Whine less donate more

30 years of incessant whining about GW on the 2 sites has played a small role in ....

Do you want to win?  Support this athletics department. Stop crying about it and certainly stop lying about it that would be a good start there's been a lot of both over the many years of the two sites

Raise High

Exceptionally well put BGF.  You beat me to it but suffice it to say that your words came across far more eloquently than mine would have.  Am reasonably certain that The Dude's post was a thinly veiled attack on my "incessant whining" but so be it.

We're kidding ourselves if we don't believe that there is a cumulative effect involved with respect to all of the mishaps this century.  The Dude or anyone can let me know which of the following wasn't worthy of some whining:

Karl Hobbs brings in players who are eligible to play according to the NCAA Clearinghouse but who is later hung out to dry by GW administrators, rather than backed by these same administrators who were in the know all along, after the NY Times and Washington Post ran stories about the fraudulent prep schools that certain players came from.  The negative residual impact was that recruiting restrictions tightened severely, resulting in the school missing out on certain players who had agreed to play for GW but now found themselves failing to academically qualify.

Mike Lonergan/Patrick Nero ends up being a two year saga that ends with the school backing the wrong choice in Nero.  Lonergan, portrayed as a monster by some, is somehow decent enough to lead his team on a trip to Japan, only to lose his job days later.  Nero's misdeeds are ultimately exposed and he shamefully leaves the school the following year.  The school's immediate choices as replacements are each made in-house without any type of national search.  There was no time for such a search to replace Lonerrgan, but there were also questions on how: a) the least experienced assistant coach in Maurice Joseph was elevated to the top position on an interim basis and b) why this interim tag was removed and his contract extended.  (Actually, there were reasons for that which I will not go into but suffice it to say that GW was putting its checkbook as a very high priority.)  In the case of TV, I do not know what or how much TV knew about Nero's erratic behavior so I am not going to suggest that she never should have been hired (though a case could be made that cleaning house under these circumstances would have been warranted).  The fairer criticism should be offered based on what has happened on her watch.

Whether Jamion Christian should ever have been hired or not, the school was not in a financial position to terminate his contract with two full seasons remaining.  (This lends itself to absurd reasoning that GW can afford to fire coaches under contract but subsequently can afford little else.) There were undoubtedly behind-the-scene forces at work here and two years later, I would consider CC an upgrade (though I also was very opinionated about his candidacy before JC was hired).  Nevertheless, this was just another example of the school using what limited funds it claims to have to pay someone not to work, joining ML and inexplicably, PN on this list.

The scoreboard came crashing down to the floor.  Thank God nobody was hurt.

And now, the plans for a new practice facility deemed necessary to compete with other A10 programs have also come crashing down.  If you don't think this is something worth whining about, then you might be wondering why Dr. Granberg has initiated an investigation as to how and why this miscalculation has occurred.

And all the while, the men's and women's basketball programs have not returned to being top 4 contenders in the A10, and most other sports aside from swimming and diving have also performed below par.  

It should be recognized that we all live in a performance-based society.  Those who contribute the most to their professional organizations tend to be paid the most money.  Those volunteers who are the most loyal and committed tend to be the ones who receive the honors and awards.  Those who put their families above all else with their hearts and souls tend to be among the more fulfilled people I know.

Please donate to GW athletics and/or NIL if you'd like to.  Please hold out for more transparency as BGF suggests if you'd like.  Or, here's another thought.  GW Athletics:  let's start doing better or let's stop screwing up.  



 

To MSC's point: Memphis and FedEx recently entered into a partnership where FedEx will provide $5 million annually for NIL opportunities promoting FedEx initiatives, with the program initially centered around football, men’s and women’s basketball, and additional women’s sports.  Could a similar program be created for GW where GW athletes are promoting UTZ products or reading Punchbowl news (*cough* Jake Sherman *cough*)?  It would behoove someone in the athletics department to see if there are any entrepreneurial alumni who could provide actual NIL opportunities as opposed to just Venmo'ing a player $1,000 a month through FOG.

To the other point: I definitely fall more on the side of BGF that there should always be greater transparency when it comes to asking for money.  I called alumni during my time at GW (mostly because it paid the most on campus). The one thing they drilled into us was to call it "contributions" as opposed to "donations" because "donating" money connotated giving money away with no expectation of a tangible result.  What all of us hope for is that alumni contribute in many ways to the athletics program (and specifically men's and women's basketball) through season tickets, club membership, and FOG NIL. With those contributions comes the university's responsibility for being transparent about how those contributions further our shared goal.

AT Hiker said in the facility thread that the new president is a big fan of GW basketball and has increased support for Caputo.  Let's all hope that remains the case.  And if the athletics programs continue to flounder, I hope our most loyal contributors use their lines of communication to potentially address changes in leadership. I'm sure Vogel has metrics by which she is judged as Athletics Director, and I would assume that any decision to retain/fire her would be based on some formula of on-field success, academic performance, and fundraising.  

I've always contended one of Lonergan's biggest mistakes was assuming that the school would have his back once the Post story came out.  It couldn't have been any clearer what the outcome would be given how we reacted to the Omar story.  Maybe Granberg would've reacted differently, but it was folly to think that a lame-duck President would come to Lonergan's defense.  In hindsight, the most shocking part was the fact the school didn't just clean house completely in September 2016.
 

1) Agree with a great deal of what BGF, GMayhem, MSC, GW0509 have to say.
And find Joel Joseph's challenge intriguing.
2) Regarding Mayhem's post, have no idea why we want to ignore the scandal that got us
here, including wasted buyouts. We seem to keep repeating mistakes, so perhaps we could openly and 
honestly discuss why we are here, instead of say, highlighting other teams and other coaches.
The past near-decade in GW basketball may be a bit more relevant on GW basketball messsage board. Of course, we can't change the past unfortunately, but we can learn from it. If need to be, I can bring in a famous quote about this.
3) This whole discussion is food for thought about our place in college athletics. More about college athletics, as such really. But we have to deal with the current and future reality.
4) When you think about commenting on other posters, think about what you would say not only if you
were sitting next to someone, particularly a stranger, at the Smith Center. Much less in a bar. 
Accusing people of whining when they state a position is not only needlessly provocative, but a lazy
way to make a point. 
  And ironically, you're then whining about whining.
How about we all just keep it civil making your points and respectful argument?