MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

It's actually a pretty full day of basketball today, and a pretty full week of basketball as well, considering that most teams are on winter break.

Tuesday
MSOE (5-3) @ Carroll (2-6)
Illinois Wesleyan (7-2) @ Chicago (4-4)
Aurora (5-4) @ Millikin (5-4)
Albion (1-6) @ North Central (5-4)
Wheaton (6-3) @ Whitworth (8-0)

Wednesday
Southern Vermont (7-2) vs. Carthage (6-4) (@ Miami, FL)
Guilford (4-4) vs. North Park (2-6) (@ Lexington, KY)

Thursday
Elmhurst (5-3) @ Benedictine (6-3)
Emory & Henry (7-0) vs. North Park (@ Lexington, KY)
Wheaton @ George Fox (4-4)

Friday
Augustana (8-1) @ UW-Stevens Point (5-2)

Massey sez:

Carroll 69, MSOE 62	CU 73%, MSOE 27%
Illinois Wesleyan 78, Chicago 74	IWU 63%, Chicago 37%
Millikin 78, Aurora 76	MU 54%, Aurora 46%
North Central 78, Albion 61	NCC 94%, Albion 6%
Whitworth 83, Wheaton 72	Whitworth 86%, WC 14%
Carthage 78, Southern Vermont 69	CC 80%, Southern Vermont 20%
Guilford 71, North Park 68	Guilford 61%, NPU 39%
Benedictine 81, Elmhurst 78	Benedictine 60%, EC 40%
Emory & Henry 83, North Park 74	Emory & Henry 81%, NPU 19%
Wheaton 89, George Fox 85	WC 64%, George Fox 36%
Augustana 71, UWSP 68	AC 58%, UWSP 42%

[WUPHF]

I'm interested to see how Wesleyan responds today after the clinic they received from WashU on Sunday. U Chicago can let it rip from three, so we'll see if the Titans defense can handle another potential onslaught from deep for the second time in three days.

Interesting to see the Massey Prediction for the game.  The Matt Snyder Daily Score Prediction (thanks for adding this feature!) has the game even closer with a 76-74 road win for Illinois Wesleyan.

I have watched minutes here and there of almost every Chicago game.  I do think the Maroons will have to play their best game of the season to get the win tonight (cliche,  I know).  Chicago has guys on the bench that have stepped up and will get better as the season progresses.  Jake Berhorst and Ryan Jacobsen for example.

Chicago is deep enough and should be able to run with Illinois Wesleyan on defense, but it is hard to imagine that they could do more than match the Titans on rebounds.

Both teams combined have attempted almost 540 three point shots. Safe to say that we will see a lot of three point shots tonight.  Chicago is a little better percentage wise.  Noah Karras and Jake Fenlon hold the individual UAA records for three pointers made and attempted.

The good news is that the school that has set the 21st century standard for a commitment to free inquiry and debate also hosts a high quality live feed that is entirely free of charge.  The peer pressure alone should be enough to get Emory to respond accordingly.

[duckfan41]

The good news is that the school that has set the 21st century standard for a commitment to free inquiry and debate also hosts a high quality live feed that is entirely free of charge.  The peer pressure alone should be enough to get Emory to respond accordingly.

That reminds me of last year, I tried to watch a Wheaton Women's game when they were playing at Whittier over break and they had a complete pay-wall over all broadcasts, and after watching a Loras broadcast free of charge earlier in the day, you could imagine my frustration. I think it's fairly ridiculous to force fans to pay for online D3 broadcasts when most of them are not very well done to begin with. Wheaton, Wesleyan, and Elmhurst immediately come to mind (my most recent experiences) as broadcasts that are free of charge and excellent quality compared to some of these schools that make you pay an arm and a leg and then the feed is choppy or blurry.

[blue_jays]

Emory used to charge a fee for their high definition broadcast and I assume they still do.  That game may be worth the charge.

I guess that Emory's $6.4 billion endowment doesn't stretch as far as one might think it would.

Ha, ha!

You would know better than I, but it seems to me that the value of the PR from the free distribution of the broadcast would be much greater than the value of the upcharge.  Emory must give away a lot of free codes to recruits, family and alumni.  Maybe more people pay the fee than I think.

Maybe that is how Emory keeps a $6.4 B endowment .
Seriously, Emory current campus was enabled by $1.0 million and gift of 75 acres from Asa Chandler, founder of Coca-Cola. Asa's brother was president of Emory. He made other gifts in subsequent years. 

