That's why I said "we WILL pay more than them". Not we COULD.
Well, we know that a girls high school basketball coach can get a job as an SEC football head coach - so anything is possible.
Please don't start this nonsense again.
Our athletic budget would be bankrupt if you were determining coach's salaries. You'd pay everyone top dollar, to have included Lateral Move even when he didn't want to be here.
He does remind me of Saban in that he coaches hard no matter the score and he's not satisfied with a big lead if his team is not playing well and not playing with effort. He's always pushing to get better. That seems to be a pretty simple thing for a coach to do but they obviously all do not. A certain former yankee football coach at Mississippi State comes to mind.
One way Coach Schaefer does not remind me of Saban is that he is not a colossal dickhead.
Not sure how he?d do coaching men?s BBall. The men?s team is entirely different. You have a team almost completely full of previously pandered to, catered to, me me me, AAU players who have never played team basketball. Never not been THE GUY, and have a difficult time adjusting to a team aspect, if they ever do. That?s one thing Calipari seems to be able to do every year. He gets buy in of the team first from one and done guys. Why can?t we get it?
beating UCONN gave us the most national exposure MSU has gotten since 2014 & no telling how many years before that. I would think that being a national power in WBB, even if it loses money on paper, would bring in money in ways that are unseen (new fans, enrollment, keeping fans engaged w/ MSU athletics while other sports flounder).
I imagine there are a lot of young women right now growing up watching Vic's teams that will be lifelong MSU fans & potentially students solely b/c we are so successful in a sport that they feel connected to. I know a young girl from an OM family who can name every player, goes to games, interacts with our players. Not saying she becomes a lifelong fan & student but no way she'd be interested in MSU for any other reason. Through women's basketball we are reaching a potential fanbase that football, baseball, & MBB couldn't reach no matter how successful.
Not saying we should just throw money at the program, b/c we have to budget smarter than the rest of the SEC, but I don't think you can evaluate the return on investment in our WBB program just by ticket sales & what's on paper.
Nailed it. You pay out your arse for that kind of exposure. From a media/sponsorship standpoint, that’s worth way more than $4 million annually. If we become a perennial final four team and challenge or win a national championship, there’s zero reason to reduce our “losses” in the women’s basketball program.
I agree. That UCONN game coupled with Dak Prescott in the stands cheering the women on probably generated enough revenue to pay Coach Schaefer's salary. Robin Roberts was wearing a State jersey on Good Morning America before the Final Four and she gave all kind of exposure to our program after the win.
I know for a fact that applications for admissions jumped right after the UCONN game as they do for all big wins in other sports. I always like to ask students what made them decide to go to Mississippi State and some of the answers are as simple as seeing the women beat UCONN. They definitely generate a lot of positive exposure for our school.
Vic is a rare catch for sure. That man has some energy and fight in him.