Time To Start Bundling

Posted by Lake The Posts on Friday, March 1, 2013 · 29 Comments

Can you hear that drumbeat? It’s starting to get a little louder. Yes, the Carmody “question” will begin to surface here as NU’s season is two weeks away from ending when the ‘Cats, at best, will make it to the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament IF they are lucky enough to pull a #10 over #6 upset on March 14 at 5:30 pm ct. This, despite last night’s close-but-no-cigar repeat of a repeat of a repeat of a repeat in our scintillating, yet deflating predictable script with Ohio State basketball. Barring the biggest four day miracle in college basketball history, the ‘Cats will end the season under .500 and the debate over Bill Carmody’s future will be at its peak. I’ll be weighing in with my two cents at that time, but articles like this one by the Chicago Tribune’s (and WSCR) Dan McNeil are already surfacing.

McNeil’s call for change by Jim Phillips comes with two themes that are all too familiar. First, the bar set by Pat Fitzgerald is the smoking gun argument for why McNeil believes allowing NU hoops to be a perennial cellar dwellar is no longer acceptable. No more excuses and he scoffs at the hint football players are smarter than basketball players, in general. We’ve all seen and heard those arguments before. “If football can do it…” The second one, though, is one that is likely to sting more when the execs in Evanston read the Tribune today. It’s about being relevant. McNeil acknowledges this concept right near the start of his piece:

“Northwestern basketball isn’t a subject many people are willing to engage. Hell, I’m reluctant to write or talk about it for fear of losing my audience.” – Dan McNeil, Chicago Tribune March 1, 2013

Right there. Ouch. McNeil goes on to talk about the fact you can’t go anywhere around Chicago without seeing the brand promise of “Chicago’s Big Ten Team”, including signs for basketball. The marketing position rings hollow when media folks are scared to even bring up the topic for fear of losing their audience. With so much buzz about the Wildcat football team, this disparity in just about everything between the two programs may end up being Carmody’s end of the line.

Several weeks ago, a debate on the comments section opined for Jim Phillips to really lay out the basketball vision for the fans. Despite what you may or may not think about whether or not you are “owed” that by Northwestern Athletics, the larger point is that with football, the mission and vision are clear because Fitz talks about it to the media. Daily. The vision this year in football is Big Ten Championship or bust. Anything less than making it to Indianapolis is going to be seen as a disappointment by the coaching staff and team. What would’ve seemed like hollow hot air a year ago, has a 10-win season and nearly all the key pieces back as the wind behind this momentum. With basketball it is a perennial “wait til next year” when we MIGHT get the chance to potentially get in to an NCAA Tournament (spoiler alert: my postseason posts on this subject will not be predicting March Madness for the ‘Cats in 2014). McNeil echoed this want for at least an understanding of the future path for basketball when he stated:

“I want to hear Phillips outline a mission statement that holds the Northwestern basketball program to the same standards as Pat Fitzgerald’s football team. There is no acceptable excuse for disparity between the two sports”

It will be very curious to see how the media approaches this story in the coming weeks. That is, if they don’t fear losing their audience by even engaging in the conversation at all. Now, back to football.

BUNDLE BABY BUNDLE

Starting next week, you will see some of the website enhancements going in to effect. We’ll be starting with the minor ones, before reshaping the home page layout. One of these items will be a call-to-action button linking you directly to purchasing football season tickets. Based on the unsolicited emails I’ve already received, we’re going to go for another 200 NEW season ticket holder campaign. A common thread from those of you who have already purchased new season tickets and let me know about it, is the bundling practice you’re invoking.

A handful of you have purchased two additional tickets in advance of knowing you’ll be able to work the summer cookout circuit and convince friends to sample the NU football product, especially this year. With Ohio State and Michigan anchoring a stellar home slate that also includes Michigan State, Big East champ Syracuse and Minnesota among others, 2013, to me, has the potential to be 1996-ish in terms of getting us to our goal of sold out games with mostly purple for the entire 2014 season. I’m going to have lunch with Mike Polisky soon and talk to him about this recent surge of success and also mention the fact that it is important for ticket account execs to be able to really work with buyers to try and get these add on seats directly next to/around the existing season ticket holder. Personally, my section (shout out to 131!), will be growing from 6 to 13 this year, just based on my ability to pull this off. So, get ready for shoutouts and a season ticket scoreboard and think about the bundling opportunity. Yes, it is an investment to purchase a pair of extra tickets without knowing they’re accounted for, yet, by fans willing to cover your costs, but have some faith in your friendships…and the fact the ‘Cats will entertain.

