Where has the ACC money and Basketball money gone?

[Fly Rodder]

How are we behind the curve in basketball? We were on probation and we lost a coach to his father's alma mater but after that...

I think saying Green is the only hiccup with recruiting is a vast oversimplification.

 

[jordoo]

Our "dorms", our locker room are behind, you don't think they are?

Agreed! I don't think the locker rooms would be as big a deal if we had a top notch dorm facility. A dorm facility to go with the Melo center and a generous face lift on the locker rooms would go a long way IMO. Everything in the locker room screams old! It wouldn't take all that much time and money to put new finishes, lockers, furniture and some nice tech in there. I still think those dorms are a bigger deal to the top end recruits though. They are going to spend more time in one of those fancy dorms than anywhere else while they are in college. The practice facility is second most time spent but the Melo center has that taken care of for many years to come.

 

[Bayside44]

Our "dorms", our locker room are behind, you don't think they are?

Hearing good things about the locker situation.

 

[jordoo]

I think saying Green is the only hiccup with recruiting is a vast oversimplification.

One could easily make the case that we have lucked out recruiting wise to be in the situation we are in. Battle's Dad, Lydon much better than advertised, Moyer decides way early that he loves Cuse, TT putting his foot down with his mom, landing two grad transfer starters to keep things afloat, getting two guys who are under rated because they hid out in Canada and Dolezaj out of thin air. It doesn't take inside knowledge to see that something has been going on with recruiting lately. We are going to look back one day on the 2017 class (with Moyer, Hughes, Thorpe) and think wow that was a class loaded with good ball players. But lets not forget that we didn't land any of our top targets. Not one and things got really strange last spring with who was doing what. Hopkins is gone and he was are strongest link to the northeast prep and AAU programs. It really is putting blinders on to say recruit has been completely normal other than missing out on Green.

 

[Bayside44]

I think saying Green is the only hiccup with recruiting is a vast oversimplification.

We lost 2 kids at the last minute to UK and Duke. So we are able to get a freak Euro and will get a 5th year guy.

There is an argument about other dynamics but that has nothing to do with money.

 

[jordoo]

Hearing good things about the locker situation.

Like what? Throw me a bone here I don't follow the facility stuff closely.

 

[Fly Rodder]

We lost 2 kids at the last minute to UK and Duke. So we are able to get a freak Euro and will get a 5th year guy.

There is an argument about other dynamics but that has nothing to do with money.

I can't put a dollar amount on what would make a difference to specific recruits, but spending on facilities matters - otherwise KU and UK, and Zona & hundred other schools wouldn't be upgrading their facilities and coaching staff at every chance. Recruiting for the past few seasons has been the result of whole bunch of factors. It remains to be seen if there have been any positive shifts this season.

Between SU's unique position in an regional economy, ballooning TV money(1), extraordinary low interest rates, a potentially massive federal reconstruction of local transportation, and (it matters) cheap oil, the time is ripe for significant renovations and improvements. Failure to do so could permanently harm a program - especially one reliant on a septuagenarian head coach with a limited shelf-life.

(1) - Broadcast/cable money from ESPN may not be the majority of the revenue stream by say 2020 even. But total TV revenue is not drying up, it's slowly being redistributed to other platforms. Netflix is spending $6billion a year on content. A robust ACC digital network in association with other college platforms may likely generate huge revenues. The WWE (fer crissakes - he's got a chair!#GoodOlJR) charges $10/mo to 1.5m subscribers = $180m a year in revenue just from subscribers. If you figure that the ACC has about 350k students enrolled at any given period and 25% are sports fans, with a 20-year cohort that could be 1.7m likely subscribers to a sports package.

 

[scottynguyen]

I'm alright with the uncomfortable seats. Just want some locker room upgrades to bring in recruits. Along with more allowed benefits that other schools give.

I'm consistently appalled every time player post-game interviews are uploaded to YouTube and I see the dome locker rooms.

