Is Valpo keeping Lottich?

[Kyle_Saluki_17]

Eh, he’s not entirely wrong. Also not entirely right. I hold a Mechanical Engineering degree from SIU and I felt like there were less than 3 classes that I had that were actually relevant. I absolutely LOVE college basketball and my Salukis, but there are plenty of reasons I don’t give a crap about these schools as “institutions.” Sports are about the only good thing that comes out of them in my opinion.

If you ask people who attended other universities, I'd bet they'd say the same about classes being relevant or not. It's not just an SIU issue. The whole college thing is a business. Fill out the application, take a test, pay the fee and your in. I was a Career and Technical Education major at SIU and enjoyed a 34 year teaching career. Had some great professors and took some good classes, Some not so much. My best experience was my 1 1\2 year internship, and my semester of student teaching. Hands on approach to learning was best for me, as well as the thousands of students I worked with. When I was younger, I couldn't give to the university because I was raising a family, paying for their activities, bills, a mortgage, and later college expenses. Now I have the resources to give back. Just curious; who do you reference when you speak of good people of Southern Illinois who say SIU is a joke? The people I spoke with in St. Louis and other events realize how much good the university does for the region, not how little. I assume you're using your engineering degree to repair cooking utensils when they break down. LOL!

Haha. Well in general, it was a shot at “The business of college” rather than SIU. Like I said, we are actually a school that can put together a good crowd. Who knows what the people around Springfield, MO think of their local university. And other areas for that matter. Nothing that I said is exclusive to SIU and southern Illinois. Private schools may have a different tune. I honestly have no idea.

The people I reference is just normal people in the region. Some educated with engineering degrees, teaching degrees, some without higher education at all, and others. As a whole, I’d say the majority of people in Southern Illinois not living in Carbondale.

And yes, I no longer work as an engineer as I now run my own business. Turns out it pays more than double an engineering salary to sell egg rolls and crab rangoon. Lol

[MissouriValleyUnite]

At a minimum the AD owes Valpo fans some sort of public commentary on the state of the program.

2 weeks later, still not a peep from Valpo’s AD.

Valpo did bank $425k scheduling a last-minute FB game at NMSU in December after NMSU had an opponent cancel.

[BEARZ77]

I can’t and won’t pretend to speak for anyone else, but I learned more in college than what shows up on a degree. I think you get out of college what you put into it.

I wouldn't trade my college experience for anything , and it laid the foundation for the life I was able to have. I often am at odds with some Missouri State fans because they view college sports like any other entertainment, and determine their support and contributions based on how well the teams are playing, and assess value the same way. They have the perspective that the University owes them for their support. I'm the opposite, I view it as I owe the University for providing me exactly what I needed , and want to make sure it has the necessary resources to provide similar experiences ongoing. Yeah I paid for that experience, but I still got more than I paid for . But that's my experience. When I was hiring people I placed a big emphasis on advanced degrees, not because I felt it assured a certain level of expertise , but because i found most individuals I hired with advanced degrees were able to juggle multiple priorities better, had better levels of perseverance, and a variety of other skills they had acquired by just dealing with juggling part time jobs, advance educational requirements and often family responsibilities. But again, that was my perception.

[Fraydog]

There’s lots of people who are antagonistic about SIU in the Southern Illinois region, but when you peel back their logic, or lack thereof in this case, the reasons usually don’t make sense. Sure, SIU has issues like increasingly unaffordable tuition or overly bloated administration, but it also is the largest contribution to the local economy and provides the bulk of the region’s educators. Overall, SIU contributes far more than it takes. I’d also say that the experience of life on campus at Carbondale was way more valuable to me than anything I learned in the small towns where I grew up. It’s where I learned to live.

I think a lot of the frustration could just be solved by people being open minded to learning on campus even if it isn’t in the academic environment and athletics is just one part of that.

[tribecalledquest]

There’s lots of people who are antagonistic about SIU in the Southern Illinois region, but when you peel back their logic, or lack thereof in this case, the reasons usually don’t make sense. Sure, SIU has issues like increasingly unaffordable tuition or overly bloated administration, but it also is the largest contribution to the local economy and provides the bulk of the region’s educators. Overall, SIU contributes far more than it takes. I’d also say that the experience of life on campus at Carbondale was way more valuable to me than anything I learned in the small towns where I grew up. It’s where I learned to live.

I think a lot of the frustration could just be solved by people being open minded to learning on campus even if it isn’t in the academic environment and athletics is just one part of that.

Well said.

[siudawgs]

So Valpo's just going to keep Lottich and not say boo?

At least when Southern couldn't yet get out from Lowery's contract and things had gone bad, he was forced to suffer through an awkward press conference with the AD and they had to take a few questions. What does that accomplish? Maybe nothing, but if I were a Valpo fan, the radio silence this deep into a disastrous coaching tenure wouldn't sit well with me.

[TylerDurden]

So Valpo's just going to keep Lottich and not say boo?

At least when Southern couldn't yet get out from Lowery's contract and things had gone bad, he was forced to suffer through an awkward press conference with the AD and they had to take a few questions. What does that accomplish? Maybe nothing, but if I were a Valpo fan, the radio silence this deep into a disastrous coaching tenure wouldn't sit well with me.

To be fair, you have to have fans who care about your program to hold such a press conference.

[Milanmiracle]

To be fair, you have to have fans who care about your program to hold such a press conference.

Agreed. The anger has turned to apathy and there’s not a light at the end of the tunnel. I could pile on beyond this, but “the shot” was 25 years ago, and Valpo’s only NCAA tourney wins. They last went to the tournament 8 years ago. There’s nothing to be excited about and even their own backyard is indifferent.

They can’t fire Lottich, they have funding problems way beyond basketball.

[bradley_townie]

To be fair, you have to have fans who care about your program to hold such a press conference.

Agreed. The anger has turned to apathy and there’s not a light at the end of the tunnel. I could pile on beyond this, but “the shot” was 25 years ago, and Valpo’s only NCAA tourney wins. They last went to the tournament 8 years ago. There’s nothing to be excited about and even their own backyard is indifferent.

They can’t fire Lottich, they have funding problems way beyond basketball.

Apathy is the worst thing that can happen to a basketball program. Do Valpo fans feel like they would have been better off staying in the Horizon and regret moving to the MVC? Has something changed at the school since they joined the MVC?

[TylerDurden]

Valpo's law school debacle and subsequent closing have been pretty bad for the university as a whole. I can't imagine it helps with donations, either.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valparais ... ool_of_Law

The school's enrollment is plummeting. They've lost more than a third of their enrollment in the past eight years.

Fall 2014 - 4520
Fall 2018 - 3808
Fall 2022 - 2964
*these numbers are from https://www.valpo.edu/institutional-eff ... ment-data/

If they can't turn the enrollment around, Valpo's going to have to answer some really tough questions.