Huge bummer. Zorich is a big name around here and started to turn the department around. Irreplaceable name value.

https://chicagocrusader.com/zorich-out-a...rthcoming/

Quote:However one big rumor swirling around the campus in which CSU officials would neither confirm nor deny is that has student-athletes and coaches concerned about the University’s commitment to Division I athletics soon, is of an upcoming audit. The Crusader has learned through sources at other institutions in the WAC and sources at CSU that the University has hired an outside auditor to do an assessment of CSU athletics, who will then recommend if the school should remain in Division I. The auditor will be paid around $50,000. The auditor served 17 years at a Big 12 Conference school as an athletic director.

Believe the auditor is former Mizzou AD Mike Alden.

Give 2 weeks, they are done.

Chicago State has (and has had) much bigger problems than athletics. Their freshmen class was recently under 100 kids. Enrollments have plummeted. They had to shut down campus a year ago due to being unable to heat the buildings. The school consistently remains a threat to close.

It's a miracle that the institution has been able to remain open.

That $50,000 is the cost of having an "outside expert" to blame for dropping down in classification. That's a decision that could, and should, have been made already by the school, but hasn't for political reasons.

(08-03-2019 12:44 PM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  It's a miracle that the institution has been able to remain open.

It truly is.

And had there not been as much activity in the WAC with it shedding members and calling on D2 call-ups, I think CSU would have gotten the boot, maybe forcing this ultimate decision sooner.

This is the end of the line for Chicago State as a D1 program.

Tarleton State and Colorado Mesa are up to bat for the WAC to replace Chicago State. Other schools that WAC mentioned last year need to raise funds to upgrade their facilities. Those 2 already upgraded or in process in upgrading. Central Washington and West Texas A&M are also in the middle of upgrading their facilities.

Those 4 are more ready to go D1 than any others right now. All 4 could actually play Independent in the area because west coast schools do have issues getting games OOC with a lack of teams.

It might help the WAC find that 8th school western school now that the fathest east the conference will have to go is the Texas Rio Grande

(08-03-2019 02:05 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Tarleton State and Colorado Mesa are up to bat for the WAC to replace Chicago State. Other schools that WAC mentioned last year need to raise funds to upgrade their facilities. Those 2 already upgraded or in process in upgrading. Central Washington and West Texas A&M are also in the middle of upgrading their facilities.

Those 4 are more ready to go D1 than any others right now. All 4 could actually play Independent in the area because west coast schools do have issues getting games OOC with a lack of teams.

There you go again, Mesa is not interested in going D1 for reasons I have stated numerous times.


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(08-03-2019 02:59 PM)Jjoey52 Wrote:  

(08-03-2019 02:05 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Tarleton State and Colorado Mesa are up to bat for the WAC to replace Chicago State. Other schools that WAC mentioned last year need to raise funds to upgrade their facilities. Those 2 already upgraded or in process in upgrading. Central Washington and West Texas A&M are also in the middle of upgrading their facilities.

Those 4 are more ready to go D1 than any others right now. All 4 could actually play Independent in the area because west coast schools do have issues getting games OOC with a lack of teams.

There you go again, Mesa is not interested in going D1 for reasons I have stated numerous times.


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You do not know. People like you said the exact same thing with Northern Kentucky and North Alabama saying they are not interested in going to D1. Next thing you hear, the school announced they are going to D1.

(08-03-2019 02:06 PM)solohawks Wrote:  It might help the WAC find that 8th school western school now that the fathest east the conference will have to go is the Texas Rio Grande

The membership situation looks so much more solid than it did a few years ago.

UMKC made a gamble on the WAC which didnt pan but otherwise its pulled itself together.

(08-03-2019 03:03 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(08-03-2019 02:59 PM)Jjoey52 Wrote:  

(08-03-2019 02:05 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Tarleton State and Colorado Mesa are up to bat for the WAC to replace Chicago State. Other schools that WAC mentioned last year need to raise funds to upgrade their facilities. Those 2 already upgraded or in process in upgrading. Central Washington and West Texas A&M are also in the middle of upgrading their facilities.

Those 4 are more ready to go D1 than any others right now. All 4 could actually play Independent in the area because west coast schools do have issues getting games OOC with a lack of teams.

