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Athletics => SBU Football => Topic started by: ecasadoSBU on February 06, 2012, 12:30:15 pm


Title: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on February 06, 2012, 12:30:15 pm
Hello guys. I would like to start this topic so that we as fans can discuss what should be the path the Athletics Department should take in regards to our football program.

After a successful 2011 season, and a potential championship-contending season in 2012 what should be our direction if we have increased success for the following two seasons?

I was thinking about the possibilities of SBU moving up on football and skipping a CAA football move and instead search for a MAC inclusion. I know this is hypothetical and there is a lot of "ifs" involved, but as fans we have the right to talk about these things. There is many different paths that can lead us to FBS football in the future (our goal) and I think its interesting to talk about this.

I would surely love Stony Brook joining the Mid-American Conference East in football and set up rivalries against state school Massachusetts, Buffalo, Temple, Akron, etc...

Of course, we can also delay are move up and play in the CAA while we improve and expand our facilities to meet FBS requirements.

Lets join the talk on the endless possibilities of SBU Football's future
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ry1nik on February 06, 2012, 01:11:57 pm
Interesting topic. A few of us have touched on it in other areas of this forum. I for one don't think FBS football is necessarily the right goal. The reason colleges field teams is to foster school spirit and pride (to attract/retain better students and faculty) and to bring publicity to the university. Of course there's not a one-to-one relationship between these factors. For example, Binghamton (no football) has always had a much higher student satisfaction rating, and places like the the Ivies have all the publicity they need without big-time football.

I think SBU can work towards both goals without going FBS. A good argument could be made for moving to the CAA, as SB would be playing schools that "matter" more. But I think being super competitive in the FCS is a much better end-state than being mediocre (at best) in the FBS. FBS-affiliation in football only matters much if a school has inclusion in a BSC conference. That ain't gonna happen here. I'd rather keep the stadium on the smaller side, and accessible. If I wanted to battle traffic and crowds, I'd to to an NFL game (which I don't). Anyway, my three cents.
 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ecasadoSBU on February 06, 2012, 01:54:14 pm
You have strong points there. But don't you think Stony Brook wants to compete with the other National Universities. The profile of Stony Brook is "a National University oriented in research and graduate work, member of the AAU, but still considerably behind its peers in Athletics".

The question would be whether Stony Brook is looking to follow other peer institutions or would it head in its own direction away from other AAU institutions that offer athletic programs at the highest level. Regarding the Ivy league schools, they are a big-time exception. The "elite" status of Ivy league school allows them to stay at the FCS level and still get mass publicity from other areas besides their athletics. Stony Brook is not an Ivy, and it will never be.

Other peers institution in academics would be Buffalo, UConn, UMass, Penn State, Albany, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Virginia Tech, Virginia,  etc. These are all schools that are oriented in research and have a "flagship" status as state universities but with the exception of SUNY Albany all of them offer Athletics, specifically football, at the highest level.

In my opinion, this is the way to go if you are a National University outside of the "Ivy League" and other schools like NYU, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, John Hopkins that do not offer Division I athletics at all.

The infrastructure issues that you point out are important to address, but as always, they can be solved with the expansion of Circle Road and the North, Main, and South Entrances to Nicolls Road. Of course, the three villages have to be taken into consideration and traffic must be directed in such a way that minimally alters the current traffic patterns of the adjacent towns. While the relation between the University and the towns are not the best, in some periods of time even hostile, I'm sure this can be addressed in the best way possible. Traffic would only be a problem if things are not done properly. The current state of CR-97 (Nicolls Road) is more than enough to handle 20-60k people attending a football game on a Saturday afternoon.

Considering we have a large commuter student population that comes in everyday, this wouldn't be much different from the current traffic patterns.

From reading the above, its obvious I support a move up to FBS, I see it as our destiny even though I'm sure many would disagree. I visualize Stony Brook competing for championships with the top universities of the US, fostering regional rivalries with UConn, UMass, Buffalo, Temple, etc (in football that is)
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ecasadoSBU on February 06, 2012, 02:22:17 pm
Also, let me add one more point:

With the current instability of the College Football world, and the effects that it will have on the FCS. We will likely see in the future more teams move up to the FBS. Unfortunately the FCS is not economically viable. Its not sustainable due to the lack of revenue it produces for over 90% of its teams. With the exception of a maybe 2-10 schools that have strong fan bases, everyone else looses money by having an FCS program. We have seen what has happened to to other universities having Football programs at the FCS level. They either disappear (like in the case of cross-island rival Hofstra) or they are choosing to move up (like UMass which is currently completing its transition). The more FCS teams that move up to the FBS, the more the talent level suffers, and that will also take more fans away from the FCS. 

If Stony Brook already made the commitment to offer 65 full-scholarship funding in football, then FBS football would be the next logical step
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: sbufan on February 06, 2012, 02:29:37 pm
EDIT
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ecasadoSBU on February 06, 2012, 02:43:08 pm
I didn't wanna say it, but that's the perception I get also. It might take 10-15-20 or even 30 years but we will eventually end up in something like the Big East or ACC. That's if we follow the path of universities like Uconn. Consider UConn 20 years ago. They were A10 football members and quickly rose to the BCS by means of the Big East. Now they enjoy 40,000 attendance levels, something no one would've thought back then. UConn is now outnumbering Boston College in terms of fans, while BC has been the traditional BCS team of New England. That jump was fast, and its makes me think that SBU is on the same path.

I don't want to sound like I'm getting carried away, but I'm sure back in 1995 no one expected Stony Brook to have a fully funded Division I-AA football program with an 8k seat stadium and competing for Conference championships and potentially for FCS championship this upcoming season. Who ever said that back then would've been considered crazy or something. Get what I mean? We are growing extremely fast, its no joke.

Add to that the constant donations that we are getting from alumni, we're an attractive school, no way you can deny that...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: sbufan on February 06, 2012, 02:53:26 pm
Another example is USF who went from a D1aa start up to the Big East in 8 years. Now, they have a huge benefit of having NFL stadium play their games in on saturdays, but they're not as attractive from an market or academics perspective.

I think in as few as 10 years Stony Brook could be playing in an FBS conference.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ry1nik on February 06, 2012, 03:08:18 pm
Good people can disagree on this issue, but I still contend that SBU can rise in the ranks of national publics without going BCS. William and Mary, UC San Diego, Davis, Santa Barbara, Irvine...all Top 20 publics by any number of measures without having BCS football (or even any football at all). Prez Stanley seems to think that the Simons gift will help propel SBU into the Top 20. I don't think BCS football is necessary for that. If you think it would be more fun to cheer on a BCS team, I can understand that (though it could be a hassle on game day). But it's hardly necessary for acheiving comparable academic status of the top publics. Athletics is one of few means to an end. The end is adding value to our degrees.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ecasadoSBU on February 06, 2012, 03:08:50 pm
I wouldn't say 10. The infrastructure requirements are huge. We need a large stadium and a lot of community support to have a BCS team in the island. something that can hold us back for 10-20 years. But I do see the FBS as the logical next step in the next decade. This can be accelerated by on-the-field success or delayed so its going to be interesting to see what happens in the next few years.

We can see whats going on in other areas of the campus right now, improvements everywhere. its amazes me to see that (hotel, Rec center, more dorms on the way, a renovated arena, a renovated Union or an entirely new one coming up soon, and of course more research investment).
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ecasadoSBU on February 06, 2012, 03:13:46 pm
ry1nik, I definitely agree with you. this is not the way that Stony Brook "must" go in order to improve academics, they can take other directions to get to the same end . Its just the way that I, and many other fans, may want it to achieve that. I am sure some don't share the same enthusiasm with the idea of FBS or even BCS football, but me? I would love to see Stony Brook competing in the highest level of college football.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: jaghatai on February 06, 2012, 03:34:30 pm
For starters, to move up to FBS, we'd need to average 15k/game.  Before even considering the move, we need to expand our facilities and boost the fan base.  Obviously being in the Top 25 is a great start to that.

While we work on that requirement, we are going to watching VERY closely how Liberty and UMass fare.  If they move up and then flounder (both by results and financially), the push to stay the big fish in the small pond will be major.

I think inevitably we are going to move up, but I don't really expect it happening in the near future.  Now bumping to the CAA or A-10 is a very strong possibility as a "transitional step".  Would not be shocked if that happened sooner rather than later.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: sbufan on February 06, 2012, 03:47:23 pm
I wouldn't say 10. The infrastructure requirements are huge. We need a large stadium and a lot of community support to have a BCS team in the island. something that can hold us back for 10-20 years. But I do see the FBS as the logical next step in the next decade. This can be accelerated by on-the-field success or delayed so its going to be interesting to see what happens in the next few years.

We can see whats going on in other areas of the campus right now, improvements everywhere. its amazes me to see that (hotel, Rec center, more dorms on the way, a renovated arena, a renovated Union or an entirely new one coming up soon, and of course more research investment).

If Stony Brook moves FBS, I don't think they'll be playing on campus. They'll have to find a venue that would host their games. Something like whatever that plan was for the new Nassau Coliseum (the lighthouse?). I don't have the answer though. In my mind this is the biggest obstacle.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ry1nik on February 06, 2012, 04:07:57 pm
Sorry, in my previous post I meant "FBS" (not BCS...a whole other level). But to continue the discussion, I wouldn't want to attend a game off campus. When I return for Homecoming, I WANT to visit the campus while attending the game. I don't want another venue; it's a business proposition at that point, not a Homecoming. And if by FBS it means MAC, that's not a bargain either. Playing the Akrons, Western Michigans, and Toledos of the country is no more attractive (maybe less!) than playing New Hampshire, Maine, William and Mary, and Richmond.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: seawolf80 on February 06, 2012, 04:28:21 pm
I agree with the position that games must be held on campus. Homecoming or not, this is the venue
for a school function of this type. Alums do want to come back to campus. And having games at the
school allows exposure to visitors who may not be familiar with our institution.
Additionally, it is easier for the students to attend on campus than it would be if the game were held
at an off campus site perhaps numerous miles away.
We are not ready to make the jump yet. If at all, it is quite a way down the road.
Even with the uncertain conference landscape, an FCS affiliation ( like the CAA ) is the logical
next step for us.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: sbufan on February 06, 2012, 05:21:41 pm
Sorry, in my previous post I meant "FBS" (not BCS...a whole other level). But to continue the discussion, I wouldn't want to attend a game off campus. When I return for Homecoming, I WANT to visit the campus while attending the game. I don't want another venue; it's a business proposition at that point, not a Homecoming. And if by FBS it means MAC, that's not a bargain either. Playing the Akrons, Western Michigans, and Toledos of the country is no more attractive (maybe less!) than playing New Hampshire, Maine, William and Mary, and Richmond.

It would absolutely be a business decision. I understand wanting to play New Hampshire, Maine, William and Mary, and Richmond, but those teams are stuck at FCS - they aren't getting calls from FBS conferences either because they are located in a small media market, have too small of an enrollment, their market already has an FBS team, or some combination. Stony Brook is the exact opposite of those schools - It's a large university within the most sought after media market, a market that doesn't have any any FBS football teams within it's footprint. I'd bet within 4-5 years of Stony Brook's first FBS win or FCS final four they'll be playing FBS football. Stony Brook is too attractive and college football is too big of a business for it not to happen, regardless of how improbable it may look at the moment. Schools like Stony Brook don't stay in the FCS.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: jaghatai on February 06, 2012, 06:28:44 pm
I know that the "multiple stadium" idea has been floated around.  For example, UMass plays a few games at Foxboro, LSU plays a few games in the Superdome, etc.  We could do the same with the Meadowlands.

Not ideal, but if the big push is to make us THE NY college football team (kinda like how St Johns is the NYC college basketball team), then that might work wonders.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ry1nik on February 06, 2012, 08:12:23 pm
Sorry Sbufan, I didn't make myself clear. I meant "business decision" in a negative sense. I don't want to see games moved off-campus in order to move to the FBS level. That is not what the college experience is or should be about. I'd prefer to see SBU stay FCS forever (even in the BS Conference) than move games off-campus.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: Seawolf97 on February 06, 2012, 10:10:07 pm
While moving up to the FBS  level is probably in our distant  future going to the CAA first is probably what is going to happen.   We would be a perfect fit with lax and strong baseball and soccer programs.  Basketball is improving in leaps and bounds.  VCU and  George Mason are in the CAA and would destroy us right now in hoops.  Alot has to be done first with infrastructure to expand our stadium, continue to build our fan base and of course funding.   CAA football  would bring in top caliber home games and still give us at least one BCS game a season.  I dont think  we are built as a Univerrsity to be  a Penn St. or Uconn. Stranger things have happened in sports but joining the CAA would be a giant step for us with little downside.  We are  really on a fast track with new facilities, top quality student athlets coming in and our coaching staffs. We see that with winning programs and AEChampionships and NCAA  appearances. We will  get there I'm sure but just not yet. Baby steps first.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: sbufan on February 06, 2012, 10:48:26 pm
Sorry Sbufan, I didn't make myself clear. I meant "business decision" in a negative sense. I don't want to see games moved off-campus in order to move to the FBS level. That is not what the college experience is or should be about. I'd prefer to see SBU stay FCS forever (even in the BS Conference) than move games off-campus.

Yeah I got you, and I agree that it's unfortunate that college athletics are big business now, but that's just the way it is. Stony Brook is already guilty of treating its sports programs businesslike with it's move to the Big South and full scholarship football. We cut off a big time rivalry with Albany and left a conference with logical opponents to join a southern based conference so that we could offer full scholarships and take the first step towards major college football. Breaking those ties were business decisions.

Personally I just want to see Stony Brook field teams that students and the community want to go to. It doesn't matter if Stony Brook is playing their games on campus if the students aren't even showing up. I want to see students at the games. If Stony Brook has to play games off campus in order to bring in competition students want to see, then I want them playing off campus. Obviously on campus is preferable, but if on campus means we have to keep scheduling St. Anselm's, then I'm open to other options.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ecasadoSBU on February 07, 2012, 12:26:12 am
I disagree with the assesment that the MAC East is not more actractive than CAA. Any conference where you can get ESPN games regularly is automatically more attractive. We would be playing Massachusetts, Buffalo (natural rivalry), Temple, Akron which are more popular than the Maine, New Hampshire of the CAA. Also MAC football would be a conference which would be more of a right fit in terms of competition. Its not a highly ranked FBS conference meaning that a successful FCS team can probably make a smooth transition into the conference, this is assuming that Stony Brook will enjoy more success at the FCS in the upcoming seasons.

As I said, the main thing that can hold us back is Infrastructure improvements (expansions of facilities, roads). Those things cost a lot of money and we all know how hard is to get cash from the State of New York...

The future is bright, its going to be interesting to see Stony Brook athletics in 7-15 years. I'll repeat, No one thought football was going to be at this position back in 1995. Transitioning from Division III to Division I FCS full scholarship is arguably harder than going from FCS to FBS....
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: Redwyn on February 08, 2012, 04:46:59 pm
Your assumption that facilities can be simply willed into existence is tough. Even if we had the stadium, our turnout is PALTRY.

If we were members of the CAA, we would be ahead of ONE team in football turnout (Towson). Even URI would attract more than us. Fact of the matter is, we need to learn how to attract/handle 8500 per game before we can bring in the 20-30K we'd need for FBS.

Baby steps gents. If we end up in the CAA or A-10/CAA Football, we'll be fine. Our primary goal should be to escape the black hole that is the AEC, no matter what it takes.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ecasadoSBU on February 08, 2012, 04:54:53 pm
Attendance is a BIG issue especially in NY where College Football doesn't attract many fans. The only CF team that draws more than 40k is Syracuse, and Army is behind but after that is Buffalo which struggles to meet FBS minimum attendance requirements (15k)
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: sbufan on February 08, 2012, 06:23:35 pm
Your assumption that facilities can be simply willed into existence is tough. Even if we had the stadium, our turnout is PALTRY.

If we were members of the CAA, we would be ahead of ONE team in football turnout (Towson). Even URI would attract more than us. Fact of the matter is, we need to learn how to attract/handle 8500 per game before we can bring in the 20-30K we'd need for FBS.

Baby steps gents. If we end up in the CAA or A-10/CAA Football, we'll be fine. Our primary goal should be to escape the black hole that is the AEC, no matter what it takes.

I suppose what I'm really trying to say is that I think the ratings of something like a hypothetical Stony Brook FCS national championship game would be impressive enough that no one would care what our facilities or attendance numbers were like or impressive enough to make investments in those areas seem reasonable. Stony Brook was a trending topic on twitter during our AEC game against BU last year. I have no idea what the ratings were like for that game nor do I know much about twitter, but I would assume Stony Brook being one of the most used phrases during that game speaks volumes about Stony Brook's market potential.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: jaghatai on February 08, 2012, 07:10:18 pm
College football in NY hasn't really thrived, but in fairness, we never really had a team to get behind.  Just look at the support Rutgers got during the Ray Rice days, just because they were close to NYC.

I would like to see us sell out Lavalle every game this year.  That would be a very strong start.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ecasadoSBU on February 08, 2012, 08:15:12 pm
we wont sell out every game partly because people don't know the visitor team. As long as we face bad competition we wont sell out either. So while some say we need to get more support from the fans before we move up, we also need to move up and play more relevant competitors (whether moving up means CAA or MAC...). people already know who Liberty is and they enjoy coming out for the rivalry game. But Gardner-Webb? VMI? Charleston Southern? Who cares about them... the local crowd may not care much about CF, but they surely know who's good and who isn't. We will face three bad Big South teams at home, I don't doubt that we probably will get the highest attendance for CCSU or Colgate and of course Homecoming. Something needs to be done to attract those alumnis to come out for games other than homecoming.

If we have continuous success in the near future, that would be enough to warrant talks of expansion. Also at some point you need to take the risk and say "if you build it, more people will come" (we did that with LaValle Stadium back in 2000).  I'm sure that if LaValle gets expanded and more relevant competitors come out to Stony Brook, more fans would come in to watch the games...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ecasadoSBU on February 08, 2012, 08:25:05 pm
Also, the idea of playing in a location other than home I greatly dislike. I would hate if Stony Brook plays in a "home away from home" and it would really disappoint me if that decision ever gets floated around. Even though I live in NYC and anywhere west of Long Island would be closer to me I would still dislike the idea. Stony Brook football is supposed to be about improving the student experience, it shouldn't be treated as a business even though I would like it to be profitable. It can stay on campus and still be profitable.

I went to the University of Connecticut a few months ago, and I ended up watching a football game over there with my gf. I greatly disliked the fact that we had to be "bused" 30 miles west to East Hartford all the way from Storrs. The game + bus rides take away more than half of your day. Left the campus at 1:30pm and ended up getting back like at 8:30pm. Terrible experience overall and I'm sure it would alienate a lot of students who don't have a lot of spare time.

One of the great things of LaValle stadium is that I can head out of H-Quad five minutes (Hell, make it two minutes!) before game time and  be on time for kickoff. Its awesome, and it would be sad if the administration makes the decision to play somewhere other than home. Also, I'm sure that alumni prefer returning to their campus than going to a Meadowlands Stadium thats doesn't mean anything for them.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: Seawolf97 on February 08, 2012, 08:27:10 pm
 I have no doubt we are a rising star in the D-1  ranks.   We are getting more and more TV exposure,  high profile  schedules and better student athletes than we ever had across all sports.   Look at our Ladies Softball Team hosting   Big 12 Texas Tech for a season opener, football  with  two legendary programs on their schedule Syracuse and Army and both NY teams.   Our community support seems to be growing  and Newsday loves us.  I am very optimistic about the  direction we are going.  It wasnt so long ago football played on a tiny dirt field in front of maybe 300-500 fans on a sunny day.  Believe me I was there, haftime under a tree, one tiny refreshment stand  and wooden bleachers circa 1995-97.    It takes time  but we are  getting there and rather quickly I may add. We have folks like Dr. Kenney and our present AD  to thank for what we see now.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ry1nik on February 09, 2012, 07:23:01 am
ecasado, I could not have put it better myself. Thanks for saving me the time!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: sbufan on February 09, 2012, 09:46:01 am
I expect attendance to be way up this year. I think the playoff run last year made the community aware of Stony Brook's football program and really impressed some people; I bet there will be a record number of season tickets sold this summer. I really think theres a great chance (better than 50%) that Stony Brook gets their first FBS win and either of those wins would create a ton of buzz for the program; if we win either of those games I think we'll have near sell outs the rest of the way. I think Coker will also help draw a pretty big crowd; like what ecasado said, students and the community want to recognizable teams, and while we can't bring Big Ten teams into Lavalle, we will have one of the best players from the Big Ten playing in every home game at Lavalle and I think that's what the students and community want to see.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: sbufan on February 24, 2012, 10:24:55 am
I want to note that the goal for this university should be to get into the Big Ten or whatever it's being called in the future. Imo, if the running project 50 going forward aren't saying "in 50 years we want to be in an athletic conference with schools like Rutgers, UConn, Penn State, Ohio State. What steps can we take to try and make that possible?" they're wasting Stony Brook's potential. I don't know if it will ever happen, but that should be part of the conversation.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: ecasadoSBU on February 24, 2012, 12:28:31 pm
I would like the school to be in some sort of Big East with Uconn, Rutgers, together. It all depends the direction the school wants to take. Right now it seems like Stony Brook wants to be at the top in athletics but in the future that might change. Our current AD, and administration in general its very supportive of SBU athletics but that can change in the future so lets just hope for the best.

Like you, I support SBU and I want it to move to FBS football as soon as possible, and if they need donations I'll be there to make part of it. With all the realignment in college football we just have to wait and see if we can take advantage of it and move up.

I would like to know how the alumni community feels about FBS football, some of them don't like the idea, we need as much support of the alumni community if this is ever going to happen.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: sbufan on February 24, 2012, 01:30:53 pm
Yeah, I just think the goal should be to align themselves with other flagship state universities. My personal dream conference would be the Big Ten plus Rutgers, Uconn, Maryland, Buffalo and/or Albany.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: sbufan on February 24, 2012, 01:42:26 pm
Outside my crazy conjecture about Stony Brook's future though, there are some big changes happening at the moment.

1. Liberty looks like they're about to announce a move to FBS, most likely the Sunbelt.

2. Coastal has publicly stated they exploring moving to CAA or SOCON, so they look to be on their way out of Big South as well.

