Michigan_Dane

Gracias

Let me be more specific with my question. Separate out the academia diplomatic niceties, is this still a slow boat to a merger? Where is this all heading?

English please

It's not the University but the city around it, the Smallbany attitude, exemplified by the horror and the whining about the "huge" football stadium we wanted, a stadium that's considered barely above high-school level in much of the rest of the country. That people think UA is such a big campus when in reality it's only medium sized, yet they don't think it should aspire to more than we have now. Exactly. The folks in the Albany local region seem to freak out at the most modest of expansion plans. I have lived from Boston to Atlanta to San Diego and now to Michigan. This small minded thinking that prevails in Albany is very unique and really rubs me the wrong way. At times it just makes me want to scream. It's ok to think big! Yes, it's not UA it's the region. And it drives me nuts.

I have to give credit to SBU and Buffalo for that matter. They seem to want to improve their lot in life. We always seem to trail in aspiration and goal setting. Something about the Capital District that I've never liked is this defeatist attitude. It's the exact opposite of Texas. Everything is smaller in Albany. Get a pair and stand up and say we're the best. Instead our comments are always negative like they'll fail or they suck too. Thank god our athletes dream big and think big. We can all learn from them.

No. There is no announced conference moves.

I've heard no talk (or plans) like this from Mark Benson or President Jones... So does that mean 1) We have no such aspirations 2) We too have aspirations but are quietly working 3) We have aspirations but can't raise that money so it's just aspirations nothing more

If it's so dangerous they'll eventually have to pay for a little bridge over the intersection.

To answer my own question "Cuomo left untouched other programs such as $5.9 million for classroom renovations and $25 million for "campus revitalization" at SUNY Albany. There is also $35 million for the biotechnology and cancer research center on the SUNY Albany East Campus in Rensselaer County, a facility that once housed the Sterling Winthrop pharmaceutical laboratories."

What is in the budget for UA specifically? Also any general funding that while not specifically for athletics could be used for SEFCU or Bob Ford Field expansion?

If I was Will Brown I'd pay my own way and go. Don't be bullied. It's a free country. Go if you want to go.

That's a $5M difference

According to USA Today, the big difference between why UA is at $16M in revenue and SBU is at $25 is because of university contributions. The SBU athletic department is getting $12M from the university while UA is at $7M. Looking at the trend this separation has been going on since at least 2005. http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances

Is anyone from the board attending? I'd love to know more of the specifics.

+1

That would be amazing. And I think possible.

The last 24 hours was amazing. I've lit up Facebook with the news and hopefully can engage some alums who have been slow to UA athletics. That said I don't think it's wrong to ask, "Ok, Albany leadership how do we leverage this success to move the needle?" We are at an amazing point. You can't expect streaks like this to last forever. If in 5 years we look back and we have the same facilities, conference, etc I think it'll be right to feel they squandered an amazing opportunity. Similarly it's fair to ask SUNY what the heck is the plan. For years it looks like we have been playing down "SUNY" but then they open your supposed MIT equivalent campus called "SUNY Poly" because UA wasn't good enough. Well if raising the profile of "SUNY" was the goal SUNY Admin F'd up pretty good with this NCAA appearance where literally millions of Americans are filling out brackets and would see "SUNY" twice. Play the game and win. Enjoy the moment. But also question, hey leadership are we going to leverage this amazing streak? Are we going to move the needle?

Suny isn't anywhere in the name... That is exactly the point. "SUNY" doesn't appear anywhere. It's like we're in a secret cult we're ashamed of. My brother graduated from West Point. He asked what the deal was with SUNY. "Are they trying to lift their profile?" My response, I don't have a GD clue!

I'm happy with OU. 14 seed matches our best, correct?

Millions of folks filling out brackets and SUNY listed twice. Great advertising

SUNY is missing a major marketing opportunity. Can you imagine if these brackets were labeled SUNY Albany and SUNY Buffalo? I bet only 10% of the country will know these 2 schools are SUNY.

Looks like UB lucked out with West Virginia

I don't like this thread either... SUNY Buffalo has done nothing to deserve our respect. They want to be the SUNY flagship but have done nothing to deserve it. It's fine to be arrogant if you can back it up. They have been D1 for 20 years and this is their 1st MBB NCAA appearance. Are you kidding me? Football isn't much better. They had a few years of decent performance. The state has been showering UB with billions of dollars not because they deserve it but because Western New York is a mess and Cuomo is buying votes. If it's not clear by now I just don't like UB. They have been attacking us and our SUNY Center brethren for years.

This has been an amazing 24 hours. I just hope we can convert short term excitement into long term improvements. We are on an amazing winning streak with MBB, WBB, LAX even football at 7-5 last year. Those are your key sports but even other sports are on a streak. Strike while the iron is hot. 1) More funding 2) More donations 3) More facilities 4) Better conference. Convert these wins into long term tangible assets.