Will UA be out of NEC by 2011

[Ruler 79]

I know I am in the minority over the game with Cincy in 2011. Which got me thinking....I can hear you laughing from here. Will we still be in the NEC in 2011?

 

I really can't see Bob Ford bringing out a team to Cincy with 36 scholarships. BTW that makes UA a fully funded DII program. No question in my mind the 2011 Great Danes will be a far better team with superior talent then the one we had last season and this season for that matter. So, let me get this straight.... we are going to play an up and coming Big East power with 85 full rides who has been to the Orange Bowl with 36-38 rides???? Just can't be. The score may be 70-0 by the half.

 

I want to be clear in that I think McElroy has done a great job in getting this game scheduled. I really mean that. The payday will be great. The exposure is great. The results if we have 36 scholarships....not so great. The game will have 30,000 fans. 28,000 Cincy fans will be bitching about scheduling a "D II" program, 2000 fans (UA faithful) will be giddy. The rest of our non sports alumni will shake there head with indifference, if they are even aware...unless we pull off a miracle. We are going to have a hard enough time with GSU, UMASS, and Maine with limited resources let alone a Big East contender. You want a measuring stick? Tune in Sat night to the UA - GSU game and there is your measuring stick.

 

All this leads me to believe that we are NOT going to re up in the NEC. It just doesn't make sense from a pure football standpoint. This makes me believe we are in the process of ramping up. At least I hope so. If we win the NEC or come in last this season I am tired of this conference. If UA or the NEC is going to ramp up, then fine we stay. If not we go, Auto bid or not.

[Clickclack]

If we are to leave the NEC...where we going? The Big South with SB?

 

In retrospect, would it be fair to say that SB made the correct call to get out of the NEC when they did?

[B9j2j6s]

I know I am in the minority over the game with Cincy in 2011. Which got me thinking....I can hear you laughing from here. Will we still be in the NEC in 2011?

 

I really can't see Bob Ford bringing out a team to Cincy with 36 scholarships. BTW that makes UA a fully funded DII program. No question in my mind the 2011 Great Danes will be a far better team with superior talent then the one we had last season and this season for that matter. So, let me get this straight.... we are going to play an up and coming Big East power with 85 full rides who has been to the Orange Bowl with 36-38 rides???? Just can't be. The score may be 70-0 by the half.

 

I want to be clear in that I think McElroy has done a great job in getting this game scheduled. I really mean that. The payday will be great. The exposure is great. The results if we have 36 scholarships....not so great. The game will have 30,000 fans. 28,000 Cincy fans will be bitching about scheduling a "D II" program, 2000 fans (UA faithful) will be giddy. The rest of our non sports alumni will shake there head with indifference, if they are even aware...unless we pull off a miracle. We are going to have a hard enough time with GSU, UMASS, and Maine with limited resources let alone a Big East contender. You want a measuring stick? Tune in Sat night to the UA - GSU game and there is your measuring stick.

 

All this leads me to believe that we are NOT going to re up in the NEC. It just doesn't make sense from a pure football standpoint. This makes me believe we are in the process of ramping up. At least I hope so. If we win the NEC or come in last this season I am tired of this conference. If UA or the NEC is going to ramp up, then fine we stay. If not we go, Auto bid or not.

 

 

Okay so where do you think UA should go? IMHO we are in a conference that allows us to dominate, and the conference is improving. Only a few years back we were not even half full scholarships. We are in a perfect position to grow and improve each year. We shouldn't make a large jump until we have a real stadium built or being constructed.

[Ruler 79]

What stadium? Be grateful/thrilled if they make over University Field into a respectable FCS facility that can have CAA teams come to UF with the exception of Delaware. Think Northeastern, Towson, or Rhode Island as far as a game facility goes until a stadium is in place.

 

Conference affiliation is a tough one. Unless there is a re alignment there is always the Big South or Indy. If the NEC ramped up to 57 rides then I am fine with playing a Big East team.

[Clickclack]

What stadium?

 

What do you mean what stadium? Haven't you heard of project 2010?

 

I kid because I care.....cheers!

