Gaucho Manifesto #5

Today, it's all about dolla's and cents baby! Just like my homies Fat Joe and Lil' Wayne, we're gonna make it rain tonight with all the dollar numbers we're dropping.

Making it rain is more 2007 than 2008, but here it goes.






As part of The Gaucho Manifesto's mission, we believe that UCSB has the goods to take the Big West title every year and be a staple of the NCAA Tournament, much like Gonzaga is to the WCC. As a result, I do some research to back up my opinions.

Clearly, today is a big day in Gaucho Nation since Gary Cunningham retired. No longer are we stuck with a crusty ol' dude in the AD's chair. Here's hoping that Chancellor Yang can get fired up for something other than championing UCSB's academic reputation and trying to refute UCSB's party school image (For the record, TGM thinks you can have your cake and eat it to. In other words, both can co-exist), and hire one bad-ass AD. This is a post for another day, but I already have an excellent candidate in mind.



Now on to the real post. Clearly, we can all agree that UCSB should be the class of the Big West in basketball, but they haven't been. What's the cause of that? We may never know, but I think once you see these numbers, you are going to fighting mad.

EDITOR'S NOTE: It has been called to my attention that I have again been incorrect on some numbers. UCI didn't actually have expenses of only $100,000+. I've changed this post to reflect that. I was relying on the website www.bbstate.com. The site that was referred to me was http://www2.indystar.com/NCAA_financial_reports/revenue_stat/show . I'll go ahead and assume this is correct because it makes way more sense. You can disregard the UCI bashing below for their "shoestring" budget.

First, I'm going to list some numbers. Try to think what these numbers are:

$1,612, 923
$1,505,592
$1,141,893
$1,012, 697
$965,993
$964,009
$905,706
$871,565
$684,576


These numbers are the 2007 fiscal year basketball budget for each member of the Big West Conference. Below are the numbers matched up with each school.

$1,612, 923 - Pacific
$1,505,592 - UCSB
$1,141,893 - LBSU
$1,012, 697 - Northridge
$965,993 - UCR
$964,009 - Irvine
$905,706 - Cal Poly
$871,565 - Fullerton
$684,576 - Davis


The first thing that popped into my mind was the amount of money UCI spends on their program. I quadruple checked that number because I was almost certain that it was incorrect (by the way, these numbers come from www.bbstate.com). It's correct, which is pretty ridiculous.

EDITOR'S NOTE: See above, bbstate is wrong.

Now, what irks me is that UCSB has the second highest budget in the conference and the highest of the public schools, yet we always seem to find a way to lose in the semis of the Big West Tournament. To me, this is a travesty. UCSB has the second highest budget, yet we've only been to the NCAA Tournament once during the last ten or so years.

Someone is not doing their job. It's either Bob Williams or Gary Cunningham. I know that money doesn't necessarily translate into success (see: NY Yankees), but there is something to be said for having a much higher budget than most teams in your conference. After all, the Big West's NCAA berths since 2000 have gone solely to the 4 highest budgetary teams.

Below is a list of the Big West NCAA berths:
2007: LBSU
2006: Pacific
2005: Utah State, Pacific
2004: Pacific
2003: Utah State
2002: UCSB
2001: Utah State
2000: Utah State
1999: New Mexico State
1998: Utah State
1997: Pacific

Does anything stick out to you? Of the remaining Big West teams, UCSB, with the second highest budget has only 1 appearance in the NCAA tournament. Pacific spends $100,000 more than us and they've been three times over the last five years.

A budget isn't indicative of how successful a program can be. However, comparing budgets is useful when you compare them to others in your conference. When other teams with the same or less money than our team are making the tournament with more frequency, some questions need to be asked. We shouldn't sit on our asses and always look off to the greener pastures of next year. UCSB clearly has more resources than everyone but Pacific, but we routinely come up short.