My high school had better facilities, and that was over a decade ago.

 

[Sherman20]

Northwestern has a better relationship with its alumni base than SU does. Syracuse can't get a dime out of its wealthy alumni.

How is that possible?

 

[Townie72]

How is that possible?

Having been a student at SU and an alum, this doesn't surprise me at all.

There's a huge cultural difference between the people that go to SU and the people that go to Northwestern.

 

[Orangefan1]

I don't know why people can't think bigger, must be a lot of Stephanie miner fans. We should have state of the art facilities period and not settle for anything less than that. If Syracuse is going to compete with the big boys then hey need to think bigger.

 

[SWC75]

This school isnt serious enough about the future of the athletics that make money. Its a god damned arms race out there and youre gonna spring for paint in phases? Seriously?

UCF is adding an athletes village and a lazy river...we add paint.

Cuse future is looking dim if you ask me

It's like watching paint dry.

 

[AlaskaSU]

I don't know why people can't think bigger, must be a lot of Stephanie miner fans. We should have state of the art facilities period and not settle for anything less than that. If Syracuse is going to compete with the big boys then hey need to think bigger.

Exactly. The do nothing alternative is risking our legacy which was nearly 50 years in the making. Shame on us.

 

[kcsu]

Keys for recruits.
Dorms
Practice facilities
Coaching staff
Exposure
Fans.

Upgrade the dome but keep it modest. Build amazing living quarters. Pay to retain good coaches win games and the fans will come. Nobody goes to watch a lousy team because the stadium is great.

 

[kcsu]

One other thing. THE FAN EXPERIENCE.
Beating Gtown before 30k
The opening bomb vs Penn State
Upsetting Nebraska
The last minute West Virginia win
And last year beating VTech.

After those games and i was in stadium for all other than Vtech i dont remember anyone complaining about anything. The key is winning. To win you need great coaches and good players. The stadium while important is not the key in landing recruits. New roof. New lockers minor internal upgrades like seating and we are good to go. Build the dorms pay the coaches those are the keys

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Nobody goes to watch a lousy team because the stadium is great.

Nobody stays home and skips watching a great team because the stadium is old either.

 

[MSOrange]

Nobody stays home and skips watching a great team because the stadium is old either.

Agree with the exception of maybe the Oakland Coliseum. Those sewage problems might make me a little leery even if they had the equivalent the 1927 Yankees.

 

[Sherman20]

We lost 2 kids at the last minute to UK and Duke. So we are able to get a freak Euro and will get a 5th year guy.

There is an argument about other dynamics but that has nothing to do with money.

And Randolph to Arizona. Didn't the staff feel good about his recruitment before he chose Zona?

 

[Bayside44]

And Randolph to Arizona. Didn't the staff feel good about his recruitment before he chose Zona?

That has nothing to do with "investment" and everything to do with difference of opinion.

 

[jordoo]

And Randolph to Arizona. Didn't the staff feel good about his recruitment before he chose Zona?

Before he visited SU yes!

 

[Sherman20]

This is what I have heard too - a negative version of the "Field of Dreams" movie quote: "build it and they won't come". ACC $$ will be up markedly 2016-2017 (Orange Bowl not in CFP, ACC team in Citrus Bowl, "channel clause" boost), and then the ACC channel in 2019. The FSU AD said it could reach $15 million or more EXTRA every year. Still, if I was the SU AD I might opt to improve seats, concessions, and bathrooms for the fans ("gameday experience"), improve FB and BB locker rooms (for recruiting), go with the least cost roof replacement, and see what happens. It's probably the thing to do.

I want the whole thing. Wider concourses, better concessions, new concession/food areas, a Cuse Hall of Fame. They cannot skimp on this. Do it right, like the Yum Center in Louisville. They were going to build a new hotel attached to the Dome. Won't they get revenue or money for that from whatever hotel builds there?

