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Hardt: 'Everything is awesome!'

Amen, Trap! It's complete nonsense BS. Either do what needs to be done to "compete" with every other school in the A10 or move to a league where everyone else has the same academic standards we do. I'm sick of the excuses.
 
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The benefactor appears to have been busy tonight on Facebook on the Spider Gang page.
Here are some quotes. Ill let the more english savant comment on if I used the right quote marks.

"Hardt is doing a really nice job IMO. Keith Gill was a poor hire and our Presidents were not helpful either.
To win, you need alignment up and down an organization. We now have that at UR."

"VCU is a different institution than UR. Lower academic standards. Large student body. City school versus leafy school.
The academic standards are not going to change. The faculty will not allow it. Additionally, a prospective recruit qualifying academically and wanting to do the work, shrinks the pool of candidates even further."


"Excellent question . Given the changing landscape and the reduced at large bids for mid majors, I think we need to temper our expectations. We should be in the top half of the league over a long period of time and seriously contend for a championship every three to four years."

If we only had a dollar for everytime we suspected this is how our top brass feel. Surprised no one called him out on the only reason Hardt is there because of him.
 
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Here are some quotes. Ill let the more english savant comment on if I used the right quote marks.

"Hardt is doing a really nice job IMO. Keith Gill was a poor hire and our Presidents were not helpful either.
To win, you need alignment up and down an organization. We now have that at UR."

"VCU is a different institution than UR. Lower academic standards. Large student body. City school versus leafy school.
The academic standards are not going to change. The faculty will not allow it. Additionally, a prospective recruit qualifying academically and wanting to do the work, shrinks the pool of candidates even further."


"Excellent question . Given the changing landscape and the reduced at large bids for mid majors, I think we need to temper our expectations. We should be in the top half of the league over a long period of time and seriously contend for a championship every three to four years."

If we only had a dollar for everytime we suspected this is how our top brass feel. Surprised no one called him out on the only reason Hardt is there because of him.
We do have a very leafy school... Or is it piney?
 
Killer small ball mentality for sure. How did you graduate from a top flight institution with such low expectations of success?
 
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So this multi-million/billion(?) dollar guy is wanting to lower expectations? I trust he didn’t do that with his business.

What a sad view when it’s patently provable that mid-majors have every opportunity to be consistent participants in the tournament. I mean, there’s one six miles away doing it. Wtf
 
Here are some quotes. Ill let the more english savant comment on if I used the right quote marks.

"Hardt is doing a really nice job IMO. Keith Gill was a poor hire and our Presidents were not helpful either.
To win, you need alignment up and down an organization. We now have that at UR."

"VCU is a different institution than UR. Lower academic standards. Large student body. City school versus leafy school.
The academic standards are not going to change. The faculty will not allow it. Additionally, a prospective recruit qualifying academically and wanting to do the work, shrinks the pool of candidates even further."


"Excellent question . Given the changing landscape and the reduced at large bids for mid majors, I think we need to temper our expectations. We should be in the top half of the league over a long period of time and seriously contend for a championship every three to four years."

If we only had a dollar for everytime we suspected this is how our top brass feel. Surprised no one called him out on the only reason Hardt is there because of him.
If Hardt said that stuff, he’s way more out of touch with reality than I thought. What a load of crap. Only adds to why our program is in the shape it is. He is a big part of the problem. Hope he reads this thread.
 
If Hardt said that stuff, he’s way more out of touch with reality than I thought. What a load of crap. Only adds to why our program is in the shape it is. He is a big part of the problem. Hope he reads this thread.
Was that Hardt? Or was it Queally?
 
The benefactor appears to have been busy tonight on Facebook on the Spider Gang page.
Thanks for mentioning that dialogue. I enjoyed reading it. Unfortunately it reinforced the thoughts on this Board about the “goals” of the Athletic Department. PQ also mentioned that he will be releasing news about a NIL collective at some point in the future that he will be leading. Sounds like the claim of truly having “student athletes” will soon be replaced with “paid mercenaries“ that are ”required“ in order to compete in the “prestigious A10”. Sounds like a colossal waste of money to me, but I suppose it is much cheaper to finance a college team than say own a professional franchise. I already had to stop supporting an NFL franchise because of a horrendous owner and it seems like I may have to find another local team to support since UR is being ruined by a “invisible owner”.
 
