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Post by shorthaircut on Jul 12, 2023 18:12:18 GMT -6
The trouble I have right now is that I don't "hate" any of our OVC rivalries....I actually like them (but I admit, SEMO has a reputation of being whiners). I will say the only team I do not want to lose to ever is Lindenwood. Our biggest rivalry game, conference or nonconference game) is always going to be Indiana State. IMHO. In due time one will emerge. Once we start winning more that team will jump out at us.
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Post by eagle87 on Jul 12, 2023 20:13:15 GMT -6
For me personally, I don’t care for Lindenwood and want to win everything we play them in. I think it’s the rich kid vibe I get from them and their fans. I have heard from other OVC fans that didn’t want Lindenwood for that very reason. Those same people did not like Belmont for same reasons. Just look at their women’s basketball where they fired the coach and went out and bought a new coach from a very successful program. I can see them doing this more often as money does not matter to them, just buy the best and outspend the others. I know lots of school do this, but it seems in the OVC they are the ones throwing money around. The other 10 schools seem to be on an equal level with spending.
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Post by eaglepride on Jul 12, 2023 20:17:43 GMT -6
The trouble I have right now is that I don't "hate" any of our OVC rivalries....I actually like them (but I admit, SEMO has a reputation of being whiners). I will say the only team I do not want to lose to ever is Lindenwood. Our biggest rivalry game, conference or nonconference game) is always going to be Indiana State. IMHO. I wish that was true but a lot of Indiana State fans feel like they are a P6 school and are insulted playing USI. Even some UE fans on their fan forum believe that UE has nothing to gain by playing USI and that UE would be USI's "super bowl". Not true USI's "super bowl was Missouri, Notre Dame and this year Duke.
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Post by eagle87 on Jul 12, 2023 20:23:59 GMT -6
this is why I say Lindenwood is the rich kid of the OVC. They spent over 16 mil on athletic budget and this was 3 years ago BEFORE they even went D1. They have the biggest budget in the OVC and they have committed to increasing it now that they are D1. Attachments:
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Post by eagle87 on Jul 13, 2023 7:15:30 GMT -6
According to Major Madness, Stan is the 2nd best coach in the OVC.
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Post by letsgoeagles on Jul 13, 2023 7:16:37 GMT -6
this is why I say Lindenwood is the rich kid of the OVC. They spent over 16 mil on athletic budget and this was 3 years ago BEFORE they even went D1. They have the biggest budget in the OVC and they have committed to increasing it now that they are D1. I actually wonder how much of that budget goes to men's basketball. They have an incredible amount of sports...including football which I feel assured where the bulk of it is spent. Linenwood has always had money, but never all that successful in men's basketball. Will that change now that they are D1? You might assume it would, but hard for me to know. Their attendance is weak and their arena does not impress me at all. Obviously, men's basketball is a winter sport where the Lions are competing with St. Louis Blues hockey, St Louis University, Mizzou, and Illinois. Folks in St. Louis will attend or watch on tv at home any of those teams before they make any kind of drive to St. Charles. That said. Lindenwood played better this season that I thought they would, and I like their head coach a lot. But they have a lot of obstacles to contend with that we don't. I am glad the OVC is now in the St. Louis market though....USI I am sure would be an attractive basketball destination for some of their kids.
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Post by shorthaircut on Jul 13, 2023 7:22:45 GMT -6
this is why I say Lindenwood is the rich kid of the OVC. They spent over 16 mil on athletic budget and this was 3 years ago BEFORE they even went D1. They have the biggest budget in the OVC and they have committed to increasing it now that they are D1. I actually wonder how much of that budget goes to men's basketball. They have an incredible amount of sports...including football which I feel assured where the bulk of it is spent. Linenwood has always had money, but never all that successful in men's basketball. Will that change now that they are D1? You might assume it would, but hard for me to know. Their attendance is weak and their arena does not impress me at all. Obviously, men's basketball is a winter sport where the Lions are competing with St. Louis Blues hockey, St Louis University, Mizzou, and Illinois. Folks in St. Louis will attend or watch on tv at home any of those teams before they make any kind of drive to St. Charles. That said. Lindenwood played better this season that I thought they would, and I like their head coach a lot. But they have a lot of obstacles to contend with that we don't. I am glad the OVC is now in the St. Louis market though....USI I am sure would be an attractive basketball destination for some of their kids. Football is where they are focusing on their meal ticket. They have successfully used low budget sports to get kids who want to continue playing to attract them to the school, most paying hefty tuition prices to do so. For the price of tuition in this STL market place, they are not on par academically with many other schools in their own backyard.
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Post by letsgoeagles on Jul 13, 2023 7:27:20 GMT -6
The trouble I have right now is that I don't "hate" any of our OVC rivalries....I actually like them (but I admit, SEMO has a reputation of being whiners). I will say the only team I do not want to lose to ever is Lindenwood. Our biggest rivalry game, conference or nonconference game) is always going to be Indiana State. IMHO. I wish that was true but a lot of Indiana State fans feel like they are a P6 school and are insulted playing USI. Even some UE fans on their fan forum believe that UE has nothing to gain by playing USI and that UE would be USI's "super bowl". Not true USI's "super bowl was Missouri, Notre Dame and this year Duke. Don't be fooled. The resistance you hear from ISU fans concerning USI is simply FEAR. They know USI is capable of beating them...and they did. There will always be fans of any school who think higher of themselves than what the actually reality is. But the ISU and USI game is a natural fit, and given that USI was a branch of ISU at one point simply adds to the equation. Part of the fact too, is ISU and USI need good out of conference games that draw interest....fans will pay attention to this game, which means more fans attending.
