What will it take to save St. John's Basketball from permanent mediocrity & irrelevance?

Remember one thing this gang at SJU are not the Jesuits! Most of the Jesuit schools are head and shoulders above us in so many ways not just basketball! Just look at our own conference Marquette, Georgetown, Creighton, to name a few! Let’s face it our Vincentians are not the sharpest knives in the draw When it comes down to business acumen!
 
The only way we save this program is to hire a top notch coach , Pitino, Mack or Turgeon for example and get some more big donors involved. Repole is one guy but isn’t the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays a St. John’s Grad? I’m sure there are others as well. These are the two things that need to happen simultaneously, otherwise I’m afraid there might not be much hope.

Again, those who are waiting for Repole to ride in on a white horse should go back and listen to the infamous call into Mike Francesca's show. It was during that interview that Repole stated he would pay for Gempshaw and Oliva to go away. He has tremendous disdain for Joe Oliva who still holds a high ranking position at SJU. Before "coming back", Oliva will have to be gone. It's that simple.
 
Remember one thing this gang at SJU are not the Jesuits! Most of the Jesuit schools are head and shoulders above us in so many ways not just basketball! Just look at our own conference Marquette, Georgetown, Creighton, to name a few! Let’s face it our Vincentians are not the sharpest knives in the draw When it comes down to business acumen!
Yes , agree with much of the comments on the Jesuits but , they also have their BC’s, Fordhams, St Joe’s, St Peters, etc and we know what a miracle that was last year . But , Villanova , Providence , Seton Hall , Notre Dame aren’t Jesuits and they seem to have their BB programs in order . ND being a exception this year . Then again , DePaul is Vincentian too and they have destroyed their heritage as well . Why ? Who knows? Well , at least Fr Shanley is a Dominican and oversaw mostly good BB at PC .
 
. Tv Revenue ? .

Original Fox Deal was for $500 mill for 12 years. It allocated about $4.2mill per team per year for 10 years, not sure how UConn affected that. For comparative purposes the recently signed B1G deal is worth $80-100 mill per year per team once it peaks, though of course driven by football.
 
Original Fox Deal was for $500 mill for 12 years. It allocated about $4.2mill per team per year for 10 years, not sure how UConn affected that. For comparative purposes the recently signed B1G deal is worth $80-100 mill per year per team once it peaks, though of course driven by football.
The conference would in a much better position to negotiate if three of the four schools in their four biggest markets weren’t complete and utter garbage. St. John’s, DePaul and Georgetown are really weighing this conference down now with regard things like TV rights, advertising etc. as I said in previous thread , New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC are the four biggest markets in this conference. In order to maximize the financial potential of this conference the schools in those four markets have to be good and three of them haven’t been for a long time now. If St. John’s, DePaul , Georgetown and Villanova were all consistent Top 25 teams the conference would do much better financially in my opinion. Some of this has to be on Val Ackerman for not reading the riot act to these three schools on a consistent basis and forcing them to get their acts together.
 
The conference would in a much better position to negotiate if three of the four schools in their four biggest markets weren’t complete and utter garbage. St. John’s, DePaul and Georgetown are really weighing this conference down now with regard things like TV rights, advertising etc. as I said in previous thread , New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC are the four biggest markets in this conference. In order to maximize the financial potential of this conference the schools in those four markets have to be good and three of them haven’t been for a long time now. If St. John’s, DePaul , Georgetown and Villanova were all consistent Top 25 teams the conference would do much better financially in my opinion. Some of this has to be on Val Ackerman for not reading the riot act to these three schools on a consistent basis and forcing them to get their acts together.

Next contract could be at least double based upon threats to ESPN's dominance and media inflation, but to expect the BE to compete with Football Schools conferences contracts is unrealistic.
 
Next contract could be at least double based upon threats to ESPN's dominance and media inflation, but to expect the BE to compete with Football Schools conferences contracts is unrealistic.
I’m not saying that the Big East would ever compete with the big football conferences. I’m just saying that if the schools in our four biggest markets were consistently good we could get a much better deal. But It will never come close to what the football conferences get.
 
For those asking about the financial standing of the University, 2021 audited financials are here: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_audit/848820211

Quick take: Audited by KPMG, clean audit. Revenues exceed expenses for the two fiscal years reports. Liquid with $65MM in cash. Positive cash from operations. $80MM bank line of credit (Note 6, P19), fully available. Well capitalized, $1.1B in Net Assets and $658MM in debt. Note $187MM in new debt issued in 2021. Moody's rates SJU debt "A3", which is medium investment grade.*

Post Covid, 2022 financials should look even better.

If SJU chooses to pay off CMA, they most certainly have financial wherewithal to do so. They do not need outside funds but of course will take your donation! However, often when someone makes a bad hire or bad contract extension, it's not easy to do a "mea culpa", eat that nasty crow and reverse course. The best thing students, fans and alumni could do would be send a very clear message to the Board of Trustees that change is needed. https://www.stjohns.edu/about/leadership-and-administration/board-trustees

Challenge is how to best get the message to the Board? Maybe start with Change.org and show there is support? There are members on this forum who interact with the Board...

