By Mike Hogan, Staff Writer
You couldn’t turn left or right Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, without hearing “Go Bona’s!” if you were donning the brown and white. While many fan bases, such as the University of California Los Angeles’, would look at the win as just another tournament victory, the St. Bonaventure fan base witnessed something special that goes far beyond basketball.
It was the Bonnies’ first NCAA tournament win in 48 years, and it was led by redshirt junior forward Courtney Stockard, who scored 26 points in the 65-58 win. While senior point guard Jaylen Adams struggled throughout the game, he was there when the Bonnies needed him to be, as he hit the shot that put the Bonnies up for good with just over a minute to go. The final few minutes in the stadium brought out raw emotion in not only the players and coaches on the court, but the stands as well.
As the buzzer sounded, the players embraced each other. Fans in the stands jumped and screamed for joy. “Let’s go Bona’s,” chants were swirling and some Bonnies fans just stood, shedding a tear or two watching the team celebrate their first tournament win in 48 years. It was a powerful sight.
But why were Bonnies fans filled with emotion after a win in the first four?
When Mark Schmidt arrived here on the campus of St. Bonaventure University, he had to start with nothing. In 11 years, Schmidt did the unimaginable. He brought a program from the dead to new heights. He led the Bonnies to two NCAA tournaments and Tuesday night, he earned his first NCAA tournament win as a head coach. While one win may be a small number to college basketball’s blue bloods, it is monumental for Schmidt and the Bonnies.
“When we came 11 years ago, I walked into a locker room, and we had three players,” said Schmidt in his postgame press conference. “They had won 24 games in four years. Some people said I shouldn’t take the job. For us to go from having three players to beating UCLA in 11 years, it’s something I’m really proud of.”
While Schmidt takes a lot of credit for the turnaround he has lead here at St. Bonaventure, he is quick to point out he couldn’t have done this alone.
“It’s not just me,” said Schmidt. “I’ve got great assistants, great players and kids that really strive to be good. Our guys, we always talk about [how] we’re a bunch of misfits. No one wanted us. We come to Bonaventure, we work our tails off. And it’s good that when you work to have success, and that’s what I’m most proud of. And it’s emotional because we know how much we’ve put into this.”
Another reason as to why this win is so special for Bonnies fans is because there is an “Us against the world” mentality. While the Bonnies and UCLA are both Division I schools, the differences are drastic. St. Bonaventure currently has 1,635 undergraduates and roughly 29,000 alumni, while UCLA has 45,428 undergraduates and about 500,000 alumni. The Bonnies have $60 million in endowment, and UCLA has $2 billion.
The Bonnies spend $43,211 on each player on their basketball team and UCLA spends $184, 634, according to ESPN’s business insider, Darren Rovell. The Bonnies are not seen as a household name for college basketball and UCLA is known as a college basketball blue blood. John Wooden, 11 NCAA titles, an NCAA record and the seventh winningest program in the NCAA, all come to mind when you think of UCLA basketball. And there is no doubt that Bonnies fans carried that on their shoulders last night.
In his postgame interview, Schmidt honored the last Bonaventure team to win a NCAA game.
“When I got the job here 11 years ago, we hear about the 1970 team and how disappointing it was that Lanier got hurt and they didn’t have a chance to have a full team going to play Jacksonville,” said Schmidt as his eyes welled with tears. “And everyone talks about if Lanier was healthy, they would have taken on UCLA. This victory is for those guys. They didn’t get an opportunity to show their talent.”
