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Post by JG Panthers on Mar 12, 2013 8:53:48 GMT -6
Coaching is the argument that i haven't been able to make up my mind about. Haha. So i just leave that one to you all to argue about. Lol Some have always been against Jeter because of the style of play. Some have always been staunch supporters of Jeter. And some have been a little more objective and willing to let it play out (myself). It is becoming increasingly difficult for even the most loyal backers of Coach Jeter to say we are on the right track towards relevancy (especially when we were already on that track when he took over). I'd be much more tolerant of the seasons we've had if he weren't making $410,000+ per season. If somebody did a cost-benefit analysis on Rob Jeter as our coach, it wouldn't come out positive for him. This is the unfortunate and unbiased truth. |
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Post by pnthr97 on Mar 12, 2013 8:54:54 GMT -6
I was with you until this. These people have earned the right to gripe. I have griped myself many times this season. But they should learn from the past. If the 2002-03 season is an indication of the fact that a team can win in the KC, then surely every move by Bruce Pearl to get us out of that building ASAP should show fans what we stand to lose by continuing to play there. But isn't gripping about not being good now while at the same time being okay with a no ambition approach in athletics/ giving people sh*t for wanting to progress as a program, counterintuitive. I am perfectly fine with griping. Its part of what being a sports fan is about. Its a great coping mechanism. And i am totally on page with you that they have earned that right. And even if i don't agree with it all the time by all means voice what you think and feel. I just don't get the thinking behind it is all. How can people complain about not winning but at the same time give people sh*t for wanting this program to be ambitious and go above and beyond when possible. And by all means, going above and beyond is completely a possibility at this point. We know that there are plenty of options that fit within our budget that could do so much more for this program than just settling for a gentile sized arena. Thats my point. With a $10 million budget deficit, exactly what options are you talking about? Financial realities is something that need to factor in. The reason we can't fire RJ (if that were the decision) is because of the deficit in the athletics program and the lack of big sponsors. And those two things work together. If a big sponsor were to come along, that money would likely be used to address the deficit, not the coach. RJ will be our coach for at least another season, probably at least two more seasons. We will be at the KC for at least the next 2 seasons because we can't afford anything else. Hopefully, Braun is able to institute a plan that does the following: 1. Address the budget. Spending needs to be controlled. Revenue sources need to be identified. 2. Make difficult decisions. Is baseball a viable program to keep, or is it too expensive? If a partnership with MLB happens, baseball can survive. Without that partnership, it needs to be cut. This is not what I want, personally, but rather, what I understand are the financial realities of our athletics program. 3. Have a plan for men's basketball, and move forward with that plan. This includes facilities, primarily. What can we afford to do, and what can we not? Is a new arena a viable option, or is a renovation of the KC more likely? 4. Pick winning coaches. This could be number 1. This is something the Bud was great at, which led to success, and revenue. People will attend games if the program is winning, regardless of where those games are played. |
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mwu
Sophomore
I am U-Dub U-M
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Post by mwu on Mar 12, 2013 9:39:52 GMT -6
My sources have told me it's going to cost at least $26 million just to lower the floor and change the court to east-west so the stands aren't too steep. Not to mention you'd still be stuck with a God-awful, hideous building. Avery marginal amount of exterior work is even included in these proposals. My Thesis as a whole isn't cheap. It's meant for staged implementation, over say 20 years or so. Which in University terms, isn't all that long, but in the eyes of John Q Public an eternity. I practice facility paired with a move back to the cell (and hopefully later purchase and renovation) would be the quickest and most efficient use of our money over the long term. |
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Post by ghostofdylan on Mar 12, 2013 9:43:33 GMT -6
Other. 7,000-seat multi-purpose facility near North Avenue.
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mwu
Sophomore
I am U-Dub U-M
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Post by mwu on Mar 12, 2013 9:56:26 GMT -6
Other. 7,000-seat multi-purpose facility near North Avenue. Yes that too, can't believe I left that out of my post. For the Record, "Cambridge Gardens" would hold an 8,259 seated capacity. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2013 10:53:39 GMT -6
Yep, the arena is just a distraction from the real problem. We can have a multi-million dollar facility, but if the product on the court is terrible, then it will just be an enormous waste of space. Start winning and playing exciting basketball and the new or improved facility wont be too far behind. When did this board become the AD version of Madden? At one time we talked about NCAA basketball. Boom, the voice of reason! For the record, I voted to move back to the U.S. Cellular Arena. |
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Post by PantherU on Mar 12, 2013 11:07:06 GMT -6
I didn't include Cambridge Gardens because that is simply not possible from where we stand today. The other two are.
