MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Gregory Sager]

Things still aren't going well at Iowa Wesleyan.

I also see Wash U is playing 4 SLIAC schools... Webster, Fontbonne, Spalding, and Blackburn....

Spalding is playing in Defiance's Purple and Gold Tournament on December 29 and 30. The tourney will also include North Park and Albion. Defiance hasn't posted a schedule yet, so we have yet to learn who's matched up against whom in the opening round. But, since NPU and Albion will play each other in Chicago earlier in December, Vikings head coach Tom Slyder and Britons head coach Jody May are obviously going to lobby newly-minted Defiance head coach Scott Cutter to ensure that NPU and Albion don't play each other on the first night in Defiance.

[y_jack_lok]

Things still aren't going well at Iowa Wesleyan.

Would love to have WUH weigh in on this.

Message for hopefan -- I know how to use the quote function. See above. 

[badgerwarhawk]

Just hope that they don't match you up against any Sensoths or Volges, Greg.  Those guys are nasty.  And what ever your staff does do not, under any circumstances, trust a Castithan.   

[hopefan]

Fontbonne's  full schedule now posted.......

7 non conference games are:

at UMSL   (D2)
vs Rose Hulman at Illinois Wesleyan Tourney
vs Wilmington or Illinois Wesleyan at IWU Tourney
vs Augustana at home
vs Concordia-Chicago at home
vs Wash U at home
at Illinois Tech

The Griffs will likely be underdogs in 5 of these games, maybe even in a sixth, unless the recruiting class includes some immediate help to add depth to make up for significant graduation losses.... it's a tough schedule....

[WUPHF]

Things still aren't going well at Iowa Wesleyan.

Would love to have WUH weigh in on this.

I am not sure if anyone has ever asked me to weigh in on a d3boards.com topic, but admittedly, I am not sure if I would ask me either.  Thanks though!

A few years ago, I predicted more cuts, contractions and closures than we have seen so far, but the demographics for traditional undergraduates, adult non-traditionals, and international students continue to decline with the end likely to be too far away, it seems, to save every Iowa Wesleyan.  And, Iowa Wesleyan hardly bothered with the last category as an approach to enrollment management.  It may be too late to start that now.

I hope they find a way, but boosting the numbers by over 100 in two years may prove impossible for Iowa Wesleyan.

[y_jack_lok]

Things still aren't going well at Iowa Wesleyan.

Would love to have WUH weigh in on this.

I am not sure if anyone has ever asked me to weigh in on a d3boards.com topic, but admittedly, I am not sure if I would ask me either.  Thanks though!

A few years ago, I predicted more cuts, contractions and closures than we have seen so far, but the demographics for traditional undergraduates, adult non-traditionals, and international students continue to decline with the end likely to be too far away, it seems, to save every Iowa Wesleyan.  And, Iowa Wesleyan hardly bothered with the last category as an approach to enrollment management.  It may be too late to start that now.

I hope they find a way, but boosting the numbers by over 100 in two years may prove impossible for Iowa Wesleyan.

Thanks. Just curious, how would small, isolated schools like IWC be able to attract enough international students to be of significant help? And, my math says that if IWC had 361 students last fall and need 446 by October 2017 then they are only 85 away from fulfilling their obligation to the bank and bondholders. Still, that's a 23% ennollment increase. Hope they make it. They are a good fit for the conference.

[WUPHF]

The challenge for Iowa Wesleyan to reach 446 students in two years involves both recruitment and retention.  I'll have to look up the retention rates, but I assume they are only retaining 75-85% of students year after year, so just adding 85 students is not going to get them there.

I hope they make it too though.

As far as international students, my prediction is that we are beginning to see the end of the golden age of international student recruitment.  But for a while, you could follow the Greenville model and get Chinese students in significant numbers, especially if you had an established program, but schools that are just getting started (Monmouth might be a good example) may find it harder to do.

[Gregory Sager]

As far as international students, my prediction is that we are beginning to see the end of the golden age of international student recruitment.  But for a while, you could follow the Greenville model and get Chinese students in significant numbers, especially if you had an established program, but schools that are just getting started (Monmouth might be a good example) may find it harder to do.

