Tommy Bell monthly newsletter — April edition
04/30/2017 | 7:07:00 | General
Greetings, Saluki Nation!
As a follow-up to last month's newsletter, in which I discussed the impending departure of Wichita State from the Missouri Valley Conference, our league is making excellent progress on the membership front. I've spent the past week traveling with other representatives of the conference to visit potential sites and meet their administrators. While I can't give you specifics, I can say without hesitation that the process is advancing in a thorough and orderly fashion. I'm confident in the leadership of our commissioner and campus administrators. Look for some news on this topic next month. Stay tuned!
We're heading down the homestretch of the spring seasons and hoping that our teams are peaking at the right time. Baseball has won five of its last seven games, is in fourth place in the MVC standings, and has a critical home series versus first-place Missouri State next weekend. Softball is in third place in the MVC and has won 5-of-6. They also host Missouri State this weekend.
Both the men's and women's tennis teams finished in second place at this weekend's MVC Championships. Track & Field is two weeks away from the MVC Outdoor Championships in Wichita.
The football team had two players sign NFL free-agent contracts after the Draft on Saturday. Linebacker Chase Allen signed with the Miami Dolphins, while defensive end Deondre Barnett signed with Tampa Bay.
The Saluki Athletic Scholarship Fund, which is our annual fundraising program for Intercollegiate Athletics, is tracking about 8 percent ahead of last year's total! Thank you for your generosity! Every dollar you give makes a difference in the lives of our student-athletes, helping pay for their tuition, room and board, books, etc. SASF dollars benefit all NCAA sports programs at SIU and enhance the experience of more then 350 student-athletes. We're pushing for $1 million in SASF donations this year. Will you help us?
Our student-athletes are tremendous ambassadors for Southern Illinois University. Collectively, they have volunteered more than 1,000 hours this school year in service to the community. Here are some examples of events they've been involved with this year:
*Souper Bowl For Hunger: collected more than $5,000 for the Good Samaritan Ministries & Murphysboro Food Pantry
*Trivia Night at the Oscars: helped staff an event which raised $10,600 and benefited Boys & Girls Club of Carbondale
*SIU Dance Marathon: raised $1,386 to benefit the Children's Miracle Network
*Lip Sync Battle: raised more than $1,400 and benefited the Boys & Girls Club of Carbondale
In total, student-athletes have volunteered at events that have raised more than $35,000. They've led food drives that have donated more than 700 items to local food pantries. There are several events left for this school year, including the Relay for Life, which benefits the American Cancer Society, and a brand-new event called the DAWGSPYs, which will serve as a food drive for the Saluki Food Pantry on campus. Next time you see a student-athlete, thank them for all they do for SIU!
From Ask the AD, Stan wrote that he took issue with comments I made on the radio about how the current transfer landscape makes it more difficult for mid-major basketball programs to be successful. He cited the success of Dan Muller, whose Illinois State team won a conference title, despite losing several transfers, including star center Reggie Lynch to Minnesota last year.
To expand upon my radio comments - the growing transfer culture in college basketball is real, however, it is a two-sided coin. Virtually every team in the Missouri Valley Conference has seen the negative effects of players lost to transfer. At the same time, we must acknowledge that our league has taken in its share of transfers. Some of the top players of the last few years dropped down from BCS programs, including Milton Doyle (Kansas), Wes Washpun (Tennessee) and Conner Frankamp (Kansas) to name a few. If you look at the current-day rosters of MVC teams, you'll find impact players who have transferred to the Valley - Clayton Custer (Iowa State), Milik Yarbrough (Saint Louis), Christian Romine (UTEP), Graham Woodward (Penn State) and our own Marcus Bartley (Saint Louis).
Discussion of the transfer rate is not making excuses for performance. We all play by the same rules. We do need to acknowledge that the game, and more specifically the culture of college basketball, has changed.
Corey wrote in to say he also heard me during an interview with Mike Reis in which he got the impression I was happy with a 150 RPI in men's basketball. Glad to hear so many of you are listening to Cornering the AD! For the record, we finished the 2016-17 season with an RPI of 147, which was a decline from the previous year's RPI of 136. There are 351 teams total, which means we are in the top half of Division I basketball. Is that good enough? Not for me or Coach Hinson! Realistically, I believe this program should consistently be in the top-third of Division I (if you do the math, that means an RPI of 116 or better on a regular basis). We should be capable of reaching the top-50 from time-to-time.
If you look at Saluki Basketball's recent history, it was a top-50 program six-straight years from 2002-07. By no coincidence, those were all NCAA Tournament teams. There were two more seasons when the RPI was 51 (2000) and 60 (2008), which landed us in the NIT. That's eight years of top-60 RPI since the year 2000. Saluki Basketball is a sleeping giant and I'm confident we can awake from our slumber! Looking ahead to next year, we have 10 upperclassmen on our roster, so expectations are high.
Another fan wrote in to suggest that we reinstate the annual Midnight Madness event and postseason banquet for men's basketball. I appreciate the suggestion. Although we no longer do Midnight Madness, there are a couple of similar events that have been well-received. One is called Homecoming Hoops, which is held outdoors by the arena, an hour before the Homecoming football game. Players and coaches from both teams are introduced, there are contests, a DJ, lots of giveaways, and a chance to meet and sign autographs with the players. For our season-ticket holders, we also offer a season-ticket pick-up party in which they are invited to have coffee and donuts with the coaches, pick up their tickets, and watch a bit of practice on a Saturday in October. I hope you'll take advantage of these opportunities. The postseason banquet has become a private dinner for coaches, players, support staff and families. I suspect that if we were to win a conference title or go to the NCAA Tournament, we would consider opening the event to the public.
Ron wrote to me from Oklahoma and is a 1994 SIU grad. He never took a class on campus, instead taking them from military bases while stationed in Connecticut, Illinois and Oklahoma. He recalls meeting the late Dan Callahan at Homecoming in 2009, as well as current baseball coach Ken Henderson. He's a huge baseball fan and has been a member of the Dugout Club since 2009. Since he was unable to attend games on campus as a student, Ron asked if he could join the Dawg Pound, so he could proudly wear the Dawg Pound shirt when he attends road games closer to his home. Ron - we would be proud to send you a shirt and thank you for your service to our country. A member of my staff will contact you for your size and shipping address.
With Saluki Pride,
