2009 Schedule

[danefan]

Found the Sports Network article. Feel like an ass. Sorry. I thought they had denied it to them cause I though I remembered laughing at Stony Brook about something. Easy to forget I guess.

 

I still would like to see how things go first rather than diving in as soon as. Don't knock it until you've tried it. Anyone know how our Title IX ratio is. If we have to add more women's sports that could also be another financial stumbling block into some renovations or new constructions on football (and other sports) facilities that we desperately need.

 

Still think we need to view this Big South thing with a little trepidation.

 

I agree - its not the ideal situation - but neither is the NEC, IMO.

 

Title IX is definitely an issue. Women's crew would likely be added as a varsity sport to offset the football scholarship issue.

 

There are a lot of issues out there and being skeptical about the Big South is not unwarranted.

[danefan]

And one other point is that Albany is far from a basketball or lacrosse "school". Attendance doesn't indicate that students are more interested in basketball or lacrosse than football.

 

The NCAA website isn't cooperating at this time, but I'm pretty sure that football has led in attendance each year so far.

 

This year may prove otherwise (football only average about 3200) but solely due to the fact that there wasn't a home game until October and homecoming was a complete downpour.

[ATL_DANE]

Great points Danefan about Coach Ford. I'm a bit concerned what happens to the program after he retires. We need to act while we have all the good will that Coach Ford brings to UA. I think it's critical to a have a lasting physical presence on campus (stadium or greatly enhanced University field)

 

Also UAalum72, great note about the Big South's AQ. We get an AQ in 2010 if we stay or leave. Why stay?

 

I'm just stumped as to why people think the Big South is a bad idea. I really don't get it.

 

Again I reiterate

• We're not blazing new territory. We're just following a fellow SUNY Center and historic rival
  
• We get a AQ with the Big South
  
• We will be more competitive if we do get to the playoffs (Beating UNH and Appalachian State if real tough on 30 schollies)
  
• We can increase excitement with an occasional FBS game
  
• The FBS money games would offset some of our costs
  
• 80% or so of the games would still be in the Northeast
  
• We can continue to schedule some NEC teams if we choose
  
• The Big South is a misnomer. It is a young CAA conference. Lets get in before they change their minds.
  
• With 2 New York teams in the Big South other NE teams may jump in later to make this a real CAA style conference (URI?)
  
• Lastly, there are really no other options other than the status quo.
  

Wait until UMass comes to us next year. That will be a huge game with tons of fans. That UMass game is a taste of what we can see nearly every week.

 

UMass is only coming because of Coach Ford. What happens when we don't have Coach Ford? Being full schollie, we can have more of those games. We don't have to rely on favors.

[alum73]

IMHO the coach Ford point can't be over emphasized. we really need to get facilities and affiliations settled before he decides to hang them up, which I hope isn't for a while yet. We need a stimulus package for UA. I guess I'll write to my representatives again. It's been a while.

[scrabbleship]

IMHO the coach Ford point can't be over emphasized. we really need to get facilities and affiliations settled before he decides to hang them up, which I hope isn't for a while yet. We need a stimulus package for UA. I guess I'll write to my representatives again. It's been a while.

 

 

And what would happen if Ford retired before the facilities were updated?

 

What we really need are apologies from Susan Herbst (for letting us down), the doctors in Hilton Head (for not saving Kermit Hall's life), and from Ashley Dupree (for firing the shots that critically knocked us down by having Spitzer is a client). They should mutually be sorry for hurting UA.

[jpg_91]

For those interested, Hofstra's schedule is out. They aren't coming to us this year.

[Dane96]

You are entitled to your opinion 'WCDBvoiceofUA'. We've addressed all your questions and concerns about the Big South.

 

Previous complaints

1) You complained we couldn't play CCSU. In deed we could continue. There is nothing stopping us from scheduling CCSU.

 

2) You complained that we would mostly be playing in the South. Wrong. Most of our games would be in the NE.

--NE (3 league home games + 4 NE OOC + 1 @ SBU) = 8. Southern (2 road games). = 10 games total

--We already play at least 1 road game a year.

