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Post by JRGNYR on Aug 7, 2023 7:46:23 GMT -5
Big Ten is BIG M-O-N-E-Y more so than ever - 3 time zones, coast -to coast- games from early afternoon to late at night. The Pac 12 additions bring large fan bases and a lot of additional revenue with their media markets. Big Ten & the more regional SEC are the kings of the mountain. These two are the marquee conferences. Expect Schiano to move Rutgers up a notch in league play. Their move to the Big Ten seems to have worked out financially in the long term better than expected. And, Clemson & FSU? FSU is contractually tied to the ACC till the '30's. Leaving the ACC would be prohibitively expensive. However schools from the lesser conferences such as the ACC will post winning records, possibly make the playoffs and play in bowl games. These schools will make money. The landscape is changing. ND & Stanford seem to be left in the dust. Expect recruiting to be more difficult for these schools. College football is truly a professional sport. This post is incomplete. It's missing your quip that never gets old, "No one ever died for dear old Rutgers."🙂 Amazing that HC is 11-8 all time vs Rutgers and they are now in the Big 10. And 3-0-0 all-time vs. Georgia.
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Post by JRGNYR on Jul 5, 2023 8:25:07 GMT -5
FBS is out of the question.
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Post by JRGNYR on Jun 29, 2023 7:56:02 GMT -5
The $5 mil isn't nearly as large an issue as the funding of 90% of scholarships across a minimum of 16 sports, including football, over a rolling two-year period. That's where a $5 mil commitment becomes $11 or $12 mil (or more) pretty quickly. That recommendation will cause more institutions to think long and hard about an FBS move than anything else.
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Post by JRGNYR on Jun 28, 2023 11:45:14 GMT -5
Fabulous idea. Anything that leverages HC's reputation as one of the best-in-class liberal arts institutions and create additional opportunities for students in other disciplines at different but similarly-minded colleges and universities is a good thing.
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Post by JRGNYR on Jun 1, 2023 7:51:15 GMT -5
Re: hotel rooms, has anything come on line since the Crowne Plaza was converted into a dorm? If not, then that's a sizeable inventory of hotel rooms that still needs to be addressed.
If I recall re: NCAA, there is a significant preference for full-service properties which further narrows the scope.
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Post by JRGNYR on Apr 12, 2023 7:40:59 GMT -5
What will be wildly interesting to watch is how applications and enrollments start responding in about 3-4 years. That's when kids born in 2008 will reach college age. The birth rate in the country still hasn't quite recovered from the decline precipitated by the onset of the 2007-08 financial crisis. I haven't read up on it too much lately, but that's been quietly tracked by colleges and universities. There will be presumably a correlating decrease in applications, so institutions looking to maintain their selectivity will have to accept fewer students and enrollments will go down and all the associated fallout that comes with that - lower incoming dollars, fewer heads in beds, the necessity to cut expenses, etc.
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Post by JRGNYR on Mar 30, 2023 14:25:12 GMT -5
He is saying all of the right things.
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Post by JRGNYR on Mar 29, 2023 15:57:51 GMT -5
If athletes were classified as employees, it would have wide-ranging and industry-leveling ramifications. Specifics would take some time to figure out but the change in the landscape would be seismic. There would be, in my opinion, a significant and wholesale elimination of several Olympic sports almost overnight. Things like a baseball team's travel budget would get reallocated to handle additional expenses created/necessitated by the reclassification. What does that mean? No more varsity baseball team. Sure, baseball programs would survive at some schools, but the majority of them and other sports at the D1 level would cease to exist. Maybe it would force several D1 schools to revisit reclassifying to D2 or D3. Some schools might abandon athletics entirely like SFNY.
Considering the blowback Hartford received a few years ago for initiating the reclassification to D3 plus the palpable sadness that existed after SFNY's announcement... I don't think anybody could argue with a straight face that eliminating programs or a significant reclassification of sports would be met with much positive feedback.
