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Post by Chris Lang on Oct 22, 2005 12:36:44 GMT -5
Ed, Jacksonville State is located in Alabama.
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Post by eddantes on Oct 22, 2005 13:33:03 GMT -5
I stand corrected.
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Post by HarrisburgFlame on Oct 22, 2005 19:03:27 GMT -5
I'll be there! Less than a two hour drive for me. Bringing the whole family!
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Post by PAmedic on Oct 22, 2005 20:01:45 GMT -5
I'm not too miserable about Rutgers, since I think Villanova has beaten them in the recent past...but then again, we're definitely no Villanova. I doubt either game will be a 59-0 blowout though like UConn was. Dude: Rutgers will CRUSH us. They beat some decent competition this year; can't spit out the stats off the top of my head but will get back to you.
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Post by GetRealLU on Oct 24, 2005 6:58:57 GMT -5
He's right about Rutgers stomping us into the ground. I don't like to daisy chain games together but here it goes- In 2005 Rutgers beat Pitt who shutout I-AA Powerhouse Youngstown State 41-0 who shutout Liberty 42-0. And by the way Rutgers beat Uconn at Rentschler Field where LU was shutout earlier in the year. Not very promising
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Post by PAmedic on Oct 24, 2005 23:27:07 GMT -5
I do remember the Pitt game (though they are a MAJOR disappointment this year), but this is a good Rutgers team this year and I expect they will be tough for the next several as well. It WILL be ugly. I'd really like to get over to see it, even if it means braving those idiot Jersey drivers. (shudder)
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Post by FHSFlash on Oct 25, 2005 13:11:14 GMT -5
If you schedule a 1-A you should get paid big bucks. What kind of money did LU get? Don't think you should kill the team for prestige.
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Post by Sly Fox on Oct 25, 2005 17:35:37 GMT -5
No, there are payouts for these I-A adventures. Although the money isn't what it was just a few years ago because of some rule changes. They will lead to more I-A opportunities but the money will spread a little thinner. Even still, that jack can go a LONG way in our tight budget.
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Post by GetRealLU on Oct 26, 2005 9:26:10 GMT -5
There is nothing wrong with tough scheduling. We need to build for the future and a good place to starts is by playing some ACC, Big East, and MAC teams and some ranked 1AA's. We can't afford to pattern our schedule to the Big South level of competition. It doesn't make good sense. If we can't compete with this type of schedule bring in a coach who is capable of bringing us there. Steve: Don't you think liberty needs to worry more about winning the Big South before worrying about non-conference I-A scheduling? Starting with winning your conference/ winning it consistently would lead to a better future or at least a decent base to build from. At this juncture in time Liberty can't beat DI-A schools, can't beat I-AA and struggle to win against the likes of Concord College a DII. As Chris pointed out #13th ranked Coastal Carolina can't schedule I-A competition yet by NCAA rules thus limiting them to scheduling only I-AA and DII schools. Looks like a formula of success that Liberty should highly take into consideration when it comes to scheduling. Sly: The budget situation wouldn't be that bad if the team was winning and bringing in large crowds to generate greater tix and concessions revenue. LU shouldn't be dependent on I-A money every year. If LU had a winning program it would be a much easier sell for the marketing department to businesses/corporations to sponsor LU football thus eliminating the need for I-A cash.
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Post by Sly Fox on Oct 26, 2005 9:43:06 GMT -5
Let's just sawy we have a different perspective. I don't think winning against schools no one in Lynchburg has ever heard of will suddenly send town folk flocking to the gate at Williams Stadium. Right now, our actual gate haul on home games is miniscule with most fans either there "free" on student fees or using comp tickets. So we're not really making any actual cash of any significance at the gate right now. Certainly not enough to make any comparisons with the I-A paydays.
The arguments being used right now against scheduling I-As or the same ones some of old hags discussed ourselves when we moved up from DII to I-AA nearly two decades ago. There was gloom & doon all over campus. But within just a couple of years we were competitive at the I-AA level. With the right staff, we will be just fine. Obviously, we are in bad shape right now. But it can be turned around rather quickly.
And frankly, I'm not comfortable with the comparisons to Coastal. Many new I-AAs have strong surges at first as they are able to start with a clean slate and build from underclassmen up the first few years. The difficulty is usually 4-5 years in when the initial surge of underclassmen who havce started and played nearly every game the first few years all leave at once and you are left with inexperienced players all over. They are going to have trouble maintaining their current level of success the next few years.
On the other hand, we are now a known commodity with our weaknesses for '06 visible everywhere. That makes it easier to adjust than when you are flying blind. The challenge is in addressing the problems.
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Post by PittLU on Oct 26, 2005 10:37:39 GMT -5
PA Medic - PITT is not that huge of a dissapointment. Three wins in a row (@ Louisville, UCONN, @ WV) and we get a BCS bid. You gotta love the Big East. ;D We just have to hope for a Rutgers loss. Hey, Syracuse pulled through last year against BC and put us in the Fiesta Bowl. I will be a sacraficial lamb to a BCS top 5 - we get a huge payday! Oh, and there would be an outside shot at PSU vs PITT in the Orange Bowl. Joe Pa couldnt hide from PITT then, and write it down - PITT would beat PSU. PSU are the biggest pretenders in the Top 10.
