good find.

Bennett, 47, concedes it's nice to be mentioned in connection with attractive job openings. It says he's doing something right. But he was downright giddy about plans to expand the capacity of McKeon Pavilion.

Even though expansion will result in fewer than 1,000 additional seats, the cost of the proposal being considered comes in about $8 million.

It's not the expansion of seating RB and Mark Orr are excited about (although increased revenue will be had) it's guts behind the seats of the end zone expansion, the proposed new weight room for all NCAA athletes, the offices, team room, locker rooms, film room, and the training room facilities attached to McKeon. This is what RB, as well as other coaches for all 14 NCAA teams absolutely must have to compete for the best athletes who want to come to Saint Mary's College.

Some of you will be absolutely disappointed by not striving to build a brand new facility, but that's a bridge too far Gaels to realize in the next two seasons. But don't take my comments as conclusive - talk to Mark Orr, Gift Officers, President Br. Ronald Gallagher to understand the financial reality of making things happen in the present and now.  We need to get this expansion done in the next 12-18 months, not sit in planning with the Town of Moraga for the next two years trying to address parking, ingress and egress from the campus, while trying to get the other two athletic/reacreational facilities completed such as the number one campus priority (as dictated by the Trustees based upon a campus study) to improve the entire student and campus life with a recreational complex, and relocation of the baseball field to accomodate this facility to which baseball becomes the beneficiary of a new facility as well.

For those who say the new pavilion is required, the figures are enormous because its just not a new facility, its a parking structure and a whole assortment of other infrastructure upgrades that make the scale and dollar figures beyond the grasp of a small group of donors who could even be called upon to support such a project.  In nine years since RB has been here, aside from minor projects within the existing foot print of McKeon, SMC has not dedicated any true expansion to support the basketball program. RB's requirement is to build things that benefit ALL of the NCAA student-athletes. He gets that - he supports all sports at SMC. The guy is smart and a good team mate in being part of the whole athletic department at SMC.  Therefore, we should support what RB needs and not get distracted with visions of grandeur. In RB we trust to always answer the question for SMC in our path to success.

Please don't take my comments as excluding a new pavilion - I would love to see it, but I see that as better suited at a later date and tabled for the present planning and execution under the time frames I am discussing above.