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Post by eagle87 on Jul 13, 2023 7:35:08 GMT -6
You are correct that they have many sports including football which gobbles up a chunk of money. The last report I saw on their basketball had them about the same as us,but that was while they were D2 and not really good at that point. Their attendance while pitiful at first part of season really increased towards the end. They do have one of the smallest venues in the conference but I would still put it about a few others in qualities. As you mentioned, they have a lot to compete with for winter sports in the St. Louis area, but on the flip side they are the only college D1 football team close by. Even though they might have many sports to drain that almost 17mil budget, I would still love it if USI could even get to 12 mil to be able to improve all sports. This area is desperately seeking D1 football but we just don’t have the money to pull it off. Think what USI could do if we had 17 mil each year. Football would be added for sure and USI would be able to offer what the east side school can’t. But, we will not likely see a 17 mil budget in my lifetime unless some donations from millionaires step up. I’m not holding my breath though.
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Post by shorthaircut on Jul 13, 2023 7:37:44 GMT -6
You are correct that they have many sports including football which gobbles up a chunk of money. The last report I saw on their basketball had them about the same as us,but that was while they were D2 and not really good at that point. Their attendance while pitiful at first part of season really increased towards the end. They do have one of the smallest venues in the conference but I would still put it about a few others in qualities. As you mentioned, they have a lot to compete with for winter sports in the St. Louis area, but on the flip side they are the only college D1 football team close by. Even though they might have many sports to drain that almost 17mil budget, I would still love it if USI could even get to 12 mil to be able to improve all sports. This area is desperately seeking D1 football but we just don’t have the money to pull it off. Think what USI could do if we had 17 mil each year. Football would be added for sure and USI would be able to offer what the east side school can’t. But, we will not likely see a 17 mil budget in my lifetime unless some donations from millionaires step up. I’m not holding my breath though. I love football almost as college basketball. But I have seen the finances under the hood of a few FCS schools and let me tell you it’s a huge money pit.
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Post by eagle87 on Jul 13, 2023 7:43:56 GMT -6
You are correct that they have many sports including football which gobbles up a chunk of money. The last report I saw on their basketball had them about the same as us,but that was while they were D2 and not really good at that point. Their attendance while pitiful at first part of season really increased towards the end. They do have one of the smallest venues in the conference but I would still put it about a few others in qualities. As you mentioned, they have a lot to compete with for winter sports in the St. Louis area, but on the flip side they are the only college D1 football team close by. Even though they might have many sports to drain that almost 17mil budget, I would still love it if USI could even get to 12 mil to be able to improve all sports. This area is desperately seeking D1 football but we just don’t have the money to pull it off. Think what USI could do if we had 17 mil each year. Football would be added for sure and USI would be able to offer what the east side school can’t. But, we will not likely see a 17 mil budget in my lifetime unless some donations from millionaires step up. I’m not holding my breath though. I love football almost as college basketball. But I have seen the finances under the hood of a few FCS schools and let me tell you it’s a huge money pit. No question it’s a money pit and we won’t be diving in anytime soon. But if we had 17mil budget, my guess is we would have.
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Post by letsgoeagles on Jul 13, 2023 12:44:09 GMT -6
Since I spoke some about out of conference teams would like to hear what some of think about future games. Should be hope for a game with Murray State sometime in the future? Would you give them a 2 for one. I would. I ask the same question of Belmont. Also. would Western Kentucky come to USI as a 2 for one?
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Post by shorthaircut on Jul 13, 2023 13:47:37 GMT -6
Since I spoke some about out of conference teams would like to hear what some of think about future games. Should be hope for a game with Murray State sometime in the future? Would you give them a 2 for one. I would. I ask the same question of Belmont. Also. would Western Kentucky come to USI as a 2 for one? Once we become NCAA eligible I think this will open up the door for more favorable home/home contracts. Western, Murray, Belmont, Bellarmine, Ball State, quite a few options really.
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Post by eagle87 on Jul 13, 2023 13:56:49 GMT -6
Agree. Once we complete the 4 year transition we will be an attractive opponent within the region. We might have to do some 2 away for 1 home situations since we are new kids on the block. I’m ok if it’s games that help our rating and help draw big crowd when we play at home. I do want to get to a point where we can play as many or more home games in non conference though. According to Anthony we have 3 home and 7 road so far. That’s tough to win when you play 70% on the road. As a mid major we will never get the luxury of a P6 which’s plays 70-80% non conference at home, but 50% would be nice.
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Post by letsgoeagles on Jul 13, 2023 14:09:51 GMT -6
Is IU-Fort Wayne on the schedule again? I was impressed with them last year, and thought they might win the Horizon. They ended up being a disappointment.
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