More Spin from the DIA on Memorial Stadium

Rod Blagojevich would be proud. Oh, and as I predicted, the scoreboard is being moved permanently to the south end. How are the fans in the south end going to know the score? Turn their necks around and look? http://fightingillini.cstv.com/chat/112806aaa.html

Chat on FI.Com tomorrow with Warren Hood

for sapsparky, we are gonna find out if the scoreboard being moved to the horseshoe end is permanent, along with why the north end is not the same design as originally planned.

"Best AD in the Country!"

Isn't that what was said about Ron Guenther when the Board of Trustees gave him a 20% pay raise to $500,000 annually this past summer? He is up there with these "real athletic directors of genius" also!!!

1) Lisa Love, Arizona State. Gives Dirk Koetter a contract extension in 2005, cans him in 2006. Big buyout.

2) Mal Moore, Alabama. Gives Mike Shula a contract extension in May, then poop-cans him after this season. Big buyout.

3) Lee Fowler, North Carolina State. Spends over 30 days trying to hire a basketball coach. Then gives Chuck Amato a contract extension, fires him, another big buyout.

Ron Guenther in the pantheon of genius! Also, way to go Ron! Seven Big 10 teams made the NCAA volleyball tournament, but not Illinois!!!

Guenther Kills Football

Under Coach "Football Guy" Guenther, the football program has gone into the crapper. 64-106-2! 4 bowl games in 15 years! In the past 4 years, the team has won 8 games. Of those 8 wins, 3 were against Division 1-AA teams. The team has finished in last place in the Big 10 for 3 straight years. The team is 2-30 in the Big 10 over the past 4 years.

Ron Guenther, please resign!!!

Moving Student to North End Zone-Brilliant!

In another brilliant move by the DIA, students in Block I are now going to be seated in the new North End Zone instead of the 40 yard line as has been the tradition since 1924. What a joke! So now instead of being able to see Block I on television and having students harass the opposing team from behind the bench, the students won't be seen on tv.

1) Why is the DIA giving University of Illinois students the worst seats in the stadium?
2) Why are visiting fans presumably getting better seats than the student body?
3) How will a set of bleachers going to be able to hold the entire student demand for tickets?
4) How will this create a unified student section if Illinois actually starts winning and 10,000 students will want to show up per game?
5) Moving the students from right behind the opposing bench, to an isolated corner of the stadium and 15' off the ground (because of the ridiculous glass rooms at field level in the horseshoe) is a horrible idea, and it is nothing but a money grab.

There is plenty of prime seating in Memorial Stadium without moving the student section.

Great job DIA!

More Rumors About Memorial Stadium Renovations

Entire West Balcony closed in 2007? Block I being moved to the Horseshoe section? Hey Coach Guenther and the DIA, please tell us what is going on!!

Another Myth Exposed: "No NCAA Troubles"

Another myth we hear from Guenther loyalists is that unlike Neale Stoner, the University of Illinois has not been in trouble with the NCAA. Poppycock!

Under Ron Guenther's watch, the NCAA did place the University of Illinois on probation. This arose from a booster giving money to former Illinois running back Marcus Mason. It's rather ironic that it's the football program who gets into trouble, given the football program's sorry record under Mr. Guenther. As for Marcus Mason? He is still playing football at Youngstown State. Rumor says that Ron Turner offered a scholarship to Mason and another running back, and that the first player to verbal got the scholarship. Mason said "yes" first, the rest is history. The other running back? Laurence Maroney!!

Guenther's Lack of Leadership, Part 2

the women's soccer team again qualified for the NCAA tournament. However, the team must play the tournament games on the road as the NCAA won't allow schools with "hostile" mascots/symbols to host NCAA tournament games. Way to go Ron! You cost the women's soccer team home-field advantage with your lack of leadership on the Chief Illiniwek issue!

Lousy Marketing in Chicago by the DIA

It's been a problem for years. The Chicagoland market, a huge target for advertisers & money, has been mostly ignored by our beloved DIA. I counted two ads for football in the Chicago Tribune this summer, that was it. I have seen no marketing (radio ads or print ads) for the basketball game at the United Center against UIC (which I think is a dumb idea, but that is for another blog entry). Further, Coach Guenther & the DIA made the asinine decision to move Illinois broadcasts from an all-sports radio station with a clear signal (WSCR the Score, 670-AM) to a smaller radio station that doesn't have as strong as signal (WIND 560-AM, LIBERALS HATE IT!!)

In my opnion, it's because the DIA and its small market mentality doesn't appreciate how many Illini fans live in Chicagoland. Further, the DIA is oversensitive to criticism, even when it is in jest on the Score. Why ignore the biggest media market in the state? We might as well rename the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign the University of East Central Illinois. Hmmm..UIUC...UECI. I like it!!