BOKC Wildcat

I have all the respect in the world for Kenny Shields, one of the greatest people I have met in my life. He still attends a number of NKU basketball games and is the King of N. Ky. Sports as far as I am concerned. Coach was talking with us last week about the NKU attendance and had two great points to consider. A gentleman named Joe Wind who is NKU's lobbyist in Frankfort helped land the arena funding with the promise to politicians NKU would declare for Division I when the facility was built. Kenny said they were about to, but the NCAA placed a hold on any teams reclassifying to Division I around 2007 and President Votruba could not follow through. Meanwhile, the state decided to give NKU the funds to build a 9,000 seat arena when NKU had only been trying to get 4,000 or so. Kenny said no one from NKU ever wanted a 9,000 seat building, but they gave them to money so how do you turn it down? I agree. The NKU people knew they could never consistently draw more than 2,000 or thereabouts, but they could not refuse the money Frankfort gave them to build the arena. Kenny also told us NKU would prefer to play their women's games in Regents Hall except for the fear of their old-time women's basketball-only boosters who would pitch a fit if that happened. I did not know this, but he explained their are some NKU faculty and staff that only root for women's basketball and consider men's basketball a secondary sport. That is absurd thinking, but he said it's true and the men vs. the women battles have gone on since they started women's sports in the 1970s. All that said, Coach thinks playing in Regents Hall would be better for the girls because instead of having 9,000 empty seats they would have a loud advantage in Regents Hall with 800-900 fans. I agree with this logic. The other night vs. Stetson, the NKU women had their best crowd of the season with an ACTUAL count of 814 (I do not know what they put down for public consumption, but 814 is how many people actually attended the game). That crowd would have been great in Regents Hall. Kenny says UK plays their women games in Memorial Coliseum. Why can't NKU do the same for their girls in Regents Hall?

My younger brother played at Lex. Lafayette with Dirk Minnifield and Tony Wilson in 1977, and they played Newport. I remember game at Newport and they had a 6-6 guy named Mitch McIntosh who could score on anyone. I have the box score here from the Npt/Lafayette game and Npt. also had Leonard Slaughter, Darrel Bedford, Dave Schlosser, Bill Weier, Clint Miller as players who scored. I would bet Mitch McIntosh is the player you mention for Newport. Dirk had 20 in this box score and Newport rolled over the Generals.

I know Mike and can tell you he will never coach again. Sad, but true. I agree he could turn the CovCath program into a Highlands beater, but Mike has other battles to fight other than football parents and fans.

What about the dirty referee named Dangerous Danny Davis? Quick counts for the heels, slow counts for the faces! lol

I just asked my co-worker and he said to put out this question: "Who is running the CovCath weight and conditioning program right now?" Hmmmmm. Any assistant coaches left at all?

Is Lynn Ray still an assistant?

UK by at least 25 points. Wish I could watch but we have an NKU vs. Stetson women's basketball game at the BOKC tonight. UK will probably win by more points than we will have fans in attendance! lol.

And, just FYI, SMG employees are NOT paid by NKU. It's like saying someone who works for McDonald's will be terminated for giving out information on Burger King secrets. You probably know something about McDonald's or Burger King as potential employees I am assuming? lol

Ask around about the assistant coaches as it sounds as if that will answer the questions.

One of the BOKC people with CovCath connections said the principal gave Wirth an order to let go of 2-3 assistants and Wirth refused. That is why he is out, according to one of the BOKC folks with inside to CovCath doings.

He obviously did not bother reading all the posts previously in the thread. Hope he looks over his monthly bills with more detailed attention. lol!

Interesting take. Why does that matter to them? Is someone going to advertise with them because they have 2,000 listed instead of the ACTUAL count of 1,300?

I don't need a resume - or a job. I already served our country 31 years and have plenty of money. Obviously, you can't say the same. Wuff, Wuff! lol

You are not older, certainly not wiser than me. You are probably a know-it-all when you know little. Like the guru said earlier, a Chihuahua! lol. FYI - I work part time and the SMG folks are great to work for. Funny part of your comment is while I served that night in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983, you were snuggled up in some college dorm acting like you were someone. Grow up, Chihuahua! lol.

