Illini Volleyball 2024
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While I don't long for the days where Illinois was a Volleyball school with a Football problem, and am enjoying the current state of Football and Basketball, the decline of the Volleyball program under Tamas is unfortunate.
I think the massive changes coming regarding compesnation of student-athletes has ADs like Whitman wary of going out to spend a lot of money to lure a nonrevenue sport coach who would then have five years or whatever on their deal.
Fan Since '70
- OBS, Florida
No reason, Illini can't consistently be good at both women's and men's basketball, volleyball and football. Whitman stuck too long with Fahey and now with Tamas too. Hire proven D-1 winners (not assistants) who has experience running a winning program, can elite recruit, inspire players and coach.
Illinois volleyball hasn't won a BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP since 1992!! Mike Herbert was still coach. Hambly coached for 8 years, made the NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME but yet he had 4 years of 13 or more losses. Hambly last two years were 21-13 and 17-14. As an Illini fan in all sports I want all teams to be competitive and regular NCAA TOURNAMENT participants. Tamas ain't going nowhere and you can continue to justify not building a new facility for volleyball. He definitely needs to get a new trainer because they have had way too many injuries on that team.
Five year exetension in 2022.
Freshman Laynie Smith entering the portal. Let the fun begin.
Mosher too?
I'm not seeing that anywhere. Source?
Post on Volleytalk: (may need to be a member to read)
From that thread, Illinois effectively swapped Kenna Phelan into Mosher's setter spot. I'm not familiar with Phelan's game. Is she any good?Post on Volleytalk: (may need to be a member to read)
No idea.
The difference is that there is a financial impetus to replacing a decent-but-disappointing men’s basketball coach. Consistently competing for B1G hoops titles and high seeds means millions more for the athletic department.
Let’s say a Tamas replacement moves us up from mid-pack B1G and NCAA bubble to Purdue’s level, 4th or so B1G behind Neb, Wisky, PSU, consistent NCAA bid, occasional Sweet 16. That might require 5 years at $600K per. Plus the Tamas buyout of about $1 million and maybe another $500K in assistant/facility upgrades.
It would be more fun for us fans and attendance at Huff would go up a bit, but the revenue bump would not be significant. Almost certainly a financial loss. And that’s if the new coach is successful. It’s not like basketball, where you have a group of smaller-budget schools having success every year providing a feeder system to the power conferences.
Spoken like a true businessman--not an AD that's supposed to build winning programs. But whatever.
Fan Since '70
- OBS, Florida
Tamas needs to go, and you don't reward mediocrity and let formerly elite program slide into oblivion. Top notch volleyball team at UI would outgrow Huff Hall though.
If someone wants to give Josh Whitman several million dollars specifically to lure a proven top-level NCAA volleyball coach, maybe his decision-making process will change. However, spending that money from general athletic department funds, which means taking it away from other programs (including the two that fund the whole show), isn’t the best use of resources.
Coincidentally, Mary Eggers Tendler has just retired after 22 years as coach at Elon.
Elon Volleyball Coach Mary Tendler To Retire From Coaching - Elon University Athletics
Elon, N.C. – The winningest coach in Elon Volleyball history, Mary Tendler has announced her retirement from coaching to pursue other opportunities at Elon. Tendler
elonphoenix.com
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
I'm not going to lie - as someone who enjoys and appreciate many of the non-revenue sports, if I ever won one of those $1B Mega Millions or PowerBall lotteries I'd start some sort of fund only for non-revenue sports. Whether it would be NIL or money to get the best coaches possible, I'd want to do that so Whitman knew he didn't have to make choices between non-revenue sports and the "big two" sports.
The idea would be that the money that would be spent in these areas could be funneled to football and men's basketball without thinking too much about it.
The idea would be that the money that would be spent in these areas could be funneled to football and men's basketball without thinking too much about it.
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
If I had that kind of money I'd also fund men's and women's hockey.
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
I think I'd first make sure Josh Whitman is funded for life, and never leaves Illinois.
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