Paul Mills Slightly Toasty Seat

[ShockTalk]

This is exactly the point. We got out of the Valley where most trips could be taken by bus for all nonrevenue sports and scattered our geographic makeup to the four winds to end up with not much better strength, less stability, and higher costs. We have the benefit of hindsight now and without hindsight I’d probably make the same decision 10/10 times, but if you told somebody we’d be lining up against Rice and UTSA instead of Houston and UCF in 2025 they would have rightly asked “what is the point?”

As you said, it's all hindsight now. However, I'm not sure I was a 10/10 person. Maybe not 5/10. What were we really going to accomplish there that we had not already done where we were. Other schools had even bigger ambitions using the "new" conference as a steppingstone or showing them (major conference teams) that they were just as good them. That thinking even hit the Big East.

[ShockerFever]

So, figuratively and emotionally (give us a ******* break), paying HCIB for 2 more years vs. the alternative was the right thing to do. That type logic could lead WSU waaay back into the 90's all over again and the early returns are showing that to be the case. No? Record revenue? *ullsh**.

But, the good news is HCPM looks better on the sidelines and sounds better on cold and dreary Monday night's. That alone should forgive the fact that he couldn't recruit a 3 point shooter to save his ass (get it?) to replace one that was the greatest shooter in the history of WSU basketball. I hope that doesn't need a translation.

Mills is NOT the answer. Brown was NOT the answer. So stop crying over Brown already.

A change needed to be made ASAP on the disaster of Isaac Brown. Not sure we could have afforded to wait, even given the finances. The problem is we had to make a home run replacement and instead we winded up with Paul Mills, clearly a monumental mistake. Of course hindsight now says we should've kept Brown for one more year to help out a bit more for the coffers. But we were losing $$$ (donations, season tickets) with Brown, so while the right decision was made regarding him, it was a complete disaster replacing him with Mills. And now we sink and wait.

[1972Shocker]

What an absolutely depressing dose of reality.

I think it is worse than most Shocker fans realize. Completing the severance pay commitments to Marshall and Brown will not in and of itself solve our financial woes.

See my previous analysis of the FYE 06/30/24 WSU-ICAA audited financials:

https://shockernet.net/forum/wichita-state-athletics/wichita-state-men-s-basketball/1378974-director-of-athletics-kevin-saal?p=1466006#post1466006

Note in particular the bottom line EXCLUDING SEVERANCE PAY. In FY23 there was a loss/deficit of $1.1 million disregarding severance pay. In FY24 we had a net surplus on this basis of $868k. The FY24 revenues saw in increase in contributions of $4.6 million dollars. Had that not happened we would have run a $3.7 million deficit again excluding severance pay obligations.

As of June 30, 2024 WSU-ICAA had a net surplus (assets over liabilities including severance pay obligations) of $1.4 million. Not a huge reserve to fall back on. The key will be for the big booster contributions of FY24 to continue on an annual basis in FY25 and beyond. The current trajectory of MBB is not helping. IF WSU-ICAA can duplicate for FYE 06/30/25 our surplus would be about $2.3 million. That doesn't sound too bad except that ADKS said we will need another $2.5 per year (part of the $7million per year appeal) just to fund the additional cost of attendance they are budgeting for the new expanded scholarship limits that go into effect beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. Not to mention a possible buyout of Paul Mills contract at some point.

The point I am trying to make is that the fulfillment of our contractual obligations to Marshall and Brown does not solve the issues we are facing. They certainly have contributed to getting us to this point but from my perspective things continue to look touch and go and we can't have many things not go our way.

ADKS deserves a lot of credit for big increase in booster contributions in FY24 which quite frankly may have saved the program from collapsing into a bankruptcy-like situation (maybe that was his big selling point). If ADKS can successfully navigate WSU through this mess he will absolutely be a Shocker Hall of Famer. Unfortunately, he also carries all of the responsibility for his hiring of Paul Mills including the negotiating another golden parachute contract with Mills. Ironically, that may be what does his tenure in.

[JEE]

Man I wish we could find a coach who can shoot!

[1972Shocker]

It is kind of painful to see this pinned X post from November 4th every time I look at the MBB X page:

[BostonWu]

We were heading right to '95. I'm not saying HCPM was the answer. Far from it. But we are in a better place, financially, today than 2 and 3 years ago. That does matter. It's not going to translate to wins, but it matters. It's a different landscape. If you think changing coaches today is going to make next year significantly better, you are kidding yourself. Ride this out, let's see where the NCAA goes with NIL, prepare for that moment and be ready to act when there is some future certainty. Paying THREE coaches that aren't here (JUST in men's basketball) is not going to help anything. Barring internal problems that as far as I know aren't happening, this is our bed for the next 2 seasons.

Don't disagree with this at all but it paints a picture of a very expensive placeholder just going through the motions for the next 2-3 years.

[Stickboy46]

The only way it makes sense now is yet again with an angel donor willing to pony up the buyout AND and next coaches salary. Even with that, the new coach needs to be lined up even before the move is made.

We already made the mistake once of making a move without the next step lined up.

So really I don't expect anything until next year at the earliest. My only thought was it sure would be nice to let a new coach fill the 10-15 scholarships we will have available next year rather than Mills. Unfortunately we are paying for too many poor past decisions at this point

[rjl]

The only way it makes sense now is yet again with an angel donor willing to pony up the buyout AND and next coaches salary. Even with that, the new coach needs to be lined up even before the move is made.

We already made the mistake once of making a move without the next step lined up.

So really I don't expect anything until next year at the earliest. My only thought was it sure would be nice to let a new coach fill the 10-15 scholarships we will have available next year rather than Mills. Unfortunately we are paying for too many poor past decisions at this point

[SubGod22]

The only way it makes sense now is yet again with an angel donor willing to pony up the buyout AND and next coaches salary. Even with that, the new coach needs to be lined up even before the move is made.

We already made the mistake once of making a move without the next step lined up.

So really I don't expect anything until next year at the earliest. My only thought was it sure would be nice to let a new coach fill the 10-15 scholarships we will have available next year rather than Mills. Unfortunately we are paying for too many poor past decisions at this point

Silver lining...

The new coach, whenever that might be, will probably get 10-15 scholarships to fill anyway.

[Shocktoberfest]

Silver lining...

The new coach, whenever that might be, will probably get 10-15 scholarships to fill anyway.

This is 100% accurate.