The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Gotcha, appreciate the information.

Didn't they just add a new scoreboard finally? lol

(03-04-2013 11:34 AM)Monarch_Pride Wrote:  Gotcha, appreciate the information.

Didn't they just add a new scoreboard finally? lol

Scoreboard yes, but no video. GMU didn't get the ride from their Final Four appearance like VCU did. So who is going to the A10. GMU was one foot out the door last year, will GW protest. The A10 won't mind, they have two schools together in a much smaller market Richmond and VCU. I think they have three in Philly, so what's the problem with two in DC. It was the hearing that both VCU and GMU were looking to jump, that lead us to jumping to the CUSA. If word gets out about schools looking, the CAA could become very unstable.

The A10 HQ located in Newport News, they might want to go into NC. Maybe Davidson just outside of Charlotte NC would be a nice add.

I could see Richmond and VCU making a play to Co-host the A10 tourny. VCU has the experience running a tourny and getting the required support, nothing like having +20years experience to help.

(03-04-2013 12:41 PM)DaBigBlue Wrote:  I could see Richmond and VCU making a play to Co-host the A10 tourny. VCU has the experience running a tourny and getting the required support, nothing like having +20years experience to help.

Co-host it where? The Stu and Robbins aren't big enough and I don't think the A10 would be pleased with the Dump.

(03-04-2013 10:57 AM)Monarch_Pride Wrote:  I didn't think GMU had much of a choice. However, I suspect they will be joining VCU in the A10 before long.

GMU reminds me of a six foot tall 6th grader. They seem very uncomfortable with their stature (post Final Four). They certainly didn't take advantage of their success the way VCU did. In fact, it seems like their administration would be more comfortable playing down in a diluted CAA permanently.

Time will tell.

I don't think there's much chance the A-10 will have their tournament in Richmond. This state desperately needs a decent municipal arena either in Norfolk or Richmond. RC needs to be taken out to the back and shot, the Scope makes RC look like MSG and I wouldn't host a diarrhea competition at the Hampton Coliseum.

Both schools did what was best for them, even if it turns out not to work quite as well as originally hoped (no X/Butler for VCU, no ECU for ODU). But the CAA is no place to be if you have legitimate ambitions and the wherewithal to do something about them.

Random thought: Remember when Tony Mercurio was mooing about what a horrible mistake ODU was making by going to C-USA, and that they should follow VCU into the A-10? Wonder if he feels the same way now? He probably doesn't remember it because it's not food.

(03-04-2013 04:06 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  I don't think there's much chance the A-10 will have their tournament in Richmond. This state desperately needs a decent municipal arena either in Norfolk or Richmond. RC needs to be taken out to the back and shot, the Scope makes RC look like MSG and I wouldn't host a diarrhea competition at the Hampton Coliseum.

Both schools did what was best for them, even if it turns out not to work quite as well as originally hoped (no X/Butler for VCU, no ECU for ODU). But the CAA is no place to be if you have legitimate ambitions and the wherewithal to do something about them.

Random thought: Remember when Tony Mercurio was mooing about what a horrible mistake ODU was making by going to C-USA, and that they should follow VCU into the A-10? Wonder if he feels the same way now? He probably doesn't remember it because it's not food.

Mercurio, now thats a name I would prefer to forget. What I remember about that guy was how pro jmu football he was. He could have supported ODU alot more than he did.

Cyn: Don't know the last time you were in Scope. It's no palace by any stretch, but they have sunk a lot of money into the building and it's a helluva lot better than the RC. Great sound system, very good restaurant, every seat in the place new. It ain't tournament worthy, but don't kid yourself that the big brown dump has anything over on Scope. . . In all honesty, this arena VB was toying with would be an ideal place for A10 tournament since HQ is in Hampton or Newport News. it's one of several conference tournaments that could find their way there -- including CUSA someday.

(03-04-2013 10:37 AM)thegalen Wrote:  

(03-04-2013 03:30 AM)Razor Ramon Monarch Wrote:  There is no doubt that the a10, even with the 5 best teams historically beside vcu leaving, is still much better than the crappy Caa which has become a complete joke without vcu and odu. You certainly made the right move, but with the next 5 best teams all gone, your "revenue sharing" will only be worth whatever the a-10 can really rack up this year.

Next year, with Lasalle coming back to earth, Richmond on the wrong side of the bubble and vcu being the only tourney team, the a10 could very well end up being a 1 bid league again.

