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Post by lafalum on Apr 26, 2016 12:15:28 GMT -5
Your new AD seems to have a charge from the powers that be to improve HC athletics. You are improving facilities, and you fired underperforming coaches.Is it a change in administration, board or alumni pressure?? We are having a discussion on our board about our miserable all around performance at Lafayette.( Every team will have a losing season this year). Any opinions or insights??
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Post by hchoops on Apr 26, 2016 12:24:19 GMT -5
New president
New AD
Old ideas that had worked
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Post by breezy on Apr 26, 2016 12:45:18 GMT -5
As articulated by Fr. Boroughs at the recent New Jersey Club President's Dinner, he was charged by the Board of Trustees to take action to improve HC athletics with the mission to make the athletic experience at HC more favorable for the student athletes. (It doesn't hurt that the alums will find the change more favorable as well.)
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Post by sarasota on Apr 26, 2016 12:58:19 GMT -5
You have to believe those Trustees that started it all heard lots of complaints from alumni over the years about the state of HC athletics. They didn't just wake up smart one morning.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Apr 26, 2016 13:25:16 GMT -5
Your new AD seems to have a charge from the powers that be to improve HC athletics. You are improving facilities, and you fired underperforming coaches.Is it a change in administration, board or alumni pressure?? We are having a discussion on our board about our miserable all around performance at Lafayette.( Every team will have a losing season this year). Any opinions or insights?? Pine is an anomalous hire at the FCS level. His career trajectory has been with Power Five conference schools, other than an early stint at the USMA. He is clearly a change agent, but by definition, change agents don't stay around very long. With respect to coaches hires and fires, IMO, he looks at what you've done with the resources you've been given (# of scollies, recruiting budget, # assistant coaches, etc.) and how these resources compare with peer institutions. More than his predecessors (plural deliberate), he seems to look to hire coaches who don't have ties to Massachusetts, Holy Cross, or even the PL. The number of AD names on his Rolodex probably exceeds that of the rest of the PL ADs combined (USNA and USMA excepted). As for HC, I think the now not-so-new President has helped, but not to the extent that recent change in Presidents at Yale and Dartmouth changed their athletic fortunes. At Dartmouth, the then President was indifferent (his successor was a HS QB who would practice with the team), and at Yale, the former President was hostile, to the point of reducing the number of athletes admitted. IMO, the HC BoT hasn't had a towering champion of athletics since Edward Bennett Williams. Tagliabue was recently chair of the BoT at Georgetown, and I didn't see much change in the athletic fortunes of Georgetown during his tenure. Finally, I think alumni are much more a force at the FBS level. When one is paying in the thousands (seat licenses, insurance policies, club memberships) for a season ticket for football, even a marginally successful team is not tolerated. That kind of financial pressure doesn't exist at the FCS level. |
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hc70
Climbing Mt. St. James
Banned for Violating Board Rules
Posts: 70 
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Post by hc70 on Apr 26, 2016 16:25:02 GMT -5
But....the idea of improving facilities goes back to the FrMcF/DR regime, no?
HC had to be dragged into football scholarships over the initial objection of Fr B, no?
Lafayette did an excellent job updating, but keeping the charm of their bball facility. HC not so much on our bball facility.
Coach firing occurred during the DR regime as well. He hired star coaches like Dick DiC, HoFCRW, Tom Gilmore, hockey illuminati CPP, etc
We still have never beaten Bucknell or Lehu in lax. Even Laffy can't say that, can they? (serious ?)
Is HC not getting ready to decline a hockey league upgrade?
ADNP a nice fellow, but no wunderkind.
fwiw, imho
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Post by rgs318 on Apr 26, 2016 16:57:44 GMT -5
Your new AD seems to have a charge from the powers that be to improve HC athletics. You are improving facilities, and you fired underperforming coaches.Is it a change in administration, board or alumni pressure?? We are having a discussion on our board about our miserable all around performance at Lafayette.( Every team will have a losing season this year). Any opinions or insights?? The former HC administration and AD still have a few die-hard supporters. However, the new regime has indeed brought a new attitude to HC sports. The President and Athletic Director are working with the board to upgrade our athketic programs and facilities. HC seemed to drag on forever at the bottom of the President's Cup competition. All we heard about from our former AD was that many students participated in D1 sports. Now we seem to be seeing new coaches who are bringing sucess in small steps in almost every sport with some notable successes...such as the PL Tourney Championship. Future success is certainly not guaranteed, but the scene looks a lot better as facilities are upgraded, scholarship athletes and comitting to HC and programs are improving across the board. |
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Post by HC13 on Apr 26, 2016 17:13:27 GMT -5
Die-hard supporters? Is it not fair to say that nearly all if not all the BOT commitments to the facility upgrades and the fundraising to pay for them happen prior to Pine's & Fr B's arrival?
