Unranked Providence arrived at Wintrust Arena last Wednesday having lost four Big East games in a row, its last victory having come in overtime against so-so Butler before Christmas. The Friars weren’t a bad team, but they certainly were closer to the bottom of the conference than the top of it in terms of résumé and reputation.
A game against lowly DePaul, one of the worst Big East squads in a long time, was a great chance for Providence to get things going in a better direction. Then again, it also looked like one of the few — if any — chances for the Blue Demons to steal a conference ‘‘W’’ of their own. Lord knows embattled coach Tony Stubblefield needed a good couple of hours in the worst way.
Instead, Stubblefield was a deer in headlights as his team, easily the worst in all the power conferences, lost by a humiliating score of 100-62 to drop to 3-15 on the season. It will hold up as the most lopsided Big East butt-kicking of ’em all for a third-year coach who was fired five days later with a horrendous 9-38 overall mark — and an active 19-game regular-season losing streak — against conference foes.
That Providence debacle was when Stubblefield’s time in Lincoln Park effectively ended. Athletic director DeWayne Peevy knew that key alumni were fed up and mortified at how low things had sunk and that there was no way forward with fundraising without a coaching change. A Zoom call Monday night with about 50 alumni — hours after Peevy had pulled the trigger — reaffirmed that. According to Peevy, it also provided hope that alumni dollars now will start flowing in.
‘‘There’s a change in [NIL] already,’’ Peevy said Tuesday. ‘‘It’s already impactful.’’
Peevy now has what he didn’t have before hiring Stubblefield less than a year after coming aboard at DePaul from Kentucky, where he had been second in command in the athletic department. He has the opportunity to interview candidates in person, which wasn’t possible during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. He expects to have — pending approval from the school’s president and board of trustees — a coaching budget that will be taken seriously in the industry. He has an on-campus practice facility in the works and NIL efforts that at least are off the ground, if still far from competitive in the Big East.
In short, Peevy has a fighting chance to get it right at a school whose men’s basketball reality has been unutterably bleak since it last made the NCAA Tournament in 2004.
‘‘Despite the very public ups and downs of the season, I can assure you that a strong foundation for this athletics department and men’s basketball program is now in place,’’ he said. ‘‘We are now prepared to fully capitalize on on-court success, too. . . .
‘‘We will get it done here at DePaul.’’
Former AD Bill Bradshaw hired Pat Kennedy and Dave Leitao. Bradshaw’s successor, Jean Lenti Ponsetto, hired Jerry Wainwright, Oliver Purnell and Leitao, too. Peevy is a glaring 0-for-1 in men’s basketball, the school’s flagship sport. If DePaul is serious about graduating to the big time — or the bigger time, anyway — Peevy won’t have the wiggle room of another hiring whiff.
When it comes to the major revenue sports, it’s largely taken for granted that ADs can’t swing and miss twice and keep their jobs. That’s certainly the expectation at a place such as Kentucky and in a conference such as the SEC.
Nobody wants to hear excuses from Peevy, who isn’t big on making them.
‘‘I’m not a first-time AD anymore,’’ he said.
Peevy agrees he should be on the hook for this one. Either hire someone who can make DePaul matter again — finally — or tell his story walking.
‘‘I think that’s part of the job,’’ he said. ‘‘If [the school is] going to invest at a high level, the expectations are expected to rise, as well. . . .
‘‘I came here to win. I didn’t leave Kentucky to be in last place or struggling through seasons. I didn’t just need another job.’’
Peevy’s stated goal is to have his next coach in place by April 1, unless that coach’s current team still is playing. And, he’s already promising, ‘‘Plenty of people are lined up to help attract the next coach.’’
It’s extremely difficult to imagine Peevy hitching his reputation and legacy to a second consecutive candidate who never has been a head coach at the college level. It’s not difficult at all to think Peevy — without deep roots at DePaul — readily will look outside the Blue Demons ‘‘family’’ for the right candidate. Alumni might want one of their own, but that’s not likely to be a priority for Peevy, nor should it be.
Chicago ties, on the other hand, could be a ‘‘huge factor,’’ he said, though they aren’t required.
For Peevy, it’s all about March Madness. He’s willing to drive himself mad trying to get there.
‘‘That goal hasn’t changed,’’ he said, ‘‘and I am not backing down from that.’’
