Should Xavier be concerned about this?

[XU Captain]

4 of us had season tix from 1986-2006. All gave em up as decreased interest in college bball & football for these reasons: 1. increased ticket prices, 2. coaches getting millions 3. players leaving early for pros, esp 1 and dones. 4. no conference or rivalry loyalty - hated seeing us give up Miami Ohio & UD home and away series. Think conferences should tighten up geographically. Seriously, UC, Dayton, Xavier ought to be same conference, but instead they are 3 different leagues. Call us old fashioned, but we enjoyed the days when 1 team per conference got a bid. Of course then there weren't conference tourneys. And we respected the NIT. Too much about the money now & everything rides on your NCAA Tourney success. Used to be equal pride in winning your league & winning your league tourney. We still watch many XUgames on TV but interest in other teams is completely gone. I do immensely enjoy the chatboards - as much or more than the games - while I winter in Florida. Keep the posts/comments coming

Your post is the best I have saw on this forum, and I agree with you 100 percent. We stopped purchasing season tickets in 2011 as our interest in college sports declined. They are not college sports any longer, just hired mercenaries (coaches) who could care less about the academic missions of each institution. You also bring up a sore point with me...the fact Xavier does not play Dayton and Miami. Meanwhile, we schedule teams like Lehigh and North Dakota State. Terrible! The smurf coach over at UC has done the same, canceled Miami and Dayton because he is afraid of losing to them. For UC and Xavier to be afraid of losing to Miami and Dayton turned me off as well. I still follow Xavier and listen to the games, but I do not like the Xavier scheduling philosophy as it currently stands. The money involved has ruined true college athletics and it has deteriorated into a minor league of one-and-done mentality instead of young men who want an education. I understand the millions of bucks out there, but very few ever get to the NBA. It is amazing to read the stories from around the country of how many former college basketball players are homeless, struggle to read, have no idea how to budget their income (if they have any), and are borderline illiterate. Yet they made it through a year or two in college at various schools before declaring for the NBA, most never being drafted. College sports are certainly not what they were years ago, and it's for the worse.

[XU Captain]

4 of us had season tix from 1986-2006. All gave em up as decreased interest in college bball & football for these reasons: 1. increased ticket prices, 2. coaches getting millions 3. players leaving early for pros, esp 1 and dones.

All the above why we canceled our season tickets. Had been going to every Xavier home game since the Tay Baker years in the 1970s and Schmidt Fieldhouse. My heart still won't allow me to completely pull away from Xavier, but I am no longer passionate about what happens. We gave up our tickets in 2011. It was hard to justify caring as much if the players/coaches don't really care about Xavier, just chasing their "dream" of the NBA or a big-time coaching job. That's why I like Mack. I think he is here for good. Now I do not agree with everything he does, but I give him a lot of latitude because I think he is dedicated to Xavier for the long haul. But the one-and-done players just make it hard to take college basketball serious.

[olsingledigit]

4 of us had season tix from 1986-2006. All gave em up as decreased interest in college bball & football for these reasons: 1. increased ticket prices, 2. coaches getting millions 3. players leaving early for pros, esp 1 and dones. 4. no conference or rivalry loyalty - hated seeing us give up Miami Ohio & UD home and away series. Think conferences should tighten up geographically. Seriously, UC, Dayton, Xavier ought to be same conference, but instead they are 3 different leagues. Call us old fashioned, but we enjoyed the days when 1 team per conference got a bid. Of course then there weren't conference tourneys. And we respected the NIT. Too much about the money now & everything rides on your NCAA Tourney success. Used to be equal pride in winning your league & winning your league tourney. We still watch many XUgames on TV but interest in other teams is completely gone. I do immensely enjoy the chatboards - as much or more than the games - while I winter in Florida. Keep the posts/comments coming

OK I am calling you old fashioned. I would not ever want to go back to playing UD and Miami each year or being in the same conference with them. We have come a far way from what I ever imagined when I graduated in 1967. You gave up your tickets - that is fine and since you are in Florida in the Winter it makes sense. Don't know how long I will keep mine as I am 71 and travel from Indianapolis to each home game, but when I do give them up it will not be for the reasons you mentioned. As far as the money paid to coaches, they take what they are given and can get. If that bothers you, fine, but the market is what determines that. The Olympics gave up amateurism many years ago. I am sure anyone in Xavier admin and development would tell you that every dollar spent on maintaining a high level basketball program returns many dollars over. It is the way of the world.

