MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

Decided I will be trekking over to Fulton tonite - hoping that the Bug I have heard about going around the Fontbonne campus hasn't hit any players.  This should be a heckofa good game - also an opportunity game for the lady griffs to solidify their chance for a playoff position...

[hotshot_8617]

I am just giving an honest opinion, so don't take it personal. I love the SLIAC. Conference games are as exciting as any DI venue, if you ask me. And the kids are true student athletes playing for the right reasons. It is just outside of the league, SLIAC schools have a hard time competing. A lot has to do with money. My goodness, look at the endowments of some of the midwest DIII schools. and then look at the SLIAC member endowments. I think that tells a lot. Even on the DIII level, money talks. Let's just be glad that the SLIAC schools can compete so evenly amongst themsleves.

Sorry, dont remember a last word.

Next to FC News, I have watched more Fontbonne BB over the years than anyone. Remeber the days at Parks? Remember the name of the "gym" they played in? I am pulling for them this year. Look at my posts. However, as any fan, I have my right to an opinion about the teams performance. FC gives his.

[fcnews]

Sorry Hotshot. We had a student bouncing in and out on different names. My apologies.

[furbug]

Why do we keep harping on the lack of competitiveness of the SLIAC outside the conference? Everyone knows this. No one is offering anything new. What is the point? Why continue to "state the obvious with a sense of real discovery"? Just enjoy the games for what they are. 

[y_jack_lok]

Congratulations to Coach Bunch on recording his 100th win as Webster's head coach. I notice, also, that this was promptly submitted to D3hoops.com as it is already posted in the "Milestones" section of the website.

[hopefan]

furbug - not harping - just stating the facts to the young man  -  were you surprised that the SLIAC is 1 -11 against those conferences this year?  I was   

[furbug]

furbug - not harping - just stating the facts to the young man  -  were you surprised that the SLIAC is 1 -11 against those conferences this year?  I was   

I hadn't been thinking about it - at all, but nope, I am not surprised. 

[hopefan]

for the heck of it, I went to Massey ratings, an on line system that rates all sports all levels...

Of 41 D3 conferences, the SLIAC was rated no 36.

of 408 D3 teams...

29  Westmin  
198  Maryville
221  Fontbonne  
224  Webster
288  Greenville
301  Eureka
334  Mac
394  Blackburn
406  Prin...

[fcnews]

And WC and FU had basically the same strength of schedule.

[Mr. Ypsi]

It is just outside of the league, SLIAC schools have a hard time competing. A lot has to do with money. My goodness, look at the endowments of some of the midwest DIII schools. and then look at the SLIAC member endowments. I think that tells a lot. Even on the DIII level, money talks.

There is probably more than a grain of truth in what you say, but don't overlook two glaring exceptions:

Principia has an endowment larger than any CCIW school (more than twice as large as any except Wheaton); money doesn't alone translate into success (or even competitiveness).

At the other extreme, North Park has a far smaller endowment than any other CCIW school (smaller, in fact, than several SLIAC schools); they also have FIVE National Championships in men's bball!  (Though, in fairness to your argument, men's bball has lately joined most [NOT all] NPU teams at or near the bottom of the conference standings.]

[juniormint]

Although many negative posts today have made the board popular I'll go the other route. 

There are many things to be positive about in the SLIAC...on top of competitive games that entertain, athletes that practice and play their tails off, and an overall competitive conference that is growing we also have some schools making strides. 

Maryville is moving up to D-2 which is a big step for that program.

Fontbonne is seeing success over the last couple years that is rivaled by few in the area. 

Webster celebrated an undefeated conference regular season and their head coach just won his 100th game. 

Westminster has made continual strides the last few years and is on a 13 game winning streak this year and is in the top 30 in the Massey ratings.  Congrats to Coach Mitchell and his kids for an impressive streak. 

The other schools have notable accomplishments as well...these are just the first few that came to mind.  Great going SLIAC and all the kids and coaches who put hard work into their teams and schools. 

[fcnews]

Does it mean anything at all, except for what our teams have done in the National Tourney? Nothing and counting. Until then we are who we are in the big picture. It's the small picture that we enjoy.

FU had a win over Wash. U. when they were highly rated in the 90's.

[Gregory Sager]

At the other extreme, North Park has a far smaller endowment than any other CCIW school (smaller, in fact, than several SLIAC schools)

Not true, Chuck.

NPU's last reported endowment figure was around $65m. That was pre-crash, and I think it's now down to somewhere in the mid- to high forties. Here's the latest listed SLIAC endowment figures according to the Petersons website:

Principia	$493.7m
Webster	$68.5m
Westminster	$49.6m
Maryville	$41.8m
Fontbonne	$18.0m
MacMurray	$17.1m
Greenville	$11.0m
Eureka	$10.7m
Blackburn	$10.4m
Spalding	$  6.8m

For all we know, these figures may be pre-crash as well. Unless someone from Webster or Westminster says something definitive otherwise, NPU may have a higher endowment at the moment than one or both of those SLIAC schools.

Also, Carthage's endowment was roughly equal to NPU's before Wall Street tanked. I'm not sure whether the Carthage nestegg has suffered less or more than North Park's in the economic downturn.

[Mr. Ypsi]

My bad, Greg.  I didn't research the latest endowment #s, and recalled NPU in the $40m vicinity.   (I also should have noted that few, if any, schools have reported post-meltdown #s, and it is highly unlikely that all suffered at the same rate.)

[Pat Coleman]

Congratulations to Coach Bunch on recording his 100th win as Webster's head coach. I notice, also, that this was promptly submitted to D3hoops.com as it is already posted in the "Milestones" section of the website.

Actually, I read it here and added it this morning once I was able to confirm it against his bio on Webster's site.