Leatherneck Nation

rocki wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 12:53 pm I'm not a coach, never was one, but I have to wonder how much of Western's struggle has been because of the coach or because of the NIL, transfer portal, and all the junk that wasn't necessary to be dealt with back in the day. As long as "we" have to rebuild teams every year due to no retention, I don't see things changing a whole lot. Off-season practice is not (in my opinion) enough to get a cohesive team working together. If I am wrong, feel free to point out what other changes would help - I really would like to learn.

 

I agree.. I don’t think there is any other coach we could bring in or afford, considering our financial woes, that would be any better than Coach B.  It was brutally tough this year game in and out. I truly believe Coach B is a good coach and a good fit for this program.  It’s my understanding we never had the entire roster ever this year.  The Reilly kid never played.  The bottom line is the NIL..we missed out on a few players, that would’ve been difference makers the last couple years to comparable schools because we couldn’t “outbid” the other school.  Coach said it time and time again “you have to be able to buy shooters these days” and we can’t!..If we all wanna complain about our team than I guess we all need to step up financially including myself.. I don’t know how to even go about that.  I know we put out offers this week, we have a couple signed for next year, bring back that core group and find a couple difference makers, meaning somehow getting them the money to come to WIU, and next year will be a distant memory…It sounded like Coach B and whoever, at the end of the year, had positive discussions about retaining players and having funds available to be competitive as we all expect…I think the core group is a lot closer to being decent than horrible, if we can get a couple difference makers!

loyalfan wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 4:00 pm

rocki wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 12:53 pm I'm not a coach, never was one, but I have to wonder how much of Western's struggle has been because of the coach or because of the NIL, transfer portal, and all the junk that wasn't necessary to be dealt with back in the day. As long as "we" have to rebuild teams every year due to no retention, I don't see things changing a whole lot. Off-season practice is not (in my opinion) enough to get a cohesive team working together. If I am wrong, feel free to point out what other changes would help - I really would like to learn.


 

I agree.. I don’t think there is any other coach we could bring in or afford, considering our financial woes, that would be any better than Coach B.  It was brutally tough this year game in and out. I truly believe Coach B is a good coach and a good fit for this program.  It’s my understanding we never had the entire roster ever this year.  The Reilly kid never played.  The bottom line is the NIL..we missed out on a few players, that would’ve been difference makers the last couple years to comparable schools because we couldn’t “outbid” the other school.  Coach said it time and time again “you have to be able to buy shooters these days” and we can’t!..If we all wanna complain about our team than I guess we all need to step up financially including myself.. I don’t know how to even go about that.  I know we put out offers this week, we have a couple signed for next year, bring back that core group and find a couple difference makers, meaning somehow getting them the money to come to WIU, and next year will be a distant memory…It sounded like Coach B and whoever, at the end of the year, had positive discussions about retaining players and having funds available to be competitive as we all expect…I think the core group is a lot closer to being decent than horrible, if we can get a couple difference makers!

 

What other teams in the OVC are paying? Let’s be honest we are in a conference that schools don’t have a lot of financial resources.
 

Necks90 wrote: Sat Feb 14, 2026 10:57 pm

bignecks wrote: Thu Jan 29, 2026 8:01 pm Chad did really good for a bit. The real issue was AD firing all of his assistants in the offseason which stifled his recruiting for this year too. I ultimately say we have to move on because it's just so bad this year, but I think Chad kind of got the shaft. I'm not as low on program prospects as others in this forum. We should be able to compete in this conference, we were literally just doing that. I also think paying for a name coach would be silly. Go get somebody who has built a program under these same circumstances from the lower levels and let them do their thing. 


 

I can assure you Paul Bubb did not fire all of Chad's assistant coaches.  In fact, Bubb fired none of them.  It was either Chad's call or the assistant left on their own.  That's an absurd comment to make.  No need to start making up things.  If you don't know, don't comment.

