The Annual HCGM's WSU Future

[newshock1234]

Vandy must have became a Blue blood overnight according to Twitter

[ShockerFever]

I can't wait to see who Vandy is getting that's better than Marshall.

[Stickboy46]

IMO, Bama was a better job than Vandy is. We know how that one worked out.

I just love when people throw out the "more money" part like WSU is helpless against that aspect. I mean .. its not like our coach is already a Top 10 paid coach. No WAY we could pay him enough to stay against big bad Vanderbilt ...

[ShockdaWorld]

I just love when people throw out the "more money" part like WSU is helpless against that aspect. I mean .. its not like our coach is already a Top 10 paid coach. No WAY we could pay him enough to stay against big bad Vanderbilt ...

The ghost of John Wooden past?

No wait, duh...Gotta be the cryogenically repaired Tark the Shark.

Oops...meant to quote the comment about who they'd get better than Marshall. My bad.

[ShockerPrez]

Talk about the epitomy of a coat-tail hanger....

Vandy. They do nothing!! They win nothing.

They are the trust fund child of the SEC, and part of the conference the way Drake is in the MVC. They've just sort of always been there, and for some computer glitch, they keep getting a paycheck.

The SEC just hasn't gotten around to fixing the glitch.

[Stickboy46]

VU - $32.7 mil just in SEC Ntwk revenue in Y1. Not saying VU targets GM, but WS cannot outspend VU. That’s silly.

..... This guy is fun.

[SHOCKvalue]

Talk about the epitomy of a coat-tail hanger....

Vandy. They do nothing!! They win nothing.

They are the trust fund child of the SEC, and part of the conference the way Drake is in the MVC. They've just sort of always been there, and for some computer glitch, they keep getting a paycheck.

The SEC just hasn't gotten around to fixing the glitch.

Tons of corollaries to the Creighton demo. In athletic relevancy; in entitled, arrogant fans, students, and alums; in the disconnect between their perceptions of themselves in the context of college athletics, versus actual reality, and on and on.

Could someone please remind them that they are a middling program with little to no MBB history, close to zero national relevance in same, and they just lost a coach who's name is synonymous with mediocrity to another program with similar background.

[SHOCKvalue]

Some basic comparative analytics:

Final Fours:
WSU - 2
Vandy - 0

Elite Eights:
WSU - 4
Vandy - 1

Sweet Sixteens:
WSU - 6
Vandy - 6

NCAA Tournament Wins:
WSU - 17
Vandy - 10

Average Attendence:
WSU - 10,806 (101.3% of actual arena capacity)
Vandy - 8,862 (62% of actual arena capacity)

Primary Benefactor:
WSU - 9th Wealthiest Person in the World
Vandy - Worm Food Since 1877

[WuDrWu]

Boom.

[FriscoFriend]

Vandy!

That's where the benches are on the ends of the court!

Marshall wouldn't have a place to set his Gatorade cup!

[pogo]

This guy is fun .... (@recjdllm)

They took fast Eddie Fogler. How did that work for them? He left here (according to him) because the academics were outstanding and and it was like an Ivy league school in the SEC. He left there after his win totals declined to take a job at that academic bastion, South Carolina.

[pinstripers]

Vandy is not ever gonna be a powerhouse, but it's a nice job. I don't think they will ever pay enough for Marshall to go there, but if they call, he'll listen.

[SHOCKvalue]

I'm seeing quite of bit of dismissive talk on Twitter and in forums from Vandy fans about the scale of wealth of the VU athletic department, as it relates to fiscal ability to attract a coach like Marshall (and by extension, WSU's ability to retain same), so I decided to do some digging at the good ol' Equity in Athletics database maintained by the US Department of Education. Its figures are compelled from all educational institutions, public or private in nature, due to Title IV and various federal educational subsidies. Here's what I found:

In the 14 member SEC, Vandy misses taking up dead-freaking-last in athletics spending by the skin of their teeth (Mississippi State has them "beat"). Vandy spends $68.6M annually, which is over $30M less than SEC average, and close to $40M less than SEC median. They're analogous to the Evansville of the SEC. Additionally, Vandy receives somewhere on the order of $35M of that $68M annually from the SEC Network. Their self-originated athletics spending is bordering on embarrassing for a P5 school, especially when their fans are trying to prop them up like some private Texas or Alabama. But wait, you say, Vandy fans claim that basketball is THE sport of the University, and is supported as such, which is weird when you see that for every $1.00 that Vandy spends on MBB, they spend $2.50 on their football program. Strange way to emphasize your supposed main sport, even in the context of the higher cost of football as compared to basketball.

So then I thought, let's head over to the B12 and see how Vandy might fare as an 11th member of a decidedly less wealthy P5 conference. Sadface abounds yet still for the mighty (in spirit at least) Commodores. In the B12, Vandy's athletics spending is very close (+/-$5M) to such college powerhouses as the fighting farmers from Iowa State, Kansas State, and Texas Tech. Overall, Vandy clocks in close to $25M less in athletics spending dollars than the B12 average. They spend drastically less than any of the B12 members in OK or TX.

[KC Shox]

"The Harvard of the South" probably knows that getting GM to leave WSU is low, but I'd be willing to bet that they are going to make him say no instead of simply not trying. With their SEC brethren having made name brand hires of late, (Avery Johnson, Bruce Pearl, Ben Howland, Rick Barnes), my opinion is they too want to get a big name coach. They'll throw some cash at GM and force him to say no is my guess.

[shocka khan]

"The Harvard of the South" probably knows that getting GM to leave WSU is low, but I'd be willing to bet that they are going to make him say no instead of simply not trying. With their SEC brethren having made name brand hires of late, (Avery Johnson, Bruce Pearl, Ben Howland, Rick Barnes), my opinion is they too want to get a big name coach. They'll throw some cash at GM and force him to say no is my guess.

I agree. Stallings got out of town before the seat got red-hot, but he went to Pitt. How could Marshall believe that Vandy is a destination job when the guy who had it before him went to Pitt, rofl.......