Hail to The RMU Colonials

The Robert Morris Colonials are Champions of the Horizon League!

If you have talked with me lately, or have been seeing my Facebook posts, you know that I have been caught up this winter following the fortunes of the men's basketball team of my Alma Mater, Robert Morris University.  At some point in mid-January, after starting with an 8-4 non-conference record and a blah 2-4 record in Horizon League play, the Colonials clicked as a team and caught fire.  They then proceeded to win 13 of their final 14 games, win the regular season Horizon League championship with a 15-1 record.  They concluded the regular season with an overall record of 23-8 and on a streak where they won seven straight games and thirteen of their final fourteen games.

We were able to see their HL Quarter-final game over Wright State 83-62 as part of a sellout crowd at the RMU Events Center last week. The atmosphere on campus that night was electric, and the game was as an exciting a sporting event as I have ever attended. Through the magic of ESPN, we then saw them defeat Oakland 79-76 in overtime in their semi-final game, and last night they put the cherry atop the sundae with an 89-78 win over Youngstown State.

It was the culmination of a season that saw Coach Andy Toole, and players Alvaro Folgueiras and Amarion Dickerson be named, respectively, Horizon League Coach, Player, and Defensive Player of the Year.

Before going any further, let me take you back five years, to March 10, 2020.  This was the night that RMU defeated St. Francis to win the Northeast conference Championship and secure a trip to the NCAA tournament. In THIS POST I said that that game that night was one of the reasons why you follow sports.  Later that same week, sports, the nation, and the world shut down due to the COVID pandemic, and the NCAA tournament was canceled.  Andy Toole has since said that this team being denied the chance to see their name on Selection Sunday and not being able to compete in the big Tournament, was the hardest thing he has had to experience as a coach.

That 2019-20 season was also RMU's last year in the NEC.  They began competing in the Horizon League the following year, and it has been hard sledding for the Colonials the first four years, but it all came together, unexpectedly so (they were picked to finish ninth at the beginning of the season), for the Colonials this year.  And it all culminated last night with the team cutting down the nets in Indianapolis. 

Winning the championship tournament in a mid-major conference is what schools like Robert Morris play for.  They will probably draw a seed in the area of 12th to 14th, and will probably play a power five school in Round One and will no doubt be a double digit underdog, but no matter.  They will have achieved the goal that every team sets for themselves at the beginning of the season: Win their conference and go to the Big Dance.  Whomever they play in that first round, will not be getting a cupcake.

In the universe that is college basketball in Pittsburgh, Robert Morris will always be the ignored little brother to Pitt and Duquesne, we all get that, but in a year where Pitt finished below .500 and got knocked out in the first round of the ACC Tourney, and where the Dukes haven't been able to follow up on the A-10 successes of last year, it was the Colonials who were the story, even if it did take the local sports media awhile to figure that out.  Also, as the Steelers suffered a flameout in round one of the NFL playoffs and currently don't know who their quarterback will be this coming season, where the Penguins are in the beginning stages of a rebuild and are in last place in their division, and where the Pirates are, well, the Pirates, you can definitively state, I believe, that the RMU Colonials Men's Basketball team has been the best Pittsburgh sports story so far in calendar year 2025.

#proudtobeaColonial #letsgoBobbyMo

POY Alvaro Folgueiras hoists the 

HL Championship Trophy

The Marilyn M. Sproule Memorial Endowed Scholarship

Most people reading this are no doubt aware that Marilyn and I met as students at Robert Morris College (now University) in 1972.  We graduated in 1973, me with a four year Bachelor's Degree, and Marilyn with a two year Associate's Degree.  We then began our working careers and were married in 1974.  It was Marilyn's goal to one day continue her education and get a four year degree.  However, life has a tendency to get in the way of things, and that particular dream of hers was never fulfilled.

In an effort to help other young college students fulfill their dreams, I finalized arrangements this week with Robert Morris University and there now exists at RMU the MARILYN M. SPROULE MEMORIAL ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP. 