 

This was the consensus of this message board at the time. Note that all assistants left in silence and none had other destinations planned with a quick hire. I also think it's worth noting that we went from having an assistant head coach ($$$) to not having an assistant head coach. They also were all active in recruiting (doing visits per social media) at the time they left. All common sense points to the admin firing the assistants. It makes little sense that Chad would fire all of his recruiters in the middle of the offseason. 

4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Sat Mar 07, 2026 5:48 pm

loyalfan wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 4:00 pm

rocki wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 12:53 pm I'm not a coach, never was one, but I have to wonder how much of Western's struggle has been because of the coach or because of the NIL, transfer portal, and all the junk that wasn't necessary to be dealt with back in the day. As long as "we" have to rebuild teams every year due to no retention, I don't see things changing a whole lot. Off-season practice is not (in my opinion) enough to get a cohesive team working together. If I am wrong, feel free to point out what other changes would help - I really would like to learn.



 

I agree.. I don’t think there is any other coach we could bring in or afford, considering our financial woes, that would be any better than Coach B.  It was brutally tough this year game in and out. I truly believe Coach B is a good coach and a good fit for this program.  It’s my understanding we never had the entire roster ever this year.  The Reilly kid never played.  The bottom line is the NIL..we missed out on a few players, that would’ve been difference makers the last couple years to comparable schools because we couldn’t “outbid” the other school.  Coach said it time and time again “you have to be able to buy shooters these days” and we can’t!..If we all wanna complain about our team than I guess we all need to step up financially including myself.. I don’t know how to even go about that.  I know we put out offers this week, we have a couple signed for next year, bring back that core group and find a couple difference makers, meaning somehow getting them the money to come to WIU, and next year will be a distant memory…It sounded like Coach B and whoever, at the end of the year, had positive discussions about retaining players and having funds available to be competitive as we all expect…I think the core group is a lot closer to being decent than horrible, if we can get a couple difference makers!


 

What other teams in the OVC are paying? Let’s be honest we are in a conference that schools don’t have a lot of financial resources.
 

 

https://www.on3.com/sites/field-of-68/n ... -rankings/

loyalfan wrote: Sun Mar 08, 2026 4:16 pm

4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Sat Mar 07, 2026 5:48 pm

loyalfan wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 4:00 pm
I agree.. I don’t think there is any other coach we could bring in or afford, considering our financial woes, that would be any better than Coach B.  It was brutally tough this year game in and out. I truly believe Coach B is a good coach and a good fit for this program.  It’s my understanding we never had the entire roster ever this year.  The Reilly kid never played.  The bottom line is the NIL..we missed out on a few players, that would’ve been difference makers the last couple years to comparable schools because we couldn’t “outbid” the other school.  Coach said it time and time again “you have to be able to buy shooters these days” and we can’t!..If we all wanna complain about our team than I guess we all need to step up financially including myself.. I don’t know how to even go about that.  I know we put out offers this week, we have a couple signed for next year, bring back that core group and find a couple difference makers, meaning somehow getting them the money to come to WIU, and next year will be a distant memory…It sounded like Coach B and whoever, at the end of the year, had positive discussions about retaining players and having funds available to be competitive as we all expect…I think the core group is a lot closer to being decent than horrible, if we can get a couple difference makers!



 

What other teams in the OVC are paying? Let’s be honest we are in a conference that schools don’t have a lot of financial resources.
 


 

https://www.on3.com/sites/field-of-68/n ... -rankings/

 

That proves nothing… Tennessee state won the tournament & Morehead got to the finals, UT Martin the semifinals… so your article is just another excuse

4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Sat Mar 07, 2026 5:48 pm What other teams in the OVC are paying? Let’s be honest we are in a conference that schools don’t have a lot of financial resources.