Also, people who think that schools can just tap into their endowment whenever they want to fund athletic or any other endeavors on campus obviously don't understand how endowments work.
I also think it complicates the relationship an institution has with other scholarship recipients in other disciplines. Say someone is on a scholarship as a chemistry student, and they're spending 20 hours a week in a lab conducting research. If they're part of something that helps draw significant eyeballs to the college/university, what's stopping them from asking for the same employment protections that could be placed upon athletes? The slope is excessively slippery here.
I realize that many of you don't care about the swim, tennis, lacrosse, baseball, softball and/or track teams, but those are the types of sports that stand to take it on the chin the most if this all comes to pass. There, I think, would still be opportunities to participate in those sports but likely at a club level, which I think we all agree doesn't generate the level of attention or fundraising dollars as varsity status. Of course, schools that drop sports are probably going to get sued but if Congress or others force an employee model on collegiate sports, well, what choice will those schools have who can't afford to completely revamp their economic model?
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Post by JRGNYR on Mar 29, 2023 12:30:08 GMT -5
I cannot wait for the season to start. Cannot. Wait.
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Post by JRGNYR on Mar 16, 2023 8:46:25 GMT -5
I think Coach Riga's and the staff's approach is obviously huge in the turnaround. Only winning two games in the first 15 is a recipe for a long, lost year and that they were able to keep the team focused is an immense testament to their efforts as coaches. Could bust out a lot of coaching tropes about "one game at a time" and "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." The fact is those are all relevant to this team.
And obviously the players - their efforts, commitment, playing for and with each other - you don't turn around the ship like this without every single player buying in.
It'll all be a little sweeter for them if they get it done on Saturday. Hopefully a strong contingent of HC alums in Buffalo make it out to the game.
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Post by JRGNYR on Mar 16, 2023 8:21:29 GMT -5
Incredible to think this team was 2-12-1 after the 3-0 loss at Brown on Friday of Thanksgiving weekend.
It hasn't always been pretty, but the team is 15-8-2 since that tough start and 9-4-1 on the road during that span.
Regardless of what happens Saturday, the coaching staff and the players deserve an incredible amount of credit for not letting the slow start completely derail the season. That they find themselves in this position, still playing in the middle of March with one game between them and a conference title and NCAA bid, is nothing short of amazing.
They've put themselves in this position now. They've earned it. Time to finish the job.
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Post by JRGNYR on Mar 14, 2023 10:07:45 GMT -5
First of all, Colgate is a good team. I'm rooting for them to win. I think they have a pretty good chance if they are able to play their game and if their shots fall. Relying on the 3 is feast or famine. If they feast, they've got a chance.
The reality is regardless of Colgate's seed, they're going to play a really good team in the first round. They're going to be the underdog. The committee doesn't look at Colgate or anybody coming out of the league as "well it's the Patriot League so we're going to slot them here." That's just not how it works.
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Post by JRGNYR on Mar 10, 2023 18:45:58 GMT -5
Not necessarily a fan of hyperbole or being dramatic, but this next hire is at least as important, maybe more so, than it was in 1999.
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Post by JRGNYR on Mar 9, 2023 19:04:17 GMT -5
Ben McAdoo could be a decent fit as Smith's replacement. Stop it. Stop it right now.
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Post by JRGNYR on Feb 1, 2023 13:06:09 GMT -5
1-0 each week.
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Post by JRGNYR on Jan 6, 2023 13:15:47 GMT -5
Schedules are also posted on the GoHolyCross football page.
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Post by JRGNYR on Jan 2, 2023 20:37:45 GMT -5
I concur with a lot of the comments re: the improvement in defense these last two games. Footwork of the guys looks much improved, doing a better job of staying in front of their man. But also seeing good switches and recoveries. Maybe a function of the quality of PL opponent, but the defense looks more fundamentally sound nonetheless, something we haven't been able to say much during the BN era. I figured the lights-out 3-point shooting wouldn't last, and it didn't. I also expected a bit of a late-game fade that never really materialized. Perhaps having a few more bench minutes helped keep the starters a little fresher down the stretch. But also perhaps some confidence from the Bucknell game enabled them to finish strong, too. First 2-0 start in PL play in 11 years. Did NOT see that coming. Emphasis mine. I can’t believe it’s been that long since the last 2-0 start in the league. Incredible.
