Chicago State Basketball

Chicago State University announced Tuesday that its men's basketball team will not travel for an upcoming two-game road trip and its women's basketball team will not host two upcoming home games over concerns about the spread of coronavirus.

According to The Associated Press (h/t ESPN), Chicago State said in a statement that the decision was made with the "health and well-being of the campus community in mind."

The Chicago State men's team was scheduled to face Seattle University and Utah Valley University in road games on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, while the Chicago State women's team was set to host Seattle and Utah Valley on those same days.

More than 100 cases of coronavirus have been diagnosed in the United States, including nine deaths. Each death occurred in Washington state, where Seattle University is based.

The Chicago State men's and women's basketball teams are reportedly believed to be the first teams in major American sports to cancel games as a result of coronavirus.

While coronavirus cases have recently surged in the United States, it is a worldwide issue with over 93,000 diagnoses in 70 countries and 3,100 deaths as a result of the virus.

Chicago State is currently undecided on whether its men's and women's basketball teams will participate in the upcoming Western Athletic Conference tournaments in Las Vegas, with a decision to be made later this week.

The school also noted that it is considering whether some of its other sports teams will have their travel schedules impacted by the coronavirus.

WAC commissioner Jeff Hurd told Stadium's Jeff Goodman that Chicago State officials are "seeking additional information" and are "officially undecided." Hurd added that if the Chicago State men's team does not play in the WAC tournament, No. 1 seed New Mexico State will receive a first-round bye.

Since the Chicago State men's basketball team is 4-25 (0-14 in WAC play) this season and the women's team is 1-26 (1-13 in WAC play), neither is expected to make much of a run in the tournament if they do participate.

The Chicago State Cougars will join the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2013, according to an announcement last week.

While this is a welcome opportunity for most CSU sports, I don’t feel that this is a good move for the basketball program.

For starters, the Cougars currently play in the Great West Conference, which has seen it’s fair share of turmoil. Two years ago the GWC had seven teams for basketball. Last year they cut down to six teams, and this year there are only five teams remaining.

After the 2011 GWC basketball tournament, the NCAA ruled that unless they can boost the conference to eight teams, they will no longer be allowed to host a tournament.

Aside from CSU, five other schools will also be leaving next summer. Once all of the moves are complete, the Great West will be left with one team, which puts the future of the conference in serious doubt.

Once Chicago State officially joins the WAC, it won’t be a pretty picture either.

That conference will be in rebuilding mode as they will be losing eight of their 10 current teams. Seven of those schools make up their football operations. After the current school year, the WAC will drop football from its list of fielded sports.

They will be without football for the first time in conference history.

When you consider that football is the WAC’s most profitable sport, the conference is sure to take a major financial hit.

The new teams that will join Chicago State in 2013 aren't much to cheer about either.

Texas-Pan American has not had a winning season since 2007-2008. They have had only two winning seasons since 2001-2002. At the moment, they are dead last in the Great West Conference.

Cal-State Bakersfield has only had one winning season since 2006-2007. Grand Canyon University will be moving up from Division-II, and history has taught us that this type of transition is not easy.

New Mexico State and Seattle University will now be the cornerstones for the Western Athletic Conference. So far, Utah Valley looks like the only other competitive team in next year’s WAC. The Wolverines have had seven winning seasons since 2004-2005, at the moment they are just one game below .500. It's not clear if that’s a good or a bad thing but we will soon find out.

Finally, we have Chicago State, an historically bad program with very few winning seasons in its entire history. 

It has also gone through one head coach after another. The most successful CSU coach to date has been former Chicago Bull Craig Hodges back in the mid-'90s.

Many consider CSU an eyesore on the landscape of Chicagoland college basketball, which has always had a rich tradition.

Current head coach Tracy Dildy is trying his luck to turn the program into a contender. Last year CSU compiled a miserable 4-26 record. This year, so far, the Cougars are 3-8.

They are already on pace to at least tie last year’s win total. But the main issue here is that going from one fledgling conference to another doesn't make any sense.

It especially doesn't make sense when you’re trying to bring your most profitable sport out of mediocrity and into national prominence.

I understand that the Western Athletic Conference will be the biggest conference they will play in to date. But when you combine the instability of the conference with the struggles of a desperate program, it looks like a no-win situation for all parties involved.

