Ask the AD

December 15, 2009
Where is Xavier's 2010 pre-season tournment be played? Went to Orlando this year and would like to go in '10 if possible.
- Mel from Cincinnati

Answer
The 2010 event will be the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Dates are 11/19-11/22/2010.

November 19, 2009
Are there any return trips to northern Ohio for these home opponents of this season: Youngstown State, Bowling Green and Kent State?
- Ken from Sandusky, Ohio

Answer
All of these are one-way games, with no returns attached. We've been close to arranging a game in the Cleveland area the past few years, but it hasn't quite come together yet.

November 18, 2009
Why don't you schedule a home-and-home series with Creighton University each year? Both schools are Jesuit institutions, shouldn't it be easy to work out a schedule? I noticed you are willing to travel to Kansas State for a road game, why not make a trip to Omaha?
- Tom from Omaha

Answer
We've played Creighton six times since the 2001-02 season and it was always a terrific game. As other games became available to us we decided to change things up and add some other opponents to our schedule. The Kansas State game you reference is the return game we owe them after their two trips to Cincinnati in 2006-07 and 2007-08. All things considered, it certainly seems to make sense to renew our competition at some point in the future.

July 27, 2009
I have been a fan of Xavier basketball my whole life and my all time favorite player is James Posey. When I was about tens years old I asked Skip if Posey's Number would ever be retired Skip said he hoped so. I believe that since Posey is the only basketball player is Xavier history to win the national championship and he has done it twice his number should be retired. Do you think this will happen?
- Devin from Cincinnati

Answer
James Posey was a terrific player for Xavier and we honored him last fall by inducting him into our Athletic Hall of Fame. We're also very proud of his accomplishments as a professional basketball player and really appreciate how closely he stays on top of what's happening around our basketball program. Regarding retired numbers, we're very selective with that recognition and really intend to reserve that unique honor for extraordinary achievements while wearing a Xavier uniform. That's not at all meant to diminish what James accomplished while playing for Xavier--he was and always will be remembered as a great player.

May 19, 2009
Any decision from Derrick Brown on leaving for NBA draft?
- Linda from Cincinnati

Answer
Derrick Brown is currently working out for NBA teams and has until June 15th to make a decision on whether or not he will remove his name from the list of draft eligible players.

March 25, 2009
Why not play a game or two in southern California? Is there any possibility of that? I think that USC would be a great opponent.
- Joe from Fountain Valley, Calif.

Answer
I wouldn't rule it out, but with the compressed calendar, the number of games being squeezed in, and the economic realities of travel, it becomes more difficult to make sense of a multiple time zone trip for a single game. That being said, if an exempt event with multiple quality games was available to us in the region we would certainly consider it. There are definitely some good teams in the area.

March 25, 2009
First of all great job. Your commitment to X is greatly appreciated. We would like to see regular games in Chicago against some of the local teams. I understand the reasons why it is difficult given DePaul's attendance issues, but every effort is appreciated. Even Illinois in the United Ctr. if they will come our way would be great. Purdue also.
- Brent from Chicago

Answer
We're always looking for solid non-conference games, and preferably in locations that make sense for us. Chicago is certainly one of those areas, but since the Illinois series that concluded in 2006 and the Chicago Challenge event in 2007 we haven't had any willing opponents. We'll stay after it in coming seasons.

March 24, 2009
I am a Dish Network subscriber. I was unable to receive the broadcast of the Richmond game [on March 7]. It was advertised to be on FSN Ohio; however Dish broadcast the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey game. Earlier in the year an away game switched from XU to hockey at the half. Can you enlighten me why I couldn't get the broadcast(s)?
- Leo from Harrison, Ohio

Answer
The situation with the Richmond game was a unique instance where multiple professional sports events with higher priority for FSN Ohio conflicted with our telecast and no alternate broadcast channels were available. We were not aware of this in advance--going forward we have asked to be informed of any like circumstances so we can notify our fans and allow them the opportunity to make alternate viewing plans.

March 24, 2009
Are there any plans to make the cheerleader squad a varsity sport so as to provide scholarships to these talented athletes?
- Jim from Cleveland

Answer
There are no plans at this time to add scholarships for cheerleading. We have scholarship needs in a number of our existing athletic programs and are not in a position to consider adding any new sports.

March 13, 2009
Even though the program no longer exists, are there any talks about bringing back Rifle and or recongizing some of the shooters, via HOF? I know there were some fine shooters in its final years as a varsity program. Thanks for all that you do!
- Corey from Cincinnati

Answer
At this time there are no plans to add any sports to our intercollegiate athletic program. Like most organizations we're challenged to adequately support the programs that we currently sponsor and are working hard to maintain the level of funding that exists today. There are a number of former Rifle athletes already in our Hall of Fame and as the process for selection occurs in the years ahead it wouldn't be surprising to see others join them.