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Post by PantherLou on Mar 12, 2013 12:52:57 GMT -6
No offense Jimmy, but neither you, nor anyone else on this board, have presented a plan. You have ideas and enthusiasm, no more. Not a plan. |
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Post by uwmplanner on Mar 12, 2013 14:21:36 GMT -6
Neither the Cell or the Klotche Center are good long term solutions so I voted Renovated Klotshe center.
Right now we are stuck doing what should've been done 20 some years ago when we became Division 1 program, which is find a legitimate home. IMO it should be on campus or on the East Side (on North Ave or between North Ave and Campus).
Not only should our new home be suitable for basketball it should meet the needs for graduation and other critical on campus events.
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Post by repoman on Mar 12, 2013 14:21:41 GMT -6
I just don't think this alumni house idea that BlackPantherU is proposing is a good idea. How are you going to sell this to the UW system and donors? Spending all this money on a practice facility and player dorm is going to make us in the running for top 100 recruits? in the Horizon league? I just don't see it. Also, why this desire for national prominence? I understand shooting big but honestly most people on here would be just happy to go back to winning the HL most seasons and making some noise in the NCAA tourney every couple of years. I think any fundraising now should be solely for the purpose of firing Jeter and paying out his contract. Oh and to stay on topic, I voted for the Cell. I like watching games there and I like having options for pre and post game bars and food without getting back into my car. I know it does nothing for the program but I guess I am voting for what works best for me  Also it appears that many season ticket holders agree given the huge dropoff in tickets after the move back on campus. We all talk about how important it is to get students to games but the students don't pay for tickets, they don't donate money, and they don't spend a ton of money on concessions. We need to quit worrying about getting students to games and worry about getting alumni with disposable income to the games. |
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Post by JG Panthers on Mar 12, 2013 14:59:44 GMT -6
We all talk about how important it is to get students to games but the students don't pay for tickets, they don't donate money, and they don't spend a ton of money on concessions. We need to quit worrying about getting students to games and worry about getting alumni with disposable income to the games. Wholeheartedly disagree. Students pay segregated fees that help keep the athletic department afloat. The average student probably contributes more to the AD than you or I do. So saying it's not important to get them to games is flat wrong. In addition to that, today's students are tomorrow's alumni. Not paying attention to them today is about as shortsighted as you could be. |
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Post by buppie05 on Mar 12, 2013 15:42:09 GMT -6
We all talk about how important it is to get students to games but the students don't pay for tickets, they don't donate money, and they don't spend a ton of money on concessions. We need to quit worrying about getting students to games and worry about getting alumni with disposable income to the games. Wholeheartedly disagree. Students pay segregated fees that help keep the athletic department afloat. The average student probably contributes more to the AD than you or I do. So saying it's not important to get them to games is flat wrong. In addition to that, today's students are tomorrow's alumni. Not paying attention to them today is about as shortsighted as you could be. Yea, we need to find a way to get more students to the game. I graduated in '08. The best part about going to games when I was an underclassmen was the fact that it wasn't embarrassing to be a panther fan. We had a nice venue, an entertaining product, and we were afraid of no one. Tons of students came to the games, and it wasn't only because we were winning. We have none of this now. I brought friends to the KC this year, and I was downright embarrassed. I took a young lady who frequents Marquette games to the Panther/Detroit game at the KC this year. We actually showed up for that game, but it was still incredibly embarrassing to say our team, who is supposedly serious about winning, needed to get permission from the HL to play in that sh*thole. Sorry to the longer tenured fans who admire the KC, it is a sh*thole for a serious D1 basketball team. Its fitting we moved back there though, it completes the cycle of futility that started when Bruce moved on. |
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Post by PantherU on Mar 12, 2013 17:28:13 GMT -6
No offense Jimmy, but neither you, nor anyone else on this board, have presented a plan. You have ideas and enthusiasm, no more. Not a plan. Sorry. Ideas. There is no concrete plan. I'm presenting ideas before a plan becomes a concrete plan. And by concrete plan I mean concrete shoes. |
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Post by PantherU on Mar 12, 2013 18:05:25 GMT -6