Aside from the business and historical aspects working against them, they will also have to endure a harsh travel schedule. Next year they will be the easternmost school in WAC history. That means that they will be spending a lot of time out west. Not only could it effect the academic side of things, but it will take a mental and physical toll on the players.

I agree that Chicago State needs a change of scenery, but I don’t feel that moving to the WAC is the change they need.

I think that staying in the region would suit them best.

I say that they should either go back to the Summit League, or join either the Horizon League or Missouri Valley Conference.

Unless you're known as a devout Kanye West fan, you've never heard of the Chicago State University Cougars or their 347th-ranked (in RPI) Division I basketball team.

Benjy Taylor wishes he had never heard of them, either. In three seasons as head coach, Taylor posted a 39-53 record—a huge improvement over the combined 119-421 record of the seven coaches before him—but led the team to their first winning season since 1986 before his firing was announced April 19.

Another snag in CSU's admirable pursuit of Division I noteworthiness, Taylor is the Cougars' sixth head coach to come and go since Chicago State moved up to the Mid-Continent Conference for D-I play in 1994.

With a 19-13 season that blew away all the sub-12 win seasons that the Cougars had reached since joining Division I competition, it looked like CSU had found their coach.

That was, until last season when the team moved over to the Great West conference alongside teams like North Dakota and Houston Baptist. Taylor lead his team to a 9-23 overall record and was promptly let go.

With Taylor's firing, Chicago State's Athletics Department has engaged in a proactive prowl for greatness.

They're serious about getting rid of coaches that can't cut it—they've done just that six times in 16 years—and they might have finally roped in the coach to get the job done.

The Search Is On

As the front of Chicago State's athletics webpage painfully reminds fans, the search for Taylor's replacement is still on—and at this point, the Cougars are alone.

They are the lone coachless D-I team according to a June 16 ESPN report , although the athletics department has, according to a source cited by ESPN, narrowed the field to three candidates: Illinois State assistant coach Paris Parham, University of Illinois-Chicago associate head coach Tracy Dildy, and acting head coach Matthew Muhammad.

Unless CSU is content with another 23 years of losing seasons, they'll offer Tracy Dildy the job. The competition doesn't even come close, and the timing is on the button perfect. Here's why.

Enter Dildy, Chicago Basketball Recruiting Superstar

A 19 year basketball veteran who has assisted at UAB, Ole Miss, Auburn, Ball State, and DePaul, Dildy has shown an unmatchable moxie for recruiting in Chicago.

From 1997-2001 he scouted a domineering force of recruits for DePaul that found a spot in the second round of the big dance in 2002.

Neither Muhammad nor Parham can boast such a resume.

Ever heard of Eddy Curry? Yeah, Dildy found him along with a slew of other NBA up-and-comers during his time at DePaul.

He is currently in charge of recruitment duties for UIC, a post that puts him in the stands of northern Illinois' junior colleges and high schools on a continuing basis, and he was named a top 25 Mid-Major Assistant by College Insider in 2009.

It's Dildy's time to prove his worth in Chi-town once and for all, and CSU offers up the perfect empty canvas.

With 11 of CSU's returning 14 players graduating after the 2010-2011 season, the recruitment timing couldn't be more perfect.

Grab Him Now Before Someone Else Does

UIC head coach Jimmy Collins' contract will expire after the 2010-2011 season, and his 8-22 2009-2010 season doesn't provide much hope for him as fans have already called for his exit.

Choosing Dildy, Collins' associate of three years, as Collins' replacement would be a no-brainer for cash-strapped UIC.

For Dildy, the chance to coach his alma mater and hometown team would no doubt be a no-brainer in its own right. Dildy knows his opportunity with UIC is quickly approaching.

Before those planets align, Chicago State University has the opportunity to offer Dildy, recruiter to the stars, the golden chance to turn a dead-end team into a Great West leader.

Dildy is the only candidate of the three with on-court head coaching experience at the D-I level (from his years as acting head coach at DePaul), he boasts a resume of tireless recruitment excellence—he knows Chicago's best kept secrets better than anyone around—and he'll be looking, harder than anyone else, to stake his place in Chicago college basketball history with the blankest of slates.

Give Dildy two years, and he'll change the (spotlight loving) face of Chicago State alumni.

Give him more, and he'll change the course of basketball in the city of Chicago forever.