WVU and Bob Huggins with Lebron at game

I'm guessing we start out with one of those charity games against WVU.

How about Purdue??  NORMALLY they would not give it a thought --  HOWEVER some coaches like to ensure that their players "get one game during their stay in the area they grew up in"  Purdue has the kid from Butler (Morton??)  -  Did not want to include Notre Dame (Carmody) because they at least will make some visits to the Peterson Center while he is there.  DU could of course visit Purdue down the road (a noteworthy opponent for someone trying to upgrade the schedule some.

An exhibition against West Virginia State would be appropriate given that's where Cooper started. Similarly a game against Navy would honor Cooper's military service and still be an easy game. We could try to work out a home and home (or maybe a 2 for 1 like we did in the 2000s) with Boston College since he went on to play for the Celtics. Perhaps we could try the same with Minnesota since he got his masters from there. It seems unlikely they'd want to, but it doesn't hurt to try.

We opened the Peterson Events Center for Pitt. Pitt opened the UPMC Events Center for Robert Morris. Furthermore, Pitt has had three home arenas since the City Game started. The first City Game played after all three of them opened was played in that arena. We also have had three home arenas since the City game started. The first City Game played after all three of them opened was played in that arena. So history tells us this year's City Game will be at the Coop, and opening the season is as good a time as any.

We opened the Palumbo Center with a conference game against St. Joe's. We could open the Coop in the same fashion, and could expect a win against the Hawks. St. Bonaventure is our most played opponent by far (plus the game are almost always good matchups), so they would also be a good choice. Dayton is probably our biggest rival outside of the local teams, so that would make a good choice too, although it would be a challenging one.

A building named after a local hero could call for a local opponent. West Virginia and Penn State have shown some willingness to play us at home recently, and this would probably be our only shot at bringing them on campus. Again it's unlikely either would go for it, but they can't say no if we don't ask. If not, then St. Francis or Robert Morris would be a good choice. I'd hate to give St. Francis a return game as we have in year's past. I could accept a return game for Robert Morris given the fact that we used their court this year.

The opening of a new building could be used to revive a dead rivalry. Xavier, Villanova, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and Providence used to make frequent appearances on our schedule, but haven't in many years. Perhaps we could work out a 4 for 2 deal where we play one of them away four times, host them at the Coop next year, and host them at PPG another time. It wouldn't be ideal, but it would be nice to see that kind of major opponent find a regular spot on our schedule. DePaul or Detroit could fill this role too, but obviously not with that kind of lopsided agreement.

Thinking outside the box, we could go after Iona. Whoever their first opponent is will be a big story with Pitino coming back. It would be a relatively close opponent, who we have some history with (seven games in the last 25 years), is another Catholic institution (seems to be targeted for non-conference games), who we should beat (even with a legendary coach), and most importantly would get national coverage. While I think Pitino will want to make a splash in New York early in the season, it's a game they usually wouldn't think twice about taking. If there is any hesitancy, perhaps we could try to work out a double home and home with one of their games being at MSG.

So there's twenty possibilities. Which one do I want it to be? Which one do I think it will be? I'll get back to you on that one sometime in the next eight months.

The opponent does not have to be a Catholic institution, although most of Duquesne's history has been with that type of school.  All that being said, I think the Frankies would be a great choice.

VBC wrote:

When I spoke with Dave Harper about this a month or 2 ago he told me that he was working on it but had already been turned down by Pitt, WVU, Penn State and Tennessee...

Very interesting that they actually reached out to Tennessee. 

DennisC91 wrote:

Very interesting that they actually reached out to Tennessee. 

Love the first two ideas, Lucky. Games with some significance to the legacy of Chuck Cooper sound like a great approach to me. Another idea in that regard: St. John's. That was the last team Chuck Cooper ever played against when he was at Duquesne, in the 1950 NIT consolation game. Unfortunately, the Dukes lost that game, but a very winnable game against a Big East team. 

A UT game is a very creative idea.
I have no doubt that we could beat St. John's, which is why Mike Anderson will never schedule that game.
Again, I'd love Iona, but to me, St. Francis looks like the best of the realistic options. If you're not going to be able to land a heavyweight, or an attention grabbing game like Iona, you better schedule a game you're definitely gonna win. The place should be packed, and I don't think another home loss to Bona is going to bring the crowds back.
 

Loyola of Chicago
Decent team but beatable

Econ69 wrote:

Loyola of Chicago
Decent team but beatable

Yeah, beatable, but capable of winning as well. If we can't get a P5/BE, I want a team we're sure to beat. This is a celebration. Losing at home to a mid major could put a damper on the whole season.
 

Let's go "Old School"  How about a school who was relevant back when we were big time?  Manhattan, Iona, San Francisco, Loyola?

I am firmly in the camp that believes taking chances with the building opener is a bad idea

I love the idea of bringing in Iona for game. Kudos to whoever floated that idea. Making it game 2 or 4 could be very impactful

People love a trainwreck. Having Pitino appear at the new joint might just get a capacity crowd out for an otherwise unappealing boring non-con game that potential new fans would otherwise ignore. A second large crowd so early in the season could be a momentum builder for later game attendance.

I want to see Duquesne do this for opening night:
-Schedule the cupcakiest team available
-Don't screw-up the tickets & fan arrival logistics
-Bring back star players of the past & give the "best" of them jobs introducing & presenting things
-Play recorded well wishes during timeouts on the big board from basketball luminaries, players from the NIT winning team that cannot attend, Sid Dambrot, the mayor, etc...
-Beg local sports dignitaries to attend
-Splash-out on the halftime show
-Put commemorative goody bag with t-shirts on every seatback
-Get every current recruit to have their campus visit
-Honor an African American celebrity that has done great things for race relations/civil rights with a newly inaugurated Chuck Cooper Award (Kareem, John Lewis, or Obama would be perfect/Lebron & Chuck Cooper's friend Cousy could be on hand to present it)
Get a notable performer to sing the national anthem
-Is there a player whose jersey should be retired for his play or his life after DU or a combination thereof/Is the Jewel 's number retired/his announcing & play have got to be worth it
-Hoist hall of fame banners for Cooper & Posey
-Sponsor the game on local television as well as the online stream & pay a well-known, retired NBA player looking to break into broadcasting to the crew for the night
-Get a Nelson to reprise the bear wrestling incident
-Spend large on a bigtime PR firm with the juice to make this a noteworthy happening that Pittsburghers are unlikely to miss & gets picked up by national press

VBC wrote:

If it is going to be a buy game against a low major I'd like to see North Carolina A&T, the alma mater of the Greensboro Four, open Cooper Fieldhouse. They played us at Palumbo a few years ago.

If it's going to be an HBCU, it's got to be Howard, which is considered the "Harvard" of the HBCUs, and is probably the best known, at least among black people.