Brad Edwards Named New Athletic Director

[MasonFanatic]

The dream scenario would be that the ACC would take us as a football only member to offset Notre Dame staying independent. Gets ACC football back in the DC area (which they lost when Maryland left). But I don't see how we could possibly go from zero to ACC in a short period of time, let alone how we would pay for it. So we'd have to settle for something significantly less appealing. Personally, I'd rather focus on basketball for the time being.

 

[Walter]

F football

 

[GiantKiller_Co]

The dream scenario would be that the ACC would take us as a football only member to offset Notre Dame staying independent. Gets ACC football back in the DC area (which they lost when Maryland left). But I don't see how we could possibly go from zero to ACC in a short period of time, let alone how we would pay for it. So we'd have to settle for something significantly less appealing. Personally, I'd rather focus on basketball for the time being.

The ACC would only take us if our basketball program grows enough and if our football stadium/team is nice. I mean if they allowed VT in, I'm sure we could get in too. It'd just take time. Our Olympic programs would benefit too since the ACC attracts better talent. But, again, that's best case scenario. We'd most likely end up in a tier-II FBS conference like American or C-USA

 

[gmu05]

The ACC would only take us if our basketball program grows enough and if our football stadium/team is nice. I mean if they allowed VT in, I'm sure we could get in too.

You're kidding right?

 

[Bricker]

ACC = never happening.

This sounds like the old ODU dreamers and their imaginary 2-year plan to get to the Big East

 

[Vurbel]

Mostly, it's that as much as I enjoy hoops, I enjoy watching football a ton more. To me, nothing is as fun as being at a college game, and it sucks having to drive to Charlottesville to watch a team I can root for. If I had a local team I would ABSOLUTELY buy season tickets, because tailgating, college football, fall saturdays watching kids you saw in H.S. would be radical.

But yeah, it's totally subjective. To me, college football is the be-all and end-all.

We wouldn't be in the P5, so best case scenario we are ODU or JMU in football. Is it worth sacrificing basketball to be mediocre in football?

We have the Wizards, Caps, Mystics, Kennedy Center, DC Museums, etc. It's not like we're hurting for things to do on a Saturday afternoon in the fall. Harrisonburg and Norfolk are two totally different demographics.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Most of us if not all of us are on these boards because we are huge Mason basketball fans. So the opinions will be in the "F Football" or "Not worth it range" including maybe myself as I am on the border with this issue.

But I think we are underestimating the # of people who feel the way Herndon does about football overall. Not saying people will flock to Mason Football, I don't know that.

There are always alot of reasons why people say it will never work or point out the huge obstacles in the way of making it happen. Any grand vision will always have detractors.

But If an administration is serious about football, it will do what it takes to make it happen.

I think it would serve BE well to turn Mason into a perennial A10 Basketball power and increase our donations by a huge amount and then make the case for football.

 

[GMUSig03]

I think when you consider football, you have to think about the much bigger picture, not where we will be in 5-10 years after adding it, but in 20, 40 or 50 years. What do we want our University to become in terms of athletics and community atmosphere, and is football a requirement to achieving that status?

I don't think you can achieve the kind of name brand recognition the elite schools have with out football, unless you are able to build an absolute powerhouse perennial national contender like Duke or UNC (who ironically both have pretty good football programs right now).

I'm in favor of adding it if it is done right and with the goal of eventually becoming the level program that increases the recognition of the school image and will increase the community atmosphere and alumni involvement.

 

[gmujim92]

Most of us if not all of us are on these boards because we are huge Mason basketball fans. So the opinions will be in the "F Football" or "Not worth it range" including maybe myself as I am on the border with this issue.

But I think we are underestimating the # of people who feel the way Herndon does about football overall. Not saying people will flock to Mason Football, I don't know that.

There are always alot of reasons why people say it will never work or point out the huge obstacles in the way of making it happen. Any grand vision will always have detractors.

