Not greatest timing as Santa Clara looking like an upper division team in the West Coast next season, but read that she’s stepping down to attend to a family member with health issues. Deputy AD at Syracuse prior to SCU and also golf coach and administrator before that at her alma mater, Oregon. Anyway, hopefully her replacement will come from the non-P5 ranks.
That’s pretty fitting for the A-10’s 50th anniversary with Duquesne, Pitt, Penn State, and West Virginia all being charter members of what began as the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League aka the Eastern 8. Won’t be surprised if the conference adds a member or two by the 2025-26 season with UMass departing. Definitely would think CofC is on the radar and perhaps Belmont or Indiana State.
Mercyhurst located in Erie, PA, thus the Lakers mascot / nickname. Division I team #364.
Basically speaking for most non-P5 schools, especially when they become successful:
Explains a lot about our home and home with Stetson and with Detroit Mercy. Scheduling isn’t so easy as we’d like it to be.
https://x.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1795158519986950350?t=dQpiLSnRJhoRwU5FMqnHzg&s=19
https://x.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1795145116035801147?t=W_nDmA23jF02w2eHp9ZG2w&s=19
RIP. I gave him endless crap online after the 2001 CUSA championship MBB game that he called on ABC, because he spent the entire game repeating how Cincy was the “more physically dominant and mature team” which was why they were going to win (they lost).
Still, sad news; and poignant in that he passed away immediately after the PAC12 did.
Fortunately I was at the game you referenced when we kicked sincy’s ass and their star player cried on national tv. But later I watched my recording of the game and enjoyed it even more listening to Walton going on about sincy, but getting to watch the reality of us being the better team that day. One of the best days in NINER basketball history.
Remember watching this game as a teen. Gene Bartow was the coach at Memphis State, then a member of the Missouri Valley.
Watched this game live on TV. Walton was a machine that day.
Have enjoyed reading all the tributes to Walton. No denying he was eccentric but not in a bad way. Loved people, hoops, cycling, music - especially the Grateful Dead - learning, etc. As many have noted, one of a kind!
This has me wondering about what the high end is for Niners MBB to pay as concerns home OOC buy games. I know last season Cara commented on what some WBB teams were expecting us to pay, especially after the switch to the AAC became official.
Pretty heavy cupcake OOC sked for Dishon in Ames. Will play in a stacked Maui Invitational, as well as Marquette after returning from Hawaii. Of course, Big XII will be a grinder, even more with the quartet joining from the Pac-12. A number of WTE top 25 lists have Kansas, Houston, Iowa State, Baylor, and Arizona as top 10 teams.
Anyone looking for a great sports book that also happens to have a lot about Bill Walton, The Breaks of the Game, by David Halberstam is a classic.
Cal finally gets it! 
Wow that took him a while.
I guess he finally figured out Anthony Davis’s don’t come around very often……
Are we sure he’s still a good coach???
Won’t take long to find out. Definitely putting together a nice squad after everyone basically bailed after Musselman left. See that Johnell Davis withdrew from the NBA Draft so he’ll be starting for the Hogs.