Someone is not using our money wisely (after all, the taxpayers of California pay for this mostly). If you were in any other job and you had the second highest budget, but your department kept underperforming year after year, what do you think your boss would do to you? Your ass would be fired. Unfortunately, Bob Williams may have the cushiest job around. An AD who doesn't give a shit. A fan base who doesn't really give a shit. A chancellor who doesn't give a shit about athletics. Without any expectations, he has nothing to worry about. If we keep giving him money and he keeps giving us the same result without any consequences, he assumes it's ok (you know the old story, "If you give a mouse a cookie"). Well it's not.

This money needs to be spent more wisely. Use it to bring in better recruits, to play a tougher non-conference schedule. Do something, but please don't lose in the Big West Tournament.

Lastly, I'm trying to procure an expense report of the men's basketball expenditures for last year to see exactly how this money is being spent. If anyone has access to this, please drop me a comment.

The Gaucho Manifesto #4

I have to admit it, I haven't seen everyone's arenas, but the Thunderdome is great.



Just look at that crowd. When the 'Dome gets filled up with students, the 'Dome gets very loud. We happen to have a great tradition of throwing tortillas on the floor. Who else gets crazy like that? No one, that's who. That is what makes college college. Students throwing tortillas on the gym floor while the game is in progress makes for great entertainment.

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/11/27/ucsb-needs-to-revive-tradition/#cont


The Thunderdome is loud. When it gets filled (more on that later), it gets crazy. Jerry Tarkanian, coach of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels back in the day, noted that he hated playing in the Thunderdome.

Opponents may make fun of the 'Dome, but it truly is a symbol of college sports. It's a small gym with a capacity of around 6,000 or so, it's got classic bleacher seats, and the students are right in on the action. The place is intimidating to play at when you get the right mix.

If we can get the right players, the 'Dome will be filled up every home game. I realize this is a chicken and egg argument, but it can be done. It was done in the glory days and it can be done now (just look at Men's Soccer).

The Gaucho Manifesto #3

This reason is a bit superficial, but I think it's important. However, it probably doesn't warrant #3 status, and, in my opinion, it isn't the #3 reason we should dominate the Big West, but it's important. The reason is the girls.

It's a pretty well-known fact that UCSB has a great looking student body. Face it, the girls are better looking than most schools. I'm pretty confident in saying that a guy is going to want to play basketball at a school that has some good looking girls in the student body.

I don't know if you sell this point as a coach, but you may as well. I know it's the elephant in the room and in today's PC world, no one wants to mention it. But, hey, like the old saying goes, if you got it, flaunt it. We've got good looking girls and we should proclaim the fact. We shouldn't be penalized for it. Another plus, see #2, but not only our UCSB's girls good looking, but they're also very smart.

The Gaucho Manifesto #2

If there is one thing that bothers me about UCSB's reputation, it's the fact that people only know it as a party school. I won't disagree because I think the Gauchos can rage with the best of them.



However, it bugs me that people won't give UCSB its academic due. This leads us to explore reason #2 as to why the Gauchos should never ever lose the Big West's bid to the NCAA tournament, academics.



I'm currently in my second year of law school, and, if you don't know, rankings are a big deal to law students. Specifically, the rankings of US News & World Reports. The higher your school is rated, the more likely you are to get a high paying job when you graduate. On the other hand, most people in the legal world seem to agree that these rankings are not accurate reflections of a law school. These are the people who attempt to convince US News to stop their rankings because it's unfair. These people also realize (at least I hope they do), that US News will never ever stop these rankings.

Now, I'm not naive enough to believe that undergraduates student don't check the US News & World Report for academic rankings. As a result, you can't turn a blind eye to them because Students still do look at them. Also, I think most would agree that the rankings do a good job of getting most schools in approximately the right area. This long winded explanation brings me to UCSB's academics.

UCSB consistently ranks in the Top 50 of the US News & World Report's rankings of the Top National Universities. We have great academics. The unfortunate problem is that most people only associate UCSB with a good time and a great party. That is true. Also, we're a fine academic institution.

We have a great Engineering Department, our science program is rated consistently high, and we even have a Nobel prize winner in the Economics department.

As most Gaucho alumni believe/realize, most of the kids we're recruiting for the basketball program aren't usually legitimate prospects for the NBA. A good number will get to play overseas, but most won't make it to the league. By logic, we can presume that most players want to go to a school with a great academic reputation. UCSB has that for them.

