Lack of Marketing in Chicagoland Redux

hey the Illinois men's tennis team plays Georgia tomorrow for the NCAA title! Good luck to Head Coach Dancer and the boys. It will be a tough match as it is on Georgia's home courts but we're the Fighting Illini, not the lay-down Illini! The match is live on ESPNU tomorrow at 2pm Central time.

It isn't every day that a UI team plays for a national title. If you live in Chicagoland, you're lucky if you know about it. Every day in the Chicago newspapers there is a story about Northwestern softball, women's lacrosse, or DePaul softball. Why isn't the DIA getting the word out about UI men's tennis?

Congratulations to the Illinois Women's Track Team!

They won a share of the Big 10 outdoor track title with Michigan. Thus, they saved me from having to write about how Illinois hasn't won a Big 10 title in two straight years.

Thus, unless the baseball team wins the Big 10 tournament, Illinois will have 0.5 Big Ten titles to show for its athletic program in the past two years.

ESPN SportsCenter: Did You Know?

Since 2002 (one year removed from Illinois winning the Big 10 in football and going to the Sugar Bowl, a BCS game) that the five worst teams from BCS schools based on winning percentage are:

1-Duke 2-Illinois 3-Mississippi State 4-Vanderbilt 5-Stanford

It is impossible to fathom what Ron Turner was doing after 2001 in recruiting. You almost have to be bad on purpose to be that bad. Where was Ron Guenther? 64-106-2.

Exciting Renovations Planned for Memorial Stadium & Assembly Hall!!!

Calm down, you zealots and Guenther loyalists. I am talking about the renovations at Indiana University. Read about them here and here (be sure to look at the links with the power point presentations.

I am fearful right now that the Memorial Stadium renovations will not turn out right or not be as elaborate as planned (the new student section in the north endzone looks like it's going to be a set of bleachers on steroids, what about renovating the horseshoe?; are the suites really selling?).

Further, as discussed before, Ron Guenther could have led a fundraising campaign after the 2004-05 Final 4 season in men's basketball to renovate Assembly Hall or build a new arena. He did not.

Code of Conduct Needed for UI Athletes?

As we all sadly know, several UI athletes have been in trouble with the law recently. Rich McBride just got whacked by a Champaign County judge for a DUI. Jamar Smith faces felony charges from an alleged drunk-driving incident where his teammate Brian Carlwell suffered a concussion. Former football players Jody Ellis & Derrick McPhearson are in court this Friday facing allegations of burglary.

Wisconsin recently implemented a code of conduct for its student-athletes. As soon as a student-athlete is charged or arrested, the player is suspended from the team and a factual inquiry takes place to determine the proper disciplinary measure.

This is needed in Champaign. Such a policy would require forward thinking, a commodity sorely lacking in the DIA. But hey, Loren Tate says this is a good time to be a fan of the Fighting Illini!!