DePaul Attendance Hits 37 Year Low

[Doge McDermott]

Not really sure why this thread is still going but I doubt DePaul will ever be booted out of the conference regardless of how terrible they continue to be. Fact is, someone has to be on the bottom of the league and better DePaul than your team right? They are in Chicago, have a large alumni base, aside from their mens bball team all their other sports are fairly competitive especially women's basketball. Other schools do not have to worry about them taking a local kid, if anything it actually helps them recruit Chicago area kids because they can say your family will still be able to see them at least once a year. If anything, they are the most consistent team in the Big East. They have the money, they just have a horrible AD but that's a can of worms I would rather not open up. 4 years ago the other 6 schools could have decided to leave DePaul behind but they didn't. Hell DePaul was instrumental in convincing Georgetown to add Creighton to the conference. Anyways we got it, DePaul is horrible and will most likely be for the next decade.

You work in either politics or sales, right? You've got more spin than Dead Or Alive.

[ivet]

Not really sure why this thread is still going but I doubt DePaul will ever be booted out of the conference regardless of how terrible they continue to be. Fact is, someone has to be on the bottom of the league and better DePaul than your team right? They are in Chicago, have a large alumni base, aside from their mens bball team all their other sports are fairly competitive especially women's basketball. Other schools do not have to worry about them taking a local kid, if anything it actually helps them recruit Chicago area kids because they can say your family will still be able to see them at least once a year. If anything, they are the most consistent team in the Big East. They have the money, they just have a horrible AD but that's a can of worms I would rather not open up. 4 years ago the other 6 schools could have decided to leave DePaul behind but they didn't. Hell DePaul was instrumental in convincing Georgetown to add Creighton to the conference. Anyways we got it, DePaul is horrible and will most likely be for the next decade.

You work in either politics or sales, right? You've got more spin than Dead Or Alive.

[EMT]

All valid points and there is no disputing the numbers in terms of record the last 10 years. I will say that a lot of college athletics is cyclical and programs go through rough spots. Looking back, the Big East's decision to vote out Temple probably neither helped or hurt the leagues overall brand. The one thing they did lose is a very strong basketball program (#5 in all time school wins) and consistent in getting to the NCAAs.

The new Big East is still very young. Something the league is definitely lacking is natural rivalries. This will come with time and believe it or not DePaul and Marquette still share a natural hatred for each other. Breaking ties with DePaul this early in a newly constructed Big East probably doesn't make too much sense. DePaul does have history... 2 Final Fours, 3 Elite 8's, 10 Sweet Sixteens, and 22 Tourney Appearances, which is better or comparable to every team in the league. There is no other school with this history (and that is Catholic) located in the 3rd largest media market.

I think time will tell, 15 or 20 years from now things can be completely different. It's important that the identity of the Big East remain the same. It should be private basketball only schools in large media markets. If you're constantly changing teams in a conference because of performance its more difficult building history and rivalries. It really just creates more instability. The arena is a big investment and step forward for the program. We will have a new President this summer and with that a new AD. From there a lot of work will need to be done.

Temple basketball was never in the Big East so they never lost that......

[GoldenWarrior11]

When the Big East was reorganized, the C7 had (and still currently have) the opportunity to frame our conference unlike any other in the country. We don't have football, thus we are not forced to have a pathetic, non-competitive basketball program drain the others down year-in and year-out. We don't need to have a Penn State, or a Washington State, or a Mississippi State, or a Tulane, or an East Carolina, etc., because we should have ten like-minded schools that are committed to putting a successful product on the court. We have the chance to create a top-to-bottom, elite, basketball conference - one which nine present members are committed to and strive for year-in and year-out. We have one school that has proven that they don't care about consistently losing - proven by the fact that leadership has not changed at the top over the past ten years (and by a dried-out fan base).