To think the a10 will consistently get multiple at large bids with vcu, Lasalle and St. joes as its top 3 teams is absurd. Quite frankly, without your wins over the top a10 teams, vcu would barely be an at large candidate this year based on what you did ooc. Just a fact, your résumé wasn't nearly as strong as vcu fans would like to think before you smacked Butler.

Before you go all "gonzaga of the east", you might want to take a reality check. With the other top 5 teams leaving, your leagues media contract is going to dry up big time, as are the multi bids and media exposure. It's been great for vcu this year, no doubt about it, but to assume it will be the same 5 years down the road with all those teams gone is ridiculous.

Not to mention, when that money does dry up, there is a very big chance Shaka smart is gone. I know the more delusional vcu fans (and god knows there are plenty of them) have talked themselves into thinking Shaka will be at vcu for the next decade or longer, but there is a very good chance if vcu gets stuck in an extremely watered down a10, he bolts for the right bcs job when it opens up.

I think Shaka very smartly learned from Anthony grant not to jump at the first bcs offer to come his way, and as such, turned down some crappy bcs gigs last year that could have offered him more money but not a big chance to succeed long term. So since the a10 was looking great for this year and Shaka knew what he had returning, he decided to bide his time and become much more choosy on the next job he takes. Very astute move on his part, he doesn't want to go to a program like South Carolina or Alabama where basketball will always play second fiddle.


Quite frankly, I could see Shaka waiting for boheim or Donovan to retire and taking over those programs or perhaps even taking over uconn when their sanctions are up.

There are any number of schools that would love to make a splash by signing Shaka. I know vcu fans think he's completely dedicated to vcu, but for an extra mil a year, especially now that you conference has completely fallen apart, he is out the door.

I'll make a bet with any vcu fan who wants to put their money where their mouth is, whatever you want to bet, if Shaka is still coaching vcu by the time the younger Burgess graduates you win, if he's gone by that time I win. Pretty simple bet. That's how confident I am that he is leaving in the next 4 years. Butler St. Louis and Xavier leaving were the impetus needed for smart to move on. Of course he will say he isn't going anywhere......right up until he bolts town. Capel and grant said the exact same thing, that they "loved it in Richmond and didnt want to go anywhere". We saw how that worked out.

Btw, I also don't see you winning an NCAA tourney game this year. Away from the Siegel center, your team has been very very average. You barely beat Memphis at the beginning of the year when they were playing like crap, you really should have lost to Xavier as you were down 17 and they completed choked that game away, you lost to Richmond on the road and at Louis absolutely destroyed you.

He's your ooc road wins: odu rpi 300+, etsu rpi 260+, Winthrop rpi 275


Those are the teams you've beaten ooc on the road. Yeah, you are tough to beat at home, especially when you are allowed to break the rules of the game because you call it "havoc", but away from the Siegel center you've barely been an NCAA tourney team. You've played the easiest schedule in the a10 as well, which has helped inflate your record.

I have another prediction for you, temple absolutely buries you in Philly next Saturday. They will completely out physical your team and push you around in the paint. Just wait and see and we can revisit this post after Saturday.

As for Shaka leaving, that'll be at least another year or two most likely, but it absolutely is coming and no amount of burying your head in the sand will change that fact. The sky is in fact falling for vcu, some of your fans just want to ignore reality.

Don't worry though, many of our fans did the exact same thing when Blaine was coaching and recruiting this team right into the gutter for the last few years and no matter how many times I sounded the alarm bell, most of our fans just weren't smart enough to see the bigger picture. Now we are paying the price. Luckily for vcu though, you have a much better system in place thanks to your past couple of coaches and will never get anywhere near the depths we are currently experiencing. In fact, I even doubt vcu will have a losing record anytime within the next decade because of the ability your coaches have recruited and the passion your fanbase has shown, kids will want to continue to play for vcu even after smart leaves, not to mention playing in a much weaker league will allow you to rack up conference victories season after season.

But have no doubt....smart is leaving, and it's sooner than any of your fans want to think or admit. But even so, you should be fine as much like the odu job, a vcu opening would draw some of the best non bcs coaches and assistants to apply for the job. You did things the right way, as much as it hurts to admit that, and it's paying off big time. I hated the way Taylor did things and stated as much constantly and it's completely destroyed this program.

