Author Topic: Conference Realignment Rumors  (Read 12863 times)

Seawolf97

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #75 on: January 22, 2019, 11:51:43 am »
 I would improve on basketball and leave football at the FCS level .  Boals seems to have a knack for recruiting some good talent so lets out money behind that .  I dont see football advancing much further than where they are now .  Basketball draws and if the home schedule were to improve then we would be see home crowds of 3.5k or better .  Right now we are almost there at 2.7k or 2.8k without the students and playing AE teams.  Other than the A10 not sure what conference would look at us unless bring football along.
  I watched Buffalo the other  night against Eastern Michigan . The game drew almost  7k  without the students and the announcers said the weather was bad outside.  Not a bad draw but they also have football . Its going to be tough whatever we decide .  But basketball should become more of a priority .

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #76 on: January 22, 2019, 12:19:54 pm »
i think football attendance can improve, however, you need to first remedy one very specific issue.  kids on campus on weekends. (trigger broken record)

http://sbufan.createaforum.com/around-stony-brook/making-sb-better-idea-thread/
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VA_Seawolf

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #77 on: January 22, 2019, 12:27:56 pm »
Looking at UConn and UMass's messy situations, here is my question to fellow Seawolves fans? What is our main sport, football or basketball?

If football is our main sport, then we should be improving ourselves so that if there is a realignment in the northeast/mid-atlantic region, we are ready for jump to FBS along with JMU and Delaware, whether to an eastern CUSA division with ODU and UNCC, or to an eastern MAC division with Buffalo. Highly doubt an AAC invite. Also to keep in mind that joining any of these conferences will push our athletic expenses through the roof. The travel cost to Texas teams in CUSA won't be sustainable. MAC might be more manageable but will they expand after the failed experiments with UMass and Temple? Is being independent an option, like UMASS?

If basketball is our main sport, then perhaps multi-bid A10 should be the goal while football stays FCS? Except a few outlier (SLU and Dayton), most of the teams are in the east coast.

What is our athletic department and university board's vision?

The current CUSA situation is untenable long term and there is likely going to be a split. I wouldn't rule out us being considered to be put into that eastern half. Travel to Texas and Louisiana for games isn't likely something we'd need to worry about.

The reason the MAC experiments failed is that Temple was a former Big East member with Big East ties that got them back into that conference when appropriate, and UMASS didn't want to sacrifice their spot in the A10, a better basketball league than the MAC. We'd be a natural rival for Buffalo, and short of an AAC invite, wouldn't be a flight risk. We're much more likely to stick around than Temple or Umass were.

Can't answer for the university but the focus should be on basketball. A university like SBU will never be able to elevate its football program to a point of national prominence where it attracts hordes of applicants, faculty, and donors as a result. However, it does have a chance of fielding a basketball team that makes it to the Sweet 16 or even higher. Of course for that to happen, it has to first move to a better conference.

I think you're both correct. SBU's location does lend itself to being more of a basketball school, however, I don't take that to mean we should abandon football. Having football, good football does make us more attractive to conferences like the AAC down the road or even higher conferences than that. The game is changing, but for the foreseeable future, football still drives the realignment bus. Fielding a competitive team will be important.

I would still be prepared to expand Lavalle to 20k+ should an invite to a suitable conference come along. We could upgrade basketball today VIA the CAA or A10 if an invite came along without impacting football. That's really something we ought to look at.

If an eastern/mid-Atlantic G5 conference formed, I think we'd be stupid not to upgrade at that point as we'd be at the higher level with greater exposure, playing some of the same CAAFB schools we're up against now. Every public school of our stature save for a couple is FBS, I say we join them if an opportunity came up.

