MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

The anti female vibe wasn't necessarily anti female  -  more my thoughts of someone coming in to a school with football that had no experience with that sport in the mix....  Also, coming from a school whose primary purpose is to train ladies to be nuns, vs a school that would obviously be very much more diverse ....  sorry Wydown, I didn't see a match in Susan's experience at Alverno to what she would see at Mac....   Obviously her basketball record would have nothing to do with it in my mind  -  the Pope and all his Bishops might not have been able to work a winning record at Alverno.

[pantherpride06]

I know I've criticized for having a "half full" instead of a "half empty" view of things at MacMurray, but I don't think the hiring of a men's basketball coach, a new women's basketball coach, a new football coach, and a new head trainer as a sign of things falling apart. My guess is what happened with the AD is, for whatever reason, she changed her mind. It happens, probably more often than we know. From my conversations with a member of the Board of Trustees, as well as the new president, the college is moving full speed ahead. Dorms are being updated, parking lots paved, faculty being hired, admissions office working around the clock, etc. Would like to hear the specifics on Observation Deck's comments. So would President Hester.

All of this is yet to be seen.  Obviously for all of us outside the Jacksonville metro area aren't able to see physical changes on the campus that you elude to.  We all only hope for the best.  It's great with all the new hires.   I'm confident Osuke Takuda (New Trainer), Todd Creal (Men's Coach), and Eric Jensen (Women's Coach) will do a good job along with your other hires.  Can Mac dig out of the whole they are in?  Will they find a new AD sooner than later and will they do a good job or quit before the job gets started again?

How successful with the Athletic Dept. be 1st semester with the I-AD being the volleyball and softball coach.  Those are the things as an outsider looking in, I ask.  That also comes from by AD mindset (Since I'd like to be an AD someday.)

[pantherpride06]

I'm also looking for some updates on other vacant positions in the SLIAC: Blackburn Women's Coach, Blackburn AD....  just had some folks here asking and didn't know if anyone knew...

[y_jack_lok]

You only have to look at the front page of this website to see that schools continue to lose coaches. It's happened several time in the past few weeks.

Life is full of change. People make decisions to move on to other things. Some decide they aren't the right decisions and change their minds. In the case of MacMurray I'd say the departure of the AD before she even started is more about the person than the institution. MacMurray has a new president and I don't think anyone would have accepted the job to preside over the demise of the institution. I have now joined the glass is half full crowd. (Perhaps there are only two of us, so maybe we need a third to qualify as a crowd.) MacMurray may never win the SLIAC all sports award, but I'll bet that with time they field more competitive teams. I'll bet enrollment climbs. I'll bet the physical plant gets improved. And I'll bet hopefan can find a buliding open the next time he goes there on a Saturday.

I wasn't aware Blackburn was looking for a new women's coach, but I can't say I'm surprised. This is a case where the loss of the coach is good for the institution and the players.

[Pat Coleman]

Sure, schools continue to lose coaches. But schools that lose two ADs, men's and women's basketball, football and baseball coaches all in the span of a few months are rare.

Your efforts to spin are admirable, but this isn't a spinnable situation.

[Mac Attack II]

Kevin Haslam (AD) - Left for a higher paying position at Arizona State
Sue Hansen (AD) - Changed course and decided not to come. It happens.
Steve Hettinga (MBB) - Left for a D2 head coaching position in his home state..
Teri Johnson (WBB) -Left to coach at her alma mater, her "dream job."
Football coach was released because of poor record. It happens.
Baseball coach was released because he didn't have a Master's degree and couldn't teach on campus. That was the right call.

Not spin, Pat. Just the facts.

[Pat Coleman]

No doubt, but other than perhaps Johnson, that means that they were all out looking for new jobs. In Johnson's case I could see them coming to her without her placing herself on the market.

That says a lot to me. I mean, heck, I was one of four people who left NBCSports.com in a two-month span. Sure, we all got better jobs out of it, but why were we all out there looking?

Spin .... spin .... spin ....

[Pat Coleman]

And you would be surprised how many baseball coaches do not have master's degrees.

[pitbull]

yjack: I wasn't aware Blackburn was looking for a new women's coach, but I can't say I'm surprised. This is a case where the loss of the coach is good for the institution and the players.

Why do you say that..I thought the guy was making some progress with the team. The previous coach didn't get the job done recruiting, the players hated playing for her, and she was a very good coach. This guy though abrasive, was a good coach, improved his numbers, and the girls enjoyed playing for him. The school made a mistake getting rid of him because it has put the girl's program behind again. So the guy wanted to win! Isn't the reasons we compete! Thats why they have a scoreboard! I thought the guy was a coach's coach and I am not this guy or know the guy just what I saw from my observations.

These places like Eureka, Blackburn, MacMurray go through this stuff every three years. Look at Blackburn over the course of the past year they lost Kaneshiro-Men's BBall, Football has a turnover, Women's BBall twice, Athletic Trainer, and now AD position again. So is it fair to say that something is rotten in Denmark! I think it aids up a majority of the time that these individuals are worn out that the administration fails to recognize the importance of athletics on these campuses for enrollment purposes. Lets not forget MacMurray drops wrestling which was a very cost effective sport and got you twenty to thirty males on campus. That is why we will hear that these schools continue to struggle to keep their doors open.

