Per their Twitter. Leaving historic Municipal Auditorium, that sat 7,000+.

(09-18-2018 03:34 PM)SeattleVandals Wrote:  Per their Twitter. Leaving historic Municipal Auditorium, that sat 7,000+.

They never filled it. Maybe there are plans to eventually increase the size of the on campus gym.

(09-18-2018 03:54 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  

(09-18-2018 03:34 PM)SeattleVandals Wrote:  Per their Twitter. Leaving historic Municipal Auditorium, that sat 7,000+.

They never filled it. Maybe there are plans to eventually increase the size of the on campus gym.

If they ever grow as a program I'm sure Municipal Auditorium will always be an option. If it isn't, Sprint Center could be something if the program sustains a few years of winning and attendance is at least a few thousand on average. Until then, hopefully they sell out the on campus gym.

It isn't very forward thinking, but maybe it will get students excited about the program

What does a "Few" years entail? 2-3 winning seasons? 5-8? 10 years of winning?

(09-30-2018 11:56 PM)Lopes87 Wrote:  What does a "Few" years entail? 2-3 winning seasons? 5-8? 10 years of winning?

Could be as little as 3-4, as long as they consistently are selling out the on campus arena and have a need to accommodate more seating. Could be sooner if they keep selling out too early. But doubt it ever gets to this point with Sprint Center, likely just Municipal Auditorium if they need more room. Winning will bring fans, consistent winning will bring fans and a move to a bigger arena

(09-18-2018 03:34 PM)SeattleVandals Wrote:  Per their Twitter. Leaving historic Municipal Auditorium, that sat 7,000+.

Not until January though. Non-conference games will be at Municipal

UMKC announced this week that they have raised $1.5 million to make improvements in the look of Swinney.
http://www.umkckangaroos.com/ViewArticle...=211801116

"... enhancements that will occur in dedicated areas that house the sports medicine and sports performance units. Providing state-of-the-art facilities to service the student-athletes’ medical and nutritional needs is one of the department’s main initiatives. There will be a new refueling station, along with increased training and work space, signage and storage. “Our new facility renovations and upgrades reflect our commitment to providing our student-athletes with the resources and support necessary to compete at the highest level,” said Dr. Martin."

The link to the renderings are here:
http://www.umkckangaroos.com/pdf9/5487157.pdf
(Is there something subliminal that they have a Creighton Bluejay logo on page 2?)

They got an AD who knows what he is doing. They got a MBB HC who has had success at a mid-major.
It shows renewed commitment to athletics. Rome wasn't made in a day. It's a start.

That was a sad facility in their NAIA days. Worse when they were D2. Almost unbelievable considering they have been D1 for over three decades. But it is appropriate for the size of crowds they draw.[/u]

In business they say, "Sales cures all ills." In college sports, "Winning is the best medicine." It seems like UMKC is trying to get good. They are at least talking about an on campus arena. If they can achieve some success and sustain it for a few years, maybe things look very different in KC in 10 years?

(04-26-2019 07:11 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  They got an AD who knows what he is doing. They got a MBB HC who has had success at a mid-major.
It shows renewed commitment to athletics. Rome wasn't made in a day. It's a start.

What success did he have? No NCAAs or NITs. Why didn't he get a head coaching job the last 3 years? I don't know how hiring a guy that nobody else wanted shows a "renewed commitment to athletics".

(04-27-2019 10:03 AM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(04-26-2019 07:11 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  They got an AD who knows what he is doing. They got a MBB HC who has had success at a mid-major.
It shows renewed commitment to athletics. Rome wasn't made in a day. It's a start.

What success did he have? No NCAAs or NITs. Why didn't he get a head coaching job the last 3 years? I don't know how hiring a guy that nobody else wanted shows a "renewed commitment to athletics".

Well, at least Billy Donlon has posted multiple 20-plus win season while at Wright State in the Horizon League. So, Donlon "should" be an upgrade from Richardson. Looking at the current WAC coaches, only Chris Jans (two appearances in three years of D1 coaching), Jim Hayford (one appearance in eight years of D1 coaching) and Rod Barnes (four appearances in twenty years of D1 coaching) have taken a Division 1 team to the NCAA Tournament. So, Donlon should fit in well in the WAC.

NMSU played 35 games last year. 20 wins doesn’t mean jack **** anymore.

(04-27-2019 12:34 PM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  NMSU played 35 games last year. 20 wins doesn’t mean jack **** anymore.

Well, for a program which expects to go to the NCAA tournament each year like NMSU, 20-plus wins is nothing. But for a program like UMKC, which has seen little success, 20 wins a season might keep Donlon his job through at least his first contact. Look at Mark Pope. All he has is a few 20 win seasons to his name (No NCAA appearances) but it got him the the BYU gig.

(04-27-2019 10:03 AM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  What success did he have? No NCAAs or NITs. Why didn't he get a head coaching job the last 3 years? I don't know how hiring a guy that nobody else wanted shows a "renewed commitment to athletics".

Donlon is from the Chicago area and had family members with health issues. I think that is part of the reason he stayed at Northwestern (and his wife was made a partner in a law firm). I understood that he had offers but chose not to take them. I thought that UMKC would likely choose an "economical" head coach given their widely publicized budget issues. I thought they would take an assistant at a larger program and make him a first time head coach. I was pushing for the most successful D2 HC who is in their backyard- at least he has head coaching experience and should be affordable as a D2 move up. But UMKC went beyond both those scenarios.

