"Thompson awaits raise"

[SoCalHoya]

I can't see us not locking III down. I think DeGoia and Muir know what is at stake here. People are more engaged with the Hilltop than they have been since...well, maybe ever.

If it's any indication, my Domer wife and her Domer parents are even becoming fans of our program.

[Hank Scorpio]

Lead story on PTI today. Lock it up GTown! [you lock it up!]

socalhoya said:

I can't see us not locking III down. I think DeGoia and Muir know what is at stake here. People are more engaged with the Hilltop than they have been since...well, maybe ever.

If it's any indication, my Domer wife and her Domer parents are even becoming fans of our program.

[naijahoya]

Also on Around the Horn, Jackie MacMullan dedicated her 30 seconds to the issue!

[jerseyhoya34]

Fantastic job here by Barker in light of the administration's current inaction on the facilities and salary issues. I remember back to the last throes of the previous regime and how we were told on this message board that public agitations would not break the status quo, and these suggestions proved to be patently incorrect. The regime cracked at the very center, as the SID faile to get out in front of the story early and often, and Esherick embarassed himself in most dramatic fashion.

A couple of points on the dissent --

1. It seems like the dissent is all about process and not so much about whether or not JT3 should receive an extension. This kind of dissent is petty at best in light of the circumstances and failure of the administration as yet to hammer out a deal, when conditions were ripe even after last season.

2. It is strange that GU should not publicize negotiations now when GU did as much when Esherick received an extension, when there was little compelling reason to do so. The reason presented at the time was "recruiting." Well, we now are recruiting better and have real reason to keep the coach, so the reasons now are greater than ever to make it known that we're sitting at the table. Moreover, the program is no longer irrelevant, as was reported in many news articles at the time of Esherick's contract extension and confirmed by on-court results.

3. The idea of letting Georgetown do it on its own is de facto in opposition to a contract extension. We've waited 3 years since the rally for Georgetown to address the facilities issue and, in doing so, have deferred to the administration. The outcome has been suboptimal. Letting GU run its course, therefore, is a position in support of inaction and no contract extension.

4. I'd be shocked if the players read the Times or listened to the ESPN shows that are covering this, especially now, so it is not a distraction in the context of the team's play. It is a distraction to us, but that is irrelevant to the goal of the program at this time.

5. Trusting GU to make the right decision is not a strategy or option until further notice in these circumstances. When it came to Esherick, they stood behind him only weeks before he was canned and even after several consecutive unsuccessful seasons. Some news outlets have also suggested that the administration lowballed JT3, which is now ever more apparent. Is such an administration worthy of our trust when it comes to paying JT3 his market value?

The cards are on the table, and the time to "evaluate" or "discuss" is over, just as it is on the facilities issue. This alum will not donate a penny to the University ever again if it fails to negotiate an extension successfully. Why? Donations aren't a blank check, and I expect the hoops community's money (which is undoubtedly in full support of JT3 an an extension) to mean something, especially when the football and crew communities combined do not donate as much and have had their needs addressed to a much larger degree.

A couple of points (raised elsewhere) regarding what fans can do outside of rallies, letters, or other forms of advocacy:

1. The administration should set up immediately a fund to which donors can pledge money for basketball coaches' salaries. We cannnot afford to lose our assistants every three years, so we need to pay them more and create more of an incentive for them to stay (especially when they could currently leave for other assistant jobs and get paid significantly more).

2. The administration should set up a like fund for facilities. This fund should be used for real changes instead of the Bandaid nonsense we've seen for the last several years. This money is not for replacement of ceiling tiles or patches for leaky pipes. It is what will enable the wrecking ball to run right through the gym.

Anyway, rant over.

[hoyaveritas]

No school succeeds more in spite of itself than Gtown.

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

Agreed, Jersey. If the University doesn't take the proper steps to ensure that a person who protrays it in such a positive light (meaning more tickets sold, more TV revenue, the MASN deal, more advertisers at games, more applications in general, and really good PR) stays on the hilltop, I am divesting myself from the University. I would encourage others to hold off giving to the University in general until the issue is resolved. This is a threshold identity issue for Georgetown - we can either have an athletics program that represents the school's Jesuit ideals while maintaining a nationally competitive program or we can have no program at all - the window for action is closing because we have talked so long.

