Sometimes admins at large institutions are too smart for their own good. Letting Moser walk for as little as an extra million per year would be the equivalent of stepping over a $100 bill to pick up a nickel. Since 2018, Porter Moser has generated more exposure for the University than the marketing department has in its entire existence.

http://loyolaphoenix.com/2018/05/loyola ... 0-million/

Is it really that big of a deal to bump the man to $2M with some incentives and gradual increases every year, and some half-cocked plan for facility upgrades? Cause that's all it would take.

Moser wants to stay and already proved his loyalty the first time around in 2018, all he needs is for Loyola to meet him in the middle now. This is his hometown, he doesn't have to go far at all to recruit, and Loyola has the ability to become a juggernaut if the institution just gave a tad of support behind it.

The Bulls have been a dump forever. DePaul and Northwestern couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat. Chicago hoops is ripe for the taking. Gonzaga is still in the WCC because despite all of their success, they are in the middle of nowhere in a tiny market. If LUC could sustain just the tiniest bit of success over a couple more years, then a major conference will come and scoop them up.

Again, to be clear, Moser has already more than paid for a lifetime contract for himself in marketing exposure for the school. If he stays, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Loyola will be in the tournament more years than not. That marketing exposure will only continue. Season ticket sales will continue to increase, merchandise revenue, etc.

Loyola will be picked up for more non-conference games, which also means more revenue. And if this success is sustained, which is almost guaranteed if Moser stays, it is only a question of WHEN, not IF a larger conference comes calling. And that only opens up the revenue floodgates even more.

With the NCAA on the verge of finally allowing student athletes to profit from their own likeness and secure sponsorship, you don't think kids would be lining up to play at LUC in this massive market? Imagine what Moser could do on the trail. LUC is sitting on a golden goose here.

If LUC lets Moser walk and doesn't pony up, then they need to just dissolve the Quinlan School of Business altogether.

I tell you what, Tuggz, it’s a tough call, and a critical one for this program. Look, if he leaves, I get it, you chase the coin. Unless it’s Depaul, which I think we’d all agree would be a terrible decision. But the quick money isn’t always the long term gain. He’s mentioned it in interviews, and it’s a real thing: happiness. IMHO, the worst possible route for him would be a place like Indiana. Quick money, but enormous risk for your legacy.

The best place (and I’m admittedly biased) is in Rogers Park. Some of us remember his first few years, some of us didn’t like them....stripping the program to the absolute bone and rebuilding it how he wanted. And he’s rebuilt it into a National name.

This is his baby.

If he chooses to leave, part of his legacy will be what happens to it after. And he risks wherever he ends up not having the same patience Loyola did.

If he stays, he will be a Chicago, and college basketball legend. Without question. I know which route I would choose, but I’m not him.

But you’re absolutely right overall. It’s the school’s call, and it should be a no brainer to do whatever it takes to keep him.

Here is the email that I just sent to heads of the AD, Deans of Business School, Dept Heads of Marketing within Business School & Tenured Professors, as well as many other relevant parties:


To Whom It May Concern,

Henry Ford once said that "a man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops the clock to save time”

Your institution sits upon a golden goose. You have already stepped over a dollar to pick up pennies once, please do not make that mistake again. The golden goose wants to stick around. It isn't asking for you to buy a whole new farm. It merely wants you to upgrade the feed, fix the fence, and make a few improvements around the property.

You have expressed in the past your concern that embracing the golden goose would disillusion the other animals on the farm. However, what you fail to see is that this isn't about the golden goose. It never was and it never will be, that is unless you choose to make it so. The golden goose is merely the orator to tell the story of your farm to greater the world. That story is whatever you choose for it to be, whether that be to shine light on the other animals, the other activities on the farm, or the good causes in which the farm is engaged in. The golden goose is merely the narrator. You write the script.

And if it is truly stories that sell and capture the minds of an audience, then what importance does that place upon the chosen storyteller? It's not like the largest and most successful farms pay hundreds of millions dollars to have a multitude of "golden gooses" act as the ambassadors for their "farms" every year, now do they?