 

3) You complained that the number of scholarships don't matter and pointed to one game at Hofstra. Cinderella's do get to go to the ball occasionally. Not often. Stony Brook and the Big South are ramping up. There is a reason Coach Ford won't play games at SBU. Another fact that says scholarships matter. FBS vs FCS games have the FBS team winning 90%+ of the time.

 

4) You complained that we can win in the payoffs with 30 schollies. No way. New Hampshire is knocking off Northwestern. You think we can beat Northwestern?

 

Your new complaints.

1) FBS is racist? Tell that to Turner Gill of Sunny Buffalo. Patently untrue. Anyway, we can hire a purple coach if that makes you feel better

 

2) Keeping up with the SUNY Centers doesn't matter? I have to believe that we want to be competitive. I refuse to believe we're quitters. I refuse to believe that the UA community is willing to say Bingo, SBU and SUNY Buffalo are better then us. I'm not as quitter. You might be.

 

3) Partial scholarship football is so much better than moving up? Ask the UA student body if moving from D3 to D1 was a mistake. Ask Sunny Buffalo if they are upset about moving up to FBS. There aren't many takers anymore.

 

4) You hate Tim Tebow. I have to agree. You have every right.

 

Georgia Tech should be our model. Academic top 30 school in the country.., same list sunny buffalo came in at 121 was it?

 

Be a winner!

 

I want UAlbany to be itself. I believe I said we are better than Stony Brook. Just because Bingo does something or Buffalo does something doesn't mean we have to. If we keep in lock step then everyone nationwide will continue to view us a just a SUNY.

 

I was a student during the transition and I don't believe it is a mistake at all. My assertion is that the Student Body won't give a crap about us going Big South and going full scholarship. Football is just not a big sport amongst the student body. I was at every home game from 01 until 04 (and called them on the radio hence the board handle) and during that time they won the Gridiron Classic. Most I ever saw at a game was maybe 3,000. There could have been more since then but I doubt it was more than 4,000. The only way students get excited about the teams is if they see them on ESPN (bball and LAX). Which is a sad but its the truth. If you want them to become excited about football we need some sort of national exposure and the best and most assured way is to at least get in the tournament via the AQ from the NEC where the potential exists for an ESPN game.

 

I must say I'm disappointed with everyone's position on the board that we can't win games in the tournament at the present level. After all we have seen we still have such a lack of faith in the football team. One non-scholarship team has made the championship in the last 10 years and that was COLGATE in 2003 who had a record of 15-1 and beat our beloved BUFFALO.

 

I didn't think Id be mocked for the CCSU and SHU comments. I like going and supporting UAlbany. Sorry. We are dealing in hypotheticals on the schedule but like I said before the Big South isnt all that stronger than the NEC so we would still have to beef up the OOC schedule to make a case for the playoff since there is no AQ out of the Big South. Therefore some of our NEC friend would probably get lost in the shuffle.

 

I would love to see Albany go fully scholarship but I want it done the right way. Let's just take a deep breath and see how this AQ goes. I guess its just frustrating considering back when I was at CDB we we're complaining we didnt get a bid to the tournament and now that we finally have the opportunity we all of a sudden want to move and give that up. If there was to be some sort of coming together of the Big South and NEC with the AQ thrown in then I would be in favor of it but at its present status I wouldn't. You never know what can happen on ANY GIVEN SATURDAY.

 

YAWN....

 

...hey, do you want to use the abacus too, or is it cool for the ADept to upgrade to computers.

 

CHANGE...is sometimes good. In this case, it WILL bring more to the University than NOT CHANGING.

 

That being said, I am not a huge advocate of the Big South...but I AM A HUGE ADVOCATE of truly getting two things done in this order:

 

1- BUILD a 10mm expansion of UA field; and

2- Immediate overtures to the CAA group...to really let them know what we are about....

 

If by 2012 we cannot get in some reshaping of the CAA....we HAVE TO JOIN THE BIG SOUTH IMHO. I am not happy with it...but it needs to be done.

