I'm guessing that 25% of the fans at the DePaul-Marquette game are rooting for the Golden Eagles.... A huge cheer went up as the clock ran out on a 73-60 Marquette win at Allstate.

If we could beat Creighton at home, I think we'd have a great chance against either DePaul or Marquette. DePaul played at Drake, at UIC, and against Northwestern and Chicago State this year. We are the only Chicago team that DePaul has not played this year, and they've played 5 games (including two on the road) against three MVC teams in the past three years (home/road against Illinois State and Drake, neutral vs. Wichita State).

For the sake of local college basketball interest and attendance, we should be playing DePaul, Northwestern, Marquette, UIC, and maybe Milwaukee. I'd also like to see Western Michigan, Detroit, Valpo, and maybe Butler on the schedule. Unfortunately, the Big East has got it in their head that they will never play non-con road games. Marquette's only true roadie in non-con was Wisconsin, which I think is either a tradition or state-mandated. Villanova and Butler had only one true road game; most of the others had one or two. Only DePaul had more than three.

Never is a long long time BUT I would NEVER play a team that has changed their name three times in the last few years--Hilltoppers Warriors (politically correct to change the name--yuck , and now Golden Sparrows or some such---UNLES we signed a Three year deal--Two games at Gentile !! It will not happen of course--too arrogant on their part. As for DePewl--I would reluctantly play them , but it would be great for Chgo Hoops. Valpo should be on our schedule NOW. Butler--Class them with Marq--NO WAY --Am sick of them and we do not need them

Btw, DEPEWL lost again !! Nearing the Big Least cellar.

Normally playing those non-cons at home helps their record thereby boosting Conference RPI==GROSS !!!

One way or another we need to beef up schedule. I would not even care if we had to travel to Marquette etc. Probably more exciting and better for recruiting tha playing n front of empty crowds at LU.
But those were the good ole days playing Marquette at the Amphitheater
Depaul has nothing to gain by playing us but losing and further diminishing their reputation. When they do not draw or play better in their new arena ,,,,what then?

I think since DePaul already plays UIC, Northwestern, etc. one fun way to get all of them on a schedule is to just do a Chicago tournament. Make it Loyola, Northwestern, UIC, DePaul. It would boost media for all teams, help recruiting (especially with local kids), and would help scheduling for all teams. You could do a three day tournament where everyone plays everyone, or two days with a bracket style where seeds for the next year are determined by the previous year's results. For location, you could rotate it from campus to campus, or try and hold it at a neutral court (United Center which would be hard to book early on).

For Marquette, I think it would be fun to do a Jesuit tournament. This would be tougher to get because the Big East and WCC have so many already, but break them up into regions. The West could be Gonzaga, Seattle, Creighton, St. Louis. The Midwest could be Loyola Chicago, Marquette, Detroit, Loyola New Orleans. The East can be broken up into 2 groups from Boston College, Holy Cross, Fordham, Fairfield, Georgetown, Xavier, Loyola Maryland, and St. Joseph's. You could do the "Group Stage" on campuses like a normal non-conference game, and then depending on the record from those you get placed in Bracket 1, 2, 3, 4 where the teams play the equivalent rank from the other regions. I know it would be large task to schedule it, and the better Jesuit basketball schools would probably say no, but I think it would be a really cool and fun thing to have yearly.

Lot of great ideas that would be great for fans....It seems that those that think they have nothing to gain and a lot to loose prevent these things from happening. Maybe we need an edict from ROme to get the Jesuit Jam to take place..... I was thinking even on the feast day of St. Iggy Jesuit schools could play Jesuit Schools but that is July 31st ( maybe they can practice together). I do think that this does bring up the thought that the Chicago teams would do better to cooperate in some way,,doubleheaders etc rather than each trying to find a way, unsuccessfully as of now, to gain back what used to be a thriving basketball market in Chicago.

This also brings up a separate issue...How did Depaul get that new stadium built? The city paid for it correct? Do they have to pay rent? or is it all a freebie?

OK !! Here is the deal--Chicago Media does NOT like us---I believe it all goes way back to our winning the NCAA title, beating Illinois along the way--Let's call it Arch Ward Syndrome--JCT will explain this to you Newbies. Ray Mayer WAS a favorite of the Media guys ( He earned it) BUT that plus our NCAA title rankles them.

Marq. INGRATES !! We played them anywhere when they were awful. NOW we are nearing an area of winning, where we do not need them.

SO in view of the press boys ignoring the fact that we exist, we start our own ALL JESUIT Tourney---Small to start with --SAY LUC- St Louis -Gonzaga and San Fran (or Santa Clara LU MARY or Seattle) as the fourth--TO be played at GENTILE. If it worked and I am sure it would with an all out full court Publicity press, we could the expand it to eight teams---ALL JESUIT.. Think of all the good and well known Jesuit teams.

I have a hunch that the Jesuit Hierarchy would really like this--

We had an agreement to resume the DePaul series before Oliver Purnell got fired.

The issue with them in the past is that they want multiple home games in exchange for one game at Loyola. I don't blame us for not agreeing to that.

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I think some kind of Jesuit tournament would be possible with the lower ranked/mid-major Jesuit programs which would still be a cool event. But I don't think the likes of Marquette, G-Town, Xavier or even BC (as AWFUL as they are) would be interested. Still leaves a ton of other programs that may be willing to participate.

As for local rivalries, I'd rather play Northwestern than DePaul. I feel like NW fans have more unjustifiable arrogance than DePaul fans...and I'd love to shut them up. I think a 2-for-1 deal with 2 being played up in E-Town would be fair. Although, ideally, we should be playing 2 or 3 local teams each season during non-conf (DePaul, UIC, NW, UofI, Valpo, ND...plenty of options).

DePaul played AT Drake, AT UIC, and AT Stanford this year (they also played at Penn State in the Gavitt Tipoff, which pairs Big East with Big 10 teams at campus or neutral locations). Northwestern's ONLY true road game was at DePaul. Northwestern also played Chicago State in Evanston.

In my opinion, some credible local neutral party would have to step forward and mediate a local college hoops tournament--- probably a newspaper, but possibly Comcast Sports Net, or a big commercial sponsor (State Farm, Nike, etc.). It could even be a local TV station who wanted to emphasize their local sports... WGN? WLS-TV?

We have had a lot of nice tourneys the last few years. A tourney in Tampa, one in Vegas and this year in Alaska. Next year the pre Thanksgiving Tourney in St. Thomas. I don't see us traveling to a tourney the following year. I think we will host our own. Nothing specific.
Just a feeling.