* In March 2022 Moody's wrote: "The university's very good brand and strategic positioning as a large, urban, private Catholic university located on several campuses in the New York Metropolitan area. The university's prudent fiscal practices underpin good operating margins and healthy EBIDA margins with the achievement of better than budgeted outcomes in most years. Sizeable financial reserves and high levels of internal liquidity provide a sound cushion for operations"
 
For those asking about the financial standing of the University, 2021 audited financials are here: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_audit/848820211

Quick take: Audited by KPMG, clean audit. Revenues exceed expenses for the two fiscal years reports. Liquid with $65MM in cash. Positive cash from operations. $80MM bank line of credit (Note 6, P19), fully available. Well capitalized, $1.1B in Net Assets and $658MM in debt. Note $187MM in new debt issued in 2021. Moody's rates SJU debt "A3", which is medium investment grade.*

Post Covid, 2022 financials should look even better.

If SJU chooses to pay off CMA, they most certainly have financial wherewithal to do so. They do not need outside funds but of course will take your donation! However, often when someone makes a bad hire or bad contract extension, it's not easy to do a "mea culpa", eat that nasty crow and reverse course. The best thing students, fans and alumni could do would be send a very clear message to the Board of Trustees that change is needed. https://www.stjohns.edu/about/leadership-and-administration/board-trustees

Challenge is how to best get the message to the Board? Maybe start with Change.org and show there is support? There are members on this forum who interact with the Board...

* In March 2022 Moody's wrote: "The university's very good brand and strategic positioning as a large, urban, private Catholic university located on several campuses in the New York Metropolitan area. The university's prudent fiscal practices underpin good operating margins and healthy EBIDA margins with the achievement of better than budgeted outcomes in most years. Sizeable financial reserves and high levels of internal liquidity provide a sound cushion for operations"
Thank you , Tx Redman. So , the University financials are solid , not meager . Not incapable of paying off Anderson , no matter what . How come we have been fed a line of desperation and using the buyout as being beyond the School ‘s resources ? I did chuckle a bit with the mention of “ prudent Fiscal practices ,”. Half expecting a footnote to say , except for the numbskull Contract Extension given to BB Coach Mike Anderson !
 
The conference would in a much better position to negotiate if three of the four schools in their four biggest markets weren’t complete and utter garbage. St. John’s, DePaul and Georgetown are really weighing this conference down now with regard things like TV rights, advertising etc. as I said in previous thread , New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC are the four biggest markets in this conference. In order to maximize the financial potential of this conference the schools in those four markets have to be good and three of them haven’t been for a long time now. If St. John’s, DePaul , Georgetown and Villanova were all consistent Top 25 teams the conference would do much better financially in my opinion. Some of this has to be on Val Ackerman for not reading the riot act to these three schools on a consistent basis and forcing them to get their acts together.

Great post…. Ackerman is another administrator who has not done a great job in enhancing the conference. Not to get political but I’ve wondered if the league sought out a “woman” commissioner over the most competent one. I’ve had several issues with her administration since her taking over one of which was UConn’s inclusion back in the league and her obsession with UConn's woman’s program.
 
Great post…. Ackerman is another administrator who has not done a great job in enhancing the conference. Not to get political but I’ve wondered if the league sought out a “woman” commissioner over the most competent one. I’ve had several issues with her administration since her taking over one of which was UConn’s inclusion back in the league and her obsession with UConn's woman’s program.
Adding UConn back into the league was smart even if it bothers fans who hate the Huskies. And yes, having UConn womens team in our conference again is a big deal that is one of the most successful college programs of all time

Also not her fault that DePaul, SJU, and GTown could not enhance the conference on their own by being a draw in their big markets. With us continuing to be sleeping giants she had to go get a school that would bring some clout and she did it. Move makes sense
 
Adding UConn back into the league was smart even if it bothers fans who hate the Huskies. And yes, having UConn womens team in our conference again is a big deal that is one of the most successful college programs of all time

Also not her fault that DePaul, SJU, and GTown could not enhance the conference on their own by being a draw in their big markets. With us continuing to be sleeping giants she had to go get a school that would bring some clout and she did it. Move makes sense

My issue with UConn is not that I hate them ( even though I do 😂) it’s cause they operate on a different level playing field then the rest of the league… a state school with unlimited resources is certainly at a big advantage in our league.
 
Father Shanley and Cragg will obviously take heat from some quarters if they are able to bring in Pitino but not only would the SJU basketball program benefit but I am sure that signing would result in an increase in fund raising which could be used to pay out Craggs folly.
 
Father Shanley and Cragg will obviously take heat from some quarters if they are able to bring in Pitino but not only would the SJU basketball program benefit but I am sure that signing would result in an increase in fund raising which could be used to pay out Craggs folly.
I also believe it would bring More fans to the games and create a buzz around NYC.
 
I’m surprised Tx Redman ‘s post about the Finances of the University didn’t get more comment . Despite Propaganda to the contrary , it seems Moody’s, KPMG all agree the School’s Finances are solid and able to withstand a paltry sum of $ 8-$ 10 million to oust CMA . How come ?
 
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