The Big East, in order to continue to be successful, needs all ten members (DePaul included) to have a competitive and successful program on the court. If you aren't competing for an NCAA Tournament appearance, you need to be in the discussion for an NIT berth, and if you can't have either of those, then you at least need to be a threat to go on some type of run in the Big East Tournament. For the past ten years, and ever since accepting an invite to the Big East, DePaul has proven it cannot compete in the Big East. If that doesn't change, the league needs to seriously consider their membership, because in our conference, men's basketball drives the bus - and if you can't get on, get out.

Since their current leadership's tenure, their record has been 71-189 (.273) in conference and 190-278 (.406) overall. The league should not and cannot tolerate those type of results in a men's basketball-driven league, period.

[notkirkcameron]

I will say that a lot of college athletics is cyclical and programs go through rough spots.

"Look guys, any school can have a bad two and a half decades."

believe it or not DePaul and Marquette still share a natural hatred for each other.

"Share" is an interesting verb. I wouldn't say Marquette fans hate DePaul as much as they pity them. The rivalry may have been great in the 1970s, but for at least the last 15 years, it's been the type of rivalry that a nail has with a hammer.

[kayako]

We have one school that has proven that they don't care about consistently losing - proven by the fact that leadership has not changed at the top over the past ten years (and by a dried-out fan base).

You're just making things up now to make a case.

[HoopDreams]

I will say that a lot of college athletics is cyclical and programs go through rough spots.

"Look guys, any school can have a bad two and a half decades."

believe it or not DePaul and Marquette still share a natural hatred for each other.

"Share" is an interesting verb. I wouldn't say Marquette fans hate DePaul as much as they pity them. The rivalry may have been great in the 1970s, but for at least the last 15 years, it's been the type of rivalry that a nail has with a hammer.

Why are you leaving out the rivalry from the late 70's to early 90's? DePaul pretty much owned Marquette during this 15 year period, winning 15 out of the 20 meetings from 1978 - 1992. Including a 6 year win streak.

[pc5151]

There is hope, the new President is heading there from Seton Hall where an investment, and improvement, was made in basketball. He may be the person to remove JLP and get the right AD in place.

[Demon22]

Uh... Marquette spent $31 million in on the Al McGuire Center in 2002 - a basketball only complex. Marquette is now spending at least, not officially reported, $80 million on a brand new athletics facility on campus (the other $30 million is from Aurora Health Care).

So, the answer is no, Marquette has never made an $80 million investment in their men's basketball program. Because this sure doesn't look like it has much to do with basketball.

http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2015/05/07/first-look-marquette-bucks-unveil-early-renderings.html#g1

I mean, the website for the project doesn't even mention the word "basketball".

http://www.marquette.edu/aprc/faq.php

By the way, weren't you the poster a few months ago who was criticizing DePaul for pouring money into their non-revenue sports programs? And you wonder why I think you're being hypocritical.

My schools not only spends money, it knows how to spend money.

Agreed. Marquette is far better managed than DePaul is. That doesn't meant DePaul isn't committed. DePaul is directionless, generally incompetent, and loyal to a fault.

Their incompetence, nepotism and stupidity prove that. Their repeated failures in hiring failing coaches prove that. Their insistence on keeping a player's parent on staff for a new coach proves that. Their mandate that they keep relatives on the team of athletic department personnel prove that. Their sham interview process in hiring Leitao, one in which a search firm they paid and utilized for (a former head coach), shows that.

It proves that they don't know what they're doing, not that they don't care.

For what it's worth, I'm not sure allowing Peter Ryckbosch a chance to walk on is a symptom of the administration's incompetence.

DePaul is not committed to a winning men's basketball program, period.

You don't spend $80 million on something you don't care about, period.

Explain to me how DePaul, at present, is any different from Temple Football from 1991-2004 in the Big East?

Because DePaul is a charter member of the reconfigured conference and competes in more than just one sport.

[billyjack]

DePaul is not being kicked out. They dumped a ton of money on Purnell, but he was a terrible coach. They've made a big commitment with their new arena. The AD has to go of course.... once that happens then they'll be much closer to turning the corner than Boston College or Washington State or the dregs in other conferences.