 

And...as Danefan and I have chatted about off-line....the FORD SITUATION IS HUGE. You cant even begin to understand just TRULY how special he is until you are outside of Albany. People I have met in Boston rave about the man they know nothing about.

 

THERE IS NO SHOT IN HELL WE GET A GOOD REPLACEMENT FOR HIM WITHOUT A COMMITMENT TO FULL-SCHOLLY...or A STADIUM. We will be just a middle of the pack Duquense/RMU situation without addressing those two points PRIOR to Fordie retiring.

 

I almost feel like he knows this too...and is hanging on for a couple of more years because he knows JUST HOW BAD IT COULD GET on his departure.

[danefan]

IMHO the coach Ford point can't be over emphasized. we really need to get facilities and affiliations settled before he decides to hang them up, which I hope isn't for a while yet. We need a stimulus package for UA. I guess I'll write to my representatives again. It's been a while.

 

 

And what would happen if Ford retired before the facilities were updated?

 

 

 

It all depends on whether Mike Simpson is interested in the job. However, if he isn't and if UA is in the same situation when Fordie retires that it is now (40 rides in the NEC and playing at University Field) than hiring a head coach with any Division I experience is going to be very difficult.

 

The longer Fordie stays on the more of his disciples get higher profile jobs. This is not a bad thing because having Ford has allowed the program to succeed with subpar everything to this point. But, when Ford retires you'd want to replace him with an insider to allow Ford to maintain his relationships with alumns and donors. Two prime examples - Pete Rossomundo and Chuck Priore. Two guys that would have been on the top of my list to replace Ford when he retired. Without an upgrade in scholarships and facilities I just cannot see either guy wanting to come back and I don't blame them.

 

Without facilities and/or full scholarship I honestly think the university would be stuck interviewing good Division III coaches.

 

Perhaps I'm way off topic now, but it just seems that all of these issues are interconnected (schedule, scholarships, stadium, Fordie) and we don't have any info whatsoever on what is happening. Which leads me and a lot of others to sit around and speculate.

 

My wish list includes for the 2009 includes:

1. A plan on paper to upgrade to 63 scholarships (whatever conference affiliation that brings is fine with me).

2. Start of construction on the University Field remodel.

3. Increased funding for the SID's office to allow for more offseason (spring and summer) coverage.

4. Increased marketing activities in the summer leading up to the 9/12 showdown with UMass. Every effort to get 7,000 butts in seats on 9/12.

[danefan]

You are entitled to your opinion 'WCDBvoiceofUA'. We've addressed all your questions and concerns about the Big South.

 

Previous complaints

1) You complained we couldn't play CCSU. In deed we could continue. There is nothing stopping us from scheduling CCSU.

 

2) You complained that we would mostly be playing in the South. Wrong. Most of our games would be in the NE.

--NE (3 league home games + 4 NE OOC + 1 @ SBU) = 8. Southern (2 road games). = 10 games total

--We already play at least 1 road game a year.

 

3) You complained that the number of scholarships don't matter and pointed to one game at Hofstra. Cinderella's do get to go to the ball occasionally. Not often. Stony Brook and the Big South are ramping up. There is a reason Coach Ford won't play games at SBU. Another fact that says scholarships matter. FBS vs FCS games have the FBS team winning 90%+ of the time.

 

4) You complained that we can win in the payoffs with 30 schollies. No way. New Hampshire is knocking off Northwestern. You think we can beat Northwestern?

 

Your new complaints.

1) FBS is racist? Tell that to Turner Gill of Sunny Buffalo. Patently untrue. Anyway, we can hire a purple coach if that makes you feel better

 

2) Keeping up with the SUNY Centers doesn't matter? I have to believe that we want to be competitive. I refuse to believe we're quitters. I refuse to believe that the UA community is willing to say Bingo, SBU and SUNY Buffalo are better then us. I'm not as quitter. You might be.

