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Post by rf1 on Nov 2, 2023 12:32:38 GMT -5
To give you more perspective on why there is no chance that URI will go FBS, consider the fact that it is the ONLY New England state flagship that does not sponsor a varsity hockey program. The other five flagships all have D1 varsity programs that compete in Hockey East. URI fields men's and women's club teams that make their home at the on campus 2,500 bleacher seat Boss Arena.
If URI cannot support a D1 hockey program in a region where the sport is popular at many levels, how then could it support a FBS program in a region where college football (and levels beneath it) has less interest than other parts of the country.
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Post by rf1 on Oct 31, 2023 15:00:07 GMT -5
There is zero chance that URI will be upgrading to FBS.
These much needed upgrades will only bring facilities closer to typical FCS standards.
URI operates most sports on a shoestring budget and has long had many neglected sports venues. The school's operation has always been cash strapped. It is one of the least supported state flagship universities (across all aspects) in the US. To counter this, it very actively tries to recruit a high number of out of state students (MA/CT/NY/NJ) as it can charge higher tuition rates. It is only just a bit over 50% of its enrollment from within RI which is very atypical for a state flagship school (UMass and UConn are over 72% in state).
Meade Stadium has been deficient for decades. Due to structural and fire egress issues, the upper sections of the east stands were covered over in recent years reducing capacity. These stands have failed inspections in the past and required continuing work before being allowed to be used many seasons. The upper sections were just reopened as additional new stairways were added to address inadequate egress.
The outdoor track was condemned decades ago and hasn't been used since then. The school does however have a very nice indoor track facility.
The 20 year old Boss Ice Arena was just recently shut down in August as the ice making system completely failed and needed a total overhaul. The club team had to practice and play all around the state having to go so far as Pawtucket. They are hoping to get it back open on November 6th after several delays.
The only sport that URI, the state, and its alumni/fans have financially supported at a decent level is men's basketball. It however took an Elite-8 and alumnus governor to get the state to support the building of the 7,657 seat Ryan Center which opened back in 2002. Even then, the state only really contributed about 1/3 toward the $54M cost of construction. The state backed and floated bonds for another 1/3 which was required to be paid off by venue revenues and student fees which is still ongoing. The other 1/3 cost was private donations. URI did not have a separate dedicated practice space until just the beginning of this season. It was at a disadvantage not having one as all the high profile schools along with much of the A-10 already had such facilities. It was one of the items Dan Hurley had really wanted before going to UConn. It took six more years after Hurley's departure and some $8M, all in private donations, to carve out and renovate existing space in a building attached to the Ryan Center to create the new Soloviev Family Basketball Practice Facility.
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Post by rf1 on Oct 27, 2023 16:31:02 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Oct 23, 2023 13:14:15 GMT -5
Wow! That’s a LOT of Catholic schools!😊
Only Rider, Quinnipiac, and Marist will not be Catholic schools. Marist was however initially founded as a Catholic institution and remained that up until 2003. The MAAC has basically branded itself as the a lower level version of the Big East. Too bad the D3 Little East already has the rights to that name.
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Post by rf1 on Oct 9, 2023 12:22:33 GMT -5
It gets uglier by the day. An update from Trilly Donovan who brings up the mental health of Grasso. Claims an official says it is unlikely he will ever coach another game at Bryant. The Latest on Jared Grassoburnerball.com/the-latest-on-jared-grasso/
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Post by rf1 on Oct 8, 2023 8:30:52 GMT -5
Things are getting even worse for Grasso with an unrelated arrest for an incident that occurred AFTER he was suspended: Bryant's Grasso due in court after arrest by North Smithfield police
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Post by rf1 on Oct 6, 2023 8:55:33 GMT -5
Our Lasy of the Elms--wow. I believe the school has won 8 total games in the past three seasons. The two tallest players are 6-5 and 6-6. This is not good---maybe a FHCBN arranged game? I think we're trying to corner the market on opponents that were once all-women's colleges. Regis, Colby-Sawyer, now Elms. Several others to be played! Got to get Wheaton and Vassar on the schedule.
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Post by rf1 on Oct 1, 2023 14:48:12 GMT -5
It would seem to me that WooSox attendance may have reached its peak and possibly plateaued at a level some 2k less per game than its best years in Pawtucket. Typically a new ballpark experiences its best attendance in the immediate years after its opening. Covid impacted Year 1 at Polar Park so that is not a great barometer. The fact that attendance was basically the same in years two and three however provide a better measuring stick. While the per game average did see a slight uptick in 2023, it has to be troubling to WooSox ownership that there apparently were a lot more paid tickets with no shows this past season. That is not a good sign for attendance growth. It will be interesting to see if this level of support can be continued going forward with the novelty of a new team and park fading. Many franchises sometimes see a noticeable decline after a few years. Will that happen in Worcester?