What I don't think makes sense is putting everything in a conference that makes no sense geographically just for the sake of being FBS. If we could do football only in the current CUSA, Sun Belt (not happening but not crazier than us in the Big South), or MAC, while keeping everything in the AE, I think that's something we should seriously consider, but putting basketball and everything else in any of those conferences right now doesn't really make much sense to me. Possibly the MAC, but to be honest, I'd rather play Maine and Binghamton in basketball than Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan.

ibosbu

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #78 on: January 22, 2019, 12:38:44 pm »
Lack of kids on campus on weekend going to be a hard problem to fix. Problem is that Stony Brook is not fully commuter school but also not fully residential school. It's like a Hybrid of two. Being close to NYC, but not too close, is both good and bad. City kids can't commute everyday, with homework and studies need to be done. And that's why residential halls are needed. The bad is that city kids can go home over the weekend. Its not Syracuse that kids can't go home in less than an hour drive. These kids grow up following Giants/Jets.
« Last Edit: January 22, 2019, 12:41:18 pm by iBOsbu »

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #79 on: January 22, 2019, 12:41:31 pm »
they should just take more upstate kids.  there's the empire grant (?) that allows tuition breaks for those under a certain income (anything above the hudson valley).  makes SB more attractive.  plus there are some better athletes in those other regions. 
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guest369

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #80 on: January 22, 2019, 01:00:53 pm »
As a current freshman, I can confirm that the kids here are absolutely remorseless about being commuters. They don't care a bit about staying for the games and will gladly disappear each weekend to do god-knows-what. Maybe the school should think about making dorming mandatory (I wish)
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ibosbu

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #81 on: January 22, 2019, 01:04:43 pm »
If Umass and Buffalo can't get into AAC, we have no chance. Even JMU and Delaware are ahead of us if AAC ever need an eastern schools. I think AAC would rather go west for BYU, SDSU or Boise, in the unlikely even of departure.

One thing though is that a school does not have to be successful program to upgrade to FBS, i.e. see Coastal Carolina and UNCC. UNCC pretty much started, and went through 2 years of FCS, then upgraded to FBS. They had good attendance from year one. Coastal Carolina went from Big South to FBS!

I think we need to stop thinking like 2010~2012. I agree with the some of you...make basketball priority. Get some NCAA tourney appearances under our belt. Goal should be to replace Vermont as the team to beat in AE. We can be the best mid major team in northeast/mid-atlantic region outside A10. Make ourselves attractive for A10. This is a more realistic goal.

And that doesn't mean drop football. But be smart and realistic about it. We can keep up the good work. Although I was mad at the time, Hofstra blocking us was a blessing in disguise. We landed our football at the best FCS conference at this side of the country. And we don't have to go to Carolinas for other sports. If attendance improve dramatically we can join Buffalo. If it doesn't, BB in A10 and FB in CAA is not bad.
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OldSeawolf

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #82 on: January 22, 2019, 01:18:13 pm »
Start small(er), and let's upgrade basketball first, and grab some success there by getting into a better conference, and doing some damage there (a couple of Tournament appearances).  Win, prove the upgrade concept and get some national notoriety, and our other sports programs (football included) will get more attention, have more upgrade options, and we can springboard off that.  These large-scale, immediate gratification moves rarely work; this needs to be a long-term, calculated plan, IMO, with multiple phases (that is, one sport at a time).

We've come a long way with football (I remember the Club Football days back in the hay fields when many of you were still in diapers), but I think FCS is treating us nicely at this point, and forging ahead to FBS, for all of the reasons that everyone has stated in this thread, may not be the best move in the short-term, IMO.  Let it be part of a long-term plan, if we can get there, one step at a time.
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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #83 on: January 22, 2019, 01:29:02 pm »
Quote
These large-scale, immediate gratification moves rarely work

yep

like happy three point shooting
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VA_Seawolf

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #84 on: January 22, 2019, 02:27:25 pm »
If Umass and Buffalo can't get into AAC, we have no chance. Even JMU and Delaware are ahead of us if AAC ever need an eastern schools. I think AAC would rather go west for BYU, SDSU or Boise, in the unlikely even of departure.

