The former Cardinals great said she would like to play for the Fever so she could protect Clark on the court. What an awesome gesture. Angel is the best.

Clark was just snubbed from the Olympic team as the idiocy and hatred from the dipshits of women's basketball continues. We are living in ass backwards times.

Incoming Trn, Outgoing Trn. & #HS recruits:
2022 --- 12 17 16
2023 -- 25 25 18
2024 -- 31 30 14

I have read on this site that some of you think feel this is not desirable nor sustainable. What could/should CJB have done with the heavy amount of transfers out to balance the roster to keep the numbers up while maintaining a competitive level of experience and roster?

Utilizing only HS recruits was not a prudent course of action to replace 55 outgoing transfers the last 2 years....diminishing experience and lack of #'s would have been that result.
We can debate why this happened (change in coaching and playing style, O & D systems, and getting the right fit of players in to replace the departures and skills preferred by this staff. etc, etc

I posted a comparison thread on all the ACC teams portal recruiting that you may find interesting

Comments, criticism....let me have it. TY in advance for participating. Info from more than one site is source.

Go Cards

2023/2024

Transfers IN: High School:
UofL 31/25 - Total 56--HS 18/14 Total 32
Cal 20/23 -- Total 43 -- HS 13/19 Total 32
Cuse 9/19 -- Total 28 - HS 18/23 Total 41
SMU 26/19 - Total 45 - HS 16/10 Total 26
GTech 16/14 - Total 30 - HS 19/23 Total 42
FSU 12/17 - Total 29 --HS 19/23 Total 53
Mia 17/15 - Total 32 -- HS 26/27 Total 53
UNC 10/10 - Total 20 -HS 21/28 Total 49
UVA 9/13 - Total 22 -- HS 20/13 Total 33
VT 9/7 - Total 16 -- HS 27/16 Total 43
Duke 9/16 - Total 25 -- HS 26/16 Total 42
BC 9/10 -Total 19 -- HS 18/13 Total 31
Pitt 7/14 - Total 21 -- HS 19/21 Total 40
NCSt 6/15 - Total 21 -- HS 18/24 Total 42
Stfd 4/4 - Total 8 -- HS 20/25 Total 45
WF 3/5 - Total 8 -- HS 20/21 Total 41
Clem 1/0 Total 1 -- HS 26/22 Total 48 Not a surprise!

Comments for discussion and venting please. Analysis for reasons, etc etc

Got info from various sites...other than just rivals:

2024/2023:

Colarado -42/52 -- Total 94
UofL - 31/24 -- Total 55
IU - 31/23 -- Total 54
TxA&M -28/15-- Total 43
UWash -28/10 --Total 38
ASU - 28/31 -- Total 59
Auburn -28/20 -- Total 48
Ole Miss - 24/23-- Total 47
UCinn - 25/22 -- Total 47
TCU - 24/13 -- Total 37
Cal - 23/20-- Total 43
MissSt -24/12-- Total 36
USCar -22/11 -- Total 33
Ark - 22/19 --Total 41
SMU - 19/26 -- Total 45
FSU - 17/23 -- Total 40

Some heavy #'s, Could have been due to coaching changes....plus NIL....and Portal transfer rule changes. Cards not alone in this to new way of recruiting. JMO Adapt to keep up or get left behind.
I have read on this site that some think this is not sustainable nor preferred. I have some additional data that sheds some light on why this is the trendy new model of the here and now as high T's Out is impacting the need to balance the roster with more T's in.

Here’s my take on last month’s ULAA balance statement. It arrived with the budget that I posted on here. LINK

Assets

Liquidity is the most critical issue we’re facing as the cash drain continues. Cash reported on the last quarterly (March 31) had a negative balance, and it declined an additional $1.2 million the last two months from -$4.9 million to -$6.1 million. Current assets including cash declined from $5.8 million in March to $0.9 million in May. The Republic Bank credit line balance held at $9 million. Subtracting the credit line, NET current assets are now -$8.1 million.