3. Patriot League is now offering football scholarships

4. Rumors about Temple moving back to Big East.

The Big South looks like it's about to lose it's autobid with Liberty and Coastal both looking to leave, so we will need to find another conference and fairly soon. Patriot League adding scholarships can potentially cause drastic changes in the landscapre of Northeast/Midatlantic FCS football. I don't know how that all will shake out but it will be interesting. The MAC will most likely look to the CAA for another member if Temple does leave. There are a lot of moving pieces at the moment.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: Seawolf97 on February 24, 2012, 07:53:53 pm
I think if two teams leave the CAA it would ODU and James Madison. Both have eyes on an FBS program.  When this all  happens is anybody's guess but I would bet Liberty would be first to go in the Big   South.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of Stony Brook Football
Post by: sbufan on June 14, 2012, 12:18:23 am
Quote
The question facing Fiore now is where to go from here. According to Randall Susman, the faculty-athletic representative, there is a growing support on campus for the university to move up a level in football, to the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Fiore said that he “absolutely” believed Stony Brook was an interesting possibility for F.B.S. conferences, but he declined to go into specifics.

“If an opportunity presented itself, and it’s the right opportunity, that’s our job,” he said. “We’re not shopping. We’re happy where we are. But certainly there are conversations that have taken place and continue to take place.”

He added: “We love the America East. We’ve had a lot of success. We’re aligned with some really great institutions, and we’re happy there.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/sports/for-stony-brook-college-world-series-appearance-is-latest-in-a-string-of-successes.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on June 14, 2012, 12:58:24 am
We are definitely going FBS in the future... That's exciting! I wonder whats the time frame
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on June 14, 2012, 01:01:30 am
I bet the tv ratings from this CWS run are going to speed things up considerably
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on June 14, 2012, 01:43:26 am
Second TV game announced for the Season

Army on CBS Sports
Syracuse on SNY!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: joewillie on June 14, 2012, 09:01:37 am
Hopefully there will be a great turnout of SeaWolves fans at West Point.   Can't wait for that game
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on June 14, 2012, 11:12:54 am
Anybody check out the back of todays Newsday ?    SBU Americas Team !  I mean how  crazy is this ?  Two weeks ago no one heard of us , now a few swings of the bat and we are national celebrities . Like what Im hearing about foorball. Are we MAC bound ?
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on June 14, 2012, 11:37:18 am
I think newsday got criticized so heavily by Long Islanders for not putting SBU in the back page on monday that they didn't have another choice but to put us today. lol. Long Island is behind the Seawolves. Its awesome
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on June 14, 2012, 12:47:45 pm
Anybody check out the back of todays Newsday ?    SBU Americas Team !  I mean how  crazy is this ?  Two weeks ago no one heard of us , now a few swings of the bat and we are national celebrities . Like what Im hearing about foorball. Are we MAC bound ?

I think this run has opened a lot of eyes to the ridiculous potential of Stony Brook. If Joewillie was serious about the Stony Brook LSU ratings outperforming the primetime game 3-1, then I'm sure we have the MAC's attention. TV's king, and no one has a better claim to the NYC metro market than Stony Brook. Things were already moving pretty fast for the school, but I think it's only going to speed up.

Also not exactly related to football, but this is great time for Stony Brook to be getting all this attention with the Simons 50 million dollar challenge. Stony Brook was one of the most searched terms on google last weekend. Hopefully some of those searches were done by philanthropists that will now take advantage of the opportunity to have their gifts matched dollar for dollar by the Simons.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on June 14, 2012, 03:13:24 pm
Adding to that another nice article in Newsday about our Parkinson's Research Center and the funding  going in to that. We win on the field of athletics and in medicine all in one week. Has the Golden Era of SBU begun ?
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ry1nik on June 14, 2012, 08:33:18 pm
That's a great question and thought, Seawolf97, and one that's been on my mind for a long time. I'm a '79 grad, so I've been looking for reasons to have more pride in my alma mater for quite a while now. While basketball, football, and lacrosse have achieved some success over the past few years, NOTHING comes close to what baseball has done this season. And while donations such as the Simons gift are actually more meaningful to the mission of the university, the baseball story has a publicity effect probably like a $1 billion donation would have...unlike anything else that could have been hoped for. Yes, after a few weeks it will fade and we'll look forward to the next best thing, probably a deep run into the playoffs by football. But I think the baseball phenomenon has set a new floor for the university from which to reach even higher.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on July 13, 2012, 05:19:16 pm
I just saw this tweet: http://twitter.com/Tom_Symonds/status/223865657991770113

"Of the 147 collegiate websites that CBS College Sports sponsors, Stony Brook had the 16th-highest page views. South Carolina ranked first."

More than 50 BCS schools run their athletic websites through CBS College Sports.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on July 13, 2012, 07:47:21 pm
I think that stat is incredible. Say what you want about the pro sports market, people are interested in our programs. It's also worth noting that the tweet came from an assistant AD at Ohio University, a MAC school.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on July 13, 2012, 09:09:44 pm
We are a popular brand.  The thing is there is always something positive going on as fan  I find a it great source of information. Of course love to be  a fly on the wall  of the inner sanctum out there -lol.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on August 02, 2012, 01:41:42 am
I'm loving the tweet: "Great conversion w/Senator LaValle at lunch today w/a few head coaches on the sound in Port Jefferson. Future is bright" - JDFiore
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on August 02, 2012, 01:57:43 pm
Nice offer here from Fiore- to the Jets to hold a preseason game at LaValle: http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/stony-brook-offered-to-play-host-to-jets-training-camp-practice-on-li-1.3872371

Though, the Jets wont take it.  Im a Giants fan anyway.   :-X
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on August 02, 2012, 02:01:58 pm
Coker story from a few weeks ago: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1255874-stony-brook-football-what-addition-of-marcus-coker-means-to-squad
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on August 02, 2012, 09:06:58 pm
I think alot of our teams are going to see significant improvement.  Football should dominate the Big South. Even mighty Liberty should take notice.   Like the tweet from our AD  something up we dont know about yet?
Keep an eye on our mens soccer. We could be loaded with talent.  They beat UConn in the spring 4-0  not shabby at all.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Redwyn on August 03, 2012, 10:25:12 pm
I think alot of our teams are going to see significant improvement.  Football should dominate the Big South. Even mighty Liberty should take notice.   Like the tweet from our AD  something up we dont know about yet?
Keep an eye on our mens soccer. We could be loaded with talent.  They beat UConn in the spring 4-0  not shabby at all.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/stony-brook/sources-stony-brook-to-play-football-in-caa-after-2012-1.3881711

About time...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: joewillie on August 05, 2012, 02:09:24 pm
Nice offer here from Fiore- to the Jets to hold a preseason game at LaValle: http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/stony-brook-offered-to-play-host-to-jets-training-camp-practice-on-li-1.3872371

Though, the Jets wont take it.  Im a Giants fan anyway.   :-X

Of course the Jets loser owner would rather have the practice for the Long Island fans in NJ.  It pains me to say they but the Jets would have been better off with Dolan owning the team. 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on August 06, 2012, 09:21:45 am
And that's a bold statement- coming from a former Cablevision customer, and, a longtime Ranger fan!

http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=48&year=2012

Looking at the CAA, even though September 2013 is a while away (and no official announcement yet!), we have played and beaten NH and Maine.  Id say if we were in today, we could beat at least half of those teams, conservatively.  GO SB
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on August 06, 2012, 09:18:59 pm
I'm very optomistic  about next season.  We will do well in our new conference for sure. It will be tough you have a few former National Champs and quite a few play off teams in that group.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on April 02, 2013, 12:29:03 pm
I thought this was a good video to watch in regards to a FCS school looking to go into the FBS. NDSU aw we all know, is worthy of moving up, but probably won't for a long time because of the same issues we have at Stony Brook. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$... The mighty Dollar will hold us back from making the transition .. Still a good video Blog from these two guys talking about  that!!!

http://bisonmedia.areavoices.com/2013/03/26/bison-video-blog-fcs-to-fbs/
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on April 06, 2013, 03:15:10 pm
I had a nice time at the Spring practise today. Maysonet, and  Essington were sitting in the bleachers and we had some small talk... They are both a pleasure to talk to and very respectable young men... I wish them both the very best luck in their life endeavor !!!!    I did get a chance to see both Negron and Bednarski at Quarterback and I would say Negron won the battle in that category.. Bednarski does have a nice arm but his accuracy is to be questioned. Negron, from what i see has control with both and should be our starting Quarterback this season assuming he stays healthy, Essington agrees as well.. In the Wide receiver Dept. SB recently recruited a JV Transfer who actually is a Senior this year,# 5 Malcolm Eugene. Malcolm looks really, really good and should be a nice replacement with Norrel gone.

We still have a lot of Spring practise left and Transfers are coming in from all over the place so stay tuned, this year should be exciting and If I see something not floating on the web, I'll pass it along.   
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on April 06, 2013, 04:38:06 pm
Thanks for the update HT
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on May 12, 2013, 09:16:39 pm
  Been  checking  future schedules  of FBS  teams and came across these  . Don't know if they will hold up but we have future  games   in 2014 @ Cincinnati 8/30 , 2015 @  UConn 9/6  and 2017 @  USF 9/2 .   Good lineup  if we don't get  cancelled along the way.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ry1nik on May 24, 2013, 09:41:45 am
Elon U. announced it is moving from the Southern Conference to the CAA in 2014. Elon has been a Top 25 FCS team recently, though perhaps not for the last couple of years.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on May 24, 2013, 12:19:40 pm
Elon U. announced it is moving from the Southern Conference to the CAA in 2014. Elon has been a Top 25 FCS team recently, though perhaps not for the last couple of years.


With the addition of Elon U, would that be considered a plus for the CAA or negative !!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ry1nik on May 24, 2013, 12:23:14 pm
I'd say a plus. They sucked last season but have been ranked in the top 15 a few years ago.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on May 24, 2013, 02:08:55 pm
Albany to stay in the America east Conference ...


http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/UAlbany-planning-to-stay-in-league-4544844.php
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on July 01, 2013, 11:51:21 am
This board is experiencing the summer time Doldrums so, I thought posting a video would be a little uplifting. See you guys in September !!!

http://www.caasports.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?db_oem_id=8500&id=2553505&catid=41010
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on July 01, 2013, 12:32:16 pm
tough times here. Very little to talk about but the excitement is there. We are all looking forward to the next athletic season!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on July 22, 2013, 01:02:32 pm
wasnt quite sure where to file this one. but its an interesting read about the potential future of college football, from the perspective of Malcom Gladwell, author of Blink and other such books.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/intelligence_squared/2012/04/the_next_slate_intelligence_squared_debate_is_may_8_why_malcolm_gladwell_thinks_we_should_ban_college_football_.html
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on July 22, 2013, 02:41:10 pm
Gladwell is the ultimate beta-male.  A loser that was never competitive at anything, and by his own words, regularly advises surrender rather than fight.  He is a poor writer and his theories have more holes (again by his own admission) than a mesh jersey.  His entire premise of being born in January and all that nonsense doesnt even pass a laugh test.  What an a55-clown.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on July 22, 2013, 03:36:09 pm
good one!!   ;D :D
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chrissy D. on July 23, 2013, 05:50:23 pm
 I have to agree with the chairman, this dude is a hack.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on August 06, 2013, 04:58:54 pm
Really interesting blog post about CAA expansion. Important to note that Yeager wanted Stony Brook more than Albany (suck it Danes) but Hofstra's president didn't take kindly to that suggestion. I don't really care. I'm pretty happy with where SBU is right now, but it's interesting.

http://shadesof48.com/?p=365
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on August 21, 2013, 03:20:04 pm
danger in rushing FBS http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=7396

We can learn a lot from keep studying what Umass is doing and not make the same mistakes. Playing far from campus to meet FBS attendance requirement is really hurting them.

New England in general not a college football followers. There are only two notable FBS in the region UConn and BC. Even they are not widely followed and not powerhouse in college football. We have to make sure we dont turn into Buffalo or Umass if ever decide to play FBS.

ODU on the other hand transitioned so quickly that its remarkable. But one thing they had on there side is that the area had no pro sports or college football. Now they are expanding their stadium to 30k capacity!

We need to wait and see what Delaware does. They have the support and facilities for FBS move but will they? Are they ready to trade from being FCS power to FBS mediocre?
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on August 21, 2013, 03:45:43 pm
ibosbu.. The problem with SB Football is simple. Attendance. SB is not even close to considering a move to the FBS unless they get the Attendance up to a max house, and thats only around 10,000. 15,000 is the ultimate minimum attendance the NCAA is looking for to be considered a candidate for an FBS member. We just arent there yet .. Lets see how this year pans out with the move to the CAA. Hopefully we can pack the house on every home game ..

Does anyone know how many fans on average went to Hofstra home games.??? That should be a gauge on how many fans we get for this year. I know one thing.. I recruited 13 family members this season to buy season tickets to Football !!!!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on August 21, 2013, 04:21:48 pm
13 season tickets! :) amazing

And yes agree attendance is the biggest issue. But we need at least 15k sell out few seasons before moving to FBS. Even if the minimum is 10k, that wont give us profit with additional cost at FBS level to sustain the program.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on August 21, 2013, 05:18:58 pm
agreed with you guys, and ill state that you are the solution to the problem- fans who attend games AND get others involved.

with that said, the low attendance is surely a downer, BUT, looking at where its come from in the 10 years alone is very encouraging.  add in the stadium, new conference, better football, exciting players, high profile transfers, better coaching staff, new facilities, media deals, and of course no Hofstra, our attendance will only go UP UP AND UP!!!

GO SB!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: RecoveringHillbilly on August 21, 2013, 08:01:50 pm
Hofstra was very average for how well they performed most seasons. Mostly mid-pack among FCS schools in attendance:

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Stats/Football/Attendance/ (http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Stats/Football/Attendance/)

Since you've already reached and surpassed Hofstra's former averages, and had a contest with 10K+, you can look beyond that comparison. If you look to UB's 1-AA years you're ahead in many ways but behind in attendance and SOS. UB went from D-3 in 1992 to 1-AA in '93, straight to playing the likes of Maine, YSU, JMU, and Ill St. The results were often rough but we had great crowds of 10k-12K for many games.  We then had over 15k season tickets sold for our final 1-AA season. The jump to CAA opponents will tell a lot about your fan base.

You have gone a proper steady route to grow toward the CAA and beyond. Once UB succeeded in leading the push to overturn the SUNY scholarship ban the stated goal was returning to the highest level of football. That cost us in football, where the old Yankee and Gateway leagues would not take us. And in other sports the then NAC (now AE) always rejected our applications. By '95 the MAC happened to be led by a commish who was a former UB FB assistant and they unanimous accepted us. Going from the Mid-Con to the MAC in basketball was tough enough but FBS was a big challenge that took us many years of sorting out the proper AD and coaching. We were barely mid-level FCS in talent those first few years and it took hiring Warde Manuel as AD and Turner Gill to finally develop a culture of success.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on August 22, 2013, 08:38:27 am
For all of those statistic buffs out there..


http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/08/22/in-fcs-huddle-2013-caa-football-preview/
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on August 22, 2013, 08:44:42 am
Thanks for the info RecoveringHillBilly.. It does appear SB is a step ahead of Hofstra in the attendance dept at this stage. This year is a transition year for SB Football and not a minute too soon..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on August 22, 2013, 01:07:29 pm
This is Miguels time to shine. He has to give them everything he's got this weekend, #3 pre season game, if he wants to make the roster ~~

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/media-center/photo-gallery/Practice-Photo-Gallery---821/7af380d1-9a26-4bb6-84ba-d51072105472#5df7030e-7f06-40bc-9311-2b39d3fbece3
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbugold on December 13, 2013, 05:21:52 pm
13 season tickets! :) amazing

But we need at least 15k sell out few seasons before moving to FBS. Even if the minimum is 10k, that wont give us profit with additional cost at FBS level to sustain the program.

This is a true cautionary tale for anyone supporting the idea of SBU D-1 football for anytime in the near future.  I truly believe that the CAA (assuming it doesn't implode, which I rteally don't think will happen) is a great place for SBU to be.  They are likely to bring their fans much competitive and winning football for the foreseeable future.  I's hate to see them get greedy and go the way of UMASS!! 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on December 13, 2013, 05:59:55 pm
Heck, we might see UMASS applying to drop back down to FCS level if they cant get any more traction going at the FBS level.  CAA is a good place to be.  look at two teams right now in the Quarter finals for the FCS championship.  that will be us next year.  I'm very optimistic.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on December 13, 2013, 09:47:44 pm
UMass shot themselves in the foot playing home games at Foxboro. Students and fans will not travel all that distance for a   UMass vs Toledo or Buffalo game.  When they were in the CAA  they sold out their home stadium just about every game. imagine us traveling to Met life   Stadium for a couple of home games,  I still think FBS is in our future but not the immediate future. Then again with a new AD  coming who knows what his or her thoughts are on football.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: EMU Steve on March 08, 2014, 06:58:51 am
UMass shot themselves in the foot playing home games at Foxboro. Students and fans will not travel all that distance for a   UMass vs Toledo or Buffalo game.  When they were in the CAA  they sold out their home stadium just about every game. imagine us traveling to Met life   Stadium for a couple of home games,  I still think FBS is in our future but not the immediate future. Then again with a new AD  coming who knows what his or her thoughts are on football.

First time poster and MAC fan and a fan who is receptive to SB joining the MAC in due time.

UMass had an interesting situation, as I understand it.  Their stadium, especially the press box, was deemed inadequate by the MAC and a requirement was that the stadium (mostly press box) be upgraded as a condition of admittance.  The press box is more than simply a press box.  It is part of a remodel.  I'll try to get photographs.  This has been discussed at length on a MAC forum.

Starting this Fall, UMass will split home games between their campus and the Patriots' stadium.

While there was faculity discontent about UMass FB (faculty doesn't like to see $ spend on athletics, esp. if the team(s) aren't winning) that is apparently water over the damn.  The money has been spent on the stadium improvements and UMass isn't reconsidering their move to FBS football.

As far as SB is concerned, I do strongly hope that you build your football program.  SB has the academics, demographics and locations to be say another UConn (some might think that your location is far superior than UConn's).  I would like two SUNY teams in the MAC.  Instant rivals.  SB should have no trouble scheduling other schools like Army, UConn, BC, Rutgers, etc. as well as some FCS opponents from the CAA.

The biggest problem I see, over the next 10 years, is enlarging a stadium which really wasn't built to be expandable to 20 - 25K, which works nicely for the MAC.  I see your stadium as a stadium which could be reasonably expanded to say 15K. 

BTW, I have seen the Seawolves play a number of times on television or webcast (e.g., Army, Syracuse and Buffalo).  With Maysonet, the Seawolves were a very dangerous team for FCS and many FBS opponents.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on March 08, 2014, 07:31:46 am
UMass shot themselves in the foot playing home games at Foxboro. Students and fans will not travel all that distance for a   UMass vs Toledo or Buffalo game.  When they were in the CAA  they sold out their home stadium just about every game. imagine us traveling to Met life   Stadium for a couple of home games,  I still think FBS is in our future but not the immediate future. Then again with a new AD  coming who knows what his or her thoughts are on football.

First time poster and MAC fan and a fan who is receptive to SB joining the MAC in due time.

UMass had an interesting situation, as I understand it.  Their stadium, especially the press box, was deemed inadequate by the MAC and a requirement was that the stadium (mostly press box) be upgraded as a condition of admittance.  The press box is more than simply a press box.  It is part of a remodel.  I'll try to get photographs.  This has been discussed at length on a MAC forum.

Starting this Fall, UMass will split home games between their campus and the Patriots' stadium.

While there was faculity discontent about UMass FB (faculty doesn't like to see $ spend on athletics, esp. if the team(s) aren't winning) that is apparently water over the damn.  The money has been spent on the stadium improvements and UMass isn't reconsidering their move to FBS football.

As far as SB is concerned, I do strongly hope that you build your football program.  SB has the academics, demographics and locations to be say another UConn (some might think that your location is far superior than UConn's).  I would like two SUNY teams in the MAC.  Instant rivals.  SB should have no trouble scheduling other schools like Army, UConn, BC, Rutgers, etc. as well as some FCS opponents from the CAA.

The biggest problem I see, over the next 10 years, is enlarging a stadium which really wasn't built to be expandable to 20 - 25K, which works nicely for the MAC.  I see your stadium as a stadium which could be reasonably expanded to say 15K. 

BTW, I have seen the Seawolves play a number of times on television or webcast (e.g., Army, Syracuse and Buffalo).  With Maysonet, the Seawolves were a very dangerous team for FCS and many FBS opponents.
Welcome aboard EMU Steve... We love new blood on this forum and we also love when an outsider ( not an Alumni of SB, like my self ) chimes in on topics. Feel free to say whatever is on your mind, I do!!

You are correct about SB being at least a decade away from joining the FBS. And you're correct about our stadium not compatable for a 30K seats but ,15K is very doable. It's my understanding, SB is eyeing an expansion to 15K as we speak so, lets keep our fingers crossed this happens while I'm still alive..

SBF is getting bigger and stronger every year and now that they are a  member of the CAA, we will continue to grow not to mention, Hofstra University, once a CAA member in Football, no longer participates in the Football program making room for local Athletes who wanna stay close to home considers SB for their choice of Schools.. We came close to making the Playoffs last season but injures really set us back . It's huge for a first year member of the CAA to even win a few games never mind making the Playoffs but we almost did!!. Stay tooned, SBF is going to rock this year.. Look out UCON!!!!!!!!!!!!


Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on March 08, 2014, 12:00:40 pm
I will just requote Redwyn... we have the money, but attendance is the issue. And I agree with him.. lets get some CAA titles first.

As for the football stadium - my sources tell me that the money is locked, it's an attendance issue. Fact is, we can't regularly fill an 8500K stadium besides maybe our opener and homecoming. We still bring in D2 schools because we're stuck in that no-man's land between mid-level performance and poor attendance/low guarantees. No one wants to see us in the hollow confines of a 15000K facility if we can only put 5K into it. Remember, 15K is an FBS minimum - and that's 15K turnout, not capacity. We're gonna need to get that thing to its maximum at roughly 25K or so to be a reasonable candidate. The MAC will welcome us as the first TRUE NYC media-market FBS team with open arms when we're ready and U Mass advances to the AAC. But I'm in no rush to see that happen - gimme a few CAA titles and playoff wins first.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: EMU Steve on March 08, 2014, 05:03:53 pm
I will just requote Redwyn... we have the money, but attendance is the issue. And I agree with him.. lets get some CAA titles first.

As for the football stadium - my sources tell me that the money is locked, it's an attendance issue. Fact is, we can't regularly fill an 8500K stadium besides maybe our opener and homecoming. We still bring in D2 schools because we're stuck in that no-man's land between mid-level performance and poor attendance/low guarantees. No one wants to see us in the hollow confines of a 15000K facility if we can only put 5K into it. Remember, 15K is an FBS minimum - and that's 15K turnout, not capacity. We're gonna need to get that thing to its maximum at roughly 25K or so to be a reasonable candidate. The MAC will welcome us as the first TRUE NYC media-market FBS team with open arms when we're ready and U Mass advances to the AAC. But I'm in no rush to see that happen - gimme a few CAA titles and playoff wins first.

