NCAA Basketball St Louis

The NCAA is set to announce the host cities for the 2012 through 2016 Final Fours. Ten cities have put in bids for the event ... meaning half will go home disappointed.

Ranking the field:

1-Indianapolis: This is NCAA headquarters and they love having the Final Four here. Since the 2010 Final Four will be held in Indy, expect the new Lucas Oil Field to get the 2015 or 2016 event.

2-New Orleans: The NCAA loves N'Awlins (four previous trips) and it will have been at least a decade since the last one at the Superdome (2003). The dome seems to be in fine shape and they are also trying to land a Super Bowl in the (somewhat) near future. I think the NCAA gets this done in 2013 or 2014.

3-Phoenix: I think that Phoenix/Glendale is the next great stop for sporting events. The Super Bowl was a huge success a the new stadium and I think the Final Four would love to grab some of that. I see the 2012 or 2013 Final Four getting awarded here.

4-San Antonio: San Antonio has become a bit of a great place to have a Final Four. They have had three of them from 1998 to 2008. I think the love affair could continue with the 2016 event. However, one strike against the Alamodome could be that they have been there quite a bit of late.

5-North Texas: The new digs and the potentially amazing capacity makes this very, very attractive. Imagine over 100,000 watching the NCAA Championship game! It could happen. The strike against it could be the fact that this means over-Texas-ing this event (San Antonio in '08, Houston in '11 and now Dallas?). If Dallas pulls this off, it could steal San Antonio's bid down the road.

I think Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus is the early front runner for the understatement of the year award. After tonight's loss to George Washington, Majerus said:

"I thought GW played tough on defense. We had some issues. You have to credit GW for playing very well. We have some issues in terms of our offensive proficiency,"

Gee, you think? GW played tough defense and you guys had some issues? Yeah, I'd say so.

The final score was George Washington 49, Saint Louis 20, and the Billikens set the new record for fewest points in a game in the shot clock era. How bad were they? They missed 23 consecutive shots at one point. They finished 7-for-48 (14.6 percent) from the field. They went 1-for-19 from 3-point range. They trailed 25-7 at halftime.

The shot clock was introduced in 1985, and the previous all-time low was 21, once by Georgia Southern against Coastal Carolina in 1997 and once by Princeton against Monmouth in 2005.

But at least Majerus can be happy his team didn't break the all-time record. The fewest points ever by a Division I team was six, set by Arkansas State in 1945 and matched by Temple in 1973.

Wanted: One Athletic Director. Duties include oversight of non-revenue and Olympic sports. No football team. Oversight of the men's basketball team handled by the university president. Must be willing to accept direct meddling, blame and open knowledge by all of a lack of any actual power. Must also be willing to pretend the job is more than a stepping stone to a better opportunity. Ability to suck-up to rich donors, required. Low self-esteem a plus.

Cheryl Levick resigned as the Athletic Director (AD) at St. Louis University. She will be moving to the University of Maryland to be the chief of staff/executive senior associate director of athletics under Debbie Yow -- also a former AD at St. Louis.

Levick's time at SLU effectively ended in April, when Brad Soderberg was fired as basketball coach after Levick had recommended he be given one more season. The school's president, the Rev. Lawrence Biondi, overruled her and fired Soderberg. Then Biondi took over the hiring process that led to the arrival of Rick Majerus -- Levick never conducted a one-on-one interview with the coach -- and she essentially had been stripped of her authority. With the two most important decisions in the department taken away, her position at SLU was widely seen as untenable and her departure inevitable.

Levick lasted only 3 years at St. Louis. Her eventual replacement will be the 6th AD since Rev. Lawrence Biondi became President of St. Louis University in 1987. The two prior ADs moved to bigger jobs. Debbie Yow went to Maryland and Doug Woolard is now the South Florida AD.

If Rick Majerus can last until his press conference announcing him as the new basketball coach at St. Louis on Monday, then his tenure will be more successful than his stint at USC. So congratulations on that St. Louis, I guess.

So St. Louis, huh? Let's get this straight, Majerus had a chance to coach at either Long Beach State or Iowa and he instead chose St. Louis? Wow, he must have never been to St. Louis before. Because it is hard to imagine anybody in their right mind actually choosing to live there. (Unless, you are an allegedly murdering showgirl looking to move a football team.)

Majerus lives in Milwaukee to be closer to his mother, and that probably ended his dealing with Long Beach State, but why would he chose St. Louis over Iowa? That makes little sense. Not that it matters. Odds are that this marriage won't last. Having Majerus for two seasons would be quite an accomplishment. Hell, it wouldn't be a surprise if Majerus gets cold feet before Midnight Madness. This guy has flirted with many, many schools in the past and the comfy television gig (and free buffets) seem to be more to his liking anyway. This just can't end well, and St. Louis will likely fall way short of its goal of being a Top 50 program. At least proprietors of the city's BBQ segment should get a big boost. (Yeah, cheap joke, but had to be done.)

Inevitably, the report from Sports By Brooks report that rick Majerus is bound for St. Louis, is overshadowed (and that's not easy to do when the subject matter involves the voluminous Rick Majerus). The report also mentions that Majerus is on his way to St. Louis with his girlfriend. I'm just having trouble picturing his girlfriend. Well, not exactly. I, unfortunately am stuck with visions of Amy Poehler screaming "Rick! Rick! Rick!" at Horatio Sanz. The only difference is that Majerus can keep a straight face.

At this time, there is nothing on the St. Louis Billiken website, nor from Majerus' present employer, ESPN. I guess I have trouble believing Majerus is serious and will stay on the job until he gets past at least the first two weeks without changing his mind.

Previously on Fanhouse:
St. Louis Billikens Aim High -- For Now
Rick Majerus Could Be Next Coach at Saint Louis

It is now going on year 20 and 4 coaches since St. Louis University President, Rev. Lawrence Biondi's goal for having a perennial top-50 basketball program. Heck, that goal was listed in the Billiken press release when Brad Sodenberg was suddenly fired in mid-April.

It was determined that a coaching change is necessary if the University is to achieve its goal of consistently having one of the nation's top basketball programs.

There was something somewhat refreshing in the blatant honesty in the press release for firing the coach.

Because the success of the new Chaifetz Arena is largely contingent on the success of the men's basketball team, it is imperative that the team be led by a coach who we believe can establish a program that consistently vies for conference championships and engages in postseason play. The new head coach also must be committed to the University's history of following NCAA regulations and graduating its student-athletes.

Note, of course, that wins come first. The rest comes under, "also." The reason for the firing is clearly there. Money. The Billikens are moving into a new on campus arena and having 50% or less capacity as it has been at the Scottrade Arena won't cut it. They need real revenue that comes from a packed house.

Now you know why they are going after a name like Majerus. They need him. He's a name that generates instant credibility and buzz about a program that has made itself a nomad. Having been in 6 conferences in the past 33 years -- Missouri Valley until 1974; Metro to 1982; the now Horizon League (previously called the Midwestern Collegiate) through 1991; the Great Midwest/Conference USA (C-USA was a merger of the Great Midwest and the Metro) until 2004; and now in the Atlantic 10.