The question I have is: Why would a kid go to Jacksonville, IL; Carlinville, IL, Greenville, IL, or Eureka, IL??? When they could have a heck of a college experience at one of the state schools! Or save that their parents money by going to a community college (who I feel is the real competition for kids with these small D3 schools) Because that one last opportunity to continue to participate in the sports like love playing. WOW sorry people for stepping on my soapbox! Just my two cents!

[pitbull]

I apologize for my grammar to the board I hope Pat and the board could forgive me. Mulligan Please!

[Mac Attack II]

What's the sin in trying to move up the career ladder and make a better living for yourself and your family, Pat? That isn't "spin." That's life. People look to move on for many, many different reasons. Family considerations. Money. Better working environment. More attractive benefits or the chance for a promotion. The list goes on and on. And my guess is it happens a lot at the D3 coaching level. Maybe there are a lot of coaches out there without Master's degrees and that works for them and the schools where they coach. But MacMurray couldn't afford the luxery of having coaches on staff who didn't teach. They made the decision - the correct and financially prudent one in my opinion - that their athletic coaches also must be academically qualified to teach in the classroom.

I was told the wrestling program at MacMurray was the highest cost-per-participant sport on campus. Not sure if that's true or not, but that was the story that was out there. Hard to believe it was more expensive on a per participant basis than football, but the fact that most of the wrestling tournaments required a lot of travel (and expense) was a big issue. But Pitbull is exactly right - if you have 25 kids on the wrestling team, all of whom are paying full freight, why would you cut the sport? Doesn't add up to me.

[Pat Coleman]

I apologize for my grammar to the board I hope Pat and the board could forgive me. Mulligan Please!

Hey -- you put breaks between paragraphs. That does a great job in making posts readable. If all that had been one long block of text I would've just skipped over it. So no biggie.

Mac -- you have your biases and obviously will never be able to look at MacMurray from an objective viewpoint. On the inside all those things may help keep your mind at east but to the other 99.9% of the world this looks like a department and perhaps an institution in trouble.

[catch22]

Mac Attack you live in a fantasy world.  I just visited MacMurray College last week, the parking lots look like land mines were let off.  Get real the school is in trouble financially.  All the coaches that left or were let go was financial decisions, you have no clue, I am alumni of this instituion and I am pissed by some of the decisions that have been made.  The reason for the hire of the female president, and ad MONEY!   Mac used to be a all womens school until the 1960's, so the people with most money are women who went to the school in the 40's and 50's, MacMurray are trying to get those people to give money to the school.

You really make no sense, The baseball coach record was ten times worst than the football, neither coaches had their master's, but those two programs brought in more kids than any program at the school. That was the reason given why they were let go, no master's degree.

They drop the wrestling program to pay for the much needed improvements for the training room and weightroom. Still a long way to go. The Education Complex roof still leaks.

Enrollment at MacMurray is at an all-time low.  Two reasons ball-less administration -I will not name names.

I would not be surprise if all the sports drive 15 passengers van to sporting events.

Last but not lease, you have a dormitory on campus that has not been open in six years, and you can not knock it down, because you do not have the money to fix the abesotos problem in the dormitory. 

The new physical plant building has the same problem, you can not go in there because of cancer causing agents were discovered, that project construction has been delayed what 5 years also, because of what NO MONEY! AND POOR MANAGEMENT!

With this being said, Get out of the fantasy world, and into reality.

[y_jack_lok]

Being an outsider, it's hard to argue with people who have inside information.

So, to pitbull, my comment about the Blackburn women's coach was based on observations of his sideline behavior during 4 games I watched him coach. You obviously know more than I do, so I will defer to you. Can you tell me why the school let him go? It doesn't make sense if what you say is correct.

To catch22, I also have to defer to your close to home knowledge. I guess I just hope MacMurray will stabalize itself, and a new president might make that happen. Time will tell.

[pantherpride06]

The question I have is: Why would a kid go to Jacksonville, IL; Carlinville, IL, Greenville, IL, or Eureka, IL??? When they could have a heck of a college experience at one of the state schools! Or save that their parents money by going to a community college (who I feel is the real competition for kids with these small D3 schools) Because that one last opportunity to continue to participate in the sports like love playing. WOW sorry people for stepping on my soapbox! Just my two cents!

I will respond about Greenville being that I graduated from and previously worked at Greenville.  It's obviously a Christian-Libral Arts school.  That does set as apart an both ways.  We obviously do not adhear to the state school/public school activites (such as drinking.)  It does take a special person to come to Greenville.  And those who have come and graduated rarely have reserve about coming.  It's a small, local community that embraces the school.  The coach/player relationship across the board is very, very close.  Again, I don't know about other schools because Greenville is the only school I have delt with.  But, each and every athlete can talk to their coach or the AD anytime.  Everyone one has an open door at home or office.  This is the same for the professors.  Greenville is such a great community and that is part of what gets people here.  Being 45-miles is also a tie for kids outside the area that'd like to be close to the big city, but not in the big city.

That maybe a question you ask someone else who is coming to Greenville.  But, a good number of them come because they want to come to a christian institution or play for a great coach in Coach Barber (MBB), Coach Mulholland (WBB), or any of our other coaches.  They may not have great records, but they do a great job with relationships and we are quite competitive on the field.

I cannot comment on MacMurray (Jacksonville), Blackburn (Carlinville), and Eureka (Eureka).  EurekaSID can comment further on their town/community.