In fact we have taken steps backwards during this time. Here are a few:

1) The Athletic Department took the surplus in the Hoop Club budget - over $1M if I remember correctly, which was going to be used for an arena, coaches salaries, and generally as a discretion fund to help out the program under III and redistributed it internally.

2) III delivered a wish list to the Hoop Club early on. This wish list included: new bus, trip to Europe/Canada, team plane, more money for assistants, and a new arena. The issue was taken out of HHC's hands when the accounting practices at McDonough were changed and the surplus was taken away from HHC. Managing that money, McDonough has done the following:

Bus - not new, has a new engine though - that's something ...

Plane - hahahahaha, time-share options were examined but it was never mentioned again and hasn't been brought up in over a year - esentially a dead-end

New Arena - We have talked about having plans.

Assistants - No new money. They are leaving for head coaching jobs. Can't blame them for that - but I question how we're going to attract top-flight recruiters to jobs that aren't going to pay them.

Europe/Canada - has never been brought up. This might be academically tough to do - but it hasn't even been discussed.

So there has been zero investment made in the program other than the expanded marketing budget in the last three years. I am not confident that unless there is a major change in the thinking of McDonough that Thompson III will get a contract that will keep him here. Even if he does, it is unlikely that he will stay longer than until his buy-out becomes feasible for someone to pay because another big-name school that will give him these other tools will come along.

The bottom-line is that the athletic department has a tight budget, and it seems that they have been trying to do a lot with this program very inexpensively. Now we are at a cross-roads where the facilities, budget, and rebuilding of the program have all become one issue at a time when we should be celebrating. I think Muir and DeGioia are too smart to not know that some serious work needs to go into fixing the confluence of these problems and it starts but does not end with a new contract for III.

[SFHoya99]

Wait, the surplus was taken from the HHC? What does that mean? Surplus from what?

My funds were earmarked exclusively for the HHC. I am calling tomorrow to demand paper trail proof that it was used on basketball. I'm so sick of this crap. This University is run like crap.

[DFW HOYA]

The StPetersburg post above on Hoop Club monies is incorrect. Hoop Club funds were never earmarked for an arena, nor was it "redistributed internally" as to suggest it didn't go to men's basketball. Basketball money goes to basketball.

As to facilities, it's such a labyrinth of issues that if Georgetown received $100 million for a building tomorrow, you would be surprised at the numerous legal hurdles still to overcome. The boathouse and the MSF are examples where money alone didn't move the process. That's not to say it's a lost cause, nor should it be, but people have to avoid the conspiracy theories and let the athletic department get this moving forward.

[jerseyhoya34]

As to these points on facilities, that's an excuse for not getting the ball rolling now. We're still at the "review" stage, and you are saying there might be delays at the "advocacy" and "bureaucratic" stages. We have nothing even to present to the hobgoblins running the local government, so I don't think your down-the-road concerns are ripe. Nevermind the willfull ignorance of the administration when it comes to MSF fundraising. Anyone get any recent mailings on that one? There is no process right now due to our administration's vision.
Action is one way to disprove conspiracy theories. We're tired of excuses and have waited long enough for these simple, achievable goals. Their achievement has become ever more difficult by inaction.

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

dfw said:

The StPetersburg post above on Hoop Club monies is incorrect. Hoop Club funds were never earmarked for an arena, nor was it "redistributed internally" as to suggest it didn't go to men's basketball. Basketball money goes to basketball.

First, The comment about earmarking is putting words into my mouth as it the suggestion that redistributed internally means that they didn't go to basketball - my point is that the HHC, an alumni organization, had direct control over funds that could have been used for solving this problem - now we don't know where they are. Its also splitting hairs to say that there is a big difference between an alumni organization setting aside funds with the purpose of using them for facilities or whatever coach wanted and earmarking them. I never used the phrase "earmarked" - but there was an understanding that the funds would be used on an arena or as a discretionary fund to help out the basketball program.

