We're officially doomed

[gospidersgo]

At least we dont have to worry about a backdoor CBI invite...

College Basketball Invitational abruptly cancels 2026 tournament

Organizers of the College Basketball Invitational have canceled the 2026 postseason tournament.

www.espn.com

 

[RichmondNative]

Dear Fans, Alumni, and Supporters,

We understand that our recent decision to bring back our head basketball coach has raised many questions. We want to address those concerns candidly and explain the circumstances that shaped this decision.

First, the landscape of college basketball has changed dramatically in recent years. The emergence of NIL opportunities has fundamentally altered recruiting and roster retention. Unfortunately, our current NIL resources remain limited compared with many of our competitors, which has made it significantly more difficult to attract and retain top talent.

Second, the game itself continues to evolve rapidly—from style of play to analytics to roster management. Like many programs navigating this transition, we are still working to adapt to these changes in a way that positions our program for long-term stability.

Recruiting has also become more challenging. Traditional high school recruiting is now only one part of roster building, and we acknowledge that we have struggled to consistently bring in the level of talent our fans expect.

The transfer portal has further transformed how teams are built. Managing the portal effectively requires new strategies and infrastructure that we are still developing as a program. We recognize that this has impacted our ability to reload our roster quickly.

Scheduling has presented additional obstacles. Several programs have been reluctant to schedule games with us, particularly in non-conference play, which has limited some opportunities to strengthen our schedule and national profile.

Finally, we recognize that fan engagement plays a meaningful role in the success of any program. Attendance, atmosphere, and overall support can influence recruiting, morale, and the visibility of the program. We know there is work to do on all sides to rebuild that energy and connection.

Bringing back our coach reflects a belief in continuity while we address these broader structural challenges. We know progress will take effort from the entire community—administration, coaching staff, student-athletes, alumni, and fans alike.

We appreciate your passion and continued support as we work to move the program forward.

Sincerely,
The Athletic Department

Thank you GPT.

In summary, we in the UR athletic department believe in the culture of comfort. Please do not rock the boat, it may make waves. We will make our way eventually and just need the winds of college basketball to guide us.

Meet you at The Tavern.

 

[URFan1]

Remember Hardt has a budget to meet in addition to W&Ls. As dependent as the school is on PQ his hands may be tied.

 

[SFspidur]

At least we dont have to worry about a backdoor CBI invite...

College Basketball Invitational abruptly cancels 2026 tournament

Organizers of the College Basketball Invitational have canceled the 2026 postseason tournament.

www.espn.com

With Mooney's buddies at Gazelle Group running that, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility!

 

[Fatherspider]

Did O just read an article saying Richmond looking to “Big Picture” plan for Mooney to get out of A10 rut???? Holy shit. Big picture!!! So Mooney has unlimited years to turn the ship around? Wow…. What kind of mind blowing hypnosis does CM possess to get these seemingly bright men to cater to his every prophesy? ?? Its mind boggling how dumb these guys are, but hand it to the snake oil salesman for his perfect pitch.

 

[Fatherspider]

Remember Hardt has a budget to meet in addition to W&Ls. As dependent as the school is on PQ his hands may be tied.

PQ is the guy we need to publicly humiliate. The next billboard should read “Fuck you PQ. UR doesnt need your dirty money.”

 

[SpiderRick]

Another example of why you don't give out long-term contracts. How long are we going to continue to pay for Jim Miller's stupidity?

Agreed, but we can no longer blame Miller for the current mess.

 

[sman]

PQ is the guy we need to publicly humiliate. The next billboard should read “Fuck you PQ. UR doesnt need your dirty money.”

why? is there anything substantiated that PQ has done anything ... other than bring lax to UR and donate huge sums of money?
I know this board assumes he loves Mooney. just don't think I've ever seen or heard that. maybe he doesn't want to write a $4.5M check, but I won't blame him for that.

 

[Fatherspider]

why? is there anything substantiated that PQ has done anything ... other than bring lax to UR and donate huge sums of money?
I know this board assumes he loves Mooney. just don't think I've ever seen or heard that. maybe he doesn't want to write a $4.5M check, but I won't blame him for that.

Because he obviously has great influence because of his check book, rumors like this are more than rumors since many are in the mix in such a small school, and with that level of influence, and Mooney’s tenure never in question, he is very very likely a big reason.

 

[SFspidur]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2032956568715526363

 

[Wood Hall]

NIL/rev share/pay-for-play has added millions to university's athletic budgets (some schools more than others, obviously). Money now being paid to athletes used to be enough to fund 2-3 non-revenue programs every year.

Now, unless you find another revenue stream to pay for the added cost, it comes out of the annual operating budget. So schools that owe coaches a lot of money because they have many years left on their contracts (us, Oklahoma, Loyola, Pitt, to name a few) are far less apt to fire someone and pay millions for nothing in return.

