Moosbrugger Presser--Updated with Coaching News

Just listened to the AD's press conference today...very interesting.  I think the media left some things on the table, but let's look at what was talked about.  (It is on youtube for anyone who wants to see the whole thing for themselves).

Per my post yesterday, my biggest question had to do with why a fundraising effort wasn't undertaken prior to the decision to cut the program.  Only one reporter got in that range, but added the hockey program into the question, allowing Moos the opportunity to riff on how hockey was never cut, etc. (all true) and dodge the real question, which was why the fundraising wasn't undertaken before the announcement to cut it, especially given that people were willing fund it.

What he said was that they had been seeking support and having conversations with baseball alumni that there were financial struggles at the University and in the athletic department and that could force some difficult decisions.  He gave roughly the same description of his conversations with Schmitz.  He did not reach out and tell baseball alumni that the program was on the chopping block because he didn't want to "threaten" them.

And yet, one of the alumni told him "I didn't know it was that bad."

My question would be, "do you think you could have prevented this by being transparent with alumni and coaches that their program was going to be cut if support was not generated."

Because he said more than once that "we had to make a difficult decision" and he didn't.

He did talk about one thing I wondered about, which is what would happen to the other non-revenue sports and should their alumni be expected to fund their sports, too.  His answer was telling, which was that they hope to use this as a model for the other non-revenue sports and, in fact, across the entire university.  In other words, given the reduction in state funds to BG, alumni are going to be asked to replace that funding across the school, including in the academic areas.

It took Dave Briggs at the very end to ask who would be making decisions about the baseball program.  There was talk about an LLC early on.  Moos said that only the athletic department could make the decisions but that he was sure there would be a lot of conversations, which I suspect there will be.  At least.  How are you going to, say, fire a coach and lose your donor base?

Competitiveness was a big point of discussion.  And it should be.  To introduce an unpleasant fact, BG is 44-82 over the past five years in MAC play, with four straight losing seasons.  They get a set amount of money for scholarships and how many players they get out of it depends on how many of them are out of state.  The NCAA allows 11.7 scholarships spread over 27 players.  BG had 10.4...again, due to out of state students.

But that's not our lot in life.  Moos said, and he is right, that all of our programs are underfunded.  To win at BG, you have to do more with less.  Every program does.

The question is whether this funding level--at which the program has been unsuccessful of late--is built for competitiveness or mere existence.  And, frankly, whether we have a "more with less" coaching staff.

Moos said that he has that concern and that it is still in the early days and he hopes to build on the momentum to create additional involvement and support that will help the program be more successful.  

Everyone wants that and you can't move ahead without a path to being consistently competitive.

There are no decisions on coaching. Other programs have taken cuts and it seemed like the structure of the coaching staff is a concern.  Moos also felt his relationship with Coach Schmitz would be fine.

One last question would be this:  "What is your understanding with the alumni?  If they fall short on their portion, would you cut the sport again?"

It will be interesting to see what happens.  Hoping for the best...and in some cases better.

UPDATE:  Danny Schmitz, who took over in 1991, will no longer coach Falcon baseball.  The announcement came out this afternoon.  Schmitz said that he left on his own terms and that it was time for a new beginning for the program.  He is the longest-serving coach in the BG Athletic Department history.  

A three-time MAC Coach of the Year, Schmitz delivered seven conference championships (regular season or tournament) and was the Mid-American Conference's active leader in all-time wins. His teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times – in 1998, 1999 and 2013. The Falcons won four MAC regular season titles and seven division championships in his tenure.

He finishes his career at 723-791.

The interim coach is Andy Hallock, a current assistant.

Schmitz will remain an advisor to the program, which I think is important for connections to the people who are funding the program.