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Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: SIU PlayxPlay Gig/Russ Tweet
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FearLeon
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Posted: 7/15/2023 1:12 PM
This tweet from Russ caught my attention:

https://twitter.com/russeisenstein/status/168024455850280...

And reading between the lines I have to believe that Russ being a Southern Illinois graduate went for this job big time. I’m sure it has to hurt to not get it and lose out to somebody with much less experience and a Ball State grad to boot. The SIU gig pays significantly more than what Russ is making at Ohio…all salary info public record on-line. With each passing year, I expect Russ to announce that he's off to greener pastures. Looks like he will be back for year number 16 in Athens.
#BleedGreen #TrentIsGOAT #NoMissesAllowed #NoOtherTeamInAmericaFlexesLikeOhio #11Months
Last Edited: 7/15/2023 7:58:30 PM by FearLeon
Cats5
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Posted: 7/15/2023 10:52 PM
Wouldn’t blame him if he goes somewhere else. OU is getting away with robbery due to how much they’re paying him. He’s one of the best and we’ve been lucky enough to listen/watch him for many years.
Last Edited: 7/20/2023 2:53:13 PM by Cats5
SBH
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Posted: 7/17/2023 9:40 AM
Really don't understand his inability to move up. There's got to be more to the story; perhaps he just doesn't interview well.
Last Edited: 7/17/2023 11:24:31 AM by SBH
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 7/17/2023 10:49 AM
It's a tough business. Lots of hungry talented guys and few jobs.

16 years, wow.
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GoCats105
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Posted: 7/17/2023 11:16 AM
FearLeon wrote:expand_more
The SIU gig pays significantly more than what Russ is making at Ohio
This is depressing to read.
SBH
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Posted: 7/17/2023 11:25 AM
We've got to bump him to Dick Schorr dollars at least.
bobcatsquared
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Posted: 7/17/2023 11:41 AM
SBH wrote:expand_more
We've got to bump him to Dick Schorr dollars at least.
Maybe if he hosts a revamped "Bowling for Dollars"??
Bobcat Love
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Posted: 7/17/2023 5:51 PM
GoCats105 wrote:expand_more
The SIU gig pays significantly more than what Russ is making at Ohio
This is depressing to read.
Which part?

He deserves better.
Alan Swank
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Posted: 7/20/2023 10:53 AM
Cats5 wrote:expand_more
Wouldn’t blame him if he goes somewhere else. OU is getting away with robbery due to how much they’re paying him. He one of the best and we’ve been lucky enough to listen/watch him for many years.
$49,500 according to the Post salary guide.
GoCats105
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Posted: 7/20/2023 12:14 PM
Bobcat Love wrote:expand_more
The SIU gig pays significantly more than what Russ is making at Ohio
This is depressing to read.
Which part?

He deserves better.
The part where Ohio doesn't pay as much as SIU. That's depressing. I'm all for Russ improving his life and he does deserve better. Ohio needs to do better, frankly.
Kinggeorge4
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Posted: 7/20/2023 12:33 PM
Have you all looked at what OHIO pays most of it's people?
GO BOBCATS
GEORGE
FearLeon
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Posted: 7/20/2023 1:59 PM
Alan Swank wrote:expand_more
Wouldn’t blame him if he goes somewhere else. OU is getting away with robbery due to how much they’re paying him. He one of the best and we’ve been lucky enough to listen/watch him for many years.
$49,500 according to the Post salary guide.
SIU job ad listed ballpark salary: $76-99K.

I have no idea how Russ has done this starting at I think around 40K and getting only 9K in raises over a 16 year time span.

Is SIU play by play job really that much better than Ohio? They don't even have division-one football.
#BleedGreen #TrentIsGOAT #NoMissesAllowed #NoOtherTeamInAmericaFlexesLikeOhio #11Months
Last Edited: 7/20/2023 2:04:48 PM by FearLeon
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 7/20/2023 2:23 PM
Kinggeorge4 wrote:expand_more
Have you all looked at what OHIO pays most of it's people?
The only three parts of the university where they pay well: 1. Upper administration, 2. College of Engineering, 3. Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. The latter is actually a separate line item in the state budget. The university receives three allocations from the General Assembly: 1. General Fund, 2. Regional Campuses, and 3. Medical School.
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JSF
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Posted: 7/20/2023 7:53 PM
FearLeon wrote:expand_more
I have no idea how Russ has done this starting at I think around 40K and getting only 9K in raises over a 16 year time span.

Is SIU play by play job really that much better than Ohio? They don't even have division-one football.
So you're saying we'd have more money to pay people if we weren't wasting it on football?

And, keep in mind, the university salary isn't his only source of income (though that doesn't make his pay upsettingly low).
"Loyalty to a hometown or city is fleeting and interchangeable, but college is a stamp of identity."- Kyle Whelliston, One Beautiful Season.

My blog about depression and mental illness: https://bit.ly/3buGXH8
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 7/21/2023 10:19 AM
FearLeon wrote:expand_more
Wouldn’t blame him if he goes somewhere else. OU is getting away with robbery due to how much they’re paying him. He one of the best and we’ve been lucky enough to listen/watch him for many years.
$49,500 according to the Post salary guide.
SIU job ad listed ballpark salary: $76-99K.

I have no idea how Russ has done this starting at I think around 40K and getting only 9K in raises over a 16 year time span.

Is SIU play by play job really that much better than Ohio? They don't even have division-one football.
I thought I recalled seeing it very low when he first started, like 25k.