I just don't think this alumni house idea that BlackPantherU is proposing is a good idea. How are you going to sell this to the UW system and donors? Spending all this money on a practice facility and player dorm is going to make us in the running for top 100 recruits? in the Horizon league? I just don't see it. Also, why this desire for national prominence? I understand shooting big but honestly most people on here would be just happy to go back to winning the HL most seasons and making some noise in the NCAA tourney every couple of years. I think any fundraising now should be solely for the purpose of firing Jeter and paying out his contract. First off, you don't have to sell it to the UW System or donors. It's not a new building; it's a currently unused mansion three blocks east of campus. It isn't like we're talking about millions of dollars in construction. We're talking, at most, a couple hundred thousand dollars. It's not nothing, but something the university can swallow as a one-year cost. Did you know they spent $1 million updating the Klotsche? They'd probably get most of the money from regular students who would pay to live there - the cheapest dorms on campus are $5,000 a year, and at 16 students (enough to be more than the non-paying student-athletes) you'll have most of the updates paid off within a few years on that money alone - I'm sure they'd pay more for parking space, meal plan, etc. I'm just talking about replacing some carpeting, updating the internet, putting up some signage. I'm sure most of the project can be contracted out to Carmel Builders. And to your question - does a $35 million practice facility and players living in the Alumni House put us recruiting from the top 100 every year? - most definitely. But don't take my word for it. Ask a college coach. Seriously. At UWM we've got a lot of advantages, and the biggest disadvantages are the facilities (not just their crappiness but also the fact that they're evidence that the university isn't committed to basketball) and the conference. If we're playing in the "Milwaukee Arena" and our players are living in the Alumni House and practicing in the best building for basketball practice in the country, YES]/i]. They are recruiting as high as they want, although I wouldn't say Kentucky-high because we don't have the budget, today, for a $5 million-a-year coach and we're not owners of 8 national titles. Don't take my word for it. Call a D-I coach. Any D-I coach. Pose them the hypothetical: if UWM were to build the best basketball practice facility in the country, house their players in a mansion on Lake Michigan, and play their games in the Milwaukee Arena - which is what we'd name it after spending $5 million over 14 years for naming rights, a big more than equivalent to U.S. Cellular's deal that ends in summer 2014 - how high would the program soar? As for this question - "why this desire for national prominence?" - I ask you another one. Did you enjoy 2005? Wouldn't you want that as often as possible? Wouldn't the university want that kind of marketing as much as possible? Marketing firms estimated that just the 2010 Final Four run was worth over $600 million in marketing for Butler University. Add in the second from the next year and they received over $1 billion in marketing from making the Final Four two years in a row. Doesn't seem like spending $2 million on Brad Stevens is such a bad idea when you look at it that way. So yes, I want national prominence. I want for more than to have fleeting success every few years. Because if we lock ourselves into reach-for-the-middle thinking, you have to hope and pray that the coach of your team is up to the challenge like Bruce Pearl was. All you guarantee yourself with a bare bones Klotsche expansion and a $8 to $15 million practice facility is that you're going to be competitive in the Horizon League. And I don't know how much you've been around development and fund raising, but you're not going to get people to put together $2 million to buy out Rob Jeter. I've spoken with several donors, and no one is interested in spending money to fire Rob Jeter. For a couple of them I'm talking about donors who think he should be fired, they just don't want to pay for it. Raising money to fire a coach is...wasteful. The new contract that Jeter signed all but guarantees he can't receive those extensions unless he goes above and beyond what he's done. I bring this arena topic up because I know that while we all have gripes about the direction of the program, there's nothing you can do about Rob Jeter as head coach. Just hope he gets better and support him in that. If not, time will take care of the situation. |
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Post by 73withharoldlee on Mar 12, 2013 20:01:50 GMT -6
Think 20 years from now. UWM may be bigger than Marquette in this city and a national powerhouse.
Ten years after the renovated KC and who knows what's next. Fill a 5-7,000 arena game in and game out, graduate athletes, provide great entertainment, support soccer, baseball, track, and volleyball to enrich the lives of student athletes in a great city. This is what UWM should be. Success is more than a facility. I'm watching conference tournament games on Cable all week. Many facilities are mediocre at best. Arenas are half empty. We seem to be fooled by all the hype of the the Big Conferences. You can't get there without football so let's be realistic and be who we are.
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Also it appears that many season ticket holders agree given the huge dropoff in tickets after the move back on campus. We all talk about how important it is to get students to games but the students don't pay for tickets, they don't donate money, and they don't spend a ton of money on concessions. We need to quit worrying about getting students to games and worry about getting alumni with disposable income to the games. 