121Merrimac

That sounds like everything hinges on St John’s. It’s difficult to imagine the other two going anything but ‘chalk’.

I don’t trust this coach’s two deep at all

Who is the one (current) player you wish didn't leave? Rich Miller, maybe?

Missouri finished last year with an RPI of 160, which was last in conference (… so, the Rutgers of SEC volleyball). Buffalo finished about 40 places better.

Livestats swapped logos with school names. For awhile I wasn’t sure which team was really winning.

121 !!!

meh, I think the intent was a collective DI, not every individual school on their own.

Who does Big 5 represent? How does the rest of the bracket look to those in the know?

I am glad that you are back. Post a little more frequently, and I will eventually learn your personality (level of sarcasm).

My apologies, Doc. I never thought you were. I don't know how to differentiate between replying to a comment, versus expanding on that train of thought. But, I must have done something to bring '92 out of hibernation. Joke or not, even good humor is rooted in truth. I'm just a bit confused what I did to set this off, that's all. Hoping someone gets this thread back on topic, soon...

Correct. Your exaggeration inspired me to do the same. And that is great! I honestly don’t understand how my comments were interrupted by some as being a glass half empty guy. I just don’t see the point evaluating anyone by what they say they will do in the future. I’d rather wait and see what actually happens. In other words, I feel I don’t even have a glass right now. Lol

You must be joking, because it may not be possible to misinterpret my comment by a wider margin. "show me results" means the same thing as "wait for the games to start". Every new coach always says what they want to do... how great things will be once the season begins. It is all hot air, until they actually do something. I certainly wasn't asking for anyone to be fired. But, I also don't think he should be crowned the greatest Bulls coach ever just yet either.

Oh, I haven’t lost hope. But, I won’t fully buy in, until they preform as advertised.

Boring, I’ve heard that before. Show me results.

Not to be a jerk, but I’d rather see a gritty team, than hear about a possible future gritty team. … consider me waiting patiently.

Is there another kind ?

What did the MAC do to deserve 12 home games? The game is played indoors, so I don’t think geography matters. 6 & 6 would have felt appropriate for a new tournament, imo

Not sure I like the home court split, but that’s a minor issue.

Wes or not, we got the lucky baby

Rec’d for the side by side comparison

All of Nik's depth chart appearances really paid off, I guess? I can't wait to actually see him on the field...

I assumed they had broken into the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, and were covering over a golden flash, maybe?

Great! So… the roster website will finally be updated in only xx more months. 😞

And this is important. My rant was based on the idea that the people who give only have so much to give, and now they have to decide which bucket to give too. I’ll retract most of it, if the current direct to school amount stays the same, and any NIL collective amount is new, additional, money. To be fair, I worry about falling behind the arms race too. I just wonder where the funds will come from.

While not against them, I worry that they may have a negative long term impact on schools with small donor bases. We talk about senior transfers as rentals. I think collectives could turn freshmen into rentals too. “last year I got $x, so in order to stay, this year I want $y”. This model isn’t sustainable in small markets. In my view, the most effective donations are; 1) direct to school 2) NIL from an individual local company 3) NIL collectives edit: in other words, infrastructure improvements already happen slower than we’d like. If a portion of current direct to school donations were converted to a collective instead, those infrastructure improvements will take even longer to complete. 2nd edit: the more outdated the infrastructure gets, the larger the collective $ needs to be, in order to entice an athlete to commit. And so the downward spiral begins.