AAC's Aresco talking present, future.

[Wavetime]

Looks like Devlin for awhile now....No Smoothie King Arena

Despite the small turnout, Dickson said he expects conference commissioner Mike Aresco to lift the interim status given to Devlin Fieldhouse and allow Tulane to play all of its games there next year, rather than forcing it to play a percentage of its home dates at the Smoothie King Center.

“I think Devlin can be a great advantage,” Conroy said. “With the investment that we’ve made in it and continue to make in it, I think it can be a great gameday venue.”

I know I am in the minority here, but I don't have a problem with Devlin - IF it's expanded to 5000 seats. It can be done. We'd have to think outside the box and maybe raise the roof, but it can be done. But aesthetic changes like we have had over the past 2 years are not cutting the mustard. We need SEATS!!!! If we can't add seats then build a new arena.

[jonathanjoseph]

Through Tulane's first football and basketball season in the AAC the AAC stock has sunk like a rock and Tulane showed itself to be as pathetic and dysfunctional as ever with no major changes being made. At some point Aresco won't or can't put up with Cowen/Dickson's BS posturing.

[greenie78]

Aresco has to pressure Tulane into scheduling much better. The out of conference schedule is an embarrassment. No excuses.

[sader24]

Nobody has a problem with Devlin b/c we don't win. You think if Tulane went out and offered Bobby Hurley $2 million Devlin would be big enough?

[jonathanjoseph]

Nobody has a problem with Devlin b/c we don't win. You think if Tulane went out and offered Bobby Hurley $2 million Devlin would be big enough?

And the flip side to that is that this is the exact reason why Ed Conroy stays employed. He costs way less than $2M and when asked he says Devlin "can be a great place to play". Playing by Cowen's rulebook comes with an ABSURD amount of job security.

Of course, no quality coach like a Bobby Hurley has any interest in getting mixed up in this BS.

[JerseyWave]

We can't expect to hire a quality Football or Basketball coach until Rick Dickson is gone.

[wave97]

How no action has been taken to remedy the fifteen year cancer that has existed in the leadership of the athletic department is beyond any rational comprehension. President Fitts wake up and do your job!

[winwave]

[quote="VerdeGeaux"]J
IMO as Last years record does not reflect the talent of this club, as the reason being is we had 7-8 freshmen starting and then the coach just quit on them about the 12th game of the year....they didn't have a coach, what do you think our record was going to be, coach quit on them, the players then quit on the coach.


Just a reminder of where things had gotten in baseball.

[greenie78]

The goal should be to build the program to a big enough level to play at the SKC. That's possible.

Firing Dickson won't be enough. The change in philosophy has to come from the president and the board. Otherwise they will bring in another loser lol.

[wave97]

Who has the influence to herd the cats on the BOA? A BOA that is as detached from Tulane & New Orleans as the alumni base.

[Bigschtick]

How no action has been taken to remedy the fifteen year cancer that has existed in the leadership of the athletic department is beyond any rational comprehension. President Fitts wake up and do your job!

Don't hold your breath. The guy is a "yes man", not a dynamic and aggressive President.

[MicMan]

TU had to hire a consultant to make sense of its books. Good thing it covered that up until AFTER the AAC invite.

[DfromCT]

Nobody has a problem with Devlin b/c we don't win. You think if Tulane went out and offered Bobby Hurley $2 million Devlin would be big enough?

And the flip side to that is that this is the exact reason why Ed Conroy stays employed. He costs way less than $2M and when asked he says Devlin "can be a great place to play". Playing by Cowen's rulebook comes with an ABSURD amount of job security.

Of course, no quality coach like a Bobby Hurley has any interest in getting mixed up in this BS.