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Post by JRGNYR on Dec 18, 2022 21:14:03 GMT -5
I also wouldn't mind if Georgetown football found a new home. That would free up a date to book a quality non-conference game. HC and the rest of the PL already has to fill 5 dates in the non-con. That's difficult enough. I hear what you're saying, but honestly losing a conference game to do it would create more issues than it would solve.
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Post by JRGNYR on Dec 17, 2022 20:13:41 GMT -5
What the heck is going on with the Red Sox? They have a rabid fan base. It is a wealthy franchise, plenty of money. In other words the Sawx are one of the premier franchises in baseball. I don't get it. They care more about making money than winning. And/or preparing to sell the team and don't want too many albatross contracts on the books.
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Post by JRGNYR on Dec 17, 2022 20:12:42 GMT -5
Damn, after seeing what SDSU is doing to Montana St today, we really weren't all that far away from -- to quote Jake Taylor -- "win[ning] the whole f****** thing" More ammo that HC was absolutely underseeded. Not that anybody on this board needs to be further convinced of that...
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Post by JRGNYR on Dec 17, 2022 20:08:29 GMT -5
I would be in favor of seeing teams like Nova, UNH and URI on the schedule with regularity. Playing and beating those teams would look great on the resume at the end of the season. Part of the issue is travel, I suspect, at least as it pertains to Nova. They’re able to take short bus rides to Bucknell and Lehigh in the years they play them on the road. They have plenty of long trips in the CAA and probably don’t want to add a trip to HC if they can help it (trying to look at it from their perspective). The strength of their league doesn’t require them to schedule the same way in non-con the way HC or Fordham need/want to right now. They also have fewer non-con slots to fill compared to HC, so they can be choosy. That said, would love to see Nova on the schedule for 2-4 games. Great points. I've brought this up several times when people ask why we haven't scheduled series with Villanova. As you point out, if they're going to schedule a PL team, they have Lehigh, Lafayette, Fordham and Bucknell within easy driving distance. They also have Penn in town -- it's actually kind of weird how infrequently the only two FCS teams in Philly play each other, especially given how both have been very good for much of the last 25 years. And of course, the CAA schedule already pens in a trip or two to New England every year, in addition to only allowing for two FCS non-conference games given that Nova plays an FBS $$ game every year as well. However, the additions of Hampton, NCAT and Campbell might actually result in LESS travel for CAA football members believe it or not. This is because the 15-team league is likely to switch to a POD system where each school plays the other four members of their regional POD + 2 members of each of the other two PODS. So there may be some years where the Wildcats are in the market for a trip to the New England area. Likely POD setup FWIW: N'England/New Yawk: UNH, URI, Maine, Albany, Stony Brook Mid-Atlantic: Villanova, Delaware, Towson, Monmouth W&M => **W&M/UR game would have to be grandfathered in** South: Richmond, NCAT, Hampton, Campbell, Elon Hadn't thought this far ahead with the CAA but you're probably right about the pod setup and travel implications. Four games (two home, two away) within your pod and then pod crossovers, probably vs. two in each of the other pods, one home and one away to get to 4 home/4 away overall. Curious if crossovers are prescheduled or if there's NFL style scheduling where tops in each pod from the previous year play each other, second place play each other, etc. Then the other game could be random or determined by some other metric, although some creativity would be needed somewhat if W&M vs. Richmond needs to be protected.
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Leave now
Dec 16, 2022 21:53:06 GMT -5
via mobile
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Post by JRGNYR on Dec 16, 2022 21:53:06 GMT -5
There could be two answers to that question. One that is typical messageboard discussion and one that is realistic I’m not sure there are any realistic landing spots. If the grass is greener on the other side, water your own lawn.
