NCAA – Page 84 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Glen Taylor: Nothing Certain on Sale

Posted on August 17, 2020August 17, 2020 by David Shama

In an exclusive interview with Sports Headliners, Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor said it’s not definite he will sell the franchises. Reports earlier this summer had the 79-year-old Mankato billionaire pursuing a sale of his longtime franchises for $1.2 billon.

When asked whether he anticipated a sale soon or not happening for an extended period, he said: “I don’t really know the answer to that right now. We have opened it up to see if people would be interested. At this point we’re trying to see what value would they put on it, and we haven’t finished that. We’re just getting that information together. …We have some people that said they are interested.”

Although not likely, Taylor said it’s possible a sale of the NBA Timberwolves would not include the WNBA Lynx. Presently, one company runs the two franchises, with some employees working for both the Wolves and Lynx.

“So that’s the most logical way (of selling),” Taylor said. “If we find a buyer I guess we’ll just have to sit down with that buyer and see what their interest is. I am open to almost anything.”

Taylor deserves credit for making the Wolves and Lynx fixtures in the state’s sports and entertainment scene. In the mid-1990’s original Wolves owners Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson nearly completed a deal to relocate the franchise to New Orleans. Taylor stepped in and saved the franchise for Minnesota, purchasing the team for a reported $90 million.

In 1999 the upstart WNBA was bleeding money as it pioneered opportunities for women on the court and in other basketball positions. Taylor, a socially conscious entrepreneur, became owner of the Lynx expansion franchise and the team joined the Wolves in playing at Target Center.

“It isn’t like I thought about it (a lot),” Taylor said. “It just seemed like the right thing to do (women’s pro basketball).

“I am more concerned why more (NBA owners)…why they don’t do it. There is nothing wrong with taking some of the money you’ve made on the NBA…putting some of it back into the WNBA. It isn’t going to make anybody broke, or anything like that.”

Taylor said he doesn’t know what the dollar value of the Lynx is, and there are few estimates available about such figures for WNBA franchises. A $15 to $30 million per team value is a guess but whatever the number it’s a long way from the billions that NBA franchises command.

Taylor acknowledged there were years when his franchise lost a “couple million dollars.” But the Lynx has been one of the WNBA bluebloods, winning four league titles with the most recent in 2017, and the owner said championship years had the franchise making about $1 million.

It’s been satisfying to Taylor watching the success of the Lynx on the court but it’s also been rewarding knowing how the WNBA has created opportunities that didn’t previously exist for women. The league is a model for girls and young women to consider sports careers not only playing but in other areas such as coaching, administration and training.

NBA teams are now hiring women for key positions including assistant coaching. Taylor said that’s a role his Lynx head coach, Cheryl Reeve, could fill. She has coached the Lynx to all its championship success and also excelled in identifying personnel.

Worth Noting

In its August 15 football issue Sports Illustrated predicts the Minnesota Vikings will finish the 2020 season with an 8-8 record, just behind the 9-7 Green Bay Packers in the NFC North Division. In a best case scenario the magazine says Mike Zimmer turns in his best coaching job revamping the secondary, while quarterback Kirk Cousins silences doubters.

Worst case? The heavy load of personnel changes entering the season proves too much to overcome and Cousins doesn’t measure up on an inconsistent team that must label 2020 as a rebuild.

In the same issue S.I. identifies North Dakota State redshirt sophomore quarterback Trey Lance as a potential top 10 NFL draft choice in 2021. The former Marshall, Minnesota prep player set a Bison passing record for efficiency last season while leading the team in rushing.

Gary Trent Jr., the former Apple Valley star, is a breakout contributor this summer for his surprise Portland Trail Blazers who have qualified for the NBA playoffs that opened this week. The 21-year-old second season shooting guard has made a big jump in playing time because of his shooting and defense.

The second annual Taste Fore The Tour raised $131,000 to support Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People, the Twin Cities’ largest food pantry. VEAP has experienced a 10-fold increase in demand due to COVID-19 but the promotion raised enough funds to provide 400,000 meals for local families. Donations are welcome through August 31, at TasteForeTheTour.com.

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Money Unlikely to Give Twins Pause

Posted on August 13, 2020August 13, 2020 by David Shama

The MLB trade deadline is August 31 and Minnesota Twins fans can be assured front office leaders Derek Falvey and Thad Levine will do all they can to improve the roster. Ownership, too, is likely to be all-in on moves that could help the club make a postseason run.

A sports industry source, who asked not to be identified, told Sports Headliners that when the late Carl Pohlad owned the team his organization deserved its reputation for being tight with money. Pohlad’s sons, the franchise’s ownership successors, are different.

“I’ve never seen Jim Pohlad (executive chair) not willing to spend money,” the source said. “The brothers are a different breed and willing to spend dollars.”

