MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

I am not at all surprised at Augie's choice.

Yes, Thomas, of course, is an AC grad, and had a very good playing career for the western Vikings. With his 12 years at Downers North, he also knows the Chicagoland recruiting scene. However, he was the only one of the 4 finalists with zero college coaching experience

But Schafer is also an AC grad who has 10 years as a college assistant coach, and another 8 as a head coach. At his most recent stop at NAIA Benedictine-Arizona, he also served as the Athletic Director in addition to his BB Head Coach responsibilities. He is also familiar with the Chicagoland and CCIW territory as a result of his being an assistant at CCIW member NPU in Chicago (2004-2009), and at BenU in West suburban Lisle (2009-2011). He is a product of far west suburban Batavia HS.

The Augie AD was quoted as saying that "I'm always attracted to candidates with previous head coaching experience, particularly at the small-college level," and that "his recent experience in Arizona was appealing, having so many administrative responsibilities (as AD)............."

I'm not an Augie insider, so I'm not privy as to the thought process in that hiring, but, given what Augustana AD Mike Zapolski said in the presser, I strongly suspect that Mark hits the nail on the head here as to why Steve Schafer was chosen over Jim Thomas: college coaching experience and administrative experience.

I like Steve, and on a personal level I'm glad that he got what is most likely his dream job. He may be an Augie guy through and through, but it's nice to have another head coach in the league who has a North Park pedigree as well. When he was second chair to Paul Brenegan back in the Oughts he would deliver an NPU sales pitch to suburban prospects that was so clever that I quote it all the time in the context of North Park athletic recruiting. Knowing that a lot of high-school kids in the Chicagoland suburbs are reluctant to consider going to college in the city, he'd say to them, "Look, you've probably got an older brother or an older sister who lives in Lincoln Park or Wrigleyville or Logan Square or one of the other neighborhoods here on the North Side, right? Or you have a friend who has an older brother or sister who lives in one of those neighborhoods? And I'm guessing that whenever you see them they're always talking about all the fun that they have, and how there's a million things to do here, and all of the job and lifestyle opportunities, and how the North Side is filled with young people in their twenties. So why wait to do that until after you get out of college?" To this day I call it "the Schafer pitch."

Of course, any wish for success that I may have for Steve in his new job has to be within certain limits.

Congrats to Vince, a Sandburg alum who is North Centrals all time steals leader as well.

A few weeks back I posted a tweet that quoted the lack of black coaches in D3 and very few people chimed in because either none of you care or none of you see that as an issue or a problem that needs to be addressed. Titan Q asked from a coaches perspective what did I think should be done? I didn't and don't have all the answers but I do know the first and most important solution is to hire the most qualified candidate.  Far too often and I can speak from experience that black candidates are good enough to get an interview but not good enough to get hired. I was told a long time ago by my parents and I really didn't want to believe this but they told me that in order for a black guy to get a head coaching job especially at the D3 level that he had to not just be better than the competition but be twice or even three times as good. Clearly they were right.  There's not a person in this room that would see the resumes, accomplishments and successes of all four candidates and could definitively and confidently pick the resume of the guy that was hired.
This is in no way any disrespect to Augie or their administrators because they had the criteria that they used to select a coach and obviously I didn't meet it.  Also, I know both Jim and Steve and both a solid coaches for sure and I'm sure Steve will do a good job.
I just had to say something because no one in this room (and I'm clearly aware of the demographics of this room) was going to address this topic which to me is the elephant in not only this room but within college basketball, particularly at the D3 level.

I can't argue with anything Todd says here. He's raised a topic that really can't be ignored anymore, either by CCIW administrators or by us.

Todd, I wish you the best in your career and believe you've done a great job in reviving the Illinois Tech program.  From a distance (my only context), your resume is super solid and on a par with the other finalists.  I believe you'd do a good job at Augustana.  In this recent hiring is there anything that should have put you head and shoulders above all the other candidates?  I note that Steve Schafer is both an Augie grad (not a requirement, but a good thing) as well as an athletic director.

Keep coaching and somethin will pop for you.  I just hope your future success doesn't come at the hands of Augustana.   

What Steve said. (Well, except for his bit about hoping that your future success doesn't come at the hands of Augustana. ) Todd, given what you did at Illinois Tech, I think that if you're persistent it's only a matter of time before you get another college head coaching job. The question is whether you want it badly enough to relocate your family again after just moving a month ago. Obviously, you wanted the Augie job badly enough to be willing to do just that. Would you be willing to do it as well for a job that doesn't seem like quite as much of a plum as the Augie job?

[WUPHF]

Todd, I appreciate the candor.

I have to say, I might have derailed the conversation on race by bringing up the point about gender.  I do apologize for that.

