OT - Detroit a candidate to join 'Catholic 7' ?
Could the defection of seven Catholic schools from the Big East lead Detroit to leave the Horizon League?
UDM interim athletic director Jason Horn said such a change would have to be addressed by the league's presidents, but it probably would boost basketball attendance with a league featuring Georgetown, Villanova, Providence, St. John's and Marquette coming to Calihan Hall.
"We're monitoring the landscape," Horn said. "We're a solid member of the Horizon League, but we're just going to see where things are."...
January 9th, 2013 at 7:44 PM ^
No chance of this happening. Just the Freep trolling for clicks.
January 9th, 2013 at 7:45 PM ^
UD can be effective in the Horizon. I think they'd be asking to get it in the proposed Catholic league.
January 9th, 2013 at 9:05 PM ^
everyone always assumes teams will always be just as they are at present. Why couldn't such a move boost Detroit's recruiting and profile? If I were UD I'd jump on this in a second.
January 9th, 2013 at 9:51 PM ^
I think it could be good for UDM. There seems to be enough basketball talent in Michigan to support 1 or 2 decent programs in state past just MSU and UofM. I do believe a good number of B1G teams pick off 3* talent from in state so if UDM ups their program a bit, they may be able to keep a lot of those guys (esp Detroit guys) in state
January 9th, 2013 at 7:47 PM ^
January 9th, 2013 at 9:37 PM ^
They'd stand a better chance that DePaul, Providence, etc., and I'd assume that an increase in exposure would help with recruiting in Detroit and the rest of the footprint, which certainly has enough talent to field competitive teams.
January 9th, 2013 at 7:50 PM ^
but wish it would...would be great for Detroit and that school. Always wishing good things for the D
January 9th, 2013 at 7:50 PM ^
January 9th, 2013 at 7:52 PM ^
They need to do everything they can to get into the new Catholic league. It would give UDM new national attention. With the Michigan basketball talent + being in a major conference, they would have the chance to build a program.
You have to look long term. Yeah, they'd get taken to the woodshed for a few years. Still, is it better to be Purdue football or Western Michigan football? Is it better to be Penn State basketball or Toledo basketball?
January 9th, 2013 at 7:56 PM ^
January 9th, 2013 at 8:00 PM ^
January 9th, 2013 at 8:36 PM ^
This could be legit, depending on how big they wan the conference to get. You'd think Xavier and Dayton would be the top choices, but that would only put it at 9. Not only that, but this conference will be on of the country's top lacrosse conferences, and unlike Xavier and Dayton (for now), UDM has a lacrosse team.
January 9th, 2013 at 8:36 PM ^
January 9th, 2013 at 8:42 PM ^
Well, it will almost certainly be a great bball conference either way.
January 9th, 2013 at 8:53 PM ^
Detroit was your first thought? What about Butler or Xavier or St. Joe's or St. Bonaventure or St. Louis? There are a heck of a lot of A-10 schools that will theoretically be better fits than Detroit. However, if media market is a concern (and it very well mightb be), then I can see Detroit getting an invite.
January 9th, 2013 at 9:55 PM ^
January 9th, 2013 at 11:11 PM ^
January 10th, 2013 at 10:47 AM ^
When the Catholic basketball schools decided to split, Detroit as a possibility was the first thing to pop into my head too. But since I don't know much about the college basketball scene, I wasn't sure how realistic it would be.
Still, considering that Detroit is a Catholic basketball school in a large market (both television and recruiting-wise) with no interest in football, it seems like a logical choice to me. And frankly, it would be awesome to have top quality basketball in the D. It'd be a great move from a long-term perspective for the city so I'll quietly keep my fingers crossed.
January 9th, 2013 at 9:17 PM ^
You could get kids to stay home if you're promising them a legit, big time basketball conference with a national TV contract. It would be fun.
