In general, possibly. But situations that are difficult or impossible to work around can make it far more challenging to create “instant success.” On that list are an antiquated arena with no funding for replacement, a rural/ex-urban campus and more recently very limited opportunities for NIL money - now a highly significant compelling force in recruiting talented student/athletes that couldn’t have been imagined in 1984. .
Millett is not getting any newer. It was only 15 years old in Dan’s time. Now it’s 52 years old and largely unchanged from a general events, concert-friendly auditorium. And Oxford is still an ex-urban outpost.
Changing coaches and insisting we need to be a basketball school are not going to change any of that.
I can’t believe we are seriously discussing dropping basketball. And to even remotely suggest dropping basketball for womens hockey is mind blowing. I am one of the biggest proponents of women’s sports on this board, but this couldn’t be a more preposterous idea. And no, I don’t intend to “support my case”. Is this what happens when pot becomes legal?
I have a better idea. Let’s drop basketball, hockey and football and put all our money into our sychro skating program. We are already world champs. The added revenue will cement our place at the top.
The media coverage and relevancy will be just about on par with a hockey national championship.
Why are so many here maintaining that hockey is the really bad man and basketball is the good guy with a gun when there is significant evidence that basketball on the Oxford campus - both men’s and women’s - has become a millstone around the Miami athletics program’s neck over the past 25 years?
It is now threatening to become a money pit - with millions of unavailable money needed for a new or extensively remodeled arena and hundreds of thousands needed to buy out contracts of failed coaches we thought would solve our problems and send us back to the dance.
MBB has been anything but a millstone around Miami’s neck. Miami’s failure to invest in MBB is well documented. Miami doesn’t devote resources to the program. (please see last two campus wide capital campaigns as well as a sports only campaign - - - $0 for basketball -MBB&WBB and VB) In fact, in the past its used MBB as money making opportunities. See buy games at UK, Kansas, UCLA etc… It has also leveraged MBB scheduling for the benefit of football.
A well run (more like competent) ICA would know how to leverage MBB to be a bell cow for Miami’s ICA.
Meanwhile, Hockey has received much more support. (cue the argument on Hockey alums supporting the program - and cue the response on how ask any MBB alum about how they have been treated/neglected over the past few decades - or even guys like Randy Ayers and Wally attempting to make big donations but with no plan in place pulled contributions). What has the new facility and money dump meant to Hockey? Minus some good Rico years, some bad product and losing.
Should this be an either / or argument? Of course not. What this should be is a realization that Miamis ICA has neglected MBB/WBB/VB facilities and financial support to detriment of the entire program.
My initial post has actually sparked some meaningful dialogue. Basketball has apparently been a neglected program for 25 years. Our facility is now subpar, we have lost all of our rivalries with local teams, we’re padding our record with games against D3 programs and unimpressive mid-majors, nobody attends our games, and we don’t have any money to renovate Millett or build a new arena. We are located at the very fringe of an urban area with no expressway to get potential fans out to our campus and our increasingly important NIL opportunities pale in comparison to programs located in urban centers with an extensive commercial and media presence. With the exception of last year’s one game over .500 record, we haven’t had a winning season in at least 11 years. We had two seasons with single digit wins.
That is where we are. How does killing our hockey program fix all that? If we don’t want to kill that program, what do we do to get around all the aforementioned drawbacks?
It hasn’t been “apparently neglected”. It has absolutely been neglected as Nick points out. When you allocate 0 dollars to a program or programs, by definition those programs are neglected. I haven’t advocated “killing hockey” but rather am responding to the proposal that we should “kill BB”. Much of the problem comes from 2 broad areas: failing to capitalize on the success in the Wally years for MBB, and failing to have foresight into the future when capital improvements were being poured into other athletic programs while BB was being ignored. What we are seeing now, and have for several years, are the “fruits” of those decisions and lack of foresight and long range planning.
NESCADAD, you bring up good points and I for one do not advocate for the cancellation of any program. I advocate for competent ICA to navigate the ever changing climate of NCAA economics. The reality is that the current state of Miami athletics is really on life support and things are not getting better.
Miami sports are irrelevant. What “fandom” does Miami create with the students that will carry on after they leave? Does it create donors that can support the program? Does Miami ICA encourage fandom with Miami graduates living in Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis…?
Miami sports survive, not because of ticket sales, but because of ever increasing student fees. It receives some $ from TV for football, $ from FB buy games, $ from BB buy games and some NCAA Tournament units but other than that, there are no other revenue streams. Miami ICA is shrinking with fewer people to do more things. R&W fundraising is stagnate.
Where is the master plan to turn things around? What efforts are being done? Who will be there when they turn out the lights?
I once again reviewed the members of the Athletic Directors Circle. Read what is the purpose of the AD Circle. Eighteen members on three year terms. But a review of the current members does not include anyone associated with or having a history with the bball program. So no input, or someone to carry the banner of hoops, means the AD really doesn’t recognize this failing or doesn’t care. He fails to recognize that men’s bball has been an important part of Miami’s athletic history. How we have fallen to what we have now, and have had for way too many years, is not only difficult to understand, but is frustrating as hell.
AD Circle! Ha. Think that is still active? “The primary purpose of the Athletic Director’s Circle (“AD Circle”) shall be to provide input, guidance and support”. Emphasis on “support” as in “give us money”
Thank you, Nick. I have tried to make some of those points before in other discussions but I think I’m considered a bit of a paraiah for doing so.
We get a little money from bowls the MAC plays in, as well. Losing the money from the canceled 2020 March Madness had to hurt every mid-major a lot.
I think your point is that Miami athletics is not sustainable in its present form without either continued scaling back, becoming accustomed to continuous losing or trying to somehow reverse the atrophy with an infusion of money from somewhere.
And I would emphasize the points I have made earlier about the need to factor in our demographic and geographic limitations
Nick–Terrific post. I just wish that those in a position to do something about it aren’t MIA. AD Sayler says a new facility, costing upwards of $60M, is the top item on his list of things to do.
So show us. Words have zero value. Tell us what you are doing. Months go by with no news–zero.
I had speculated that Miami went after Jeff Porter to be a heavy hitter to find the dollars for a new/improved facility. He did not come cheap after ten years at Michigan, primarily raising money for their programs. I spoke to him and Jude recently about a project in the relatively near future. They both seemed engaged. But again, GO PUBLIC. SAY SOMETHING–ANYTHING.
As the saying goes, the silence is deafening.