I don't know if this was already posted (forgive me if it was), but I agree with her on this point!
Stringer Explodes
Stringer Explodes
Stringer explodes on need to upgrade facilities...
- Thread starter BigDaddyLane
- Start date
Not saying she is wrong. But it's women's basketball. We have been over this a million times. The reality is very few people care about women's basketball. Like a tiny percentage of people.
That's just the reality of the situation. She has been very well paid and put a good team out there every year. How many people pay to see that? How much revenue does that generate?
That's just the reality of the situation. She has been very well paid and put a good team out there every year. How many people pay to see that? How much revenue does that generate?
WOW, you really don't get it!
Surely you are not dumb enough to think that what she is asking for would be used for more than just WBB?
Then again, maybe not.
Really? Do you not know basically every sport but football uses the RAC? That baseball can't practice during the winter when basketball is and vice versa? Wrestling moving matches to the Barn because basketball is there? This isn't about women's basketball.
I applaud Stringer for her comments but I doubt the athletic department has the same viewpoint.Nobody in charge wants to hear a public response from a head coach criticizing the lack of commitment toward better facilities .I would not be surprised the athletic director had a meeting with Stringer today explaining the facts of life working at Rutgers,ie,no money no construction,stay silent.
I don't follow BB but it seems RU needs better facilities for a long time. I would just be careful not to do what Maryland (Debbie Yow) did and get carried away spending millions on facilities for teams with no revenue and then trying to get get football to pay for it in a crisis atmosphere.
But most Univ have built new basketball practice facilities over the last 10-15 years that include both men AND women's facilities...even if 98% of the attention/priority is for new men's facilities.
Twenty years at Rutgers. Almost a million bucks a year. Forgive me if I'm not won over by her outrage. She hasn't exactly brought in the money.
I've said it for years (as has others). Build a brand spanking new 10-12k arena in New Brunswick walking distance from the train. Use it for RU sports, shows, concerts and maybe attract a minor league hockey team. NB is half way between the PruCenter and the arena in Trenton on the NEC line. An arena in NB would be a perfect CNJ location. Then turn the RAC into the practice facility everyone seems to deem so important
That could be the "cheapest" alternative...especially if the city/county/region pitched in...something similar to what DePaul is doing with their new $170 Million 10,000 seat arena next to the McCormick Convention Center in Downtown Chicago.
Funding will be:
DePaul: $70 Million
Metro Pier and Exp Authority: $70 Million (City/Public owned corp that owns/runs McCormick and Navy Pier)
General City Taxes: $30 Million
Then turn the RAC into a top notch Men's & Women's Basketball Practice Facility with new officers, workout facilities, etc...which some other teams did when new arenas were built on their campus (or elsewhere).
There are a lot of traveling shows, events, concerts, etc...that only need "half arena" seating and/or smaller arenas in general (5,000-10,000), and/or don't have the $$$ to rent large NBA/NHL facilities.
Trenton's small arena (8,600 basketball capacity, 7,500 hockey) is somewhat generic without many of the new amenities that basically now come standard at most arenas built today...so yes, I could see a very modern arena (similar to DePaul's) that could bring a lot of events to the city/region all year round...something the RAC can't/hasn't been able to do.
DePaul's new 10,000 seat and amenity filled (i.e. high $$$ premium seating) Arena should be open by Feb 2017:
This post was edited on 3/20 8:21 AM by Knight_Light
City of Evansville (Indiana) recently built in 2011 a new $120 Million 10,000 seat arena (primary tenant is Univ of Evansville Hoops and an ECHL Minor League Hockey team) and even secured a MAJOR naming rights deal from FORD, i.e. "Ford Center".
Seriously?
My goodness we have some haters on this board.
What the hell do you expect ANY OTHER WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH to achieve at RUTGERS with its piss poor attention to men's basketball, let alone promotion women's basketball.
Another clueless comment.
How is it clueless? What is the ROI of that money? What do we expect to achieve? Not wasting money?
Across the U.S., the most popular women's college sport is in the red. Women's basketball at the 53 public schools in the six largest conferences recorded operating losses last fiscal year of $109.7 million, while the men's teams had operating profits of $240 million, according to their financial records.
RU women's average basketball attendance last year was 1649. Not even close to being in the top 50. Western Kentucky and Buffalo had better average attendance.
Stats
Overall, I don't think people are reading between the lines here. This is totally a rip into Codey's proposal for a Rutgers and Seton Hall basketball doubleheader and a call by Viv for the state legislature to find the money to help the basketball programs (plural) get a new arena. I like that Viv's playing some politics here, as it supports what Lesniak is saying.
Some of her other rants are a little inconsistent, such as saying on the one hand that Julie's doing everything she can do with fundraising but on the other that the marketing is awful (no recognition of Olympians in the RAC) and all RU's doing is putting lipstick on the proverbial pig (painting the doors and walls) rather than spending on a new facility. However, I think this will ruffle some feathers in Trenton, which collectively doesn't like being called out in the media, especially where she ends by saying that Seton Hall (maybe she meant NJIT) can wait for a new arena until after the major state university gets one first.
Some of her other rants are a little inconsistent, such as saying on the one hand that Julie's doing everything she can do with fundraising but on the other that the marketing is awful (no recognition of Olympians in the RAC) and all RU's doing is putting lipstick on the proverbial pig (painting the doors and walls) rather than spending on a new facility. However, I think this will ruffle some feathers in Trenton, which collectively doesn't like being called out in the media, especially where she ends by saying that Seton Hall (maybe she meant NJIT) can wait for a new arena until after the major state university gets one first.
