Are you happy with the direction of OVC basketball

[semosupporter]

I'm posting this here for the school members that don't have a message board. I'm trying to get a feeling for the attitudes at the other schools. There are many of us that are sick of the direction the conference has been heading the last several years. The OVC is now the lowest rated conference in the country.

In the spirit of full discloser I'd like to say I'm a SEMO booster.

The only way to improve the conference is to follow the example of the MVC. All the member schools have to eliminate the money games and the non D1 home games. The non D1 home games are a result of having to play the money games. All the money games are away games. Each school has to have x amount of home games to satisfy their boosters and fans. No D1 school will come and play us on our courts without a return game to their place. Therefore we are left with the non D1 schools to fill out our home game slate.

Most of our member schools athletic depts. need the money games to get funds to help run their depts. Money games to the Athletic Depts. are the equivalent of welfare. Once you start it, it is much easier to use that system to fund your depts. than it is for the AD to actually go out and raise funds from alums and other sources.

It seems like in the last few years our member schools have been playing more and more money games. As a direct result of this our conference ranking is dropping like a anvil in water. The good news is we can't fall any lower. We've hit bottom. Not matter who wins the OVC and goes to the ncaa tournament they are looking at a 16 seed and a first round butt kicking.

It's time to level the playing field for our coaches and players. The Presidents and AD's need to get off their backsides and do their jobs. Stop leaning on your coaches and players to do it for you. This will never happen unless we get organized groups at each school that are fed up with the direction our conference is going in basketball.

[rbm1]

Winning games - regardless of who you play - has to be priority #1. You can't struggle against D2 or NAIA teams (not sure why you would play NAIA because I don't think they can adequately prepare a team for OOC or OVC). You have to play the higher D1's well. You have to consistently draw in good talent to play as a high mid-major. The question is: Is the talent there now as it was when the OVC was a better conference? I'm not sure it is...

[ttueagles]

I disagree (just a little) about the playing of "money games." For football as well, I think this is used as an effective recruiting tool - to entice players that they are going to go up against Kentucky, Florida, USC, etc., instead of an out-of-conference slate made up exclusively of Boll Weevil State and Florida-Okefenokee Valley State. I think some coaches need the D-II/NAIA games to get more players into games, build confidence, blah blah blah. Even so, the major D-I schools play schools like the OVC for the same reasons. I just think the whole thing goes to student/fan apathy - that there is no "alma mater love" anymore. From where I went, there is only a handful of "die-hard" student fans each year -- that then translates into "die-hard alumni fans", or very few of them. I just think with us smaller schools, people just don't care anymore. They want the biggest, baddest, etc. and OVC competition/level of play doesn't excite anyone anymore. The people I talk to who used to go to games with me, don't even know when, who TTU plays, their records, coaches, etc. They don't care/don't pay attention. Why the OVC has fallen to last (seriously? Last? Sheeeesh!) is beyond me. Sad.

[rbm1]

I am curious: Do any of the posters on here cheer for a team (like a BCS team or THE team in your state) in addition to your alma mater team? Do you cheer for TTU and UT? Morehead and UK? Or do you stick to your alma mater teams only.

[ekumaroons]

Not quite last...

