March 21, 2007

Chancellor Coombe: Welcome everyone thanks so much for coming today. It is a wonderful day for the University of Denver. Let me open by speaking just a bit about the values of our athletics program here at DU. These days we hear so much about the kinds of students colleges and universities are admitting: their grade point averages, their test scores, their overall credentials for higher education. Certainly, those kinds of input parameters are important measures of potential for success in college. Here at DU, though, we are much more focused on the kinds of people we are graduating, the kinds of people who are leaving our campus with a diploma from the University of Denver. We work hard to make certain that our graduates are people of intellect, talent, and creativity, people with strongly rooted values, people whose personal commitments are such that their lives after college are going to make a positive difference for all of us. That's how we define excellence. This same philosophy applies to our athletics programs. We are focused on the quality of the experience for our student athletes, the kinds of people that they can become during their time with us. We want our athletics programs to hone our student's talents in a way that is strongly tied to the way our curriculum and our faculty hone their minds and our community deepens their values. We are concerned that they become people of substance and depth as well as talent, people whose lives will make a difference no matter whether their future lies in the NHL, in the NBA, in law school or medical school, in business, or public service. We firmly believe that if we do that, if we focus on the personal growth of our student athletes, their minds and their hearts, as well as their talent, that we are also going to win. We know that this is true from the many championships that our athletes have won, either as individuals, or as teams. We believe that it is possible to recruit, and to graduate, highly talented students, who are also highly talented athletes. That we can do so within a program of uncompromising integrity, and that we can compete at the highest levels and win. That is our objective. With all of that said, the man you are going to meet today is a person that we believe is an absolutely perfect fit for the University of Denver, and a perfect coach for our men's basketball program. Now I would like to introduce our athletics director, Peg Bradley-Doppes.

Peg Bradley-Doppes: Good afternoon. It is wonderful to be a Pioneer, and what a great day for DU athletics. You know, we truly are Denver's university. We are very mindful of the fact that we represent our community, and our University, on the front of our jerseys. Everything that we do, everything that we say, reflects this wonderful city and this tremendous University. Along the way, we have been blessed; we have established a great reputation for academic excellence, and athletic excellence. We are equally proud of the traditions that we set day after day, with our academic awards, our graduation rates, as well as our national titles. It's the whole package here at DU, and we are proud to be a part of it. Yet we have a greater vision, and we strive to get better each day. We work to be the best we can be, developing quality young minds, developing quality young people as they go out into the world. We want to be the very best, we've been blessed with great facilities, incredible support, a tremendous academic institution, and a fine city. The rest is up to us. From our board's commitment, to our community trust, we have been blessed with tremendous support. We will not let you down. Today we step forward to match those commitments. We set out a few weeks ago to find a coach of integrity, a coach of experience, a coach who has a history of building teams the right way: not the easy way, the right way, the DU way. We underwent a national search; those of you that know me know that I have aged drastically in the last two weeks, but wow, what a great experience it has been. We are committed to being the premiere basketball program in the Rocky Mountain region. Let me say that again: we are committed to being the premiere basketball program in the Rocky Mountain region. This University deserves that, our student-athletes deserve that. You'll know that we are doing it the right way; you'll know that we will continue to represent you in a first class manner. Our student-athletes will always be students first. And I can't think of a better person that embodies these characteristics than our new men's basketball coach. Throughout college basketball today, right now I think there are 22 Division I programs looking for a coach. Many programs are looking for the next Joe Scott. We are pleased to bring the original. He's here, he's back home, and he's a Pioneer. Joe represents everything that we are looking for in a leader. He's a strong recruiter, a winner, a tireless worker who is committed to bringing out the best in his student-athletes on the floor, in the classroom, and in the game of life. In addition to being an exceptional coach, he is a quality individual, a great family man, a true collaborator; he will be part of our Denver family. In addition to being an exceptional coach, he understands that we are an institution that is striving for the best. He will help us develop a shared vision, a brand, a brand called Denver Basketball, the emphasis being on Denver, our University, and our city. It's my pleasure, truly a pleasure, to introduce the new men's basketball coach of your Denver Pioneers, to 2004 Mountain West coach of the year, our new member of the Denver family, Joe Scott. Joe, please come on out.