 

3) Partial scholarship football is so much better than moving up? Ask the UA student body if moving from D3 to D1 was a mistake. Ask Sunny Buffalo if they are upset about moving up to FBS. There aren't many takers anymore.

 

4) You hate Tim Tebow. I have to agree. You have every right.

 

Georgia Tech should be our model. Academic top 30 school in the country.., same list sunny buffalo came in at 121 was it?

 

Be a winner!

 

I want UAlbany to be itself. I believe I said we are better than Stony Brook. Just because Bingo does something or Buffalo does something doesn't mean we have to. If we keep in lock step then everyone nationwide will continue to view us a just a SUNY.

 

I was a student during the transition and I don't believe it is a mistake at all. My assertion is that the Student Body won't give a crap about us going Big South and going full scholarship. Football is just not a big sport amongst the student body. I was at every home game from 01 until 04 (and called them on the radio hence the board handle) and during that time they won the Gridiron Classic. Most I ever saw at a game was maybe 3,000. There could have been more since then but I doubt it was more than 4,000. The only way students get excited about the teams is if they see them on ESPN (bball and LAX). Which is a sad but its the truth. If you want them to become excited about football we need some sort of national exposure and the best and most assured way is to at least get in the tournament via the AQ from the NEC where the potential exists for an ESPN game.

 

I must say I'm disappointed with everyone's position on the board that we can't win games in the tournament at the present level. After all we have seen we still have such a lack of faith in the football team. One non-scholarship team has made the championship in the last 10 years and that was COLGATE in 2003 who had a record of 15-1 and beat our beloved BUFFALO.

 

I didn't think Id be mocked for the CCSU and SHU comments. I like going and supporting UAlbany. Sorry. We are dealing in hypotheticals on the schedule but like I said before the Big South isnt all that stronger than the NEC so we would still have to beef up the OOC schedule to make a case for the playoff since there is no AQ out of the Big South. Therefore some of our NEC friend would probably get lost in the shuffle.

 

I would love to see Albany go fully scholarship but I want it done the right way. Let's just take a deep breath and see how this AQ goes. I guess its just frustrating considering back when I was at CDB we we're complaining we didnt get a bid to the tournament and now that we finally have the opportunity we all of a sudden want to move and give that up. If there was to be some sort of coming together of the Big South and NEC with the AQ thrown in then I would be in favor of it but at its present status I wouldn't. You never know what can happen on ANY GIVEN SATURDAY.

 

 

I really think your perception of the NEC is not realistic.

 

Colgate made the national championship in 2003 - yes - but they are not non-scholarship. The offer the equivalent of 55 scholarships. They have a budget that exceeds many full scholarship FCS teams.

 

And Stony Brook wasn't great this year - sure. But how long is that going to last? They are a young team and they have a freshman running back (Eddie Gowens) who was the FCS rookie of the year (9+ yards per carry!). The kid is a product of full-scholarship football and their team will be better in the very near future.

 

Your sentiment is obviously shared by many people or else Albany likely wouldn't be in the position is it - no man's land.

 

 

 

And there's an elephant in UAlbany's room that it doesn't appear anyone is considering - What happens when Ford retires? The ONLY reason a LARGE PERCENTAGE of kids come to play at Albany and coaches come to coach here is because of Coach Ford. He's a legend and an unbelievable coach. He's also 70 years old. How long do you think he'll stick around? I hope at least 5 years - but do we really know? And then what?

 

Moving to full scholarship is, in my mind, a way to begin building something that can live beyond Coach Ford. I have a hard time believing that anyone can do what he has done with what the University gives him.

 

 

I just wanted to emphasize the type of committment that other geographically similar schools in FCS are providing. This was compiled from the EADA website by a Georgetown Blogger:

 

 

Thought you guys might find it interesting. Data is compiled from the fiscal year ending June 20, 2008.

The EADA data can be found here http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/GetOneInstitutionData.aspx

[sarge965]

Athletics has been asked to reduce their budget by 13% - I like many of the ideas stated here - not fond of joining the Big South - I am concerned about the timing of all this - the only way to upgrade University Field to an acceptable stadium and to upgrade the number of scholarships is going to be through donations. Someone has to show me the MONEY - otherwise this is a huge pipe dream.