January 9th, 2013 at 9:35 PM ^
Not that this would happen, but if the opportunity was presented to UDM they'd better jump on it and never let go. The Horizon league is fine, but if they can play against schools like 'Nova, Georgetown, St. Johns, etc. and expand their recruiting range, that would be huge. And let's not act like this league would be a juggernaut. Sure, teams like Xavier, G'town, etc. are consistent tournament teams, but Providence hasn't been in the tournament since 2004 (and won a game since 1997), same for DePaul. St. John's can be good at times, but they are not a national power and perhaps have an outsized opinion of themselves since they are the only NCAA Div-I school in NYC. Detroit would be a competitive mid-level team in this conference, with access to better recruiting opportunities, more media exposure, and (I presume) more resources once the conference sold TV rights and the like.
January 9th, 2013 at 11:06 PM ^
I don't see this article as any kind of indication that UDM getting an invite would be a possibility. Just local media angling for a story. But yes, if the C7 would be open to adding Detroit, Detroit should jump and never look back.
January 10th, 2013 at 10:22 AM ^
You know what would help UofD increase their profile...? How 'bout folks stop referring to them as UDM. "Mercy" (that's the "M") has no role in sporting success. When Mercy was absorbed into UofD, the school changed their sports branding to UDM. Then, they realized how "mercy" and "victory" aren't really compatible and rebranded athletic teams as "Detroit".
I grew up going to Calihan Hall and they've always been my #2 team (behind, of course, Michigan). Folks, please, drop the "UDM". As for leaving the Horizon league - do it. Detroit (the school, the city, the kids, the coaches) has never been afraid of competition. As a reminder:
1998 NCAA Tournament:
UofD 66
St. Johns 64
UofD might never be competitive with GTown for big name recruits, but they'd still hold their own on the court...especially at Calihan.
January 10th, 2013 at 10:57 AM ^
Great, more knuckle-headed "branding" in college sports. It may very well make for a better "brand" to refer to the teams as the Detroit Titans but the fact remains that it is still the University of Detroit Mercy.
It's as if our favorite former Domino's CEO is contagious. Maybe this guy needs to be quarantined for the sake of the greater good.
January 10th, 2013 at 12:25 PM ^
Dick Vitale coached for the University of Detroit. John Long played for the University of Detroit. So did Spencer Haywood, Earl Curetan and Dave Debusschere. Mercy (who had no mens basketball...or men) demanded that "Mercy" be incorporated into the school's name when they were incorporated into UofD.
Ask anyone in the D who follows basketball and the school is referred to as "UofD". That's what it will always be. The "bad branding" you reference is the name forced upon the school like Brandon's invisi-jerseys; treating the bball team with the traditional name is smart (especially when "mercy" refers to a beating so bad that the team quits).
January 10th, 2013 at 11:00 AM ^
UDM is ubiquitous. Yes, "Detroit" is how they brand the athletic teams, but "UDM" is not absent from their sports branding and the school almost never refers to itself as anything but UDM otherwise.
January 10th, 2013 at 12:32 PM ^
You seem to be from VA; I'm from Detroit. No one calls it "UDM".
Here's their fan store, if you squint (yeah, it's hard to read and not well done) you might find one or two shirts that say "UDM". If UVA incorporated another school, they'd still be UVA. UofD incorporated a smaller school and took a few years to figure out that it looked goofy to be "UDM".
January 10th, 2013 at 1:52 PM ^
You seem to be mistaken. Would you like to guess where I'm getting my MBA right now?
Every email that I get from the school identifies the school as "UDM" (or "the University.") Every email regarding athletics actually says "Titan" or "Titans" rather than saying "Detroit." The front page of the school's website links to this story about "UDM basketball." The front page itself says "UDM" no less than 10 times and the front page when I sign into Titan Connect says it no less than six. My student ID says "UDM" on it.
Face it: The school calls itself UDM. There's utterly no reason to think that the school has ever dropped "UDM," it's absolutely everywhere.
January 10th, 2013 at 2:19 PM ^
Ok. Allow me to modify....Aside from the "school" part of the school, no one calls it UDM. I know, that doesn't really make sense, but as a child of the University District, that's the fact.
That merch link I sent is plastered with "Detroit" and "Titans" (and almost no "UDM"). I grew up down the street from Calihan, have gone to a ton of games, am friendly with a number of folks in the athletic dept. and can tell you that it's no more "UDM" than Michigan is "Big Blue".