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Post by JRGNYR on Dec 16, 2022 21:42:37 GMT -5
I agree with your points, which is why I said at the start of the season, as it changes during the season. For example, a schedule with our PL opponents, an FBS or two ( in a 12 games season), three games against teams that regularly compete in the playoffs, and one game against the ivies would probably give us a much different SOS than the one we had for the last few years. I might be wrong, and probably worth debating, I guess. If the three OOC games came from the following list of schools- Richmond, W&M, NOVA, UNH, Delaware, and possibly URI, we would likely draw more to Fitton, but that is, at best, a guess on my part. I would be in favor of seeing teams like Nova, UNH and URI on the schedule with regularity. Playing and beating those teams would look great on the resume at the end of the season. Part of the issue is travel, I suspect, at least as it pertains to Nova. They’re able to take short bus rides to Bucknell and Lehigh in the years they play them on the road. They have plenty of long trips in the CAA and probably don’t want to add a trip to HC if they can help it (trying to look at it from their perspective). The strength of their league doesn’t require them to schedule the same way in non-con the way HC or Fordham need/want to right now. They also have fewer non-con slots to fill compared to HC, so they can be choosy. That said, would love to see Nova on the schedule for 2-4 games.
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Post by JRGNYR on Dec 16, 2022 21:34:03 GMT -5
Don’t care about beating the IVY they have 10 fans each. If they don’t want the playoffs we don’t want them. The schedule in advance thing is a joke it’s a 11 game schedule why do you need to make in 5 years in advance when all the other sports teams make them year to year? That’s how it’s been done for years. You set up non-con games several years out so you’re not left scrambling looking for a game late. It’s because inventory is so small compared to other sports.
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Post by JRGNYR on Dec 16, 2022 15:18:31 GMT -5
Reputation means very, very little for SOS except for a place like a message board. Many on this board (myself included) looked at the schedule at the start of the season and figured beating Harvard and Yale would be helpful for our SOS. That was an assertion based on reputation and how those teams had fared the last few years. As luck would have it, while beating Harvard and Yale was certainly something that pumped up the alumni, it really didn't matter much for SOS. Yale wound up having a very good season, won the Ivy League and finished 8-2. Harvard was down, finished 4-3 in the Ivy and 6-4 overall. The win didn't look as impressive as the season went on, even though to us as alums it meant a lot more. Meanwhile, for those of you clamoring to see Dartmouth on the schedule, they finished 3-7 overall, 2-5 in the Ivy. Merrimack went 8-3 and 6-1 in the NEC. The challenge with building an effective non-con schedule is it's all an attempt at being predictive. A slate that looks really good in August in terms of quality might look completely different by the time NCAA selections come. There's also an art to non-con scheduling that I think many of you are missing. There's benefits to playing teams like Bryant or Merrimack or whomever for a variety of reasons. It could be the opponent's style of play, their packages, their athleticism, their combinations, their play calling, etc. etc. that can give HC different looks during the season and better prepare them for those types of opponents in the postseason. In short, while you might have some issues with the construction of the non-con schedule, it's done with a level of thought and discernment by Coach and the administration for reasons that you probably aren't recognizing. The schedule they put together on a year-to-year basis is a reflection of the competition they want (hope) to get that will make the team better as the year goes on. Simple as that. The thinking behind schedule creation in the 2020s has to go beyond "We played a team a lot 60 years ago and because of that we should play them again." Would it be nice to see Dartmouth on the schedule again? Sure, why not. But does playing them when they're 2-5 in the Ivy help Holy Cross? Well, would it have helped them more than playing a good Merrimack team that lost to Harvard by a TD (Harvard beat Dartmouth by 2 scores)? Would it have been better than Bryant? Buffalo? Remember you have to GUESS SOS usually 4-5 years in advance as many games are scheduled years ahead of time. This is also very much accurate.
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