Well, either no one has any answers or no one cares about Thomas More football! lol! My guess is a little of both. Maybe that's why he left for LaSalle, I'm sure there is more interest in the Lancers football than TMC!

Any TMC fans know why? Is it salary? Is it a step up to a Division 2 high school in Ohio? Is it related to what happened with his wife and the NKU scandal last fall? Does anyone know?

I know nothing about Ashland's situation. Can't answer.

This just in - looks like the NKU President is at it again, and the SGA President is trying to cover up Mearns' buffoonery! Link with story! That poor Jose kid is being manipulated by the NKU higher-ups, another example here! The Northerner : Jose hushes rumors about new rec facility employment Jose hushes rumors about new rec facility employment Gavin Colton SGA President John Jose shows students how to sign the petition to #SaveOurRec. Jose held a forum Friday, Jan. 23, to discuss recent news of NKU's outsourcing of management for the Campus Recreation Center. Gavin Colton, Reporter January 23, 2015 Filed under Breaking News, Featured Story, News Students and employees are concerned about the future of the Campus Recreation Center (CRC), the largest employer of students on campus. With submissions open for bid from private firms to take over management and operations of the facility, students and employees have expressed their discontent with the possibility of students’ jobs being cut. SGA President John Jose held a public forum today to inform students about management plans for the newly renovated Campus Rec. Jose wanted students to know how important of an issue the future of students’ jobs is to his office. He also wanted students to know how transparent he and his office are being with the student body. “When you all elected me as student body president last year, that’s something I harped on [transparency to the student body],” Jose said. “No matter how tough the issue might be or what it will be, I still need to inform you guys of what’s going on.” Jose’s purpose was to inform students of the facts surrounding the issue and of a petition SGA has created to keep staffing and management the way it currently is without a third party. SGA hopes to get 7,500 signatures on the petition. “I want to suppress the rumors and what people have been hearing through the grapevine,” Jose said. As of now, the university has submitted a request for proposal (RFP) for a private firm to come and submit a bid on how they would run the CRC. He told students that President Mearns has assured him that this [a third-party takeover] is not a done deal. “They would have to be in a far superior state than we are now [for us to pick a third party],” Jose said, quoting Mearns. “We will still own the building,” Jose said. “This is just to see who will run the everyday logistics, operations, management and programming of the facility.” Submission is open until Feb. 4th 2015. The $45 million, student-funded project will continue to be paid off for another 16 years. Current staff in the CRC have an opportunity to submit and they are currently making their own RFP to be submitted to the university according to Jose. The SGA President wanted to be very clear that he has spoken to President Mearns, and nobody has been fired or lost their job. In 2007, students started requesting additional space in the CRC, according to Jose. “On Oct. 11, 2010, SGA passed a resolution for a feasibility study to make sure NKU was equipped to expand the recreational facility, and who was going to pay for it,” Jose said. The findings from the study came back on March 10, 2011 and they gave NKU the go ahead to start building the new facility, but at the students’ expense. SGA held open forums from March to April of 2011 to inform students of this proposed new facility and expenses. “On the SGA ballot that same year, students could vote if they were agreeing to introducing the fees so that we could expand our rec center,” Jose said. “The majority of students said yes on the vote.” SGA recommended the expansion to the Board of Regents and Council for Post-Secondary Education, which looks over all the public institutions in the Commonwealth, and they approved it as well, according to Jose. At the end of the same year, the Board of Regents approved the proposed rates. “Fifty-one percent of students have used the CRC,” Jose said. “Last year alone over 7,000 distinct users used the the facility. It was expanded because it was too small for the growing student population.” “The rec center expansion is a $45 million dollar project that is nearing its completion by August 2015,” Jose said. “It is funded by all 16,000 students on this campus.” Students who are enrolled in 12 credit hours pay $384 a year towards the building of the new facility according to Jose. “We are still in the process of waiting to see who will submit bids for our rec center,” Jose said. He empathized with current CRC staff and other student workers about how unsatisfactory this can be; how they have no idea whether they will have jobs in the next six months or not. “I think student jobs are a very big part of this campus, I think that it is what feeds our campus and makes us very unique,” Erin Donohue, sophomore BFA musical theatre major said. “I think our students definitely depend on these jobs. I know so many people who work here and their rent depends on it.” Jose stressed the importance of solidarity of students at this time, as well as arguing the case in the right way, should the bid be given to a third-party firm. “We need to make sure that we argue this as a student standpoint, from student perspective,” Jose said. He pleaded with students that they should not turn on the administration or President Mearns. The current renovations will not be affected by the the RFP process. Either way, Jose is confident that the number of jobs will increase with the expansion of the new facility. “You shouldn’t hate President Mearns. This is not an NKU Administration versus students issue,” Jose said. “They are just doing their duty to see what could be most effective for our student population.” “Obviously they’re looking at bringing on third parties to try and improve on some of the things that current students and leaderships are doing there,” Benjamin Reed, junior history major said. “I’d be pretty upset if students in management lose jobs. If a third party did come in and there were benefits to the students and the university such as financial or better leadership or better run rec center, then I’m okay with that as long as some of the standards are met, such as students keeping their jobs.” On Feb. 4 when the submission is closed there will be a committee put in place to review proposals. Jose stressed the importance and need for having a student on the review committee. THE RFP can be found on the NKU website and shows what companies need to be able to do in order for their submission to be considered by the Board of Regents. Past Bid, Quotes & RFPs: Northern Kentucky University, Greater Cincinnati Region Jose went through the RFP requirements in brief with students. “It is the intent of NKU to enter into a five-year contract with the successful responsive and responsible bidder to manage that and will be able to help build and maintain a high-quality collegiate recreational program that will be operated in a student-focused, customer-focused, and financially responsible manner,” Jose said. RFP Requirements Respondents must be qualified collegiate recreation management firms that provide comprehensive recreational sport and fitness programming to students, faculty, staff, and guests. Respondents must provide a student development model for recruiting, hiring, and training student employees. Respondents must provide learning outcomes and how these outcomes will be measured. SGA Plan of action Inform and educate the student body. SGA will be presenting at student organizations’ meetings starting Monday Jan. 26. Social media campaign. #SaveOurRec. SGA encourage students to tag @PresidentMearns on Twitter. Petition. SGA hopes to get 7,500 signatures petitions.com - petitions Resources and Information. - See more at: The Northerner : Jose hushes rumors about new rec facility employment