Joe Scott: It is great to be here, now the easy part and talk to you guys. Right, after all I've been through? It has been a whirlwind, and I am extremely happy to be here. I want to thank my wife and family who aren't here, we have two little boys, but I know they are extremely happy. In this profession, in this business, the family and the support of that is extremely important and I'm very fortunate to have that. I also want to thank Princeton University...this was an extremely emotional time for me and the graciousness with which they have acted, from the athletic director to the team, the staff, it is just a classy place and I'm very appreciative to always have that in my life. Princeton basketball is important to me and I want to thank them. Lastly, I really want to thank the DU family: Peg, the chancellor, the board, the staff, I am thrilled to be here. Everyone that I have spoken to along the way here, it is clear that this is a special place, and I'm pleased to be here, and I am really looking forward to getting to work and turning our program into the kind of program that we can all be proud of. Peg mentioned that...I'm coming home there is kind of a certain irony saying that I am coming home to Colorado, but I really do feel like I am coming home to Colorado. The number of phone calls, the number of messages, it has really been mind boggling, and you know you are coming home when you get a phone message from someone saying, especially in my case, saying, Joe, great to hear the news, great to have you coming back, how many pies should I bring to the press conference tomorrow? And that's pizza pies, so that's when I knew I was coming home. Really, though, it feels great to be back, and I'm really looking forward to get back to work. When you go through this process, you lose sight of, hay, I'm really looking forward to getting to work, and getting started working with our players. From the beginning, from the initial conversation, to the conversations in between, to the last conversation, 2 things were made evident to me by the University of Denver leadership: there is a clear understanding, from Denver, of who they are, and there is clear understanding from them of who they want to become, and there is a crystal clear commitment to college basketball. It is extremely important, and it was extremely important to me, to hear those things, to see those things, to speak with people about those things, because that's the kind of place I want to be, those are the kinds of people that I want to be with, because with those kinds of people and that kind of vision, you can do special things. Because of that, we have a vision, and it's our vision, our vision. That vision is to build a brand name in basketball: Denver Basketball. Build a brand name. There is a shared commitment here, from the leadership, to the chancellor, to the board, to the administration, to the staff, to our players, coaches, trainers, weight room coaches, there is a shared commitment to build this program in our image, the way we want it to be, to make it be the best possible college basketball program it can be. Pride and tradition are buzzwords. Everybody uses those words, pride and tradition. You build those things together, with a plan, with people working together all the time, in the same direction, to build something special. That's where pride and tradition come from, and that is what we're going to do here at Denver, we're going to work extremely hard, every day, to build those two things in our basketball program: pride and tradition. It is extremely important to us, it is extremely important to everyone here. I have been fortunate and blessed to have been part of a program like that, pretty close to here, and to have been part of building a program like that. I'm extremely proud to have coached guys like Koole, and Keller, and Gerlach, and you don't know how proud I am every day to watch those guys still playing, and see what they are doing. And just as important to me, what I have really seen and am proud of is how the Colorado basketball community has embraced that, and wants that, and recognized that, and that is what we are going to build here at Denver. I am really looking forward to doing that because we have the right environment here. I really believe we have the right environment, we have the right people here, we are going to develop and find the right players, and we will have the right way of playing and that will be our way. We are going to do it together, you are going to know it when you see it out on that court, everybody is going to be involved in making that happen, and I am really looking forward to working at Denver's university. I am really looking forward to making this University Denver's college basketball program. Thank you, it is great to be here, and I look forward to working and being with you for a long time. Thanks a lot.

Question: Coach, you come from Princeton, your alma mater, it seems like that would be the dream job, why come back here?

Coach Scott: Well, these days I don't know if there is a dream job, there are no dream jobs, the job you have is the dream job. When I looked at Denver, when this opportunity presented itself, when I spoke with the leadership, when I heard what I heard, I was just an unbelievable opportunity, the commitment, the words that were being said, they rang true. I believe in certain things, I believe in doing things a certain way, this opportunity was just to good of an opportunity professionally and personally. To be part of building something like this, to be able to work with student athletes like this, to be able to do it in an environment like this, in a community like this, I think this is a special opportunity and that's really what it came down to. It was extremely difficult to make the decision, but when I looked at everything and when I heard everything and I spoke with everyone that I spoke to, there was an unbelievable connection. That is really what made the decision for me, that this is what I want to be part of, that this is what I want to do, and I really believe that with that shared commitment, we are going to get to work, we are going to build something, we are going to build it our way, and the results are going to speak for themselves. I feel really good about what we are going to do here.

Question: Coach, what are the similarities between the rebuilding effort you put in at Air Force and what you face here?

Coach Scott: I think they are pretty similar. There are going to be differences, obviously, but the building of the program, making the program, from Day 1 become the kind of program that we want it to be, I think it is in place to do that. To get started from Day 1, to start to accomplish things from Day 1, to start to develop a mentality, to start to develop a personality, to start to have our players from Day 1 learn, and grow, and develop, and make that personality and mentality become theirs. Ultimately we are going to have a program that is the players' program. They are going to build it, we are going to help them build it, we are going to do it together, and they are going to know what Denver basketball is, what it is going to stand for, and you are going to see it from them every day, every time they walk across those lines. Because of that I think there is a lot of similarity, I feel really good that we are going to be able to find, get, and develop the right kinds of players and people for our program to do the things that I am talking about. I think this is the kind of institution that you can do those things, there is a connection here, that is why there is a shared vision here, and I feel good about that, and I think the experience from down the road is going to be extremely helpful in this process.