January 27, 2009
Are there any talks of starting a neutral site tournament with Xavier, Ohio State, Butler, Louisville, UK, and UC?
- Mike from Cleveland

Answer
No serious discussions have occurred for a regional exempt event--you can only play in one per season and many of us are committed several years out already. Because of regular season games historically scheduled (or not scheduled in some cases) between a number of those teams it would probably be an impossible task to get the teams you identified to all agree to an event, but it would make for a heck of a field.

January 26, 2009
Is there any movement to add women's lacrosse as a NCAA Div 1 sport?
- Mark from Louisville

Answer
There are no plans at this point to add women's lacrosse or any other sport. We currently sponsor 18 intercollegiate programs and I don't envision that number growing or any significant changes in the sports we offer in the near future.

January 23, 2009
We attended the St.Boneventure game 1/21 and on the way out we were wondering how the team returned to Xavier? Allegany, N.Y., is difficult to get to even from Buffalo about 70 miles away.
- Michael from Buffalo, N.Y.

Answer
It's never easy to get in/out of Olean, but in this case our plane flew out of Bradford Airport--about 40 minutes away. It worked out as well as possible--we were home around 12:30am.

January 18, 2009
I am a season ticket holder for both the women and the men. I wonder why games are scheduled during the work day hours when it is impossible to see the games, yet we have to pay for the tickets. I know scheduling of games is difficult, but I do not see where the demand is for these games.
- Dick from Southgate

Answer
This was an unusual year, with three women's games scheduled during the normal workday. The Robert Morris game in November was part of a tournament (Preseason WNIT) and was necessary because of a scheduling conflict with a men's game and a lack of flexibility on the part of the tournament schedule. The second (Davidson in December) was due to our own scheduling and, in hindsight, was a situation we will try to avoid in the future--we had a difficult time with travel to our next game and had to play this game early in the day to catch a late afternoon flight. The final game, against LaSalle on Feb. 18th is an annual event and is part of a conference/national promotional program to attract junior high and below school age children to sponsor a field trip to a women's basketball game. It has become fairly successful for us and while we recognize the inconvenience for our season ticket holders we hope you support our efforts to expose our team to an important group of prospective fans. On the men's side, there are no games scheduled during the traditional Mon-Fri workday--any afternoon games scheduled on the weekends are at the request of television. One of the trade-offs in having such an extensive television presence is the need to be as accommodating as we can with their scheduling requests.

January 16, 2009
Is there any consideration for realignment in the A-10 in the future?
- Jerry from Williamsburg

Answer
At this time there are no plans to restructure or otherwise reorganize the Atlantic 10 Conference. We have a new Commissioner in Bernadette McGlade and she's still in the early stages of her assessment of the conference. We would expect some changes in policy/operations over time, but it's impossible to predict if any more substantive adjustments will be appropriate. Xavier continues to work hard at encouraging policies and practices that will strengthen the Atlantic 10, particularly in the core sports of men's and women's basketball. Most importantly, we will maintain our approach of doing everything we can possibly and practically do to continue building our programs to the highest competitive level.

November 18, 2008
Can you give me any particulars on the 2009 Orlando basketball tournament that Coach Miller recently mentioned? Thanks.
- Phil from Cincinnati

Did i hear right, last night, that my XAVIER MUSKETEERS will be playing in ORLANDO next year in a pre-season tourney? If so, how do I find out about tickets, since i live in Florida?
- John from St. Augustine, Florida

Answer
The 2009 event that our men's basketball team has committed to is the ESPN eight-team event held at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. Tentative dates are November 26th through November 29th, 2009. Ticket information will be announced at a later date.

October 27, 2008
Has there ever been conversation between Xavier and Kentucky to start a mens basketball home and home series. I see where the women are playing this year and was wondering if this is something that could happen in the future. Two very good young coaches in college basketball. I think it would be great for the local area.
- Aaron from Erlanger, Kentucky

Answer
We'd be very interested in the possibility of a series with Kentucky but haven't ever been able to get it off the ground. Some of the limiting factors have been the number of strong non-conference games that are already in place for UK and their need to have a certain number of games at Rupp Arena each year, which necessitates playing games without a return. A possibility in the future may be a match-up at a neutral site or in an exempt early season event. We'll keep looking for ways to make this happen.

October 15, 2008
Are there going to be any exhibition basketball games this season (2008-09), men or women?
- Harry from Centerville, Ohio

Answer
Yes, both basketball teams will be having one exhibition game this season. The women will host OGBR on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. while the men will host Findlay at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7.