No, Bobby Hurley only took a job at SUNY Buffalo. More than likely, his next step will be above a place like Tulane, where wins and losses matter. Talk on the NY City sports radio stations this weekend had Bobby as a top candidate for the St. John's job. They haven't even fired Steve Lavin! If they were to fire Lavin, I'd can Conroy and hire him immediately. His track record includes taking over a once proud team that had faded into mediocrity (being kind) and "only" getting two NCAA and two NIT bids in five seasons. Yes, it might be harder at Tulane to get the kids he works with (he's had quite a few recruits fail to qualify academically) but he's a winner. Something that Conroy has not shown.

Bobby Hurley's brother, Dan, is the coach at University of Rhode Island. Dan, who got Bobby back into basketball luring him away from breeding horses, saw his Rhode Island squad travel across the country to Palo Alto last night. The Rams fell to the Cardinal 74-65 in the second round of the NIT. Dan would also be a good hire, and a step up from EC.

[mbawavefan12]

Look, I desperately wanted a new HC in Bball and have been saying for years that EC is not the long term solution. With that said, next year this team returns most of its scoring. Gets a solid winf man back in Reynolds, adds Morgan, the young bigs will have another off season to progress and hopefully some of the new recruits can add some rebounding/interior D. This is absolutely the most talented EC team, as it should be with the new conference. At least there is a bit of hope and a decent roster to work with if they move on from EC after next year.

[tpstulane]

Look, I desperately wanted a new HC in Bball and have been saying for years that EC is not the long term solution. With that said, next year this team returns most of its scoring. Gets a solid winf man back in Reynolds, adds Morgan, the young bigs will have another off season to progress and hopefully some of the new recruits can add some rebounding/interior D. This is absolutely the most talented EC team, as it should be with the new conference. At least there is a bit of hope and a decent roster to work with if they move on from EC after next year.

We are a better team. But the problem is we are not going to go to the NCAA with this talent. We need much more talent. Temple sat home with all that talent they had. Tulsa sat home and they haven't lost to us years. I'd settle for a NIT next year but even that may be out of reach.

[MicMan]

You guys are hilarious. As if the Hurleys -- college basketball royalty -- would even give a sniff to a shitbox dumpster fire such as Tulane.

[mbawavefan12]

Look, I desperately wanted a new HC in Bball and have been saying for years that EC is not the long term solution. With that said, next year this team returns most of its scoring. Gets a solid winf man back in Reynolds, adds Morgan, the young bigs will have another off season to progress and hopefully some of the new recruits can add some rebounding/interior D. This is absolutely the most talented EC team, as it should be with the new conference. At least there is a bit of hope and a decent roster to work with if they move on from EC after next year.

We are a better team. But the problem is we are not going to go to the NCAA with this talent. We need much more talent. Temple sat home with all that talent they had. Tulsa sat home and they haven't lost to us years. I'd settle for a NIT next year but even that may be out of reach.

I agree, NIT will be a stretch. I envision a drastic improvement, an RPI in the low 100's and another year for EC. Then Dabney will graduate, we will lose a kid (or two) to transfer, the team will drop back in to the high 100's and EC will be fired.

[jonathanjoseph]

Look, I desperately wanted a new HC in Bball and have been saying for years that EC is not the long term solution. With that said, next year this team returns most of its scoring. Gets a solid winf man back in Reynolds, adds Morgan, the young bigs will have another off season to progress and hopefully some of the new recruits can add some rebounding/interior D. This is absolutely the most talented EC team, as it should be with the new conference. At least there is a bit of hope and a decent roster to work with if they move on from EC after next year.

We are a better team. But the problem is we are not going to go to the NCAA with this talent. We need much more talent. Temple sat home with all that talent they had. Tulsa sat home and they haven't lost to us years. I'd settle for a NIT next year but even that may be out of reach.

I agree, NIT will be a stretch. I envision a drastic improvement, an RPI in the low 100's and another year for EC. Then Dabney will graduate, we will lose a kid (or two) to transfer, the team will drop back in to the high 100's and EC will be fired.