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hc70
Climbing Mt. St. James
Banned for Violating Board Rules
Posts: 70
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Post by hc70 on Apr 26, 2016 17:28:17 GMT -5
The new HC administration and AD still have a few die-hard supporters. However, the new regime has a long way to go to make HC a successful athletics program.
Welcome back 13. The voice of reason.
Go Cross Go! Beat Bucknell!
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Apr 26, 2016 17:35:18 GMT -5
But....the idea of improving facilities goes back to the FrMcF/DR regime, no? HC had to be dragged into football scholarships over the initial objection of Fr B, no? Lafayette did an excellent job updating, but keeping the charm of their bball facility. HC not so much on our bball facility. Coach firing occurred during the DR regime as well. He hired star coaches like Dick DiC, HoFCRW, Tom Gilmore, hockey illuminati CPP, etc We still have never beaten Bucknell or Lehu in lax. Even Laffy can't say that, can they? (serious ?) Is HC not getting ready to decline a hockey league upgrade? ADNP a nice fellow, but no wunderkind. fwiw, imho .) The initial proposals to upgrade athletic facilities arose in the era you cited. DR, to his credit, did improve a number of venues, but took on no big upgrades. The OFH renovation was funded by Chateau d'Yquem nearly a decade ago, and nothing happened. (They did re-point the brick.) 2.) DR was and is an accountant by trade. He had no background or experience in college athletics. 3.) How can you criticize the renovated Hart court when it won't by fully done for two years? 4.) That we have never beaten Bucknell or Lehigh in lacrosse is not ADNP's fault. If you are blaming AD's, look no further than DR. 5.) I am unaware of a hockey conference formally inviting HC, so you can't decline an offer that hasn't been made.. (Unless you are W T Sherman.) 6.) As for DR's hire of CRW (in his second year as AD), you could say CRW fell into his lap. Do you think DR would have hired CRW if he wasn't an alum? I believe CPP was at HC before DR. |
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Post by rgs318 on Apr 26, 2016 17:57:57 GMT -5
Die-hard supporters? Is it not fair to say that nearly all if not all the BOT commitments to the facility upgrades and the fundraising to pay for them happen prior to Pine's & Fr B's arrival? 1. Yes. 2. Without knowing the details, I cannot say if nearly all of that happened over three years ago (except for the non-athletic facilities such as the Performing Art Center). I can say, having spoken with him on a number of issues, that FADDR was a loyal Crusader who was underwhelming in dealing with others and seemed to settle for mediocrity far too often. |
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Post by rgs318 on Apr 26, 2016 18:00:32 GMT -5
But....the idea of improving facilities goes back to the FrMcF/DR regime, no? HC had to be dragged into football scholarships over the initial objection of Fr B, no? Lafayette did an excellent job updating, but keeping the charm of their bball facility. HC not so much on our bball facility. Coach firing occurred during the DR regime as well. He hired star coaches like Dick DiC, HoFCRW, Tom Gilmore, hockey illuminati CPP, etc We still have never beaten Bucknell or Lehu in lax. Even Laffy can't say that, can they? (serious ?) Is HC not getting ready to decline a hockey league upgrade? ADNP a nice fellow, but no wunderkind. fwiw, imho 5.) I am unaware of a hockey conference formally inviting HC, so you can't decline an offer that hasn't been made.. (Unless you are W T Sherman.)
