University of Richmond Athletics
Quotes from Mooney's contract extension
04/05/2010 | Men's Basketball
April 5, 2010
Opening Statement:
Head men's basketball coach Chris Mooney:
"Well, thank you for coming out. I really appreciate you being here. First I'd like to thank Dr. Ayers for extending this offer to me and my family and also for his personal involvement that he has had in this process . I'm thrilled to be the basketball coach here at Richmond especially now as we are building in our program and I think that we can do great things. The reason that I'm staying has nothing to do with the typical reasons you read about in the newspapers or the reports. It has nothing to do with conferences or facilities or charter flights. If I had to give a list of reasons they would all be names Dan Geriot, Kevin Anderson, Justin Harper and Kevin Smith. It would be a list just of names of people that I want to be associated with and see them succeed. At the top of the list the name would be Jim Miller. Not just for his support through the last few weeks of this process and through this past season , but for his support in the whole time I've been here. I want to thank the members of the administration for their support and I'm thrilled to be here."
On informing the players:
"Well not all of them were there because it was a Friday night and a couple of them had either gone home or not been available Friday evening. But the meeting was good. I felt they were nervous and that I think their anticipation was that I was going to take it. I just wanted to tell them personally and not have them read about it. I'm sure they had read about a lot of this stuff going on beforehand but I think that they were very excited and very relieved."
Interview being a distraction:
"Well, no question. I think these things become not only a distraction but they take some energy and some effort and there hasn't been as much time to enjoy the past season that we just had. Now we're excited. We're going to start our individual workouts later this week and talk to the recruits. We're excited about those guys that are coming in, excited about not only about the program and of the team we have next year, but the program that were building you know long into the future."
How is this contract extension different from last year's:
"Well the contract is longer. I would say this one is better, better for me. (laughs). I had always thought and I mentioned this to the players too, that if somebody was interested in talking to you no matter who it was , that I would listen. It might be because of the area of the country or something special or unique that a particular school might be able to offer, certainly Boston College offers a great deal. It was just more that that afternoon. That evening coming back was just more thinking about our team and our situation at Richmond. Also, our players and the support that we have. The more I thought about it, the more I didn't want to give up those things. As exciting an opportunity as it might have been, I didn't want to give up those things and I didn't want to see Kevin Anderson and Dan Geriot play next year on a television from a far. I wanted to be there."
What not taking the extension might say about [the strength of] the A-10:
"Well it mostly speaks to the University. [Moving the team] to the A10 was a great decision and probably puts our basketball program in the position to have this happen. I think that the A10 is one of the very best conferences in the country and that we hope that we are building and becoming one of the very best in our conference. I think this is a good indication of that and hopefully next year season will be a better indication of that."
On possibly getting another offer from a BCS program this time next year:
"No, and this is honest, I haven't necessarily thought about it like that. I said as much as it might seem that I had this very quick upward rise I was also a high school and a Division III coach. I recognize how special it is to be a Division I head coach, period. Let alone at a place like Richmond. I think my goal would be more to coach in the Final Four. So as we see this year that isn't necessarily restricted to BCS teams."
How does the contract affect recruiting?
"It does affect recruiting. There's a certain checklist. Do you have these things? Do you travel this way? Are you sponsored by this shoe company? You want all those checked. So, to have a seven-year contract and be out recruiting is a distinct advantage for me and our program."
Using the BC interest as a selling point to recruits:
"Definitely. When the time comes down to it, it will be important. When a recruit might be choosing between us and a BCS school, I think I can tell them, `I chose Richmond.' I hope we plan to use that. Hopefully it will work."
Any contact with the three incoming players regarding the interview situation:
"Those guys have been good. Like anybody else, they read the paper and they had their concerns. So they're relieved. It just reaffirms their commitment to Richmond as I make my commitment to Richmond."