So assuming this is fairly accurate (and I think it's a reasonable forecast given the past 5 years experience), then what is the cost to Tulane of basically punting on the basketball program for a long period of time? It's understandable if you miss on an initial hire, but then you extend the contract and continue doubling down on the direction of the program and 7 years later you can barely crack 200 RPI.

How much in terms of dollars does that cost Tulane? How much ticket revenue lost because the arena will be empty? How much lost tournament revenue because we definitely aren't going to the postseason? How much in lost donations because people are depressed at the state of the program?

Even at a smaller D1A program like Tulane, this is clearly in the millions of dollars per year in actual revenue and probably something more substantial in negative brand equity. Throwing away another year on this is to throw away millions of dollars. Why is this allowed to continue?

[mbawavefan12]

Look, I desperately wanted a new HC in Bball and have been saying for years that EC is not the long term solution. With that said, next year this team returns most of its scoring. Gets a solid winf man back in Reynolds, adds Morgan, the young bigs will have another off season to progress and hopefully some of the new recruits can add some rebounding/interior D. This is absolutely the most talented EC team, as it should be with the new conference. At least there is a bit of hope and a decent roster to work with if they move on from EC after next year.

We are a better team. But the problem is we are not going to go to the NCAA with this talent. We need much more talent. Temple sat home with all that talent they had. Tulsa sat home and they haven't lost to us years. I'd settle for a NIT next year but even that may be out of reach.

I agree, NIT will be a stretch. I envision a drastic improvement, an RPI in the low 100's and another year for EC. Then Dabney will graduate, we will lose a kid (or two) to transfer, the team will drop back in to the high 100's and EC will be fired.

So assuming this is fairly accurate (and I think it's a reasonable forecast given the past 5 years experience), then what is the cost to Tulane of basically punting on the basketball program for a long period of time? It's understandable if you miss on an initial hire, but then you extend the contract and continue doubling down on the direction of the program and 7 years later you can barely crack 200 RPI.

How much in terms of dollars does that cost Tulane? How much ticket revenue lost because the arena will be empty? How much lost tournament revenue because we definitely aren't going to the postseason? How much in lost donations because people are depressed at the state of the program?

Even at a smaller D1A program like Tulane, this is clearly in the millions of dollars per year in actual revenue and probably something more substantial in negative brand equity. Throwing away another year on this is to throw away millions of dollars. Why is this allowed to continue?

The losing is crushing our brand. I work with some perspective students and athletics mean more now than ever.

[MicMan]

I work with some perspective students and athletics mean more now than ever.

"Perspective" students? Are those the ones who look at things from different angles, or just the ones who are impressed with your grasp of the English "longuige"?

[mbawavefan12]

I work with some perspective students and athletics mean more now than ever.

"Perspective" students? Are those the ones who look at things from different angles, or just the ones who are impressed with your grasp of the English "longuige"?

What a POS. Adding nothing as usual.

[jonathanjoseph]

The losing is crushing our brand. I work with some perspective students and athletics mean more now than ever.

Just as winning boosts your brand. That's why they estimate that when the mid-majors make the final four runs it is worth hundreds of millions in brand equity and marketing exposure.

That's why every other university has no problem spending/losing money on athletics. It's a marketing expense that pays for itself in so many ways.

Rick Dickson's continued presence alone is sucking millions of dollars of value out of the program.

[MicMan]

That's why they estimate that when the mid-majors make the final four runs it is worth hundreds of millions in brand equity and marketing exposure.

Who is 'they'? Link?

[jonathanjoseph]

That's why they estimate that when the mid-majors make the final four runs it is worth hundreds of millions in brand equity and marketing exposure.

Who is 'they'? Link?

Don't have time to look it up, but numerous studies were done by sports marketing consulting firms that all arrived at similar numbers. Same kind of study said RG3's Heisman run was worth $250M to Baylor. Not surprisingly, the same amount their new stadium costs.

[ajcalhoun]

Don't have time to look it up

WTF?!?! You've found the time to post here 6144 times. Post less and look it up! We'll wait.