In Defense of Drexel Basketball, The Second Draft
The Triangle recently published a piece written and/or co-signed by former DAC Pack presidents who saw the DAC Pack through some of their strongest years. The article eloquently commented on the past success of Drexel basketball and the fan support that surrounded it. The piece ended with optimism, explaining how students and alums can #TakeBackTheDac and take Drexel basketball and the experience surrounding it back to it’s glory. The co-signers of the article welcomed a chance to meet with President Fry to discuss how to #TakeBackTheDac.
Instead of a sit-down, president Fry wrote a completely idiotic piece in response that basically highlighted the glimmers of hope seen last year. He literally said nothing even the most casual basketball fan wouldn’t know. He basically said it would be nice to have a good team, but he’s not going to take any action to see that happen.
Fry has absolutely no idea how knowledgeable Drexel basketball fans in this community are. He wrote the piece as if we’ve never been to a game or seen the team play. If you are reading this and your name isn't Eric Zillmer, I’m confident you could talk circles around Fry when it comes to Drexel basketball, which is why he would never want to open that dialogue.
I paid a lot of money to graduate from Drexel a wiser person than I was when I walked in. So it really pisses me off that Fry talks to me like I’m a moron.
I took the liberty of jotting down some notes for Fry to think about before he has his assistant type up another letter to the Drexel basketball community.
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To the Editor (you’re terrified people actually care about this),
I appreciate the strong (wait, isn’t attendance horrible) support our men’s and women’s basketball programs have received from our alumni and students, and can assure everyone that no one wants to “Pack the DAC” (afraid to use a hashtag here, not presidential) more than me (lying).
In fact, the Daskalakis Athletic Center made history last season (the DAC made history and not the players? I’d take that as a slap in the face if I fought from 34 down) when the Drexel men’s basketball team mounted the greatest comeback in college hoops ever by beating the University of Delaware after trailing by 34 points (we know). The amazing comeback was the talk of ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and other national media. The men’s team also beat city-rival LaSalle University (they went 13-19 and fired their coach) (also, we know) last season and upset the University of Houston at the Paradise (Lynchburg, VA) Jam in 2017 (we know).
The DAC was rocking throughout last season when the Drexel women’s basketball team went undefeated at home, won the regular season Colonial Athletic Association title and hosted the tournament championship. Since Coach Denise Dillion took over in 2003 (long before me), the team has had 12 winning seasons and has been to the postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament tournament (he definitely rushed through this letter to hit the squash courts) the last five years in a row (we know).
While some (lol) years the teams win more games than others, just as at other universities, my support for our basketball program has never wavered (how many games did you attend last season?). The same goes for Drexel trustees.
Indeed, thanks to millions of dollars of University investment — and generous support by many donors — the DAC has been upgraded dramatically over the years to give our teams the best setting in which to succeed. The improvements include state-of-the art locker rooms, renovated offices, refurbished media room, VIP ($$$) suites and chair backs (plastic garbage) for fans. At the same time, attending basketball games at the DAC remains accessible and affordable (say you are a family of 4. 2 adults 2 children. Tickets alone, for those great chair backs, would run you $60. Before parking and food).
While it is always great to win, I am most proud of the fact that our basketball program — indeed, all our athletic teams (especially squash) — competes at the Division I level the right way. Our student-athletes are successful on the court and in the classroom. Our 10-year graduation rate of 91 percent exceeds the national average. (Schools with strong academics can have strong athletics as well).
I look forward to the upcoming season for our women’s and men’s teams (do you?). Coach Dillon has turned our women’s basketball team into a perennial conference powerhouse (we know) that is looking to return to the CAA championship and finish with a title this year.
The men’s team is coming off a summer exhibition trip to Australia (we know) as Coach Zach Spiker continues to build on his early success after coming here in 2016 from Army, where he tied for second with former Coach Bob Knight for the most wins at West Point and led the team to its first postseason since Mike Krzyzewski was the coach (we know) (good job checking out his bio on drexeldragons.com).
I appreciate the support of the DAC Pack (numbers dwindling) and all the fans who support men’s and women’s basketball (it certainly doesn’t feel that way).
John Fry