 

According to the Equity in Athletics Data Analysis website, here's what each school spends on their men's basketball program (includes all expenses) in millions, along with their final standings ranking in the conference this year:

Little Rock - $2.846 - 7th
Morehead State - $2.224 - 2nd
TN State - $1.754 - 1st
TN Tech - $1.680 - 9th
SEMO - $1.536 - 3rd
UT Martin - $1.474 - 4th
WIU - $1.473 - 11th
Southern Indiana - $1.41 - 10th
SIUE - $1.344 - 5th
EIU - $1.27 - 8th
Lindenwood - $1.153 - 6th

Amount spent doesn't exactly correlate with results, but the top 6 spenders in the conference include the top 4 finishers this year, and the bottom 5 spenders include the last two teams in the conference. I plotted the spending vs average finish over the last 3 years and spending $1.25 million gets you an average of ~7th place finish, $2 million gets you an average of 5th place, $2.5 million gets you an average of 4th place. Obviously there's a high degree of variability in there. Little Rock spent the most and only finished 7th this year, but 4th last year and 1st the year before.

Overall though, the top 3 spenders (TSU, Little Rock, and Morehead State) were the top 3 in average finish over the last 3 seasons (all averaged 4th place or higher, and all had at least one top-2 finish). The lowest any of them finished in any year was 7th.

As for coaching salaries specifically, that'll take me a bit more time to dig up.

EDIT - ok, here's what I was able to find. A few salaries might be a couple years old, but they should give you a rough idea.
TTU (John Pelphrey) - $333k
TSU (Nolan Smith) - $270k
SEMO (Brad Korn) - $245k
SIUE (Brian Barone) - $231k
UALR (Darrell Walker) - $218k
MSU (Jonathan Mattox) - $215k
EIU (Marty Simmons) - $212k
USI (Stan Gouard) - $204k
WIU (Chad Boudreau) - $200k (idk if that's correct...it's showing we paid Jeter+Boudreau the equivalent of $200k for the HC position in FY24, but that's the most recent I can find)
UTM (Jeremy Shulman) - $181k
Lindenwood is a private school, so it's not listed publicly (that I could find)
 

loyalfan wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 4:00 pm

rocki wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 12:53 pm I'm not a coach, never was one, but I have to wonder how much of Western's struggle has been because of the coach or because of the NIL, transfer portal, and all the junk that wasn't necessary to be dealt with back in the day. As long as "we" have to rebuild teams every year due to no retention, I don't see things changing a whole lot. Off-season practice is not (in my opinion) enough to get a cohesive team working together. If I am wrong, feel free to point out what other changes would help - I really would like to learn.


 

I agree.. I don’t think there is any other coach we could bring in or afford, considering our financial woes, that would be any better than Coach B.  It was brutally tough this year game in and out. I truly believe Coach B is a good coach and a good fit for this program.  It’s my understanding we never had the entire roster ever this year.  The Reilly kid never played.  The bottom line is the NIL..we missed out on a few players, that would’ve been difference makers the last couple years to comparable schools because we couldn’t “outbid” the other school.  Coach said it time and time again “you have to be able to buy shooters these days” and we can’t!..If we all wanna complain about our team than I guess we all need to step up financially including myself.. I don’t know how to even go about that.  I know we put out offers this week, we have a couple signed for next year, bring back that core group and find a couple difference makers, meaning somehow getting them the money to come to WIU, and next year will be a distant memory…It sounded like Coach B and whoever, at the end of the year, had positive discussions about retaining players and having funds available to be competitive as we all expect…I think the core group is a lot closer to being decent than horrible, if we can get a couple difference makersI
 

I know they put out a release before the season about their NIL program, but I believe their was like an application you had to fill out etc, which seems odd but I assume it is a NCAA thing and something I am not interested in doing. I mentioned it with the football enhancement fund they are doing, i would like to see them do something similar for the basketball programs. I hope with the success of the women's team this year, that at least maybe their program will see a rise in donations.

meganeck wrote: Mon Mar 09, 2026 10:30 am

loyalfan wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 4:00 pm

rocki wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 12:53 pm I'm not a coach, never was one, but I have to wonder how much of Western's struggle has been because of the coach or because of the NIL, transfer portal, and all the junk that wasn't necessary to be dealt with back in the day. As long as "we" have to rebuild teams every year due to no retention, I don't see things changing a whole lot. Off-season practice is not (in my opinion) enough to get a cohesive team working together. If I am wrong, feel free to point out what other changes would help - I really would like to learn.