If Hardt said that stuff, he’s way more out of touch with reality than I thought. What a load of crap. Only adds to why our program is in the shape it is. He is a big part of the problem. Hope he reads this thread.
He didn’t, go back and re read my post. Not that I disagree with your analysis.
 
It's just so short sighted. But I'm not suprised. The school has become a woke shell of what it was. They have turned turned their back on history of the school and the proud winning tradition the basketball program had. We have won before and would win again if the BOT and administration were serious. And it wouldn't hurt the academic reputation of the school at all. So sad.
 
Killer small ball mentality for sure. How did you graduate from a top flight institution with such low expectations of success?
This will always be what gets me too. The irony of people who by most metrics have been incredibly successful in life, overcoming long odds to do so, wilting at the mere thought of those same odds in relation to our basketball program.

I know we will never win the league every year or make the NCAAs every year, but damn it, I'm going into every year with those exact expectations, stated loudly, if I have anything to do with the program. We're the University of Richmond! Why the hell shouldn't we have high expectations?
 
Thanks for mentioning that dialogue. I enjoyed reading it. Unfortunately it reinforced the thoughts on this Board about the “goals” of the Athletic Department. PQ also mentioned that he will be releasing news about a NIL collective at some point in the future that he will be leading. Sounds like the claim of truly having “student athletes” will soon be replaced with “paid mercenaries“ that are ”required“ in order to compete in the “prestigious A10”. Sounds like a colossal waste of money to me, but I suppose it is much cheaper to finance a college team than say own a professional franchise. I already had to stop supporting an NFL franchise because of a horrendous owner and it seems like I may have to find another local team to support since UR is being ruined by a “invisible owner”.
If you're not going to participate in the NIL game, you're never going to win in the future. The world has changed.
 
I can, at least, appreciate Queally sort of pulling back the curtain on the BOT's way of thinking. Their way of thinking -- its what I think most of us have feared.

It also makes it far easier for me to reduce my interest in UR Athletics. Thanks Paul. I guess.
 
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He didn’t, go back and re read my post. Not that I disagree with your analysis.
Sorry for that. Was reading quickly while watching TV. Missed the source but stand on response. H or Q - doesn’t matter. Two individuals with authority and clout willing to lower expectations. I find that unacceptable. Article in RTD yesterday with quotes from Hardt was more of the same and fluff. One day maybe we’ll have leadership that can run a successful program beyond just infrastructure improvements, dumping money into program with tempered expectations, and game day entertainment.
 
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Lower your expectations
Leafy School
"And we just had some tough luck in some of our (nonleague) games."
We can just get new fans

This is what the powers that be really think. At least there's some transparency now.
 
I agree with Queally on only 15% of A10 players can get admitted to UR. The other 85% would need athletic scholarships.


Where is Hardt hosting the Spider Selection Show tomorrow?
 
I can, at least, appreciate Queally sort of pulling back the curtain on the BOT's way of thinking.
Wasn’t he not just on the Board, but the top dog? Seems like he could have led folks to support athletics unless for some reason the other members didn’t want to follow his lead.
 
I can, at least, appreciate Queally sort of pulling back the curtain on the BOT's way of thinking. Their way of thinking -- its what I think most of us have feared.

It also makes it far easier for me to reduce my interest in UR Athletics. Thanks Paul. I guess.
I too was surprised at PQ’s willingness to go back and forth when asked about some of the same concerns expressed here. I appreciated his answers and opinions, but have a hard time understanding why he feels as he does. I believe in one of his comments he called it “realism.”
I have no idea how much input he now has in important decisions, but the thing that continues to baffle me is not “going for it” within the constraints of being a small, private university with academic standards for athletes. UR has done it before and succeeded. I cannot understand the philosophy of leadership that results in under leveraging an asset like our basketball program. I don’t know who’s fault it is, but hope I can hang in there long enough to see the program fully leveraged. Ha! I will not stop trying to make a difference.