The selection criteria for this Scholarship are as follows:

"The scholarship will be awarded to a sophomore, junior, or senior undergraduate student at Robert Morris University with demonstrated financial need. The recipient must be in good academic standing to receive and renew scholarship support."

I am excited beyond words to know that Marilyn's name will live on in perpetuity at our alma mater, and to know that financial awards in her name will help current and future students stay in school and complete their college educations at Robert Morris.

While it is not the intention of this post to solicit contributions for this scholarship - it is fully funded at this point - please know that should you desire to do so, contributions in Marilyn's honor towards this scholarship can be directed to the Development Office at Robert Morris University.  Such a gift should be  specified as being for the Marilyn M. Sproule Memorial Endowed Scholarship.  All such gifts are tax deductible.

This Is Why You Follow Sports

On more than one occasion over the last ten plus years of writing The Grandstander, I have used the expression "this is why you follow sports" when writing of one especially thrilling game or contest.  Last night Marilyn and I experienced such a night when we headed out to our alma mater, Robert Morris University, to watch the Colonials take on St. Francis in the Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Championship Game.

As is known by now, RMU won the game 77-67 (and the game wasn't as close as that score indicated) and secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. They will no doubt be a very low seed and will lose convincingly to one of the NCAA blue bloods with a #1 or #2 seed, but no matter.  When you play in a mid-major conference like the NEC, last night is what you play for, and all of the elements were in place for just a terrific night.  It was the culmination of the first season the RMU's beautiful new Events Center, they were playing a team with whom they split the season series, and the place was sold out - 3,800 people and a packed student section.  The joint was loud and raucous and it was just a joyous event.

I have been lucky in my life.  I have been to NFL playoff games and World Series games and Stanley Cup Playoff games and NCAA playoff games.  I've been to US Opens and the Masters.  But last night a game between two small colleges in a minor league NCAA conference gave me a sporting moment as pleasurable and as fun as anything that I have ever attended.

It's why you follow sports.

A New Venue Makes Its Debut

The new Events Center at Robert Morris University made its debut for basketball when the the University of Pittsburgh paid a visit to Moon to help RMU inaugurate the new arena in grand fashion.  The Colonials made it interesting in the first half, leading by 11 at one point, and the teams were tied 27-27 at the half, but alas, even a struggling ACC team is no match for a mid-major like RMU, and the Panthers prevailed 71-57 in the end.

The result wasn't as important as the event itself.  Good for Pitt for making this gesture, the HC's whining pre-game comments aside.  I look forward to seeing many exciting Colonials victories at the new place this season and in seasons ahead.  And I am also looking forward to seeing Sara Bareilles perform there in concert later this month, so this place will be more than just a basketball arena on the local landscape.

A look at some of last night's festivities...

The historic opening tip-off

 The student section, the "Colonial Crazies", were loud and into it.

Hope that they show up in similar numbers all season long. 

Somewhere among them was the Steelers JuJu Smith-Shuster

 They make me nervous when they do these stunts!

Sellout Crowd

New at Robert Morris University

I toddled on out to the campus of Robert Morris University yesterday to get a gander at their newly completed Events Center.  (The place does have an official corporate name.  I, for obvious reasons to those who know me, will call it the "RMU Events Center" or the "New Sewall Center".)  It is a beautiful facility, and the completion of this edifice has caused me to once again purchase season tickets for Colonials basketball.

I can't wait to see the first hoops game there on November 12 when the Colonials take on the Pitt Panthers, and later that month, see Broadway's Sara Bareilles perform in concert there.

Some photos of this new addition to the greater Pittsburgh sporting and cultural scene.

#GoColonials #LetsGoBobbyMo

 This is the view from.....

....these seats!!!

Lady Colonials Reign Supreme Once Again

On his sunny St. Patrick's Day afternoon,  Marilyn and I toddled on out to Moon Township to the campus of Robert Morris University to take in the Championship Game of the Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.  We were rewarded with a 65-54 victory by the Lady Colonials over St. Francis University of PA.  It was the eighth NEC championship for the RMU women in their history and the fourth such championship in the last six years. 

The North Athletics Complex on campus was packed and loud and it was a great atmosphere for the game which made for a fun afternoon.

