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Windy City Tournament? An Elusive Dreamby Joe DlugoszThe fans talk about it, dream about it and clamor for it. Yet it will probably never happen. I ask you though, to close your eyes and imagine for a second that eight of the Chicago area's Division I college basketball schools are competing in a weekend tournament. Play begins on Thursday and the weekend brings eight games in two days at the United Center. To many Chicago basketball fans it would be heaven. Keep your eyes closed. The field includes DePaul, Notre Dame, Illinois, Northwestern, Valparaiso, UIC, Chicago State and Loyola. Imagine the possible match-ups. Friend versus foe. National power versus struggling mid-major. Old high school teammates battling against each other. It would be bliss to any college basketball fan. "Exposure is what I like most about the tourney," says Luke Luecke, a graduate of Loyola Univeristy, "and the possibility of a big time upset, not to mention us playing DePaul once again. It would be great." Once we open are eyes, though, we see that the possibility of putting together a "Windy City Classic" is all but impossible. Why? Money, ego and scheduling amongst a host of other reasons. In all likelihood, the teams participating face the reality of losing a home date on the schedule. Losing home dates is not something many schools like to do, because home games are huge revenue builders. "We are already playing or have played several of the teams you mentioned," says Notre Dame assistant coach Sean Kearney. "Some of those can be important home games here." There is too much money involved for schools like Illinois and Notre Dame to give up a home date on the schedule. The appeal and exposure would have to be extraordinary for them to even consider it. Frankly, a local tournament just doesn't have the appeal of going to Hawaii to play top 25 competition on ESPN. Money, the driving force behind college athletics, is just one of the many obstacles, though. From the Daley regime in the mayor's office on down through the city's aldermen, there are plenty of egos in Chicago. Many university athletic offices in the area are no different. It is common knowledge that Northwestern and DePaul won't play basketball against Loyola because they have a feeling of superiority over the Ramblers. "Many athletic directors, and coaches, for that matter, have personal vendettas against certain schools," says Loyola sports information director Bill Behrns, "making some games impossible to schedule." It can get pretty ugly when some of the egos clash, too. For years DePaul and Illinois have been trading barbs. Former Illinois coach Lon Krueger even went so far as to insinuate that DePaul's recruiting practices were dirty. Who can forget the not so subtle Krueger saying, "DePaul doesn't do business the way we do business." It would take a whole lot more than the Windy City Classic to get those teams in the same gym. Ego clashes aside, many schools have other concerns. The RPI rankings, which play heavily in the minds of the NCAA selection committee, vary greatly with the proposed teams involved in this tournament. While Kearney says that Notre Dame is looking to renew their series with DePaul, he does mention that the RPI and strength of schedule are an important factor to the Irish. Obviously, taking on Chicago State (308 of 323 teams) or Loyola (217) can hurt the RPI of most teams. While bigger schools, such as Illinois and Notre Dame, often schedule a few "patsies," they are almost always home dates that have the promise of a sell-out. There is no way, in this age of college basketball, a big time program would play on a neutral court against a struggling mid-major. Loyola has played at Illinois two of the last three seasons with no mention of the Illini ever coming to Chicago. There would, literally, have to be a pot of gold at the United Center for the Illini to take on Loyola in that venue. I would sooner place money on a Cubs and Red Sox World Series than getting a Windy City Classic together. There are just too many obstacles to be overcome to get these eight teams into the same gym over a weekend. For as much as the fans would like to see it and for as much as coaches say it is a great idea, it just won't happen. While Kearney likes the idea he says Notre Dame's interest would be minimal. "As important as the Midwest is to us, we need to get a few games in other areas too." Revenue, scheduling and other petty differences, "makes such a tournament difficult to work out," says Behrns. However, "a tournament like that would drum up great local coverage and interest." Perhaps Valparaiso coach Homer Drew sums it up best in his short, but very accurate reply to the possibility of getting this tournament off the ground. "It would be great having a Windy City Classic," says Drew, "but scheduling is the chief concern and getting a date all could play-- good luck." I can close my eyes and picture it. If the local schools would open their eyes and see this is what the fans want, maybe, the dream could someday become reality.
Big Joe's Dream Thursday
Loyola at DePaul
Saturday
Loyola/DePaul winner
Valparaiso/Notre Dame winner
Loyola/DePaul loser
Valparaiso/Notre Dame loser
Sunday Championship Game Third Place Game Fifth Place Game Seventh Place Game
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Copyright 2001, John C. Thomas.