Go Spiders!
 
If you're not going to participate in the NIL game, you're never going to win in the future. The world has changed.
College basketball is changing and is going to continue to change. However, what isn’t changing is UR’s commitment to academics and I support that too in that isn’t that the point of college? I am sure that European countries are laughing at the US and it’s “merging” of professional sports and education. It simply makes no sense and of course the presidents of the Universities don’t understand it because it isn’t in their purview. The Athletics Department has become more important than the University itself in some places (ie some of the P5 schools). Trying to compete in the NIL world as it exists today is a fool’s errand because UR is not going to be able to compete with the big schools. It is simply a matter of scale. Why enter into something that you can’t win?

I know I have said in the past that the best option to me is for UR to get into a league of comparable institutions, but maybe it doesn’t have to leave the A10. All that has to happen is for Dayton, VCU and Saint Louis to leave and then suddenly UR will have the “prestigious A10” all to itself and with a set of comparable schools. UR can simply “hold” its position which the administration has shown it is great at doing and it doesn’t have to get into the bidding war called the NIL at all.
 
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Sheesh. To the "we need to temper our expectations" quote, my immediate (but permanent), unfiltered response is:

F%CK THE WHOLE WAY OFF! TAKE YOUR MONEY AND GO ELSEWHERE!

That is such a disappointing quote.
Hardt sucks.
Coach sucks.
This message board sucks.
I suck.
Always getting owned by VCU sucks.
Making the NCAA’s once every 5 years sucks.
John O‘Conner sucks.
”Competing” sucks.
3 losing seasons in 6 years sucks.
”At least our school is better than yours academically” sucks.

Our facilities do not suck.
The rich history and tradition of this program do not suck.
The University’s financial commitment to the program and easing of admission requirements for certain players does not suck.

But we all still suck. The program, and every last one of us.

Relative to the potential of Spider MBB, what other programs have sucked more than us the last decade?

Wake?
Georgia Tech?
Depaul?
Georgetown?

Not many.

YEAH BUT WE BEAT IOWA IN THE NCAA LAST YEAR!!!!!

Yeah, we did.

But what sucks the most is ”Baghdad Bob” Hardt gaslighting all of us in the Times Dispatch.

Stay sucky, everyone. Nothing’s gonna change.
 
I didn't have a very high opinion of PQ before his posts on that page, makes me miss Bobby Ukrop even more. Dude is so out of touch, but I guess that happens when you have his wealth and are surrounded by yes men, ass kissers and boot lickers. He seemed genuinely confused that people didn't see the state of the program through his lenses. Was it on here where I read the quote? "when you look at something/someone with rose tinted glasses, the red flags just look like flags."
 
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If this doesn’t work, group is called Richmond Spiders Fans - the Spider Gang

 
OK. Thirty-five years of working with the AP style guide taught me differently.

When should you use single quotation marks in US English?

Single quotation marks are only used inside double quotation marks. They follow the same rules as other quotes, but only when replacing double quotation marks. Typically they show quotes within quotes, as when one person is quoting what another person said.

More importantly, I do not disagree with you. Our AD has his head up his ###

We're having our annual dumpster fire and you're giving a grammar lesson. That all you got as a rebuttal?

Yes I know I said "got" instead of 'have'. So no need to respond to correct me.....
 
We're having our annual dumpster fire and you're giving a grammar lesson. That all you got as a rebuttal?

Yes I know I said "got" instead of 'have'. So no need to respond to correct me.....
Sometimes it’s good to focus on the little things…
 
We're having our annual dumpster fire and you're giving a grammar lesson. That all you got as a rebuttal?

Yes I know I said "got" instead of 'have'. So no need to respond to correct me.....
You're about three days late to the party, as usual. The thread started on Thursday.

And you apparently missed this.

"More importantly, I do not disagree with you. Our AD has his head up his ###"

I double-quoted it. Because I wrote it.
 
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