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Post by rf1 on Oct 1, 2023 14:29:48 GMT -5
HC may need to locate $18 million for something else before that happens. Some Prior commitment?
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Post by rf1 on Oct 1, 2023 9:37:11 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Sept 30, 2023 15:39:44 GMT -5
2023 season attendance numbers for the MLB affiliated minors have been released. The self reported figures for the Worcester Red Sox at Polar Park show little change from the prior 2022 season numbers. Overall attendance was down 519,661 versus 532,152 but that was due to three less home games. The reported average attendance slightly rose to 7,424 from the previous year's 7,290. Worcester once again finished fifth in AAA and 6th overall. All the teams ahead of them however saw significant attendance growth. It should also be noted that there was much discussion earlier this season regarding the attendance numbers that the WooSox were reporting. It was generally thought that actual attendance this season was noticeably less than reported paid attendance compared to the preceding year. Thus far in three seasons at Polar Park, the WooSox have come no where near the attendance that was reported by the franchise during its peak at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. The team averaged over 9,000 six times in the period from 2001 to 2008. WooSox drop slightly in total attendance rankings amid rainy 2023 seasonwww.wbjournal.com/article/woosox-drop-slightly-in-total-attendance-rankings-amid-rainy-2023-season
AAA Red Sox Attendance since 2000 Year | # Of Openings | Attendance | Average Attendance | Home | Principal Owner 2000 | 67 | 585,107 | 8,733 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2001 | 70 | 647,928 | 9,256 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2002 | 68 | 615,540 | 9,052 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2003 | 67 | 550,157 | 8,211 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2004 | 70 | 657,067 | 9,387 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2005 | 72 | 688,421 | 9,561 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2006 | 66 | 613,065 | 9,289 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2007 | 69 | 611,379 | 8,861 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2008 | 70 | 636,788 | 9,097 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2009 | 70 | 625,561 | 8,937 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2010 | 71 | 592,326 | 8,343 | Pawtucket | Ben Mondor 2011 | 70 | 578,930 | 8,270 | Pawtucket | Madeleine Mondor 2012 | 69 | 521,023 | 7,551 | Pawtucket | Madeleine Mondor 2013 | 69 | 540,034 | 7,827 | Pawtucket | Madeleine Mondor 2014 | 70 | 515,665 | 7,367 | Pawtucket | Madeleine Mondor 2015 | 71 | 466,600 | 6,572 | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2016 | 67 | 407,097 | 6,076 | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2017 | 64 | 409,960 | 6,406 | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2018 | 66 | 394,811 | 5,982 | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2019 | 63 | 331,010 | 5,254 | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2020 | --- | --- | --- | Pawtucket | Larry Lucchino 2021 | 59 | 362,559 | 6,145 | Worcester | Larry Lucchino 2022 | 73 | 532,152 | 7,290 | Worcester | Larry Lucchino 2023 | 70 | 519,651 | 7,424 | Worcester | Larry Lucchino
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Post by rf1 on Sept 27, 2023 10:59:01 GMT -5
Don't look for the Crusaders Football game at Polar Park to end any time soon. The stadium has come no where near hosting the number of non baseball events that were originally promised. Back in 2018, the venue was projected per the city's own website to host upward of 60 non baseball events that were to include "large-scale" events/concerts, road races, collegiate/high school sporting events, fireworks and other community events. This projection has since been removed from the site and to my knowledge, there is still yet to be a large concert held there. High school graduations and football games seem to be the most common events that have been held there. The annual Holy Cross football game is very likely the most attended non baseball event at Polar Park each year by quite a large margin.
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Post by rf1 on Sept 19, 2023 12:41:28 GMT -5
How the Worcester National Universities ranked:
#82 WPI (previously #67) #142 Clark (previously #97)
The new tweaks to the USNWR formula did not help either local school. This was especially true for Clark as it declined by 45 spots. Many national public universities however saw improvement with the change.
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Post by rf1 on Sept 7, 2023 9:45:46 GMT -5
Hate to tell you that many of the Rhode Islanders I know think just as I do. I was not the only one conveying those sentiments to the WooSox employee on Sunday. I think WooSox ownership understands this and their absence for the final event at McCoy, the team's home for 50 years, was further confirmation. You might want to expand your horizons to get a true feel of Rhode Island natives.
I already DO have a true feel of my fellow Rhode Island natives.
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Post by rf1 on Sept 7, 2023 9:04:38 GMT -5
I was at the Final Inning event held this past Sunday at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket to celebrate the old park before it is demolished to make way for a new high school. They had many food trucks, kid activities, and photo ops. The playing field surface of the stadium was opened to the public (the stadium seating area was not) with the night being capped off by a fireworks display akin to the former traditional past July 3rd shows. The event was in fact first originally scheduled to happen earlier on July 3rd but was postponed due to weather concerns. The WooSox sent the two former PawSox mascots to the park for photo-ops. I jokingly asked the other WooSox staff member that accompanied them if Larry Luchinno was coming down. He laughed and said no and I indicated that was wise as he was not wanted there. This college aged staff member then asked if I had been up to Polar Park to see a game. I informed him that I, like many others from RI, will never step foot in that stadium.Hate to tell you that many of our neighbors to the south have not followed this threat. Hate to tell you that many of the Rhode Islanders I know think just as I do. I was not the only one conveying those sentiments to the WooSox employee on Sunday. I think WooSox ownership understands this and their absence for the final event at McCoy, the team's home for 50 years, was further confirmation.
