Dream Big!

[Fessor]

Don't hold your breath waiting for the university to make the smart move.

[youwouldno]

But one can only hope that the administration will realize that no matter how many football games we win, when the Mens BB teams beat Loyola and Villanova we get more good publicity and press than at any other time. Time to really put some big $$ behind this program, as it has been proven that such visibility helps drive more admissions, admissions from different regions and helps our name become known to a whole new group of prospective students and parents.

Absolutely the truth. We could win the FCS championship and never get the national publicity we have achieved in the last week. So far, they have not gotten it. If it was not for a few individuals, this program would still be at the bottom.

In the past, the lack of administration support may have been semi-excusable, under the theory that the return on investment was highly speculative due to Furman's long period of non-competitiveness.

Now, however, the return is being handed to the University on a silver platter - it would require an almost indescribable level of incompetence to throw it away over a relatively small amount of money.

[Fessor]

Remember that we're talking about career academics. Prepare to be underwhelmed.

[tya1]

Don't hold your breath waiting for the university to make the smart move.

They hired Niko Medved and Bob Richey. That's two smart moves.

If you have the money to spend, that's great, but choosing the right coach is what does it at the "mid-major" level. Davidson had a streak of 11 losing seasons before they hired Lefty Driesell in 1960. He produced top 20 teams. Terry Holland succeeded Driesell and maintained a winner, but at a lower level. After Holland left Davidson went on another long losing stretch of only two winning teams in 15 years. McKillop wasn't an overnight sensation - it took him 5 years to have a winning season and 9 years to make the NCAA tournament. He went to the NCAAs one time in his first 12 years. His second dozen years were more successful, especially after he signed that Curry guy.

[JohnW]

Maybe I'm cranky today for some reason, scanning this topic didn't help. It seems the gist is we need to emulate certain schools, build a new arena, double the coach's pay... to continue the success we're currently enjoying.

Quick take on the best use of university resources: Wofford has a nice sports facility and mediocre library. Furman has an adequate arena and a great library. To me that's better. Because WC fans are so touches, I'm not saying that was the choice made, it was a rich donor, not widespread support from the college responsible for the new building. I wish Timmons had been done differently. I'm not a fan of the building or where it's located, but it's not as awful as some, myself included, have said. My wish is for a return to downtown in an appropriately sized venue privately financed, or in a deal with the city.

Coach's pay: again a resource question and I've stated my preference, but if the program prospers financially then by all means make the investment .

Let's do it like them: e.g. Davidson. They are 2/3 our size with an equal or slightly larger endowment. They do not give football scholarships and are basically a one-trick pony. No thank you. With all that they are no better off in a basketball sense than Richmond. A better comparison to Furman, except they too split conferences and have roughly 4x the money.

To sum up , I'm in a bad mood and there's nothing wrong with speculation or dreaming big. It's fun, but in the case of Furman basketball it's way too soon. All this national ranking talk goes away with a loss tomorrow, or really to any of our future opponents except LSU. Furman still has to win the conference or tourney for any meaningful post-season play. Until that happens a huge financial commitment by the university isn't warranted.

[youwouldno]

To sum up , I'm in a bad mood and there's nothing wrong with speculation or dreaming big. It's fun, but in the case of Furman basketball it's way too soon. All this national ranking talk goes away with a loss tomorrow, or really to any of our future opponents except LSU. Furman still has to win the conference or tourney for any meaningful post-season play. Until that happens a huge financial commitment by the university isn't warranted.

Paying Richey the going rate for a good mid-major coach would not be a "huge financial commitment."

It's also nonsensical to suggest waiting for the NCAA tournament before taking basketball seriously - you have the order of things reversed. Taking basketball seriously is what gets a program to the tournament.

Nor would a modest increase in basketball spending represent a prioritization of athletics over academics. Furman is locked into an extremely challenging market for attracting students and needs all the visibility it can get . . . basketball is cost-effective in comparison to other avenues.