Huh? How are the best [historical] 5 teams leaving? Only Temple and Xavier have played more NCAA games than Saint Joes, with X only up on the Hawks by 3. St. Joes sits at #38 for most NCAA wins and, FWIW, they were also picked to win the conference and finish in the top 3 in the tournament. Again, Temple was already gone. Meanwhile, Dayton is on the bubble for even making the A10 tournament (top 12 teams). SLU is playing out of their minds in an emotional season with Majerus' kids, but their coach will not be around next year so there are some question marks there. To top it off Davidson, from the lowly SoCon, has played and won nearly twice as many tournament games as SLU has (as has Lasalle), and they've managed to do so with a better RPI rank over the last 10 seasons.


X and Butler hurt, but Dayton and SLU can be replaced. What's left is what the conference would have looked like anyway with Temple and Charlotte leaving, plus VCU instead of Xavier. Yes, the overall RPI will drop, but teams shut out of the top 2-3 by Temple, X, Butler and SLU will see their winning percentages (25% of RPI) go up once those schools are gone and the A10's minimum scheduling requirements(which speaks to the remaining 75%) will keep it from dropping too far. The A10 has been a 3-4 bid league for 6 seasons now. No doubt there will be a drop off, but it won't be to a 1 bid league.

As for Smart staying for 3 more seasons (including 2013-2014), I'll take that bet. The practice facility will be 100% paid for via private funds, and the note on our arena will be gone this year. Even if media rights payouts go from ~$400k to zero (what we were making when we were paying Smart in the CAA), the bulk of the revenue sharing that would double or triple what was left for us in the CAA comes from exit fees and tournament units. Xavier, for example, has 50 or so annual unit payouts that are active through the next 6 years. If SLU/Butler/Temple can put together 2 wins between them for 5 games played, that's $9.5 million on top of what Temple and X leave behind, on top of $2 million in exit fees from Charlotte and Temple, on top of a likely $4-8 million from X+Butler or X, Butler, SLU & Dayton. Assuming all 5 teams leave, we get 1/11th of all of that. The media deal is just icing, as is the 75% retained from any games VCU plays this year (we net $1.12 mill for going one and done).

Money won't begin to be a problem unless we're talking about tripling Smart's salary, but I do agree that Smart could eventually go to a UCLA type situation. I wouldn't, though, underestimate his ties to Richmond and VCU. In talking about working to be the "Gonzaga of the East", I don't mean that as a throwaway line. Mark Few and Shaka Smart will spend their second summer with Billy Donovan coaching the USA U19 World Championship teams. They're not just peers and friends: Few really is a mentor of sorts to Smart not only when it comes to coaching, but also program development.

Anyway, conference realignment isn't over (not by a long shot), so it will be interesting to see what happens to the CAA's "Big 3" as our paths diverge. In a way, each school has chosen a different route, and time will tell which one pays off.

I guess I should have said most recently as far as 5 of the top 6. St joes hasn't won a game since delonte west was there (at least I don't think they have) and quoting preseason rankings to prove they are good is an auto fail. They've been disappointing to say the very least.

Btw Charlotte has a solid recent history as well and made a final 4 themselves back in the 70's. They were a borderline at large team up until a few weeks ago and also have a very solid program, historically speaking. To ignore their loss is a little bit silly.

As for the money sharing in the a-10, no doubt it is impressive, that's why I said for the next 5 years, vcu is sitting pretty regardless of what happens to eveyone else in the league because not only will you compete year after year for an at large, you will also rack up the exit fees and tourney shares other teams forfeit. That will work out very well for vcu. You also play an exciting brand of ball and have a great home court advantage that young kids will want to play in. Yes, it hurts to admit this.

Regardless, long term, you will see that money fall out. Stating what happened the last couple years is pointless, it is what will happen in the future. If you take out St. Louis, temple, Charlotte, Dayton and Xavier this year and then assume vcu wins the a10 tourney title, the a10 would only be a 2 bid league this year.

But again, that's only because both vcu and Lasalle racked up big time rpi points by playing those a10 powers and racking up marquee wins. A very strong case could be made Lasalle would not be an at large team and vcu would barely be on the bubble without all those top 100 a-10 conference wins. Those will dry up big time in 2 years.

And consider the bet taken, although I said 4 years from now, not 3, when Burgess graduates from vcu. If Shaka is still there, I will be extremely surprised. Especially if vcu keeps winning NCAA tourney games. His success may end up being vcu's own worst enemy. He keeps winning tourney games and some bcs school will make him an offer he CAN'T refuse. Vcu will never be able to match top tier bcs money long term in the faded a10 of the future.