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Post by rf1 on Sept 6, 2023 10:08:03 GMT -5
I was at the Final Inning event held this past Sunday at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket to celebrate the old park before it is demolished to make way for a new high school. They had many food trucks, kid activities, and photo ops. The playing field surface of the stadium was opened to the public (the stadium seating area was not) with the night being capped off by a fireworks display akin to the former traditional past July 3rd shows. The event was in fact first originally scheduled to happen earlier on July 3rd but was postponed due to weather concerns.
The WooSox sent the two former PawSox mascots to the park for photo-ops. I jokingly asked the other WooSox staff member that accompanied them if Larry Luchinno was coming down. He laughed and said no and I indicated that was wise as he was not wanted there. This college aged staff member then asked if I had been up to Polar Park to see a game. I informed him that I, like many others from RI, will never step foot in that stadium.
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Post by rf1 on Sept 5, 2023 8:03:14 GMT -5
What is the woo to Boston train situation? 1. Lansdowne Station (formerly Yawkey, next to Fenway Park), walk a very short distance to Kenmore Square and get on the Green Line B train, whose last stop is right in front of St. Ignatius; short walk from there to Alumni. (or) 2. The station right before Fenway, Boston Landing, has a MBTA bus to Cleveland Circle.
I would not recommend the commuter rail.
There are only two Worcester Line commuter trains on a Saturday morning that would get you to the game for the noon tip-off 7:10am depart Worcester / 8:31am arrive Landsdowne 9:10am depart Worcester / 10:31am arrive Landsowne
Would then still have the trip from there out to BC.
The next train leaves Worcester at 11:10 am getting into Landsdowne at 12:31pm which would mean you would likely miss the entire first half.
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Post by rf1 on Sept 4, 2023 8:29:32 GMT -5
Parking is a big issue at BC games. When I have attended games, I usually took the Green line B train to the BC stop or parked beyond Cleveland Circle and resigned myself to walking a significant distance to campus and likely getting a parking ticket. Unless you pay through the nose for parking on campus (which is difficult to obtain for a single game even if you are willing to pay several hundred dollars to do so), there are no good options on campus. Regardless, you simply can’t drive up to campus and expect to park there.
Th parking and traffic situations at BC football games have been going on for decades. I have typically taken the MBTA Green Line as well. I however got a D Train from Riverside/Grove Street right of Rte 95 just a bit south of the Mass Pike. Got off at Chestnut Hill stop and walked a few blocks through a residential neighborhood.
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Post by rf1 on Aug 27, 2023 8:47:01 GMT -5
It only took UMass the first game to equal its win total from a year ago.
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Post by rf1 on Aug 25, 2023 17:00:49 GMT -5
Shaughnessy probably has closer connections to BC these days than Holy Cross living in Newton and having had his son more recently go there and play baseball for the Eagles. He himself graduated from Holy Cross back in 1975 which is nearly 50 years ago.
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Post by rf1 on Aug 17, 2023 16:39:27 GMT -5
I am sure Holy Cross could get nearby D3 Johnson & Wales Univ like URI did.
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Post by rf1 on Jul 24, 2023 21:06:34 GMT -5
Bill Reynolds did a prep year at Worcester Academy between Barrington High and Brown.
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Post by rf1 on Jul 6, 2023 8:47:32 GMT -5
UNH announced their OOC schedule yesterday and will not be playing HC this season.
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Post by rf1 on Jul 4, 2023 11:30:48 GMT -5
Holy Cross President's House at the corner of Regent Street and Drury Lane across from WPI. It has 4,588 square feet of living area with a large back yard extending to Park Ave. It is directly across Drury Lane from the WPI President's House and just a few properties down from the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity House at 10 Regent Street.
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Post by rf1 on Jul 4, 2023 9:23:28 GMT -5
How many of the FBS programs in the northeast have a higher ceiling than Holy Cross if Holy Cross invests in football seriously? You could argue Syracuse and UConn (Although both programs have been consistently bad), but who else? Do Temple, Buffalo, Army, BC, and UMass have higher ceiling than Holy Cross? I'm not sure they do. In a hypothetical conference with the aforementioned teams, I don't see why Holy Cross couldn't compete for conference titles if they continue to build this thing right.
Other than Army, all the other schools above are multiple times the size of Holy Cross for undergraduates and that is not even counting the grad school enrollments they have which would make the gap even more.
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