That will not come as good news to North Park's next-door neighbor, Northeastern Illinois University, which is planning to convert from a commuter-only profile by building dorms. NEIU is acquiring the footprint for these dorms by obtaining two blocks' worth of storefront businesses via eminent domain, alienating a huge portion of those who live and/or work in the North Park neighborhood in the process. The entire reason behind these dorms, and the change from being a commuter school to having a mixed commuter/resident population, is that NEIU President Sharon Hahs is convinced that there's a significant population of Chinese students who are just dying to come halfway around the world in order to receive a degree from Northeastern Illinois University.

WUH's post further convinces me that her actions are the university-president equivalent to buying a handful of magic beans.

[Gregory Sager]

Spalding is playing in Defiance's Purple and Gold Tournament on December 29 and 30. The tourney will also include North Park and Albion. Defiance hasn't posted a schedule yet, so we have yet to learn who's matched up against whom in the opening round. But, since NPU and Albion will play each other in Chicago earlier in December, Vikings head coach Tom Slyder and Britons head coach Jody May are obviously going to lobby newly-minted Defiance head coach Scott Cutter to ensure that NPU and Albion don't play each other on the first night in Defiance.

Further update on this: Spalding just backed out. The fourth team in the Defiance tourney will now be Baldwin-Wallace.

[WUPHF]

The job description of the modern university presidency is, it seems, to:

1) raise money
2) build buildings
3) convocation and commencement related duties as assigned

I may be wrong about the marketplace for Chinese and other international students, but between the declining demographics, risk related to the Chinese economy, and increasing capacity for China to educate their own citizens, it is not a good time in my mind to build dorms to get full-pays from China.

[hopefan]

Every now and then I have a conversation with one of the SLIAC coaches and learn more about the workings of the conference..

Today I found that the Conference schedule for the NEXT season is established and approved in a number of steps at the beginning of THIS season... meaning the conference schedule for 2015-2016 was established in October of 2014....

Several schools had posted their full schedule for 2015-2016 in June, early July, when something went wrong...those schedules changed about a week ago, and entire conference dates and matchups changed from those originally posted, in some cases necessitating changes in nonconference dates too.   Well, I found that one particular SLIAC school had a major problem with the 2015-16 schedule as agreed on and griped to the point that the whole thing was revamped.  That may have rubbed some schools wrong, but it has  led to a MAJOR CHANGE FOR THE GOOD.

  The schedule has been condensed time wise so that NO TEAM PLAYS games on the Tuesday before the Conference Tourney.   The regular season ends on Saturday for each SLIAC team, like just about every other D3 conference.  This is SO GOOD!!!  No team gets the advantage of going into the tourney not having played Tuesday when others had to play Tuesday.  And there is preparation and travel time... no one has to play there biggest game of the year Tuesday only to have to turn around and play 2 days later in the tourney after possible significant travel.  Great for the handful of fans that go to the conference tourney too... a little time to make plans!!!

This is some thing I've crabbed about to the commish and coaches for years... MAKE MY DAY!!

[Denny McKinney]

Hopefan. Are you expecting this years version of basketball will be greatly improved. Or, are we looking at another year of mediocre competition? Maybe you haven't spoke to enough to judge. Another year like last would to tough to watch.

[hopefan]

Looking at the group that is returning, I'm not terribly optimistic about the expected level of play... it seems to me that much more was lost to graduation or defection than is coming back.... I have heard next to nothing about recruiting, as I finally gave up on learning anything about newcomers until at least Sept when kids actually come to campus...    Hopefully, this leads to another dogfight for the top four positions, but another one and done in post season play is highly likely.  Still, I'm hoping for a surprise or 2 that will lead to some anticipation of the 2015-16 season.

[Denny McKinney]

Thanks, Hope.

[y_jack_lok]

Agreed that a lot of teams lost many of their best players to graduation, so there are many unknowns coming into this season. I say watch out for Prin and IWC.