Couple of things which work in SB's favor:

The MAC is taking a very deliberate view of expansion even though we are at 13 teams (UMass is #13).  So we (MAC) are looking for #14 which strengthens the conference is a significant way.

Unlike the ole "go West young man" the MAC has actually moved East.  We added Buffalo (in the 90s) and then UMass (FB only).  Once we added NIU (Northern Illinois) there was nothing west of them but cornfields. 

I have long favored a Eastward expansion, esp. after adding UMass.  Once the conference expanded eastward with UMass, it makes less sense to move in a different direction (e.g., Southward for James Madison or Westward for Northern Iowa, etc.). 

Both UMass and SBU are excellent universities and SBU has the big advantage of being in the NYC area and not far from Amherst, Mass.

I could see the following divisions for FB:

(East:  UMass, SBU, UB, Akron, Kent State, Ohio and Miami(O).

(West:  Bowling Green, Toledo, Eastern MI, Central MI, Western MI, Ball State and Northern IL.)

There are tons of rivalries in this setup:  Akron/KSU.  Ohio/Miami.  UB and SBU.  (maybe) UMass and SBU.  and on the West side:  BG/Toledo.  The Michigan schools are all rivals.)   
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on March 08, 2014, 05:27:08 pm
The key is fan support and filling seats.  It will be interesting to see how our new arena sells . Now we filled Pritchard with 1600 plus for just abot every home game.  Now we need to almost triple that to 4000 plus for our arena.  If football starts selling out other than homecoming  we will be in good shape.  Plus I always liked the MAC  as out next home.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on March 11, 2014, 09:24:13 am
Hate to be a buzz kill, but we have a long way Togo before we can consider MAC membership.  Mainly fan base has to be stepped up.  Towson, JMU and Nova have a big lead on us in this area, and I'd consider them stronger candidates to move up to FBS before SB.  Someone stated it right on this board:  let's win a few CAA football titles before we start looking at FBS options.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: EMU Steve on March 27, 2014, 01:38:40 pm
The MAC and UMass will part company after the 2015 football season.

Now the MAC reverts to a 12 team conference and expansion, if any, would be for two teams, not one.

UMass was added after Temple to bring the MAC up to 14 teams, but before it happened Temple left for greener grass.

I have always thought SB would make a good #14 with UMass.

Now... ????

After getting burned a few times on expansion I believe the MAC will stay at 12 UNLESS it finds two good all-sports schools which meets its strategic vision of expanding the footprint.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on March 27, 2014, 02:15:36 pm
I just found two, EMU Steve.. SB and UA...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: EMU Steve on March 27, 2014, 04:15:51 pm
I'm really sad  :(  that UMass left the MAC.

UMass is a top notch school and has potential in football and obviously very good in hoops.

UMass + SB would have been an excellent pair of schools along the eastern frontier of the MAC.

The MAC would have had teams in Western N.Y. (i.e., Buffalo) plus NYC and Western Mass. 

Does SB and Delaware work? 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on March 27, 2014, 05:18:33 pm
Interesting, where does UMass go from here?  back to FCS?
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on March 27, 2014, 05:23:15 pm
That is the question many people are asking on many boards.  I don't think they are a candidate for a major conference ACC, CUSA. So I thought the MAC was a good fit.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: EMU Steve on March 27, 2014, 06:11:21 pm
That is the question many people are asking on many boards.  I don't think they are a candidate for a major conference ACC, CUSA. So I thought the MAC was a good fit.

ESPN article indicates:

1).  MAC seems very content at 12 teams.

2).  UMass will not go down to FCS.  They will be in the MAC for two seasons so they have time.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10677441/massachusetts-minutemen-reach-agreement-leave-mid-america-conference-2015-season
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on March 27, 2014, 07:33:38 pm
Interesting, where does UMass go from here?  back to FCS?

They should.. My guess is Stacey Bedell left for SB because UMASS Football is a disaster and only getting worse..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on March 27, 2014, 10:05:45 pm
Hammer that  is the best guess .  UMass needs to start playing home  games on campus. Imagine driving to Giants Stadium on Saturday  to see SBU play.  Folks aren't going to do it especially with a losing program plus most Boston area fans  are Patriot fans first.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: EMU Steve on March 28, 2014, 06:02:25 am
UMass will resume playing 1/2 of their games at home this year.  Their stadium renovation is complete.

That said, I have NO idea what will happen with their football program.

When Temple up and left on short notice a few years ago that completely pulled the rug out from underneath UMass (and the MAC).

And I guess Temple FB is a mess now too.  Temple hurt a lot of folks, including themselves.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on March 28, 2014, 09:10:30 am
its a good little warning tale to those who want to jump to the bigger conferences too quickly...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on March 28, 2014, 10:58:18 am
I have to think the MAC was making a power play to get UMass elite mid major bball program under their umbrella. The MAC had nothing to lose, UMass isn't bringnig much to the table, and they missed an opportunity to do the same to Temple a couple years back.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on March 28, 2014, 10:59:42 am
I still hope around 2020 that we have the stadium and fan support that an FBS move requires, regardless of whether that move ever happens.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on March 28, 2014, 09:54:27 pm
2020 is a reasonable target.   I think we can do a better job than UMass in a step up.   Builds up the fan base  as I really hope  we can we.  We have two respectable venues to keep filled.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: jaghatai on March 30, 2014, 07:59:01 pm
I really would not be shocked to see UMass end up as an independent until the next set of realignments (which we all know is going to happen by 2020).

C-USA and Sunbelt for UMass are good fits academics/athletics, but not geographic.  AAC is good geographic, but not athletic.

As for us, I'd really like to see us stay in the CAA and America East until we get establish dominance.

Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: EMU Steve on April 02, 2014, 12:41:26 pm
That is the question many people are asking on many boards.  I don't think they are a candidate for a major conference ACC, CUSA. So I thought the MAC was a good fit.

ESPN article indicates:

1).  MAC seems very content at 12 teams.

2).  UMass will not go down to FCS.  They will be in the MAC for two seasons so they have time.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10677441/massachusetts-minutemen-reach-agreement-leave-mid-america-conference-2015-season
That is the question many people are asking on many boards.  I don't think they are a candidate for a major conference ACC, CUSA. So I thought the MAC was a good fit.


ESPN article indicates:

1).  MAC seems very content at 12 teams.

2).  UMass will not go down to FCS.  They will be in the MAC for two seasons so they have time.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10677441/massachusetts-minutemen-reach-agreement-leave-mid-america-conference-2015-season


James Madison to C-USA.

IF MAC is interested in expanding, it might need to be Delaware and SBU. 

They 'fit' and their location is okay.  Need 'two to dance' and those two could partner.  Otherwise, I see nothing along the mid-Atlantic for the MAC.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on April 02, 2014, 07:30:20 pm
Towson seems like an obvious consideration if you are throwing JMU into the mix.  I really dont see SB going up a level until they can get sustained fan base at their games.  sure, Homecoming was a sellout, but for other games, the stadium was half full, and its a small venue now.  if we can generate enough interest to pack the house for all games, then I'd say lets give it a try.  otherwise, lets just look to get better in the CAA, win a few conf. championships, and make deep runs into the FCS playoffs.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on April 02, 2014, 08:10:31 pm
That would  be a quantum leap now. I agree a few more years,more   fans and more wins!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ry1nik on April 02, 2014, 08:46:41 pm
Besides, we don't even have a permanent Director of Athletics. I don't see even consideration of a conference move until a new one is hired and he/she gets a couple of years on the job at SB.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on April 08, 2014, 09:48:17 am
Terence West of Towson had his pro day yesterday, apparently he ripped it up.  Hopefully Coker can be our beast this season in the backfield
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on April 08, 2014, 02:00:40 pm
I E mailed SB Athletics and Coach Priore.. this Article!! Hey, you never know!
http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2014/04/rutgers_spring_practice_quarterback_blake_rankin_decides_to_transfer.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on April 09, 2014, 09:33:50 pm
How do you know this guy is any good?  He ended up fourth or fifth on the Rutgers spring depth chart.  What does that tell you?
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on April 10, 2014, 04:59:45 am
How do you know this guy is any good?  He ended up fourth or fifth on the Rutgers spring depth chart.  What does that tell you?

I don't. All I know is he is a ESPN 3 start recruit. As a coach, you have to keep all options open and put your feelers out there ..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on April 13, 2014, 10:34:14 am
We already have plenty of qb options for next years team (six in spring ball, three more coming in for camp in August). If were looking for transfers, I hope they can bring in a big athletic inside linebacker.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chrissy D. on April 13, 2014, 12:31:11 pm
 They already have a big athletic inside LB, RSF John Haggert from Sayville. Kid is special.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on April 13, 2014, 12:54:35 pm
I'm high on Haggart too, but we only have 4 linebackers on the roster. If there is any position I'm looking to add transfers to, it is at linebacker.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chrissy D. on April 13, 2014, 07:03:03 pm
I believe we have some LB's coming in this summer with the freshman class. I think Raymond Jones 6'3" 220 from Roosevelt fits what your looking for ( he can play right away ). Also remember that Jake Carlock from Babylon is another kid who could play right now at safety, and if so then you could move Ricard back to LB where he played in 2012. Don't forget about Josh Valentin 6'4" 250 out of Commack. I know in recent yrs most of the freshman were redshirted but these guys have the skill and bodies to play this year.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on April 13, 2014, 07:23:49 pm
Here are our recruits for this year!!!

http://brookhavennewsherald.com/7711/64849/a/stony-brooks-priore-reloads-on-national-signing-day
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Wolfie_MD on April 13, 2014, 09:05:40 pm
Sure, QB is a big question mark this year but overall this team has way more talent than last year's squad. I have no idea who is going to win this QB race but I don't imagine we'll find out until the summer- we definitely have to wait for Kinder to get on campus as I think he has to be the favorite.

I'm super excited about Josh Valentin- he's got the type of body and athleticism to be a beast. Julius Wingate from Jersey is also oozing with potential- he's got elite size and will be a big red-zone target for us.

Can't wait for the spring game and summer practices!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on April 14, 2014, 01:08:23 pm
MD:  i beg to differ about Kinder.  if he is the "favorite" to win the QB job, then what does that say about the recruiting of the coaching staff at this position.  Pathetic, that's what I would say.  for SB to relying on a one-and-doner for 2014 would be ludicrious.  and a on top of that, Kinder comes into the program with ZERO SB background on the system, and has not played QB competitvely in four years.  in my mind that is a real stretch, and would only come about if Hernandez and Bednarski can not get it done.  Sure, a bunch of you out there would like to see the "local" kid come home and light it up, but really, is that what we want long term for SB football.  I dont think so. So i am rooting for one of the QBs that are currently on the roster to win the job and win it decisively so we dont have to go through this one-and-done nonsense for another year.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on April 14, 2014, 01:42:24 pm
BFF. I agree with you on everything you just said. Lets just see what this kid has to offer. If he is a stud Quarterback and blows the coaching staff away and gives us a chance to win the CAA, then maybe we have no choice to use him for one season. Also, he can teach all of our other quarterbacks a thing or two..... If Kinder is no better then Hernandez, Bednarski. D' Amato or Otranto then he stands on the sidelines!!!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on April 14, 2014, 01:47:28 pm
these guys could be huge for our offense right away.  and from what I saw, Coker was back saturday, and Wil Tye still looks great.

Josh Valentin TE 6-3 280 Bay Shore, N.Y./Commack Joe Reggio
 Julius Wingate WR 6-3 185 Englewood, N.J./Dwight Morrow
 Jason Wright TE 6-2 230 San Juan Capistrano, Calif./San Clemente
Cal Daniels TE 6-2 255 Bethel, Conn./Bethel Jason Gill
 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbugold on April 15, 2014, 01:08:37 pm
I just read that SBU offered Jordan Fredericks.  He's a hell of an athlete, and it could be very entertaining in the future to see him and his brother Tyler running out of the same backfield.  This, of course, raises a question:  since Coker, Kenner and Bedell are all ahead of Tyler  in the depth chart, do you think it would be wise to redshirt him this coming season?  He was supposed to redshirt last year, but the team's numerous injuries pressed him into service.  If that were to happen it would certainly set up a nice opportunityu for a Fredericks-Fredericks backfield in the future--if (a big if) Jordan turns down other bigger program offers he's certain to get.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on April 15, 2014, 01:30:10 pm
these guys could be huge for our offense right away.  and from what I saw, Coker was back saturday, and Wil Tye still looks great.

Josh Valentin TE 6-3 280 Bay Shore, N.Y./Commack Joe Reggio
 Julius Wingate WR 6-3 185 Englewood, N.J./Dwight Morrow
 Jason Wright TE 6-2 230 San Juan Capistrano, Calif./San Clemente
Cal Daniels TE 6-2 255 Bethel, Conn./Bethel Jason Gill

Agreed. I really like the tight ends in this years recruiting class.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on April 15, 2014, 01:35:16 pm
I just read that SBU offered Jordan Fredericks.  He's a hell of an athlete, and it could be very entertaining in the future to see him and his brother Tyler running out of the same backfield.  This, of course, raises a question:  since Coker, Kenner and Bedell are all ahead of Tyler  in the depth chart, do you think it would be wise to redshirt him this coming season?  He was supposed to redshirt last year, but the team's numerous injuries pressed him into service.  If that were to happen it would certainly set up a nice opportunityu for a Fredericks-Fredericks backfield in the future--if (a big if) Jordan turns down other bigger program offers he's certain to get.
sbugold.... I just watched a video of fredericks on Hudi. If SB lands this kid then I think we will have the best RB roster in the entire FCS, Have you seen this kid run? WOW!!!! Watch this highlight!

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/1576908/highlights/110925380
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on April 15, 2014, 09:12:51 pm
that is ridiculous.  wow, just ran right past entire defenses.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chrissy D. on April 16, 2014, 12:37:41 pm
 They really should redshirt Tyler Fredericks, it would be a waste not to.  Jordan Fredericks also plays WR, he has been on varsity since the 9th gr and played WR for 2 yrs. I believe he was moved to RB out of need. Both are very good on defense too, Tyler played LB and Jordan plays safety.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on April 16, 2014, 09:00:08 pm
What a combo if we can land the younger one.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on April 23, 2014, 05:43:17 am
If you don't see Marcus Coker on the playing field this Saturday for the spring game thats because he broke his leg this past Saturday evening on his Motorcycle. Coker was in an accident in Stony Brook and suffered a broken leg and cuts and bruises. He had surgery and is expected a full recovery by the start of Football season. He can't catch a break.. I just hope he is fully healed by the start of Football season..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on April 23, 2014, 09:22:46 am
apparently, he can catch a break.  ???
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on April 23, 2014, 09:39:48 am
apparently, he can catch a break.  ???
LOL! Good one.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on April 23, 2014, 11:32:37 am
holy crap, that is terrible.  motorcycles and athletes dont mix.  I heard that Doakes is out right now with a back injury.  hopefully will be ready for summer football.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on April 23, 2014, 12:49:01 pm
apparently, he can catch a break.  ???
LOL! Good one.
apparently, he can catch a break.  ???
LOL! Good one.
That explains why I haven't seen Dokes in any of the  practices. 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on April 23, 2014, 04:27:23 pm
I read  the Coker article in Newsday today and almost choked.  I rode a bike in my undergrad days but luckily  didn't wipe out. I hope both are 100%  soon.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on May 10, 2014, 06:28:40 am
Terrance West was drafted by the Browns.. 94th pick.. Thats very hard to do for an FCS RB. He was only the 6th RB chosen at that point. Impressive!

http://www.caasports.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8500&ATCLID=209493476
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: laxnation on May 10, 2014, 10:27:04 am
Terrance West was drafted by the Browns.. 94th pick.. Thats very hard to do for an FCS RB. He was only the 6th RB chosen at that point. Impressive!

http://www.caasports.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8500&ATCLID=209493476

I just spoke with my brother, a Towson alum and he's pretty pumped with West going in the 3rd round.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on May 15, 2014, 11:36:17 pm
This is what a very good AD can do to an institution.. Shawn Heilbron sounds like a Scott Barnes... We can only hope so!

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865603212/Scott-Barnes-named-as-one-of-the-top-28-athletics-directors-of-the-year.html
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on May 17, 2014, 02:30:59 pm
Pulled this from the Newsday article on our new AD.  looks like the school president wants to eventually take SBU football to FBS level.

In Stanley's view, that starts with continuing Stony Brook's success in sports other than football in the America East Conference and helping the football program compete consistently for the Colonial Athletic Association title and a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) postseason bid. The key is growing private fundraising support to make that happen and then putting fannies in the seats for football and men's basketball.

The prospect of a move to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) might seem like a pipe dream now, but the idea is to position Stony Brook for such a move during the next decade.

"One can't talk about moving to FBS until one is a very successful FCS program,'' Stanley said. "I can't tell you how long it will take to get there. I'm less interested in that than I am about putting the process in place and putting the components in place to help us move up.''


That, in a nutshell, is Heilbron's job, and those who know him best say he's up to the task. His last stop was Oregon State, where he served as senior associate athletic director for development.

"I know Stony Brook is up-and-coming,'' OSU athletic director Bob DeCarolis said. "It seems like they want to get to the next level. Shawn saw a lot of opportunity . . . He brings a lot of energy to the job. He's got a motor that doesn't stop.''

DeCarolis said Heilbron "ramped things up'' in terms of relations with Oregon State's donors. He created the "Coach's Circle'' for football and basketball, providing access to those coaches for donors who gave specific gifts to those sports over and above their annual gifts to OSU. Heilbron's signature achievement was the role he played in re-branding Oregon State's primary athletic fundraising program as "Our Beaver Nation.''

Central Florida athletic director Todd Stansbury, who worked at OSU before taking his current position, called Heilbron the "driving force'' behind "Our Beaver Nation.'' Stansbury said Heilbron was able to move the "transactional giver,'' who receives perks such as preferential parking and seating, into the "philanthropic'' category, supporting the program at a higher level.

Heilbron will encounter a different set of problems at Stony Brook, which competes in a New York metro market with nine professional teams and doesn't draw from a football-oriented culture, but Stansbury says Heilbron is prepared.

"At Oregon State, you're in the Pac-12, but it's also a place you have to work,'' Stansbury said. "It's not a program where all you do is turn on the lights and people show up. At UCLA, you compete against everybody and everything.

"If Stony Brook wants to move to FBS, it's definitely possible. It's one of the premier academic institutions in the country, and it's in the New York market. There's a lot of heavy lifting, but Stony Brook can do it.''

Oregon State football coach Mike Riley said Heilbron made a major impact on his program, managing a variety of projects, including building practice fields and adding other amenities.

"He was very good at building relationships and trust,'' Riley said. "That separated him. He was very good in front of people and was able to articulate a broader vision. It was fun to work with him
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on May 17, 2014, 02:40:05 pm
He sounds like the right person for the job. I hope he knows how to pull a rabbit out of a hat because NY is a real tough area for college football.  If he pulls this off in the next 10 years then he will have done something nobody else can do!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on May 17, 2014, 04:45:25 pm
Someone mentioned on this board or elsewhere  an interesting comment  from our AD prior to Fiore arriving at  SBU  in I guess 1999-2000. The former AD  as a parting shot said  SBU  would never  be able to fund and maintain a full D 1 program.  So here  we are 14-15 years later gearing up  for the  next level  of  play.   It will be a tough  road but can be done if done right.  Start bringing in  Navy,  Boston College  etc for  football  or a  Pttsburgh  or St Johns in hoops  the people will come.  Suffolk has 1.5 million people and the  Met  Life Stadium is painfull to reach and expensive - so spend a Saturday  watching FBS football at SBU .   I went to the SBU  -Army game and they draw good  crowds  and basically the same distance from NYC about 50 miles.  So if Army can draw  so can we.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on May 17, 2014, 06:04:13 pm
Someone mentioned on this board or elsewhere  an interesting comment  from our AD prior to Fiore arriving at  SBU  in I guess 1999-2000. The former AD  as a parting shot said  SBU  would never  be able to fund and maintain a full D 1 program.  So here  we are 14-15 years later gearing up  for the  next level  of  play.   It will be a tough  road but can be done if done right.  Start bringing in  Navy,  Boston College  etc for  football  or a  Pttsburgh  or St Johns in hoops  the people will come.  Suffolk has 1.5 million people and the  Met  Life Stadium is painfull to reach and expensive - so spend a Saturday  watching FBS football at SBU .   I went to the SBU  -Army game and they draw good  crowds  and basically the same distance from NYC about 50 miles.  So if Army can draw  so can we.

Amen Seawolf97...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on May 17, 2014, 06:31:59 pm
Exciting times for the Brook lie ahead. I would love to see bigger name schools come to Stony Brook. Only a dream for now. but I'm glad its being talked about. No doubt that Dr. Stanley knows the path, and I'm glad he is fully aware that we need to fund raise. If we are going to do this, we have to do most of it with private funds because we all know how New York State politics and public funds work... In other words, it would get shot down in a second
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on May 17, 2014, 07:08:12 pm
 After what I have read  with our incoming AD  and Dr. Stanley's comments  I think we have an institutional  commitment to move up over the course of the next 10 years.  At least 1 major local private  school ( Fordham) is jealous but  commends our ability to plan our future.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: RecoveringHillbilly on May 17, 2014, 08:25:10 pm
I understand the beginning of Stanley's quote is likely him speaking in a guarded fashion. Even as president of an FCS school I'm sure he's paid attention to the majority of recent move-ups and not just the cases of FCS success UMass, App St and Georgia Southern earned. Georgia St, ODU, UTSA, Charlotte: One FCS indy to Sun Belt start-up [dud] and 3 start-ups going brief FCS indy then straight to CUSA. And South Alabama also started from scratch with its Sun Belt position already set.