As far as addressing the elephant in the room, I am not sure that it is going to be obvious to everyone that you were the best candidate, though that may be the case.  I thought you would be the favorite for what it is worth.

I am not as convinced by the athletic director argument to be honest unless what he was saying was that the hire had a proven track record as a fundraiser.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Todd - the topic is one I can assure is being addressed from my perspective. It is a bit too early to say much about the project I am working on, but the topic will be part of that project.

I'll add, Amherst has clearly made an effort of late to hire minorities as their last four coaching hires have all been blacks (men's lacrosse, squash, volleyball, and men's basketball). Sadly, the comments and excuses that have resulted in people commenting about those hires has been disappointing.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

And we've got a conversation on the NESCAC board about Amherst going with a black coach over alums.

The racial disparity among D3 head coaches is huge.  The last year of data showed only 9% of D3 MBB HCs were black, versus 24% of assistant coaches, and 33% of players.  It's great how quickly the number of assistants is growing - that bodes well for the future, but only if they get a fair shake in the hiring process.

Amherst has made a strong statement about diversifying their coaches.  Augie seemed pretty focused on alums.

You also have to look at the issue across the division at large.  African Americans make up only 9% of the general student body of D3 schools.

I don't have answers on what schools should do, but they have to do something intentional.  Those numbers don't change on their own.

[markerickson]

I have investigated athletic departments regarding gender equity for over 20 years.  Institutions range from rural MN HS to the Big Ten and numerous other D1 programs.  If my memory is correct, the only time I interviewed African American head coaches was when I visited five high schools in Indianapolis and a DI female track coach. 

[Titan Q]

Augie seemed pretty focused on alums.

I don't believe this is accurate.

Heading into the process, almost every Augie alum/fan I spoke to pointed out that most of AD Mike Zapolski's (a Pepperdine grad) head coaching hires have not been Augie grads.  For example:

* Football (2015): Steve Bell (was the head coach at D3 Monmouth; Bemidji State grad)
* Men's Soccer (2015): Mick Regan (was the head coach at Ashford; Marycrest International grad)
* Women's Track & Field (2015): David Thompson (was the men's head coach at Williams; North Central grad)
* Women's Volleyball (2013): Kelly Bethke (was the assistant at Edgewood; UW-Stout grad)
* Women's Basketball (2012): Mark Beinborn (was the assistant at Augie; Dubuque grad)

For all of those positions, there were many strong Augie alums to pick from.  Especially for the beloved football program.  Plenty of Augie grads who are coaches...and he went with a D2 grad.

There is really no evidence to support the theory that Zapolski focused on alums in this process -- it would go against his track record at Augie.  And in this case, the legendary coach he was replacing was not an Augie grad either (ie there was a very solid case established for going outside the family).  A number of non-Augie grads were deep into this hiring process.  For example, I'm 100% sure Kent Dernbach (UW-La Crosse; Carthage grad) would have been one of the 4 finalists had he not removed himself from the process just before the final 4 cut-down.

Also consider, if Zapolski wanted to hire an Augie alum, he had two tremendous candidates in the building -- assistant coaches Tom Jessee and Alex Washington.  Both expressed interest in the job; neither was considered in the process.  If the focus was on Augie guys, wouldn't one or both be considered?

2 Augie alums ended up in the final 4 because those 2 candidates were extremely strong. HS head coach Jim Thomas would have cleaned house on Chicago suburb recruits with all of his HS and AAU connections.  He is also a very well respected Xs and Os coach.  Steve Schafer, their pick, has college head coaching and AD experience.  Pretty impressive combo.

Todd Kelly and Dr. Oliver Eslinger could have easily been picked.  I sense it was very close.  4 really strong finalists.

[AndOne]

Jim Thomas would certainly have been competitive, but without any collegiate track record, I'm not sure he would have "cleaned house" in the sense of domination of the Chicagoland recruiting scene.

He may have done a nice job on the living room, but there would still be a whole lot of house left, and he would have had to contend with, among others, the likes of Bosko, Raridon, Baines, Rose, and Combs as far as the cleaning of the remaining rooms on the first floor and the entire upstairs. While his would have been the newest mop, broom, and buckets, the other guys equipment has both the benefit of experience, and still having considerable shelf life remaining. 🧹 🧻 🚽 🧽 😏

[Tko244227]

Everyone thanks for your honesty and kind words. Believe me I'm not crying over spilled milk and I wish Augie the best of luck and have a ton of respect for AD Mike Zapolski, as he has giving me a lot of sound advice throughout the years. I have moved on from coaching now and suspect I probably won't coach again as I have relocated to another part of the country.

