MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[USee]

I infrequently visit this place and so maybe the answer to my questions appear on pgs XX.  Do people know the composition (names/titles) of the search committee?  Is it normal to have a committee present its top pick to the AD?  I presume the AD had a spot on the committee and thus participated in the interviews.

I think every AD has a variation of how they want a search to go. Most of the time the committee comes up with 3 finalists that come for on campus interviews and the AD is absolutely involved at that point. Sometimes the committee stops with recommending 3 and lets the AD pick one, other times the committee will bring in 3 and give the AD an order of their preference. There are other variations of this as well.

[robertgoulet]

There are definitely a lot of people talking about this hiring process, the people involved, and the non-athletics people involved in athletics at North Central.

Some may look at 4 of NCC's most successful men's programs losing their head coaches in the same offseason (and they may or may not be the only coaches having left when all is said and done) and think they all had legitimate reasons to leave and it's all coincidence.

Others may look at that and say "wow the college leadership with regards to athletics must be a mess what the hell are they doing there?!".

Based on what I know, I'm not saying all 3 of those coaches left solely because of college leadership/backroom goings on, but I am comfortable saying that at the very least it may have been a factor and accelerated their exit timelines because why deal with the drama (for lack of a better word) when I have this other option immediately available that I'd be interested in eventually anyway?

[Gregory Sager]

There are definitely a lot of people talking about this hiring process, the people involved, and the non-athletics people involved in athletics at North Central.

Some may look at 4 of NCC's most successful men's programs losing their head coaches in the same offseason (and they may or may not be the only coaches having left when all is said and done) and think they all had legitimate reasons to leave and it's all coincidence.

Others may look at that and say "wow the college leadership with regards to athletics must be a mess what the hell are they doing there?!".

Based on what I know, I'm not saying all 3 of those coaches left solely because of college leadership/backroom goings on, but I am comfortable saying that at the very least it may have been a factor and accelerated their exit timelines because why deal with the drama (for lack of a better word) when I have this other option immediately available that I'd be interested in eventually anyway?

Well, you've still got Ed Mathey, who has had CCIW baseball locked up tighter than a drum since he came back to NCC eight years ago. Seven league titles in eight years? That's not chicken feed.

[Gregory Sager]

Interestingly, Q tweeted this last week:

"Just had a long talk with someone closely connected with the North Central athletic dept, and wow, there is a lot of stuff going on.  Not gonna tweet details out of respect for all the great people there, but holy smokes."

I'm guessing his source is NOT Next Man up!

Bob and Mark cooperating on making a ham sandwich, much less providing sources for each other, would be a sure sign of the apocalypse.

[Pat Coleman]

I am comfortable saying that at the very least it may have been a factor and accelerated their exit timelines because why deal with the drama (for lack of a better word) when I have this other option immediately available that I'd be interested in eventually anyway?

This seems reasonable.

[PauldingLightUP]

North Park's 22-23 schedule.

https://athletics.northpark.edu/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2022-23

[Gregory Sager]

Somebody obviously pulled out of a contract with North Park late, since East-West has become the perennial standby for NPU when the Vikings need to fill a late hole in the schedule. It's a little weird that the Phantoms are the season opener, though.

Less than a decade ago, Cardinal Stritch would be the highlight of the non-conference schedule, since the Wolves were one of the premier programs in all of NAIA. Lately, however, they've stunk on ice.

With Hope and Loras on the slate, though, this is definitely a step up in quality from the undistinguished competition that the Vikings have played (and often not very well) out of circuit in recent years.

[sac]

Somebody obviously pulled out of a contract with North Park late, since East-West has become the perennial standby for NPU when the Vikings need to fill a late hole in the schedule. It's a little weird that the Phantoms are the season opener, though.

Less than a decade ago, Cardinal Stritch would be the highlight of the non-conference schedule, since the Wolves were one of the premier programs in all of NAIA. Lately, however, they've stunk on ice.

With Hope and Loras on the slate, though, this is definitely a step up in quality from the undistinguished competition that the Vikings have played (and often not very well) out of circuit in recent years.

Fwiw, Hope is also supposed to play North Central again next year.  Although I suppose that's if whoever is making decisions at North Central wants to keep that game. 

Pre-d3hoops.com days  Hope/North Park were a fairly regular combo in the 90's.

[lmitzel]

It's official. Anthony Figueroa is the new head coach of Cardinal basketball.

Other important note from the end of the article is that the existing staff will remain on this season.

I gotta get to the hangar soon.

[USee]

Congrats to IWU's Luke Yoder on his commitment to D1 North Dakota State. Good luck to Luke!

[Gregory Sager]

Pre-d3hoops.com days  Hope/North Park were a fairly regular combo in the 90's.

Yep. The Vikings and the Dutch played each other every season but one during the '90s.

[Gregory Sager]

It's official. Anthony Figueroa is the new head coach of Cardinal basketball.

Other important note from the end of the article is that the existing staff will remain on this season.

I gotta get to the hangar soon.

If Figueroa's Cardinals teams play the way that he himself played when he wore a Big Blue uniform, North Central will become the toughest defense in the CCIW. He didn't bring much to the offensive end of the floor as a player, but he was the perimeter player par excellence in the CCIW during his Millikin days.

[Next Man Up]

Interestingly, Q tweeted this last week:

"Just had a long talk with someone closely connected with the North Central athletic dept, and wow, there is a lot of stuff going on.  Not gonna tweet details out of respect for all the great people there, but holy smokes."

I'm guessing his source is NOT Next Man up!

Bob and Mark cooperating on making a ham sandwich, much less providing sources for each other, would be a sure sign of the apocalypse.

LOL. Hey, it's not my fault if Bob doesn't like ham. 

Actually, a prime source of Bob's on this subject is a former NCC player who is a good friend of mine. In fact, we just talked over this past weekend.

And holy smokes for sure. Bob's statement that "wow, there is a lot of stuff going on," is a classic understatement. And a lot of that stuff is the reason municipalities need waste treatment plants. 

[itsnotmeitsyou]

It's official. Anthony Figueroa is the new head coach of Cardinal basketball.

Other important note from the end of the article is that the existing staff will remain on this season.

I gotta get to the hangar soon.

Being a new head coach and keeping the assistant, whether a condition of employment or of his own volition, who applied for and was a finalist for the top job is not an ideal situation. Help w/ player/program continuity?...Yes. Definitely provides potential friction points that can show themselves in a myriad of ways during a year.

It is a "Red Flag" that certainly bears watching this coming season.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

47 days. Even with all the internal strife and dissension, much faster than I anticipated.

Question: Can you really call someone an Athletic Director if they're not really directing the department?