Just this week the Twins acquired infielder Ildemaro Vargas from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations. During the past offseason the Pohlads made a reported four-year $92 million commitment to third baseman Josh Donaldson, one of baseball’s premiere sluggers.

The Twins have publicly stated their 2020 goal of reaching the World Series but are most recently struggling and in need of pitching help. Targets might have included San Francisco Giants starter Jeff Samardzija. He has a somewhat pricey contract for the rebuilding San Francisco Giants but that might not deter Twins as much as the right hander’s status on the 10-day IL with shoulder impingement.

There’s a serious outbreak of injuries among MLB teams as players cope with too brief of a timeline to physically prepare for the shortened season that began just last month. Among the Twins sidelined have been Donaldson, and three starting pitchers in Homer Bailey, Rich Hill and Jake Odorizzi (returned last Saturday).

The Twins are among the favorites of odds-makers to represent the American League in the World Series but they have faltered some following a 10-2 start to the season. Despite playing mediocre competition of late, Minnesota is now 12-7 and lost five of eight games on its road trip that ended last night in Milwaukee.

Worth Noting

The Twins have an off day today (Thursday) and then with the hurry up MLB schedule don’t have an open date again until September 3. With completion of their next game tomorrow evening the Twins will be one-third through their 60-game schedule.

The Big Ten’s cancellation of fall football—the cash cow for athletic departments—prompts even more speculation about reducing the number of sports offered at major universities including Minnesota. In a media call with reporters last May Golden Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle predicted department revenue losses could total $70 million by the end of fall semester in a worst case scenario caused by COVID-19 and the pandemic.

The Gophers offer 25 sports with only football, men’s basketball and men’s hockey profitable. With a past expense budget reportedly well north of $115 million, and revenues drying up during the pandemic, where is future money going to come from and won’t some programs be trimmed?

University regent Michael Hsu told Sports Headliners this week he hasn’t received projected athletic department revenue and expense numbers but he, too, wonders about the future and sustaining so many programs. He points out the athletic department can’t borrow money, although the University can. However—not even including athletics—the U already faces a huge COVID-caused budget crisis.

“We would have to agree that we’re going to get that (athletic department) money somewhere in the future and I am not certain it’s possible,” Hsu said.

Golden Gophers head football coach P.J. Fleck still has the highest of goals for his program. “We want people (players, coaches) who feel Minnesota can win a national championship one day…and we’re striving to be the best developmental program in the country,” Fleck said several days ago.

Fleck talked national title ambitions early on in his career at Minnesota. Some people may still consider that laughable but last season’s team was a surprising and impressive 11-2, just two years after Fleck’s first squad finished 5-7. The coach wants a “blue-blood” program that connects with the great Minnesota teams of the 1960s and earlier.

The Gophers received an endorsement in the August 15 issue of Sports Illustrated, but it soon came with an asterisk. S.I. placed Minnesota No. 12 in its top 20 preseason national rankings but the magazine went to press prior to star wide receiver Rashod Bateman’s announcement he will forfeit his remaining eligibility to turn pro.

Among Big Ten teams, only No. 3 Ohio State and No. 5 Penn State ranked higher than Minnesota. But in a do-over S.I. would likely drop the Gophers lower in its rankings because of the Bateman departure. No one will ever know for sure, but his absence could cost Minnesota one or more wins next spring if that is when the Big Ten decides to play football.

The magazine made clear its liking for Fleck. “There is a lot of sizzle in Fleck, 39, but it’s increasingly clear that there is substance underneath,” Pat Forde wrote.

Words of wisdom (and humor) from an anonymous suburban mom after her first out of town trip for a youth baseball tournament: “Do not bring toddlers; bring a shade tent/not just umbrella; dress for any weather; Best Western Plus isn’t half bad! Bug spray; three beers may not be enough; pack your patience and a hat.”

Dick Jonckowski will do public address work for part of the Class B Minnesota Amateur Baseball State Tournament games in Shakopee. Jonckowski, P.A. voice of Gophers baseball, said Shakopee is hosting the tournament after New Ulm’s city leaders turned the event down because of pandemic concerns. The tourney begins August 21 and ends September 6. The Chanhassen Red Birds are defending champions.

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Tommies Hoops: Big Time Potential

Posted on August 6, 2020August 6, 2020 by David Shama

Transitioning from Division III, the University of St. Thomas takes its 22-sports program into Division I competition in a year. Tommies men’s basketball has the long-term potential to become the first money-making program in the athletic department, and perhaps one day emerge as a high profile national team.

School athletics director Phil Esten was asked about the program eventually earning that kind of success. Maybe in 10 years? “I certainly think that we’re going to make progress toward that,” Esten told Sports Headliners.