Some scenes from the day....

The Colonials take the court!

RoMo

Is there a spookier mascot in all of college sports?

Nina Augustin

A point guard from Helsinki, Finland.

She might have been our favorite player on the team.  She is one of seven international players on the RMU squad.  The others include 2 from Spain, 2 from Canada, 1 from England, and 1 from Japan.

They stormed the court when it was all over.  

We declined to participate.

The final score.

Getting ready to cut down the nets.

For various reasons, mainly the reconstruction of the Sewall Center into the sparkling new UPMC Events Center, which will be the Colonials new home beginning next season, we have not been on campus for several years, and being there today made us realize that we have missed it.  I am thinking that it just might be time come next fall to rejoin the ranks of RMU season ticket holders.

As has been the case, the NEC winner will probably get a #16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, so their reward for today will no doubt be a match up with some power like UConn or Notre Dame.  Somehow, I think that the young women we saw today will welcome such a challenge, and that the inevitable outcome of such a game won't detract one bit from the luster of today's win.

Oh, and by the way.the RMU roster has only two seniors on it, so there is no reason the think that the run of NEC dominance for the ladies won't continue into next season.

Monday, Monday.....

A lot of what I like to call the exigencies of real life have been taking place in The Grandstander's world of late, which has caused what is now a thirteen day hiatus from the keyboard.  Lots to catch up on, but let's confine it the the wide, wide world of sports, shall we.....

STEELERS

I never got around to writing a pre-season preview/prediction post for the Steelers (those exigencies I just mentioned), but if I had I probably would have said that (a) the Steelers would win the AFC North Division, (b) that they would be contenders to reach and win the Super Bowl, and (c) all this would be contingent upon Ben Roethlisberger staying healthy and not all of a sudden playing like a 36 year old guy who is reaching the end of the line.

The season has started and in two games they have blown a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter and were tied by the improved but still lousy Cleve Brownies, a game where Roethlisberger turned the ball over five times, and lost to the Kaycee Chiefs 42-37 in a game where it appeared that the North Allegheny High School defense lined up for the Steelers when the Chiefs had the ball.  On the bright side, Roethlisberger turned in terrific performance, so maybe he ain't done yet.  As for the rest of the team....

Only two games have been played, still lots of time, and blah blah blah, but the overwrought drama that seems to always surround this team looks like it MAY be too much to overcome.  The Le'Veon Bell holdout, the petulance (to use a mild term) of Antonio Brown, the mediocrity (to use another mild term) of the entire defensive corps, the Diva tendencies of Roethlisberger, what appears to be an undisciplined coaching staff.....

It's going to make for an interesting season.  Maybe not a good season, but certainly an interesting one.

PIRATES

A week ago, with the Pirates sitting at 69-71 with 22 games to play (against the lousy Reds, Royals, and Marlins; 13 against the good Cubs, Cardinals, and Brewers), I went on The Facebook and offered to bet $2 to the first five people who accepted the bet that they would finish below .500.  Four people took me up on it, and here is where that bet stands, eight games later.

The Pirates have gone 5-3 in that stretch (2-0 against the Lousy teams, 3-3 against the Good teams) and are now 74-74.  They have thirteen games remaining (I am guessing that that postponed game against the Marlins, rescheduled for Monday, October 1, will not be replayed) and need to go 7-6 to finish 81-80.  If they go 4-2 against the Lousies, they need only go 3-4 against the Goods to achieve it.

I figure that there is a good chance that I could be out eight bucks once all is said and done.  Tim, Len, Andy, and Ryan, you maybe shouldn't start making definite plans on how to spend your windfall just yet, but maybe you could think about it.

Oh, and I may also be buying Jim Haller's breakfast in October.

On the other hand, here we are sitting on the edge of our seats wondering if the Pirates can win a mere 81 games in a season.  Kind of pathetic, but you take your thrills as a sports fan where you can get 'em, I suppose.

PITT

Pitt now sits at 2-1 (1-0 in conference).  They defeated a Division II (or whatever the NCAA calls these schools these days) team in Albany, were positively pasted by Penn State 51-6, and held on to defeat Georgia Tech 24-19.