Going three-quarters of the way is an erroneous strategy with college athletics . . . it reflects a failure to understand the increasing return on marginal dollars when a program has the opportunity to be successful. The professional sports equivalent would be the heightened value of a free agent to a team close to the playoffs as opposed to one with no hope of making the playoffs.

[gman]

Maybe I'm cranky today for some reason, scanning this topic didn't help. It seems the gist is we need to emulate certain schools, build a new arena, double the coach's pay... to continue the success we're currently enjoying.

Quick take on the best use of university resources: Wofford has a nice sports facility and mediocre library. Furman has an adequate arena and a great library. To me that's better. Because WC fans are so touches, I'm not saying that was the choice made, it was a rich donor, not widespread support from the college responsible for the new building. I wish Timmons had been done differently. I'm not a fan of the building or where it's located, but it's not as awful as some, myself included, have said. My wish is for a return to downtown in an appropriately sized venue privately financed, or in a deal with the city.

Coach's pay: again a resource question and I've stated my preference, but if the program prospers financially then by all means make the investment .

Let's do it like them: e.g. Davidson. They are 2/3 our size with an equal or slightly larger endowment. They do not give football scholarships and are basically a one-trick pony. No thank you. With all that they are no better off in a basketball sense than Richmond. A better comparison to Furman, except they too split conferences and have roughly 4x the money.

To sum up , I'm in a bad mood and there's nothing wrong with speculation or dreaming big. It's fun, but in the case of Furman basketball it's way too soon. All this national ranking talk goes away with a loss tomorrow, or really to any of our future opponents except LSU. Furman still has to win the conference or tourney for any meaningful post-season play. Until that happens a huge financial commitment by the university isn't warranted.

Your last paragraph sums up why there will never be a real financial commitment. Too soon. Until that happens. Isn’t warranted. Probably sums up the attitude of the administration too. I’m afraid they don’t dream big. Hope I’m wrong.

[Fuonetime]

Furman has been very fortunate to have hired Niko Medved and now Bob Richey. Before those hires we had JJ, Davis and Cantifio for 20 years of mediocrity. Finding the right coach is very difficult but when you have him you need to do what it takes to keep him. Gonzaga as our model has more to do with Gonzaga, a mid major, keeping their great coach, Mark Few, for 19 years than their achievements. Make no mistake, having the right coach is the linchpin for success. The ROI factor in keeping BR and developing the program is substantial. Furman’s academic reputation and appeal would be enhanced with a nationally recognized basketball team as well as with our other strong sports programs. How do Keep our Coach? Substantial pay increase with bonuses for conference championships, NCAA tournament wins, graduation percentages, etc and show him we are willing to grow the program. He has sold us now we have to sell him. I implore all UFFer to contact our AD, Administrators, Trustees, etc to make this happen. Talk with each other and let’s come together and get this done. Dream Big!

[JohnW]

Couple of things. A new arena would be a huge financial investment. Paying a coach what the market will bear is fine, as I said. Trouble is our market is not an A-10 market (yet). Increasing expenditure based on the data to date would be irresponsible. For the university. If private funding can be found have at it. We can dream big, be critical, but the admin has to deal with reality and if as mentioned they can show a cost benefit, great. I'd submit the lacrosse program as a case study. That was meant to attract a certain cohort to Furman. Has it worked? I don't know. It would be interesting to see some numbers. Right now Furman continues to make improvements to Timmons and pay what they pay. I don't think that's based on a lack of vision but on prudence. Right now things are going great at 6-0 and national attention, but it's still November and two or three of the wins aren't D1. But hey speculate, dream, it is after all a fan site., a place to air opinions. I'd just pump the brakes a bit until we know more.