Love The Links

A couple of noteworthy links to share with you on this first day of March. SippinOnPurple articulated my sentiments with this post on why NU is the most boring team to blog about. Said another way, we have little drama, and that is a good thing, unless of course you are responsible for churning out content on a daily basis! They also unearthed a great stat – Northwestern is now one of two programs in the entire country to have zero coaching changes in the past three seasons (I’m assuming this includes THIS season, since I believe the Dennis Springer for Kevin Johns trade was prior to the 2011 season).

I love reading negative press about our competition’s hires. Well, as the assistant coaching carousel continues in the B1G this offseason, Michael Bird of SBNation rips Michigan State’s hiriing of offensive coordinator Jim Bollman. Bollman was the offensive architect of Ohio State’s Tresselball, which I was always amazed by. Ohio State would be up 30 on us and fans would be ripping him for the boring play-calling. Anyways, Bird makes the case that THIS hire exemplifies why the B1G is struggling as he takes it to the larger point of the lack of real innovators in coordinators is leading to a less-than-sexy style of play for potential recruits. Northwestern gets the noted exception in the piece.

Your Site, Your Content

We asked, you delivered and now we respond. We recently hoisted up a poll to give you the opportunity to help drive content in the coming weeks. Here is how you responded:

What Would You Like To See In Next Few Weeks?

Mostly football w/little bit of basketball (39%, 178 Votes)
Keep the current 50/50ish mix (32%, 146 Votes)
Football only! (25%, 112 Votes)
Let’s solely focus on basketball as it is a critical time in NU hoops history (4%, 19 Votes)
Total Voters: 455

Wow. Nearly two-thirds of the 455 respondents called for either football only (25%) of mostly football with a little bit of basketball (39%). Message heard. You’ll note the mix of content between now and the end of the basketball season will indeed reflect this want. Be forewarned, though, once the basketball season ends, we’ll be going heavy on NU hoops during March Madness as the future of one of our two key programs will be in full blown Carmody mode.

Category: Uncategorized · Tags: Chicago Tribune, Dan McNeil, Mark Dantonio, Michigan State Spartans, Mike Polisky, Northwestern Wildcats, Pat Fitzgerald

kinsella316

Don’t wait on the Carmody analysis… You are a voice that the administration listens to! Drive this story and lead the discussion!
- byebyefitz95
  
  The administration always listen to a blogger…..what is wrong with you? You think they get together and say “Well LTP says…”? I am speechless at your stupidity.
  - kinsella316
    
    Apparently not that speechless per the above comment, but… What’s wrong is I don’t think we as fans, or this blog, need to wait until after the season is over to start the debate.
Will

From the linked article.

“And fixing a basketball
program is A LOT easier than you would think, at least in the short
term. Don’t let anyone fool you, a school doesn’t have to waste money on
new facilities or state of the art nonsense. The only thing a
university needs to do is shell out the big bucks for a big boy coach.
Simple, reach in those deep Big 10 pockets you have and find an already
ultra-successful coach who has done it at a major program.”

I did not know Dan McNeil has experience as an AD. I mean since he knows rebuilding jobs are easy to complete, we should have hired him in the 80s…Seriously this writer clearly lacks perspective on NU hoops.

We’ve gone the suggested route before with Tex Winter (the architect the 1990s Chicago Bulls offense) and Bill Foster (the guy who turned around Duke). Guess what happened? Failure. NU is hoops is considered the worst job in major college basketball. Why would any high end coach who is comfortable come here? No tradition. No structural (facilities) support. Highly restrictive admissions policy. Toughest conference in the country. As Bob Knight and Jim Calhoun have said “it’s a coaches graveyard”.

But yeah, let’s can the most successful coach in 50 years and go buy a powerball ticket instead.
- DT
  
  Thanks, Thrill… I now understand why Kim Jong Un has that Carmody poster next to Rodman and Air Jordan, and calls him “Great Coach”… Elements of the Princeton “O” in that North Korean team that tied The Globetrotters the other night..
  Now find a 7-11 and buy that lotto ticket..
  - Will
    
