Father Shanley Letter 1
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Transcript of Father Shanley Letter 1
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November 29, 2012
Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P.
President, Providence College
1 Cunningham Square
Providence, RI 02918
Dear Fr. Shanley,
We write this to you as frustrated Providence Alumni, Friar Fanatics, and disappointed
college athletic fans.
When we enrolled in Providence College in the fall of 2004, we knew we made the right
decision. From the Colleges rich history, Dominican traditions, unparalleled academicopportunities, a beautiful campus, and the Providence Friars Mens basketball team, we
knew we were right at home.
In our four years at Providence, we never missed one gamenot one. We stuck with our
team through some very difficult years. But thats because we believed. We believed we
were amongst the best and could compete with the likes of Syracuse, Louisville, UConn
and St. Johns. Thats what the Big East was founded on and is about tradition andcompetition with institutions like Providence.
In an ever changing college landscape, everything comes down to one issue: money.
Providence has had the fortune to hang with the best in the Big East, even without a
football team. But now, we believe, Providence College is at a crossroads. Our traditions
are at stake. We respectfully ask you to take a stand and defend those traditions and do
the right thingwork with your colleagues at other basketball-only institutions and workto form a basketball-only conference. This is the only way our traditions will be salvaged
and the Friar name relevant amongst college athletics.
With the losses of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, West Virginia, Notre Dame and
Louisville, and the unbearable additions of Tulane, Houston, Southern Methodist
University, and Central Florida (to name a few), Friar Nation is more vulnerable than
ever and losing credibility amongst recruits and fans (who financially support the Friars,
too). Many of our top recruits chose Providence because of the top-tier academics and
rich basketball tradition. That tradition will always remain, but our relevance, long-term,
is becoming more and more endangered.
Its becoming endangered from headlines like this: from the Cincinnati Enquireron
Wednesday, one day after the ACC picked Louisville and not the Cincinnati
Bearcats: UC remains stuck in the Big East. Is that what we want? To be stuck in theBig East?
We both travel from Long Island and Albany, New York, respectively, to many Friar
games each year. Were Friar Fanatics for life. But theres less push for us to travel to
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Providence on snowy and cold nights when were playing the likes of Tulane and Central
Florida. As Friars, we share no tradition, prestige or accomplishment of any kind with
these schools. Were only two of many who would be less willing to make those trips to
support our Friars.
There are a multitude of options for you and fellow Presidents to consider movingforward. A basketball-only conference will give schools like Providence the opportunityto propel and focus on what made the Big East relevant. There is no question, no doubt in
our minds, that a group of schools can band together and create a powerful and very
special top-tier basketball conference. I speak for all Friar Faithful when I say this is
much more about money, television rights and perks. Its about keeping Friar basketball
and all Friar athletics relevant. We respectfully ask that you put the lucrative money talk
aside and focus on a strong and stable future.
There is certainly risk involved. But without risk, there is no reward. With a basketball-
only conference, we certainly see reward, growth and opportunity to become an absolute
force in college basketball.
We realize that we are just two small voices trying to battle a monster that is conference
realignment. We realize that you have many other angles to consider besides ours, from
other college Presidents, donors, your Athletic director, to name a few. And while we areyoung and may not have a lot of money to support the college, we are part of a big team:
the Friar Faithful. We support these young men as much as we can by attending games.
We cheer in good times in bad. Thats what Friars do. As Coach Cooley says, Us, We,
Family, Together, Friars.
Thank you for taking the time to read our letter and we sincerely appreciate any
consideration you may give to our thoughts.
With warm wishes,
Nick Wilock([email protected])
Chris Hanley
Class of 2008
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