And, Robert Woodruff, Presient of Coca-Cola, and the Woodruff Foundation has given close to $1.0 billion over the years since 1979. The 1979 gift separately included a 1979 value of $105 million of Coca-Cola stock.  Given the stock splits, dividends and price increases that has to be close to another $1.0 billion. 
Having lived in Atlanta, Emory's now 740 acre campus is prime real estate just outside the City of Atlanta.

Just like Washington—the rich get richer.
Beyond a school that can certainly handle whatever cost may be involved in streaming a game, what I hate about charging to see a game is that it just particularly seems like a screw job to fans of the visiting team. How many Green Team fans are going all the way to Atlanta? Same applies to any fans whose team is playing a considerable distance from home. They should be able to view their team play for free. Who knows what Midwest kid might see the broadcast and decide to investigate Emory as a possible college choice. JMHO.

As WUH surmised, a school that charges for streaming video access is shooting itself in the foot. Broadcasting athletics events on the Internet is a tremendous PR resource for a school in terms of keeping alumni in touch with the school, putting a good foot forward to the public (if the broadcast is done properly), and functioning as a recruiting tool. Given that the majority of D3 schools that stream their games offer it for free, it only makes Emory look miserly by comparison.

Of course, this is a UAA school that we're talking about, and UAA schools have dramatically different missions and priorities than do the schools with which most of us are familiar. I wonder if whichever administrator made the call to charge people to stream Emory events even cares a fig about EU sports.

While I do not agree with charging for video streams in D3, I think criticism of Emory is a little overblown here. It is better PR wise to have it free, no doubt. But here's the thing: quality live video equipment is really expensive, and you have to buy a lot of it. Charging for live video is a way to recoup the expense and/or put more money to improving the equipment. Also the equipment has to be cycled out every few years due to use/deterioration. Tricasters cost tens of thousands of dollars, for example. And that's before you factor into thousands of dollars for all the cameras, cords, laptops, and labor costs for staffing every game.

Here's what I take more issue with: people confusing endowment size with actual operating budgets at the Division 3 level. Cash flow, aka yearly tuition gathered from the student population, is much more crucial to the annual operating budget allotments. Institutional priorities then dictate how much departments within divisions then receive. So if they would rather fund more sciences and leave less for athletics, that's what they do.
The people put in charge of endowments are tasked with NOT SPENDING THE ENDOWMENT. Their goal is for it to continuously grow, they don't allow it to be pilfered for anything outside of emergencies or large capital expenditures (aka construction of campus buildings which cost tens of millions of dollars). When given a choice between cutting operating budget or dipping into endowments, schools will cut operating budget almost every time.
The Coke donations might be large, but they don't necessarily affect athletic budgets in the slightest. Most donations are made specifically to academic programs (business schools, etc.) or specific building projects that they can stick their name on. General donations made to the school get carved up by the administration and sent out to all corners. Schools in D3 don't just allow donors to throw a million dollars just at athletics at the exclusion of the rest of campus, especially not schools that have other priorities in mind for that money.

[WUPHF]

There is a general misunderstanding of endowments among the public, but as for the d3boards.com audience, you might be surprised.  The topic comes up a lot.

My guess is that Emory has a development officer that focuses heavily on athletics as the larger advancement offices do want to appeal to broadly to the interests of the donors.  And, a lot of wealthy old men love varsity athletics.

Emory has run of the mill technology (i.e. one camera) and a good broadcaster that certainly do cost money.  My contention based entirely on a guess was that Emory could not possibly make enough money to account for the short and long-term trade-offs.

If I were an Emory coach, athletic staff, or fundraiser, I would give out the codes left and right.  Perspective students-athletes, families, and any potential donors would be invited to watch the high definition stream.

It would be interesting to know how much schools do bring in through the paywalls, but the fact that so few schools do it makes me think the answer is minimal.

[GoPerry]

.
The people put in charge of endowments are tasked with NOT SPENDING THE ENDOWMENT.

Not entirely accurate but I take your meaning.  Generally, the staff who invests the endowment funds are not the ones who set the annual spend rate (i.e. 5%/yr ). 

Their goal is for it to continuously grow, they don't allow it to be pilfered for anything outside of emergencies or large capital expenditures (aka construction of campus buildings which cost tens of millions of dollars). When given a choice between cutting operating budget or dipping into endowments, schools will cut operating budget almost every time.

This is definitely true.  In fact, most endowment funds by law can't be  just dipped into at will by the administrators because they want to build something or spend more on something.

[AndOne]

There is a general misunderstanding of endowments among the public, but as for the d3boards.com audience, you might be surprised.  The topic comes up a lot.

