Sept. 6, 2002
Each Friday during the school year, VU director of media relations Mike Sheridan takes you inside the Villanova Men's Basketball program with notes, quotes and anecdotes from the Wildcats.
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Villanova's new senior associate athletic director Bob Steitz understands the process better than most. Men's Basketball Secretary Mary Ann Gabuzda knows the drill too. Both have spent years honing their responses to the unanswerable hoops query of late summer.
"Is there a schedule yet?"
Steitz, Gabuzda and everyone associated with the program has learned to smile when asked. They patiently explain that Big East Conference programs typically do not release their men's and women's basketball schedules until the middle of September.
Given that schools in other major conferences, such as the Big Ten and Pacific Ten, make public their slates in early summer, it is easy to wonder what the holdup is. After all, it can't be that difficult to pull together a few winter dates when you have access to your own building as Villanova does with the Pavilion.
Can it?
Oh, how it can.
Villanova assistant coach Brett Gunning used to be one of those not sure what all the fuss was about. While at Hofstra, Gunning was known to needle Tom Pecora, the man who handled that chore for head coach Jay Wright for the Pride. (Pecora subsequently succeeded Wright as Hofstra's head coach.)
"I'd be like T, what's the big deal?" Gunning remembers. "You make a few calls and you've got a schedule. He'd say 'just you wait until you have to do it.' Now I know exactly what he was talking about it. It's not simple."
Few comprehend this reality better than Steitz. For eight years prior to his July arrival at Villanova, the 44-year old Massachusetts native handled the scheduling for the Atlantic Ten Conference in his role as Associate Commissioner. Now at Villanova, he is the athletic department's point man on men's and women's basketball scheduling along with football scheduling.
"There are an incredible number of factors that go into building a schedule at both the conference and institutional levels," explains Steitz.
The process of assembling the 2002-03 men's basketball schedule actually dates back to the middle 1990s. That's when a deal was inked by Villanova to have the Wildcats appear in the 2002 Great Alaska Shootout. Such in-season fields are generally assembled 2-5 years in advance of the event. (In 2003 the 'Cats are already signed to appear in the Maui Classic.)
The business of a men's basketball schedule can essentially be divided into two parts. The first half of the slate, featuring non-conference duels that mostly fall in November and December, is the domain of men like Steitz and Gunning, the basketball staff's scheduling contact. Part two comes courtesy of the Big East and associate commissioner Tom Odjakjian and is subject to the needs of 14 member institutions.
"I'm not sure if people are aware that this process actually begins in April," Steitz notes.
Telephone calls are exchanged over the course of months. Potential matchups are discussed and the Big East sometimes will lend a hand in arranging duels that have national television appeal.
Four opponents are locked in with the Philadelphia Big Five round robin series and dates and times must be arranged for those. A tournament like the Great Alaska Shootout counts for only one date this year (though that may change in the future because of evolving NCAA legislation). A return date is owed to Dayton after the Flyers appeared in the Pavilion last November. Then there are dates to fill in the Pavilion in November and December as well.
The non-conference schedule then can sometimes be essentially settled as early as June. Of course, that doesn't rule out last minute twists. This year, that came in the form of the Coaches vs. Cancer contest in New York on Nov. 15 that didn't take shape until after a court ruled on the NCAA legislation in late July.
"The Coaches vs. Cancer game is a home run for us," says Steitz. "For us to play against a school the caliber of Marquette on national television in a place that Jay has made a recruiting priority is a great thing. Prior to when the ruling came down, we made the Gazelle Group, which sponsors that event, aware that we would be interested if they were to expand the field. We were delighted when they called."
If assembling the non-conference lineup of games is challenging, the conference portion is downright vexing to Odjakjian and his lieutenants in Providence. Steitz lived that reality for eight years as he assembled games for the Atlantic Ten out of its Philadelphia office.
"The question is why does it take so long?" Steitz states. "The short answer is that there is no short answer.
"There are building considerations. Many of our schools in the northeast utilize public arenas which also house National Basketball Association and National Hockey League franchises. The television networks have to lock in their dates for those leagues and so those schedules get done first. We are next in line.
"From the conference perspective, you have to be attuned to academic calendars. Those can vary significantly. Some schools have special needs, like winter homecoming or exam weeks. You have to pay attention to the women's basketball schedule to make sure there are no conflicts with on-campus facilities. What other events are taking place in that city on that date? Is there a Springsteen concert that night? In the Atlantic Ten, we tried not to have our Philadelphia schools at home on the same date or playing at the same time so we weren't competing against one another for publicity.
"You also have to be cognizant of the fact each school has a certain number of television appearances that must be fulfilled. Then there is the matter of not having any team have more than two consecutive games at home or on the road."
To call this complicated is an understatement of immense proportions.
Once the conference produces a tentative league schedule, each institution is given a copy and is allowed to voice concerns.
"One thing you learn over the years is to keep notes on why you placed a specific game where and when you did," Steitz says. "It makes it a little easier to explain to coaches and administrators why that game is scheduled to take place where it is if a concern arises. And my experience is that when you explain the situation, the individuals involved are very willing to listen. The whole goal is to try to make it as equitable as possible for all of the member institutions.
"When you get to the comment phase, it's very difficult to move a game. One move creates a domino effect that impacts seven or eight other schools."
Steitz, Gunning and all of those involved in the 2002-03 process understand well the desire of the outside world to view the schedule. They realize fans have family functions to plan, events to organize, and even some road trips to contemplate. Plus, it's always neat to play swami and try to forecast just where the wins and losses may fall.
"I hope people know,'" Steitz says, "we're as eager to see this finalized as anyone. It's just a process that takes 4-5 months and you don't want to release anything prematurely. All 14 institutions need to be comfortable with this and that takes time."
And so, inevitably, we must ask: when can we expect to see a Villanova Men's Basketball 2002-03 schedule?
"Soon," says Steitz with a laugh. "It is 98 percent done but there are a couple of television issues that need to be worked out on the conference's part. We're almost there."
So now you know a little bit more about why the schedule isn't available for public consumption until September...
The tentative date for the annual Blue vs. White basketball scrimmage is Oct. 26. At moment the start time is targeted for late afternoon or early evening. The Pavilion will be the site...
Among those playing pickup basketball this week with members of the Wildcats on campus: former New Jersey Nets teammates Kerry Kittles and Keith Van Horn. Van Horn is in the area as he prepares for training camp with his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers...
Finally, the Notebook sends out warm congratulations to Coordinator of Basketball Operations Billy Lange. Lange will wed Alicia DiMarco on Friday evening (Sept. 6) in New Jersey.
