Why would Scott Drew Leave Baylor?

Beyond all the obvious factors, there are two more immediate reasons I think Drew isn't going anywhere any time soon:

1. The new arena

2. Mulkey is gone

He "won" the arena battle, in the sense that in location and size it's exactly to his specs. And the atmosphere in the shared basketball program is noticeably lighter and presumably more to Drew's taste with Collen replacing Mulkey.

If Baylor dug in its heels and refused to build a new arena, and Mulkey continued her vocal hegemony over the athletic program, yeah, I think Drew maybe gets a little interested at the other side of the fence. As it is, we've given him everything he's wanted. If he leaves after that, there's really nothing we could've done anyway.

Drew is a perfect fit for Baylor & vice versa. I cannot see him leaving for any reason other than health issues which might force a retirement. But he is young & that is very unlikely.

I don't see him leaving either. One might say well some school could offer a bunch of $, but CSD has been coaching along time. He probably is doing fine $ wise. My guess is he will want to try to win a few more nattys here and then retire from Baylor. Not jumping like Mulkey did, but jumping into retirement.

I'm sorry to hear that there may have been any animosity between the two BB programs in the past. I innocently thought we wee one big happy family.

Glad his alma mater is Butler and not Indiana. Helps that his university isn't a blue blood that could one day come calling to revive a program. We are so fortunate to have him.

The train is full steam ahead, zero reason to leave other than if Drew wants to do another rebuild for the challenge. Fan support could be better for sure, but he would have already left if that were a major reason.

Animosity is probably not the right word, but Drew and Mulkey ran their programs in two extremely (extremely) different ways, and there was some fraying behind closed doors, especially in the last 5 years or so. Drew was full steam ahead on the Mack Train, but Mulkey chafed under his leadership and got increasingly more agitated and vocal about her displeasure at not being given the complete free hand she had under McCaw.

Drew has a contrite, kind and low-ego character. Mulkey's high-ego brashness would have been off-putting to deal with, even at a remove, for 15 straight years. It would wear on anyone who was that dramatically different in composition.

When a shared facility like the arena bubbled up, and the two of them were at opposite polls, it was a clear turning point - Drew sided with Mack's vision and Mulkey found herself on the outs. She'd drawn a red line across her on-campus demand - to say nothing of her opinions on its build - and when Mack crossed it, her ego didn't allow her to back down. And this itself was merely a manifestation of the larger issue in her mind.

All this to say, I wouldn't feel so steady about Drew wanting to finish his career at Baylor with Mulkey in the mix indefinitely. With her out of the picture, I can imagine a weight is off.

ABC BEAR said:

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I'm sorry to hear that there may have been any animosity between the two BB programs in the past. I innocently thought we wee one big happy family.

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She was difficult. Fierce, competitive, successful. But difficult. Not sure I'd call it animosity per se, but it was an added hassle.

More money?

Brian Ethridge said:

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TellMeYouLoveMe said:

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ABC BEAR said:

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I'm sorry to hear that there may have been any animosity between the two BB programs in the past. I innocently thought we wee one big happy family.

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She was difficult. Fierce, competitive, successful. But difficult. Not sure I'd call it animosity per se, but it was an added hassle.

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Listen to the Tang interview this week. Very telling.

https://sicem365.com/s/11696/the-culture-of-joy-is-about-winning-the-game-of-life-jerome-tang

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A transcript of the relevant part in case anyone is curious:

"I ain't going to lie, it's so much more pleasant around the office. We can go in their gym, they can go in ours. We can be in the weight room when they're in there. They're in there working out in the morning, they do staff workouts when we're in there lifting together. There is a peace that exists."

Also told a story about how as soon as Mulkey left, Scott had the name plates taken off the two HC parking spots and just had "head coach" put on both so they could park in either one. The first day Nicki was there she took the second spot a little further away from the arena.

"I took a picture of that and sent it to Scott and said, 'She's one of us.""

Different atmosphere.

I doubt very seriously that anything Kim ever did in the last 20 years would have any effect on Drew's decisions with MBB, except to motivate him to keep working hard for the MBB to win a National Championship.

The posts above are informed and accurate.

Parch, what a great, non emotional, detailed explanation. Thank you!!! This all rings 100% true
on every level to me. Mulkey is a force of nature and what she did for Baylor was amazing. But still, there is no doubt she is strong willed, to say the least….
Thank you for your clear exposition on this!

Kim was always fiercely defending of all things Baylor even during the periods when many of our fair weather fans wouldn't wear Baylor gear in public. I will always appreciate and admire her for that. The times I met her away from the BB arena, she was warm and gracious with her time when conversing with my disabled daughter, which I also appreciated since she really didn't have to do that but did so by choice.

why not?

the many reasons that he should NOT leave are a good reason TO leave.

In fact, I would wager that today is his FINAL game at Baylor.

Leave on top and have 'em begging for more.

Name his price at ANY school and he is hired.

Smart move Drew.

and THANKS for the good work over the decades and best of luck at **********.

