2009 Schedule

[danefan]

Confirmed so far on the auction site:

 

9/5 @ Georgia Southern

9/12 vs. UMass

 

 

I love to see an early home game!

[GreatDanes06]

wow, we got UMass to come to us...impressed

[ATL_DANE]

wow, we got UMass to come to us...impressed

 

 

Very nice. Kudos to the AD. I hope we see a lot more of UMass in the future.

 

Can UMass bring their stadium with them?

[uofalbany]

Another meeting with UMass and also with Georgia Southern....

I smell something behind all of this impressive OOC scheduling McElroy is doing.

Seeing that McElory and the AD are the ones that determine our football programs next step in conference affiliation, I'm glad to see they are being aggressive. There's got to be a plan behind all of this. Maybe we'll get an invitation to January's CAA meeting. At the minimum, hopefully by playing all of these CAA teams and being extremely competitive, our UAlbany football program is on the minds of the CAA ADs and at the forefront of any possible additions to the league.

[Dane96]

I am not as postive on you with this. Frankly, I feel UALBANY has dropped the BALL BIG-TIME with the Stadium. Why? WE dont have a voice inside. If we had a voice inside, this would have been done.

 

They need to hire the BEST LOBBYIST OUT THERE...even at a tune of 300-500k; That would help us more than OOC.

 

Without a stadium, we are not going ANYWHERE conference-wise. It will continue to affect recruiting...and if Ford ever retires we could be the next URI...and not the NEXT DELAWARE.

[uofalbany]

I think McElroy expected that with IMPRESSIVE success in a short period of time at the D1 level, that the State of New York would reward the university BIG TIME and grant the funding to improve ALL of the Universities athletic facilities. I think he assumed this because of what he witnessed during his life long experience in collegiate athletics, on how success brings reward to collegiate athletic programs.

 

He made the mistake of putting his eggs all in one basket, which was relying totally on state funding and relying on the NY state government. Relying on one option without hard nosed lobbying or creating feasible alternatives. I agree, they dropped the ball. But, hopefully, they've picked it up again and are heading down field. I assume you are talking about a voice in the nys senate, assembly, governor's office, etc.... I hope their lobby effort is an aggressive one this year.

 

Hopefully since the defeat of stadium funding in last year's budget, the new course of action is multi-dimensional and there are other options in place if needed.

 

I wouldn't understand why the AD would be so aggressive with the OOC schedule, if they don't have a BIGGER picture for our football program. Impressive that UMass is coming to University field. Relationships are being built. And they are being built with the right people. The OOC schedule alone may not bring us to an upgrade in football conferences, but a combination of factors including the OOC schedule certainly can bring us to that conclusion.

 

We've got support from the interim President, for whatever that's worth, but we will see what type of action he takes and what type of leader he can be. We have been told it will be the #1 priority in the upcoming budget. We have had the support in SUNY, and the state assembly... Now, we need the support from the state senate.. Will we have it this year?

[Dane96]

I agree with you; putting your eggs in one basket is a crucial error. Look, I have worked (and currently involved in a major one for the City of Chicago) on MAJOR capital $$$ acquisitions with State entities.

 

You ALWAYS hire a lobbyist when the figures rise to a level where the ROI works favorably. The reason Stony Brook and UB get what they want is because they have SAVVY and BALLSY leaders. Albany, w/o a President, is lagging.

 

This means...changing the normal course of action with the State.

 

We take some of these games to build for the future...and some for $$$. (I bet GSU gives us 75k or more for this game). BUt, without the Stadium...NO CONFERENCE IS COMING FOR US.

[purplehaze]

We need a Football Stadium.

 

Thank You UMass for coming to University Field!