The World of College Basketball

[Let'sGoZips94]

19 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

This gave me a good chuckle as I can see the comparison, thank you!

 

I'm just more tired of seeing Ohioans hard earned dollars going to waste because of vanity projects. We need fiscal responsibility.

 

You're welcome haha. You're absolutely right but this is technically being fiscally responsible for the few people it enriches. Government and banks exist nowadays in order to use your money to enrich themselves. Rules for thee but not for me. 

Edited Thursday at 07:12 PM by Let'sGoZips94

[AkronAlumnus]

6 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Leave it to Miami OH to build a steel/glass exterior and cover it up with brick walls that seemingly serve no purpose other than having bricks in the esthetic. $281M is unbelievably absurd, but when your concessions include the finest wine and cheese around, what else should we expect? What a perfect example of why I dislike that school and hope they get nothing this year like the similarly entitled kids in Willy Wonka. 

 

Yes let them waste their money.  We'll save ours for NIL. 💯

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 minute ago, AkronAlumnus said:

Yes let them waste their money.  We'll save ours for NIL. 💯

 

Committing this amount of capital based on a run that is inflated by an incredibly weak schedule with a coach that has yet to sign the contract extension offer is malpractice. Now, will something like this attract more talent, top coaches, etc. should there be turnover? Maybe, but as fast as it has been built, it can all come crashing down in the blink of an eye. I want nothing more than to beat them in Cleveland and see them either lose in Dayton or miss the Dance altogether. The whole thing is a sick joke that Ohio taxpayers are the butt of. 

[AkronAlumnus]

4 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Committing this amount of capital based on a run that is inflated by an incredibly weak schedule with a coach that has yet to sign the contract extension offer is malpractice. Now, will something like this attract more talent, top coaches, etc. should there be turnover? Maybe, but as fast as it has been built, it can all come crashing down in the blink of an eye. I want nothing more than to beat them in Cleveland and see them either lose in Dayton or miss the Dance altogether. The whole thing is a sick joke that Ohio taxpayers are the butt of. 

Tbh I don't really think it would.  I'd think most players today probably care about NIL, PT and geographic location.  The venue would be toward the bottom of my priorities at least.  On the flip side - even if the state matches some, Miami still has to foot a good amount and that's less $$ for what matters

[kreed5120]

43 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

Tbh I don't really think it would.  I'd think most players today probably care about NIL, PT and geographic location.  The venue would be toward the bottom of my priorities at least.  On the flip side - even if the state matches some, Miami still has to foot a good amount and that's less $$ for what matters

 

I peaked over at Miami's forum today. Apparently they only have $450K in donations committed to this project. That means of the $281M projected cost as of today $280M would would have to be financed.

 

To be fair I imagine they will get some money from naming rights and some more donations will come in, but I don't know how this could be put up for a vote with such a low commitment. My only guess is they're trying to rush this project along to capitalize off the excitement surrounding the program. I know this new arena has been in planning for many months, but I doubt it would be put up for a vote at this stage if they were sitting at 18-10 instead of 28-0.

 

[Blue & Gold]

I've seen a lot of online pushback against losing the field where they want to put the new arena. I've never been to Miami's campus so I have no idea, but here is the essential back-and-forth:

 

[ZippyRulz]

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2026/02/25/miami-ohio-new-arena-basketball-ncaa-tournament.html?utm_source=sy&utm_medium=ptr&utm_campaign=local12

 

The arena will provide the basketball and volleyball programs with the resources needed to compete as consistent NCAA Tournament teams. It will also be a vibrant gathering place that brings people together, hosts events and builds a strong sense of community. The design will strengthen the connection between students and athletics by creating the best student section in America.

 

Movin on down:

 https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2025/09/23/miami-university-uc-us-news-best-colleges-list.html

 

Edited 12 hours ago by ZippyRulz

[Let'sGoZips94]

Miami OH's Board of Trustees approved the project. 

[kreed5120]

11 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Miami OH's Board of Trustees approved the project. 

 

AD reported on X that they are confident they can get $75M-$100M in donations to help fund. Even so that would leave ~$170M-$200M that they will have to finance. That's going to make our debt servicing on Infocision appear awfully small in comparison.

 

Edit: Frankly if they were able to secure $100M in donations they could have fully funded this project with a more modest build. Maybe needing to borrow just a little if they had a few over runs. Georgia State just completed a very nice arena for $85 million and that was in Atlanta where I imagine labor costs are much higher.

Edited 9 hours ago by kreed5120

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:

 

AD reported on X that they are confident they can get $75M-$100M in donations to help fund. Even so that would leave ~$170M-$200M that they will have to finance. That's going to make our debt servicing on Infocision appear awfully small in comparison.

 

Edit: Frankly if they were able to secure $100M in donations they could have fully funded this project with a more modest build. Maybe needing to borrow just a little if they had a few over runs. Georgia State just completed a very nice arena for $85 million and that was in Atlanta where I imagine labor costs are much higher.

 

This post nails it. Miami OH is very smart for capitalizing on an exciting era of athletics. However, that intelligence seemingly goes out the window when they decide to plunge themselves into upwards of $200M in debt for a project that seems like complete overkill when the hype for athletics is built on a likely unsustainable run. 

Ray Kinsella built a nice, modest baseball field when called to, not a glamorous ballpark. 

Edited 7 hours ago by Let'sGoZips94

[AkronAlumnus]

People online are saying Gonzaga of the Midwest - WTAF!! They were just a doormat two years ago... Short memories IG

[kreed5120]

1 hour ago, AkronAlumnus said:

People online are saying Gonzaga of the Midwest - WTAF!! They were just a doormat two years ago... Short memories IG

 

They have 2 Gonzaga's of the midwest within an hour drive of them. Both Xavier and Dayton are better positioned. Xavier I suppose shed that title when they moved to Big East, but that's generally why there isn't a "Gonzaga of the Midwest". When a team reaches success they move up.

 

Gonzaga was isolated and there was no Big East type conference on the west coast. They would have otherwise bolted the WCC many years ago had geography allowed it.

[zippy5]

5 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

This post nails it. Miami OH is very smart for capitalizing on an exciting era of athletics. However, that intelligence seemingly goes out the window when they decide to plunge themselves into upwards of $200M in debt for a project that seems like complete overkill when the hype for athletics is built on a likely unsustainable run. 

Ray Kinsella built a nice, modest baseball field when called to, not a glamorous ballpark. 

It was going to cost them over $100M to renovate Millett 

[kreed5120]

5 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

It was going to cost them over $100M to renovate Millett 

 

I don't think anyone here was really arguing that a new arena wasn't needed. More that it could be completed at a fraction of the $280 million proposed cost.

[Let'sGoZips94]

35 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

It was going to cost them over $100M to renovate Millett 

 

Which is 40% of the estimated cost of this new build, and the top end of the private donations they have (meaning very little to zero public funding would be needed). 

 

If Miami OH loses in the MAC Tournament, they will be sweating Selection Sunday. That is how structurally sound their hype is right now that got this project passed. $150M+ in debt for such a fragile athletic department is wild. 

[zippy5]

Sounds like a problem for Miami. I bet their fans will enjoy it

[Let'sGoZips94]

 

 

[Zippy87]

5 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

 

 

This is a bit extreme, but I do miss the days of the MAC rewarding the top 2 seeds with byes.