The Penn State debacle was disappointing, not only for the magnitude of the point spread, but for the behavior of Pat Narduzzi.  At the beginning of the game, he went apeshit on his captains for incorrectly calling the coin toss, incurred a personal foul penalty for running on to the field to argue with the zebras, and seemed to heap an inordinate amount of blame on his placekick holder and punter for botching a few snaps.  Yep, a missed extra point here, a botched punt there, pretty soon you lose by forty-five points.

Well, the Panthers did seem to shake it off against Georgia Tech, but they did take a 21-0 lead and had to sweat out a GT onside kick at the end of the game.  As guy in the men's room said to me between the third and fourth quarters, Pitt did everything in their power to make sure that Tech made a game out of it.

Also, Pitt has scored 0, 0, and 3 points in the second halves of each of their three games.  What is up with that?

PENN STATE

Penn State is a good team, maybe even a very good team that will probably contend for the Big Ten title and maybe even for a spot in the CFP.  James Franklin is also a good coach, maybe a very good coach, and perhaps a top echelon college football coach, but here is how I am always going to remember him.

In the final minute of the Pitt game, with a 51-6 lead in a driving rainstorm, Penn State fumbled, Pitt recovered, and Franklin challenged the ruling and had the refs review the play.  Again, there was less than a minute to play and PSU was leading by FORTY-FIVE POINTS.  The ruling was upheld, and Franklin put a sour look on his face.  It was move that totally and completely redefined the term "chickenshit".

As a group, there are few people more unlikable that big time college football coaches.  Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Brian Kelly, Dabo Swinney....you know who they are.  You like them when they coach YOUR team, but, objectively speaking, they are hard people to like.

Group photo taken at  recent 

NCAA Football Coaches Convention.

Add James Franklin to the list.   To all my friends and family out there who are Penn State fans, I don't necessarily want to see the Lions lose, but I sure would love to see James Franklin get dealt a big heaping helping of humility somewhere along the line.

ROBERT MORRIS

Yeah, I don't talk much about Robert Morris football on here, and with good reason these past few years.  The Colonials have a new head coach this year, Bernard Clark, who has to rebuild a program that has really been in the dumper these last few years.  They are 1-2, and on Saturday they were pasted by James Madison University, 73-7.  JMU is a powerhouse, but, still, it looks like a tough road ahead for Clark and his Colonials.  It should also be noted that this rout by JMU was led by the quarterback transfer-from-Pitt, Ben DiNucci.  So, good for DiNucci.

Robert Morris 59 - Kentucky 57

"This is what college basketball still can be in a world of one-and-dones and broken conferences and coaches draped in Armani. Yes, there can exist a steamy night in a tiny gym high on a hill by the Pittsburgh airport where the little guy stands strong, the giant topples and a swarm of students clad in red spill from wooden stands and dance on the remains of a national champion."

I wish that I could take credit for that paragraph above.  It is actually the lead paragraph from Yahoo Sports' Les Carpenter on last night's positively stunning upset win by Robert Morris over the University of Kentucky in the opening round of the NIT.   If you know me, you know my bona fides where Robert Morris is concerned.   Marilyn and I are proud alums who have been attending Colonials basketball games regularly since 1990, so this is not bandwagon jumping on our part today.

Ironically, we were not able to attend last night's game due to a Caring Place commitment, but, thanks to the magic of the DVR, we froze out all information concerning the game and were then able to watch it in it's entirety when we got home.  When the game ended, it was then so much fun to go to Facebook and Twitter and see all the comments that were being made as this game unfolded and in its aftermath.

When the match-up was announced, it was, of course, thrilling to think of a storied team such as UK coming to the tiny Sewall Center for a game.  My hope was that RMU would be able to hold strong and give Kentucky a game for a half before the inevitable took place.  Never in my wildest hopes did I envision a Colonials win.   What can I say?  It was euphoric.

It is almost a shame that this tournament has to continue and more games have to be played.  I can't imagine that anything will be able to top that win over Kentucky, or that the Colonials will have any emotion left in the tank after that one.  However, I am not going to underestimate what Coach Andy Toole might be able to pull off with this team going forward.