Question: Coach, a two part question. What do you see as the number one priority coming in here to get this thing turned around? And, how much have you been able to meet with the players so far?

Coach Scott: I think that those two things go together, because getting with the players, talking to the players is the most important thing. We are on spring bread, so it is kind of hard, but getting with the players, speaking with the players, getting them to understand what Denver basketball is going to be, what it is going to represent. Ultimately, the program we are going to build, a winning program, a program that sustains itself, that perpetuates itself, that is an all the time thing, its not a sometimes thing, its an all the time thing. You act, you behave, and you play in a certain way all the time. It encompasses all parts of your life, you don't push buttons on, and you don't push buttons off. You are on all the time. Our players have to learn that they must hold themselves to an unbelievably high standard, because guys that do that, players that do that, guys that love to play... To me that is the definition of a guy that loves to play, that is the definition of a gym rat. We want gym rats. We want guys that love to play, that are the definition of a guy that loves to play, a guy that holds himself to that standard all the time. I think that is a critical element here of having our players hear that, learn that, go out an work in that manner, and have that become who they are. Ultimately that is what we are after.

Question: Coach, any thoughts about the Sun Belt Conference? You go from the Mountain West, to the Ivy League, and now the Sun Belt. It seems like that is a little bit of a step back for you?

Coach Scott: I don't look at it that way at all. Big thing is that the place where you are is the most important place in the world. The thing you are doing at a point in time is the most important thing in the world at that point in time. That means that the Sun Belt Conference right now is the most important conference in the country for Denver basketball. Our players have to know that the Sun Belt conference is a good conference, that in order to be good in the Sun Belt Conference, we have to get to be good, we have to be good at Denver basketball. The Sun Belt Conference is a challenging conference, every conference in America is. I think those are names, those are labels. Good teams are good teams, it doesn't matter what conference you are, you make yourself good, you make yourself as good as you can make yourself, and ultimately that is what we are going to do here. We are going to make Denver into the best we can be, and that means we are going to be good at Denver, and that means we are going to be good in the Sun Belt conference, and in order to do that you have to have a lot of respect for your opponents, you have to have a lot of respect for the conference you are in, you have to have a lot of respect for what they do and how they do it, and that respect is what drives you to make sure you have an ultimate respect for what you do, and that you work extremely hard to develop what you do into something that is going to give you the ability to compete with and be successful against those opponents.

Question: Coach, did the lack of success at Princeton have anything to do with the decision to come here to DU?

Coach Scott: No, not at all. Everything is sort of perception. To me, at Princeton, I felt really good about what we were doing. I've said numerous times that what we were going through this year was years two and three at Air Force. This is a process. Doing what we are going to do here is a process. Being good is hard. Developing a winning, sustainable program that perpetuates itself is hard. That is what we were in the midst of doing at Princeton. We started three freshmen, they played unbelievable amounts of minutes, and I felt really good about that. Really, the motivating factor was Denver. It was this place, these people, this opportunity, because what I see here is an unbelievable opportunity. What I see here is a community, a state, where I think there is an unbelievable opportunity to build a program that this community is going to embrace. I think they know, people here know, what the kind of program is we are trying to build, and they will know that at all times, and because of that I think they are going to embrace it. It is a pretty special type of thing and I think this place ultimately was a place where I saw an unbelievable opportunity to build something like that.

Question: Looking back, do you regret leaving Air Force?

Coach Scott: There are times I have woken up with nightmares. But no, I don't think you do that. Like I said earlier, there are no dream jobs, the job you have is the dream job. Where you are at is the best place in the world. I have a heart, you know, you might not know that, I am sure some people question that when they watch me coach, but ultimately that whole process was a big tug at the heart process. You go through life and you learn and...what I regret about that whole thing was that I loved Air Force. I have a great respect for that place, I loved the people there, I loved our players. Any time you do something like that, I regret sort of losing those connections, although I never lost them and that's really the testament of how special a place Air Force is. Ultimately, that's why, in looking at the University of Denver, and the leadership, and this place, I see the same opportunity again. When you can surround yourself with those people, and you can find and develop those kinds of players and people, and then you do things that way that we are going to do them here, you can develop and build something pretty special. That is what we are going to work to do here at Denver, and I feel good about being here, I'm extremely confident, and I really can't wait to get to work, in that process, to build this, because ultimately that's what we've got to start to do here. We've got to start to get to work to build this thing in the manner we are going to do it.