Second, I was at the meetings. I was told that the surplus funds were to be used for an arena or general discretionary fund to support the program as I indicated in my earlier post.

The funds were redistributed within McDonough. I hope they were used for basketball but one they were taken from the Hoop Club, HHC had no oversight over where they went due to the new budgeting procedures.

What isn't being contested is that the HHC had the funds and they were taken away and the record of delivering on what III wanted.

My statement was not incorrect so much as it's being misinterpreted.

[Big Dog]

Let's table the arena discussion for now because its obvious there are hurdles just as large as money to get it done. More important, and more realistic, and more in the exclusive control of the university, is a) Paying coach what he deserves and b) upgrading the PRACTICE facilities, a la what Marquette has. Improving the basketball facilities at Gtown shouldn't be an arena-or-nothing proposition. But getting modern new practice facilities is essential.

It really is amazing what JTIII has accomplished with all of these shortcomings. But that isn't some kind of excuse for not doing something about these problems.

[HoyaTejano]

I second Big Dog on this point. When you talk "facilities", it's not just the stadium you play in, it's where you practice, where you lift weights and where you live.

A new practice facility is a realistic and achieveable near-to-mid term goal for this particular university to have. It would address a real capital asset challenge we have on campus and also be a facilities point to sell recruits on -- short of an on-campus arena.

If you look at the Final Four participants, you see 3 large state schools -- UF, OSU and UCLA. All 3 have very large athletic departments. Two of them -- OSU and UF -- have already competed for one national championship in football this past year. All of their sports are at least competitive, if not outright dominant.

UCLA is a basketball-prime school whose other sports are still pretty darn good. They are (or should be) a credible 8-to10-win squad in football even when USC is powerful.

Then you have Georgetown, which in terms of finances, is a huge overachiever because in the tournament run this year beat UNC, which also has money to burn on all sorts of sports. That said, the university has to show its committment on a basic level, and that means A) a generous extension to JT3 and B) some forward movement on at least practice facilities as an interim fix on the way to a stronger arena capability.

[DonkDonk]

in the words of Teddy KGB: "Pyay thyat myan his myoney"

c'mon Hoya big wigs...where are ya? where's our T. Boone Pickens?

www.latimes.com/wireless/avantgo/la-sp-insurance26mar26,0,4132531.story

can't we just wrest some money away from some lame academic program? sell the Reiss building for scrap?

if they don't lock him up, it will destroy hoya basketball and school spirit for decades.

[TheCashew05]

One way to show the administration how much JTIII and this program mean to us: donate to the Hoop Club. The clearest message we can send. I think we all owe to the program to give what we can sooner rather than later.

Michigan is a plum opening because unlike Gtown, they have the funds to ante up and pay- for a coach as well as a new facility. As for competing with Mich St., Michigan is still THE school in the state, and has the power to recruit nationally (I'd compare it to Gtown and Maryland - we're still the IT program). Mich St. is Tom Izzo; if he ever leaves, watch for a resurgence at UMich. Crisler Arena is a pit, I agree, but UMich will eventually do something about it. They'll be able to pull someone very well-qualified for that.

And anyone who doesn't recognize Kentucky as a plum opening is really not thinking clearly. The chance to make much more money and to enter the pantheon of college coaching by bringing a great program back to the next level? Sure their fans are tough, but any coach who doesn't want a challenge isn't worth his salt. Not saying everyone should want it, but it is certainly a plum opening.

[DFW HOYA]

stpetersburghoya said:

My point is that the HHC, an alumni organization, had direct control over funds that could have been used for solving this problem - now we don't know where they are. Its also splitting hairs to say that there is a big difference between an alumni organization setting aside funds with the purpose of using them for facilities or whatever coach wanted and earmarking them. I never used the phrase "earmarked" - but there was an understanding that the funds would be used on an arena or as a discretionary fund to help out the basketball program... What isn't being contested is that the HHC had the funds and they were taken away and the record of delivering on what III wanted. My statement was not incorrect so much as it's being misinterpreted.

