Photograph by David Ritter
When Saint Louis University introduced Rick Majerus as its new men’s basketball coach in April, the school immediately embraced him as if he were the cuddly Billiken mascot he faintly resembles. Most coaching stints begin with these warm fuzzies. The trick is finding a way to maintain that lovey-dovey relationship.
As Majerus’ first season in St. Louis begins, the big question isn’t “Will his team play well?” as much as it is “Will he and SLU president Rev. Lawrence Biondi play nice?”
If Biondi is ready to put the necessary resources into the program for Majerus—he seems willing, after handing over a $1 million–per–year contract that makes Majerus the highest-paid coach in the Atlantic 10 Conference—there should be no major impediments keeping the two from coexisting. Just in case, though, here are five things Majerus can do to stay in SLU’s good graces and keep control of his own locker room.
1. Put butts in the seats
Former SLU coach Brad Soderberg knows that underwhelming attendance is no laughing matter. Soderberg got canned despite winning 20 games last season, SLU’s best total in nearly a decade. He was a capable coach but never generated much of a buzz about Billiken basketball—a fatal flaw, considering the school is set to unveil its new $80.5 million Chaifetz Arena next fall. Majerus is much more animated than his predecessor was, and the university will have no problem using him as a selling point to draw fans and recruits.
2. Invite his ESPN pals for a visit
Only four of the Billikens’ 33 games last season appeared on national television, and none of them was on ESPN’s main network. Majerus is a well-recognized personality in the sport and spent the past three years working as an analyst for ESPN, so with his star power, it won’t take much arm-twisting to get his teams on the tube. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to remind his former colleagues at the worldwide leader that SLU plays big nonconference games at Pittsburgh and Boston College this year.
3. Become pals with the new A.D.
This assumes the position will be filled sometime soon. Cheryl Levick, the former athletic director, left shortly after Biondi overruled her and fired Soderberg. Even as the school was introducing Majerus, Levick made it clear that she thought Soderberg deserved another season. Her eventual replacement must understand and accept the lay of the land at SLU. The key qualification will be to handle taking orders from Biondi, and the first order will be to work well with Majerus.
4. Beware of The Hill’s lure
When Majerus coached at the University of Utah, he lamented that none of the Italian restaurants in town had a name that ended in a vowel. He won’t have any problem finding a delicious and authentic Italian meal in St. Louis, but he needs to keep from becoming a regular patron of those establishments if he wants to stick around. Majerus, 59, has failed to finish three of his 20 seasons because of health issues, and he accepted the head job at USC in 2004 only to bow out a few days later. Is he ready to handle the grind of coaching again? Majerus says he has become more health-conscious in recent years, but whether he’s changed his ways enough to make it to the end of his six-year contract remains to be seen.
5. Win
The easiest way to generate excitement about a program—and to keep the boss happy—is to win. That can also be the toughest. Luckily for Majerus, winning has been second nature. He’s a master at drawing up X’s and O’s, and he has compiled a 422-147 record in 20 seasons. He won’t exactly be starting from scratch in St. Louis; center Ian Vouyoukas is the lone significant loss from last season’s 20-win team. It’s not unthinkable that Majerus’ first SLU team could earn an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, a place the Billikens have been only six times in school history. The last visit came in 2000, when they lost to Majerus’ Utah team in the first round. Come to think of it, maybe Majerus didn’t start off on the right foot with Biondi after all.
