So I think there is a big difference and big advantage Marquette has over DePaul too in terms of fan interest.

[Gato78]

ydouask23: Chicago has 10x the number of people. 10x the money. It does not have 10x the number of attractive professional or college sports options. Milwaukee was just fine supporting both a great MU team in 2003 and the Bucks with Cassell, Allen and Big Dog, along with some pretty significant interest in the Admirals and the Wave(to a lesser extent). DePaul needs to engineer its own change. It cannot wait for the team to excel first and then let Chicago catch up. Really need to get out in front.

[TheSultan]

6. TOTALLY focus on fundraising. TOTALLY. They should be kicking our ass in facilities, amenities and coaching hires with so much more money in Chicago. They have SOOOO many corporate sponsorship options we do not have.

DePaul raises a great deal of money....in the same ballpark as Marquette. I think this is the root of DePaul's problem - I really am not sure of their overall commitment to basketball. Major fundraising $$ generally follows winners. Like at Marquette, the institutional commitment came first, and then the fundraising and corporate sponsorship dollars followed.

I think DePaul is *trying* to get there. Active talks about a potential new arena show that they are beginning to understand the root of the problem.

[ydouask23]

ydouask23: Chicago has 10x the number of people. 10x the money. It does not have 10x the number of attractive professional or college sports options. Milwaukee was just fine supporting both a great MU team in 2003 and the Bucks with Cassell, Allen and Big Dog, along with some pretty significant interest in the Admirals and the Wave(to a lesser extent). DePaul needs to engineer its own change. It cannot wait for the team to excel first and then let Chicago catch up. Really need to get out in front.

But it does have 10x the number of entertainment things to do. From museums, plays, college sports, pro sports, semi pro sports etc...just a lot going on in the city to detract from DePaul basketball in Rosemont.

[Gato78]

Look at the ratio of numbers of people vs the number of big time sporting events. I cannot think that the opera, the House of Blues or any other worthy entertainment option can be shown as responsible for the pathetic DePaul situation. College basketball draws better in Milwaukee, Madison, Evanston, South Bend, Champaign and probably DeKalb than Chicago. DePaul makes excuses for its lack of success. All the tools are there.