At the risk of derailing this thread, this is just supply and demand. It is a tough business with lots of talent interested in the limited jobs there are...and you have to know that going in when you choose it. The fact a talent like Russ has stayed and not found other opportunities is just proof OU shouldn't feel bad for the salary they've set of the position.
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El Gato Roberto
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Posted: 7/21/2023 11:39 AM
I hope Russ is able to find some side-hustles, like sponsorships and voiceover work to supplement his income. I enjoy his play-by-play. He has raised the level of the broadcasts and shares the mic with Rob very skillfully.

Maybe we can start a little Bobcatattack "go fund me" and send him a Christmas Tip from all of us who appreciate him?
shabamon
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Posted: 7/21/2023 11:42 AM
I always find this topic so tacky to discuss here.
Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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Posted: 7/21/2023 12:14 PM
How many listeners tune into the average:

-- Men's basketball radio broadcast
-- Men's football radio broadcast
-- Men's baseball radio broadcast
-- The Tim Albin Show
-- The Jeff Boals Show

Anybody know?
Deciduous Forest Cat
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Posted: 7/21/2023 12:33 PM
shabamon wrote:expand_more
I always find this topic so tacky to discuss here.
Yep.
Victory
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Posted: 7/21/2023 12:46 PM
Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:expand_more
How many listeners tune into the average:

-- Men's basketball radio broadcast
-- Men's football radio broadcast
-- Men's baseball radio broadcast
-- The Tim Albin Show
-- The Jeff Boals Show

Anybody know?
We could actually take a poll. How often do posters here listen. You know that they typical poster here is more likely to listen than the typical Ohio fan.

For myself:

-- Men's basketball radio broadcast
20 years ago would have been most games but now I usually watch on TV or stream. If I am driving or anything that allows me to listen but not watch then it is pretty much guarantied I'll be tuned in.

-- Men's football radio broadcast
Same as basketball

-- Men's baseball radio broadcast
I have never done this.

-- The Tim Albin Show
Maybe a couple of times a year on average. I have to admit that I am for more likely to later in the year during good seasons.

-- The Jeff Boals Show
Same as the Tim Albin show
Bobcat1996
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Posted: 7/23/2023 7:28 AM
JSF wrote:expand_more
I have no idea how Russ has done this starting at I think around 40K and getting only 9K in raises over a 16 year time span.

Is SIU play by play job really that much better than Ohio? They don't even have division-one football.
So you're saying we'd have more money to pay people if we weren't wasting it on football?

And, keep in mind, the university salary isn't his only source of income (though that doesn't make his pay upsettingly low).
Have to laugh at that comment about "if we weren't wasting it on football." Since 2006, the Bobcats have won five East titles and ended up the 2022 regular season
with a 7-1 record. That 7-1 conference record was the best in the league for the 2022 regular season. When is the last time the Bobcats mens basketball team won the MAC East or finished as the top seed in the regular season? The last 17 seasons, the football program has a better regular season conference win percentage than the basketball team.
Last Edited: 7/23/2023 7:30:15 AM by Bobcat1996
Jeff McKinney
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Posted: 7/23/2023 3:51 PM
Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:expand_more
I always find this topic so tacky to discuss here.
Yep.
Agree
Alan Swank
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Posted: 7/24/2023 10:06 AM
Victory wrote:expand_more
How many listeners tune into the average:

-- Men's basketball radio broadcast
-- Men's football radio broadcast
-- Men's baseball radio broadcast
-- The Tim Albin Show
-- The Jeff Boals Show

Anybody know?
We could actually take a poll. How often do posters here listen. You know that they typical poster here is more likely to listen than the typical Ohio fan.

For myself:

-- Men's basketball radio broadcast
20 years ago would have been most games but now I usually watch on TV or stream. If I am driving or anything that allows me to listen but not watch then it is pretty much guarantied I'll be tuned in.
A few bucks a month for ESPN+ and it's streaming pretty much every away game. New world we live in.
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 7/24/2023 3:26 PM
Alan Swank wrote:expand_more
How many listeners tune into the average:

-- Men's basketball radio broadcast
-- Men's football radio broadcast
-- Men's baseball radio broadcast
-- The Tim Albin Show
-- The Jeff Boals Show

Anybody know?
We could actually take a poll. How often do posters here listen. You know that they typical poster here is more likely to listen than the typical Ohio fan.

For myself:

-- Men's basketball radio broadcast
20 years ago would have been most games but now I usually watch on TV or stream. If I am driving or anything that allows me to listen but not watch then it is pretty much guarantied I'll be tuned in.
A few bucks a month for ESPN+ and it's streaming pretty much every away game. New world we live in.
While I, too, have an ESPN+ subscription, I do appreciate the radio broadcasts, especially at home games. This is because when I go to basketball and football games, I have a small transistor radio with me and an earbud for one ear and I let Russell and Company do my spotting for me. It works really well, except when occasionally for some reason there is too much latency in the system and the play-by-play is 30 seconds behind the live action. On those days I just turn off the radio because it's too confusing. That doesn't happen too often, but when it does, it's very annoying.

I also listen to the post-game broadcast as I walk or drive home. On nice days I often walk the mile or so from the sports complex to my home.

Once in awhile I get amused by an error. Most frequently this is in basketball. For instance, Russell sometimes opines that a player has traveled, and it wasn't called, and often he's right. But on more than one occasions, when he has a very poor angle on the play from his spot up on the concourse ring and I have a better view because the play is right in front of me, I've note that his call is wrong.
The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org
FearLeon
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Posted: 7/24/2023 4:36 PM
Jeff McKinney wrote:expand_more
I always find this topic so tacky to discuss here.
Yep.
Agree
Why?

Everything is public record as no secrets are being released. I'm hoping Julie and Co. see this and realize what a joke it is they are paying Russ. To not be even in ballpark of SIU play by play gig is embarrassing.
#BleedGreen #TrentIsGOAT #NoMissesAllowed #NoOtherTeamInAmericaFlexesLikeOhio #11Months
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