According to the I-Team report in the link above, NKU's President attempted to cover up Hilvert's theft of the money. When this story broke a few months back the SMG brass warned all of us to say nothing if the reporters showed up asking about her because she was always in the BOKC with the dancers for games. She was a nice lady, very friendly, but so was the athletic director from a couple years back named Scott Eaton and he also got caught stealing. That said, Jim Hilvert might not have known about the theft. Maybe his wife controls the purse strings in the house. I DO NOT think it is any type of violation for colleges, but someone else can speak to that better than me.

Complicated question. If the coach is REALLY running them off, a principal should get the facts. If the coach is doing a good job of teaching, is ethically running the program and kids are leaving because they are spoiled or too lazy to work hard, as principal I tell said players to hit the road. If coach is not doing a good job teaching the sport and/or is unethical, that is a sign something is wrong and change might be in order. Too many variables in your question. What school we talking about?

Agreed. But did he know? That is what I am asking. If my wife brings home $6,800 extra buck sna says we're going to Disney World on her, I might ask a question or two. How about you?

This whole situation stinks. lol!

As a Henry Clay grad, I say as long as they are teaching the kids how to play and are examples of integrity, they keep their job. High school coaches do not control the talent level - unless you are at Trinity, St. Xavier, LexCath, among others - so why fire a coach who has no talent if he/she is doing thing right?

If there is any connection, poor background checking by La Salle High School! Could also be a coincidence I suppose.

This might answer some questions. See below. She is his wife. Money spent was for a family vacation. Did Jim Hilvert know at the time? Link to story by I-Team. Jennifer Hilvert: Fired Northern Kentucky University dance coach now under criminal investigation - Story