There you go again, Mesa is not interested in going D1 for reasons I have stated numerous times.


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You do not know. People like you said the exact same thing with Northern Kentucky and North Alabama saying they are not interested in going to D1. Next thing you hear, the school announced they are going to D1.

Stop hijacking every thread with your fantasy D2 call-ups and stop telling people what they do not know. Do you need a reminder on what you thought a Nanook is?

It’s August and I’ve received no solicitation to renew season tickets. There’s also no option on the website. Looks like season tickets won’t be sold this year and you can only buy walk-up.

(08-03-2019 04:09 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(08-03-2019 02:06 PM)solohawks Wrote:  It might help the WAC find that 8th school western school now that the fathest east the conference will have to go is the Texas Rio Grande

The membership situation looks so much more solid than it did a few years ago.

UMKC made a gamble on the WAC which didnt pan but otherwise its pulled itself together.

I agree. While at only 7 once next year begins, assuming this Chicago St exit goes through, the footprint is much tighter and the league will hopefully be able to expand with a purpose and end game in mind

The WAC will have five full D1 members is 2020 right?
With Cal-Baptist and Dixie St transitioning.
If I was NAU and SUU I would look into joining and leaving football in the BSC.
That would be pretty tight geography for Cal- Baptist , GCU,NAU,DSU,SUU and UVU .
Versus the Big Sky and NMSU is not too bad UTRG is pretty far out but warm at least. Seattle has a big airport so cheap flights vs the more isolated BSC schools.
With nine in each conference a challenge series H&H could give nine guaranteed home games. Less mouths to feed less travel cost.

Not likely but this is a realignment board.

(08-03-2019 07:24 PM)CoastalVANDAL Wrote:  The WAC will have five full D1 members is 2020 right?
With Cal-Baptist and Dixie St transitioning.
If I was NAU and SUU I would look into joining and leaving football in the BSC.
That would be pretty tight geography for Cal- Baptist , GCU,NAU,DSU,SUU and UVU .
Versus the Big Sky and NMSU is not too bad UTRG is pretty far out but warm at least. Seattle has a big airport so cheap flights vs the more isolated BSC schools.
With nine in each conference a challenge series H&H could give nine guaranteed home games. Less mouths to feed less travel cost.

Not likely but this is a realignment board.

At first, I thought this was a lame idea, but it might just work, biggest question would the BSC let them leave except for football.

I like the challenge idea, it is hard for BSC schools to get decent OOC home games.


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(08-03-2019 12:15 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  Huge bummer. Zorich is a big name around here and started to turn the department around. Irreplaceable name value.

https://chicagocrusader.com/zorich-out-a...rthcoming/

Quote:However one big rumor swirling around the campus in which CSU officials would neither confirm nor deny is that has student-athletes and coaches concerned about the University’s commitment to Division I athletics soon, is of an upcoming audit. The Crusader has learned through sources at other institutions in the WAC and sources at CSU that the University has hired an outside auditor to do an assessment of CSU athletics, who will then recommend if the school should remain in Division I. The auditor will be paid around $50,000. The auditor served 17 years at a Big 12 Conference school as an athletic director.

Believe the auditor is former Mizzou AD Mike Alden.

Z Scott may well shut down athletics. She has been systematically trimming all the Watson employees in unnecessary jobs. There are about $5M to recover annually by shutting down athletics which the school desperately needs to keep going. (This is a school who collected only $47,460 in ticket sales for all sports since 2010, and except for one massive $96K donation collected only $10,115 in donations otherwise over that time frame.) None of their teams win more than a few games. It's dreadful.

Nobody goes to the games and it costs a fortune to open the JCC for games. They have no compliance officer, and they missed the 2014 reported to the DoE. There are only 1,297 full time students and only 409 of them are men. This is a public school.

(08-03-2019 08:24 PM)Jjoey52 Wrote:  

(08-03-2019 07:24 PM)CoastalVANDAL Wrote:  The WAC will have five full D1 members is 2020 right?
With Cal-Baptist and Dixie St transitioning.
If I was NAU and SUU I would look into joining and leaving football in the BSC.
That would be pretty tight geography for Cal- Baptist , GCU,NAU,DSU,SUU and UVU .
Versus the Big Sky and NMSU is not too bad UTRG is pretty far out but warm at least. Seattle has a big airport so cheap flights vs the more isolated BSC schools.
With nine in each conference a challenge series H&H could give nine guaranteed home games. Less mouths to feed less travel cost.