 

I agree.. I don’t think there is any other coach we could bring in or afford, considering our financial woes, that would be any better than Coach B.  It was brutally tough this year game in and out. I truly believe Coach B is a good coach and a good fit for this program.  It’s my understanding we never had the entire roster ever this year.  The Reilly kid never played.  The bottom line is the NIL..we missed out on a few players, that would’ve been difference makers the last couple years to comparable schools because we couldn’t “outbid” the other school.  Coach said it time and time again “you have to be able to buy shooters these days” and we can’t!..If we all wanna complain about our team than I guess we all need to step up financially including myself.. I don’t know how to even go about that.  I know we put out offers this week, we have a couple signed for next year, bring back that core group and find a couple difference makers, meaning somehow getting them the money to come to WIU, and next year will be a distant memory…It sounded like Coach B and whoever, at the end of the year, had positive discussions about retaining players and having funds available to be competitive as we all expect…I think the core group is a lot closer to being decent than horrible, if we can get a couple difference makersI

 

I know they put out a release before the season about their NIL program, but I believe their was like an application you had to fill out etc, which seems odd but I assume it is a NCAA thing and something I am not interested in doing. I mentioned it with the football enhancement fund they are doing, i would like to see them do something similar for the basketball programs. I hope with the success of the women's team this year, that at least maybe their program will see a rise in donations.

 

This was all I could find when I Googled NIL at Western Illinois University.
 https://goleathernecks.com/news/2025/10 ... hange.aspx
 

rocki wrote: Mon Mar 09, 2026 11:32 am

meganeck wrote: Mon Mar 09, 2026 10:30 am

loyalfan wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 4:00 pm
I agree.. I don’t think there is any other coach we could bring in or afford, considering our financial woes, that would be any better than Coach B.  It was brutally tough this year game in and out. I truly believe Coach B is a good coach and a good fit for this program.  It’s my understanding we never had the entire roster ever this year.  The Reilly kid never played.  The bottom line is the NIL..we missed out on a few players, that would’ve been difference makers the last couple years to comparable schools because we couldn’t “outbid” the other school.  Coach said it time and time again “you have to be able to buy shooters these days” and we can’t!..If we all wanna complain about our team than I guess we all need to step up financially including myself.. I don’t know how to even go about that.  I know we put out offers this week, we have a couple signed for next year, bring back that core group and find a couple difference makers, meaning somehow getting them the money to come to WIU, and next year will be a distant memory…It sounded like Coach B and whoever, at the end of the year, had positive discussions about retaining players and having funds available to be competitive as we all expect…I think the core group is a lot closer to being decent than horrible, if we can get a couple difference makersI


 

I know they put out a release before the season about their NIL program, but I believe their was like an application you had to fill out etc, which seems odd but I assume it is a NCAA thing and something I am not interested in doing. I mentioned it with the football enhancement fund they are doing, i would like to see them do something similar for the basketball programs. I hope with the success of the women's team this year, that at least maybe their program will see a rise in donations.


 

This was all I could find when I Googled NIL at Western Illinois University.
 https://goleathernecks.com/news/2025/10 ... hange.aspx
 

 

Yes i believe that is what I was thinking of, I believe their is a form to fill out and you have to be approved or something like that if you want to be a NIL contributor, but I think that is just for basketball. I don't remember seeing anything like that for football. So if they can do the player enhancement fund drive for football why not for MBB. 

4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Sun Mar 08, 2026 8:36 pm

loyalfan wrote: Sun Mar 08, 2026 4:16 pm

4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Sat Mar 07, 2026 5:48 pm

What other teams in the OVC are paying? Let’s be honest we are in a conference that schools don’t have a lot of financial resources.
 



 

https://www.on3.com/sites/field-of-68/n ... -rankings/


 

That proves nothing… Tennessee state won the tournament & Morehead got to the finals, UT Martin the semifinals… so your article is just another excuse

 

Well I was trying to prove that, yes, some schools do spend money in this conference. More so than others.  Doesn’t guarantee success..but yeah some schools are paying..but your right, that proves nothing…