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Horizon League "Off-Season" news

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ysuindy:
UWGB made the Women's Sweet 16 for the first time.  They lost to #1 seed Baylor 86-76.  UWGB finishes 34-2.

ysuindy:
Loyola names former Illinois State and Arkansas Little Rock head coach Porter Moser as their head coach

http://loyolaramblers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/040511aaa.html?source=rss_teams_Loyola-Chicago_Ramblers

ysuindy:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6364568

ESPN reporting that UWM coach Rob Jeter has been contacted by Miami (FL) about their open job.

ysuindy:
Not the Horizon League, but I think there is an impact on YSU and the Horizon League to the changes in the basketball program with our friends in Portage County.

In case you missed it, former Kent State coach Geno Ford left for Bradley at the end of March.  Last week Kent State filled the opening by promoting assistant coach Rob Senderoff.

Ford was making $300k per year at Kent and will reportedly make $700k at Bradley with a potential additional $200k in incentives.

http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x855933262/Bradley-introduces-Geno-Ford-to-the-fans

Ford has a rather hefty termination fee to pay Kent - reportedly $1.2 million based on this story.  The link also includes a copy of Ford's contract at Kent.  The viewer that it is in is somewhat unusual - click on the arrow on the side of the gray box to advance pages.  It is interesting to see a contract.

http://kentwired.com/fords-departure-leaves-basketball-team-in-state-of-shock/

Needless to say the Kent boards provided some interesting reading.  Here is one thread, there are others

http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=490852

Kent's new head coach Senderoff reportedly has three year contract for $250k per year.

http://www.recordpub.com/news/sports_article/5012629

Senderoff has NCAA imposed restrictions on his ability to recruit through May 25, 2011 for his role in the Kelvin Sampson phone call scandal

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2011/04/kent_state_elevates_assistant.html

There is a lot to digest here:

This is not good for MAC basketball - losing the head coach of one your flagship programs to a middle of the road team in another mid-major conference.  I would equate this to YSU losing a reasonably successful head football coach to Massachusetts or Maine.

This furthers the decline of MAC basketball in the last decade since they began to devote more resources to football.  The MAC has not had an at-large selection to the men's basketball tournament since 1999.  MAC teams have won one game in the last 8 NCAA tournaments, Ohio's win over Georgetown in 2010.  That means the MAC will receive 7 units of NCAA basketball money next year.  For comparison's sake the Horizon League will receive 20 units next year.  That is over $3 million more to the Horizon League than to the MAC next year. The Horizon League has won at least one NCAA tournament game in the last 7 tournaments.  

Interesting also that Kent was quick to hire an NCAA rules violator in Senderoff - and the Kent boards were very vocal in backing this hiring from the start.  The recruiting restrictions likely won't matter much this year - they lose only one player and had some fall signees.  But you have to wonder how much negative recruiting will focus on that.  

Given YSU's track record in basketball - hirings and results, I don't have much room to talk.  But on an overall basis I have to think the last month has not been good for Kent State basketball and that can't be bad for Youngstown State basketball.  Getting competitive in the Horizon will start with getting competitive in Northeast Ohio - and YSU has to become better than a distant fourth among CSU, YSU, Kent and Akron.

Wick250:
No MAC at-large selections since 1999!  Wow!  Documentation that the MAC has become a "one-and-done" conference!  Another Wow!  But here is our problem: perception is more important than reality.  I'm quite sure that the casual fans in the Mahoning Valley believe that the MAC is better than the Horizon League---despite Butler and such hard facts as these.  These simpletons also believe that any MAC football team could defeat an Appalachian State in their prime!  That is what we are up against as we struggle to build the program: tradition, media coverage, and fan stupidity.

Indy, as you have stated many times, we need to recruit that one stud that has somehow slipped through the recruiting cracks. 

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