One thing though is that a school does not have to be successful program to upgrade to FBS, i.e. see Coastal Carolina and UNCC. UNCC pretty much started, and went through 2 years of FCS, then upgraded to FBS. They had good attendance from year one. Coastal Carolina went from Big South to FBS!

I think we need to stop thinking like 2010~2012. I agree with the some of you...make basketball priority. Get some NCAA tourney appearances under our belt. Goal should be to replace Vermont as the team to beat in AE. We can be the best mid major team in northeast/mid-atlantic region outside A10. Make ourselves attractive for A10. This is a more realistic goal.

And that doesn't mean drop football. But be smart and realistic about it. We can keep up the good work. Although I was mad at the time, Hofstra blocking us was a blessing in disguise. We landed our football at the best FCS conference at this side of the country. And we don't have to go to Carolinas for other sports. If attendance improve dramatically we can join Buffalo. If it doesn't, BB in A10 and FB in CAA is not bad.

Those schools wouldn't get in right now because they don't need to expand, but if Texas and Oklahoma leave the Big 12 in a couple years and there's a mad scramble for schools, it's not unreasonable that multiple spots in the AAC and CUSA could open up. SBU should be prepared for that possibility. I'm still very much pro FBS, just it needs to be with the right schools. Giving up games against Vermont and Albany for Akron and Western Michigan doesn't make sense. If we can get FBS games against Buffalo, Temple, ODU, App St., JMU, Delaware, etc.? Then that definitely is the move to make. 

We can do a lot of damage in basketball and be a great program, but we don't need to give up on our FBS goals to do so. I'm also no longer convinced the A10 is all that great of a fit. They have the history, but that conference has 14 teams, only 3-4 of which are public schools. The conference has also struggled mightily this year potentially only being a one bid conference. Does being in a huge conference full of private schools serve SBU? I'm not so sure. I'm not completely against moving there,but the fit would be quite odd.

What would be interesting is an all-sports move to the CAA with Albany, and potentially Vermont in tow with us. Given that the CAA has a mix of publics and privates, that'd be a nicer fit than the private heavy A10. The CAA with us and UVM in it could definitely get a second tournament bid down the road. Hofstra "blocked" us last time through influence, but their vote alone can't block us if the other schools want us in the CAA. They could tell Hofstra to go pound sand and vote us in anyway.  ;D

Hammertime

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #85 on: January 22, 2019, 05:56:14 pm »
The biggest obstacle in football is attendance and it's not going to improve. We have now played 6 years of CAA football hosting more familiar names than the unknown Big South teams. But our average attendance has been constantly less 8k. Only time we break the 10k attendance is homecoming games. 6 years ago when we moved our football to CAA, I expected a steady rise in attendance. That has not happened. Even if we go to FCS quarterfinal or semifinals, I don't think its gonna change. Can't blame Priore for college football apathy on Long Island. Hofstra was averaging less than 5k before shutting their football. I am getting more and more pessimistic about college football on Long Island. I don't think "If you build it, they will come" applies here. Am I wrong?

Wrong!!! Win Playoff games and the fans will come. The Media will be jumping on top of each other to write articles on the success of this school. Win the FCS Championship game and SB can be another JMU. We just have to win the big games and the fans will follow.
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VA_Seawolf

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #86 on: January 22, 2019, 10:12:55 pm »
The biggest obstacle in football is attendance and it's not going to improve. We have now played 6 years of CAA football hosting more familiar names than the unknown Big South teams. But our average attendance has been constantly less 8k. Only time we break the 10k attendance is homecoming games. 6 years ago when we moved our football to CAA, I expected a steady rise in attendance. That has not happened. Even if we go to FCS quarterfinal or semifinals, I don't think its gonna change. Can't blame Priore for college football apathy on Long Island. Hofstra was averaging less than 5k before shutting their football. I am getting more and more pessimistic about college football on Long Island. I don't think "If you build it, they will come" applies here. Am I wrong?