Like all schools, UCSB also has a tutoring program in place for their athletes. Admittedly, it's not as fancy and great as some of the big name schools, it still does the trick. Therefore, these athletes should be able to finish with a nice GPA and 4-5 years of basketball to put on their resume. That can't be bad.

Compared to our competition, only UC-Davis is ranked ahead of us and it's not by much. UC-Irvine is ranked even with UCSB. Cal Poly, while not ranked, has a great reputation among Californians. However, combined with the other reasons, UCSB should have no problem pulling in top notch recruits who want to get a education. This should be another notch on the post for our program.

The Gaucho Manifesto #1

And, it begins with this; reason #1 why the Gauchos should never be anything less than #1 in the Big West. Reason #1 can be summed up with one word: location. Can this really be beat?



Before we move any further, let's examine the Big West conference and UCSB's fellow members. The Big West consists entirely of California schools, primarily located in the Southern California region. Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC-Davis, UC-Irvine, UC-Riverside and Pacific (Stockton) are UCSB's conference competitors. Seriously, if your Coach Williams and you're recruiting players, how do you not get the most talented athletes in the Big West Conference? Don't believe me? Let's look at each school in depth, just to drive the point home (and because I always love to pour salt in an open wound).

Cal Poly: They are one of our closest competitors location wise. Sure, it's in a pretty location, but, is it better than UCSB? I think not.


Cal State Fullerton: First off, CSUF is in the middle of the greater LA area. Do you like smog, concrete and traffic? Didn't think so.

Cal State Northridge: See CSUF

Long Beach State: Ok, LBSU could be a close competitor. However, I've been on their campus (sort of), and it's not that nice. Long Beach is a nice area, so they can give UCSB a run for their money. In the end, though, is their campus on the beach? No. We win.

UC-Davis: Last time I checked Davis was pretty close to Sacramento. It's a college town. I like Pluto's. I dislike the smell of manure. Again, their location is nice, but the manure and non-beach location seal the deal.

UC-Irvine: Irvine might be able to give UCSB a run for their money. Unfortunately, like all of our lesser opponents, UCI also has an image problem. UCI is close to the beach, but not close enough. Being close to Newport Beach makes this a close one, eventually, though, UCSB prevails. Regardless, the other reasons of TGM will show UCSB as the clear cut favorite.

UC-Riverside: Do I really need to write anything here?

Pacific: See UC-Riverside

See? While there are some close competitors here (Cal Poly and UCI), none of our competitors have anything close to the location we have. While each area has a nice downtown, cool bars, nice city, etc..., UCSB is far superior. A beach is part of our campus. This really isn't a hard sell. Furthermore, has anyone visited Isla Vista lately. I'm sure some people don't like the idea of living around thousands of college students in 2.2 square miles, right next to the beach and campus, but those are the people who go to Pacific. Each day that you are in Santa Barbara you get to see the Pacific Ocean. You can walk five minutes to the beach. Everything you need is basically accessible by bicycle. If you can't sell the beach and location to potential recruits, don't worry, somebody else could do it for you.

Before anyone leaves me a hate comment after this post, remember, this is only about location. Sure, it's a fairly superficial analysis, but when you're looking to meet your potential girlfriend, great personalities don't count much and the looks are what matters. There are so many other reasons that UCSB is superior to their conference, that Coach Williams should have no excuse for missing the NCAA tournament.

The Gaucho Manifesto

Hey, this blog would be nothing if I didn't put up a Gaucho Manifesto. Since I'm slightly more visionary than Karl Marx, I want to propose my vision for the Gauchos. In the posts over the next week or so, the Manifesto will be written.

The basic premise of TGM is this: the Gauchos should be in the NCAA tournament 8 out of every 10 years and there is no excuse for the Gauchos not to be. Do you hear me Gary Cunningham? Do you hear me Coach Williams? Do you hear me Chancellor Yang?



So sit back, relax and enjoy the Manifesto. Feel free to agree/disagree with me in the comments.