But If an administration is serious about football, it will do what it takes to make it happen.

I think it would serve BE well to turn Mason into a perennial A10 Basketball power and increase our donations by a huge amount and then make the case for football.

Here's what I always go back to every time this topic resurfaces: Only a very select few schools have the financial resources to be elite in both football and men's basketball.

Will Mason ever be spoken of in the same breath athletically as Michigan, Texas, Florida, etc.? Highly unlikely.

So if you have to choose one, it just makes more sense financially for a school in our position to pick basketball -- since you only have to fund 13 scholarships a year instead of 85 and four coaches/DOBO/video coordinator instead of 20-30 people on a football staff between coaches and support personnel.

Plus, with the kind of money it would take to start up a FBS football program -- conservatively, $100M -- we could build a new 7,000-seat, on-campus arena and a state-of-the-art training facility for our basketball programs.

We already have a banner that says we can play with the nation's elite basketball schools.

I feel safe in saying that no matter how much funding or administrative focus we divert from basketball to football, Mason will NEVER under any circumstances qualify for the NCAA's 4-team football playoff.

Again, I love football. But from a purely return-on-investment analysis, this one isn't even close.

 

[Vurbel]

If it can be done without compromising basketball 1% then go for it. I just don't know how that could happen, realistically.

 

[gmujim92]

If it can be done without compromising basketball 1% then go for it. I just don't know how that could happen, realistically.

It can't. ODU's football start-up has gone as smoothly as it possibly could have, and it still negatively impacted its basketball program by preventing it from possibly moving up to the A-10 instead of being stuck in a crappy 1-bid CUSA.

The reality is, the only people who really want Mason to add football either don't understand how much it would hurt basketball or just don't care.

 

[disgruntled]

For those disparaging Monarch football I have attended a few ODU games in the past few years and they are lots of fun win or lose. The atmosphere is a completely different vibe than basketball with tailgating that starts many hours before the game. Have also attended a few VT games with the only tangible difference being scale, Lane is three times the size of Ballard stadium and so is the tailgating.

I'd support a path to football for Mason as long as the end game was FBS at C-USA or maybe AAC level...then see where it goes from there. If we are going to be and stay FCS then I'd say pass. Seems there are a few examples of schools that have made major strides at the FBS level in recent years.

 

[GMUgemini]

If it can be done without compromising basketball 1% then go for it. I just don't know how that could happen, realistically.

We are at the highest level of basketball we can get (barring an invitation to the Big East, which will never happen)...the A10 is a top 5-7 basketball conference (right now, we are ranked 4th ahead of the ACC, SEC, PAC 12 and Big 10) and is seriously putting multiple teams in the NCAA every year. And here's the thing, yes, we need to put more money into our program, but it's not like we have to double our athletics budget to be competitive in the A-10.

I mean, I think Jim is right, unless you seriously don't care about basketball, I don't see how starting an aspiring to FBS level team can possibly be better than where we are now.

 

[Herndon]

It can't. ODU's football start-up has gone as smoothly as it possibly could have, and it still negatively impacted its basketball program by preventing it from possibly moving up to the A-10 instead of being stuck in a crappy 1-bid CUSA.

The reality is, the only people who really want Mason to add football either don't understand how much it would hurt basketball or just don't care.

Valid. I sort of don't care. Like, I really enjoy Mason basketball, but I'd forget it in a new york minute to have Mason football, even FCS level Mason football. To me, football is just an order of magnitude more entertaining than basketball. (lol, I watch a LOT of college football, as you might guess

 

[Walter]

So many unknowns at the moment. Will the P5 form its own division? How long can non-P5 schools keep up the pretense that they play at the same level as Texas or Alabama without the revenue? Will all the concussions kill high school football?

James Madison has sunk so much into its football facilities and no one wants them. Sure we would have the appeal of being located in a big market, but expansion based on market size has shown to be stupid. You can be in a big market but unless the people care, you don't really have any value. Anyone seen (of course not) a Georgia State football game in the Dome? 500 people in the Dome looks really bad. Non-P5 football is on its last legs. It will be put out of its misery within ten years.