Buffalo joined the MAC in most sports in '98 and joined MAC FB in '99. But the invitation to join the MAC came in March '93 when UB was still a D3 football program, before the move to 1AA in fall '93. All it took were stipulations including adding 14K seats and baseball/softball. It occurred in the same meeting when MAC re-invitations went out to Marshall and NIU.  Not only were those 3 invited, but YSU was also analyzed. A program with a recent 1991 1AA Championship, a 1992 title game loss, and Jim Tressel? No thanks, said the MAC presidents. No new market gained, too redundant with Akron/Kent St. If you have a plan for gaining financial means and data showing new market penetration & potential, some FBS league will take a serious look.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on May 17, 2014, 09:03:25 pm
Our fan base has to grow and brand recognition  along with it.  I used the   example of Army a team that has fallen on hard times but still draws  the crowds  built just on its  legendary  past.  Our facilities  are either brand new or recently   renovated so that wont be an issue.  Our new AD's mission for now is  grow  fans in the seats and   raise   funding from private sources. So I expect  over the next few years it will be  about money and winning at this level across the board.  Tricky in  our unstable economy but do able.  Of course the instability of college sports itself is another  big factor .  So hopefully we can overcome  all this in the next ten years.  Exciting times are ahead of us!  We  need a piece of the NY market place to carve our niche.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on May 17, 2014, 10:14:08 pm
this was an interesting comment in the article: Heilbron will encounter a different set of problems at Stony Brook, which competes in a New York metro market with nine professional teams and doesn't draw from a football-oriented culture, but Stansbury says Heilbron is prepared

In spite of having two pro football teams in the area, though not really that close by if you consider you have to drive to new jersey, the LI folk may not be college football-centric.  instead, it seems like LAX is the main sport of LI
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on May 18, 2014, 04:37:26 pm
I  think if we maintain  a wining culture, keep  it fan friendly  with reasonable  prices  we can draw  15-18 k easily someday.   We are the only  game in town  for college football on Long Island,  easier travel and less money than  the NFL.    Lax is big  out here  for  sure but football  is fall sport,  and can fill that space until the lacrosse season begins.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: jaghatai on May 18, 2014, 08:04:28 pm
We just need to adjust our football culture/timeframe.

Long Island especially doesn't follow the "High School on Friday, College on Saturday, Pro on Sunday" mentality embraced around the rest of the country.  We'd need to adjust the schedule to accommodate this (do something like what Boise St. did and play Thursday nights, before the NFL took Thursday over...).  More games on Saturday nights (instead of days) or have them on Friday nights.

Either way, if the team is successful, the crowds will come.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: EMU Steve on May 19, 2014, 06:03:31 am
I understand the beginning of Stanley's quote is likely him speaking in a guarded fashion. Even as president of an FCS school I'm sure he's paid attention to the majority of recent move-ups and not just the cases of FCS success UMass, App St and Georgia Southern earned. Georgia St, ODU, UTSA, Charlotte: One FCS indy to Sun Belt start-up [dud] and 3 start-ups going brief FCS indy then straight to CUSA. And South Alabama also started from scratch with its Sun Belt position already set.

Buffalo joined the MAC in most sports in '98 and joined MAC FB in '99. But the invitation to join the MAC came in March '93 when UB was still a D3 football program, before the move to 1AA in fall '93. All it took were stipulations including adding 14K seats and baseball/softball. It occurred in the same meeting when MAC re-invitations went out to Marshall and NIU.  Not only were those 3 invited, but YSU was also analyzed. A program with a recent 1991 1AA Championship, a 1992 title game loss, and Jim Tressel? No thanks, said the MAC presidents. No new market gained, too redundant with Akron/Kent St. If you have a plan for gaining financial means and data showing new market penetration & potential, some FBS league will take a serious look.
I understand the beginning of Stanley's quote is likely him speaking in a guarded fashion. Even as president of an FCS school I'm sure he's paid attention to the majority of recent move-ups and not just the cases of FCS success UMass, App St and Georgia Southern earned. Georgia St, ODU, UTSA, Charlotte: One FCS indy to Sun Belt start-up [dud] and 3 start-ups going brief FCS indy then straight to CUSA. And South Alabama also started from scratch with its Sun Belt position already set.

Buffalo joined the MAC in most sports in '98 and joined MAC FB in '99. But the invitation to join the MAC came in March '93 when UB was still a D3 football program, before the move to 1AA in fall '93. All it took were stipulations including adding 14K seats and baseball/softball. It occurred in the same meeting when MAC re-invitations went out to Marshall and NIU.  Not only were those 3 invited, but YSU was also analyzed. A program with a recent 1991 1AA Championship, a 1992 title game loss, and Jim Tressel? No thanks, said the MAC presidents. No new market gained, too redundant with Akron/Kent St. If you have a plan for gaining financial means and data showing new market penetration & potential, some FBS league will take a serious look.
Our fan base has to grow and brand recognition  along with it.  I used the   example of Army a team that has fallen on hard times but still draws  the crowds  built just on its  legendary  past.  Our facilities  are either brand new or recently   renovated so that wont be an issue.  Our new AD's mission for now is  grow  fans in the seats and   raise   funding from private sources. So I expect  over the next few years it will be  about money and winning at this level across the board.  Tricky in  our unstable economy but do able.  Of course the instability of college sports itself is another  big factor .  So hopefully we can overcome  all this in the next ten years.  Exciting times are ahead of us!  We  need a piece of the NY market place to carve our niche.

I remember when the MAC re-added NIU, took a fledgeling Buffalo team and ever ambitious Marshall.   That worked despite the loss of Marshall and UCF (later).

Round II was Temple/UMass which got messed up when Temple quickly got an offer from the then Big East and bolted about as fast as the Colts did from Baltimore many years ago.

I still believe that the MAC, CAUTIOUSLY, twice burned, is still looking at Round III FB expansion.

What I see is:  Two schools, eastern FCS schools, must join together, all sports, and literally joined at the hips.

Where I think SB had bad timing.  Let's fast forward 5 - 7 years:  UMass was stuck as #13 and 13 is a bad, bad number.  The MAC wanted #14.  If SB was further along say where you hope to be in 2020, SB could have been #14.  I'm guessing that the MAC would have allowed UMass to be football only IF they had a solid #14 for FB and SB meets the general requirements.

It would be nice if there was another school chomping at the bit to go FBS.  Delaware comes to mind. Then come as a package deal.

BTW, MAC FBS FB is financially feasible.  MAC schools should begin receiving 1M/year/school from the college FB playoffs starting this FB season. MAC supposedly is working on a new television deal with ESPN.  MAC schools typically get 1M+ each year road game guarantees (a good guarantee can be in the 600 - 750K range).    Some MAC schools can earn 1M a year in home FB game revenues (say 50K tixs @ an ave. of $20 each or 10K per 5 home games.)
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chrissy D. on May 19, 2014, 02:46:31 pm
 Sat evening or night gms I think draw the best crowds. Friday night gms for High School teams on the island is getting bigger so you don't want to compete with that.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on May 19, 2014, 02:49:12 pm
yes but thurs night games will be best for student participation, no?  didnt we do one thurs night game recently?  how did it turn out?
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on May 19, 2014, 02:54:40 pm
Sat eve or night games are great while the weather remains good, this allows people to get their errands done on saturday, then attend the game.  as season moves on, and weather gets colder in late Oct and November, I think they should move the games to an afternoon start.

we have a thursday game coming up this season. lets see how that goes.  usually teams tend to do one of these "thursday games" once per season.  seems like we have ours ideally situated right before Labor Day weekend, with the school back in session, we should get a great turnout.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: RecoveringHillbilly on May 19, 2014, 05:37:01 pm
Beyond attendance and game dates, Stony Brook would be wise to also strike a local TV deal for football as the schedule improves and the team acclimates to the CAA.  There are only so many slots open for CAA NBCSN and Comcast/SNY games. So, for example, if SBU could gain a deal with WLNY 10/55 for select home game broadcast, it would benefit both parties. Not everyone wants to watch games online so SBU gains coverage across the market, and WLNY gains filler for Saturdays.

It would then become much like the deals FBS and higher-level FCS teams hold. Here in WNY, UB will have games broadcast on 3 different Tiers. 1st tier is the ESPN/2/U/Regional deal. 2nd tier are home games picked up by Time-Warner Cable Sports. The 3rd tier is a new deal reached with the local NBC affiliate WGRZ to become "The Home of UB Athletics". The WGRZ deal isn't so much about major money changing hands as it is the school and station agreeing to cross-market. UB produces the coach's shows and games and WGRZ provides air-time.
This is the contract, just to give some idea of what SBU could request: http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3888457/WGRZ_Agreement_UB_Athletics_2013-signed.pdf (http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3888457/WGRZ_Agreement_UB_Athletics_2013-signed.pdf)

Just this afternoon, Holy Cross announced an expanded schedule of home games for a Worchester-based indy channel owned by Charter Cable:
http://www.goholycross.com/sports/m-footbl/2013-14/releases/201405190wnxvq#.U3pMG67A9vY.twitter (http://www.goholycross.com/sports/m-footbl/2013-14/releases/201405190wnxvq#.U3pMG67A9vY.twitter)
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on May 19, 2014, 09:11:53 pm
I like this input  we are seeing from some of our MAC  neighbors and of course  UB . Interesting  information as we move forward.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chrissy D. on May 20, 2014, 12:50:40 pm
 They do move the later gms in the fall to afternoon starts. Youth football leagues are usually finished by then so you get those people to attend. As far as cold weather late in the yr I went to the Sachem v Farmingdale gm in late Nov last yr at Lavalle and that drew like 4,500. If the product is good people will show up.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ry1nik on November 08, 2014, 08:20:59 am
Good argument for not going FBS from the JMU perspective. I think it applies to SBU as well

http://augustafreepress.com/jmu-nation-wants-fbs-whether-makes-sense/ (http://augustafreepress.com/jmu-nation-wants-fbs-whether-makes-sense/)
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbugold on November 08, 2014, 09:04:20 am
Good argument for not going FBS from the JMU perspective. I think it applies to SBU as well

http://augustafreepress.com/jmu-nation-wants-fbs-whether-makes-sense/ (http://augustafreepress.com/jmu-nation-wants-fbs-whether-makes-sense/)

I wholeheartedly agree.  I would much rather see the Seawolves succeed at making their presence in the CAA felt as a perennial conference championship contender and FCS champion threat.  The Albany rivalry  is a strong one, and I'd like to see another like it develop over the next few year (perhaps Delaware?).  If that happens the fan base will continue to grow and SBU's notariety and stadium capacity along with it!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on November 10, 2014, 02:16:28 pm
we have to get more students in the stands for the home games, especially if we want to have a chance to move up to FBS at some point in the future.  was at the JMU game and was very disappointed with the studen turnout. practically no students.  this was a big game for SB football, and there should have been more students at game.  not sure if they too busy with school, commuter school so kids go home on the weekends, upcoming holiday on tuesday so kids took a long weekend away from campus.  we did get great turnout for the Bryant game and the WM homecoming game, but since we lost both games, I am sure that did not inspire kids to come back for the JMU game
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 10, 2014, 02:33:22 pm
yeah i noticed that on the webcast.  ive been going on and on about this in the other threads. http://sbufan.createaforum.com/around-stony-brook/making-sb-better-idea-thread/

from a different angle- they've come a LONG way.  i cant believe what attendance used to look like only 15 years ago.  and bball?  wow, what a difference.  yet, other than the band, not many students in the cold weather football games. 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 10, 2014, 02:38:20 pm
I don't know what to say. Attendance average is up. For its definitely not enough. I was part of the 150 students in the red zone this past saturday. it sucked. A school of 24,500 kids should be able to fill a 4,000 student section easily. But its not that easy in the Northeast, and factor the fact that they are not winning and didn't impress the students early on with the two losses. With that said, season attendance is up largely due to the opener and homecoming but its still good to know that there is an upward trend for the 7th straight year. As it stands right now we average a 7523 fans/game

We all know the cure. Win games and you will create a following. We had it going for the past couple of years but this past two seasons are a set back
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on November 10, 2014, 02:54:54 pm
in my mind, the weather was not an issue this weekend.  it was a perfect fall day for football, at game time the sun was out, and sitting in the stands was fantastic.  not sure what better weather you could ask for in a Fall game.  its not the Southwest afterall, its Long Island.  I'm from the West Coast and loved the Fall weather.  I saw that Wolfie was around campus mid week trying to get the kids excited about the game, guess that did not work.  How about holding a rally on Friday to get kids and the campus excited about the upcoming game?  maybe that's done already....  I thought the local community did their part to show up to the game, the missing ingredient was the student fan base, very weak.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 10, 2014, 03:03:16 pm
The community is definitely growing which is a good thing. I guess in Stony Brook we going to have to do things backwards. Hype up the community, make the fill the stadium and then maybe the students will show up. Most students don't show up because of the "No one goes mentality" so I think SBU is doing a great job marketing to the immediate community so the can show up to the game with their children, etc.

Its gonna take a lot of time and effort.... and we going to have to win consistently for several years if we want more people to show up. Its not easy to draw in the Long Island area. Students have a lot of options (Going home, NYC for the day, etc) and we going to have to compete for their time. It would've been nice if we had four winning seasons straight like 2011/12... Look at Coastal Carolina. Their attendance is booming with sellouts for every game...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on November 10, 2014, 04:06:32 pm
I hear you, winning is the easy way to fix things.  My hats off to Coastal Carolina, but if we'd stayed in the Big South, maybe we'd be undefeated this year too.  but we moved up, and we are playing big boy FCS football now.  and I guess we are struggling with that transition. 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 10, 2014, 04:28:55 pm
i wouldve agreed- but CCU is atop the rankings.

now you and i and everyone here knows that their competition isnt all that great, as compared to the CAA- but then again, does it matter?  they are in the top 3 in both polls!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Wolfie_MD on November 10, 2014, 11:58:21 pm
Student turnout was pathetic. The administration needs to do something to improve that- I don't know if the RAs need to be aggressive with it but there were like 70 students total in the student section. Yes I know there are a lot of commuters but there have to be more kids still on campus. To be fair, even big schools have trouble filling student sections but those are schools that charge students for tickets. What excuse do Stony Brook students have? Pretty pathetic.

On the other hand, the community involvement with the team is awesome. Its backwards but the community attendance is amazing.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 11, 2014, 12:06:05 am
Student turnout was pathetic. The administration needs to do something to improve that- I don't know if the RAs need to be aggressive with it but there were like 70 students total in the student section. Yes I know there are a lot of commuters but there have to be more kids still on campus. To be fair, even big schools have trouble filling student sections but those are schools that charge students for tickets. What excuse do Stony Brook students have? Pretty pathetic.

On the other hand, the community involvement with the team is awesome. Its backwards but the community attendance is amazing.

That's if you count the 10 or so alumnus that were in the student section. We still feel the need to be "Students" to incubate a following. I wonder how long will it take before I can actually graduate from the Red Zone and be able to use my chairback in SEC 103. We really try hard to pump of the current students. But its not easy. Apathy is a serious problem. Kids think they are too good for college football, that "Stony Brook is not a football school" and doesn't deserve support. It sucks but hopefully one day in the future we can sell out LaValle consistently...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbugold on November 11, 2014, 09:56:44 am
I hear you, winning is the easy way to fix things.  My hats off to Coastal Carolina, but if we'd stayed in the Big South, maybe we'd be undefeated this year too.  but we moved up, and we are playing big boy FCS football now.  and I guess we are struggling with that transition. 

I saw the latest FCS Coaches' poll in the newspaper this morning.  UNH is #2 and Bryant is in at #21, with only a single loss!!  Oh, what could have (SHOULD have) been.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 11, 2014, 10:12:34 am
disaffected student body is of course a problem at a lot of universities- but at SB, its a slightly different problem.  most of the time, schools cant get the kids out of the dorms and over to the stadium.  while SB has that issue (over 10k kids on campus!), the larger issue that needs to be addressed is are they even on campus on a saturday.

if you tear up the roots of the problem, other solutions will follow.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on November 11, 2014, 10:42:12 am
how would you like to be a Sam Houston State fan, they are not even ranked, got two votes in the FCS coaches poll.  what a drop from past years for that program.  and they brought in a bunch of FBS transfers this summer to fill out their roster, thought they'd be a juggernaut with that loaded line up, but it did not work.

We need to try and turn SB into a "football" school.  change the paradigm with the students so they want to attend the games.  not sure how that is done.  winning is one way, but there have to be other ways to do it to.  I agree with others on this blog that the local community is stepping up and attending the games.  also, player families drive hundreds of miles to attend the games, even if their sons are back up players. 

Was in the area this past weekend with friends, and was commenting to them that some of the local sports bars, not just The Bench, should be made into SB Football hangouts.  A place like Miller Ale House would be a perfect sponsor of the team.  there must be many others out there.  and I know there are SBU supporters out there that are willing to extend themselves to promote the school and the football program.  these "volunteers" should be embraced by the school and leveraged in a way to "spread the word" about SBU football.  grass roots style.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on November 11, 2014, 10:44:00 am
If the coaching staff had started Bednarski right off the bat, we win both the Bryant and ND games, we are sitting at 6-4 right now, and we are in the top 25 in the FCS coaches poll.  that simple.  and..... maybe we win the UCONN game too.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on November 11, 2014, 09:09:10 pm
  The last two minutes  of the game against JMU was painful to watch. We are so slow getting a play called  and the execution wasn't all that good . I hope to see improvement next year but for now we look lifeless out there.  Several  experts on the AGS  board feel we are trying too hard not to lose and not trying to win. I have to agree with them . Granted   JMU has a super star at QB  but they executed better even when  they went to their hurry up offense. I watched a ton of time click off the clock as we struggled to  get a play started. So wait until next year.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on November 12, 2014, 09:14:56 am
Seawolf:  excellent points on the two minute offense, or lack there of.  on that final drive, we got the ball back with more than 4 mins on the clock.  I too was surprised to see how the offense moved with no sense of urgency.  we ran three running plays in that series which continued to run the clock.  I had a chance to ask an offensive player after the game about what transpired in the last several minutes of the game, and he shrugged his shoulders and implied that 1) we dont practice 2 minute drill with any regularity, or 2) our play calling during the 2 minute drills suck.  clearly, you could tell he was frustrated.  Coaching.....
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 12, 2014, 09:50:05 am
certainly there have been some bad play calls- not just this particular drive- but also over the course of the season- and then you add in the kinder experiment (or rather, how long it went).

i just hope the staff can turn it around, because we are just a few hairs away from a really good resume on what is adding up to be a down year.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on November 12, 2014, 09:54:59 am
Seawolf:  excellent points on the two minute offense, or lack there of.  on that final drive, we got the ball back with more than 4 mins on the clock.  I too was surprised to see how the offense moved with no sense of urgency.  we ran three running plays in that series which continued to run the clock.  I had a chance to ask an offensive player after the game about what transpired in the last several minutes of the game, and he shrugged his shoulders and implied that 1) we dont practice 2 minute drill with any regularity, or 2) our play calling during the 2 minute drills suck.  clearly, you could tell he was frustrated.  Coaching.....

This issue is really alarming.. SB did the same thing last year and i thought this problem would be corrected at the start of this year. I know coach P loves the whole "pound and ground" thing but, if your Offensive lineman can't move the Defensive tackles out of the way, then how can you have a very effective ground game?? SB actually is doing a much better job with the short passes for decent yardages because of the TE making crucial blocks..... Why not make that the 2 minutes drill? The WR can run out of bounds to stop the clock which also gives the coaches time to scan the fields more effectively!..... Again, this comes down to playcalling..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 12, 2014, 10:04:28 am
Hammer- at the risk of oversimplifying- i think we are all thinking exactly that.

its so simple it reminds me of 7th grade football.  double tight, triple back, I formation, send everyone through a hole to block, block, and carry.  i really do love it.  throwback football.

but late in the game when we are down 10 or 14 or whatever, we dont have another maysonet to break 80 yards off tackle.

so we need a plan B.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on November 12, 2014, 10:07:40 am
I just found this out from a friend of mine whose daughter plays fencing for NAVY.. All Cadets, who are Athletes MUST attend all Football games as student fans.. I don't know if this is a Military thing with all other military schools or just NAVY.. This is something to consider for SB. Make all the other scholarship athletes attend Football games. Obviously, if an athlete is sick or has an exam they are not required to go.. This sounds like a paramilitary organization stunt but hey, it will surely put bodies into the student section!! I would also think the NCAA would have to have their say about this stunt too!!!!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 12, 2014, 10:18:25 am
its tough today.  kids rather play with facebook or smartphones or whatever.  its easier to sit on the couch.

in the idea thread, some solutions that wont get us all the way there but will help- give away free t-shirts, get schedule magnets in every dorm, give away free food at games, give away free tuition, create a loyalty program where game attendees are entered for free tuition, etc.  In the old days, RAs would knock on doors and pump kids up and tell them to walk over to Seawolves Field.  more signage with schedules, more rivalry games, get the game piped into the Bench, closed circuit TV in each room, etc.  This isnt the silver bullet, but it helps.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on November 12, 2014, 10:20:14 am
Hammer, you might have something there.  the other scholarship athletes should be encouraged (required) to come out to football and basketball games to support the TWO money sports at the school.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on November 12, 2014, 10:25:15 am
Chairman: just two weeks ago, we had a similar end-of-game situation with UNH, and our O could not move the ball.  I did not see us transition into no-huddle offense, either last week or against UNH. and now that I think about it, go back to the WM game, our red zone O really stunk in the overtime period.  becoming good at hurry-up O and Red Zone O takes practice practice practice.  you dont need a super mobile QB to make it work, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning do just fine in thes situations, and they cant run worth a lick.  but the kids need to be trained by the coaching staff on how to make these Offenses work.  in previous seasons, we relied on Maysonet to break one loose, or for Essington to hit Norrell with a bomb down the middle of the field.  but that was Big South football, we need to get more sophisticated in the CAA to win against the best teams in the conf.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 12, 2014, 10:38:52 am
agreed.  our run-first offense does open up these opportunities too, which is a good thing.

im also a contrarian on hurry up offense... IF you have the times out.  for example, most teams throw to the sidelines and get out of bounds, which is fine, that works.  but the defense knows this and is usually covering it.  if they show that, that might soften the middle.  it depends on what they are showing.  i like will tye on a 12 yard in for a new set of downs.

and regarding attendance: http://sbufan.createaforum.com/around-stony-brook/making-sb-better-idea-thread/msg10362/#msg10362
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on November 12, 2014, 10:46:30 am
you are right, we debated these points last spring, and you had an awesome list of ideas.  I really like the one about getting a better Student Commons area.  I was at Alabama this summer, and they have an awesome gathering place for the students, a circular bowl area, surrounded by eating areas and the student store.  nice place to hang out.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 12, 2014, 12:16:49 pm
Army also requires all cadets to attend football games. I don't think any other school other than the service academy do this. I don't think its a terrible idea to at least encourage the scholarship student athletes (M&W BBALL) to attend the football game even though I'm sure that it may create conflicts on their schedule with practice, training, or academics etc
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 12, 2014, 12:27:16 pm
Also, the problem with a school like Stony Brook is that there is not a unified team between the administration/campus life/ and residential life to encourage attendance at athletics events. These organizations feel like they all work separately and at times it feels like they work against each other or compete for the attention of students. Most of the time while I was at the University residential life (RAs, RHDs, and etc) didn't even acknowledge that there was a football game going on at the stadium. They had their own list of events scheduled and at times they even had events with time conflicts with football. That's why I hated the whole setup. In a way they would promote "Residential College" pride but not "Stony Brook pride" which is absolutely ridiculous. Why do I give a fu** if I live in Langmuir College... I'm a Stony Brook student and a proud wolf so they should be promoting university-wide events and not their on agenda

They SHOULD BE NOTHING schedule when there is a football game on campus. the Football game and basketball games should be where all students mingle no matter whether they live in South Campus or North campus. Its sad that the administration as whole has not noticed this yet. This is why the campus is so disjointed. Students don't feel like they are part of a greater whole. They don't feel like TRUE seawolves. They just feel like students that belong to their specific Quad and that's it

in my visits to the University of Connecticut I was amazed how well they do it. They do an amazing job promoting UCONN pride. Students wear their pride everywhere they go... and not only that: If they have to Chant "UCONN.... HUSKY" at any location they would get a crowd to respond to them. Try the same at Stony Brook with the "What's a Seawolf?" and people will probably laugh at you.

and UCONN is only one example. I'm sure there is schools that do it waaaay better than them out there. The Clemsons, South Carolina, Florida, Syracuses of the world...