[GreatDanes06]

While I think most people here never liked the idea of continuing in the NEC the school did a few years back, I think that right now, things are looking positive for the conference. Unless a major realignment takes place in FCS, I think sticking with the NEC is good. Duquesne has had a solid history of winning, we have clear rivalry with Monmouth and CCSU, Bryant is joining and if Robert Morris and Wagner can get themselves back on track, they could be solid competition. I really only see St. Francis as a weakling in the conference.

 

At the same time, the automatic qualifier is coming very soon and the conference has gone scholarship. Frankly, the only major hurdle we as a university is missing if the facility.

[haggyland]

What would the Title IX ramifications be for full scholly football?

Would we end up losing men's cross country, or adding women's crew, or something like that?

 

For that matter, where did the scholarship equivalancies come from in the current reach to 40 schollies?

 

That extra jump of 23 is significant.

[Michigan_Dane]

History has proven that success means taking some chances. People laughed at UB for going FBS. They arent laughing anymore. People were shocked at Stony Brook but today they have a stadium and FBS teams lined up.

 

This Cincinnati game is huge for us. Huge. I cannot understate how great this is fo us. I think the next step is going full scholarship. We may have limited control of part of our destiny in so far as we can't just build a stadium. We can control certain things. We should play any FBS school willing to play us. We should go full scholarship. I say we go Big South. We could renew our rivarly with our sister SUNY school.

 

The Big South is the new CAA. Lets go Big South while they'll still take us.

 

 

PS - I picked up a copy of Atlanta's Creative Loafing. They had the games listed for the big three colleges: Georgia, Georgia Tech and GSU... and right there in black and white was "Albany". Great publicity for the school to an area that knows nothing about Albany or SUNY. Way to go!

[uofalbany]

I would say stay with the NEC if their intention was to go FULL scholly football over the next few years.

The plan gets the NEC 40 scholarships by 2011? Whatever the year, it's still a year or two or three away from only 40. Does anyone believe the NEC will vote for any more schollies over the next decade?

With all of the small private schools in the mix, will they EVER make it to full football scholarships.... even if it takes 3 decades?

 

Say we get a stadium, regardless of conference.

 

Then, what's the difference between existing at 40 rides, or maxing out at full football schollies when considering the following:

 

FCS playoffs

FCS championships

FBS games

FBS game exposure

FBS game payouts

Recruiting

Exposure for the entire athletic department

Exposure for the entire university

 

I have my opinions.

 

I'd assume getting games against FBS teams with 40 schollies or less will not happen. There's nothing in it for those teams, unless they are in the bottom of the FBS barrel and can't imagine getting a BOWL game anyways. So, the Cincinnati game is a bit odd.

 

How would UAlbany benefit differently between our football program playing a game versus Cincinnati, Georgia, or Boston College and our football program making it into the 1st round of the FCS playoffs?

 

UAlbany will make it into the playoffs with only 40 rides. Winning national championships with 40 rides probably would never happen. If we have 40 rides and make it to the playoffs, what is it's worth in your opinion?

[GreatDanes06]

your asking for more scholarships, but also asking for a new stadium...I find it hard to believe as a small athletic dept that you can have both. You can have one or the other. To me, Football Stadium is first priority, not obtaining more scholarships. We have proven to be successful competing against FCS schools with large chunks of scholarships with below 40 scholarships. Yes we get to playoffs, and maybe we go on runs to the national title and maybe we don't. But your asking us to make a run for the national championship right away? Lets be a little realistic. At the same time, who says we can't compete for a national championship now. We clearly have shown we can compete with the CAA and other conferences. Hell, we already saw one publication say we can compete for an at-large spot with no automatic qualifier and almost impossible hurdles, one being you have to be ranked in the Top 16 in the nation!

 

These other FCS schools didn't have fans AND boosters give money to them right away. They had to build fan bases. After that, the money came in. If I recall, this program still only brings in 3-5k fans per home game...How much does Richmond, Delaware and Montana bring in per game?

 

Some of you want to take 50 steps all at once when you need to realize that you can't. In a matter of 7 years, look how many steps the program has already taken! And I know some are going to say, "well we are saying then it is ok to just be average or mediocre." That's not the case...IT IS BEING PRACTICAL AS A SMALL ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT!