Glad you are still a fan and watch the Muskies and visit the Chatboard. But try to chill out on the other things. One and dones are a part of college basketball and you are going to get some along he way. Semaj left early, Crawford left early, Jalen left early, and likely Ed and Tre will leave early. Throw Scruggs onto that pile. I hear from another X fan from Indy who has watched Scruggs play in HS and he says he is a lock to go early. It is what it is. Roll with it.

[olsingledigit]

4 of us had season tix from 1986-2006. All gave em up as decreased interest in college bball & football for these reasons: 1. increased ticket prices, 2. coaches getting millions 3. players leaving early for pros, esp 1 and dones. 4. no conference or rivalry loyalty - hated seeing us give up Miami Ohio & UD home and away series. Think conferences should tighten up geographically. Seriously, UC, Dayton, Xavier ought to be same conference, but instead they are 3 different leagues. Call us old fashioned, but we enjoyed the days when 1 team per conference got a bid. Of course then there weren't conference tourneys. And we respected the NIT. Too much about the money now & everything rides on your NCAA Tourney success. Used to be equal pride in winning your league & winning your league tourney. We still watch many XUgames on TV but interest in other teams is completely gone. I do immensely enjoy the chatboards - as much or more than the games - while I winter in Florida. Keep the posts/comments coming

Your post is the best I have saw on this forum, and I agree with you 100 percent. We stopped purchasing season tickets in 2011 as our interest in college sports declined. They are not college sports any longer, just hired mercenaries (coaches) who could care less about the academic missions of each institution. You also bring up a sore point with me...the fact Xavier does not play Dayton and Miami. Meanwhile, we schedule teams like Lehigh and North Dakota State. Terrible! The smurf coach over at UC has done the same, canceled Miami and Dayton because he is afraid of losing to them. For UC and Xavier to be afraid of losing to Miami and Dayton turned me off as well. I still follow Xavier and listen to the games, but I do not like the Xavier scheduling philosophy as it currently stands. The money involved has ruined true college athletics and it has deteriorated into a minor league of one-and-done mentality instead of young men who want an education. I understand the millions of bucks out there, but very few ever get to the NBA. It is amazing to read the stories from around the country of how many former college basketball players are homeless, struggle to read, have no idea how to budget their income (if they have any), and are borderline illiterate. Yet they made it through a year or two in college at various schools before declaring for the NBA, most never being drafted. College sports are certainly not what they were years ago, and it's for the worse.

Not sure your sources on the many homeless former college basketball players but this is nothing new. I heard Oscar Robertson speak about 15 years ago on these problems. (He was then a consultant to the NBA on helping players with their finances.) He told the story of the NBA rookie who kept bouncing checks. They asked Oscar to look into it and he found that the young man thought as long as he had checks in the checkbook he could write checks. Oh MY! The point is that the plight of some college players is nothing new, and you are going to have the North Carolinas of the world who never try to help these kids learn about living in the real world. However, no matter how much X's program has changed, the one change i like is that (thank you Sister Rose) we do our best to educate these kids and prepare them for life after basketball.

[olsingledigit]

4 of us had season tix from 1986-2006. All gave em up as decreased interest in college bball & football for these reasons: 1. increased ticket prices, 2. coaches getting millions 3. players leaving early for pros, esp 1 and dones.

All the above why we canceled our season tickets. Had been going to every Xavier home game since the Tay Baker years in the 1970s and Schmidt Fieldhouse. My heart still won't allow me to completely pull away from Xavier, but I am no longer passionate about what happens. We gave up our tickets in 2011. It was hard to justify caring as much if the players/coaches don't really care about Xavier, just chasing their "dream" of the NBA or a big-time coaching job. That's why I like Mack. I think he is here for good. Now I do not agree with everything he does, but I give him a lot of latitude because I think he is dedicated to Xavier for the long haul. But the one-and-done players just make it hard to take college basketball serious.

