From: Denver Postby Terry Frei
With the University of Denver looking ahead to a two-game set at home against defending NCAA champion Boston College this weekend, it's clear Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky faces several long-term challenges this season.
One is to keep his players interested, which didn't happen last season, when his stars gradually began to worry more about their imminent pro futures than about playing for the Pioneers. That's not Gwozdecky's fault, but it's also one of the realities of the bizarre relationship between the NHL and NCAA hockey, and all decent teams face those potential distractions.
Another is to show that Gwozdecky himself won't be deflected by his not-so-secret dissatisfaction with his deal at DU in the wake of the derailment of contract extension talks. His 12-year contract runs through 2014 and leaves him paid significantly less than men's basketball coach Joe Scott, whose team draws mom, pop and girlfriend crowds.
10 comments:
If we lose George there will be a BIG drop in those top tier players wanting to come to D.U. They come to D.U. because of Gwaz.,knowing he will accelerate their developement for N.H.L. chances.
D.U. hockey is the only money maker in all D.U. sports programs. Paying another coach more than Gwaz. is idiotic. What can Peg possibly be thinking?
If Gwoz leaves, DU will be looking to dump payroll in the hockey program. They would pay the new coaches significantly less than the current coaches make.
D-I hoops coaches make more than hockey coaches at every D-I school that has both programs. It's the reality of the sport.
That said, I'd like to see DU do the right thing and lock up Gwoz for another 10 years,
DU is probably the only school in D-1 where the hockey team outdraws the basketball team by about eight to one. Factor in the that the average hockey ticket is probably $25 or higher and hoops tickets cost significantly less.
Swami , you miss the point. Comparing D1 basketall coaches payroll to D.1 hockey coaches is academic rational but makes no operational sense.
D1 college basketball is a couple of orders of magnitude in revenue raising above D1 college hockey. D1 basketball guys like Duke ,Kentuckey , Connecticut, etc. coaches make well over a million. There are at least fifty major college basketball programs that pay salaries much higher than D.1 hockey coaches.-- T.V. revenue!!! Duh!!
Do you think that D.U.,with it's zero basketball tradition can ever raise up to even the middlie tier of these major basketball powers ??
Tradition is vital for leaders in any college sports program. It takes many ,may years for a school to achieve that stature. D.U. hockey is entrenched in this leadership position with about a half dozen other schools. It has taken over 50 years to establish this. Duke,for example, could spend gazzilions of dollars in the next ten years and never come close to competing with us in hockey. I use that as extreme example to illustrate the folly in D.U. thinking it can get up to the S.E.C. or other major college conferences in big time basketball.
D.U. athletic management has an ABSOLUTE OBLIGATION to all of it's previous players and long standing fans(like myself) to keep it's flagship, elite hockey program at the top. If we lose Gwaz. we lose these elite recruits and accordingly dribble down into the middle of D 1 hockey teams. What a disaster!! These basketball "dream" reflects our athletic department being taken over by people from back in the south who only know basketball. Peg and her assistents should leave their dreams back in the Carolinas and realize the great traditional hockey program that they have been entrusted to preserve. If they want to build a big time basketball program go be A.D. down there in the Carolinas or close by.
D.U. hockey is respected in college hockey like Duke is in basketball. It took over 50 years to accomplish that. To think that anything like that tradition can be transferred to D.U.basketball is sheer folly.
Wake up!!
I agree that DU hockey is the flagship and a wonderful collegiate tradition that must be preserved. No one disputes that. However, the revenue upside for hockey is pretty much capped at around $3 million, and the mass market exposure DU can attain in hockey is also pretty much capped with the national college hockey audience of about 2-3 million people. Hockey is a great thing, but DU has greater ambitions than just being good at hockey...
Should DU men's hoops make it the NCAA tourney and god forbid, even win a couple of games, the NCAA revenue and national exposure potential is far, far greater than anything hockey can produce.
DU men's hoops should be an NCAA tourney berth contender this season, as they have an experienced team for the first time in Scott's tenure and their program progression has been dramatic. DU had among the lowest RPIs in the 360 D-I team universe when Scott took over three years ago, and DU finished at 164 ;last year, which is top half of D-I. They could be top 100 program and have a shot at an NCAA berth this year.
A higher basketball RPI also helps them in the search for a better conference affiliation. Could DU be the next Gonzaga in hoops? Some might think DU will never get there. But if you look at how DU has pulled into national contention in many of its sports in only the last 10 years as a full D-I school, you can see the big picture arc of what they are trying to do.
Now many hockey fans would say that the rest of the sports don't matter and DU should just worry about being a hockey power. That said, DU is trying to be a great national university without football, and being good in hoops in part of the strategy...
Hey Chicken Little Aluuum-Don't ya think IF Gwoz leaves, the program will attract dozens of solid, high profile candidates? Give your head a shake.
Gwoz is not going to leave.
LOL...
The question is very simple, does DU want to be the Yankees or do they want to be the Rockies. The Yankees make it happen. The Rockies...well, they're the Rockies.
Make it happen DU, don't go bush league on us.
Post a Comment