- KKM

{ sipping coffee }

William: thanks for your usual post that requires Intergalactic interpretation (and I haven't figured it out).

Does Duke have a coach in waiting? If so, I'm not worried about Coach leaving.

parch said:

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Beyond all the obvious factors, there are two more immediate reasons I think Drew isn't going anywhere any time soon:

1. The new arena

2. Mulkey is gone

He "won" the arena battle, in the sense that in location and size it's exactly to his specs. And the atmosphere in the shared basketball program is noticeably lighter and presumably more to Drew's taste with Collen replacing Mulkey.

If Baylor dug in its heels and refused to build a new arena, and Mulkey continued her vocal hegemony over the athletic program, yeah, I think Drew maybe gets a little interested at the other side of the fence. As it is, we've given him everything he's wanted. If he leaves after that, there's really nothing we could've done anyway.

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The Roman Catholic Church converts to Protestantism, offers Drew the dual position of Pope and basketball coach. Drew realizes he doesn't have a church league championship under his belt and therefore accepts the position. Outside of that, I just don't see it happening

Reverend said:

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William: thanks for your usual post that requires Intergalactic interpretation (and I haven't figured it out).

Does Duke have a coach in waiting? If so, I'm not worried about Coach leaving.

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Yes they do

william said:

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why not?

the many reasons that he should NOT leave are a good reason TO leave.

In fact, I would wager that today is his FINAL game at Baylor.

Leave on top and have 'em begging for more.

Name his price at ANY school and he is hired.

Smart move Drew.

and THANKS for the good work over the decades and best of luck at **********.

- KKM

{ sipping coffee }

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You must be drinking/sipping some high powered coffee there as that is a new way to look at all this. Anyway, I'm not worried.

I really don't understand calling the new arena location "off campus". Yes it is on land that was not previously a part of campus but it is next to campus and if anything it is an expansion of the campus. If anyone ever asks me if Baylor's new arena is "on campus", I am going answer yes and would feel comfortable taking a lie detector test after doing so.

NashvegasBear said:

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I really don't understand calling the new arena location "off campus". Yes it is on land that was not previously a part of campus but it is next to campus and if anything it is an expansion of the campus. If anyone ever asks me if Baylor's new arena is "on campus", I am going answer yes and would feel comfortable taking a lie detector test after doing so.

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It'll be closer to the dorms than the Ferrell Center was. Sure you have to walk under 35 but it is basically on campus.

Campus was expanding in that direction before the announcement of the new arena. The new welcome center is being built right next to I35 on land that was not previously owned by Baylor. It's closer to the dorms and they are redoing some walk ways along the Brazos to make it more pedestrian friendly. Personally, I love the new location. It's not a far walk from a lot of restaurants or bars in down town.

Mulkey knew where the most likely location was while she was still here and still referred to it as "downtown" in interviews despite the fact that it's literally a stone's throw from the Garage Majal, which I always found odd.

But she was opposed to having it on the opposite side of 35 not just because she wanted the building and her offices to stay "on campus," but because she did not support the city raising taxes to even partially fund the project. She cited her status as a "tax-paying citizen" and thought it should be 100% donor/Baylor funded. Weird hill to die on for your own brand new arena.

she spent too long never really reporting to anyone but herself.

parch said:

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Mulkey knew where the most likely location was while she was still here and still referred to it as "downtown" in interviews despite the fact that it's literally a stone's throw from the Garage Majal, which I always found odd.

But she was opposed to having it on the opposite side of 35 not just because she wanted the building and her offices to stay "on campus," but because she did not support the city raising taxes to even partially fund the project. She cited her status as a "tax-paying citizen" and thought it should be 100% donor/Baylor funded. Weird hill to die on for your own brand new arena.

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It just shows that it wasn't about the particular issue - it was about who had the power. It could literally have been anything. In the end, she picked a dumb issue.

ScottS said:

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william said:

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why not?

the many reasons that he should NOT leave are a good reason TO leave.

In fact, I would wager that today is his FINAL game at Baylor.

Leave on top and have 'em begging for more.

Name his price at ANY school and he is hired.

Smart move Drew.

and THANKS for the good work over the decades and best of luck at **********.

- KKM

{ sipping coffee }

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You must be drinking/sipping some high powered coffee there as that is a new way to look at all this. Anyway, I'm not worried.

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he's not leaving - he is in the position coaches dream of and work decades to get to.

he and his staff have built a 'destination program'. one of the select few out there.

now they can reap another 5 - 10 years of reward for their efforts.

- KKM

Brian Ethridge said:

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Pride is a tough pill to swallow.

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TellMeYouLoveMe said:

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she spent too long never really reporting to anyone but herself.

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So true on both counts. Such a shame.

The only way Drew leaves Baylor is via retirement or a stretcher....

Drew has NO reason to leave Baylor anytime soon. That's a fantasy for other Big 12 teams, other major teams we might play in future non conference games, & any team seeking a coach who can lead them to a natty.

With all do respect to the fan who started this thread, but really, it's ridiculous. How about," why would you beat your wife"?