Nothing will change regarding facilities (and hence the low caliber of most of our sports programs) until we have major donors stepping up with major gifts, like virtually all major universities have other than us. So even though CVS is right on the money here, it's moot since there is a lack of the cash needed to make meaningful improvements to RU athletics venues.
That article was pretty much amazing.
I too have wondered why Rutgers hasn't been aggressive with building new athletic facilities since it was first voted into the B1G. Even if you do not have the big bucks rolling in right now, they will be here sooner rather than later. Take out a bond and get this done. Stringer mentioned being embarrassed for her players when they walk into facilities at Ohio State, Maryland, etc. That works both ways. I'm sure players from other teams are sad and embarrassed when they walk into the RAC and see what Rutgers players have to play in day after day.
Rutgers was voted into the B1G almost 2.5 years ago and has been in the conference for almost 1 year. There haven't even been announced plans for new construction, even if the construction itself wouldn't start for a few years. Time to start acting like a B1G team.
Even little old Louisville built amazing facilities and they were on a shoe string Conference USA budget for years.
I too have wondered why Rutgers hasn't been aggressive with building new athletic facilities since it was first voted into the B1G. Even if you do not have the big bucks rolling in right now, they will be here sooner rather than later. Take out a bond and get this done. Stringer mentioned being embarrassed for her players when they walk into facilities at Ohio State, Maryland, etc. That works both ways. I'm sure players from other teams are sad and embarrassed when they walk into the RAC and see what Rutgers players have to play in day after day.
Rutgers was voted into the B1G almost 2.5 years ago and has been in the conference for almost 1 year. There haven't even been announced plans for new construction, even if the construction itself wouldn't start for a few years. Time to start acting like a B1G team.
Even little old Louisville built amazing facilities and they were on a shoe string Conference USA budget for years.
My guess would be quite different -
Seriously - this was not a case of CVS taking a shot at the athletic department - Stringer knows the situation - as well as anybody, just as well as the AD - they are in reality, on the same page & they are variously dealing with the same 'big picture' issue - which is that the pressure / public opinion / political tide / fan & booster momentum needs to rise up many more decibels / degrees in order to get the wheels of bureaucracy unstuck & moving.
In the effort to initiate & build the groundswell of support for the needed improvements - (because, there is, in effect, a 'campaign' going on right now) - it is highly, highly unlikely that the AD will be telling any of the coaches to "stay silent" ...
- maybe "stay professional ... stay positive ... stay emphatic ... stay enthusiastic... and most of all - stay optimistic - it will eventually get done - but it will take perseverance and persistence"
B1GOSU - Louisville has built great facilities for multiple sports and, concomitantly has been successful in many sports due to having a very generous major donor and other major donors in addition to a more supportive state. But mostly it's due to major private gifts, which, with a few small exceptions, we have never gotten for sports in the history of RU. Heck, schools like Oklahoma and Baylor get more gifts for tennis than we do for basketball.
I don't mind CVS's comments but I would be a lot more impressed if she said she was starting the ball rolling with a 25 to 50k commitment, after many years of a 7 digit contract that type of seed money should be chump change.
Knight_Light - RU joined the BE for football effective 1991, but was not invited for basketball until 1995.
Jakeknight - CVS should not be required or expected to do anything of the sort. Of our many sports programs, in the hisotry of RU, there is exactly oneteam has been a consistently nationally strong team (other than an odd year or two) and that's womens bball. Yes, she has done some things that have been irritants (sitting behind the Temple bench years ago at a mens bb game, etc.) but coaching is about winning and no one else in RU history has done what she has done in terms of regularly being nationally ranked and every year competing for top national talent like CVS. So, I for one could care less if she gives a dime to a fundraising campaign. And in any event, such a small gift is meaningless. You raise money to build major facilities by starting with a "leadership gift" which typically involves a gift of many hundreds of thousands or a million bucks or more. The you build on that.
Did you not get a grasp of the fact women's BB is a money pit? That her team can't draw enough fans to crack the top 50 in attendance?
Rutger's athletic department overpaid the WBB coach and mismanaged MBB, where the revenue is generated. Hate on me all you want. I don't care.
Those are the facts. It's reality.
The power conference MBB teams make $250 million plus. The WBB teams lose $100 million.
RU invested to much in the wrong one for a long time. And it's a disaster.
Cured,
I didn't say CVS was required or expected to do anything, I said I it would be impressive if she made a strong statement by seeding a fund for a new facility. It would certainly get some much needed positive attention.
I didn't say CVS was required or expected to do anything, I said I it would be impressive if she made a strong statement by seeding a fund for a new facility. It would certainly get some much needed positive attention.
Perhaps if Lesniak were able to "work the room" in Trenton and get a majority (or close to it) onboard, then hold hearings during the budgetary process to increase the State's support of higher education, and then parade Stringer onto the floor of the Legislature where she could scream to her heart's content, then I could say Lesniak and Stringer were supporting the school and program. What they are doing right now is as I described it earlier - inviting the media over to record them peeing in their own pool and demanding someone come over to clean it.
Davidson is almost completed with their fund raising campaign for $15 Million in donations to they can build their new Men's/Women's Hoops Practice Facility.
Whats interesting about this campaign is that one couple, made a $4 Million Challenge to their alums/supporters...as in they would donated dollar for dollar of what others did, till $4 Million was raised...so then in turn donated $4 Million to match.
The wife of the couple did it to honor her Dad, who was a 1926 Davidson Alum, who was also a member for their football team.
Davidson new Basketball (and Dance) Practice Facility
http://blogs.davidson.edu/athletic-center/
$4 Million Vance Challenge
http://blogs.davidson.edu/athletic-center/vance-challenge/
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