 

[disgruntled]

I think the ESPN/Comcast's of the world are always on the lookout for content. The pro sports leagues are all creating their own networks meaning less content for other sports networks. This could lead to additional demand for college sports. There may also be some changes afoot over the next five to ten years in terms of academic vs. athletic priorities that bring the power 5 closer to the rest of the pack rather than allowing them to create their own institutions.

The JMU example is not really apples to apples. They are a regional university and will remain so. The last 25 years have shown Mason to be in a different league and the gap between them will continue to grow well into the future.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

So many unknowns at the moment. Will the P5 form its own division? How long can non-P5 schools keep up the pretense that they play at the same level as Texas or Alabama without the revenue? Will all the concussions kill high school football?

James Madison has sunk so much into its football facilities and no one wants them. Sure we would have the appeal of being located in a big market, but expansion based on market size has shown to be stupid. You can be in a big market but unless the people care, you don't really have any value. Anyone seen (of course not) a Georgia State football game in the Dome? 500 people in the Dome looks really bad. Non-P5 football is on its last legs. It will be put out of its misery within ten years.

Walter with a solid post. It is worth while to wait on football to see how P5 movements shake out. I would rather get solid funding behind current sports - get a new Pat Dome and Practice Facility as well as new baseball stadium and really do up Mason Stadium for soccer and lacrosse. That is doable in the near term.

If Brad knocks it out of the park from fundraising perspective - we can then consider a plan for football.

 

[Herndon]

Walter with a solid post. It is worth while to wait on football to see how P5 movements shake out. I would rather get solid funding behind current sports - get a new Pat Dome and Practice Facility as well as new baseball stadium and really do up Mason Stadium for soccer and lacrosse. That is doable in the near term.

If Brad knocks it out of the park from fundraising perspective - we can then consider a plan for football.

I agree completely with the last part. The question was asked hypothetially "if you knew you could have football, would you sacrifice success in basketball".

In the real world, getting football isn't one decision, it's a lot of consecutive decisions, and so isn't as simple as "yes or no". With that in mind, PKP8 is exactly right.

 

[disgruntled]

Of course getting football isn't one decision it is a series of decisions...that is called a strat plan. I went to the mason web site, looked for one and saw none. While I appreciate P8's comment about waiting to see what the P5 does the answer when looking into the future is 'something'.

There are many variables to consider when looking into the question and from what i can discern from recent press most ADs strat plan consist of spend money...even revenue you don't generate(athletic fees). Given the current cost of a college education i don't think there will be a continued tolerance for athletic budgets going to the moon. The Post article on the topic was eye opening.

Lastly, the fundraising folks need to get their act together. I regularly give to different causes on a quarterly basis. Everyone has acknowledged the Q3 gift with the exception of Mason (to whom i just donated for the first time in five or so years). It doesn't give one a feeling of confidence...

 

[TwoFootTackle]

Of course getting football isn't one decision it is a series of decisions...that is called a strat plan. I went to the mason web site, looked for one and saw none. While I appreciate P8's comment about waiting to see what the P5 does the answer when looking into the future is 'something'.

There are many variables to consider when looking into the question and from what i can discern from recent press most ADs strat plan consist of spend money...even revenue you don't generate(athletic fees). Given the current cost of a college education i don't think there will be a continued tolerance for athletic budgets going to the moon. The Post article on the topic was eye opening.

Lastly, the fundraising folks need to get their act together. I regularly give to different causes on a quarterly basis. Everyone has acknowledged the Q3 gift with the exception of Mason (to whom i just donated for the first time in five or so years). It doesn't give one a feeling of confidence...

http://strategicplan.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/GMU_Strategic_Plan_Web.pdf

This is the best I could find, but it's a bit out of date.