Streak, it's great to hear your inside perspective again. I'm glad your absence from Ramblermania was "excused" for a good reason.

You've mentioned a couple of times that Porter has held a fundraiser. Was this promoted through the school at all? I agree with you that he shouldn't "have to" do that, but if he does have to, I'm glad he is willing. Really, he could probably do two in the offseason and they don't have to be big events like the boat cruise or day at Arlington Park (as nice as those are). He could do a high-dollar dinner downtown and a low-dollar ($20 ticket) bar event. Both of them would raise some money and also get new people into the system so to speak. If you tie this into the revamped Varsity Club levels that you mentioned in another thread, two events like this would be good ways to advertise those levels.

Regarding the school budget, I used to watch the State of the University presentations, but it has been several years since budget details were provided. At last reporting, a positive picture was painted. I'd be surprised if Fr. G left the school in a difficult position. Has enrollment gone down? I'm curious why the cuts. Maybe a crunch following the construction boom of the past decade?

Lastly, it's disappointing that we can't bring more than 15 people to a MTE. That is certainly going to prevent us from getting a tournament like Maui. It gets back to the 25 year black period of Loyola hoops. Grads from the 80s and 90s are people who are more likely to now have the freedom and disposable income to attend events like that. But how many 40-50 year olds do you see at our games? Not many.

Hopefully your prediction is wrong and we do get a crowd at Arch Madness even though it's during mid-terms.

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I have heard that the budget cuts which to me hurt minor sports as well ( lots less travel, hiring of very young coaches) was related to the State of Illinois not being able to provide the MAP grant money to students and LU deciding to pick it up.
On the marketing side of things , there are so many things that could be done that anything gets a yahoo,

That makes sense.

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far from it. LU got back last years MAP funds and yes this years is up in the air but its not very much money in the grand scheme of things. Rooney has stated that tuition increases have fueled budget increases for quite awhile. now you have a 6% cut for every dept and they were considering 10. Is it a wonder that it took so long to find a president after they got a look at the books

LU had to cover. Reimbursement not until June. Uncertain for this year..potential 10 Million Dollar effect...
http://loyolaphoenix.com/2016/11/loyola ... nd-grants/

2016 Financial Report
558M Revenue
520M Expenses
gifts 2.8M for operations
gifts 10.9M temporally restricted
5.7M permanent restricted

Comments from Rooney
— given the current increasing rates for operating costs — expenses will outweigh revenue before the class of 2020 graduates.
Rooney doesn’t shy away from numbers. Loyola’s operating budget is approximately $500 million, while the permanently restricted endowment is roughly $250 million, according to Rooney. However, the permanently restricted endowment needs to be closer to $750 million, she said.
Rooney has a plan. First, the school needs to study its spending and ask if money can be better spent. Rooney said that might mean shifting the focus away from certain programs to others instead.
Then, Loyola needs to find new forms of revenue: research funding, new programs and fundraising for the endowment.
Fundraising for a $750 million endowment calls for a large-scale capital campaign, but that’s a long-term goal for Rooney — one that she said is about four years away.

She is going to try to avert the 2020 reality by cutting budgets across the board. 6% is a start but it will be more to make the numbers work. MAP grants don't even make up 2%
What fantasyland does the administration live in that they think 500M is even possible. It will take 25 years at the present giving rate.
She is going to need better people around her to pull this off. First you can't have a person like Kelly in charge of things he knows nothing about. Athletics, Marketing, and Campus Security all report to him. Arguably, the three most visible departments in the University are controlled by someone with no experience. Have someone assaulted on the way to a game or event and see how your fundraising and marketing efforts go.
It doesn't matter what Watson does because he has no say in his budget, he doesn't report to Rooney. It will be Kelly making the pitch to keep athletics funded properly.
It's no wonder it took so long to find a president. Part of due diligence is seeing the books and it doesn't paint a rosy long term picture. While Northwestern is taking student loans and giving students those funds so they don't have to be in debt upon graduation, Loyola is trying how to figure out that expenses can't exceed revenue.