It would be easy to say that Tom Crean is finally doing the right thing.
It would be easy, but hardly appropriate.
While taking a break from congratulating himself on the success of Dwyane Wade, the Marquette men’s basketball coach began working on an agreement to play both UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay for the next five years.
It’s way overdue.
Crean, as has often been the case during his tenure as the head of the Golden Eagles’ nest, ignored the public’s thirst for the matchups over the past several years. He said that a deal makes sense now, because the two schools agreed to play four games at the Bradley Center in exchange for one at U.S. Cellular Arena and one at the Resch Center in Green Bay; an agreement similar to ones the schools signed with Wisconsin.
Could it be entirely outside of the realm of possibility that Crean wanted to wait until his team had returned to a superior position? After all, up until last season, the Golden Eagles had hardly accomplished much since their trip to the 2003 Final Four (you remember the tournament in which Crean presented Wade to the world?).
The Panthers, meanwhile, made it to the National Invitation Tournament and fell a game short of a possible cross-town match up. They followed that up with a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2005 and another trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past March.
Fans on both sides of the aisle called for the two teams to meet, and rightfully so. Two teams of relatively high profile separated by just a few miles should be playing each other.
Instead of getting a game, fans got excuses.
Marquette claimed that there was no room on the schedule, with heavyweights like Savannah State, Northern Michigan, Canisius, Florida A & M, Delaware State (who made the NCAA Tournament), and Lewis, a Division II school.
No doubt, Marquette had to pay some of those schools a guarantee. So subtract that cost from a diminished turnout at the gate, and those games don't seem to be a moneymaker.
Meanwhile, across town, former UWM coach Bruce Pearl was pretty clear about his willingness to play the Golden Eagles. His mantra was to play anybody, anytime, anywhere.
You can't possibly believe that Marquette would have made more money playing the previously-mentioned collection of tomato cans than it would have with a sold-out Bradley Center for a meeting of the two local D-I teams.
But, that’s the way things go here in Milwaukee, "Big East Country", if you will. What Tom wants, Tom gets, and the fans -- regardless of what school they happen to root for -- should just be grateful for what they get.
There is a simple way to make this a fair series. In sports the problems and solutions are always the same: money.
Marquette needs the money to fund its programs, and it’s probably a safe bet that UWM isn't rolling in the green, either.
There has to be a company in this town willing to step up and fork over the cash necessary to sponsor this game every year. It’s worked in other cities like Cincinnati, where the Big East Bearcats find a way to drive across the Queen City to play the Atlantic 10’s Xavier Musketeers every year.
And how is it possible? Money. Skyline Chili -- similar to Milwaukee’s George Webb Restaurants -- sponsors the game year in and year out. The series has become so competitive, that ESPN has started to televise it annually.
Yes, it’s a great thing that these schools are finally going to play. And while it’s long overdue, it’s also a shame we never got to see Travis Diener and the Eagles face Joah Tucker and the Panthers.
While Crean should get some credit for doing the right thing, UWM and UWGB should be applauded for letting Crean do it his way, and allowing him to become the story. All they did was build their programs up from nothing to the point where a matchup with the king of the hill was inevitable.
It would be easy, but hardly appropriate.
While taking a break from congratulating himself on the success of Dwyane Wade, the Marquette men’s basketball coach began working on an agreement to play both UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay for the next five years.
It’s way overdue.
Crean, as has often been the case during his tenure as the head of the Golden Eagles’ nest, ignored the public’s thirst for the matchups over the past several years. He said that a deal makes sense now, because the two schools agreed to play four games at the Bradley Center in exchange for one at U.S. Cellular Arena and one at the Resch Center in Green Bay; an agreement similar to ones the schools signed with Wisconsin.
Could it be entirely outside of the realm of possibility that Crean wanted to wait until his team had returned to a superior position? After all, up until last season, the Golden Eagles had hardly accomplished much since their trip to the 2003 Final Four (you remember the tournament in which Crean presented Wade to the world?).
The Panthers, meanwhile, made it to the National Invitation Tournament and fell a game short of a possible cross-town match up. They followed that up with a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2005 and another trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past March.
Fans on both sides of the aisle called for the two teams to meet, and rightfully so. Two teams of relatively high profile separated by just a few miles should be playing each other.
Instead of getting a game, fans got excuses.
Marquette claimed that there was no room on the schedule, with heavyweights like Savannah State, Northern Michigan, Canisius, Florida A & M, Delaware State (who made the NCAA Tournament), and Lewis, a Division II school.
No doubt, Marquette had to pay some of those schools a guarantee. So subtract that cost from a diminished turnout at the gate, and those games don't seem to be a moneymaker.
Meanwhile, across town, former UWM coach Bruce Pearl was pretty clear about his willingness to play the Golden Eagles. His mantra was to play anybody, anytime, anywhere.
You can't possibly believe that Marquette would have made more money playing the previously-mentioned collection of tomato cans than it would have with a sold-out Bradley Center for a meeting of the two local D-I teams.
But, that’s the way things go here in Milwaukee, "Big East Country", if you will. What Tom wants, Tom gets, and the fans -- regardless of what school they happen to root for -- should just be grateful for what they get.
There is a simple way to make this a fair series. In sports the problems and solutions are always the same: money.
Marquette needs the money to fund its programs, and it’s probably a safe bet that UWM isn't rolling in the green, either.
There has to be a company in this town willing to step up and fork over the cash necessary to sponsor this game every year. It’s worked in other cities like Cincinnati, where the Big East Bearcats find a way to drive across the Queen City to play the Atlantic 10’s Xavier Musketeers every year.
And how is it possible? Money. Skyline Chili -- similar to Milwaukee’s George Webb Restaurants -- sponsors the game year in and year out. The series has become so competitive, that ESPN has started to televise it annually.
Yes, it’s a great thing that these schools are finally going to play. And while it’s long overdue, it’s also a shame we never got to see Travis Diener and the Eagles face Joah Tucker and the Panthers.
While Crean should get some credit for doing the right thing, UWM and UWGB should be applauded for letting Crean do it his way, and allowing him to become the story. All they did was build their programs up from nothing to the point where a matchup with the king of the hill was inevitable.
