De Paul against the wall?

DePaul Athletic Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto has stated her support for coach Jerry Wainwright. She points to the academic performance of the players, and Wainwright is very popular within the school. Ed Sherman questions how much longer the men’s basketball program can suffer the losing?

The Blue Demons are 0-16 in the Big East this year and 8-21 overall. They averaged only 8,149 fans per game at the Allstate Arena and had only one game where the home crowd exceeded 10,000. Ms. Ponsetto can’t ignore the bottom line. DePaul’s basketball program is the major source of revenue for the entire athletic department. Times already are tough enough without having to contend with the loss of income from a half-filled Allstate Arena.

Mr. Wainwright seems like a fine, upstanding guy, and DePaul isn’t anxious to pull the plug, considering his contract runs through 2012. However, the school also needs a basketball team that fills seats and makes money. I expect Ms. Ponsetto will stick with Mr. Wainwright for one more year. But the coach has to know he is on the firing line if he can’t turn around DePaul.

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