BMF,
I would like to invite you to a men's basketball game next season. I have 2 season tickets, so you're welcome to be my guest at a game. I think I met you about 16 years ago at a game, so I know sort of remember who you are. Based on the fact that you're still trying to bring back a dead argument from the 2000's decade about the armory, I will assume that you haven't been to the DAC in about 16 years and are unfamiliar with all of the upgrades that makes the DAC a small but still legitimate mid-major basketball facility. And they managed to upgrade the facility with state of the art coaches and players areas for a fraction of the cost of what it would have taken to turn the armory into an arena.

Please PM me when the 22-23 schedule comes out and we'll set up a day for you to join me at the DAC.

JB

(03-29-2022 01:25 PM)bmf25 Wrote:  Spiker went 45-65 in the Patriot League, and is now 36-63 in the CAA. Bashir is 111-67 in the NEC. How is someone still coaching with such an abysmal conference record? Hopefully Bashir isn't poached by St Joes or Lasalle

Since its the offseason I will entertain this for a moment. 1 NEC is one of the lowest conferences in basketball, well below the CAA or Patriot. Bashir has done well turning Wagner around. But as others stated, even when he has positioned his team, they haven't gotten over the hump and choke when it matters. Very Bruiser-like, unfortunately. Bashir will get better opportunities because he has been winning a bunch of games, his lack of an NCAA appearance has likely kept him at Wagner. He is too smart of a guy to take the La Salle job. Thats a bad job, a really bad job. He is a great ambassador to Drexel, but that does not mean he is the right person to be our coach. Maybe he would do well, who knows. Some wanted him after Bruiser and that would have been a mistake. We are better than a first time head coach at the DI level, alumni or not. He needed to earn his wings some before we should have considered him, in my opinion. He has done that, but whether we want to go back to the Bruiser tree is a legitimate debate.

Here is how Army has done with their challenges since Spiker has left:
2022: 15-16 (9-9)
2021: 12-10 (7-7)
2020: 15-15 (10-8)
2019: 13-19 (8-10)
2018: 13-17 (6-12)
2017: 13-19 (6-12)

81-96 (46-48). Thats 2, 0.500 or winning seasons in 6 years. Spiker had 3 out of his 7 years and 3 out of his final 4. In case you are challenged at math thats a 45% win percentage. Even with Spiker's bad first 2 years at West Point he was at 48% winning there.

Spikers final 6 seasons: 88-97 (41-55). He took over a 11-19 (6-8) team whereas his replacement took over a 19-14 (9-9) team. His replacement went backwards in his first season, and Spiker improved them.

With Drexel Spiker has improved (albeit slowly) each season. That seems to jell with his results at Army. His record seems to show he can build a team from really bad to an average team. All while recruiting with his hands tied behind his back (Academics at Army and apathy/irrelevance/culture at Drexel). And recruiting players that dont cause problems and are also great ambassadors for the university.

On Bashir: He has 3 20 win seasons and was 1st or 2nd 6 times out of his 10 seasons. Yet 0 NCAA appearances. 2 NIT appearances (1-2). Lots of wins, few horrible seasons, and nothing to show for it. Almost identical to Bruiser's tenure here.

Point being Spiker has done well in 2 extremely tough places to win. He may not be the guy you need to constantly challenge for at large bids or tournament victories. But he runs a good program and can turn them around to be respectable. That should be applauded. Doesnt mean you can't strive for higher, as well. The positives clearly outweigh the negatives with Spiker.

(03-29-2022 01:36 PM)bmf25 Wrote:  

(03-29-2022 09:18 AM)DrachenFire Wrote:  I've racked my brain trying to think of the last project done on campus that directly benefited the students that didn't have a ground lease to an outside entity attached to it. The Firestone property was rumored to become a Student Union, but nothing has come of that.

The last Drexel projects to benefit the students:

Lebow Business School Building - 2013
Papadakis Science Building - 2011
Drexel Rec Center - 2010
Millenium Hall - 2009
Race Street Hall - 2007

there won't be any more big projects. as everyone in higher ed knows, the college age population is shrinking. the golden years (such as they were) are over. enrollment peaked in the mid-2010s at around 17,000 undergrads. we're now at around 15,000, and to keep up the buildings we have we have to keep the money flowing in, which will demand an increasingly desperate fight over each incoming freshmen class. the yearly college-age cohort will only continue to get smaller until the us birth rate levels off and things finally shake out some 20 years down the line. the landscape of higher ed will look vastly different then.

the administration is right to bring in external revenue sources, and divest properties that aren't helping the bottom line.

That's a good point, though I'd point out that LeBow and URBN were both funded through the two fundraising campaigns that have taken place over the past decade that have raised $1.2 billion. I don't necessarily disagree with bringing in external revenue sources, but I think there needs to be a happy median. Student housing that is run by ACC is reviewed much worse than that run by the university and they've changed the ability to commute, as I did, in a seeming attempt to force more students into it. And Fry's attempts at running the food trucks off campus seems to be an attempt to force students into more expensive meal plans or the, also more expensive, eateries that are in the new, ground lease paying buildings