I have also followed the situation at Amherst very closely and was surprised that Marlon was hired but happy for him. There are people in the NESCAC room who are clearly upset with his hire and probably think he was only hired because he was black. But how many times has a guy not been hired because he was black. There is pressure on him to win considering the reputation and history of Amherst. I hope he does well because it will go a long way to helping more blacks get hired.

I do have to address Titan Q who I knew would present some counter argument. I disagree that there were 4 quality candidates. You can't tell me that the guy from Cal Tech should even be considered . The guy has no CCIW ties, playing or coaching, has no record or history of being able to recruit the Midwest and has had no winning seasons in 12 full years as a head coach. In addition Titan Q you keep saying that Jim Thomas ( who I like and is a good guy and a good coach) was a good candidate even though he had zero college coaching experience when he was up against 2 guys with college experience as assistants and head coaches. In addition you have said he would have "cleaned house" and he would seem to have been able to recruit the chicago suburbs. Well in my case there is no speculation or woulda's or coulda's as to my recruiting abilities. It's proven that I have recruited the chicago suburbs and inner city successfully for the past 11 years. In addition let's not forget my first recruiting class at North Central included 6 all conference players including 5 from the Chicago area. One of which was first team all American and first team all CCIW 4 straight years. Also I worked under one of the best X's and O's coaches in the country if not in D3 history in Todd Raridon so I had to have learned a lot from him. My X's and O's ability has to be respected as well. So I disagree that there were 4 strong candidates. Does anyone think that a black guy with 12 consecutive losing seasons as a head coach would ever be under consideration for a top 10 job in the country? Would a black head high school coach ever be under consideration for a head college job ? The answer to both questions is absolutely not.

[Titan Q]

I do have to address Titan Q who I knew would present some counter argument. I disagree that there were 4 quality candidates. You can't tell me that the guy from Cal Tech should even be considered . The guy has no CCIW ties, playing or coaching, has no record or history of being able to recruit the Midwest and has had no winning seasons in 12 full years as a head coach.

I thought Dr. Eslinger was a TERRIBLE fit.  But what matters is what Augustana thought.  And I am told their higher ups (President, etc) were extremely intrigued by him.  They liked the thought of an MIT, Cal Tech guy being associated with Augustana.

Everytime someone told me that Augie was seriously considering Eslinger I consistently replied "I hope they pick him."  I was enjoying the thought of Augie going all-in on a strategy of beating UAAs, NESCACs, etc for 35 ACT kids.  (That wouldn't work for IWU, and it wouldn't work for Augie.)

So when I say there were 4 strong finalists I am referring to how Augie looked at this.

[Titan Q]

In addition Titan Q you keep saying that Jim Thomas ( who I like and is a good guy and a good coach) was a good candidate even though he had zero college coaching experience when he was up against 2 guys with college experience as assistants and head coaches. In addition you have said he would have "cleaned house" and he would seem to have been able to recruit the chicago suburbs.

Yes, I think Jim Thomas would have been a tremendous recruiter of kids in the Chicago suburbs.

[Titan Q]

Well in my case there is no speculation or woulda's or coulda's as to my recruiting abilities. It's proven that I have recruited the chicago suburbs and inner city successfully for the past 11 years. In addition let's not forget my first recruiting class at North Central included 6 all conference players including 5 from the Chicago area. One of which was first team all American and first team all CCIW 4 straight years. Also I worked under one of the best X's and O's coaches in the country if not in D3 history in Todd Raridon so I had to have learned a lot from him. My X's and O's ability has to be respected as well.

I never said you would not have been a great recruiter.

And never said you would have not been a great Xs and Os guy.

And never said that you would not have been a tremendous coach at Augie.

I have nothing but respect for your coaching resume, Todd, and have never once, anywhere, said anything negative about you.

[Titan Q]

Does anyone think that a black guy with 12 consecutive losing seasons as a head coach would ever be under consideration for a top 10 job in the country? Would a black head high school coach ever be under consideration for a head college job ? The answer to both questions is absolutely not.

I assume you are right, and that is beyond awful.  And I'm sorry anyone has to deal with something so ridiculous.

[Titan Q]

Some sad news to pass along.  Former Carthage AD Bob Bonn passed away today - suffered a heart attack while golfing.

Mr. Bonn was one of the great guys around the CCIW.  He will really be missed.

https://www.carthage.edu/live/news/15741-director-of-athletics-bob-bonn-announces-plans-to

[PauldingLightUP]

Augustana 20-21 schedule has been posted.

https://athletics.augustana.edu/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2020-21

[tomt4525]

Augustana 20-21 schedule has been posted.

https://athletics.augustana.edu/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2020-21

Disappointing to say the least that UWSP isn't playing Augustana this year.  I wonder what happened considering they have been playing each other for quite awhile now.