Villanova basketball held its team banquet last night and announced that team benefactor William B. Finneran, a hedge fund guy, would be donating $22.6 million to the program to be used to renovate the Pavilion. Fr. Peter Donohue explained in a letter:

This gift also allows us to move forward with a strategic plan to transform The Pavilion into a sports arena that reflects Villanova’s athletic prominence and enables student-athletes to compete at the highest levels of Division I athletics. This vital renovation will enhance our ability to recruit and train the nation’s best and brightest student-athletes and provide the strongest home court advantage possible. It will also enable us to offer a high-quality, game-day experience for students, alumni and fans, and support the facility’s use for significant University-wide activities, including Commencement events, Candidates’ Days and the Special Olympics.

Now, allow me to tweak Temple folks for a second: This is how you capitalize on success and improve your facilities. You win the National Championship and create so much demand for your team that a rich guy is essentially compelled to do it for you. What you don’t do is float the idea of a $100 million North Philly stadium for a team the crept into the top 25 and then proceeded to lose four of its last seven games and can’t even fill its beautiful basketball arena in the same less-than-desirable area for Philly sports to take a weekend venture. I’m… just being honest don’t hate me.

*Which I’m sure the assholes who live near campus in Radnor will hate and act as though they’re shocked – SHOCKED! – that they moved near a big University.