Btw, I realize confidence switching isn't done, but I think vcu's is. The c7 is going to stay all private schools, even if they have to take UR, and the new big east football schools will want exactly that, football schools.

Our decision to start football and then go fbs so quickly might be the best decision we ever made. We probably have a better chance at joining ECU and temple etc. in the nBE that vcu does simply because football is going to drive that ship.

Either that or perhaps a new east coast super conference is formed in both basketball and football and we see odu and vcu join a league with gmu (vcu and gmu bball only) temple, ECU, Charlotte, Delaware, navy (football only), umass, Marshall, Memphis, ucf, western Kentucky, middle tenn st. and maybe a few others.

That conference would make far more sense than the current cusa or an a10 with Wichita state or Davidson etc.

I would love to be back in the same league as vcu with a new east coast super league. Think a new, modern Caa conglomerate of football and basketball schools only with much more talent and much fewer bottom feeders.

One can always hope anyways.

(03-04-2013 04:06 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  I don't think there's much chance the A-10 will have their tournament in Richmond. This state desperately needs a decent municipal arena either in Norfolk or Richmond. RC needs to be taken out to the back and shot, the Scope makes RC look like MSG and I wouldn't host a diarrhea competition at the Hampton Coliseum.

Both schools did what was best for them, even if it turns out not to work quite as well as originally hoped (no X/Butler for VCU, no ECU for ODU). But the CAA is no place to be if you have legitimate ambitions and the wherewithal to do something about them.

Random thought: Remember when Tony Mercurio was mooing about what a horrible mistake ODU was making by going to C-USA, and that they should follow VCU into the A-10? Wonder if he feels the same way now? He probably doesn't remember it because it's not food.

The scope has dished out millions in renovations and is far far superior to the RC, although still not "great" by any stretch. At least the ceiling doesn't leak though.

As for mecurio, how his heart hasn't exploded yet is really beyond me. He eats his weight in food on a daily basis and can't even fit in a jazzy scooter to cart his double wide @ss around. The fact that he was dead wrong about odu was just the icing on his fat cake smeared fingers.

Molinaro was also just as wrong and stupid, in the past 2 years he has said that "odu was making a mistake going to cusa", "odu wouldn't win a single game in the Caa and we would get a wake up call", "Odus fans would eventually abandon the football program as soon as we have a bad season" and that "Blaine deserved at the very least another year (right before he was canned)"

If molinaro EVER comes out in support of even your kids peewee football team, run for the hills. The guy is just all kinds of wrong/fail. For someone who gets paid to have an opinion about sports, his sure is worthless.

When comparing the Scope to the Richmond Coliseum, I was thinking in terms of size and ability to host a major event. In reality, they both suck in that regard. Neither city will ever get anything bigger than the MEAC tourney or minor-league hockey with their facilities.

Mercurio was hilarious the day the news came out about the C-USA invite. You'd think someone as integral to Old Dominion as he said he was would have had more lead time on news like this, yet it was obvious he was as poleaxed as if he'd never heard of the school before going on the air. He was upset because it would require longer road trips to be with his Lady Monarchs, and also because it would wreck his long-term bromance with Mike Schikman.

(I remember the day the news came out, Mercurio was whining about the move and used as his justification "well, Mike Schikman at JMU says ODU is good enough to be in the Big East now!" Never mind that something like 12 former or current Big East members made the move directly from CUSA. Because his crush told him so, he insisted ODU should just go to the Big East right away, as if it were an option)

I'll cut Molinaro and the others a break on the winless-in-the-CAA thing because honestly, the expectations had to be pretty low for a team that feasted on FCS/D-II wildebeest for two seasons and was about to start play in the so-called SEC of the FCS. ODU's best opponents to that point -- William and Mary, and Cal Poly -- were losses. Yeah, the William and Mary game was close, but Cal Poly was a shitkicking, and you can't take success against the likes of VMI, Campbell and North Carolina Central and translate that against JMU, Richmond, Delaware and Villanova. Then they ran riot on the CAA and nobody with a quarter-ounce of brain doubted them again.

Quote:I have another prediction for you, temple absolutely buries you in Philly next Saturday. They will completely out physical your team and push you around in the paint. Just wait and see and we can revisit this post after Saturday.

Bump.