Honest effort has to be put in by the administrator. Real effort. This should also go hand in hand with the constructions of new facilities to enhance student life as mentioned in the Making SB Better thread

Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on November 12, 2014, 12:40:42 pm
those are very impressive insights.  I suggest that you bring them to the attention of our new AD.  I met him Saturday, and he seems very engaging and motivated to improve things at the school as they pertain to athletics.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on November 12, 2014, 12:41:35 pm
EcasadoSBU.  Why dont you bring this up to Stonybrook Athletics attention?. As a recent grad you  will be heard. No one listens to me because i didnt go to SB, even though just about my entire tailgate buddies have!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 12, 2014, 12:51:01 pm
Also, the problem with a school like Stony Brook is that there is not a unified team between the administration/campus life/ and residential life to encourage attendance at athletics events. These organizations feel like they all work separately and at times it feels like they work against each other or compete for the attention of students. Most of the time while I was at the University residential life (RAs, RHDs, and etc) didn't even acknowledge that there was a football game going on at the stadium. They had their own list of events scheduled and at times they even had events with time conflicts with football. That's why I hated the whole setup. In a way they would promote "Residential College" pride but not "Stony Brook pride" which is absolutely ridiculous. Why do I give a fu** if I live in Langmuir College... I'm a Stony Brook student and a proud wolf so they should be promoting university-wide events and not their on agenda

They SHOULD BE NOTHING schedule when there is a football game on campus. the Football game and basketball games should be where all students mingle no matter whether they live in South Campus or North campus. Its sad that the administration as whole has not noticed this yet. This is why the campus is so disjointed. Students don't feel like they are part of a greater whole. They don't feel like TRUE seawolves. They just feel like students that belong to their specific Quad and that's it

in my visits to the University of Connecticut I was amazed how well they do it. They do an amazing job promoting UCONN pride. Students wear their pride everywhere they go... and not only that: If they have to Chant "UCONN.... HUSKY" at any location they would get a crowd to respond to them. Try the same at Stony Brook with the "What's a Seawolf?" and people will probably laugh at you.

and UCONN is only one example. I'm sure there is schools that do it waaaay better than them out there. The Clemsons, South Carolina, Florida, Syracuses of the world...

Honest effort has to be put in by the administrator. Real effort. This should also go hand in hand with the constructions of new facilities to enhance student life as mentioned in the Making SB Better thread

this brings up an interesting question Crazy Eddie... i wasnt aware that there was such a disconnect.  thanks for sharing your insight as you were in the mix and know what's going on.

why such a decentralized process at SB?

i agree with your sentiment on getting scheduling together. 

the answers are there; that's not the hard part.  the solutions are clear.  even the expense- that's not even the hard part, because the school does have some $$$ to implement.  the real difficulty is getting the message to them, and then, being all on the same page.  so your right Crazy Eddie, disjointed. 

greater good, utilitarianism, JS Mill.  i remember reading this philosophy... ironically... at SB.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 12, 2014, 01:28:58 pm
I think to answer your question in why such a decentralized process at Stony Brook we have to take a look at its history, and its present, and the way they are planning for the future

This school was planned to be a research heavy institution from the start in the early 1960s. It grew so quickly that no one really paid attention at the "process" of how things really should get done. For decades our administrators were focused on making Stony Brook a top notch research institution and all the focus was to succeed in that and to a certain extent they have succeeded (It was only until Kenny came in the early 1990s that she noticed how ****ty everything else not involving "research" was at the University. She had great ideas of how things should be done because she came from the University of Texas-Austin... and she improved a lot of things but a lot of the old-timers hated her because her ideas took away from "more important" things )

Adding dorms, campus dining, a student Union, and athletics facilities came out of necessity with very little planning and thought in how to expand the campus cohesively and avoiding the red tape that we have today. So what we got today is a product of such a mess. We have the Faculty Student Association managing Campus Dining/Bookstore/ and the Seawolves Marketplace, Residential Life managing Student Residences, and you have the Athletic Department managing Athletic facilities and events. You also have the Commuter Student Association working for the interest of the commuter population and the Stony Brook Weekend Life Council managing Student Activities on Weekends.... Lastly add the Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate Student Organization working for the interests of their respective students... and between this pile of garbage you have the Students trying to find an event to have fun burried between all these divisions that some times don't seem to work together.

Dr. Stanley did a great job consolidating and eliminating red tape with his Project 50... But he basically focused on the academic and administrative arm of the University...

When is something going to be done to eliminate all the garbage in the student life side of things? I'm not so sure

But my point is...

All these groups (USG, GSO, FSA, Athletics, ResLife, Commuter S.A, Campus Dining, Student Life Weekend Council) should have a common schedule which doesn't conflict between each other. They should help one another advertise events and should have common goal of engaging the entire stony Brook community not just a tiny fraction of the population.

In reality what usually happens is that you end up having one big fraction of the population who doesn't even find out that there are events currently going on... or that is attending another event they care more about... or who goes home on weekend cuz he thinks Stony Brook is boring and full of apathy because of little marketing and little unity.

Take a minute or two and visit the site

today.uconn.edu

There you can find out pretty much everything that is currently going on at UCONN...

Then find me a site other than this ****ty calendar that promotes events to the campus community

http://calendar.activedatax.com/stonybrook/EventList.aspx?fromdate=11/12/2014&todate=11/25/2014&display=Month&view=DateTime

Stony Brook can do better than that... Sometimes I just think they choose not to. The solution is there, but our admins are to blind to even see it. They get away with murder


 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 12, 2014, 01:33:42 pm
I should take the time to bring write this issues on paper and send them to administrators. I guess thats the only way we can ask for change. I'm going to try and do this
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 12, 2014, 02:34:34 pm
I think to answer your question in why such a decentralized process at Stony Brook we have to take a look at its history, and its present, and the way they are planning for the future

This school was planned to be a research heavy institution from the start in the early 1960s. It grew so quickly that no one really paid attention at the "process" of how things really should get done. For decades our administrators were focused on making Stony Brook a top notch research institution and all the focus was to succeed in that and to a certain extent they have succeeded (It was only until Kenny came in the early 1990s that she noticed how ****ty everything else not involving "research" was at the University. She had great ideas of how things should be done because she came from the University of Texas-Austin... and she improved a lot of things but a lot of the old-timers hated her because her ideas took away from "more important" things )

Adding dorms, campus dining, a student Union, and athletics facilities came out of necessity with very little planning and thought in how to expand the campus cohesively and avoiding the red tape that we have today. So what we got today is a product of such a mess. We have the Faculty Student Association managing Campus Dining/Bookstore/ and the Seawolves Marketplace, Residential Life managing Student Residences, and you have the Athletic Department managing Athletic facilities and events. You also have the Commuter Student Association working for the interest of the commuter population and the Stony Brook Weekend Life Council managing Student Activities on Weekends.... Lastly add the Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate Student Organization working for the interests of their respective students... and between this pile of garbage you have the Students trying to find an event to have fun burried between all these divisions that some times don't seem to work together.

Dr. Stanley did a great job consolidating and eliminating red tape with his Project 50... But he basically focused on the academic and administrative arm of the University...

When is something going to be done to eliminate all the garbage in the student life side of things? I'm not so sure

But my point is...

All these groups (USG, GSO, FSA, Athletics, ResLife, Commuter S.A, Campus Dining, Student Life Weekend Council) should have a common schedule which doesn't conflict between each other. They should help one another advertise events and should have common goal of engaging the entire stony Brook community not just a tiny fraction of the population.

In reality what usually happens is that you end up having one big fraction of the population who doesn't even find out that there are events currently going on... or that is attending another event they care more about... or who goes home on weekend cuz he thinks Stony Brook is boring and full of apathy because of little marketing and little unity.

Take a minute or two and visit the site

today.uconn.edu

There you can find out pretty much everything that is currently going on at UCONN...

Then find me a site other than this ****ty calendar that promotes events to the campus community

http://calendar.activedatax.com/stonybrook/EventList.aspx?fromdate=11/12/2014&todate=11/25/2014&display=Month&view=DateTime

Stony Brook can do better than that... Sometimes I just think they choose not to. The solution is there, but our admins are to blind to even see it. They get away with murder

from what i know, agreed.  it grew so quickly, that things get missed. 

i hadnt even heard of some of these groups.  to me, the critical one is the Stony Brook Weekend Life Council.  this could be the key to getting things changed and perhaps boosting attendance.  http://studentaffairs.stonybrook.edu/sac/weekend_life/weekendlife.shtml

but like i always say, mini golf and movies and laser tag aint gonna do it!  we have to look at our competition and what they are doing right/wrong. 

i *love* golf.  i play 15 times a year.  but look how exciting this is to an 18 year old: https://stonybrook.collegiatelink.net/organization/weekendlife/gallery/Album/33344

a whopping 40 students are on the roster for that club.  i do applaud the efforts though.  here is the mission: http://studentaffairs.stonybrook.edu/sac/weekend_life/cosponsorship.shtml

doesnt entirely reflect the ideas we've come up with in the idea thread, but then again, they are constrained by the powers that be.  its a university-sanctioned club.

i am repetitive- i know.  but you have to consider this: a 17 year old holds a brochure for SB, and one for... SJU, Albany, Delaware, Buffalo, Oneonta, etc. 

Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 12, 2014, 02:34:58 pm
I should take the time to bring write this issues on paper and send them to administrators. I guess thats the only way we can ask for change. I'm going to try and do this

and im willing to help.  we should move this over to the idea thread.  in fact, you can print that out and submit it!  what could be better than honest feedback from insiders, students, alums, sports fans, etc.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on January 13, 2015, 10:39:35 am
While reading about the Ohio/Oregon on NYTimes.. saw this article and which pretty much sums up why we should think twice before dreaming about FBS at Stony Brook:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/upshot/the-places-in-america-where-college-football-means-the-most.html?ref=ncaafootball&abt=0002&abg=0

There is not many college football fans in general in northeast.. and if you scroll down you will see that only 4% in NY likes a college team... i.e. any college team!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on January 13, 2015, 10:56:06 am
as a member of the SB Football Touchdown Club, I received this email this week.  I thought I would share it with all of you, perhaps some of you would think of joining the Touchdown Club, or volunteering to help out in the 2015 season.


Dear Friends,

In just the last two years, the launch of the Stony Brook Touchdown Club has seen over 130 members contribute to the Stony Brook Football program to help transform the student-athlete experience as well as create a culture of leadership and success, both on and off the field.



Simply put, our goal is to win the CAA title and compete for a national championship. While we expect to win on the field, the overarching mission is provide our student-athletes with the tools to positively impact the world around them through their pursuit of academic and athletic excellence. Your involvement and investment now will continue to shape the future leaders of our communities.

In order to take the next step in its forward progress, the Touchdown Club must continue its focus on growing support through the following ways:

•Increased Touchdown Club membership
•Our goal is 200 members making annual gifts by June 30, 2015. We are about halfway there.
•Game-Day Atmosphere
•We will unveil “Seawolves Alley” in the fall of 2015 and you won’t want to miss being a part of this game-day experience
•Annual Football Spring Game
•We ask that our alumni use this day to come out to LaValle Stadium and support the Seawolves every year.
•Downey Memorial Football Golf Outing – Our golf outing is an important fundraiser every year for the program. We have set two goals this year:
•Have 50 Stony Brook Football alumni participate in the outing
•Raise $25K or more in corporate sponsorship for the outing.
•Touchdown Club Committee – Join a Touchdown Club committee and help make a difference. Here is a list of committees and please reach out to me if you are interested in helping in any one or more of these areas.
•Touchdown Club Membership Committee
•Golf Outing Committee
•Spring Game Committee
Increasing annual support of Stony Brook Touchdown Club is the most direct way to support the transformation that is taking place every day in the lives of Stony Brook's student-athletes and will allow Stony Brook University to launch into the future and sustain itself as a top program both in the CAA and on a national level.

We are looking for individuals like you who would be interested in becoming more involved with the Touchdown Club by helping to improve the various areas stated above.

If you would like to participate please contact Sam Kornhauser at 631-632-7198 or at Samuel.kornhauser@stonybrook.edu. Go Seawolves!

Sincerely,

Blake Reed
President Stony Brook Touchdown Club
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 13, 2015, 03:54:02 pm
While reading about the Ohio/Oregon on NYTimes.. saw this article and which pretty much sums up why we should think twice before dreaming about FBS at Stony Brook:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/upshot/the-places-in-america-where-college-football-means-the-most.html?ref=ncaafootball&abt=0002&abg=0

There is not many college football fans in general in northeast.. and if you scroll down you will see that only 4% in NY likes a college team... i.e. any college team!

This is the problem with New York specifically Long Island and is one reason why Hofstra abandon their Football program. Attendance were dismal. Long Island has a population of 3,000,000 million people so 4 % of that is still 120,000 people whoa re college football fans. But how many are Seawolf fans?? That will be the problem Shawn Heilbron will be up against trying to get new blood into lavalle Stadium. I dont have an answer to this issue except win games and making it deep into the playoffs every year. That should help!!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on January 13, 2015, 05:08:03 pm
i tried to run some rough #s earlier this year in one of these threads... forget the 3million on LI... how about the campus alone!!!  must be over 15k faculty/staff and we know there are 25k students.

can we get 8200 to the game?  heck lets say family and community shows up for 1200.

can we get 7000 to the game? 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on January 13, 2015, 06:30:48 pm
try drawing a 40 mile diameter circle with a centroid on La Valle.  that would be a reasonable approximation of the population you can draw from.  I'd drive 20 miles one way to see SB football right now if I were a long islander.  now if the team continually competes for CAA titles, the circle grows out farther.  the main crowd needs to come from within 5-10 mile radius of the school.  those are the business we should target to become SB Football boosters.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on January 13, 2015, 07:28:46 pm
uphill battle no doubt. I'm actually starting to come to terms with our FCS status. I'm not sure that FBS football, or hypothetical top-notch Power Five football is what I really want for Stony Brook. A sold out team with corruption running through its veins with obsessive commercialism and slave of ESPNs power and wealth. No, I don't want that

I did enjoy last nights game of Ohio State vs Oregon... But it didn't feel like college football to me. It didn't feel like what college football should be.

College football at the highest level in a way shows what's wrong with America with great Public State Universities selling out to corporate interests in the name of profits. I don't know if that's what I really want for SBU

I prefer the family oriented environment that LaValle offers with great competition but without having to drop $5 million for a coach while the school struggles to fund its academic mission. Feels excessive to me.

I'm appreciating the CAA more now and I will continue to support our Seawolves. **** the FBS. Its no longer as important for me 

If the need for expansion arises and our fan base desires a higher level of competition, then so be it. but lets not sell away our institution's soul for the sake of hypothetical profits. Money that its in the hand of a few top tier programs anyways...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbugold on January 14, 2015, 11:01:47 am
uphill battle no doubt. I'm actually starting to come to terms with our FCS status. I'm not sure that FBS football, or hypothetical top-notch Power Five football is what I really want for Stony Brook. A sold out team with corruption running through its veins with obsessive commercialism and slave of ESPNs power and wealth. No, I don't want that

I did enjoy last nights game of Ohio State vs Oregon... But it didn't feel like college football to me. It didn't feel like what college football should be.

College football at the highest level in a way shows what's wrong with America with great Public State Universities selling out to corporate interests in the name of profits. I don't know if that's what I really want for SBU

I prefer the family oriented environment that LaValle offers with great competition but without having to drop $5 million for a coach while the school struggles to fund its academic mission. Feels excessive to me.

I'm appreciating the CAA more now and I will continue to support our Seawolves. **** the FBS. Its no longer as important for me 

If the need for expansion arises and our fan base desires a higher level of competition, then so be it. but lets not sell away our institution's soul for the sake of hypothetical profits. Money that its in the hand of a few top tier programs anyways...

I'm with you 100% on this, ecasadoSBU, and have expressed that sentiment a number of times.  I much prefer the more wholesome, family-centric approach SBU has taken so far.to the cut-throat, scandal-ridden, commercialized path some bigger programs have pursued.  It seems that once a program has reached a certain level of competition and expectation it becomes very hard to retain perspective and avoid losing perspective. 

I'd like to see the Seawolves continue to improve and become a model for the FCS by becoming a perennial top 5 rated program, go deep into the playoffs every season and scare the hell out of (and hopefully often beat) every FBS team they have the opportunity to play!!  At that level of performance, the reward will be to  regularly see 12,000-15,000 in the stadium, while not sacrificing the school's academic, recruiting or community standards!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on January 14, 2015, 11:19:30 am
hard to argue with that.  do we really want it to become a place where the coach goes 8-5 and is on the hot seat- every year???

our brand of football is fun to watch.  our fans our great.  our players are good kids.  we like our coaches and admin.  lets keep winning and make some noise and see what happens.

but yes- if things get bigger/better/faster, will the $$$ draw away from other sports? 

also note that in the 40 mile radius is a whole lot of water!!!  ive always thought that roads are an issue for bigger crowds at lavalle- whether its community or even off campus students- the roads dont really support 25k on gameday. 

plus, the family atmosphere will instill the kids to grow up SB fans and eventually come to SB- where their family and friends can watch them play at lavalle.  how great is that?

this is sort of the ivy league approach- keep it clean and about academics first- except of course, we use scholarships.

i know now- from the previous few seasons- how great and exciting november can be when my team is in it, versus this year, when im waiting for basketball to start. 

and lastly, that will make it so much sweeter when knocking off the FBS opponents!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ry1nik on January 14, 2015, 01:53:35 pm
I have thought this from Day One and couldn't agree more. I like being able to attend a game and not have to deal with 30,000 other fans trying to do the same...not to mention keeping the university's priorities straight.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: guest260 on January 15, 2015, 11:58:20 am
Happy New Year everyone!

As always some great points and posts.

IMHO- and having played at a fairly well known D1 program that had packed houses each week- there is nothing wrong with this. Our school's priorities were no different than most of the others I see and did not have the level of "corruption" some of you have espoused that you seem to want to pain a broad brush with. And you know what? Having a coach be on the hot seat to me is a good thing! 

I wonder if Coach P was in his last of year of this contract would have done things a bit differently than he did this year?

Having the fan base be a bit more "involved" at my school did not mean before, during and after our fans did not attend. It is called "tradition" and if you don't have a tradition in wanting to bring your kids and grandkids to a game, then that is a problem here especially on just about any given home game weekend the LI RR is full of kids wanting to leave and go home. There are many great schools have that a loyal fan base and have amazing experiences each week and with a wholesome family venue like we have here.

if I was to speak to SH, I would ask to view a SB game like I did last year. When I was sick last year and could not make one of the games, it was embarrassing to look at the live streaming being done and just how unprofessional it was being streamed out.
If you want to increase the money in the Touchdown Club, why not take a playbook from every HS booster club. When Johnny comes to play at SB the parents are given an option to get involved at one of several levels and "sign up" Heck, I am sure SH could craft an e-mail to this effect. I too do not believe we could get to the 15,000 average threshold from our home games to get a FBS slot, with how our current make-up of putting "butts in seats" but man on man we can do better than this.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on January 15, 2015, 02:19:43 pm
but lets face it, aside from the first game of the season, and the homecoming game, I'd evaluate the overall attendance at the other home games as Underwhelming.  no students!! 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on January 15, 2015, 03:19:15 pm
all of these issues are outlined in the making SB better thread.  and, so are the suggested solutions!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on January 21, 2015, 09:12:14 am
saw this on an SB construction webpage:

Bringing the total campus housing inventory to 10,300 beds; the largest in SUNY

again, LaValle seats 8200 and IFCU seats around 4000.  the bodies are there.  now we need to keep them there, do some math, and get them to the game!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: BigFatFan on January 22, 2015, 01:11:49 pm
believe it or not, off season winter conditioning workouts for the football team will start next week as the boys return to school.  it will be interesting to see if we pick up some JC transfers to these early workout, guys that may be doing mid-year transfers to SB.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: laxnation on January 22, 2015, 04:04:49 pm
The Asian student body doesn't care about sports! So, chop the bed count in half.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 22, 2015, 04:30:16 pm
believe it or not, off season winter conditioning workouts for the football team will start next week as the boys return to school.  it will be interesting to see if we pick up some JC transfers to these early workout, guys that may be doing mid-year transfers to SB.
I still cant believe we haven't heard anything about signing of new Athletes!!! Twitter is buzzing with FBS transferring to the FCS all day every day and here it is almost end of Jan, and SB has nothing to say!!! Maybe this is part of the problem??? HMMMM!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: captaindj21 on January 22, 2015, 05:01:41 pm
National signing day is on February 4.  Can't comment on high school prospects until then.  If there are no FBS or JUCO transfers, then the coach has nothing to comment on.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 22, 2015, 06:27:36 pm
National signing day is on February 4.  Can't comment on high school prospects until then.  If there are no FBS or JUCO transfers, then the coach has nothing to comment on.

Why no chatter on Social media about future signing, not one!!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Wolfie_MD on January 22, 2015, 06:59:02 pm
As Aaron Rodgers so aptly put it... 5 letters, R-E-L-A-X

This is not high level FBS football, you're not going to be seeing tweets about all of our recruits. Chill out, signing day is two weeks away and you'll have all the news that you want about the 2015 recruiting class.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 22, 2015, 07:19:15 pm
As Aaron Rodgers so aptly put it... 5 letters, R-E-L-A-X

This is not high level FBS football, you're not going to be seeing tweets about all of our recruits. Chill out, signing day is two weeks away and you'll have all the news that you want about the 2015 recruiting class.
I get that however, in previous years some SB Athletes would post on social media about getting accepted. I just haven't seen any yet!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ddmd on January 22, 2015, 09:58:36 pm
There has been several verbal commitments & they have kids on campus this weekend.....they have a big 5th year offensive lineman also coming.

Make sure the footballs are not deflated...