1 ATLANTIC COAST = 83.99 84.82 ( 1) 12
2 PACIFIC-10 = 83.11 82.89 ( 2) 10
3 BIG EAST = 82.58 81.86 ( 5) 16
4 SOUTHEASTERN = 82.06 82.16 ( 3) 12
5 BIG 12 = 81.93 82.10 ( 4) 12
6 BIG TEN = 81.60 81.17 ( 6) 11
7 MISSOURI VALLEY = 78.97 78.72 ( 8) 10
8 MOUNTAIN WEST = 78.70 78.88 ( 7) 9
9 ATLANTIC 10 = 76.56 76.05 ( 9) 14
10 HORIZON = 74.69 75.43 ( 10) 10
11 COLONIAL = 73.93 73.61 ( 13) 12
12 CONFERENCE USA = 73.91 74.01 ( 12) 12
13 WEST COAST = 73.86 74.48 ( 11) 8
14 MID-AMERICAN = 73.30 73.33 ( 14) 12
15 WESTERN ATHLETIC = 72.28 72.05 ( 15) 9
16 BIG WEST = 71.33 70.92 ( 16) 9
17 METRO ATLANTIC = 70.62 69.97 ( 19) 10
18 SOUTHERN = 69.93 70.14 ( 18) 11
19 SUN BELT = 69.44 70.21 ( 17) 13
20 IVY LEAGUE = 69.25 69.00 ( 22) 8
21 BIG SKY = 69.20 69.11 ( 21) 9
22 PATRIOT = 68.92 69.56 ( 20) 8
23 SUMMIT LEAGUE = 68.78 68.99 ( 23) 10
24 SOUTHLAND = 68.45 68.66 ( 24) 12
25 AMERICA EAST = 68.27 68.18 ( 25) 9
26 BIG SOUTH = 66.60 67.27 ( 26) 8
27 NORTHEAST = 65.83 65.69 ( 28) 11
28 OHIO VALLEY = 65.62 65.84 ( 27) 11
29 ATLANTIC SUN = 63.52 63.68 ( 29) 12
30 MID-EASTERN = 62.59 62.90 ( 30) 12
31 SOUTHWESTERN = 61.27 61.03 ( 31) 10
32 INDEPENDENTS = 58.36 59.39 ( 32) 9

www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkc0708.htm?loc=interstitialskip

[ekumaroons]

I am not happy with the OVC, really and I can see your point about shifting the way we schedule for the sake of the RPI. That is, I believe, the inital step that the MVC bragged took that conference so far. Another step is an increase in committment from the schools and fans. There is just only so much that can be done within a certain budget and fan base. It can quickly become a "chicken or the egg" argument, however. However, I believe EKU's recent success has been a result of a new emphasis placed on athletics about 9 years ago. Eastern has lately been seeing the dividends.

I'd be curious to see the basketball budgets for OVC schools and other conferences. I wonder if such information is even freely and easily available.

[semosupporter]

Click on the following link. You'll get team rpi rankings. Click on conference at the top and It'll take you to conference rpi rankings. This is the best site for stats and rpi rankings.

kenpom.com/rpi.php

[semosupporter]

The following is the rpi rankings of each conference team right now. By the time conference play starts it will be even worse.

113 Murray St.
114 Austin Peay
169 Tenn-Martin
205 Morehead
232 EKU
274 SEMO
275 Tn. St.
295 Samford
326 Jax. St.
335 Tn. Tech
341 E. Ill.

E. Ill. is dead last in the country. Once conference play starts the rpi rankings for most teams will be so bad that even if someone went through the conference undefeated and won the OVC tourny they would still be looking at a 15-16 seed. There are a lot of different things that need to be done to reverse the trend that has developed but the scheduling is where it needs to start. There are way too many scenerios to cover in one blog entry. There are a lot of different things involved but the money games are the main culprit and the best starting point.

[eaglephil]

Here's the men's basketball subtotals from the NCAA financial reports. For some reason, only 6 OVC schools have reported. The subtotal figure repesents money given by the institution to the program, private donations, money games, ticket sales, advertisements, concessions, students fees, etc.

Murray State $986,991
SEMO $922,323
EKU $901,922
Eastern IL $708,207
Morehead $701,575
JSU $546,074

[eaglephil]

Here's the amount of direct institutional support given from the school budget to the men's basketball program at each school....so this would be money not raised through donations, tickets, money games, etc...

EKU $571,494
JSU $363,977
SEMO $359,988
EIU $256,271
Morehead $236,476
Murray $0

[eaglephil]

Since everyone likes to talk about the Missouri Valley Conference, here's the subtotal numbers for the 6 MVC schools that have reported.