Right now the Tommies are at the starting line. For the first five years, men’s basketball and the other UST sports aren’t eligible to participate in NCAA Tournaments. Men’s basketball and most of the other UST sports will compete in the Summit League. The initial goal is for the basketball team to soon hold its own in a mid-major conference that includes four schools from the Dakotas. “I think we can be a very competitive basketball team (in the future),” said Esten, who has been a high level athletics administrator at Minnesota, California and Penn State.

In men’s basketball the Tommies can target the quality recruiting base in the Twin Cities area. “There’s a lot of very deep and rich talent in the state of Minnesota,” Esten acknowledged.

The Gophers have been the state’s only Division I program in the past but Minnesotans will now have a second choice to compete at the NCAA’s top level while staying close to home. “There’s plenty of talent I think for St. Thomas to be able to recruit a couple (standouts) every single year,” said Esten who believes preps in Wisconsin and Illinois could also be prime targets.

Former University of Minnesota Big Ten championship coach Jim Dutcher has been impressed with the quality talent within the state. “…Some of the players that Minnesota may hesitate on, they (the Tommies) may be able to get in the door,” Dutcher told Sports Headliners.

St. Thomas will make the transition to Division I led by coach John Tauer. The Tommies have been a national power in Division III under Tauer, and won the 2016 NCAA championship. A Tommie alum, he has a passion for the school, and has built a strong relationship with Minnesota high school coaches. He will be expanding his staff to better compete at the Division I level, according to Esten.

Esten said already “we’ve had some pretty interesting conversations” from prominent men’s and women’s basketball schools about scheduling St. Thomas teams in the near future. While some schools may look at the initial Tommies teams as easy opponents and want St. Thomas only for their home games, Esten said a couple of programs have expressed interest in coming to the Twin Cities for games, too.

Motivation to travel here includes exposure to the state’s recruiting talent, but Esten said there is also a willingness to help UST successfully start its men’s or women’s programs. While Esten wants most basketball games played on campus in the school’s 2,000 seat arena, he is willing to consider an attractive matchup in a much larger venue in either Minneapolis or St. Paul.

No doubt such a game would attract a portion of UST’s 110,000 alumni, a large percentage of who live in the Twin Cities. Those Tommies alums are expected to support St. Thomas in greater numbers than in the past for various sports. The spectator turnout for UST home games will also benefit from the approximately 40,000 people in the Twin Cities who are alums of various Summit League schools.

The Tommies wouldn’t schedule a showcase basketball game at a Target Center or Xcel Energy Center without believing it would be a money-maker. The men’s and women’s programs could eventually become competitive enough to spark conversation about building an on-campus arena, perhaps seating 8,000 to 10,000 spectators. Esten is a proponent of playing in on-campus facilities. In the meantime, the Tommies men’s basketball program may soon receive six-figure paydays by agreeing to play at the home arenas of Division I powers from conferences like the Big Ten and ACC.

The school leadership compares UST with other well-known urban Catholic universities. With factors such as geographic location, endowments, curricula, graduation rates, and job placements, administrators say St. Thomas is similar to schools like Creighton, Dayton, Marquette, Villanova and others. Those schools, of course, have great basketball legacies including national titles. Three of the four (Dayton not included) are members of the prominent Big East Conference where a former St. Thomas insider told Sports Headliners he thinks the Tommies could land 10 years or more down the road.

Because of the pandemic the total St. Thomas sports program has one more uncertain year of competition in the MIAC before it exits to Division I. The COVID-19 virus already has caused MIAC decision makers to move the football season to spring. The UST football schedule had included a November 7 date at U.S. Bank Stadium against St. John’s to be hosted by the Johnnies.

Esten believes in normal times the game might attract at least a near capacity crowd at the Vikings’ home stadium. Tommies-Johnnies is a legacy rivalry that a few years ago set an all-time record for attendance at a D-III game, with an announced crowd of 37,355 at Target Field. That record has since been broken, but with U.S. Bank Stadium’s football capacity of nearly 69,000, a UST-St. John’s game would have the potential to set a Division III record (perhaps never to be broken).

Whether there is a game in 2021 or not, the end appears near for the nationally publicized football rivalry. UST will be a FCS Division I program competing in the Pioneer Football League in the fall of 2021. Esten couldn’t think of a game matching a Division I program against a Division III team, referring to it as “very rare.”

By transitioning to Division I the Tommies are expected to grow their subsidized athletics budget by three or four times. The initial budgets perhaps will be $21 million to $25 million. The school, though, is firmly behind the transition, citing multiple benefits ranging from competing in sports at the Division I level to extending the UST brand across the region and country.

In retrospect did the MIAC do the Tommies a favor by unexpectedly asking UST to leave the conference because of the school’s dominance in athletics? Esten said no, referring to the disappointment of the surprising news and the ending of 100 years of association with the conference. “It was really sad,” he said.

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