[danes05]

Does anyone have any info on the amount of private donations? or where that info is located? I don't know the inner workings of UA and the SUNY system but I'm assuming it's public record because it is a public institution. I could be wrong. I'm sure some of you "in the know" would be able to answer.

[danefan]

Athletics has been asked to reduce their budget by 13% - I like many of the ideas stated here - not fond of joining the Big South - I am concerned about the timing of all this - the only way to upgrade University Field to an acceptable stadium and to upgrade the number of scholarships is going to be through donations. Someone has to show me the MONEY - otherwise this is a huge pipe dream.

 

I agree. However, IMO outside and pretty much worthless opinion, they need a public plan before any major donors will come through. At least that the sentiment I've heard from many alumns.

 

There is no plan that has been made public short of Project 2010 which is nothing more than a pipe-dream.

People want to see plans before they'll pay out especially in these economic times. The "site study" has been going on for half a year now and the announcement date keeps getting pushed back. The fundraising department is essentially two people and they are stretched thin as it is. We don't even have a webpage dedicated to the stadium plan. And I just want to be clear that I'm not blaming that on the fundraising department - we all know how hard they work and how much they have done already. It goes above and beyond their pay grade.

 

I just hope they are keeping quiet because they learned their lesson from last year about leaking a potentially controversial funding initiative before the budget was done. We all know the TimesUseless is just waiting to offer its "opinion" on the funding of the stadium just like they did last year.

[danefan]

Does anyone have any info on the amount of private donations? or where that info is located? I don't know the inner workings of UA and the SUNY system but I'm assuming it's public record because it is a public institution. I could be wrong. I'm sure some of you "in the know" would be able to answer.

 

I don't think that is public info, but I may be wrong.

 

I'd love to see a donation meter like hospitals have the thermometer tallying fundraising. May seem corny, but it gets people invovled.

[alum73]

i suppose if we get the bulb at the bottom full, we might get one.

[Ruler 2]

Or just maybe we should have joined the Big South when they wanted us as a member. They will need to renovate University Field (as I unfortunatly been $aying for 2 years now) because there is no way in hell NYS is going to give UA $60,000,000 for a stadium.Whatever they may get renovation needs to be on the top of UA's list of things to do. As our Alumni outside this board are proving they are either too cheap or care too little(excuse the grammar as this topic really pi$$es me off) I find myself demanding money from former players for UA when I see them socially. If they don't like it too bad.

 

While we are at it, forget this flagship pie in the sky bs. UA will NEVER EVER be a BCS team. I know the geography and the demographics etc. I love ATL Danes enthusiasm but this isint Florida or Georgia where college football is important. It bothers me as well, as I work with guys that follow their college programs religiously and two of them played for Delaware. I know it really bothers the players and coaches that have spilled their blood sweat and tears for this University. Be happy that 63 rides may be a realization in our lifetime.

 

Now with all this being said there is absolutly no reason we cant draw 7,500- 10,000 to games with good opposition and an FCS $ game as well as ARMY and the IVY. Can you imagine what an Albany-Harvard game would be like on Home Coming? Yes I know its tough to get games with the IVYs but with Fordie's contacts, it can be done. like Danefan said how in the world do you think we managed to get UMASS next season and Brown a few years back at home? Two words....Bobby Ford.

 

To the present tense: The NEC needs to get to 45-50 rides and fast. If you have 45-50 schollies you can compete with the big boys of FCS. 45-50 gives you two deep and that is enough barring a rash of injuries. Should we have 63??? Absolutly, but 45-50 will "hold the fort" for now and also makes title IX more manageable. The top of the NEC (UA, Mon, and CCSU) is comparable to highend DII programs. If we played Valdosta or West Georgia we would probably win most of the time, and that is not a lock. But if the lower tiers of the NEC played them they lose most of the time going away. The NEC has to step up in class and soon before Coach decides to call it a day. His retirement would be terrible for the NEC.