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Full Version: Interesting comments from Coach Dambrot
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In explaining his perspective on why the MAC is "down" in basketball:

Quote:Now on the other hand, Akron Coach Keith Dambrot thinks the MAC has emphasized football and not funded basketball.

"You have to put resources into a business to make it grow. I think the CAA and the Missouri Valley have put a big investment into basketball. I think years of neglect have caught up to our conference. If you check the history of our league we have put many more players into the pros than those other leagues," explained Dambrot.

"The MAC made their investment in football, which is fine, but when you look at basketball they are paying the price for it. It is salaries, budgets and buildings. We played at Creighton and we played at Temple. You look at Wichita State's and George Mason's buildings. Our fans expect us to be as good as those teams, but in realty we don't have as good as buildings as the Horizon League."

http://hoopville.net/column/kintner.asp?EntryID=16958

From a ( yet another) blog explaining why MAC basketball has deteriorated. We are 15th in league RPI this year. A team that wants to dance better win it in Cleveland. Instead of worrying about two NCAA bids, we better worry that the NIT doesn't pull their gift.
Given current opinions concerning MAC f-ball scheduling, are b-ball fans truly anxious to have the MAC "invest" in the sport?
We invested in a brand new $35 million building......6-22....... ^ Fr#%$@*@ (6 wins with a $35 million building! SIX ! -6- WINS...thats it....on the other hand the football team has done well with traditionally the poorest facilites around. FB facilites have changed dramaticlly since 2003/2004 we are opening a new building in the north endzone this August and will have a indoor facility within -2- years.

My point is it is more than facilities it is more about people. Salaries are an important part of that resource development especially with 300+ schools competing in D-1 BB. FB there are "only" 120 playing D-1 not as many competitors driving salaries. Our BB coach has historiclly made more money than the FB coach.

PS ....if you know of a decent BB looking for work please forward resume to DeKalb.
Actually, you guys would love Dan Dakich! Really. You would.
Actually I'm hoping for the Hipshers.

After the fiasco in Buffalo the other night, God, I miss the Hipshers!
I hear that Hipsher is available in about 2 weeks. 05-stirthepot
One of the many things that makes NIU such a prize coaching job is the University's history of spending. Not only on facilities, but the marketing bucks to get in the Chicago media market.

Plus, as bopal and I have observed, the Chicago media is fairly friendly to college sports and would get behind a winning Huskies team. (Heck, Channel 2 gave three minutes on the Six O'Clock News to SIU's win over Drake last night with neither as local teams.)

The Huskies have great fans, are in a hoops crazy market, will spend some bucks and have great facilities. You can't have Jimmy Christian or anyone on his staff, but it is an excellent job.
The fact that we have taken so much away from basketball to play in the Toronto Bowl is nuts. The scheduling, the facilities, the salaries, and everything about MAC basketball wreak small time. It's not even like the football side has shown promise either, so I don't know what the heck we are trying to accomplish.
akronzip Wrote:The fact that we have taken so much away from basketball to play in the Toronto Bowl is nuts. The scheduling, the facilities, the salaries, and everything about MAC basketball wreak small time. It's not even like the football side has shown promise either, so I don't know what the heck we are trying to accomplish.

What has the MAC taken away from hoops to play in Toronto, please explain. NIU for example has spent far more $ on it's hoops program than football and has little to show for it. The Convo Center built 5 years ago seats 10K(which are normally empty) at a cost of $36M! If NIU had spent that $ on football, the Huskies would have had the Yordan Center completed years ago plus an IPF and a renovation of Huskie Stadium. The Convo Center is one of the few additions to the campus that has been paid for with public $. The Alumni Center 2.5M(private) the new School of Business $20M (private) the permanent bleachers on the east side of the stadium 10 years ago $2.5+M (private) the new video board at the south end of Huskie Stadium(private).

The Convo Center is an upgrade over the UIC Pavilion, Welsh Ryan Arena(NU) and the Gentile Center(Loyola), but the Huskie hoops team isn't close to either of those programs.

If U want UR program to spend more $ on hoops, try private fundraising efforts. I believe WMU raised the $25M for their IPF privately.
If NIU makes a good hire; if BSU gets back to its winning ways; if UT continues to improve; if BG hires a good coach; if the other programs continue their wins.... This conference could get back to respectability soon.
Akron's basketball coach and AD should look at that pathetic schedule they lined up. Everybody knew Akron would be a great team this year.....but the lined up a schedule that was unacceptable for a program that has goal of being a at-large team.....You can't schedule Denison or whatever that team they beat by 50 points in November.....they should have called up Drexel, Hofstra and said.......were coming.......where do we park the bus. Instead Dambrot decided his team needed to humiliate a D-II or III team by 50 points at home.......Nice job, but that didn't count for rpi or at-large consideration......I would rather MAC teams eliminate D-II home games and play a road game. Kent State playing Shawnee State every year like its the state's biggest rivalry.....come on Kent....you got the team go out and make the MAC proud.....we know Kent can play will any team in the country and where....see the Butler and Duke games......Need to call up teams like Seton Hall, Providence, St John's, Penn State and take a shot at the middle tier teams of the power conferences........The Ohio State and Duke teams on the road are a tall task, but they do help sos and get some TV....just need more of the upper division mids like Butler, Western Kentucky, VCU.......
Nice attempt at sliding KSU in there. Shawnee State was in KSU's tourney because George Mason backed out at the last minute. KSU played Shawnee two years ago in someone else's tournament. They had no control over that one.

KSU did play at Ohio State, Duke and Butler. All three have been top 25 teams since Thanksgiving.
Coming from the fan of a team that played Marshall TWICE and the biggest cry baby of a coach who wants to return to an 18 game MAC schedule because he can't find anyone to play in Athens, this analysis doesn't mean much. Plus, OBJ might want to wait until the Bobs drop oppnents like Bellarmine before clucking over someone's elses's competition.

It's fitting that we beat George Mason in their house after they dropped out of our tourney. Now, we have them in the MACC next year. Don't be surrised if Laing signs them for our second annual Holiday Hoops event. It SHOULD be a MAC event, but apparently the league office is too distracted by figuring out last minute scenarios to get two bids.

I agree that Akron should have done a better job with OOC scheduling. Having said that, this is EXACTLY where the MAC, either peer ADs or the office, should step in and help. If they can spent an hour a day on conference calls to figure out a football schedule that results in no meaningful post season play, they can figure out how to build a OOC schedule to get at least two teams into one of the premeir events for college sports.
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