News From Terre Haute, Indiana

From the Press Box

April 29, 2007

From the Press Box: Prettyman not concerned about McKenna’s contract

TERRE HAUTE — Indiana State Director of Athletics Ron Prettyman’s men basketball coach hiring saga has gone from the palatable local buzz of Kevin McKenna’s introductory news conference on March 29, to sitting in his office doing the anonymously soul-crushing drone work of going through endless contract legalities.

“There’s just a lot of legalese to sort through,” Prettyman said Friday.

Soul-crushing might be pushing the metaphorical envelope a bit as far as Prettyman is concerned, but the fact remains that McKenna’s contract is not yet a done deal one month after he was hired, which is a concern to some Sycamores fans.

Prettyman said ISU fans shouldn’t fret. The lag time between McKenna accepting the job and negotiating the final details of the contract are not unusual in high-profile collegiate jobs.

“I think that whenever you are in the process of hiring a coach and you need to move quickly, you come to terms with general agreements,” Prettyman said. “The details come later and that’s where we’re at.”

Prettyman has declined to release salary details of the contract until it is done, though McKenna is believed to have a standard five-year deal.

Prettyman expects McKenna’s contract to be completed soon, negotiation continues between legal represents of McKenna and the ISU athletics department.

“There’s no concern this won’t get done,” Prettyman emphatically stated. “Kevin and I meet nearly everyday and there’s a great working relationship.”

McKenna hasn’t let the contract get in the way of progress. His assistant coaching staff is completed, and McKenna has been on the road recruiting to replace Clayton Vette’s scholarship in the April recruiting period that ends on Monday.

Prettyman has been impressed.

“He works hard he battles for his program, he’s very involved, everytime I walk by the office, the players are in the office talking to him or one of the assistants. He’s very visible, cares about the young men on the team,” Prettyman said.

• Saint Louis to MVC? — St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz reported last week that one of the requests new Saint Louis Rick Majerus had if he accepted the Billikens job was that SLU should rejoin the Missouri Valley Conference. The Billikens were in the MVC from 1937-1943 and from 1944-1974 and are currently geographic outcasts in the Atlantic 10.

Majerus will be introduced as the Billikens coach on Monday. None of the affected parties are commenting on the Valley, but it’s an intriguing possibility.

I think SLU is a slam dunk for the Valley. Geographically it is perfect. SLU is similar to other Valley private schools and it is building a new on-campus arena

It would solidify St. Louis as a Valley city. The MVC tournament has grabbed St. Louis’ attention without SLU, but there’s no guarantee the local interest remains if the Valley suffers a downturn, which could happen sooner than later with massive roster conference-wide change over next year, not to mention five new coaches.

There would be logistical problems with 11 teams, particularly with the amount of conference games. The Valley would either have a 20-game conference schedule, or have to abandon its cherished round-robin format, something it did from 1994-1996 when it had 11 teams before Tulsa left.

Twenty games, which the Big Ten is doing next year, is ideal. But the Valley would have to cram them into one week less than the Big Ten has because the MVC tournament starts a week earlier. As it is, the Valley basketball schedule is too packed. Twenty games would have to make pre-exam conference games a reality.

It’s a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of the advantages SLU would bring to the Valley.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
From the Press Box
Latest News
Multimedia
Like us on Facebook!
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
TribStar.com Poll
Front page
AP Video
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill Romney Campaigns Ahead of Claiming Nomination Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108 Romney Promises World's Strongest Military Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report 15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake Panetta: Asia the 'Project' for New Navy Grads Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing Obama Pays Tribute to Vietnam Veterans Beryl Knocks Out Power in Florida Raw Video: Memorial Day Aboard Intrepid Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
NDN Video
Los Angeles Bar Bans Bachelorettes Hamster Plays Dead Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend? LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field Man Dies Getting Lap Dance Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game Justin Bieber Wanted for Questioning for L.A. Scuffle J.Lo and Marc's Friendly Reunion Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff Jet makes emergency landing after debris falls off Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill Cynthia Nixon Ties the Knot Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump Keira Reveals Engagement Ring
Parade
Magazine

Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
  • -

    March 12, 2010

activity
Real Estate News