Hope all had a great holiday....
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on January 22, 2015, 10:21:55 pm
Can't wait enough for FB to start!!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 23, 2015, 05:59:24 am
Can't wait enough for FB to start!!!!
I hear that!!  I'm starting to lose confidence in our BB team. Still have a lot of games to play though!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: guest260 on January 23, 2015, 06:04:35 pm
I would not go that far... The kid from Georgia on the FB team is half Asian- so lets not completely skew this as kids not caring about sports. 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: mainejeff on January 24, 2015, 09:13:04 pm
There's plenty of stuff about your recruits on social media......why aren't we posting this on the recruiting thread???  Head over there and I'll give you the name of a commit that you guys got today......you'll have to find the rest for yourselves. ;)
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on September 01, 2015, 04:16:53 pm
Not sure if anyone shared this yet.. but big dream and tough goal for the new director Shawn Heilbron. Biggest hurdle of them all.. more than money.. is attendance.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/stony-brook/stony-brook-athletic-director-shawn-heilbron-s-goal-raising-100-million-1.10789324
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on September 01, 2015, 04:33:40 pm
it really is.

lets go through some admittedly quick math again.  10k seats (near future).  20k students or so, I think 12k or so on campus.  fans include some family and friends.  community fills the rest.  games are on wkds.  campus is empty on wkds. 

far term is 20k capacity.

so the quick and dirty analysis is, if you don't even have the benefit of 12k being on campus for gameday, where will all these fans (paying and not paying) come from?

solution is a larger, in-the-fabric-of-the-university issue.  need to instill school spirit and have kids stick around on wkds. 

otherwise, youre playing Sisyphus trying to get your middle aged three village professional to spend their sat afternoon at lavalle and fighting Nichols traffic on the way to dinner.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on September 01, 2015, 04:35:21 pm
Meanwhile... I don't know if this has been mentioned but...


Coastal Carolina joining Sun Belt in 2018 (FBS)

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/13558378/coastal-carolina-joining-sun-belt-conference
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on September 01, 2015, 04:46:51 pm
here's the rough #s from a year and a half ago: http://sbufan.createaforum.com/around-stony-brook/making-sb-better-idea-thread/msg10366/#msg10366

and from adam peck at brook.land just a few months ago: http://brook.land/2015/06/inside-the-mission-to-sell-out-every-home-game/
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on December 07, 2015, 05:27:50 am
Some interesting facts.. The MACC conference would make perfect sense if we would ever make a change. SB would save a ton of $$ with travel cost.

http://www.nycbuckets.com/2015/12/maac-the-most-compact-conference-in-the-country/
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on December 07, 2015, 03:00:33 pm
It is  a fairly weak conference like the AE but has some strong teams such as Iona , Sienna etc.  Mostly all small Catholic schools also with no room for 25k State University.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on June 14, 2016, 05:31:24 am
Just one more reason why SB needs to make moving up to the FBS a priority..Wiederkehr, from SWR has has chosen Northwestern university as his college to play football. At one time he wanted to stay close to home. If, and only if SB was an FBS football school.... Jack Cohan, Sayville 4* recruit chose Wisconsin, again, if!!!!!!

https://riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com/2016/06/74272/football-swr-lineman-ethan-wiederkehr-bound-for-northwestern/
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on June 14, 2016, 08:07:31 am
Those kids rarely if ever give SBU even a thought.   The top athletes on the Island pick the top schools for their sport look at lacrosse and the kids on Maryland, Duke, North Carolina etc.  all from Long Island . Long Islands top basketball player from Long Lutheran  signed with Indiana .  We are still an after thought in spite of all the hype .
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on June 14, 2016, 09:01:15 am
Those kids rarely if ever give SBU even a thought.   The top athletes on the Island pick the top schools for their sport look at lacrosse and the kids on Maryland, Duke, North Carolina etc.  all from Long Island . Long Islands top basketball player from Long Lutheran  signed with Indiana .  We are still an after thought in spite of all the hype .

I agree, but I also see a change happening. Look at the girls lacrosse. Joe Spallina team is made of 95% local talent, and very good talent that is continually in the AP rankings.The same thing for the boys lax. Our Basketball program, boys and girls is slowly getting national attention, and is improving. SB Baseball went to the college world series a few short years ago. That was no fluke.. I think SB can do the same thing for Football. But not if they stay in the FCS, move up to FBS and we will no doubt keep some very good local talent who otherwise would go to schools like Syracuse, BC, UCONN, UMASS,etc... 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on June 14, 2016, 01:07:24 pm
I like our new pick up from Boston College . A wide receiver for Holmes to throw to .
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbugold on June 14, 2016, 01:22:22 pm
I like our new pick up from Boston College . A wide receiver for Holmes to throw to .

Looks to me like the Seawolves are absolutely loaded at WR (Keith, Bolden, Alston, Washington, Wingate and now Jackson!).  Now, if Holmes is anywhere near as good as his press, and the OL can hold its own, WOW!!  ...And if that doesn't work, there's always Bedell, Gowins, White and Liotine to rack up the mileage!!  Are you getting jacked up?  I sure am!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on June 14, 2016, 03:42:11 pm
and end the drought  We seem to have  a lot of offensive weapons this year, Hopefully everyone stays healthy and we can have a winning season and end the drought .[
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on June 01, 2017, 06:07:05 pm
Just read out AD's weekly blog. We are moving to the Mid Atlantic Pod of the CAA in 2018. Thats Delaware, Villanova and Towson in our group every year. Looks better for us  these teams are good and very competitive.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on June 01, 2017, 07:25:27 pm
Just read out AD's weekly blog. We are moving to the Mid Atlantic Pod of the CAA in 2018. Thats Delaware, Villanova and Towson in our group every year. Looks better for us  these teams are good and very competitive.

I think it is a great idea. Delaware is going to be tough this season and beyond because of new coach, Danny Rocco history of success.. Villanova new HC, former OLC Mark Ferrante will continue V winning ways. Towson always plays us tough.

SB schedule in 2018 will not be any easier so i am expecting us to continue to struggle surpassing the .500 plateau..with our existing HC behind the helm..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on June 01, 2017, 09:44:40 pm
where is the link?  i dont see it...

also i wonder what is the purpose of this move, meaning are there larger CAA implications behind it, etc.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on June 02, 2017, 03:56:41 am
where is the link?  i dont see it...

also i wonder what is the purpose of this move, meaning are there larger CAA implications behind it, etc.

I think there could be.

http://stonybrookathletics.com/news/2017/6/1/together-we-transform-blog-together-we-transform-thursday-june-1-2017.aspx?path=blog
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on June 02, 2017, 04:32:27 am
Kylie Ohlmiller doesnt win the Tewaaraton award is another reason why SB needs to part ways with the AE conference. She shattered records in both points and assists and gets the cold shoulder from the committee. Thats twice in one month SBWL gots screwed because of this bottom dweller conference.

I sure hope SH breaks away from the AE and becomes full member of the CAA.

Some people on this board thinks the CAA is in par with the AE, I dont and the proof is in the pudding.

I feel bad for Kylie. She had all the accolades to win the award, and she should have....
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on June 02, 2017, 09:13:08 am
Just about any other conference affiliation and she wins.  The AE has become a liability for us and our athletes .  I have to feel for her as the best of the best and not making it.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: laxnation on June 02, 2017, 09:53:26 am
Kylie Ohlmiller doesnt win the Tewaaraton award is another reason why SB needs to part ways with the AE conference. She shattered records in both points and assists and gets the cold shoulder from the committee. Thats twice in one month SBWL gots screwed because of this bottom dweller conference.

I sure hope SH breaks away from the AE and becomes full member of the CAA.

Some people on this board thinks the CAA is in par with the AE, I dont and the proof is in the pudding.

I feel bad for Kylie. She had all the accolades to win the award, and she should have....
I'll shed some light on Tewaaratan award.  The Maryland girl won it because she is a senior, who not only scored points, but took draws, while Kylie is only a junior.  Kylie will win the Award next year.
Outside of maybe football, the CAA gets zero respect!
If you have any lacrosse questions or concerns please always come to me first. 😀
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on June 02, 2017, 04:38:54 pm
Kylie Ohlmiller doesnt win the Tewaaraton award is another reason why SB needs to part ways with the AE conference. She shattered records in both points and assists and gets the cold shoulder from the committee. Thats twice in one month SBWL gots screwed because of this bottom dweller conference.

I sure hope SH breaks away from the AE and becomes full member of the CAA.

Some people on this board thinks the CAA is in par with the AE, I dont and the proof is in the pudding.

I feel bad for Kylie. She had all the accolades to win the award, and she should have....
I'll shed some light on Tewaaratan award.  The Maryland girl won it because she is a senior, who not only scored points, but takes draws, while Kylie is only a junior.  Kylie will win the Award next year.
Outside of maybe football, the CAA gets zero respect!
If you have any lacrosse questions or concerns please always come to me first. 😀
The CAA is SB only choice. Odds are we'll never see them play in a power conference like the Big10 in our lifetime. Either stay in the AE or move into the CAA. I would rather take the CAA..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chrissy D. on June 03, 2017, 12:33:31 pm
The AE has already had two tewaaraton winners, Lyle and Miles Thompson shared it in 2014 and Lyle in 2015. If SB would have beat Maryland it would have been a different story. Voting is done after the playoffs and championship is over.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: DCwolf on July 13, 2017, 04:42:26 pm
The CAA is SB only choice. Odds are we'll never see them play in a power conference like the Big10 in our lifetime. Either stay in the AE or move into the CAA. I would rather take the CAA..

Here's my prediction: Stony Brook keeps a close eye on movement within the A-10.

A few reasons why:

First, it fits geographically. As with the AE, New York sits in the middle of the conference's footprint.

Second, the A-10 has about as high a profile as you can get outside the Power 5 conferences, particularly when it comes to basketball.

Third, Stony Brook would likely be an attractive addition for the A-10 as well, which would add another program in the lucrative New York market and gives the conference an immediate boost in some other sports like Women's Lacrosse and baseball.

And fourth, it doesn't sponsor football. Which means Stony Brook could keep it's affiliation with the CAA while still elevating men's basketball — and every other sport. Plus there is already a strong connection between the A-10 and the CAA (Richmond, Rhode Island and UMass all have joint membership).

Pitfalls:

No men's lacrosse. The A-10 sponsors WLAX but not currently the men. UMass plays Men's lacrosse with the CAA, that could be one option for Stony Brook as well.

Travel: Most members are along the I-95 corridor, but some — St. Louis, Dayton, Duquesne — are a hike.

Competition: Obviously a tougher conference means tougher competition. Stony Brook will have to be comfortable being a middling program for at least a few years instead of top dog in the America East.

All this being said, I think Stony Brook is no fewer than three years away from even seriously considering a conference move. The window might have been open a few years back with the CAA, but I think basketball needs a few more years of consistent success (and another NCAA bid or two would be nice) before they make moves.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on July 14, 2017, 01:18:01 am
The CAA is SB only choice. Odds are we'll never see them play in a power conference like the Big10 in our lifetime. Either stay in the AE or move into the CAA. I would rather take the CAA..

Here's my prediction: Stony Brook keeps a close eye on movement within the A-10.

A few reasons why:

First, it fits geographically. As with the AE, New York sits in the middle of the conference's footprint.

Second, the A-10 has about as high a profile as you can get outside the Power 5 conferences, particularly when it comes to basketball.

Third, Stony Brook would likely be an attractive addition for the A-10 as well, which would add another program in the lucrative New York market and gives the conference an immediate boost in some other sports like Women's Lacrosse and baseball.

And fourth, it doesn't sponsor football. Which means Stony Brook could keep it's affiliation with the CAA while still elevating men's basketball — and every other sport. Plus there is already a strong connection between the A-10 and the CAA (Richmond, Rhode Island and UMass all have joint membership).

Pitfalls:

No men's lacrosse. The A-10 sponsors WLAX but not currently the men. UMass plays Men's lacrosse with the CAA, that could be one option for Stony Brook as well.

Travel: Most members are along the I-95 corridor, but some — St. Louis, Dayton, Duquesne — are a hike.

Competition: Obviously a tougher conference means tougher competition. Stony Brook will have to be comfortable being a middling program for at least a few years instead of top dog in the America East.

All this being said, I think Stony Brook is no fewer than three years away from even seriously considering a conference move. The window might have been open a few years back with the CAA, but I think basketball needs a few more years of consistent success (and another NCAA bid or two would be nice) before they make moves.

A move to the A10 would be a great one. It's the only realignment move I'd support that didn't involve an FBS league. Unlike moving to the CAA, which in my mind would be a lateral move (one 1 bid conference to another), the A10 is consistently a multi-bid conference that you can expect to put at least three teams a year into the NCAA tournament. That is worth moving for. Move up, not laterally. I'd tell the CAA to go pound sand as all their good teams are gone. Increasing the travel budget for what? Just so we can play UNC Wilmington and College of Charleston? JMU is out the door anyway as I'm sure they'll get the call from an FBS league soon enough. Hofstra can be a non-conference game. Serves them right for trying to keep us out.

The problem with the A10 is that why would they expand right now? They're already at 14 and if they lose members, there's really no impetus for them to expand as they could lose as many as three schools and just go to a full double round-robin with 11 teams 20 games. Unless there have been actual talks between us and the A10, I wouldn't expect an invite from them. I'd love to be in that league, but I just don't see an invite coming anytime soon from them. I guess IF a team left the A10 (VCU, Dayton, St. Louis are all rumored targets of other conferences) there'd be a chance we'd get the call, but I wouldn't count on it.

I think personally we'll remain in the AE until we get the call from an FBS league (probably the MAC). I wouldn't mind a football only move to any of the MAC, CUSA, or Sun Belt though. Especially if it meant we could either keep everything else in the AE or potentially the A10 if we did get that invite. That would ideal if you ask me. Outside of Buffalo nobody in the MAC interests me and sending the Olympic sports to Ohio and Michigan every week may not be worth it compared to what we have going for us in the AE. I'd do it though if it were our only ticket to FBS.

I'd be ok with football only in CUSA or the Sun Belt too. You can't complain about playing South Alabama, Middle Tennessee, or Georgia State when you used to share a league with Gardner Webb and Presbyterian.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on July 14, 2017, 04:33:56 am
The CAA is SB only choice. Odds are we'll never see them play in a power conference like the Big10 in our lifetime. Either stay in the AE or move into the CAA. I would rather take the CAA..

Here's my prediction: Stony Brook keeps a close eye on movement within the A-10.

A few reasons why:

First, it fits geographically. As with the AE, New York sits in the middle of the conference's footprint.

Second, the A-10 has about as high a profile as you can get outside the Power 5 conferences, particularly when it comes to basketball.

Third, Stony Brook would likely be an attractive addition for the A-10 as well, which would add another program in the lucrative New York market and gives the conference an immediate boost in some other sports like Women's Lacrosse and baseball.

And fourth, it doesn't sponsor football. Which means Stony Brook could keep it's affiliation with the CAA while still elevating men's basketball — and every other sport. Plus there is already a strong connection between the A-10 and the CAA (Richmond, Rhode Island and UMass all have joint membership).

Pitfalls:

No men's lacrosse. The A-10 sponsors WLAX but not currently the men. UMass plays Men's lacrosse with the CAA, that could be one option for Stony Brook as well.

Travel: Most members are along the I-95 corridor, but some — St. Louis, Dayton, Duquesne — are a hike.

Competition: Obviously a tougher conference means tougher competition. Stony Brook will have to be comfortable being a middling program for at least a few years instead of top dog in the America East.

All this being said, I think Stony Brook is no fewer than three years away from even seriously considering a conference move. The window might have been open a few years back with the CAA, but I think basketball needs a few more years of consistent success (and another NCAA bid or two would be nice) before they make moves.

A move to the A10 would be a great one. It's the only realignment move I'd support that didn't involve an FBS league. Unlike moving to the CAA, which in my mind would be a lateral move (one 1 bid conference to another), the A10 is consistently a multi-bid conference that you can expect to put at least three teams a year into the NCAA tournament. That is worth moving for. Move up, not laterally. I'd tell the CAA to go pound sand as all their good teams are gone. Increasing the travel budget for what? Just so we can play UNC Wilmington and College of Charleston? JMU is out the door anyway as I'm sure they'll get the call from an FBS league soon enough. Hofstra can be a non-conference game. Serves them right for trying to keep us out.

The problem with the A10 is that why would they expand right now? They're already at 14 and if they lose members, there's really no impetus for them to expand as they could lose as many as three schools and just go to a full double round-robin with 11 teams 20 games. Unless there have been actual talks between us and the A10, I wouldn't expect an invite from them. I'd love to be in that league, but I just don't see an invite coming anytime soon from them. I guess IF a team left the A10 (VCU, Dayton, St. Louis are all rumored targets of other conferences) there'd be a chance we'd get the call, but I wouldn't count on it.

I think personally we'll remain in the AE until we get the call from an FBS league (probably the MAC). I wouldn't mind a football only move to any of the MAC, CUSA, or Sun Belt though. Especially if it meant we could either keep everything else in the AE or potentially the A10 if we did get that invite. That would ideal if you ask me. Outside of Buffalo nobody in the MAC interests me and sending the Olympic sports to Ohio and Michigan every week may not be worth it compared to what we have going for us in the AE. I'd do it though if it were our only ticket to FBS.

I'd be ok with football only in CUSA or the Sun Belt too. You can't complain about playing South Alabama, Middle Tennessee, or Georgia State when you used to share a league with Gardner Webb and Presbyterian.
[/quote

I would love to see SBB play in the A10 but dont see that happening, in my lifetime.. Besides, having a school participate in 3 different conferences really doesn't make sense..

Unless SH has strong plans to help the football team make the leap into the FBS, SB is better off staying in the CAA . AS far as BB and all other sports in the AE, the CAA is a step up in my opinion. The girls Lacrosse team should not be playing in the AE. Outside of UA and Vermont the AE is horrible for basketball. I'd expect UA will be making the move out of the AE in all sports withing the next 3 to 5 years. SB will probably follow little brother..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on July 14, 2017, 04:35:01 am
The CAA is SB only choice. Odds are we'll never see them play in a power conference like the Big10 in our lifetime. Either stay in the AE or move into the CAA. I would rather take the CAA..

Here's my prediction: Stony Brook keeps a close eye on movement within the A-10.

A few reasons why:

First, it fits geographically. As with the AE, New York sits in the middle of the conference's footprint.

Second, the A-10 has about as high a profile as you can get outside the Power 5 conferences, particularly when it comes to basketball.

Third, Stony Brook would likely be an attractive addition for the A-10 as well, which would add another program in the lucrative New York market and gives the conference an immediate boost in some other sports like Women's Lacrosse and baseball.

And fourth, it doesn't sponsor football. Which means Stony Brook could keep it's affiliation with the CAA while still elevating men's basketball — and every other sport. Plus there is already a strong connection between the A-10 and the CAA (Richmond, Rhode Island and UMass all have joint membership).

Pitfalls:

No men's lacrosse. The A-10 sponsors WLAX but not currently the men. UMass plays Men's lacrosse with the CAA, that could be one option for Stony Brook as well.

Travel: Most members are along the I-95 corridor, but some — St. Louis, Dayton, Duquesne — are a hike.

Competition: Obviously a tougher conference means tougher competition. Stony Brook will have to be comfortable being a middling program for at least a few years instead of top dog in the America East.

All this being said, I think Stony Brook is no fewer than three years away from even seriously considering a conference move. The window might have been open a few years back with the CAA, but I think basketball needs a few more years of consistent success (and another NCAA bid or two would be nice) before they make moves.

A move to the A10 would be a great one. It's the only realignment move I'd support that didn't involve an FBS league. Unlike moving to the CAA, which in my mind would be a lateral move (one 1 bid conference to another), the A10 is consistently a multi-bid conference that you can expect to put at least three teams a year into the NCAA tournament. That is worth moving for. Move up, not laterally. I'd tell the CAA to go pound sand as all their good teams are gone. Increasing the travel budget for what? Just so we can play UNC Wilmington and College of Charleston? JMU is out the door anyway as I'm sure they'll get the call from an FBS league soon enough. Hofstra can be a non-conference game. Serves them right for trying to keep us out.

The problem with the A10 is that why would they expand right now? They're already at 14 and if they lose members, there's really no impetus for them to expand as they could lose as many as three schools and just go to a full double round-robin with 11 teams 20 games. Unless there have been actual talks between us and the A10, I wouldn't expect an invite from them. I'd love to be in that league, but I just don't see an invite coming anytime soon from them. I guess IF a team left the A10 (VCU, Dayton, St. Louis are all rumored targets of other conferences) there'd be a chance we'd get the call, but I wouldn't count on it.

I think personally we'll remain in the AE until we get the call from an FBS league (probably the MAC). I wouldn't mind a football only move to any of the MAC, CUSA, or Sun Belt though. Especially if it meant we could either keep everything else in the AE or potentially the A10 if we did get that invite. That would ideal if you ask me. Outside of Buffalo nobody in the MAC interests me and sending the Olympic sports to Ohio and Michigan every week may not be worth it compared to what we have going for us in the AE. I'd do it though if it were our only ticket to FBS.

I'd be ok with football only in CUSA or the Sun Belt too. You can't complain about playing South Alabama, Middle Tennessee, or Georgia State when you used to share a league with Gardner Webb and Presbyterian.
[/quote

I would love to see SBB play in the A10 but dont see that happening, in my lifetime.. Besides, having a school participate in 3 different conferences really doesn't make sense..

Unless SH has strong plans to help the football team make the leap into the FBS, SB is better off staying in the CAA . AS far as BB and all other sports in the AE, the CAA is a step up in my opinion. The girls Lacrosse team should not be playing in the AE. Outside of UA and Vermont the AE is horrible for basketball. I'd expect UA will be making the move out of the AE in all sports withing the next 3 to 5 years. SB will probably follow little brother..

I would love to see SBB play in the A10 but dont see that happening, in my lifetime.. Besides, having a school participate in 3 different conferences really doesn't make sense..

