I root for regular season conference champions to win their conference tournaments because they generally produce better candidates to be Cinderellas during the Tournament.

So hence my disappointment when Iona lost in the MAAC quarters to Rider. I didn't think there was another MAAC team capable of making noise.

I'm pleasantly surprised that St. Peter's has gone on this run and made me realize these leagues have more depth than I realized.

I have a post here in 2018 expressing the same disappointment when Vermont lost on a buzzer beater to UMBC.

I am sitting here thinking St Peters has more in common with an NAIA school than a D1 school. 2500 undergraduates, $37m endowment.

Oral Roberts didn't win their regular season conference title last year either.

(03-25-2022 11:44 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  I am sitting here thinking St Peters has more in common with an NAIA school than a D1 school. 2500 undergraduates, $37m endowment.

Wow didn’t realize the endowment was that low at $37M. I went to a high school with an endowment 3x that size. This tournament run should really help the University in general.

(03-25-2022 11:44 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  I am sitting here thinking St Peters has more in common with an NAIA school than a D1 school. 2500 undergraduates, $37m endowment.

Glad you posted. Those numbers provide some context for how amazing the St. Peter's accomplishment truly is.

Back when I was periodically checking the conference tournaments webpage to see who had clinched autobids I mentioned to my wife that a school with a peacock for a mascot had made the tournament. She doesn’t know a lot about basketball but chuckled and said that they weren’t going to go very far. I concurred.

Here we are and they’re in the Elite 8. A true Cinderella story that rivals VCU’s First Four to Final Four run and Butler’s back to back National Title game appearances.

Remember the Peacocks will probably be a Disney+ film here in a few years lol.

(03-26-2022 11:54 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Back when I was periodically checking the conference tournaments webpage to see who had clinched autobids I mentioned to my wife that a school with a peacock for a mascot had made the tournament. She doesn’t know a lot about basketball but chuckled and said that they weren’t going to go very far. I concurred.

Here we are and they’re in the Elite 8. A true Cinderella story that rivals VCU’s First Four to Final Four run and Butler’s back to back National Title game appearances.

Remember the Peacocks will probably be a Disney+ film here in a few years lol.

If it’s not a Peacock exclusive then I’m not sure why NBC bothers having a streaming service

(03-26-2022 10:32 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(03-25-2022 11:44 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  I am sitting here thinking St Peters has more in common with an NAIA school than a D1 school. 2500 undergraduates, $37m endowment.

Glad you posted. Those numbers provide some context for how amazing the St. Peter's accomplishment truly is.

For comparison, look at St Xavier in Chicago. They are urban, catholic, they have 3080 undergraduates, and an endowment of $17m. I don't doubt that they could boost that endowment if they were D1.

Or St Francis in Fort Wayne Indiana. They are catholic, enrollment of 2345, and an endowment of $52m.

Size really doesn't matter. If you can find a way to fund the program at the D1 level, hire a great coach, you've got a chance.

So does Quinnipiac stay in the MAAC now w/ all their new found glory?

(03-26-2022 01:51 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(03-26-2022 10:32 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(03-25-2022 11:44 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  I am sitting here thinking St Peters has more in common with an NAIA school than a D1 school. 2500 undergraduates, $37m endowment.

Glad you posted. Those numbers provide some context for how amazing the St. Peter's accomplishment truly is.

For comparison, look at St Xavier in Chicago. They are urban, catholic, they have 3080 undergraduates, and an endowment of $17m. I don't doubt that they could boost that endowment if they were D1.

Or St Francis in Fort Wayne Indiana. They are catholic, enrollment of 2345, and an endowment of $52m.

Size really doesn't matter. If you can find a way to fund the program at the D1 level, hire a great coach, you've got a chance.

I didn't realize the endowment of St Peter's was that low...wow.

I've driven through the campus. It's tiny. The biggest thing I remember is the pedestrian walkway above the street. It doesn't look like a D-1 school at all.

It's been tweeted and documented about their shoestring budget. Their third assistant is a volunteer position. Their gym had leaks, causing games to be postponed. Their basketball program operates on a budget of less than $1.6 million.

https://www.si.com/college/2022/03/25/sa...aily-cover

But, apparently, they've always been Division I, and they want to stay there any way they can. Before this year, their best team was their 1968 team that defeated Duke in the quarterfinals of the NIT. One of the players on that team, Tom McMahon, went on to be the CEO of LabCorp. He gave $5,000,000 to the renovation of their gym into Run Baby Run Arena.

So, yes, if you have people willing to fund it at a minimal level, your school can be in Division 1.

St. Peter's happened to have a Division I legacy and a location near other Catholic schools in the New York area. So even though they don't look like a D-1 school, they've always been one, and have made it work this year.

(03-26-2022 12:14 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(03-26-2022 11:54 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Back when I was periodically checking the conference tournaments webpage to see who had clinched autobids I mentioned to my wife that a school with a peacock for a mascot had made the tournament. She doesn’t know a lot about basketball but chuckled and said that they weren’t going to go very far. I concurred.

Here we are and they’re in the Elite 8. A true Cinderella story that rivals VCU’s First Four to Final Four run and Butler’s back to back National Title game appearances.

Remember the Peacocks will probably be a Disney+ film here in a few years lol.

If it’s not a Peacock exclusive then I’m not sure why NBC bothers having a streaming service

NBC has been sponsoring elements of the St. Peter's Peacocks program (such as paying to send the cheerleaders to Indianapolis among other things), and is using that to promote the Peacock service ... but then that's what "sponsorship" is all about.

(03-26-2022 03:15 PM)NJMark Wrote:  

(03-26-2022 12:14 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(03-26-2022 11:54 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Back when I was periodically checking the conference tournaments webpage to see who had clinched autobids I mentioned to my wife that a school with a peacock for a mascot had made the tournament. She doesn’t know a lot about basketball but chuckled and said that they weren’t going to go very far. I concurred.

Here we are and they’re in the Elite 8. A true Cinderella story that rivals VCU’s First Four to Final Four run and Butler’s back to back National Title game appearances.

Remember the Peacocks will probably be a Disney+ film here in a few years lol.

If it’s not a Peacock exclusive then I’m not sure why NBC bothers having a streaming service

NBC has been sponsoring elements of the St. Peter's Peacocks program (such as paying to send the cheerleaders to Indianapolis among other things), and is using that to promote the Peacock service ... but then that's what "sponsorship" is all about.

Which is savvy on their part, because it’s about the only way NBC can even be tangentially connected to March Madness. Score one for the 14th most popular streaming service!