 

[KE Spider]

Generally agree here, but in Spider World a 4.5 million coach contract buyout from a 3.5 billion endowment seems like a rounding error. Either Admin needs to get serious or expect more of the same. Believe they have already given us their answer, sadly.

Will add we are already paying millions for nothing in return.

 

[Spiderguy]

Generally agree here, but in Spider World a 4.5 million coach contract buyout from a 3.5 billion endowment seems like a rounding error. Either Admin needs to get serious or expect more of the same. Believe they have already given us their answer, sadly.

Will add we are already paying millions for nothing in return.

Question - do we know for sure the buyout is 4.5? Isn’t it possible that it could be lower if the additional 2 yr extension given like charity by Hardt may have had lowered buyout provisions? Either way, your point on buyout and endowment is valid. If they really want him gone, he’d be gone.

 

[vt4700]

Let's say the money is a factor ( even tho I don't think it is) and we do owe 4.5. Let's just hire someone for 500k, give him a 3 year contract, and that way we only paid 1.5 million more after 3 years. And, no matter who we hired, he would be better than what we had now.

 

[*23*]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2033338090463592742

 

[Eight Legger]

Let's say the money is a factor ( even tho I don't think it is) and we do owe 4.5. Let's just hire someone for 500k, give him a 3 year contract, and that way we only paid 1.5 million more after 3 years. And, no matter who we hired, he would be better than what we had now.

100%. There are plenty of young, hungry coaches making less than that at lower-level programs who would love to make that here with much better tradition, facilities and resources. And whatever we saved on a coach's salary, throw it toward NIL so he can get better players, win more, earn us some NCAA units and then move on to a bigger school if he wants -- or stay here and earn 12 extensions for never winning again!

 

[SFspidur]

Another frustrating JOC piece bemoaning how hard it is to schedule. Headlines the fact that we were 353rd out of 365 in OOC SOS, but amazingly does not address head-on the glaring evidence that virtually every other program in the country is better at this than we are.

Okay, sure, we'd love help from the A-10 office in getting games, we like scheduling state schools, P5's are incentivized not to play challenging OOC games against non-P5s (are we considered challenging?), etc. But why is every A-10 school other than Fordham able to deal with this better than we are? That question not only goes unanswered, but unasked.

Spiders' nonconference schedule ranked No. 353 among 365 Division I teams

UR is looking for better players, and better nonconference opponents.

richmond.com

 

[97spiderfan]

Another frustrating JOC piece bemoaning how hard it is to schedule. Headlines the fact that we were 353rd out of 365 in OOC SOS, but amazingly does not address head-on the glaring evidence that virtually every other program in the country is better at this than we are.

Okay, sure, we'd love help from the A-10 office in getting games, we like scheduling state schools, P5's are incentivized not to play challenging OOC games against non-P5s (are we considered challenging?), etc. But why is every A-10 school other than Fordham able to deal with this better than we are? That question not only goes unanswered, but unasked.

Spiders' nonconference schedule ranked No. 353 among 365 Division I teams

UR is looking for better players, and better nonconference opponents.

richmond.com

JOC just recycles stories over and over again. I think he wrote this same piece last summer, in preseason, during the OOC and now he is back for a rehash of the same article he already told us 3-4 times already. He's like your elderly relative, who keeps telling you the same story over and over again, like its the first time you heard it.

 

[vt4700]

Another frustrating JOC piece bemoaning how hard it is to schedule. Headlines the fact that we were 353rd out of 365 in OOC SOS, but amazingly does not address head-on the glaring evidence that virtually every other program in the country is better at this thatn we are.

Okay, sure, we'd love help from the A-10 office in getting games, we like scheduling state schools, P5's are incentivized not to play challenging OOC games against non-P5s (are we considered challenging?), etc. But why is every A-10 school other than Fordham able to deal with this better than we are? That question not only goes unanswered, but unasked.

Spiders' nonconference schedule ranked No. 353 among 365 Division I teams

UR is looking for better players, and better nonconference opponents.

richmond.com

Probably good I can't open the article. I would be throwing things if so. Help from the A-10 office? Like we needed Lunardi's help??

You want some help? Here's some help. Look at the NET. Find quality mid majors in the top 100 and top 150 and freaking schedule them. They might not have the same NETs next year, but maybe they will....and they won't be 300+!!!!!! You can still schedule 3 or 4 250+ games like every team plays. Here are some teams, and there are plenty more in the top 100 that I could mention.

Tulsa 52 NET
Akron 54
Yale 68
UNI 72
High Point 75
Wichita 78
Hofstra 88
Bradley 113 ( they were begging for games last year)
UAB 118.

 

[*23*]

Good list VT. I'm going to watch Yale play Wilmington in the NIT tonight and was thinking about them. They played at Howard OOC late in the season. Did we call Yale? Again just one example but after JMU put us on blast I really think the problem is more effort from our coaches rather than the excuses they offer.