My Thoughts re Our Basketball Program (Long)

Mar 24, 2019, 6:46 PM

My comments are not related as to whether Brownell should or should not be fired, but our basketball program in general. There have been many posts re our basketball program that have covered just about every aspect of our program.

First, let us look at our facilities. We may or may not have the bells and whistles that some programs have but neither are we at the bottom as far as meeting our needs. When the latest renovations were announced several years ago and we learned there would be a reduction in our seating capacity, I wrote to our AD and BOT, questioning this action. If we are serious in establishing a winning basketball program, then we should increase our seating capacity due to increased fan interest in the future. A larger seating capacity would provide sufficient capacity to attract other events of interest to students and the general public.

Unlike football, basketball is played indoors and does not require a separate facility for practice due to inclement weather. Overall, the cost of basketball facilities is much less than that of football.

Funding, other than facilities: Funding can in no way be compared to that of our football program. The numbers are vastly different for staff and team members. Even the cost of player equipment is vastly different. Scholarship limitations for football is 85 but there are walk-ons which tend to increase the total number above 100. Basketball scholarships are limited to 13 and walk-ons may add another two or three. These numbers alone suggest that coaching and staff requirements for our basketball program would be much less than that of football.

The latest figure I have for Brownell's salary is $1,800,000 with a bonus last year of an additional $80,000. I have no knowledge of the salaries of the assistants, but the point is, the budget should be adequate for the coaches, staff and operating expenses. Several posters have stated there should be an
increase in the recruiting budget but have offered no numbers to show that our staff does not have sufficient funds to perform at a higher level.

The head coach's salary appears to be the largest item re the funding budget and this requires the approval of the AD and BOT. The salary of a coach is negotiable, be he the current coach or a newly hired coach. There are so many "what ifs" in hiring a new coach I'll not touch that subject.

Administrative Support: Any successful program requires the full support of the administration. We may complain that the basketball program does not have the full support of our administration but, unless there is a poster who is privy to the inter-workings of the administration, our opinions and "hear says" carry little weight. The pros and cons of administrative decisions are seldom aired for public consumption.

If I were to make one suggestion, it would be to assemble a committee of knowledgeable and unbiased members to review our basketball program. And if they agree to continue the program, outline a path that should lead to success. There is never a guarantee of total success but the resources and efforts should be there to sustain a competitive program. In my opinion, that's all we can ask for.

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My Thoughts re Our Basketball Program (Long)

Brad's salary is 2.5 million

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Re: My Thoughts re Our Basketball Program (Long)

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