    No thank you DT…for adding absolutely nothing to the conversation.
- PDXCat
  
  I’m all for people saying “Fire BC!” I’m all for people wanting to keep BC. They’re our opinions. What troubles me is this assumption that there’s going to be a large pool of quality candidates (meaning able AND willing to coach at NU) when BC gets the axe in mid/late-March. Now, this does not mean I embrace mediocrity nor does it mean that I think BC should have a job for life nor does it mean I think he’s a greater recruiter/developer of big men. It means it would be interesting to hear some of the realistic possibilities for our new coach. It’s often said “if BC gets fired, would any other B1G school want him?” How about “if BC gets fired, would any other B1G coach want the NU job?” The thought that someone will come in and magically turn the program into a perennial championship contender within the first couple years seems a bit out there. And don’t ADs have their short lists already made up? You know, in case a coach decides to leave unexpectedly or gets caught with hookers and guns in a room at the Allen Center. You’d think if BC resigned tomorrow, JP would have a list of calls he’d make (or maybe already has). Would BC really get an extension if JP had a decent short list and/or this year was Big Dance or else? My sense/fear is they may not have that guy in mind, which maybe leads to job for life (or at least quite a while). Who’s the new guy? Is it Tavaras? Is it Fred Hill? That’s the $64,000 question. (and the answer needs to be better than Anybody But Bill Carmody).
  - Chasmo
    
    PDXCat’s point is well taken — it will be almost impossible to hire a winning coach away from a major program — but it would not be impossible to hire a mid-major coach who has turned his current program around if:
    1. NU is willing to throw enough money at him. For example, if Fran McCafferty were still at Siena, would he really turn down a well paying offer from NU to stay in Albany? How much money would it take to get a similar coach to move up to the Big Ten?
    2. NU is willing to see its new coach leave for a better job in four or five years. The only way NU will get a young, hard-charging, ambitious coach is if it accepts the fact that such a coach will want to use the NU job to get something better. And what’s wrong with that? How bad would it be for the program if NU got to the NCAA tournament and its coach then jumped to a better program? Once NU makes it to the tournament, it will no longer be a “coach’s graveyard” and hiring a replacement will be easier. We need a basketball version of Gary Barnett and not get angry when he leaves.
    - Will
      
      Chasmo
      
      I really do get what you’re saying, but to address your first point, do you think NU would spend upwards of 3 million to land a McCafferty type coach (a above average up and comer)? I just can’t see if happening. Not at a university where the BIG tv revenue goes straight to the general fund. Basketball is the red headed stepchild in a family where the favorite son gets regularly ignored.
      
      2) This assumes there is a GB type available (a huge if) and Phillips can get him in the door (something JP couldn’t do at NIU). Remember, Barnett has publicly said he had no idea what he was getting himself into (Carmody has actually said the same). Additionally, BC is highly respected in the Div 1 coaching circles and firing him is not going to make us look anymore attractive and could very well add to the “coaches graveyard” sentiment.
      
      IMHO, the odds are so stacked against us that I believe the power ball comparison is appropriate. That being said, if we could get a guy like you have suggested I’d be all for it, regardless of the length of his tenure at NU. The probability just seems so low. Too much history to the contrary.
      - DT
        
        Thrill- We get it… You are BIG on Coach Carmody and proficient at talking points as hyperbolic and partisan as they are. That said, your math needs work.. Assuming you play Powerball to hit “The Jackpot”, your odds would be aprox. 1 in 175 million… If you truly think the odds of “Finding another Gary Barnett” (who was an OC no less upon his hire from CU) are allied to that, you need a refresher course in basic stats to base your logic on.. Heck, I’d even say NU’s possiblity of getting Shaka Smart to come to “The Grave Yard Of Coaching” (or whatever macabre Bob Knightism you employ…) would be say, 4-1, with the right comp and guarantee of facility upgrade… Listening to you, one would think NU has nothing going for it in hiring a new coach.. Could not be further from the truth, as inconvenient as that might be for you as a Bill Carmody acolyte.
        Now, got get that powerball ticket…
      - Will
        
        What’s your problem man?
      - Cletown Joe
        
        Ignore him. He is not interested in a conversation. I appreciate and agree on your point which, to sum up, is that it is completely possible to feel Carmody has great deficiencies as a coach and while also feeing he should be retained. You have to not only look at his results but also consider the alternatives. I tend to agree with the idea that the alternatives would not necessarily be an improvement from a flawed BC.
        
        Sorry DTs but any package NU could put together to get Shaka has already been offered to him multiple times by more enticing programs. A guy like that is waiting on a big time offer or is just comfortable where he is. He is not looking to climb one rung up the ladder. Whenever it comes time to replace BC, the most likely initial reaction to the hire will be a universal “Who?”. We have to accept that it will be an inexperienced no name Assistant Coach.
      - DT
        
        Hey, Joe- the next time you attend a game at Welsh-Ryan, we are going to have a White Flag waiting for you at Will Call under “Cletown”… Wave it real high so BTN can show the nation Exhibit A– what is wrong with NU Hoops.. If your narrative were not so pathetic and defeatist– it might be deemed offensive on an NU Blog..
      - bd005
        
        It would take not only a hefty increase in compensation, but a guarantee of a facility upgrade and probably a lowering of academic standards for 1-2 recruits for someone like Smart to take the NU job.
        