UMKC hired a guy who has had good success at a mid-major. I think UMKC would be thrilled if Donlon could have his Wright State success repeated in KC. They also opened the checkbook a little wider to get him. I think UMKC is stepping up. The new AD has raised $1.5 M & is making improvements at Swinney, has started a new athletic fund, has been engaging the students, made improvements in the track program. And he is only been there like 6 months. It will be interesting to see how their MBB plays out in the next few years.

(04-27-2019 10:03 AM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(04-26-2019 07:11 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  They got an AD who knows what he is doing. They got a MBB HC who has had success at a mid-major.
It shows renewed commitment to athletics. Rome wasn't made in a day. It's a start.

What success did he have? No NCAAs or NITs. Why didn't he get a head coaching job the last 3 years? I don't know how hiring a guy that nobody else wanted shows a "renewed commitment to athletics".

You cannot view success at most mid-major schools on appearances in NCAA Tournaments and NIT tournaments. Maybe at NMSU, but not at schools like UVU or Seattle. UMKC finally hired a real AD. He has focused on fundraising instead of excuses. He hired an experienced head coach, a coach with a winning record. UMKC has a 375-516 record in men's basketball and over the last 25 years has never won more than 18 games in a season.

Donlon was fired from Wright State in 2016 despite leading the Raiders to a 22-13 record, his third 20-win season in six years running the program. His teams made three Horizon League Tournament title games but lost each time. If he could accomplish that at UMKC, he would be a success.

Donlon was an assistant at Northwestern the past two seasons under Chris Collins, someone he had known since the 5th grade. He is only 42 years old with a winning record at a D1 school. An excellent hiring by the UMKC AD.

I think a school like UMKC is unlikely to change. If the institution had a genuine desire to be better, they would have shown it before now. I suspect this is another "false start" that will end as soon as this crop of admins turns over, when they get a different president, when funding changes, or something of that sort. I don't know exactly why things won't change--that is still to be determined , but I promise you in 5, 10, 15 years we'll still be having the same discussions about them.

This last coach was an assistant at Louisville with a fresh national championship to his credit as an assistant. He was supposed to be a sign of how much renewed effort they are putting into athletics.

(04-26-2019 07:11 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  UMKC announced this week that they have raised $1.5 million to make improvements in the look of Swinney.
http://www.umkckangaroos.com/ViewArticle...=211801116

"... enhancements that will occur in dedicated areas that house the sports medicine and sports performance units. Providing state-of-the-art facilities to service the student-athletes’ medical and nutritional needs is one of the department’s main initiatives. There will be a new refueling station, along with increased training and work space, signage and storage. “Our new facility renovations and upgrades reflect our commitment to providing our student-athletes with the resources and support necessary to compete at the highest level,” said Dr. Martin."

The link to the renderings are here:
http://www.umkckangaroos.com/pdf9/5487157.pdf
(Is there something subliminal that they have a Creighton Bluejay logo on page 2?)

They got an AD who knows what he is doing. They got a MBB HC who has had success at a mid-major.
It shows renewed commitment to athletics. Rome wasn't made in a day. It's a start.

I wonder if they can add seats on what looks like a track above the courts.
LIU Brooklyn uses a rec center with a 2500 seat set up not bad to build from.

(04-30-2019 02:04 PM)Todor Wrote:  I think a school like UMKC is unlikely to change. If the institution had a genuine desire to be better, they would have shown it before now. I suspect this is another "false start" that will end as soon as this crop of admins turns over, when they get a different president, when funding changes, or something of that sort. I don't know exactly why things won't change--that is still to be determined , but I promise you in 5, 10, 15 years we'll still be having the same discussions about them.

This last coach was an assistant at Louisville with a fresh national championship to his credit as an assistant. He was supposed to be a sign of how much renewed effort they are putting into athletics.

I talked about this last season but honestly this is every program besides NMSU & GCU. The jump NMSU made this year with no one star player was very impressive. If they maintain that jump, they will be way ahead of everyone else. The WAC increasingly reminds me of WCC with NMSU being Gonzaga and every one else just participating. Maybe GCU is St Mary's. WAC has a major competitive balance problem.

Still a nice hire by roos, but they usually are in the beginning.

Gonzaga = NMSU?
St Mary's = GCU ?

Lets try this

NMSU = BYU
GCU = USF
Seattle= LMU
UVU = Santa Clara
UTRGV = USD
CBU is CBU
UMKC is UMKC
ChicagoSt is ChicagoSt
Bake is heading to the Big West
Dixie is a D2 school still...

No one in the WAC is Gonzaga or St Mary's both have won NCAA tournament games multiple times since any of these WAC members have won 1 NCAA tournament game combined.

(05-10-2019 11:40 AM)Lopes87 Wrote:  Gonzaga = NMSU?
St Mary's = GCU ?

Lets try this

NMSU = BYU
GCU = USF
Seattle= LMU
UVU = Santa Clara
UTRGV = USD
CBU is CBU
UMKC is UMKC
ChicagoSt is ChicagoSt
Bake is heading to the Big West
Dixie is a D2 school still...

No one in the WAC is Gonzaga or St Mary's both have won NCAA tournament games multiple times since any of these WAC members have won 1 NCAA tournament game combined.

I think you missed the point of the post. RoosHouse was talking about parity in the league not the number of NCAA tournament appearances. He is saying that NMSU is like Gonzaga because both win their individual conferences almost every single year. Personally, I think it is a fair comparison.