[Clickclack]

your asking for more scholarships, but also asking for a new stadium...I find it hard to believe as a small athletic dept, that is hard to obtain. You can have one or the other. To me, Football Stadium is first priority, not obtaining more scholarships. We have proven to be successful competing against FCS schools with large chunks of scholarships with below 40 scholarships. Yes we get to playoffs, and maybe we go on runs to the national title and maybe we don't. But your asking us to make a run for the national championship right away? Lets be a little realistic. At the same time, who says we can't compete for a national championship now. These FCS schools didn't have fans AND boosters give money to them right away. They had to build fan bases. After that, the money came in. If I recall, this program still only brings in 3-5k fans per home game...How much does Richmond, Delaware and Montana bring in per game?

 

Some of you want to take 50 steps all at once when you need to realize that you can't. In a matter of 7 years, look how many steps the program has already taken! And I know some are going to say, "well we are saying then it is ok to just me average or mediocre." That's not the case...IT IS BEING PRACTICAL AS A SMALL ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT!

 

Great post......to me the stadium is priority one also....if you build the stadium it would do wonders for the support in the CD and beyond, both financial and butts in seats.

[GreatDanes06]

made a quick edit to my original post. I posted it from my cell, hahaha

[Michigan_Dane]

your asking for more scholarships, but also asking for a new stadium...I find it hard to believe as a small athletic dept, that is hard to obtain. You can have one or the other. To me, Football Stadium is first priority, not obtaining more scholarships. We have proven to be successful competing against FCS schools with large chunks of scholarships with below 40 scholarships. Yes we get to playoffs, and maybe we go on runs to the national title and maybe we don't. But your asking us to make a run for the national championship right away? Lets be a little realistic. At the same time, who says we can't compete for a national championship now. These FCS schools didn't have fans AND boosters give money to them right away. They had to build fan bases. After that, the money came in. If I recall, this program still only brings in 3-5k fans per home game...How much does Richmond, Delaware and Montana bring in per game?

 

Some of you want to take 50 steps all at once when you need to realize that you can't. In a matter of 7 years, look how many steps the program has already taken! And I know some are going to say, "well we are saying then it is ok to just me average or mediocre." That's not the case...IT IS BEING PRACTICAL AS A SMALL ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT!

 

Great post......to me the stadium is priority one also....if you build the stadium it would do wonders for the support in the CD and beyond, both financial and butts in seats.

 

 

The stadium and going full scholarships are unrelated. Stony Brook paid what for their stadium? We don't have the money so if we are getting a stadium then it's coming with state money. If we don't get money from the state then we don't get a stadium. Going full scholly is within our control. We just need to make budgeting priorities to make it happen.

 

We have come a long way. True. That's not a reason to say lets stop here. It's an argument for just the opposite. We've come a long way with little to no resources. Keep pushing. Scheduling teams like Cincy (and top FCS schools) will get us noticed by conferences for that eventual shake up. Dr McElroy totally impressed me with this announcement. Forward thinking and risk taking. We're building something here.

[uafootballLI]

Last time this discussion came up about scholarships and conference affiliation came up, I remember there being a quote or first hand recollection of Dr M saying that the scholarship money is pretty much already there..but that they didn't want to join the big south since it was geographically not viable and would rather wait for the "supposed" CAA shakeup. This was around the time when that whole talks of a new conference forming of northern schools (umass, maine, ua, sbu, unh, uri, etc)..I'm pretty sure they even showed something of this conference talks on that friday before the golf outing something like 2-3 years ago. The one thing that staying in the NEC is good is we have the auto-bid..but scholarships wise, the NEC is taking a very stagnant approach (2 a year till 2011 when we have 40). I think the NEC is between a hard place and a rock..they have the top of the NEC who want to play consistently at the top against top 1-AA and now 1-A foes..and the bottom of the NEC who are content with getting smashed 50-0 against full 63 scholarship teams.

[UAalum72]

Don't know if 'content' is the right description, but Duquesne's game notes from last year say they began with only 18 scholarships in February 2008 and will be adding only 2 per year for the next three years. This will put them barely half of even the NEC's maximum. Hard to see how they'll compete even within conference.