Here are comparable values for May 31 in each of the last three years. 2021 was the year impacted by Covid and when the line of credit was set up…

2020: Total assets = $269 million; net current assets = +$18.8 million
2021: Total assets = $258 million; net current assets = +$1.2 million
2022: Total assets = $248 million; net current assets = -$8.1 million

U of L is systematically experiencing a decline of around $10 million annually in the financial scale of its athletic department. From 2004 until 2017, we increased in size by $15 million annually. Continuing from where we were in 2017, total assets would have been approaching $400 million today. Most of the decline has been cash and liquid/current items. This is because our revenues do not consistently meet expenses.

Net Position

U of L’s net position (NP) or its value after you subtract liabilities has declined to $93 million, down from $99 million last May. NP was $156 million as recently as September 2019. Per the Republic Bank loan covenants, the original credit line was advanced with the provision that NP was >$90 million.

Not sure whether that’s a call provision or not, but U of L is teetering on the edge of a potential issue with Republic. For sure, our status to borrow further is in question.

Where are we headed?

You fix a cash burn problem by raising revenue and/or cutting expenses. Not since Owsley Frazier has U of L had a big donor who helped them meet operating expenses.

Cash burn has existed most of the last five years. The current folks in charge are probably trying to bring in more money. It just hasn’t happened. And after five years, it’s unlikely to be within their capabilities. They’ve been unwilling to simply cut operating expenses which are budgeted to be UP another $7 million in 2023. They evidently don’t want the mantra of downsizing athletics (which will happen anyway.)

U of L still has a large base of fixed assets. A typical operation would look to sell or liquidate fixed assets to meet critical cash needs. I’m not sure U of L has that option beyond selling a golf course or a parking lot somewhere.

Unfortunately, the pace of decline is too great and the financial hole too deep to reasonably expect Josh Heird to make an impact soon. This would be hard for anyone to pull off, much less a new guy in that position. We’re down around $15 million in current assets since Heird took the interim job, which is comparable to the declines in 2020 and 2021 for the same time period. There’s been no improvement.

SMU is COMING...charging into the ACC waters to compete now in 2024, so says there video on the SMU website

Check out the new Weber End Zone Complex construction tour...it is nicely done and they are rightfully pretty excited about it. There was a 50 Mil donation dedicated to that upgrade alone.

Gerald J. Ford FB stadium was built in 2000, and holds a quaint crowd of 32,000+ and the new addition includes chairback seats.

Rhett Ashley is a 40 year old up and comer in the coaching ranks. Offensive guru reputation.

SMU has utilized the portal heavily also: 2024 - 19 in, 16 out...2023 - 26 in, 23 out....2022 - 17 in, 15 out. Total of 45 in last 2 years vs 39 HS's in 3 years.


Served them well last year using this model (not only UofL uses it) and likely will carry this system into the immediate future to further augment/upgrade their roster.

Total 39 3 years HS recruits: 10 -2024....16- 2023...2022 - 13. Star breakdown: 2 - 4*, 36- 3*, 1 - 2*

2025 HS to date: 11 commits, 1 - 4*, 10 - 3*

Perusal of roster: 1 - 5*, 21 - 4*, 47 - 3* and 43 NA's or Not Rated.

Recruiting strategy indicates heavy lean towards the portal now. Worked for them last year. Why not? Eerily similar to the Cards. This team will a threat in the very near future and is playing for this year too to flex in the ACC. Time will tell, I look forward to playing them at home this year.

IMO they will be very good and hard to beat especially at home. Great FB addition for sure. Don't wake up a sleeping horse especially a Mustang!


Q

Ahhh ... if only we were rich too. SMU's record $100 million raised in 1 week was just the beginning. They added $59 million .... I have no idea how this will translate to the playing field or court. But this is a nice foundation, and impressively just scratching the surface of what they could do.

I hope they CRUSH their out-of-conference slates. Their conference slate seems do-able. They play BC, Cal, Pitt, and Florida State at home. On the road they play us, Duke, Stanford and Virginia.