Unless SH has strong plans to help the football team make the leap into the FBS, SB is better off staying in the CAA . AS far as BB and all other sports in the AE, the CAA is a step up in my opinion. The girls Lacrosse team should not be playing in the AE. Outside of UA and Vermont the AE is horrible for basketball. I'd expect UA will be making the move out of the AE in all sports withing the next 3 to 5 years. SB will probably follow little brother..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on July 14, 2017, 11:37:19 am
 The A10 is very competitive in basketball   and  possibly baseball .   I don't know if that's the best move . I like the idea of the MAC or the AAC  long term both at FBS Conferences with decent teams.  Hopefully expanding the stadium, building the indoor facility  and our academic profile overall  ill get us there someday.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on July 14, 2017, 02:02:37 pm
I think we could be FBS in 10 years easily. The only things holding us back are the stadium and attendance. Get those up and we're a shoe-in. Even our horrid football these past four seasons can't hold us back from our potential. Ideally I'd like us to be FBS by 2024 so we can be in the door before the next CFP TV contract gets negotiated, but even if we're not that's ok. We'll get there.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on July 14, 2017, 02:09:55 pm
I agree  with you VA Seawolf.  It  could be  very nice to watch FBS games .
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Campi47 on July 15, 2017, 01:31:29 pm
There are several obstacles that have to take place for SBU to go up to the FBS and they are a follows; I believe you need your stadium to have 25,000 seats, right now it costs $2M a year to run the football program when you move up it goes to around $5M a year (that includes more scholarships, travel budget, coaching budget), Etc.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on July 15, 2017, 01:59:04 pm
Campi  right now football is funded at nearly 5 million dollars . We would need  to have a stadium  large enough for 15,000 fans  . Right now  with the expansion we are just over 10k.   The main obstacle is fan base we need 10k fans every home game plus.  We have the money for the extra scholarships and travel and expanding the fan base would increase revenue and fill seats our present stadium can be  expanded to 22 or 23 k  .  We just need that magic invite from another conference
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on July 15, 2017, 03:12:16 pm
Campi  right now football is funded at nearly 5 million dollars . We would need  to have a stadium  large enough for 15,000 fans  . Right now  with the expansion we are just over 10k.   The main obstacle is fan base we need 10k fans every home game plus.  We have the money for the extra scholarships and travel and expanding the fan base would increase revenue and fill seats our present stadium can be  expanded to 22 or 23 k  .  We just need that magic invite from another conference

Seawolf97. I agree with assessments, but no FBS conference will ever invite an FCS team who doesn't have a history of a winning season.. There are dozens and dozens of other teams in the FCS who are more qualified to make the move up, not SB.

I read something online last week about this exact subject. Since 1978, when the FCS was formed under 20 teams have made the move up to FBS and about half are successful today.. In order for SB to ever be considered for a move up to FBS they would need to start winning conferences and start selling out stadiums. SB is nowhere near any of the above. Now, that could all change in an instint. But the change has to come from the top. SH. Heilbron needs to give coach P the boot and bring in somebody who has the experience of moving a team up from FCS to FBS or someone who has a winning caliber in either conference. Like you said. SB has the $$$ to support the move up to FBS, but with money being the driving force with TV deals, SB is only on the outside looking in. I would love nothing more but to watch a game at LaValles stadium where we are playing Clemson, BC, Cincinnati, Temple ..... at home!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on July 15, 2017, 04:18:01 pm

Seawolf97. I agree with assessments, but no FBS conference will ever invite an FCS team who doesn't have a history of a winning season.. There are dozens and dozens of other teams in the FCS who are more qualified to make the move up, not SB.

I read something online last week about this exact subject. Since 1978, when the FCS was formed under 20 teams have made the move up to FBS and about half are successful today.. In order for SB to ever be considered for a move up to FBS they would need to start winning conferences and start selling out stadiums. SB is nowhere near any of the above. Now, that could all change in an instint. But the change has to come from the top. SH. Heilbron needs to give coach P the boot and bring in somebody who has the experience of moving a team up from FCS to FBS or someone who has a winning caliber in either conference. Like you said. SB has the $$$ to support the move up to FBS, but with money being the driving force with TV deals, SB is only on the outside looking in. I would love nothing more but to watch a game at LaValles stadium where we are playing Clemson, BC, Cincinnati, Temple ..... at home!!

Respectfully Hammertime, you couldn't be more wrong on this one.

I think in general, you guys are way overestimating what it takes to be an FBS program. The bar is much, much lower than you make it out to be. Many current FBS programs didn't even have a football program a decade ago. South Alabama, Georgia State, UNC Charlotte, Old Dominion, and UTSA all fall into that category. They didn't even have a team ten years ago and are now FBS. Texas State was an average at best program in the Southland a decade ago, now they're in the Sun Belt.

I'd like to field a competitive FCS program before we move, but that's not required. Our academic reputation will carry us far further along the path to FBS than winning ever could. We're a top 100 research university located just outside of NYC, and we're arguably the top public school in the whole state. Of the four research centers, we're the closest to the city and thus the main population center of the state. All these TV execs want to talk about large markets? Look no further. 

We also are a member of the AAU (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Universities#Membership). That's a big friggin deal. If you look at the schools who are in the AAU who field football programs, the majority of them are in power 5 conferences. Of all the public schools in the AAU who have football, the only ones who have it in the FCS are UC Davis, and us. Every one else if they field a football program is either FBS, in the Ivy League or don't care about athletics and put their programs into D3 like John's Hopkins, Washington U of St. Louis, University of Chicago, etc. That's very good company to keep.

If schools like ULM, and Eastern Michigan can be FBS, we can be FBS too. 15k average attendance is the minimum cutoff, but those numbers are often fudged by the universities through buying up their own tickets. We've done the same thing. There's no chance in hell 12k people attended Homecoming last year, but that was the reported attendance. Never mind that the NCAA doesn't even enforce the 15k rule. With the cold weather and all the mid-week games, I guarantee you most of the MAC isn't hitting 15K.

The two newest additions to FBS; Coastal Carolina and Liberty are both teams we used to frequently lay the beatdown on when we were in the Big South. Coastal's stadium was smaller than ours when they got the invite from the Sun Belt. When smaller schools in tiny markets with worse academics than ours are getting called up to FBS, I don't for a second believe that we'd be overlooked for an invitation. Get the stadium up to 20k (or promise to), and the invite will come. Winning is just icing on the cake for us.

For a lot of schools, they have great athletic programs, but have bad academics or are in a poor location. We don't have those problems. It's much easier to improve the athletics than it is to improve the school. Remember when the Big 12 was looking to expand last year? The academically strong private schools (Rice, Tulane) made it further in the process than the football powers Boise State and ECU. Boise will never be in the Pac-12. Academics matter folks.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on July 15, 2017, 04:24:43 pm
I  agree our academics are far and above most schools .  I really think expanding the name and brand of the school  will help us immensely .  This is something I think the athletic department is working on for 2017-2018.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Campi47 on July 17, 2017, 10:56:23 am
The NCAA I'm sure made it At least 25K and whatever the budget is now it will have to be doubled because once you move to the BCS level you have to increase your scholarships to 85 I believe Coaches salaries will jump Travel Budget will definitely increase and we can't fill the stadium now what makes you think that we could get 15K or more to each home game
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Campi47 on July 17, 2017, 11:06:27 am
I just checked it was 30K however in 2003 they changed it that you must have 15K paid fans per game I think right now we average maybe 5K per game
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on July 17, 2017, 12:19:04 pm
agree with the comment that what we have on our side is the academics.  and that's good, because these are students first.

but as far as filling 15k into a stadium once per week- cant do that if no one's on campus on a saturday- well i suppose you could but we've all been stuck in nichols traffic both going in and out of the game...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on July 17, 2017, 12:45:46 pm
I just checked it was 30K however in 2003 they changed it that you must have 15K paid fans per game I think right now we average maybe 5K per game

I think IF, big if, SB goes FBS they could come very close to filling up 15k seats. The news would be huge and heard all around the Island and NYC.. I also think if they find a well known name to replace coach P, that will also help fill the seats. Winning a few games against FBS foes definitely helps with filling seats, too...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on July 17, 2017, 06:46:42 pm
The NCAA I'm sure made it At least 25K and whatever the budget is now it will have to be doubled because once you move to the BCS level you have to increase your scholarships to 85 I believe Coaches salaries will jump Travel Budget will definitely increase and we can't fill the stadium now what makes you think that we could get 15K or more to each home game

It's 15K, not 25K, and all you need is 15K sold. The school would just need to buy up it's own tickets and it'd be fine. Schools fudge the numbers all the time. I'd like a legitimate 15k, and we'll get there, but it's not a very hard thing to at least pretend like you're compliant on attendance. Again, this never gets enforced. If that rule was actually enforced, most of the MAC and Sun Belt, Idaho, NMSU, and others would have been demoted to FCS long ago.

Yes the budget would increase, but we wouldn't have to double our budget. See my other thread  (http://sbufan.createaforum.com/general-discussion/ncaa-athletic-revenues-and-expenses-for-public-universities-(usa-today)/msg18643/#msg18643) and the associated statistics. We're already outspending 1/3rd of public G5 schools despite being FCS. Many of the programs we're outspending are good ones too (GA Southern, Marshall, WKU). If we literally doubled our budget we'd be spending at near power conference levels.

Take Buffalo for example. They're FBS, yet they're only ~$3M more a year than us; that's nothing. Our spending in the past year or so has grown by more than that. The scholarship issue is easily fixed. Add the 22 for football, and then add a women's sport or better fund the women's sports we already have. Alternatively add to football, cut men's soccer, and we're title IX compliant if not most of the way there. The scholarships will not the problem.

I think IF, big if, SB goes FBS they could come very close to filling up 15k seats. The news would be huge and heard all around the Island and NYC.. I also think if they find a well known name to replace coach P, that will also help fill the seats. Winning a few games against FBS foes definitely helps with filling seats, too...

I agree completely. That's the benefit of being a good school in a large market. If even a fraction of a percent of the population of Long Island (not even counting NYC) cared enough about SBU football, we'd sell the place out easily. We have a very good opportunity to position ourselves as a closer, affordable alternative to the NFL teams if the Athletic Department markets this team correctly. We need to WIN to maximize that interest though, so Priore has to go, but win and people will come. As an FBS school with our academic reputation, local schools will be much more willing and able to come to campus and play us. A good home schedule would be key. Being FBS opens up the opportunity to play all these regional teams we simply cannot get right now:

Umass would play us no matter what as they're independent and need games
Uconn
Temple
Army
Navy
Cincinnati
Buffalo (likely to be a conference game)

These are only the G5 programs near us who could play at Lavalle. Turn out for these games would be way better than Rhode Island and Maine. Opposing fans would travel well too obviously. If we can get a deal to use Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, or Metlife for games? We could host neutral site games against P5 schools like Syracuse, Maryland, BC, UVA, Pitt, etc. Our location opens up a lot of doors since the big schools can use the game as a recruiting trip for the talented kids on LI and Jersey. Location is how ODU can get UNC to come to campus for games and how perennial bottom dweller FIU is able to get Big Ten schools to come to campus. If you're located near talent, schools can use the away game near you as a recruiting trip to access that talent. If Buffalo could get friggin Baylor to come to town when they were good, I'm sure we could get even better programs to come.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on July 18, 2017, 02:27:45 pm
   I  want to  see how our new seats fill out for home games this year .I'm  sure we sellout for homecoming but after that it could go down  hill again.   If we can fill  10k seats and make basketball do the same in our arena we are in good shape.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on July 19, 2017, 01:16:42 am
   I  want to  see how our new seats fill out for home games this year .I'm  sure we sellout for homecoming but after that it could go down  hill again.   If we can fill  10k seats and make basketball do the same in our arena we are in good shape.

We didn't have a problem in 2012-2014 when we were good and/or had some hype behind our program. 2014 even had a couple games above 10k. Now that we've been a doormat for a couple years people don't care anymore. We beat the #2 team at home last year and it was the least attended game of the year. Even homecoming looked empty last year. Priore could damn near kill this program if we can't finish with a decent record this year and build up some hype.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on July 19, 2017, 11:28:24 am
   I  want to  see how our new seats fill out for home games this year .I'm  sure we sellout for homecoming but after that it could go down  hill again.   If we can fill  10k seats and make basketball do the same in our arena we are in good shape.

We didn't have a problem in 2012-2014 when we were good and/or had some hype behind our program. 2014 even had a couple games above 10k. Now that we've been a doormat for a couple years people don't care anymore. We beat the #2 team at home last year and it was the least attended game of the year. Even homecoming looked empty last year. Priore could damn near kill this program if we can't finish with a decent record this year and build up some hype.

I am curious to see where the CAA ranks us this year. I say 2nd from last place, right behind RI and I hope I am dead wrong but this is where I think we belong. Maybe the Polls see something else with this team this year... This week started the FCS conference rankings..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on July 19, 2017, 02:00:20 pm
   I  want to  see how our new seats fill out for home games this year .I'm  sure we sellout for homecoming but after that it could go down  hill again.   If we can fill  10k seats and make basketball do the same in our arena we are in good shape.

We didn't have a problem in 2012-2014 when we were good and/or had some hype behind our program. 2014 even had a couple games above 10k. Now that we've been a doormat for a couple years people don't care anymore. We beat the #2 team at home last year and it was the least attended game of the year. Even homecoming looked empty last year. Priore could damn near kill this program if we can't finish with a decent record this year and build up some hype.

I am curious to see where the CAA ranks us this year. I say 2nd from last place, right behind RI and I hope I am dead wrong but this is where I think we belong. Maybe the Polls see something else with this team this year... This week started the FCS conference rankings..

Hemphill was the only reason we haven't gone 1-10 the past three seasons, so with him gone, we very likely could be predicted last in the conference.

We'll probably beat Wagner, but the rest are toss-ups honestly. I'm sticking with my 3-8 prediction. I haven't seen Fields play in an actual game yet though so maybe by some miracle he bails us out and we finish 5-6 again.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on July 19, 2017, 02:23:34 pm
   I  want to  see how our new seats fill out for home games this year .I'm  sure we sellout for homecoming but after that it could go down  hill again.   If we can fill  10k seats and make basketball do the same in our arena we are in good shape.

We didn't have a problem in 2012-2014 when we were good and/or had some hype behind our program. 2014 even had a couple games above 10k. Now that we've been a doormat for a couple years people don't care anymore. We beat the #2 team at home last year and it was the least attended game of the year. Even homecoming looked empty last year. Priore could damn near kill this program if we can't finish with a decent record this year and build up some hype.

I am curious to see where the CAA ranks us this year. I say 2nd from last place, right behind RI and I hope I am dead wrong but this is where I think we belong. Maybe the Polls see something else with this team this year... This week started the FCS conference rankings..

Hemphill was the only reason we haven't gone 1-10 the past three seasons, so with him gone, we very likely could be predicted last in the conference.

We'll probably beat Wagner, but the rest are toss-ups honestly. I'm sticking with my 3-8 prediction. I haven't seen Fields play in an actual game yet though so maybe by some miracle he bails us out and we finish 5-6 again.

I agree wholeheartedly. Losing Hemp was a dagger. Don't be surprised if Carbone is our starter again because of Fields inexperience. If this is the case then coach P needs to be let go after this season. That simply tells me know Q wants to come to SB to play...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Campi47 on July 19, 2017, 03:24:33 pm
Street & Smith one of the most respected magazines in the country ranks us 9th

Carbone is going be the starting QB and Fields will get playing time and that is a fact

The only way Coach P. is let go is if they really bomb as he still has a lot of support by the ones who make those decisions

The real key to the 2017 season is how physically they get beat up by South Florida if they come out of it in good shape they'll be okay however if they come out in bad shape then the season could be a long one
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on July 19, 2017, 08:30:38 pm
South  Florida could very well be  a top 25 or 20 team.  I hope their coach has enough class not to let this get out of hand. I think he does  but I still see something like a 45-7 beating  down there .  Overall  I guess 6-5 is very optimistic or maybe 5-6 either way the playoffs  are still far off.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on July 20, 2017, 06:57:49 am
Street & Smith one of the most respected magazines in the country ranks us 9th

Carbone is going be the starting QB and Fields will get playing time and that is a fact

The only way Coach P. is let go is if they really bomb as he still has a lot of support by the ones who make those decisions

The real key to the 2017 season is how physically they get beat up by South Florida if they come out of it in good shape they'll be okay however if they come out in bad shape then the season could be a long one

Campi. I think you are correct about Carbone being the starter. Coach P hinted to that last fall, on signing day.. I heard it with my own ears. he said. "Fields needs to prove to him that he can be a starting quarterback" I didnt like that when I heard it and a few people in the room looked around at each other as if like. OHHHHHH NOOOOO..... Carbone is going to be the starting quarterback again?!?!...

In my warp way of thinking I wouldnt mind if SB goes 1-10 or 0-11.. I thnk 2-9 or 3-8 is more likely the season, but a total rinsing is what the program needs so they can start over..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Wolfie_MD on July 20, 2017, 07:28:23 pm
I'm a (former) season ticket holder that would almost certainly re-up if it means seeing Tyquell under center. Carbone was unfortunately abysmal last year throwing the ball.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on July 21, 2017, 09:13:59 am
its really unfortunate how little excitement there is surrounding this program- at least on this board- so close to the season.  i truly hope its not a reflection of the larger fan base.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on July 21, 2017, 10:40:12 am
its really unfortunate how little excitement there is surrounding this program- at least on this board- so close to the season.  i truly hope its not a reflection of the larger fan base.

Four consecutive losing seasons will take all the wind out of your fan base. We're already a school that struggles greatly with fan apathy. Imploding every year due to horrid QB play and mediocre offensive coaching will only make it worse. We're the dedicated fans and if we're not even excited, just imagine how the average student and/or fan feels? We'll be lucky to win three games this season.

Our style of play doesn't help us either. People prefer to watch the high scoring spread offenses, or at the very least watch competent QB play if you're running a pro-style system. We haven't had a good QB since Essington graduated. It's such a damn shame, because this program has talent and the defense has been elite.

Had we had even a halfway competent QB we'd have surely made some playoff runs these past couple seasons with Hemphill running the defense. Letting Hemphill run off to Wake Forest rather than promoting him to HC will haunt this program for a long time. He'll be the HC at a very good G5 program within the next five years mark my words.

Building hype around your program is a 3-4 year process. We'll have to start over from square one since none of the current students or players have experienced a conference championship season while at SBU.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on July 21, 2017, 01:14:26 pm
Well spoken Va Seawolf we need change in our play calling and  personel  on the sidelines
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on July 22, 2017, 06:40:28 am
its really unfortunate how little excitement there is surrounding this program- at least on this board- so close to the season.  i truly hope its not a reflection of the larger fan base.

Four consecutive losing seasons will take all the wind out of your fan base. We're already a school that struggles greatly with fan apathy. Imploding every year due to horrid QB play and mediocre offensive coaching will only make it worse. We're the dedicated fans and if we're not even excited, just imagine how the average student and/or fan feels? We'll be lucky to win three games this season.

Our style of play doesn't help us either. People prefer to watch the high scoring spread offenses, or at the very least watch competent QB play if you're running a pro-style system. We haven't had a good QB since Essington graduated. It's such a damn shame, because this program has talent and the defense has been elite.

Had we had even a halfway competent QB we'd have surely made some playoff runs these past couple seasons with Hemphill running the defense. Letting Hemphill run off to Wake Forest rather than promoting him to HC will haunt this program for a long time. He'll be the HC at a very good G5 program within the next five years mark my words.

Building hype around your program is a 3-4 year process. We'll have to start over from square one since none of the current students or players have experienced a conference championship season while at SBU.

Bingo!!! Well said and truthful..

I've been a football season ticket holder for a very long time and have no plans of letting that go, unless my son Varsity gan=mnes get in the way, but just last night I was hanging with a few of my friends who are recent season ticket holders as well, and some are considering not renewing their tickets for next season. I asked why!! and was told we suck, plain and simple..

People go to games to watch their team win games, not lose. Thats how you build a fan base. They also like to see excitement something this team lacks the last 4 years.. They also like it when a quarterback is the captain of the team and takes control of the offense. ie; THROWS THE BALL, make diving catches, QB runs it in for a touchdown, TE runs it in for a TD ... Not just running play calling up the gut for no gain, every other play !!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on July 24, 2017, 09:10:58 am
I'm pissed the Home Opener is so late into the season. Students will be settled in their academics and may not even show up to Game 1. I hope I'm wrong.

I haven't been following as closely but I will be there like always! Go Wolves!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on July 24, 2017, 12:22:11 pm
I'm pissed the Home Opener is so late into the season. Students will be settled in their academics and may not even show up to Game 1. I hope I'm wrong.

I haven't been following as closely but I will be there like always! Go Wolves!

The home opener is usually well attended. I recall a few years back we played Towson in the opener and that game was the last week of September. Playing the opener on the 16th is fine. What would **** me off is if we lost to Sacred Heart again. That game last year was the most inexplicable loss I've seen by this program since I've been following it.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on July 24, 2017, 01:56:39 pm
That was strange considering we beat two top teams in North Dakota and Richmond then get blown out by Sacred Heart .
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: beerforheros on July 25, 2017, 10:16:32 am
New member here. Been going to Stony Brook sporting events for a few decades now and call me crazy I'm excited about the football season. I'm not dumb though, it's hard to have a College Football following in this area but not impossible. Let's hope this team can shock some people and have an interesting season so they can get some new fans.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on July 25, 2017, 01:05:33 pm
New member here. Been going to Stony Brook sporting events for a few decades now and call me crazy I'm excited about the football season. I'm not dumb though, it's hard to have a College Football following in this area but not impossible. Let's hope this team can shock some people and have an interesting season so they can get some new fans.

While I appreciate the optimism, what is this based on? Our top notch defensive coordinator is gone, and with him the brains of the unit that's prevented us from going 0-11 these past three seasons. This team is talented, so there's always the possibility we win a few games and go on a run, but unless Fields is the next Cam Newton, I don't see it happening.

We can definitely carve out a nice niche for ourselves out here if we start winning being the only D1 program on long island. If we start winning 9+ games a season, go FBS, and continue that? We won't be able to expand the stadium quickly enough! If only a small fraction of the people on LI gave enough of a damn to come out and watch a winning team we'd have no problem filling the stadium. Even at 25K seats like in that stadium rendering on the Seawolves United site.   
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: beerforheros on July 28, 2017, 08:44:53 am
My optimism? I said I was excited "about the football season" and hoped the team would shock us. I love football season and Stony Brook is the easiest way to see a halfway decent football in this area. Never did I say I was optimistic.

That being said the defense is still good and hopefully the running game can be effective. We can all pray to the football gods that the QB play is just a little bit better.

I think talking about the FBS is a little crazy.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on August 07, 2017, 10:58:03 am
The Brookland guys are creating a podcast. You can listen to the first episode here https://soundcloud.com/brookland-907557196
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on August 07, 2017, 12:55:17 pm
The Brookland guys are creating a podcast. You can listen to the first episode here https://soundcloud.com/brookland-907557196

Adam is the face of news and information out of SB athletics..I follow him on Twitter. I suggest you guys do the same.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: DCwolf on August 07, 2017, 01:54:04 pm
The Brookland guys are creating a podcast. You can listen to the first episode here https://soundcloud.com/brookland-907557196

Adam is the face of news and information out of SB athletics..I follow him on Twitter. I suggest you guys do the same.

Hey thanks y'all! This is a work in progress, but what I can promise is week-over-week improvement 😂 Next week's episode is going to tackle football's recent recruiting renaissance, but always eager to hear suggestions for future episodes!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on August 07, 2017, 05:46:12 pm
i have some feedback... first off you guys are a credit to the U and do great work, i've followed your site over the years.

i think the podcast was great.  i should say i dont do podcasts so i know nothing.  im not a millennial (but im married to one!).