Not likely but this is a realignment board.

At first, I thought this was a lame idea, but it might just work, biggest question would the BSC let them leave except for football.

I like the challenge idea, it is hard for BSC schools to get decent OOC home games.


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They would probably follow Dixie's lead and go FCS independent, then maybe convince either the WAC or Summit to start FCS football.

(08-03-2019 07:24 PM)CoastalVANDAL Wrote:  The WAC will have five full D1 members is 2020 right?
With Cal-Baptist and Dixie St transitioning.
If I was NAU and SUU I would look into joining and leaving football in the BSC.
That would be pretty tight geography for Cal- Baptist , GCU,NAU,DSU,SUU and UVU .
Versus the Big Sky and NMSU is not too bad UTRG is pretty far out but warm at least. Seattle has a big airport so cheap flights vs the more isolated BSC schools.
With nine in each conference a challenge series H&H could give nine guaranteed home games. Less mouths to feed less travel cost.

Not likely but this is a realignment board.

NAU has been in the Big Sky since before most people on this message board were born. They're not going to leave that for an unstable conference with two schools that were in Division II five minutes ago and two other schools that are farther away from NAU than any of the Big Sky schools.

(08-03-2019 08:47 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  

(08-03-2019 12:15 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  Huge bummer. Zorich is a big name around here and started to turn the department around. Irreplaceable name value.

https://chicagocrusader.com/zorich-out-a...rthcoming/

Quote:However one big rumor swirling around the campus in which CSU officials would neither confirm nor deny is that has student-athletes and coaches concerned about the University’s commitment to Division I athletics soon, is of an upcoming audit. The Crusader has learned through sources at other institutions in the WAC and sources at CSU that the University has hired an outside auditor to do an assessment of CSU athletics, who will then recommend if the school should remain in Division I. The auditor will be paid around $50,000. The auditor served 17 years at a Big 12 Conference school as an athletic director.

Believe the auditor is former Mizzou AD Mike Alden.

Z Scott may well shut down athletics. She has been systematically trimming all the Watson employees in unnecessary jobs. There are about $5M to recover annually by shutting down athletics which the school desperately needs to keep going. (This is a school who collected only $47,460 in ticket sales for all sports since 2010, and except for one massive $96K donation collected only $10,115 in donations otherwise over that time frame.) None of their teams win more than a few games. It's dreadful.

Nobody goes to the games and it costs a fortune to open the JCC for games. They have no compliance officer, and they missed the 2014 reported to the DoE. There are only 1,297 full time students and only 409 of them are men. This is a public school.

They have a smaller enrollment than my alma mater, the University of Montevallo!!!

(08-03-2019 05:36 PM)solohawks Wrote:  

(08-03-2019 04:09 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(08-03-2019 02:06 PM)solohawks Wrote:  It might help the WAC find that 8th school western school now that the fathest east the conference will have to go is the Texas Rio Grande

The membership situation looks so much more solid than it did a few years ago.

UMKC made a gamble on the WAC which didnt pan but otherwise its pulled itself together.

I agree. While at only 7 once next year begins, assuming this Chicago St exit goes through, the footprint is much tighter and the league will hopefully be able to expand with a purpose and end game in mind

Been saying for a couple of years now that losing UMKC and Chicago State would be a blessing in disguise for the WAC. Nothing against those two schools, whose presence was essential to saving the WAC’s basketball auto-bid when the conference was on the brink of collapse, but it was a marriage of convenience that the WAC and UMKC no longer need and Chicago State can no longer afford.

With a tighter geographic footprint and improved competitiveness in men’s basketball as selling points I think the WAC is well-positioned to land the one or two additional members it needs to reach relative stability. I don’t have illusions that any Big Sky schools would join but there are other potential candidates in the neighborhood, notably Western Washington and Azusa Pacific. Also I have to think the Lone Star Conference’s recent expansion to an unwieldy 19 members will spur more Texas D-II schools to join Tarleton State in considering a move up. With the Southland already packed at 13 their only realistic D-I option would be the WAC.