State of the Program

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sealhall74
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jtrinaldi wrote: Thu Jan 08, 2026 9:11 am
vatusay wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 2:44 pm
4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Mon Jan 05, 2026 7:30 pm My frustration is we joined an easier conference, and thought this would be our ticket to NCAA Tournament and we are trending the wrong way.

Let’s face it, the Summit League schools had grown and have better resources than us. 

Maybe I’m overacting because I look on women’s side they struggled for past few seasons, but now JD has them in a very strong position.

I’m afraid a couple more losses in league play and guys will already start to think about where they are playing next season.

 
 




 
Agree. 

I asked in another thread. Name a Bubb decision that has benefited the athletic programs at WIU. 



 
💯 been an avalanche of systematic failure since Tanney left 


 
Tanney left his AD job at Wabash College  last July to take over the AD spot at Dennison U, both NCAA Division III schools and both in the same conference (North Coast Athletic Conference).  I thought Matt's Tanney Talks were a nice touch when he was here but I think Paul has also been open, forthcoming, and approachable as well.
 
 
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vatusay wrote:
4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Mon Jan 05, 2026 7:30 pm
I asked in another thread. Name a Bubb decision that has benefited the athletic programs at WIU. 
Is it Bubb's decisions, or is it a lack of funding? Are we trying to compete in D1 with a D2 budget?

I'll try to do some checking/comparison tomorrow.


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vatusay
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Excuses are easy. 

Getting the job done is hard, and if you don’t, there are consequences. That is the job detail when it is accepted.

If I underperform consistently? Fired. Someone else’s money and profit is on the hook. 

Thats not a thing at WIU. 

Just chalk it up as another difference between the private and public sector. 


 
#ALLIN #YOLO
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4EverPurple&Gold
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Like I said... now 0-5 in league play 

Our 4 wins this season:
Coe College (D3) | Nov. 17
St. Ambrose (NAIA) | Nov. 30
Hannibal-LaGrange (NAIA) | Dec. 6
North Dakota (D1) | Dec. 13 

We are easily the worse team in D1 hoops 
Wiufan87
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Talking about our funding or lack of it.  If we have no money in our athletic department why did we add bowling?  We dropped mens tennis when Tanney was here I thought that was a good decision.  If we have no money now drop womens tennis.  We had no money when I was a student dropped wrestling then.  
rocki
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4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Fri Jan 09, 2026 10:22 am Like I said... now 0-5 in league play 

Our 4 wins this season:
Coe College (D3) | Nov. 17
St. Ambrose (NAIA) | Nov. 30
Hannibal-LaGrange (NAIA) | Dec. 6
North Dakota (D1) | Dec. 13 

We are easily the worse team in D1 hoops 

 
Not going to argue that point, but if we can't hang onto anyone, what do we expect? Men's BB has, for as long as I can remember, been less than stellar. Is this one area we need to try and start building from freshmen instead of importing more experienced players (that have never played together) year after year? If we want it to be a successful sport, something different needs to happen, IMHO.
 
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sealhall74
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rocki wrote: Fri Jan 09, 2026 1:26 pm
4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Fri Jan 09, 2026 10:22 am Like I said... now 0-5 in league play 

Our 4 wins this season:
Coe College (D3) | Nov. 17
St. Ambrose (NAIA) | Nov. 30
Hannibal-LaGrange (NAIA) | Dec. 6
North Dakota (D1) | Dec. 13 

We are easily the worse team in D1 hoops 


 
Not going to argue that point, but if we can't hang onto anyone, what do we expect? Men's BB has, for as long as I can remember, been less than stellar. Is this one area we need to try and start building from freshmen instead of importing more experienced players (that have never played together) year after year? If we want it to be a successful sport, something different needs to happen, IMHO.
 

 
What is the best recruiting strategy in this age of the portal?  One other approach might be to recruit kids out of high school who desire to play both football and basketball.  Bring them in and let them continue to play both sports for you.  Granted, not everyone could play both, but for those that want to, it could be the difference in them wanting to stick around for 4 or 5 years.
 
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4EverPurple&Gold
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Another loss, this time to Tennessee Tech at home. Gave up 41 in second half.
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sealhall74
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Against TTU, we only played 8.  They had 9 players with significant minutes (>10) and played 12.  Maybe we just running on fumes in the 2nd half. 
 
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rocki
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sealhall74 wrote: Fri Jan 09, 2026 1:31 pm
rocki wrote: Fri Jan 09, 2026 1:26 pm
4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Fri Jan 09, 2026 10:22 am Like I said... now 0-5 in league play 

Our 4 wins this season:
Coe College (D3) | Nov. 17
St. Ambrose (NAIA) | Nov. 30
Hannibal-LaGrange (NAIA) | Dec. 6
North Dakota (D1) | Dec. 13 

We are easily the worse team in D1 hoops 



 
Not going to argue that point, but if we can't hang onto anyone, what do we expect? Men's BB has, for as long as I can remember, been less than stellar. Is this one area we need to try and start building from freshmen instead of importing more experienced players (that have never played together) year after year? If we want it to be a successful sport, something different needs to happen, IMHO.
 


 
What is the best recruiting strategy in this age of the portal?  One other approach might be to recruit kids out of high school who desire to play both football and basketball.  Bring them in and let them continue to play both sports for you.  Granted, not everyone could play both, but for those that want to, it could be the difference in them wanting to stick around for 4 or 5 years.
 

 
Heck, I don't think we could do much worse than we are now - might as well start recruiting freshmen (single or dual sport), and find out whatever magic JD has and use that on the guy's side.
 
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