Guardian Article on WBB Program

Columbia Lions
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Nice piece by a CC alum. Two take-home points that were new to me:

  • Coach G said our incoming recruiting class is her best ever.
  • $8 million of the $10 million named gift for :lion::basketball: was earmarked for the women’s program with $2 million for the men ( not sure if this is a title IX violation :wink:).
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It would not be a Title IX violation for a gift to be allocated in that fashion. Title IX just requires that financial assistance to athletes be equal by gender. So it would be interesting to see if Columbia is providing any financial assistance unrelated to general financial aid. Otherwise, it just requires equal opportunity to participate .

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Excellent article by a very astute sportswriter alum of Columbia regarding Coach Megan Griffith and the Columbia Women’s Basketball Team, Columbia will have three outstanding players in its incoming class with the crown jewell likely to be four-star recruit Mathis Dritz, the 6’2" forward from California. She is special.!

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Who are the other 2 incoming freshman?

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The two Chloe’s–Vella, a 6’4 center from England, and Dixx, a guard from Australia in the Kitty Henderson mold.

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Really nice piece. This basically confirms some things:

  • Chloe Dixx is actually coming (there was no official confirmation until now). And I agree, this makes the incoming class the best we’ve ever had.
  • $8M from the Lavine gift are for the wbb program. Given the 2025 endowment return of 12.5%, this could mean an extra $1M on top of the $1.1M budget we supposedly have right now.
  • By Meg’s comments, she might leave at some point but not in the short run. I’ve heard that she was interviewed for the Northwestern job a month or two ago, but I don’t think that’s an option for her anymore (another Ivy might be losing their coach for that job :eyes:).
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Northeastern? Why would she even consider that?! I wouldn’t even call it a lateral move.

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Northwestern, sorry, Northwestern

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If Meg ever leaves, I hope it’s a big time program in New England with a history of national championships.

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Wow, expectations must be high for this incoming class considering all the 1st team All-Ivy players who have passed through this program the past few years… KD, Abbey, Kitty, Riley, and Perri (most likely this season).

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Dritz is the only ranked player we have ever recruited, Dixx is a high IQ PG with 3pt shooting (kind of a mix between Kitty and Cece), and Vella is the tallest player we’ve ever had. I think it’s deserved

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If she gets that kind of offer it means things have gone insanely good down here. Geno will probably stay until Strong graduates. Anyways, I wouldn’t worry too much as for now, I’m sure that the new Lavine head coach position comes with a non-negligible bag. That with the increment in spending, she probably has all she wants