And speaking of Andy Toole, there's the downside from this game.  I am sure that Toole was probably on the radar of larger schools as an up-and-comer young coach.  His days at RMU were probably numbered anyway, but that win last night will no doubt raise his profile higher, and some larger school will no doubt come calling soon.  That is life for a low/mid-major conference.

And a word about Kentucky Coach John Calipari, a native of Moon Township.  If you care about this stuff, you no doubt know how Calipari engineered having his Wildcats come to Moon Township for this game.  Kentucky fans probably thought it a sure win, but I'm not so sure that Calipari did.  In any event, he could not have been more gracious in his post game comments about his past connections to Robert Morris while growing up, and how he was glad that he and Kentucky were able to help a program like Robert Morris.  He acknowledged the Colonials' victory, to the point where he said that it would have been "a shame" had Kentucky's three point buzzer shot went in and Kentucky won the game.  He also gave a shout out to the late Gus Krop, the great coach of long ago who started the basketball program when it was Robert Morris Junior College.

I get that a lot of people don't like Calipari, and he can be criticized for much over how he has run his programs over the years, but he was a class act in bringing this game to RMU and in his post-game remarks.

Oh, and to those who have been making comments like "it's only the NIT" and "this isn't a really good Kentucky team"  and "Kentucky didn't really care about playing in a second rate tournament in a tiny gym" and similar remarks, I politely invite you to take those spoilsport comments and stick them where the sun don't shine!

Robert Morris News

The news arrives today that Robert Morris University has suspended junior guard Karon Abraham for the 2011-12 basketball season. Abraham is the Colonials best player, but he has had several incidents with alcohol related run-ins with local law enforcement, including two within the last three weeks. The University has applied the disciplinary action that they would apply to any RMU student.

I wonder what would have happened had similar circumstances surrounded the best player at a school like Kentucky, Auburn, or Ohio State? I mean, What Would Jim Tressel Do in a case like this?

Anyway, good for my alma mater for setting priorities correctly, and here's hoping that Karon Abraham can get his problems under control and his life straightened out before it careens out of control.

Some Quick Hit Thoughts....

• Different school, different conference, but Mike Rice gets jobbed by the officials for the second year in a row in post-season play.
• Two tough OT defeats by local schools within 14 hours: Robert Morris loses by 3 in OT to LIU, and Pitt gets nailed by a Kemba Walker buzzer-beater in the Garden.
• Up to Duquesne to salvage some local post-season glory in the A-10.
• First round Big East loss could cost Pitt a #1 seed in the NCAA. This will be agonized over by the pundits, but could anything be more meaningless?
• How about The Ohio State University suspending Jim Tressel for two games next year over his out-and-out violation of NCAA rules. Now, if the NCAA decides to not add any further punishment, then this will set all time records for hypocrisy by the NCAA. If some mid-level D-I school or coach did the same thing, the coach would be fired and the school would be put on two years probation. Let's see what happens to Coach SweaterVest.
• Pirates-Orioles on TV tonight. A chance to see John Russell in the coaches box for the O's. How great is that?

Let's Go Bobby Mo

We finally made it out to the Sewall Center last night for our first Robert Morris hoops game of the season. Shame on us.

First off, the University has done a brand new paint job on the interior walls of the Sewall Center (which the school publicity machine is now calling "The Chuck", and appellation that deserves to die). The walls now sport the red, blue and gray colors of the team as well as the large Colonials logo, pictured above, on either end of the building. Very nice. Makes the place seem much more intimate.

On the floor, the Colonials posted a not very pretty 65-57 win over Mount St. Mary's that took their NEC record to 11-6 and assured a home game in the first round of the NEC tournament. A win on Saturday would assure a #3 seed for them in the tourney.

In truth, this version of the Colonials is not as good as the teams of the prior two seasons, and the news arrived today that an injured Karon Abraham is out for the rest of the season. That does not bode well for a team whose tallest player is 6'7".

Still, it was a fun night at the Sewall Center last night.

Go Colonials!