Wrong!!! Win Playoff games and the fans will come. The Media will be jumping on top of each other to write articles on the success of this school. Win the FCS Championship game and SB can be another JMU. We just have to win the big games and the fans will follow.

There's also the whole student attendance issue due to the administration making stupid decisions. There's no good reason for the student section to be empty playing JMU and Villanova, when it was packed playing Gardner Webb, Presbyterian, and VMI. Fix that issue and we're probably looking at close to 10k at conference games.

Hammertime

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #87 on: January 23, 2019, 05:36:48 am »
The biggest obstacle in football is attendance and it's not going to improve. We have now played 6 years of CAA football hosting more familiar names than the unknown Big South teams. But our average attendance has been constantly less 8k. Only time we break the 10k attendance is homecoming games. 6 years ago when we moved our football to CAA, I expected a steady rise in attendance. That has not happened. Even if we go to FCS quarterfinal or semifinals, I don't think its gonna change. Can't blame Priore for college football apathy on Long Island. Hofstra was averaging less than 5k before shutting their football. I am getting more and more pessimistic about college football on Long Island. I don't think "If you build it, they will come" applies here. Am I wrong?

Wrong!!! Win Playoff games and the fans will come. The Media will be jumping on top of each other to write articles on the success of this school. Win the FCS Championship game and SB can be another JMU. We just have to win the big games and the fans will follow.

There's also the whole student attendance issue due to the administration making stupid decisions. There's no good reason for the student section to be empty playing JMU and Villanova, when it was packed playing Gardner Webb, Presbyterian, and VMI. Fix that issue and we're probably looking at close to 10k at conference games.

This school will never have a student fan base, never. It doesn't matter if we are in the FBS, FCS, P5 conference. Stony Brook can, however, fill those empty student seats with people from the local community, and from NYC. We just need to win playoff games, as we should at this juncture.

Another thing SB can do is bring in a prominent, well-known assistant coach or coach from the FBS. Someone with ties to a big school where all football fans are aware of and heard of. Also, bring in a star QB who can light up the field. Fans like entertainment. Coach P old style of play, run up the gut, just doesnt cut it anymore in college football.. We want to see action, big plays from our QB, deep passes down the field for TD's, a QB who can scramble out of the pocket for 30 yards. People also want to see trick plays, BIG plays that WOW's the stadium.

Everything i mentioned comes with a heavy cost. I know that, but I think that $$ will pay huge dividends for this school in the long run. Assuming this is the direction SB wants to go....

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ry1nik

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #88 on: January 23, 2019, 07:53:28 am »
"Fans like entertainment. Coach P old style of play, run up the gut, just doesnt cut it anymore in college football.. We want to see action, big plays from our QB, deep passes down the field for TD's, a QB who can scramble out of the pocket for 30 yards. People also want to see trick plays, BIG plays that WOW's the stadium."

Agree. Teams need to win to draw fans, but winning with an exciting style of play is what packs them in. Priore was a running back in college and that unduly affects his recruiting and play calling.

Wolffan

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Re: Conference Realignment Rumors
« Reply #89 on: January 23, 2019, 10:56:46 am »
In some ways we are a victim of our own academic success and stellar reputation.  Long Island and NYC kids going SUNY now see us as the top academic choice. Of course those kids are likely to head home for the weekend...and some of the academic types might not enjoy watching football in any case (This is an admitted oversimplification.)

At the same time there are enough folks in the surrounding area to give us near capacity crowds v good opponents and homecoming. Just have to keep the style exciting and to keep winning.

Nothing like LaValle stadium on a sunny brisk day with the SBU band blaring,  and good football on the field...and a cold beer in the beergarden to boot!  Grab a few neighbors, hop on the train, grab a pint at the Bench and walk on over to the action.

 
« Last Edit: January 23, 2019, 10:58:30 am by Wolffan »