Originally posted by iupgroundhog
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What's always amazed me about the whole situation is, despite what many like to say, Frank didn't cheat. He did it the right way. There wasn't a magical tree in the Oak Grove that grew money. He raised it -- the painful way. One donor and one corporate sponsor at a time. They had more scholarship money because they worked for it. He was punished because the rest of the conference had a bunch of lazy a$$ coaches when it came to raising funds. The league is still full of them. He knew the formula. It's not hard to see.
It's baffling people still talk about the money subject. It's the worst kept secret in the D2 world. Money wins. Raise it. Raise all you can. Buy the best players you can. There are programs in this league who don't even employ a full-time person in charge of athletic fundraising. It's beyond amazing. Yet these programs blame everything under the sun for why they finish .500 or below. Coaches who are set up to fail from Day 1 are blamed.
Do we really think IUP basketball has become a national power (men's and women's) simply because they have good coaches? I sure hope not. Joe Lombardi and Tom McConnell have built national (D2) brands because they have a ton of money. They can sign players from outside of PA (and the United States). Those two, Joe and Tom, are two of the best 'baby kissers and hand shakers' you will EVER meet in your life. And, in turn, they raise big money. Both are extremely active in the community. Both speak to people. Both actually thank people for attending games. They have charisma and it's contagious.
East schools talk about this alleged lack of scholarships. Year after year. You want them ... raise the money. How much effort are these schools really putting in to it? That's a real simple question to ask your athletic department. I get so many calls from IUP a year I know the number when they call.
We have way too many schools that simply like to have a game on Saturday and listen to the band. Win ... lose ... nobody really cares. Lock Haven having a program puts 100 male students on campus.
I hope we realize there are teams in this league that just cannot win as they currently operate. It's impossible. It's simple economics. The PSAC has worse disparity from top to bottom than Major League Baseball. Think about that. It's scary.
The NUMBER ONE thing you need to look for in hiring a coach at this level is his ability to raise money. If he can't ... his tenure is doomed from the start.
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