Realistically, and DI opponent Liberty schedules with will slaughter us soundly. Money is the leader in that game. Sly is right (and we have beat this to death), LU has zero gate. When I worked for the ticket office in 97-99, we would stand at the top of Williams Stadium and create a number we thought the attendance would be. I always loved picking up the fishwrap the next day to see my number published. There are no ticket sales and little fan club support. You want to see a winner, then you have to get better at recruiting. If you put a winner on the field, the fans will come. People love a winner. Also - why dont we promote Sky Angel? TV exposure can also drive recruits.
In the meantime, take as many sound beatings as possible and stay in the Big East. I love hearing that Liberty was beaten by Youngstown State last week when tuning into PITT pre-game. I also got a comment from one of the ticket takers at Heinz Field because I wore my Liberty Football sweatshirt to PITT vs. Cincinnati. Exposure, exposure, exposure. Any publicity is good publicity..........
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Post by Chris Lang on Oct 26, 2005 11:59:46 GMT -5
Sly makes an excellent point about the gate at Williams Stadium. I ran into this same issue when covering Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. There are some astute I-AA football fans, and there are casual fans who wouldn't know Appalachian State from Amherst High School.
As much as the coaches and players made a big deal of it when a quality I-AA like Northern Iowa or Sam Houston State played at NAU, the casual fan base just didn't get it. I-AA teams, powerhouses or not, are anonymous to those who don't follow the level very closely.
That's why its huge that Liberty builds the state rivalries with William & Mary, Richmond, James Madison, Hampton, VMI and Norfolk State. People at least know who those schools are. You could bring Massachusetts, Montana, Hofstra and Furman to Williams all the time, and it still wouldn't result in a huge jump in attendance, because most people wouldn't understand the significance of the game.
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Post by krh44 on Oct 26, 2005 18:59:28 GMT -5
LUPITT- You make an obviuous but good point "If you put a winner on the field, the fans will come. People love a winner." At times it seems like Liberty fans are the biggest band wagon fans ever but it is true even at the bigger schools. Va Tech probably had more fans at the Duke game this in Durham than Duke. WHere were the Cameron Crazies?? Same situation at FSU except the where are the football fans during basketball season. I think in state rivals are win-win for both teams. The home team will hopefully larger crowds and the away team will be able to bring some fans.
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Post by lufbfan3 on Oct 26, 2005 19:39:43 GMT -5
Regardless of who we are playing, if we are losing (and not even scoring a point in some games)-people aren't going to come. The attendance at Saturday's game was embarassing, and although it was REALLY cold (sorry northerners, it was cold for us it was also SENIOR night and the last home game of the season. Hardcore fans would come to that kind of a game in blizzard conditions--but we don't have hardcore fans (except for some of the families/girlfriends/alumni) for the most part and I actually had someone at church on Sunday ask me why LCA played on a Saturday night at LU. RIDICULOUS. I agree that in state games will bring a much larger crowd--but until we have a team that wins-I'd say we'll have more fans from their schools than our own. It sucks, but it's the truth. As for the money we are losing at the gate at LU--if we could get the majority of the student body to come, we could make up for some of that loss in concessions. I think the prices are pretty high, and people still spend a fortune at the concession stands. If they were prepared, and had hot chocolate when people were freezing their butts off, and more money was put into making it attractive (the actual concession stands) they could make a killing there. 10,000 students buying a "Liberty Water" at $1.50 a pop = $15,000. That's $15,000 we don't have right now! I don't know, when it comes down to it-WE NEED TO WIN. And, maybe they could require students to attend games like convo? JUST A SUGGESTION... Chris-I notice you reference Amherst a lot(okay maybe just once or twice)--are you a fan? Or are they just at the forefront of your mind bc they're dominating? I'm an alum!
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Post by jacksparrow82 on Oct 26, 2005 21:58:04 GMT -5
Jacksonville st. is on Mississppi i believe. Jacksonville though just began a program like 2 years ago. Their either in Div 2 or 1AA independents.
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Post by jacksonville on Oct 26, 2005 22:00:02 GMT -5
my bad, didn't click on pg 2. i guess jack st is in bama
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Post by Chris Lang on Oct 26, 2005 22:43:09 GMT -5
Jacksonville is a new program in I-AA and competes in the non-scholarship Pioneer League with Davidson, Morehead State, Butler, San Diego, Dayton, Drake and others. As far as Amherst goes, not a fan at all. I'm a Hayfield alum, so I don't have any allegiance to the Lynchburg area schools. Heck, Hayfield lost to Glass in football in the state semis my senior year. That was a long time ago, though, so I really don't have much attachment to Hayfield either.
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Post by PAmedic on Oct 27, 2005 5:31:23 GMT -5
Another thought is if you create a draw to the games scheduling big name schools and then create a loyal fan base, you can wean off the fluff games and concentrate on winning legitimate conf games. Its a chicken v. egg argument which we have BEAT TO DEATH.
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Post by Stevev on Oct 27, 2005 19:18:10 GMT -5
Of course our legitimate conference games are not so legitimate. With the exception of Coastal, the BSC games would be considered the "fluff games" and the rest of the schedule would be considered the legitimate part which right now we don't seem to be doing too well in these days.
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