October 6, 2008
Are there any reasons why Xavier doesn't have many men's basketball games scheduled against Northern Ohio teams? Cleveland State, Bowling Green, Kent State, Akron and Toledo would be good draws for X alumni and prospective students up here.
- Ken from Sandusky, Ohio

Answer
Putting the basketball schedule together involves a lot of variables, one of which is a limited opportunity for non-conference road games because of our need to play a certain number of home games each year for economic reasons. Because of that, most of our games against teams from Northern Ohio in recent years have been at the Cintas Center without a return date, or in the case of Kent State last year, in a tournament at a neutral site. We were close to an arrangement with a team in the region for a game at Quicken Loans Arena in 2009, but it fell through on their end. We'll continue to look for those types of opportunities in the future.

September 29, 2008
Any chance of the men's bball team scheduling a game in Chicago every now and then with maybe DePaul or Northwestern? It was nice to see X last year in the Chicago Challenge. Keep up the good work & go Muskies!
- John from Lemont, Illinois

Answer
We recognize the Chicago area as an attractive market for Xavier in a variety of ways and we're always prospecting for good games in the region. Recent examples are the Illinois series in 2005/2006 and the Chicago Challenge event in 2007. We'll continue to look for willing opponents in the area that make sense within the overall context of our schedule.

September 5, 2008
I saw the Men's Basketball schedule the other day and noticed that we are not playing Kansas St. in Manhattan like the original contract stated. Am I way off base or did something happen? Also, did Bill Comar leave Xavier? He was a great member of the program.
- John from Cincinnati

Answer
We will be playing at Kansas State in the 2009-10 season. Kansas State requested the game be pushed back to next season due to a full schedule. Bill Comar accepted an assistant coaching position at Loyola Chicago, which is in his hometown. This position allows him to return to an on the floor coaching/recruiting role, which was important to him professionally.

September 2, 2008
Why are the mens and womens basketball teams not having a scrimmage during the parents weekend this year?
- Alan from Middletown

Answer
The primary reason for the format change this this year is the late official start of practice date established by the NCAA. Practice can't begin until October 17th this year and, given the compressed calendar, it didn't make much sense for our teams to forego a full practice opportunity on the second available day. To accomodate full practices and still provide an opportunity for exposure to our men's and women's basketball teams during Family Weekend, the Athletic Department has planned the first ever Fan Fest for October 18th. Fan Fest will be an interactive event for Xavier fans of all ages including alumni, students and their parents. Fan Fest will include the coaches and student-athletes from the men's and women's basketball teams and will begin at 3pm and go until 5:30 pm when the Xavier Volleyball team takes the court against Rhode Island. More details are available at GoXavier.com. The basketball teams will scrimmage on Friday, October 24 at 7pm.

August 27, 2008
I was wondering if the Cintas Center would be getting a new scoreboard and ribbon boards for this coming season as part of Learfield Sports' involvement with Xavier athletics. Thank you and go Muskies!
- Mike from Cincinnati

Answer
Our new agreement with Learfield Sports, operating locally as Xavier Sports Properties, does include scoreboard and technology upgrades in the Cintas Center. We anticipate the upgrades to be installed no later than the start of the 2010-11 season.

August 25, 2008
First of all, thanks for taking questions from lowly fans like myself. I am an 01 XU grad & enjoyed the ticket packs that were available for men's basketball last year. Unfortunately I know it's not possible for me to make it to all of the home game's so instead of buying season tickets the ticket pack's were a great option. If available I plan to purchase both a six pak & 4 pak. Do you anticipate offering the ticket pak's again this year? Again thanks for reading my question & all you do for Xavier athletics.
- Tim from Cincinnati

Answer
We will once again offer multiple min-plan options. We will announce those plans in mid-September. Currently we are selling full season tickets, which is the only way to guarantee the same reserved seat for every home game. There is more information on the ticket page of GoXavier.com.

August 22, 2008
Back in the early 90's, the men's team used to make a trip to Batesville, IN for an exhibition/practice prior to the season. With the team popularity growing each year, what do you think about making some pre-season trips to the edges of Xavier Nation and spreading the Bigger Blue Word?
- David from Maineville, Ohio

Answer
The men's basketball team used to hold an annual intrasquad scrimmage at Batesville High School in Indiana. Dr. Bill Daily set up the annual event, including a stop for the team at a local restaurant afterwards. The NCAA, though, no longer allows those types of scrimmages. We continue to examine and explore ways to reach out to our fans in other areas, including appearances at alumni functions and other fan events in key parts of the country.