SMU Athletics Celebrates Record-Breaking Fundraising Year Heading Into The ACC

Jun 18

Story Links
DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU Athletics Department is thrilled to announce a historic milestone in its fundraising efforts, raising a record-breaking $159 million during the 2023-2024 fiscal year. This unprecedented achievement underscores the unwavering support and commitment of the SMU community, alumni, and supporters towards advancing the university's athletic programs.

This landmark fundraising year was punctuated by an unprecedented $100 million donated in just seven days following the September 1 announcement that SMU would be joining the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) on July 1, 2024. These transformative gifts came from the newly formed First Week Society, a collection of 30 individuals whose generosity launched a $125 million campaign to support the department's transition to the ACC.

Additionally, fundraising success was highlighted by a record number of principal and major gifts, as well as a record number of Mustang Club members.

Fundraising success was punctuated by:
A record 4 eight-figure gifts
A record 35 seven-figure gifts
A record 82 six-figure gifts
Capital Support: A substantial portion of the funds will be dedicated to the Weber End Zone Complex, SMU's 192,500 square foot football operations center and club space set to open for the 2024 football season
ACC Competitiveness Campaign: Following the First Week Society's $100 million, SMU launched a $25 million campaign with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the department's transition to the ACC.
A record 4,831 Mustang Club members

I'm at a loss about what's next. I've been scowering the internet for in depth articles about the incoming class and can't find anything beyond a list of players. I'm certain it's a top 10 class,but how it fits with who's coming back(grad seniors, transfers in or out,and returning underclassmen) is the 64 thousand dollar question.

I'm not even sure which Seniors have any eligibility left.🤷‍♂️

So last month we had a flood at one of our rental properties where the entire laminate flooring needed to be replaced asap and thankfully my wife was fb friends with a co-worker from the old Oldenberg brewery in DuPont who now runs a flooring business. He helped us once before and came thru like a champ getting new floors in asap. in the process of working out all the install details and stuff, it came up that over one of the weekends he was going to be busy doing best man duties for his brother's wedding and he'd be on the golf course that friday morning and thus he might not be able to reply as easily if needed.

of course i asked him where he was playing, said i hadn't picked up the sticks in over a decade, and he said he was a member out at neville meade, i;ve played there once, and if i was interested, he usually plays sunday mornings with a running group of guys where an open spot tends to come up. i said awesome and hadn't thought about it since then.

but this morning as i am reading the courier journal online, they have an article ranking the top 5 private and public courses in the state and neville meade is on that list. Being the curious person i am, i wanted to know how much does a membership cost there and is it worth is at all if i ever got back into the game. in finding the membership page i read over everything and then in the upper right corner there is a News & Specials box and the first item listed is "– Congratulations to Klaus Wilmsmeyer! 2024 Memorial Day Tournament Champion!"

and i said i know a klaus wilmsmeyer from somewhere but just couldn't remember where from but a quick bing search and viola, our former place kicker who holds the school record for longest FG at 59 yards and super bowl winner with the 49er's as a punter was club tourney winner. so congrats to Klaus!!! still stroking them down the middle!

There are some pictures of Louisville athletes on the WBB's facebook page visiting the Just For Kids Hospital. Harris is wearing a boot on her left foot. Anybody here know what her injury is?

Happy Saturday.
Stay cool today. It will be a hot one.

On the Basketball Forum, I posted a couple threads on recent finances. These are regular updates, and here are the links for anyone interested...

May 31 Financial Results
2023 Budget

I'm moving much of this info and perhaps the discussions that ensue to the free side of the pay wall for a couple reasons. One is that people who aren't Rivals subscribers ask me about reading it. On the free side, they can.

The other reason is that too many paying subscribers here complain about the topic and my posting on it. So now you don't have to read it here. If you're curious, @Ty Spalding didn't ask me to do this.

When I post a new financial thread, I'll also post a notice here for people who don't normally stray from the premium forum. And I'll still post here mostly on non-financial stuff...