I would not be so sure about Mack staying. I believe he would go for the money and the right chance if offered. Remember Pitino is now 64. Louisville is right down the road and Christi Mack is from Louisville. Who knows what the future brings but I am over believing that any X mens BB coach will stay. Been burned on that thought too many times in the past.

[PaulHickey]

Man I miss those ABA days with that multi-colored ball and those kooky Chuck Taylor sneakers before Gatorade was invented. Remember Jerry West and Pistol Pete - those crisp passes, oh boy...

Yeah - I hear what you are saying, I might be a tad younger than you cats, but I really like how the Xavier basketball program has evolved. I do recall many times when we would be sweating just getting into the tournament because of our mediocre league and lackluster schedule. And you know what? It sucked. X is now a top flight program due to some smart decisions along the way. What's our graduation rate for basketball players over the last twenty years? It's stellar. Money and Greed have impacted many institutions in our society. I understand the season ticket thing- never had the pleasure of living that close. But I get pumped for every game and enjoy seeing our team reach the NCAA's with regularity. Hope you do as well. A win tonight would do wonders for this program right now. Let's go X!

[XU Captain]

OK I am calling you old fashioned. I would not ever want to go back to playing UD and Miami each year or being in the same conference with them. We have come a far way from what I ever imagined when I graduated in 1967.[/quote]
But you are OK with Xavier playing Lehigh and North Dakota State instead of Dayton and Miami? That makes no sense at all.

[XU Captain]

[/quote] I would not be so sure about Mack staying. I believe he would go for the money and the right chance if offered. Remember Pitino is now 64. Louisville is right down the road and Christi Mack is from Louisville. Who knows what the future brings but I am over believing that any X mens BB coach will stay. Been burned on that thought too many times in the past.[/quote]
When Pitino leaves, his son will be named head coach at Louisville. That's a done deal. Rick will make sure he has the job and retire in about 8 years. By then, Mack will be looking at his own retirement coming up shortly.

[thecoach]

4 of us had season tix from 1986-2006. All gave em up as decreased interest in college bball & football for these reasons: 1. increased ticket prices, 2. coaches getting millions 3. players leaving early for pros, esp 1 and dones. 4. no conference or rivalry loyalty - hated seeing us give up Miami Ohio & UD home and away series. Think conferences should tighten up geographically. Seriously, UC, Dayton, Xavier ought to be same conference, but instead they are 3 different leagues. Call us old fashioned, but we enjoyed the days when 1 team per conference got a bid. Of course then there weren't conference tourneys. And we respected the NIT. Too much about the money now & everything rides on your NCAA Tourney success. Used to be equal pride in winning your league & winning your league tourney. We still watch many XUgames on TV but interest in other teams is completely gone. I do immensely enjoy the chatboards - as much or more than the games - while I winter in Florida. Keep the posts/comments coming

Don't be shocked if the conference affiliations change to much more regional lineups sooner rather than later. For those who have direct involvement in media matters the loss of cable/sat subscribers is not bad, it's shocking. The funding of these tv deals is not long for these days. The loss of many subscribers who now pay for your station(like an espn or fox channel) but really have no need for it will not be made up by any streaming or pay per download. Bottom line is the cost would have to be increased quite a bit to keep pace. Football/bball/swimming/whatever, college sports are not in the business they once enjoyed. Stay tuned.

[thecoach]

I would not be so sure about Mack staying. I believe he would go for the money and the right chance if offered. Remember Pitino is now 64. Louisville is right down the road and Christi Mack is from Louisville. Who knows what the future brings but I am over believing that any X mens BB coach will stay. Been burned on that thought too many times in the past.[/quote]
When Pitino leaves, his son will be named head coach at Louisville. That's a done deal. Rick will make sure he has the job and retire in about 8 years. By then, Mack will be looking at his own retirement coming up shortly.[/quote]

Not a chance. Lvl will not fall into the Meyer, Knight, Bartow et. al trap. Trust me on this.