Welsome to the chorus FedD. Senior GW Administration and the Board have always expected athletics and men's basketball to make chicken salad out of chicken shit. Fix that and you begin to fix everything.

jf, I would agree that it matters, but only in the short term.  Eventually those payments go away.  Paying former coaches to go away is not something unique to GW and any coach looking to interview wouldn't be put off by that if the "bones" of the program are strong.

What matters more is we have a Board that seems completely inept at capitalizing on success and is the embodiment of this scene from the Simpsons:



There was simply no reason why we shouldn't have much higher budgets after the success we had in the early 2000s, culminating with the 05-06 team.  Look at a team like Richmond who had a similar run in the NCAAs (granted, they went to the Sweet 16) from 09-11 and where their program is today.  They had an administration that clearly saw the benefits of a strong basketball team and an alumni base who were willing to donate piles of cash.

Meanwhile, we failed to protect the basketball culture that clearly existed at some point from the 70s-90s based on all the great stories told on this board.  Once the Omar revelations came out in the Post, student attendance plummeted and has NEVER recovered.  Sure, the Smith Center can be packed for a UVA or UF game, but students by and large do not consider attending basketball games to be an integral part of campus life anymore.  Anyone who attended games in the early 00s knows what the student support/engagement looked like then vs. what it looked like even during the best ML years from 13-16.  No comparison.

The best student attendance I've seen in the past few years was probably when that climate change protest took place.  All I could think of is that they were waisting their time protesting to an empty arena.  

The Board simply does not value A10 level basketball right now.  I think too often our expectations for JC are based on how the school operated in the 90s and 00s and not how it is in the 2020s.  The fact that Ryan Odom passed because he had more financial support at an American East/regional state school should make us more thankful that a coach like JC even agreed to come here.

The climate change protest brought on mixed feelings. I wandered by, wondering why the heck were there more students than the usual sparse crowd, but figured it out when I saw they were holding signs.
     Thought it was an odd and somewhat inappropriate place for this demonstration (for one thing, the pace we were playing at questioned whether we had carbon-based life forms, much less carbon emitting ones.)
   But even if they weren't there for the basketball, I was pleased that we had some more students in the crowd.

Coaches who were enticed to come to GW:

Mike Jarvis.
Tom Penders
Karl Hobbs, UCONN's top recruiter
Mike Lonergan.
Jamion Christian


 

Joel Joseph wrote:

Nothing has changed with GW in the last 40 years.

We have seen a number of coaches win with little support.  Eventually, they may not be able to sustain that success but they have won and had success in the A-10 (and for a select few - against the P-5 programs).

Stop with all the excuses. GW has been rock bottom for the last 4 years. It's time to change or go to the Patriot League. It's not like we traded athletics for academics. Our academic standing has been going in the wrong direction for years also.

If they win they are leaving ... either by their choice (Jarvis) or by GW's choice (Hobbs and Lonergan). GW is and will be a steppingstone school one way or the other until we pack the Smith Center with 5,000 almost every night, we pay coaches north of $1 million in today's dollars, we have a budget that befits an A-10 program that wants to compete nationally ,and we stop shooting ourselves in the foot (Plaxico Burress has nothing on us) except apparently to recent senior GW leadership and the Board. Not a lot of rocket science here.  Hopefully JC can change the equation.
 

Last edited by GWRising (8/31/2021 3:28 pm)

Rising, I agree with you - GW is only a stepping stone to a better gig elsewhere (assuming a coach can show some success).
I laugh at those that say if schools like Gonzaga, Creighton, St Mary's can have success, we can too. They obviously know nothing about GW - pathetic and indifferent fan base (both students and alum), no support (financial or otherwise) from the administration, etc.
If JC can have any success in the next 3 years, he will have numerous opportunities (like ML did with BC, Rutgers and others he wouldn't even consider).
If he doesn't and leaves GW, I believe he will eventually be successful at another program as soon as the stench from GW wears off.
We have been living with this status quo for 4 decades now. I've come to the conclusion we are better off in the Patriot League instead of being under resourced in the A-10.

I like your idea Gwmayhem regarding emails. Problem is you have a big assumption in there. The assumption is that the University would turn over the alumni list to athletics so they could sell more tickets. If I were a betting man, the University would rather receive unrestricted donations then sell more tickets. They have in the past viewed this as robbing Peter to pay Paul. And therein lies some of the problem. You are not the first person to suggest this.

As for the coaches you are also correct. Not one was a must have in the sense they they were in a position to dictate terms to GW. In fact, having been involved in two of those searches, GW had other options at the ready and it was a close call. In all cases other than Penders (from at least a purely basketball perspective), the coaches reputation was enhanced by coaching at GW (obviously ML's term ended in an unfortunate manner). None was considered at the time a coup. Jarvis only became a coup because of his performance at GW. Hobbs the same because of his run from 2004 to 2007. ML, because of his performance as well including wins over Power 5 teams and an NIT Championship.

And again, one of the reasons we were in this situation and may have lost Ryan Odom (if we ultimately would have chosen him), in addition to a clear lack of priorities for a top A-10 program is unusual costs in recent years due to awful decisions. This resulted in paying off one coach big time to the tune of approx $3 million, another oddly chosen one probably got a little bit when mercifully let go, and an AD who was given a soft landing for some reason despite clear evidence.
  Since these payments should all be off the books soon enough, perhaps we can apply some of that money. We don't need palaces for our athletes, just need to be roughly competitive, when added to our very clear academic and geographical advantage.
   In this discussion, Dr. Mike provides really insightful analysis from a college administrator's perspective. Demonstrates the strength of the board in explaining and revealing things.

Gwmayhem - it is messed up! I can't say for 100% certainty that is the current GW position but I can say with 100% certainty that was a GW position in the recent past. I see no indication anything has changed.

Good idea, Porter.
Maybe even flip them a Tshirt or have them come on a giveaway day to drive loyalty.
When the Smith Center is safe to occupy, the best way to turn someone into a GW bball fan is to remind them of how good a view you get a the Smith Center.
Can't vouch for the product, but when safe to attend, it is a great place to watch a basketball game, whatever the result.