NEW ARTICLE: "From the Swamp": Timing Is Everything

[Swampy Meadows]

No time like the present: http://www.udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30891

[Jay O'Leary]

The extensive piece on first generation college basketball players was an eye opener for me on a number of fronts. According to the article, first gen black bb players have dropped from close to 30% to 18% in the past 7 years. I would have never believed that 80%+ of black bb athletes come from homes where a parent attended college! Less than 25% of black homes have 2 parents raising the children. It is hard to believe that 80% of these families have college educated parents involved. How is that possible in light of the poverty and the substandard educational opportunities available to these athletes? I had assumed (you know what they say about that word) that bb provided an escape for black athletes. Now I find that college is not a novel idea or impossible goal for these young guys... Is it possible that the article is just stating that a parent attended a college and did not necessarily graduate? In that case we may have athletes descending from parents who may have played some college ball. I am a white, retired medical professional from a family of college graduates. As the oldest of 7 children, attending college was not a choice, it was an expectation. We never thought of anything less and we all graduated. It is exciting to find that attending college is more of a reality for all Americans today.

[Viperstick]

UD is #89 in the college basketball budget arms race at a shade over $5M a year. Seems kind of surprising for several reasons:

1) SLU outspends us by over $1.4M
2) VCU outspends us by nearly $700K
3) Wichita State outspends us by nearly $2M
4) Gonzaga & Creighton both outspend us by over $2.2M
5) Duquesne isn't investing as much as we do (duh!), but they're only $700K back at #96
6) Fordham is only $875K back at #100
7) Washington State (arguably the worst P5 program in NCAA) is ahead of us at #88
8) Oregon State & DePaul (Larry & Curly to WSU's Moe) are #85 & #84 respectively
9) The Mouseketeers are ahead of us by over $700K
9) Butler is actually behind us at #91

Takeaways...

1) If we aspire to be a Wichita State, a Gonzaga, a Creighton, shouldn't we fund our program like they do?
2) If we're best program (not necessarily team) in the A-10, shouldn't we be funding our program better than everyone else does?
3) If we're going to throw the Dukes & Rams out of the A-10 for not supporting their program enough to generate wins, what happens to us if we have a couple of lean years?

	Fordham FORDHAM Fordham University is an independent Jesuit university established in 1841 as St. John's College on old Rose Hill Manor in the village of Fordham, then part of Westchester County in the Bronx, NY. The name Fordham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words "ford" and "ham," meaning a wading place or ford by a settlement. Rose Hill is the name given to the site in 1787 by Robert Watts, a wealthy New York merchant, in honor of his family's ancestral home of the same name in Scotland. The College was originally staffed by diocesan clergy. The name was officially changed to Fordham University in 1907. Fordham's 10 schools enroll 14,448 students. There are 7,652 undergraduates, of whom 3,842 live in University-managed housing either on-campus or in the local community. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams. Athletic claim to fame is consistent mediocrity in nearly all sports and few A10 title winning programs.

	Duquesne DUQUESNE Duquesne University is a private, coeducational university, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania located on 48 secluded acres, on a bluff above downtown. Founded in 1878 as a Catholic college by the Order of the Holy Spirit. It is the only Spiritan institution of higher education in the world. Duquesne offers 10 schools of study and 100 degree programs to 6,000 undergraduates and 3,800 graduate students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Dukes.

	Saint Louis SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, MO, and just five minutes from the Gateway Arch, SLU offers 85 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate study tracks. Over 99% of the SLU faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields. Fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Billikens, but also commonly known as "Sloo", the phonetic pronunciation of the school's initials. Athletic claims to fame include multiple national titles in men's soccer and men's basketball star Larry Hughes.