 

[HoustonCuse]

One could easily make the case that we have lucked out recruiting wise to be in the situation we are in. Battle's Dad, Lydon much better than advertised, Moyer decides way early that he loves Cuse, TT putting his foot down with his mom, landing two grad transfer starters to keep things afloat, getting two guys who are under rated because they hid out in Canada and Dolezaj out of thin air. It doesn't take inside knowledge to see that something has been going on with recruiting lately. We are going to look back one day on the 2017 class (with Moyer, Hughes, Thorpe) and think wow that was a class loaded with good ball players. But lets not forget that we didn't land any of our top targets. Not one and things got really strange last spring with who was doing what. Hopkins is gone and he was are strongest link to the northeast prep and AAU programs. It really is putting blinders on to say recruit has been completely normal other than missing out on Green.

I don't disagree, but you can't say we got lucky with TT, Battle, Dolezaj without attributing Tucker, Green, and others to bad luck. Calling it luck minimizes both the positives and negatives of what the staff is doing. That said, there is an unavoidable aspect of randomness to the decision of basketball recruits. That cannot be ignored, these are not executives getting a pitch in a board room. They are teenagers who have pickled their brains on social media and years of sycophantic adoration from various enabling adults. Think Trump after a few drinks.

 

[jordoo]

I don't disagree, but you can't say we got lucky with TT, Battle, Dolezaj without attributing Tucker, Green, and others to bad luck. Calling it luck minimizes both the positives and negatives of what the staff is doing. That said, there is an unavoidable aspect of randomness to the decision of basketball recruits. That cannot be ignored, these are not executives getting a pitch in a board room. They are teenagers who have pickled their brains on social media and years of sycophantic adoration from various enabling adults. Think Trump after a few drinks.

I agree I was just pointing out for arguments sake that the case could be made pretty easily. Certainly there is an element of luck both ways but its not the over riding factor when judging a whole class. A lot of work goes into it by the staff and I think they did an excellent job regrouping and getting very good players after all of our primary options decided to go elsewhere.

I was making the argument to counteract the one stating that other than one kid (Green) it was a normal recruiting cycle. That statement is no where near the truth. Its just not. It was a very abnormal cycle but in the end the staff was able to bring in a very good group of players.

 

[AlaskaSU]

I agree I was just pointing out for arguments sake that the case could be made pretty easily. Certainly there is an element of luck both ways but its not the over riding factor when judging a whole class. A lot of work goes into it by the staff and I think they did an excellent job regrouping and getting very good players after all of our primary options decided to go elsewhere.

I was making the argument to counteract the one stating that other than one kid (Green) it was a normal recruiting cycle. That statement is no where near the truth. Its just not. It was a very abnormal cycle but in the end the staff was able to bring in a very good group of players.

Last minute and by the skin of our teeth recruiting is not a way to stay on top. Recruits are not irrational (and Trump does not drink). Some schools are offering more than us. With our revenue and our basis (the Melo Center and our seating capacity) we should fill in the gaps and be the gold standard for facilities. It's not like we are starting from scratch. Let's get this done.

 

[Killdozer]

It's perfectly acceptable to me as an alum that the school take money from Athletics and use it for other purposes whether that be non-sports related programs or or non-sports facilities. The job of the University is to spend its money where it gets the biggest return. They don't seem to agree with you that it's in sports.

The money generated by the Athletic Department doesn't belong to the Athletic Department at Syracuse. The fans aren't entitled to having any surplus spent on "enhancing the fan experience".

When the football team was better, attendance wasn't a problem. The basketball team is #2 in attendance with in the same facility with the same parking, the same concessions, the same seats and the same bathrooms.

This is not a comparable statement:
"The basketball team is #2 in attendance with in the same facility with the same parking, the same concessions, the same seats and the same bathrooms."
If you get 30,000+ for basketball it is HUGE, not so much for football. Plus with basketball you have more options with the smaller lines for food/bathroom/etc...