        Hmmm – it would seem to me that Carmody would have had a better chance of success of he had the latter 2 things.
        
        Put Carmody at G’Town and John Thompson III at NU and I’d suspect that the outcomes would have been very similar.
      - Chasmo
        
        I don’t understand the point of view that says NU will never be able to hire a good basketball coach so it has to stay with Carmody. I find it puzzling why so many NU fans feel there is no mid major head coach who believes enough in himself that he could use the NU job as a stepping stone to a great job.
        Look at Pat Fitzgerald. He has not come close to winning a Big Ten title at NU but his name pops up when a big time program is looking to hire a new head coach because everyone in the nation grades his accomplishments on a curve knowing how difficult it is to win at NU. The same would be true of any basketball coach who wins at NU.
        An ambitious basketball coach has to know that if he can manage to win one more game than he loses in Big Ten play and thereby get NU into the NCAA tournament, he will receive several offers to move on to a big time program.
        I just don’t share the idea that no ambitious mid major coach would come to NU when he is being offered more than twice what he’s making now. NU pays Carmody over $1 million a year and gets very little in return. If NU offers the basketball coach slightly less than what Pat Fitzgerald’s getting, it should be able to attract several worthwhile candidates.
      - bandcat
        
        Brad Stevens base at Butler 737M…337M for NCAA appearance24M 401k…JP and the boys should be able to do some creative accounting to double that easy enough. Still a bargain for a young guy with potential. Those were 2011 numbers reported to the IRS…
      - Will
        
        That’s the thing, I think we can get an ambitious mid major coach in here. We’ve done it before most recently with Byrdsong and Carmody. We’ve also brought in several highly respected older coaches with past successes at major programs. We’ve also brought in a so called recruiting wizard. The results? A total of 7 NITs (4 with the current coach).
        
        I just think there are so many obstacles to overcome (50 years of history and a look at our day to day facilities sides with this thinking), IMHO, I think we have better odds of making the NCAAs (which will crush the lack of tradition impediment) under the current set up than blowing it up (which will in the short harm recruiting and potentially drive away Crawford via the 5th yr transfer rule) and bringing in a whole new system and staff.
        
        Coaches aren’t only in this thing for the money. They have families and like stability. Many coach actually love their positions at mid-major programs. Regardless, If they are good, they’ll have other options without the stigma that NU gig has. So in my mind to lure an elite up and comer we would need a major sell job by Phillips and while simultaneously making the NU job appear a lot less risky.
        
        That means facilities (JP has squeezed all he can for the time being out the administration, so I can’t see that happening), and very large increase in salary over BC (see point 1). St. Louis did just this. They fired a relatively successful Soderberg after a 20 win season and brought in Rick Majerus (RIP). It took him a few years, but the Billikens are now a top rung A-10 program. Note that St. Louis does not have the academic requirements NU has.
        
        So yeah, I’d thank BC for his hard work, wish him well, and welcome Stevens or Smart with open arms, I just can’t see the higher ups (JP and Morty not included) taking the necessary steps. There is no history to support such action. Therefore, it just seems like, at the very least, wishful thinking.
      - Will
        
        So to conclude, I think BC, or a BC like coach is best we will do under the current circumstances. We are competitive and have a nice roster coming back next year, with finally some depth. IF we can stay healthy, we’ll be in competition for at large spot just like last season. Seems like safest and most reasonable play, to me anyways.
      - Chasmo
        
        Calling Bill Carmody an ambitious young coach when NU hired him could not be more wrong.
        Carmody spent 14 years as an assistant at Princeton. That is not a sign of ambition.
        He came to NU in his late 40′s because he knew the NU President at the time, Henry B., from Princeton, not because he was dying to move up in the world. He had no experience rebuilding a program as Princeton was a dominant team in the Ivy League and had no clue how to do it.
        He then foolishly hired two former Princeton players who were in the business world, Henderson and Robinson who had no recruiting experience, as his main assistance and then added Lee from Columbia, annually one of the worst Ivy League program. So here is a guy who can’t recruit hiring three other guys who can’t recruit to build the worst major conference basketball program in history. That is not a sign of ambition.
        As for the late Ricky Byrdsong, Bill Foster hired him because no other coach was interested. Byrdsong had one winning season at Detroit. It was a desperation hire.
        NU has much more money and much nicer basketball locker room and better facilities than it had when Byrdsong and even when Carmody were hired.
        I understand the argument that Carmody should be retained as head coach. I just don’t see any merit to the argument it would be impossible to hire a better recruiter than Carmody if he were fired.
        I guess we can agree to disagree.
      - Will
        
        A few last points and then I’ll be done too.
        