No misinterpretation intended, only that I did not get the impression that an arena project was ever a specific target for HHC surplus funds. I've spoken to the HHC leadership on this issue in the past and it's fair to say we can agree to disagree.

My point: The practice facility argument is short-term thinking and, while no less essential, does not answer the long term financial issues of an obsolete and aging structure like McD. There's a certain irony that if the university had considered the $22M, 7,000 seat convocation center more of a priority in 2000, it might have opened by now. $22M might not even build a practice facility now.

[EasyEd]

Since Bill Clinton has made something like $60M recently from speaking fees, why can't he pitch in a few mil to start everything, including paying III more money?

[hilltopper2000]

Is that a rhetorical question? There are many many Georgetown alumni who could pony up big money for the program. My strategy would be to target those who have a particular interest in basketball. I'd start with the former players but also include fans like Leonsis. When you fundraise you always want to target your request to something that the donor is passionate about. With Clinton, I'd assume it would be something related to international or domestic policy. With Tagliabue, I would have expected basketball or football, but he donated to the theology department--who knew? This discussion is moot unless the University makes fundraising for the program a priority. The money is there; it is just a matter of dedicating resources to raise it. The key for alumni like us (I assume most of us are in the position I am; that is, I can't do more than a 4-figure donation on a regular basis) the key is to pressure the administration to make it an institutional priority. I thought we communicated this back in 2004. The university got the part about firing the coach. It didn't do anything else that the petition or on-campus rally asked for. We're heading to the Final Four and into a new capital campaign. There could not be a better time to have our voices be heard.

[MCIGuy]

There was a great interview with DeGoia on Comcast Sports Nite. It was a wonderful piece during which DeGoia was particularly eager to point out how the Gtown basketball program, despite the academic rep Gtown already had, really enhanced the university's reputation worldwide starting in the 70s. He seemed to really view the basketball team, the basketball program, as being one of the very most important elelments of the school and ppears to almost suggest the program is the face of the university to the larger world. He also talked about how III, through the way he handles himself as a man and a coach as well as how intelligent he is, perfectly exemplifies what GU stands for. Raved about him as a coach and said when he hired III he knew he was getting a great coach who would be successful but that even he is surprised how quickly III have turned things around. Looked like a man-crush to me.

By the way anyone knows how much money the school pockets by going to the Final Four?

[SirSaxa]

mciguy said:

There was a great interview with DeGoia on Comcast Sports Nite. It was a wonderful piece during which DeGoia was particularly eager to point out how the Gtown basketball program, despite the academic rep Gtown already had, really enhanced the university's reputation worldwide starting in the 70s. He seemed to really view the basketball team, the basketball program, as being one of the very most important elelments of the school and ppears to almost suggest the program is the face of the university to the larger world. He also talked about how III, through the way he handles himself as a man and a coach as well as how intelligent he is, perfectly exemplifies what GU stands for. Raved about him as a coach and said when he hired III he knew he was getting a great coach who would be successful but that even he is surprised how quickly III have turned things around. Looked like a man-crush to me.

By the way anyone knows how much money the school pockets by going to the Final Four?

MCI Guy, thanks for posting that. IT is VERY Reassuring. I have to believe a new deal for JT3 is at the top of his priority list.

Also, keep in mind that whatever his salary from GU turns out to be, his financial well-being can come in other/additional forms. For example, I think Calhoun was/is getting a couple million from a shoe deal. Back in the Day, some wealthy alumni bought Big John a house. I am sure there are many other ways to get the job done as well. This is not to suggest his official GU salary shouldn't rise by a LOT! Just that it is not the only factor.

I find it very difficult to believe that GU would have suffered through the previous era, found themselves incredibly fortunate to have JT3 doing so remarkably well AND - along with his assistants and his team -- be excellent representatives of Georgetown University. You can't BUY this kind of positive press. If GU has ANY sense at all, they have to be jumping on this bandwagon to raise money from the alumni -- not just for basketball, for everything.

I am looking forward to reading about a brand new contract for JT3 sometime in the next couple weeks. Please Please Please let that be so.