Witchita St $3,065,331
Missouri St $2,483,414
Northern Iowa $1,227,237
Southern Illinois $1,184,294
Illinois St $1,098,013
Indiana St $909,177

[boomerang]

Eaglephil - those numbers are from 2004-05. The reason only 6 reported is because it was a voluntary study by the Indy Star newspaper.

This is a link from the Dept of Education that ALL colleges, regardless of athletics classification, must utilize.

ope.ed.gov/athletics/search.asp

Type in the name of the college under "Name of Institution". example, type in Morehead, when you get to the Morehead page, click on 'Revenues and Expenses', that's where you'll find the meat of the info.

[ttueagles]

I am one of a perceived very few that cheer for TTU above all. I personally loathe UT for the very reason that most TTU students (faculty, too) wore stinkin' orange around campus and watched them on TV instead of going to their alma mater's games. This is my point. Most fans, students of OVC schools just don't care. Why it is (or it may not be) so much more so in the OVC is anybody's guess. I figure most of OVC schools are regarded as "commuter schools" with very little students staying around to see games, thus becoming fans, etc. Why the level of play has supposedly dropped in b'ball and football is also beyond me...

[eaglephil]

I pull for Morehead over anyone else. I do pull for the other instate schools and like to see them do well, but MSU is my first priority when it comes to sports.

Thanks for the link boomerang....since you're a mod, could you delete those posts for me?

[ekumaroons]

I pull for EKU above all, and I imagine most individuals that post on these boards pull for their alma maters above all as well. I suppose that would explain why there are so few posters. My second favorite teams are Morehead and Murray and whoever is playing against WKU and UK. What's good for the MSU's is good for the OVC and good for EKU (unless, of course, they're playing EKU).

Looking at those figures, it is interesting that EKU put more money into basketball than most but had a smaller overall budget than some. I would assume that is because EKU is the largest school in the OVC (hence a large budget from the student fee) and also commands so little attention in the central Ky. market (hence low ticket sales to boost the budget higher). But if those figures truly are old, that may have changed. Attendance has increased some after two tourney apperances.

If I had to identify what is holding EKU back as far as basketball is concerned... I would say 1) fan support 2) facilities and 3) media coverage. I'll describe each in turn...

As far as fan support is concerned, I believe it is increasing... but I believe there was a period of about 15 years where the University really did very little to encourage students to embrace the University and its traditions. That missing culture of pride and ownership is why the current capital campaign has been such a hard road and student attendance and alumni participation has been paltry. The reason for this is Hanly Funderburk, a man who was excellent with the finances and good with the academics, did little to nothing to enhance athletics and alumni relations. He never, during is long tenure as president, increased the athletics budget and he also resisted early attempts at creating capital campaigns and giving programs. That is a hole that EKU has been trying to climb out of.

McBrayer arena may have a nifty wooden roof, but the place has seen little in the way of upgrades in it's nearly 45 years of life. The antiquated lighting system, the lame concourse and concession stands and the fact that the court is surrounded by an 8 foot high wall, all detract from the experience of going to the game. The pep band, for instance, is stationed on the court... away from the rest of the fans. I can't imagine it's an intimidating place to play or that recruits are impressed by it or the crowds that don't come close to filling it.

Media coverage in central Kentucky has been a gripe of EKU fans for much longer than I can remember. pUKe pretty much dominates in all aspects here. Of course, Eastern could do a better job of trying to remind the Lexington metro area how many of their nurses, police officers and teachers are Eastern grads which might help. Also, you would think having 3 TV news networks 30 minutes away would give the Colonels a chance to get some games on TV. Somehow, no. But the frustrations in attention from the central KY market can be summed up in Eastern's recruitment of Matt Walls out of Georgetown, KY. Here is a kid, 45 minutes from EKU... both his parents are alumni... he won his regional tournament in EKU's gym... EKU recruits him hard... and he goes to... Marshall, I think? Because UK won't give him a scholarship. People rip EKU for not recruiting more Kentucky kids... but recruiting isn't the problem. It's signing them.

Anyways, that is a (lengthy) look at the facets of EKU Basketball. I imagine many OVC schools share some, if not all, of the same issues.