Two things: baseball only generates $215K? I mean, that's not nothing, but hardly much at all in the grand scheme. Ditch the ticket sales. Also, $3M for construction/renovation of Patterson. I think this was a re-approval, but it's on the agenda again. Let's get it done. I couldn't agree more about improving the overall aesthetics of the stadium.

the ncaa approved recommendation that 25% of teams within a sport be eligible for post season. going to have to do this across any sport that can generate money to help schools pay the few billion to past athlete for NIL losses.


The NCAA has presented a plan to Division I conference commissioners that would expand the men's and women's basketball tournaments by four or eight teams alongside an option to leave each field at 68 teams, a source confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.

The proposals were outlined to the commissioners this week by NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt and NCAA vice president for women's basketball Lynn Holzman, the source said. Under the proposal, expansion of the 68-team field included both four- and eight-team models. The NCAA would keep its 64-team bracket but would add play-in games involving the Nos. 10 through 12 seeds. If the men's tournament expands, it is expected the women's tourney would as well. Yahoo Sports first reported on the proposals.

There are many in college basketball who have said they believe the 68-team fields and three weekends of play are ideal, but pressure has grown to add teams and games to one of the most popular sports events on the U.S. calendar. Last year, the NCAA Division I board of directors approved recommendations that included allowing one-quarter of teams in larger sports to compete in championship events; in that scenario, the March Madness tournaments could expand to nearly 90 teams.

Sources told ESPN during this year's tournaments that ongoing discussions about expanding March Madness would result in no more than 80 teams for the men's event.

The NCAA is in the midst of an eight-year extension of its TV deal for the men's tournament worth $8.8 billion that runs through 2032. That would not be expected to change if a handful of teams are added.

More games would provide a small boost through ticket sales and merchandise, but the pool of money the NCAA uses to pay out conferences and member schools would essentially stay the same. What could change, however, is how that money would be divided up if the tournament broadens.

Expansion would also mean the men's tournament would have to find an additional site besides Dayton for its First Four games. The Ohio city already has games on Tuesday and Wednesday and wouldn't be able to host additional play-in games ahead of the tournament's traditional Thursday first round. Women's play-in games are at the same campus sites as the first two rounds of the tournament.

Expansion is largely backed by larger conferences, and smaller leagues do not want to lose the automatic bids that come with a conference tournament championship or face the prospect of always being slotted for the play-in games.

The earliest the NCAA tournament could expand would be the 2025-26 season, the source said. The NCAA basketball oversight committee meets next week, and the tournament selection committee has a meeting next month.


The men's tournament last expanded in 2011 when it went from 65 to 68 teams. The women's tournament went from 64 to 68 teams in 2022.

The women's tournament is coming off its most successful year ever that included a record audience of 18.7 million for the title game win by South Carolina over Iowa, the highest for a basketball broadcast of any kind in five years. It outdrew the men's championship game -- when UConn claimed its second consecutive title with a win over Purdue -- by nearly 3 million viewers. The women's tournament also had record attendance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

No visitors. I’m told there aren’t many spots left in the 2025 class at the high school level.

I spoke to a source today to get a gauge on how workouts are going. Here's what I can pass along....

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According to them the Big 12 has indicated they would be interested in Louisville and Miami if or when the ACC implodes. Wonder where they got the info? They also stated the obvious, it would be a good fit. Timing is interesting

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UofL men's basketball head coach Pat Kelsey announced Friday that the program will play two games as a part of a foreign exhibition tour in the Bahamas later this summer.

"I'm excited for our team to participate in the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League in just a few weeks," said Kelsey. "We've brought so many new pieces to our program and the practice and playing time this trip will allow us is invaluable to our team. It will be a vital time for us on the court, but it will also give us plenty of opportunities to gel off the court as well. I hope by taking this trip, we have a real advantage when it comes time to start practicing in the fall."

ACC network is replaying last season's Miami - Louisville game.

Set your DVR's.

It’s Friday!

Just posted an update

Appears so. Could be time for a fresh start for everyone.
https://southcarolina.rivals.com/news/south-carolina-baseball-head-coaching-search-hot-board

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This is less than ideal.