I love the historic reference. Well done, pak! |
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Post by HC13 on Apr 26, 2016 18:31:49 GMT -5
Die-hard supporters? Is it not fair to say that nearly all if not all the BOT commitments to the facility upgrades and the fundraising to pay for them happen prior to Pine's & Fr B's arrival? 1. Yes. 2. Without knowing the details, I cannot say if nearly all of that happened over three years ago (except for the non-athletic facilities such as the Performing Art Center). I can say, having spoken with him on a number of issues, that FADDR was a loyal Crusader who was underwhelming in dealing with others and seemed to settle for mediocrity far too often. I guess we had a different experience w/DR. I have no dog in this hunt, NP seems great, have met him on several occasions and I am impressed, but I wonder if he would have done any better working with the constraints that DR worked under, he was handcuffed frequently by an Admin that had little or no interest in making a financial commitment to athletics. Virtually all of the planning and gifts were committed before NP arrival. |
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Apr 26, 2016 21:15:36 GMT -5
Your new AD seems to have a charge from the powers that be to improve HC athletics. You are improving facilities, and you fired underperforming coaches.Is it a change in administration, board or alumni pressure?? We are having a discussion on our board about our miserable all around performance at Lafayette.( Every team will have a losing season this year). Any opinions or insights?? Pine is an anomalous hire at the FCS level. His career trajectory has been with Power Five conference schools, other than an early stint at the USMA. He is clearly a change agent, but by definition, change agents don't stay around very long. With respect to coaches hires and fires, IMO, he looks at what you've done with the resources you've been given (# of scollies, recruiting budget, # assistant coaches, etc.) and how these resources compare with peer institutions. More than his predecessors (plural deliberate), he seems to look to hire coaches who don't have ties to Massachusetts, Holy Cross, or even the PL. The number of AD names on his Rolodex probably exceeds that of the rest of the PL ADs combined (USNA and USMA excepted). As for HC, I think the now not-so-new President has helped, but not to the extent that recent change in Presidents at Yale and Dartmouth changed their athletic fortunes. At Dartmouth, the then President was indifferent (his successor was a HS QB who would practice with the team), and at Yale, the former President was hostile, to the point of reducing the number of athletes admitted. IMO, the HC BoT hasn't had a towering champion of athletics since Edward Bennett Williams. Tagliabue was recently chair of the BoT at Georgetown, and I didn't see much change in the athletic fortunes of Georgetown during his tenure. Finally, I think alumni are much more a force at the FBS level. When one is paying in the thousands (seat licenses, insurance policies, club memberships) for a season ticket for football, even a marginally successful team is not tolerated. That kind of financial pressure doesn't exist at the FCS level. Bill Doran is WITHOUT QUESTION a influential champion of athletics on the BoT. |
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Post by rgs318 on Apr 27, 2016 6:42:31 GMT -5
1. Yes. 2. Without knowing the details, I cannot say if nearly all of that happened over three years ago (except for the non-athletic facilities such as the Performing Art Center). I can say, having spoken with him on a number of issues, that FADDR was a loyal Crusader who was underwhelming in dealing with others and seemed to settle for mediocrity far too often. I guess we had a different experience w/DR. I have no dog in this hunt, NP seems great, have met him on several occasions and I am impressed, but I wonder if he would have done any better working with the constraints that DR worked under, he was handcuffed frequently by an Admin that had little or no interest in making a financial commitment to athletics. Virtually all of the planning and gifts were committed before NP arrival. That is good to hear, because I did always see him as someone loyal to HC. He did not have much of a background in athletics but did know finance. I am not sure that set him up for real success at HC. (My biggest difficulty with him was over the handling of insurance for injured athletes. He was nice enough to speak with me, but was also most critical of parents who did not understand why (at the time) their sons had to go home for medical care after an injury playing for HC. He had difficulty explaining the policy and was most critical of parents - one in particular. That may color my memories of him. |
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Post by HC13 on Apr 27, 2016 7:54:54 GMT -5
Fair enough Rg.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Apr 27, 2016 10:51:16 GMT -5
EBW was the owner of two professional sports franchises. He apparently had a particular interest in HC football, and was in a position to do something about it. I have heard he was less interested in HC hoops, possibly because he owned the Redskins and Orioles, and not the Bullets nor the Capitals..
In any event, it is very atypical for a professional team owner (NFL. MLB, NBA, NFL) to be chair of the BoT of a college or university.
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