My guess is that Emory has a development officer that focuses heavily on athletics as the larger advancement offices do want to appeal to broadly to the interests of the donors.  And, a lot of wealthy old men love varsity athletics.

Emory has run of the mill technology (i.e. one camera) and a good broadcaster that certainly do cost money.  My contention based entirely on a guess was that Emory could not possibly make enough money to account for the short and long-term trade-offs.

If I were an Emory coach, athletic staff, or fundraiser, I would give out the codes left and right.  Perspective students-athletes, families, and any potential donors would be invited to watch the high definition stream.

It would be interesting to know how much schools do bring in through the paywalls, but the fact that so few schools do it makes me think the answer is minimal.

So do a lot of not quite so wealthy old men! 💰 😏

[John Gleich]

Friday
Augustana (8-1) @ UW-Stevens Point (5-2)

Massey sez:

Augustana 71, UWSP 68

AC 58%, UWSP 42%

This is actually a neutral site game... at Justagame fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells.

I don't think the game will be this close. Point has shot the lights out in a few games, but Augie's size and physicality will likely overwhelm them. I think Augie by at least 15.

[kenoshamark]

Mwunder,

Michael,  I don't think you will see Johnson starting in place of Leazer.  Mason is filling in nicely now and once (if) Baltimore comes back from his injury, he will play big minutes and should be the starter.  I think Mason goes back to the bench and is the perfect sixth man for the perimeter.  Don't see how Leazer will find much of any minutes then and he certainly had his opportunity so far.  Shooting a terrible 20% from beyond the arc. 

In regards to Johnson, I mentioned previously that Bosko called him a "major" impact player for them.  He had even more glowing comments after last nights game.  Johnson had 8 points, 6 boards and 6 blocks in 20 minutes.  Bosko said "he gets better every single night."  "He's going to be a star of a major magnitude before he's done because he such a smart kid and he's going to put in the appropriate time to get better."

Time will tell....the fact that they have not one, but two players 6'10" and taller is a luxury they have never had for as long as I can remember. 

[Gregory Sager]

There is a general misunderstanding of endowments among the public, but as for the d3boards.com audience, you might be surprised.  The topic comes up a lot.

My guess is that Emory has a development officer that focuses heavily on athletics as the larger advancement offices do want to appeal to broadly to the interests of the donors.  And, a lot of wealthy old men love varsity athletics.

Emory has run of the mill technology (i.e. one camera) and a good broadcaster that certainly do cost money.  My contention based entirely on a guess was that Emory could not possibly make enough money to account for the short and long-term trade-offs.

If I were an Emory coach, athletic staff, or fundraiser, I would give out the codes left and right.  Perspective students-athletes, families, and any potential donors would be invited to watch the high definition stream.

It would be interesting to know how much schools do bring in through the paywalls, but the fact that so few schools do it makes me think the answer is minimal.

This.

.
The people put in charge of endowments are tasked with NOT SPENDING THE ENDOWMENT.

Not entirely accurate but I take your meaning.  Generally, the staff who invests the endowment funds are not the ones who set the annual spend rate (i.e. 5%/yr ). 

Their goal is for it to continuously grow, they don't allow it to be pilfered for anything outside of emergencies or large capital expenditures (aka construction of campus buildings which cost tens of millions of dollars). When given a choice between cutting operating budget or dipping into endowments, schools will cut operating budget almost every time.

This is definitely true.  In fact, most endowment funds by law can't be  just dipped into at will by the administrators because they want to build something or spend more on something.

I'm not denying any of that. I'm well aware of how schools treat their endowment money. But at some point it reaches a reductio ad absurdum. I mean, six point four billion dollars is six point four billion dollars. That's more than the GDP of 59 countries.

Emory can afford to stream its sporting events for free.

[iwu70]

Halftime:  @ Ratner IWU 41 UC 31.

Seems Knoblach started for Coleman.  Rose back on fire, 14 first half points, Knoblach with 11.

'70

[Gregory Sager]

Illinois Wesleyan 76
Chicago 65

[Gregory Sager]

Millikin 72
Aurora 70

Wild finish at the Griz, as the Spartans stormed back from a nine-point deficit late and had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but AU star Marcus Myers was called for a charge on a layup attempt with one second left.

[Titan Q]

IWU 76
Chicago 65

* Brady Rose: 25 pts, 3 reb, 4 assists
* Zach Knobloch: 11 pts, 2 reb
* Colin Bonnett: 10 pts, 2 reb
* Jaylen Beasley: 8 pts, 9 reb

The Titans are 8-2 and are off until Thursday 12/28 at Emory.

[Gregory Sager]

Carroll 82
MSOE 51