And yet all you have to do is fix a fence and a couple improvements around the farm to have yours stick around.

Is there some risk on your part? Absolutely. But risk is the currency of success and anything of significance that has ever been achieved in this world. And I find it highly doubtful that you all will ever find yourselves in the position to take a calculated risk with the odds as massively in your favor as this.

Cinderella was never supposed to go to that ball. She had no right to be there and yet she figured out a way. It is for this reason that so many people love Cinderella and her story. They identify with it. We all know how the actual story of Cinderella ended. Now it is up to you to write the ending for your own version of this story. Do you embrace and align yourselves behind the same ethos that caused the nation to fall in love with your school, or do you succumb to the tyranny of safety that has left many great ships forever moored in the harbor?

The choice is yours...

Respectfully,
The Other Animals on the Farm

As much as we can talk about Porter making decisions, I agree it’s important that Loyola make prudent decisions in concern to sustaining this momentum and publicity.

If this was a one-hit wonder in 2018, I could see the hesitation to go all-in and overcommit to something that might just be a fluke. but with 4+ 20 win seasons and the national exposure the university has gotten in the past 4 years, it would be crazy to think that investing in Moser won’t continue to pay off. He’s going to keep us at the top of the Valley, win championships, go to tournaments, and positively represent the institution while he’s doing it. Nothing he’s said or done in the past makes me think otherwise.

This guy literally has gotten the the city of Chicago to light up the name “Loyola” on the skyline twice in 3 years.... for FREE. You can’t pay a new coach $0, so how much are you “saving” if you don’t make a competitive offer?

Loyola really can’t be stupid here. They’ve got to have been able to ballpark-value a monetary number of how much publicity and actual revenue Porter has brought in for the institution. I would hope it has the foresight to estimate the potential publicity and revenue he can bring in the future if this continues....

If they try to be competitive, I won’t blame them if he leaves, but if they don’t offer him at least 2 million a year, they’ve sorely underestimated his value to the university. There’s no way this programs success over the past FOUR years hasn’t boosted the university’s overall stature.

I'd be a lot more confident if Garanzini was still at the top instead of Rooney.

YES! Someone PM me if they know the “real” reason Father G stepped down. That’s something I always wanted to know ....

I have seen estimates as high as 800MM for a final four trip in advertising. I wouldn't classify it as free because it does cost to run a program, but there is a excellent return stream if you are successful.
There are some excellent points made and of course I will add a few.

- Has LU ever had an effective development arm? Why don't we publish our giving rate among alum
- Is/was the athletic department prepared for the success with development?
- What makes everyone think the upper parts of the University have been loyal to Porter?
- Why does LU rely so heavily on a big single donors to come through for projects?
- Why has the University failed at communicating a broad message for support? Is it a personnel, data, or logistical problem?

Seeing classmates, former players, and other alumni during these runs certainly makes it clear to me that we are fortunate that this is truly our program and our university. I don't list these observations because I have answers or that I have some sort of information source but because I think they are self-evident. Some transparency would be nice from those positions in Loyola that are responsible for these functions. LU might be surprised with different outcomes when you let people know what is specifically needed instead of opaqueness.
My Jesuit professors taught me to question everything and it has always served me well.

May 18, 2020 — The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) has named Jesuit Father Michael J. Garanzini its next president.

Fr. Garanzini currently serves as both secretary for the higher education of the Society of Jesus as well as chair of the board of directors for the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU). He will complete his eighth year of service to that association while working at AJCU.

Can't do the secretary job, its a Rome job, and be a university president, not enough hours in the day.

I can't take credit for this, but a successful basketball program is a billboard for the university. I think this holds even more true for a private university, and even more true for a school that puts academics first like Loyola. The administration and development arm should be embracing this. Look what it did for a school like Villanova.

m52, 100%!!!! However, There are people downtown that feel a successful flagship sport is not necessary, because Loyola turns away kids and is full every year. How shortsighted, when you look at what it can do from a development point of view.