Danny Manning vs. Steve Wojciechowski

[UofMemphis]

Tulsa has put together the biggest contract they have ever offered...5 years, 1 million per year.

Manning is on his way back from Wake Forest as we speak...so decision soon.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N12KR

[WSUwatcher]

IF -- and it's a big if, I'd say -- Tulsa really wants to run with the big boys, and the biggest offer they've ever been able to muster is $1M/year for 5 years, they're at a serious disadvantage.

Possibly an indication of how challenging it can be to fund a serious basketball program when you're also paying for football but not getting AQ-conference money.

[UofMemphis]

Tulsa is a small private school with 5,000 students...its a "big deal" for them to offer 1 million

If Manning does go...I would go hard after Steve Forbes...wildly successful as a CC head coach...learned under Billy Gillispie, Bruce Pearl, and Gregg Marshall.

[Shock Therapy]

IF -- and it's a big if, I'd say -- Tulsa really wants to run with the big boys, and the biggest offer they've ever been able to muster is $1M/year for 5 years, they're at a serious disadvantage.

Possibly an indication of how challenging it can be to fund a serious basketball program when you're also paying for football but not getting AQ-conference money.

Back in '06, after the sweet sixteen, we paid Turgeon $750,000 to stay. At the time it was the most we had ever paid our basketball coach. I even remember Jim Schaus saying that we would have a hard time coming up with much more. So I wouldn't give Tulsa too hard of a time for it.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

Shock Therapy, you know we don't allow reasonable posts like that around here!

Your fired!

[SHOCKvalue]

Most schools with successful MBB programs are paying their current HC "the most money they've ever paid" a MBB HC.

Just saying...

[SHOCKvalue]

Tulsa is a small private school with 5,000 students...its a "big deal" for them to offer 1 million

Creighton and Gonzaga are both examples of small private schools paying their coaches somewhere in the range of Marshall/Smart state school money.

If Manning does go...I would go hard after Steve Forbes...wildly successful as a CC head coach...learned under Billy Gillispie, Bruce Pearl, and Gregg Marshall.

Shush, we'd like to keep him thanks!

[pogo]

Again, as "Watcher" pointed out. The other "Privates" aren't trying to fund a football program like Tulsa is.

[Shock Therapy]

Shock Therapy, you know we don't allow reasonable posts like that around here!

Your fired!

Good! I didn't want this terrible job anyway!

[WSUwatcher]

Fair point, Therapy, but the money in college sports has increased dramatically since 2006. I don't have time to do a study, but I'd be surprised if, relatively speaking, $750K in 2006 wasn't a bigger deal than $1 million is now.

The other key point is that for small private schools like Gonzaga and Marquette who take their basketball seriously, they'd have no trouble at all coming up with that kind of money, and it's no coincidence that they aren't pouring big bucks into a "mid-major" football program that has essentially no chance of striking it rich. The money Tulsa spends on football is money not available for use on building up basketball, which in turn helps to condemn their basketball program to guaranteed "stepping stone" status even though it's had some success since the days of Nolan and his polka dots.

[SPEShockAlum]

Well, Manning is gone. Too bad for TU. I thought he would take a much longer term approach than this... if he stayed another year or two and built on this success, he could've gone anywhere he wanted... not WF.

[Cdizzle]

I don't get all the Wake Forest hate. I don't disagree that it's not a Top 10 job, but acting like the program is and always has been trash is using a really short memory.

[Shock Therapy]

I don't get all the Wake Forest hate. I don't disagree that it's not a Top 10 job, but acting like the program is and always has been trash is using a really short memory.

Their AD is pretty well hated for how he's mismanaged the program. It will continue to be a crap program until they get serious and make some major institutional changes.

[SPEShockAlum]

I don't get all the Wake Forest hate. I don't disagree that it's not a Top 10 job, but acting like the program is and always has been trash is using a really short memory.

It's not trash and at the end of the day you have to look out for #1, but TU is positioned for success going into next year after a nice finish to this one, and playing in much improved conference (AAC vs. CUSA).

[RoyalShock]

It's not trash and at the end of the day you have to look out for #1, but TU is positioned for success going into next year after a nice finish to this one, and playing in much improved conference (AAC vs. CUSA).

Which hopefully has them in a situation to hire a pretty good replacement. If they don't, it may be awhile before Tulsa dances again.