[youwouldno]

Couple of things. A new arena would be a huge financial investment. Paying a coach what the market will bear is fine, as I said. Trouble is our market is not an A-10 market (yet). Increasing expenditure based on the data to date would be irresponsible. For the university. If private funding can be found have at it. We can dream big, be critical, but the admin has to deal with reality and if as mentioned they can show a cost benefit, great. I'd submit the lacrosse program as a case study. That was meant to attract a certain cohort to Furman. Has it worked? I don't know. It would be interesting to see some numbers. Right now Furman continues to make improvements to Timmons and pay what they pay. I don't think that's based on a lack of vision but on prudence. Right now things are going great at 6-0 and national attention, but it's still November and two or three of the wins aren't D1. But hey speculate, dream, it is after all a fan site., a place to air opinions. I'd just pump the brakes a bit until we know more.

Who is talking about a new arena?

And how would making Richey the 3rd or 4th highest paid SoCon coach reflect an "A-10" market? I guess I missed the part where ETSU, UNC-Greensboro, Samford, etc. were financial powerhouses.

[furpep]

It is good we are chatting about this. It appears that all of us are onboard with the understanding that a growing and winning Men's BB team can be a huge asset and assist to the University as a whole. I really am not concerned about which program we wish to emulate since we will end up going about it our way and in a method that keeps the academic end happy. I love the new marketing as Greenville's team (which is what we used to be!), I see enthusiasm in our fanbase. Imagine over 1500 at the game the night before Thanksgiving with most of the students no longer on campus. In past years maybe 400 show up for that game. The players are very friendly and you can see their enthusiasm. There is so much going on right now that it would be shameful (yes, SHAMEFUL) if the Administration, and more importantly those on the Board of Trustees, would waste an opportunity to up the spending on basketball in order to support this team, build future teams, keep our coaches, add more for recruiting and assistants, etc. Right now Timmons is OK. Pack the place to the rafters and use that as our home court advantage.
We also need to remember that this is a very young team, and that losses will occur and not to lose focus when that happens. More good has happened to our Basketball program in these 6 games than occurred for decades. Use this to kickstart a rebuild to prominence and get out name out throughout the nation. Furman is a wonderful university - I graduated from the school, and all 3 of my kids are Furman grads (assuming my youngest makes if through his last semester!), great profs, great academics, great library, great OLLI program for those of us who can attend, and now we need to bring athletics into this environment! Happy holidays everyone, we may be looking at a new beginning for Furman Basketball!

[Affirm]

Furman has been very fortunate to have hired Niko Medved and now Bob Richey. Before those hires we had JJ, Davis and Cantifio for 20 years of mediocrity. Finding the right coach is very difficult but when you have him you need to do what it takes to keep him. Gonzaga as our model has more to do with Gonzaga, a mid major, keeping their great coach, Mark Few, for 19 years than their achievements. Make no mistake, having the right coach is the linchpin for success. The ROI factor in keeping BR and developing the program is substantial. Furman’s academic reputation and appeal would be enhanced with a nationally recognized basketball team as well as with our other strong sports programs. How do Keep our Coach? Substantial pay increase with bonuses for conference championships, NCAA tournament wins, graduation percentages, etc and show him we are willing to grow the program. He has sold us now we have to sell him. I implore all UFFer to contact our AD, Administrators, Trustees, etc to make this happen. Talk with each other and let’s come together and get this done. Dream Big!

Thanks to you, I am reminded I totally left out anything about budgeting for bonuses to be paid for:
Regular season SoCon championship
SoCon championships
Graduation rates
NCAA tourney wins
Etc
Another reason I said $200,000 would be not nearly enough and said double that at least.
Retain the good coaches, and make it easier to attract good replacements when our retention efforts are overwhelmed by richer schools who want to take away our good coaches.

[youwouldno]

It's not all or nothing. If Furman can't afford to pay what ETSU can pay, it would still be nice to at least pay what UNC-G does.

[apaladin]

I don't think the guessed BR salary is even close. Much moe.

[Fessor]

Don't hold your breath waiting for the university to make the smart move.

They hired Niko Medved and Bob Richey. That's two smart moves.

Raymond Newsome got Niko hired. The school hired JJ.