        1) I think it’s fair to say Byrdsong laid the framework for Detroit’s reassurance a few seasons later. He wasn’t a hack. Carmody had it made in Princeton. I’d call the move ambitious (regardless of his friendship with the president). He was taking Princeton to new heights when he left. A risky decision at the very least.
        
        2) Brad Stevens was hired from the business world. So was our current assistant Taravas Hardy. It’s not that rare in college basketball and isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. These are ambitious businessmen with basketball smarts.
        
        As for Craig Robinson, has had held two head jobs since NU. His resume includes an Ivy league coach of year and Brown’s high water mark for wins in a season. Hasn’t got it done at OSU, but doesn’t sound like a bad guy to have on your bench.
        
        To each their own I suppose.
      - http://www.facebook.com/haberstr John Haberstroh
        
        I agree with PDX’s very reasonable sentiment that it’ll be very hard to recruit a top mid-major coach into our coaches’ graveyard. What might make it possible is the university telling recruits that it is making a major commitment to a new and very high-quality hoops arena (preferably in downtown Evanston). But that is just not happening now, since the new $200 million football-plus facility is the school and donor focus.
  - DT
    
    Benny Hill would be an upgrade over Carmody at this point.. Enough already..
Catatonic Joe

I convinced my brother to buy a season ticket. He did not go to NU but has been my guest enough times to know he enjoys the games andt he atmosphere. When I tried to order three season tickets instead of two, I was offered a single seat somewhere else, or I can wait until they process seat upgrade requests to look for three seats together. I know adding seats together is a challenge, but is there a better way to handle this?
- kinsella316
  
  Joe, that’s how I’ve had to do it as well. They were able to add two seats to our group, not in the same row but directly behind us. I’d recommend waiting to see what they can do to match you up.
cece

ok, I’m over BOTH NU basketball seasons, but we are in the midst of lacrosse, so looking forward to more Slides2 analysis as we also read about spring football.
- http://twitter.com/LakeThePosts Lake The Posts
  
  Your lucky weekend. Spoiler alert – slides2 lacrosse post coming up this weekend on LTP.
Alum Dad

I’m thinking of attending the last home basketball game next week against PSU. It will be a great chance to say thanks and goodbye to Reggie Hearn and Bill Carmody.
JimGoCats93

Way to go LTP 6 – 13!!!! No one does more to fill the joint than you!

Hey folks, the headline was BUNDLE!

If you are on board post “I bundled” (even if you bundled in the past)

GoCatsGo!
- JimGoCats93
  
  I bundled!

2013 NU Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Result
08/31/2013	at California - TBA TBA	-
09/07/2013	Syracuse - BTN 5:00PM	-
09/14/2013	Western Michigan - BTN 8:00PM	-
09/21/2013	Maine (FCS) - TBA TBA	-
10/05/2013	Ohio State - ABC/ESPN OR ESPN2 7:00PM	-
10/12/2013	at Wisconsin - TBA TBA	-
10/19/2013	Minnesota - TBA TBA	-
10/26/2013	at Iowa - TBA TBA	-
11/02/2013	at Nebraska - TBA TBA	-
11/16/2013	Michigan - TBA TBA	-
11/23/2013	Michigan State - TBA TBA	-
11/30/2013	at Illinois - TBA TBA	-

2012 NU Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Result
09/01/2012	at Syracuse - ESPN2 11:00AM - Highlights	42 - 41
09/08/2012	Vanderbilt - BTN 7:00PM - Highlights	23 - 13
09/15/2012	Boston College - BTN 2:30PM - Highlights	22 - 13
09/22/2012	South Dakota (FCS) - BTN 2:30PM - Highlights	38 - 7
09/29/2012	Indiana - BTN 11:00AM - Highlights	44 - 29
10/06/2012	at Penn State - ESPN 11:00AM	28 - 39
10/13/2012	at Minnesota - ESPN2 11:00AM - Highlights	21 - 13
10/20/2012	Nebraska - ABC 2:30PM	28 - 29
10/27/2012	Iowa - ESPN2 11:00AM - Highlights	28 - 17
11/10/2012	at Michigan - ESPN 11:00AM	31 - 38
11/17/2012	at Michigan State - ESPN2 11:00AM - Highlights	23 - 20
11/24/2012	Illinois - BTN 11:00AM - Highlights	50 - 14
01/01/2013	Mississippi State - ESPN2 Gator Bowl 11:00AM - Highlights	34 - 20

Time To Start Bundling

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