-maybe make it a bit shorter? 
-some guests so youre not just talking one-way?
-maybe try the wUSB guys they are a treasure trove of information and can chat for hours
-consider breaking each podcast into one sport only (or, give a time breakdown of each subject)
-interview coaches?  asst coaches?  players?  recruits?  alums?


keep on doing what youre doing.  we need more fans like you.  GO SB
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on August 07, 2017, 08:25:30 pm
The Pod Cast was really good plenty of useful  information.    Good job !
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on November 20, 2017, 11:40:33 pm
Sometimes I wonder what if Hofstra didn’t drop football. Would that have been good for Stony Brook in the long run? Sure we benefited short term by the transfers, but I would have loved to play them yearly in CAA. There would have been a Nassau/Suffolk rivalry game. Would have created more buzz in Long Island. On the other hand may be we would be fighting for the same recruits. May be we won’t even be in CAA because they would have blocked us like they did for all sports!  ::)
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on November 21, 2017, 12:12:32 am
Sometimes I wonder what if Hofstra didn’t drop football. Would that have been good for Stony Brook in the long run? Sure we benefited short term by the transfers, but I would have loved to play them yearly in CAA. There would have been a Nassau/Suffolk rivalry game. Would have created more buzz in Long Island. On the other hand may be we would be fighting for the same recruits. May be we won’t even be in CAA because they would have blocked us like they did for all sports!  ::)

Interesting scenario to ponder. I also don't know if we make the playoffs in 11 and 12 without that talent bump. It is good to have a rivalry to drive fan interest and support within the state though. Albany hasn't quite been cutting it and we're in a different sub-division to UB. Hofstra would have tried to block us and Albany, but I don't know if they'd had been as successful for CAAF. Hofstra being a private vs us being public, I think the rivalry would have helped, but being totally different institutions all together, I think we'd have been just fine from a recruiting standpoint. We're not any less of what we are if they still have football. We'd still have the facilities, the budget, AAU membership, etc.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on November 21, 2017, 09:09:33 am
I like the 4 home-home games scheduled with Fordham next 4 year’s. May be they can provide a new NYC/LI rivalry spark. May be lol.

I think Fordham wants to improve but stuck in Patriot League. Patriot League as a whole needs to make a decision. They need to commit to either fully follow their role model Ivy League or be fully competitive. They are in between and it’s not helping them. Either drop scholarships and be like Ivy, or add red-shirting and be like CAA. Most of them have pretty good facilities for FCS standard. Or may be Fordham can get into CAA if JMU ever leaves.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: newfan on November 21, 2017, 10:02:26 am
Either drop scholarships and be like Ivy, or add red-shirting and be like CAA. Most of them have pretty good facilities for FCS standard. Or may be Fordham can get into CAA if JMU ever leaves.

I am pretty certain the PL does have red shirting...for example I know Holy Cross' QB is a 5th year senior and thanks to being redshirted was able to be the rare (or maybe only) 4 year football captain.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on November 21, 2017, 10:03:35 am
I like the 4 home-home games scheduled with Fordham next 4 year’s. May be they can provide a new NYC/LI rivalry spark. May be lol.

I think Fordham wants to improve but stuck in Patriot League. Patriot League as a whole needs to make a decision. They need to commit to either fully follow their role model Ivy League or be fully competitive. They are in between and it’s not helping them. Either drop scholarships and be like Ivy, or add red-shirting and be like CAA. Most of them have pretty good facilities for FCS standard. Or may be Fordham can get into CAA if JMU ever leaves.

Fordham is a potential add if JMU, or any other programs leave.

Fordham
Monmouth
Howard
Hampton
CCSU
Youngstown St.
Robert Morris
Kennesaw St.

could all be backfills if 1-3 teams leave in no particular order. All could be great additions, but none are worth proactively expanding for.  JMU will be the next team out the door and then we'll see. Delaware is likely to follow if JMU goes. Hopefully by then we're not far from an FBS invite either. A pretty attractive conference of east coast G5 schools could be made if the AAC gets raided by the Big 12 and implodes during the next great realignment shuffle.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on November 21, 2017, 10:13:08 am
Either drop scholarships and be like Ivy, or add red-shirting and be like CAA. Most of them have pretty good facilities for FCS standard. Or may be Fordham can get into CAA if JMU ever leaves.

I am pretty certain the PL does have red shirting...for example I know Holy Cross' QB is a 5th year senior and thanks to being redshirted was able to be the rare (or maybe only) 4 year football captain.

PL only allows medical redshirting if I am not mistaken. May be they changed the rule recently.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on November 21, 2017, 10:26:34 am
I like the 4 home-home games scheduled with Fordham next 4 year’s. May be they can provide a new NYC/LI rivalry spark. May be lol.

I think Fordham wants to improve but stuck in Patriot League. Patriot League as a whole needs to make a decision. They need to commit to either fully follow their role model Ivy League or be fully competitive. They are in between and it’s not helping them. Either drop scholarships and be like Ivy, or add red-shirting and be like CAA. Most of them have pretty good facilities for FCS standard. Or may be Fordham can get into CAA if JMU ever leaves.

Fordham is a potential add if JMU, or any other programs leave.

Fordham
Monmouth
Howard
Hampton
CCSU
Youngstown St.
Robert Morris
Kennesaw St.

could all be backfills if 1-3 teams leave in no particular order. All could be great additions, but none are worth proactively expanding for.  JMU will be the next team out the door and then we'll see. Delaware is likely to follow if JMU goes. Hopefully by then we're not far from an FBS invite either. A pretty attractive conference of east coast G5 schools could be made if the AAC gets raided by the Big 12 and implodes during the next great realignment shuffle.

Besides Fordham and Youngstown, none of the rest really excite me. Even these two won’t make up for the loss of JMU and Delaware.

JMU has been FBS ready. But they don’t want go to Sunbelt which has no peer school.. wisely. Delaware will be starting to renovate and upgrade their stadium soon. I think they both want to get in AAC or otherwise will stay at FCS. But you are right though, no change will happen until Big 12 adds more. And Big 12 will add more because need a real conference title game... not the fake title game they are starting this year.

I just hope we continue to win and make buzz. And be ready when the right opportunity comes along. We don’t need real 15k attendance for FBS invite. Coastal is a prime example. As you mentioned earlier we have the facilities, budget, and prestige. I love what we are doing now in CAA. And keep working hard to be a better candidate than JMU and Delaware when AAC eventually comes calling in 5/6 years. I would decline any invite from sunbelt or cusa like JMU and wait for AAC. I am not even interested in MAC anymore. CAA>MAC in my opinion. Peer schools. Relatable. Rather than Akron or Ball state. Even presence of Buffalo doesn’t entice me.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on November 21, 2017, 11:26:11 am

Besides Fordham and Youngstown, none of the rest really excite me. Even these two won’t make up for the loss of JMU and Delaware.

JMU has been FBS ready. But they don’t want go to Sunbelt which has no peer school.. wisely. Delaware will be starting to renovate and upgrade their stadium soon. I think they both want to get in AAC or otherwise will stay at FCS. But you are right though, no change will happen until Big 12 adds more. And Big 12 will add more because need a real conference title game... not the fake title game they are starting this year.

I just hope we continue to win and make buzz. And be ready when the right opportunity comes along. We don’t need real 15k attendance for FBS invite. Coastal is a prime example. As you mentioned earlier we have the facilities, budget, and prestige. I love what we are doing now in CAA. And keep working hard to be a better candidate than JMU and Delaware when AAC eventually comes calling in 5/6 years. I would decline any invite from sunbelt or cusa like JMU and wait for AAC. I am not even interested in MAC anymore. CAA>MAC in my opinion. Peer schools. Relatable. Rather than Akron or Ball state. Even presence of Buffalo doesn’t entice me.

It's slim pickings once schools start leaving the CAA. The league is a strong as it's going to be going forward until schools start leaving. None of those schools are very exciting, but that's all that's left.

I agree the MAC isn't very exciting, but as the only realistic path to FBS, it might be worth considering. Though save for Buffalo, and whoever of NIU/Toledo/WMU is hot in the west that year, I have zero interest in any of those schools. It's a tough position. Going the Umass route is a non-starter I think, but compared to a MAC schedule, I think an independent schedule could be much more interesting. Now that Liberty is FBS, it's hard to block other schools from going FBS Indy. If we can knock off JMU and/or make a deep playoff run, the FBS buzz is going to start up again. It always does when desirable schools start winning.  I believe we were actually in talks with the MAC about being their 14th team if Umass joined for all-sports.

JMU and Delaware can want the AAC, but the AAC won't take any FCS schools in it's current state. Once this Power 6 thing they have falls apart after their best programs get raided by a gutted Big 12, they may change their tune. I'd also love a new east coast G5 conference that was once being rumored years ago. the following would be nice:

Stony Brook, UNH, Uconn (FB only), Umass, Buffalo, Temple, Delaware, JMU, ODU, Marshall, ECU, Georgia St. 

In the meantime, I think our current situation is excellent as we're in geographically logical leagues for both major sports. The AE being strong this year in BB is a huge bonus too. Though I'd like an all-sports move to the A10. That's the best non-FBS move we can make. I couldn't give a damn about the CAA all-sports conference anymore. Moving from one 1-bid league to another makes little sense. Serves Hofstra right for trying to block us.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on November 21, 2017, 12:07:30 pm

Besides Fordham and Youngstown, none of the rest really excite me. Even these two won’t make up for the loss of JMU and Delaware.

JMU has been FBS ready. But they don’t want go to Sunbelt which has no peer school.. wisely. Delaware will be starting to renovate and upgrade their stadium soon. I think they both want to get in AAC or otherwise will stay at FCS. But you are right though, no change will happen until Big 12 adds more. And Big 12 will add more because need a real conference title game... not the fake title game they are starting this year.

I just hope we continue to win and make buzz. And be ready when the right opportunity comes along. We don’t need real 15k attendance for FBS invite. Coastal is a prime example. As you mentioned earlier we have the facilities, budget, and prestige. I love what we are doing now in CAA. And keep working hard to be a better candidate than JMU and Delaware when AAC eventually comes calling in 5/6 years. I would decline any invite from sunbelt or cusa like JMU and wait for AAC. I am not even interested in MAC anymore. CAA>MAC in my opinion. Peer schools. Relatable. Rather than Akron or Ball state. Even presence of Buffalo doesn’t entice me.

It's slim pickings once schools start leaving the CAA. The league is a strong as it's going to be going forward until schools start leaving. None of those schools are very exciting, but that's all that's left.

I agree the MAC isn't very exciting, but as the only realistic path to FBS, it might be worth considering. Though save for Buffalo, and whoever of NIU/Toledo/WMU is hot in the west that year, I have zero interest in any of those schools. It's a tough position. Going the Umass route is a non-starter I think, but compared to a MAC schedule, I think an independent schedule could be much more interesting. Now that Liberty is FBS, it's hard to block other schools from going FBS Indy. If we can knock off JMU and/or make a deep playoff run, the FBS buzz is going to start up again. It always does when desirable schools start winning.  I believe we were actually in talks with the MAC about being their 14th team if Umass joined for all-sports.

JMU and Delaware can want the AAC, but the AAC won't take any FCS schools in it's current state. Once this Power 6 thing they have falls apart after their best programs get raided by a gutted Big 12, they may change their tune. I'd also love a new east coast G5 conference that was once being rumored years ago. the following would be nice:

Stony Brook, UNH, Uconn (FB only), Umass, Buffalo, Temple, Delaware, JMU, ODU, Marshall, ECU, Georgia St. 

In the meantime, I think our current situation is excellent as we're in geographically logical leagues for both major sports. The AE being strong this year in BB is a huge bonus too. Though I'd like an all-sports move to the A10. That's the best non-FBS move we can make. I couldn't give a damn about the CAA all-sports conference anymore. Moving from one 1-bid league to another makes little sense. Serves Hofstra right for trying to block us.

That would be a dream come true.. but for some reason, historically big football schools from northeast megapolis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_megalopolis) fight with each other rather that working with each other. Schools routinely blocking each other from the top of the chain in Old Big East, ACC, etc to the bottom chain in CAA/Hofstra! lol I hope Umass, Uconn, Temple etc come to senses and realize the potential for a great conference in this region.

I also agree that we are in sweet position now.. with logical leagues for both major sports. Just need to keep winning in both :) If we have a run like JMU did last year to FCS title, we would get 100 times more media exposure and publicity.. just for being close to NYC and being a top National research university.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: newfan on November 21, 2017, 12:53:18 pm
Either drop scholarships and be like Ivy, or add red-shirting and be like CAA. Most of them have pretty good facilities for FCS standard. Or may be Fordham can get into CAA if JMU ever leaves.

I am pretty certain the PL does have red shirting...for example I know Holy Cross' QB is a 5th year senior and thanks to being redshirted was able to be the rare (or maybe only) 4 year football captain.

You could be right, at least in Holy Cross' case I know the QB was a medical redshirt...which is how he became a 4 year captain...redshirt actually occurred in his senior year and due to a strong freshman year, he's been a captain since his sophomore year
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 21, 2017, 12:59:23 pm
I think the MAC with Buffalo, Massachusetts, and Stony Brook would bring some interest for the Stony Brook fan. The problem with UMass is that I'm not sure they want to leave the A10 for MAC Basketball. If we could find a fourth school in the Northeast area to join the MAC that would work well. Hey... who knows... can they add Army?
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 21, 2017, 01:04:38 pm

Besides Fordham and Youngstown, none of the rest really excite me. Even these two won’t make up for the loss of JMU and Delaware.

JMU has been FBS ready. But they don’t want go to Sunbelt which has no peer school.. wisely. Delaware will be starting to renovate and upgrade their stadium soon. I think they both want to get in AAC or otherwise will stay at FCS. But you are right though, no change will happen until Big 12 adds more. And Big 12 will add more because need a real conference title game... not the fake title game they are starting this year.

I just hope we continue to win and make buzz. And be ready when the right opportunity comes along. We don’t need real 15k attendance for FBS invite. Coastal is a prime example. As you mentioned earlier we have the facilities, budget, and prestige. I love what we are doing now in CAA. And keep working hard to be a better candidate than JMU and Delaware when AAC eventually comes calling in 5/6 years. I would decline any invite from sunbelt or cusa like JMU and wait for AAC. I am not even interested in MAC anymore. CAA>MAC in my opinion. Peer schools. Relatable. Rather than Akron or Ball state. Even presence of Buffalo doesn’t entice me.

It's slim pickings once schools start leaving the CAA. The league is a strong as it's going to be going forward until schools start leaving. None of those schools are very exciting, but that's all that's left.

I agree the MAC isn't very exciting, but as the only realistic path to FBS, it might be worth considering. Though save for Buffalo, and whoever of NIU/Toledo/WMU is hot in the west that year, I have zero interest in any of those schools. It's a tough position. Going the Umass route is a non-starter I think, but compared to a MAC schedule, I think an independent schedule could be much more interesting. Now that Liberty is FBS, it's hard to block other schools from going FBS Indy. If we can knock off JMU and/or make a deep playoff run, the FBS buzz is going to start up again. It always does when desirable schools start winning.  I believe we were actually in talks with the MAC about being their 14th team if Umass joined for all-sports.

JMU and Delaware can want the AAC, but the AAC won't take any FCS schools in it's current state. Once this Power 6 thing they have falls apart after their best programs get raided by a gutted Big 12, they may change their tune. I'd also love a new east coast G5 conference that was once being rumored years ago. the following would be nice:

Stony Brook, UNH, Uconn (FB only), Umass, Buffalo, Temple, Delaware, JMU, ODU, Marshall, ECU, Georgia St. 

In the meantime, I think our current situation is excellent as we're in geographically logical leagues for both major sports. The AE being strong this year in BB is a huge bonus too. Though I'd like an all-sports move to the A10. That's the best non-FBS move we can make. I couldn't give a damn about the CAA all-sports conference anymore. Moving from one 1-bid league to another makes little sense. Serves Hofstra right for trying to block us.

That would be a dream come true.. but for some reason, historically big football schools from northeast megapolis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_megalopolis) fight with each other rather that working with each other. Schools routinely blocking each other from the top of the chain in Old Big East, ACC, etc to the bottom chain in CAA/Hofstra! lol I hope Umass, Uconn, Temple etc come to senses and realize the potential for a great conference in this region.

I also agree that we are in sweet position now.. with logical leagues for both major sports. Just need to keep winning in both :) If we have a run like JMU did last year to FCS title, we would get 100 times more media exposure and publicity.. just for being close to NYC and being a top National research university.

That's because they are fighting to get the a share of the extremely small pie of attention that College football gathers in this region. The NFL dominates this part of the country like no other (there are historical reasons for that. NFL was centered in the NE from early on and the fall of the Ivy destroyed all College Football traditions). Even at the highest level, College Football is an afterthought for most people in this part of the country. Look at BC/Syracuse/Rutgers - the highest level of Power 5 CFB and it barely draws 30-40k fans per game.


Life is rough in this region. Whatever we do we have to think smart in financially... adding 20 more scholarships and leaving the playoffs behind needs to be justified first - we seriously need an sustainable attendance bump or a conference that will bring in extra $$$
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on November 21, 2017, 01:07:01 pm
I think the MAC with Buffalo, Massachusetts, and Stony Brook would bring some interest for the Stony Brook fan. The problem with UMass is that I'm not sure they want to leave the A10 for MAC Basketball. If we could find a fourth school in the Northeast area to join the MAC that would work well. Hey... who knows... can they add Army?

Umass turned down an all sports invite to the MAC. A move that may come back to bite them in the rear end now that their football is struggling as an independent and the A10 only got two bids last year. If anymore A10 realignment occurs, say VCU to The American or Dayton and St. Louis to the Big East, Umass will look like a bunch of fools for turning down the MAC and will come back begging with their tail between their legs.

I think Army will stay as an independent. If they wanted to they could join and G5 conference they want and have not done so. The American would add them and Air Force/BYU in a heartbeat.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on November 21, 2017, 01:19:46 pm

That's because they are fighting to get the a share of the extremely small pie of attention that College football gathers in this region. The NFL dominates this part of the country like no other (there are historical reasons for that. NFL was centered in the NE from early on and the fall of the Ivy destroyed all College Football traditions). Even at the highest level, College Football is an afterthought for most people in this part of the country. Look at BC/Syracuse/Rutgers - the highest level of Power 5 CFB and it barely draws 30-40k fans per game.


Life is rough in this region. Whatever we do we have to think smart in financially... adding 20 more scholarships and leaving the playoffs behind needs to be justified first - either we seriously need an sustainable attendance bump or a conference that will bring in extra $$$

Two of the three schools you mentioned are private schools and Rutgers is a perennial doormat. We'd probably beat them if we played them this year. Penn St. I'd consider in the northeast and they're near the top of all college football in attendance. I don't think getting 25k out to games against regional opponents out here is an unrealistic goal some day soon.

The 44 scholarships (have to keep the numbers for men and women equal) is chump change compared to our budget. Our athletic budget is already top 5 among FCS public schools and higher than several FBS schools in G5 conferences. In 2015 we outspent San Jose St. and Nevada and they play in the Mountain West.

I'm convinced once we go on a deep playoff run in either football or basketball, Heilbron's phone will be ringing off the hook for conference invites. Mac, A10, CAA, etc.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on November 21, 2017, 02:48:38 pm

That's because they are fighting to get the a share of the extremely small pie of attention that College football gathers in this region. The NFL dominates this part of the country like no other (there are historical reasons for that. NFL was centered in the NE from early on and the fall of the Ivy destroyed all College Football traditions). Even at the highest level, College Football is an afterthought for most people in this part of the country. Look at BC/Syracuse/Rutgers - the highest level of Power 5 CFB and it barely draws 30-40k fans per game.


Life is rough in this region. Whatever we do we have to think smart in financially... adding 20 more scholarships and leaving the playoffs behind needs to be justified first - either we seriously need an sustainable attendance bump or a conference that will bring in extra $$$

Two of the three schools you mentioned are private schools and Rutgers is a perennial doormat. We'd probably beat them if we played them this year. Penn St. I'd consider in the northeast and they're near the top of all college football in attendance. I don't think getting 25k out to games against regional opponents out here is an unrealistic goal some day soon.

The 44 scholarships (have to keep the numbers for men and women equal) is chump change compared to our budget. Our athletic budget is already top 5 among FCS public schools and higher than several FBS schools in G5 conferences. In 2015 we outspent San Jose St. and Nevada and they play in the Mountain West.

I'm convinced once we go on a deep playoff run in either football or basketball, Heilbron's phone will be ringing off the hook for conference invites. Mac, A10, CAA, etc.
Me too!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 21, 2017, 07:58:38 pm
Yeah BC and Syracuse are private schools. But those are schools with long football traditions. Syracuse gets a lot of fan support from the city not just alumni, but they still can't draw fans to their football games. BC is also private in a large New England town but their fan base is more alumni based.

Rutgers sucks, we all know. But it's still B1G football! No matter how bad they may be Big Ten is a high-level of football.

Connecticut was drawing 40k for most of the 2000s but after downgrading to the AAC has seen their attendance collapse to the 20,000s. Guys, lets not underestimate how hard is going to be to climb the ladder. I'm not saying we shouldn't try it. We should aim that high but lets also be realistic of the CFB atmosphere in the Northeast.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 21, 2017, 09:42:20 pm
I like the 4 home-home games scheduled with Fordham next 4 year’s. May be they can provide a new NYC/LI rivalry spark. May be lol.

I think Fordham wants to improve but stuck in Patriot League. Patriot League as a whole needs to make a decision. They need to commit to either fully follow their role model Ivy League or be fully competitive. They are in between and it’s not helping them. Either drop scholarships and be like Ivy, or add red-shirting and be like CAA. Most of them have pretty good facilities for FCS standard. Or may be Fordham can get into CAA if JMU ever leaves.

Fordham is a potential add if JMU, or any other programs leave.

Fordham
Monmouth
Howard
Hampton
CCSU
Youngstown St.
Robert Morris
Kennesaw St.

could all be backfills if 1-3 teams leave in no particular order. All could be great additions, but none are worth proactively expanding for.  JMU will be the next team out the door and then we'll see. Delaware is likely to follow if JMU goes. Hopefully by then we're not far from an FBS invite either. A pretty attractive conference of east coast G5 schools could be made if the AAC gets raided by the Big 12 and implodes during the next great realignment shuffle.

that's a good point- the b12 could at any point court houston, SMU, tulsa, cincy, memphis.  maybe even tulane?  noting that houston is the most successful of the lot, memphis/cincy have their years, and we all know the SMU story...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Campi47 on November 22, 2017, 02:14:37 pm
Even though many FCS Programs have left to go to the FBS it's still very mixed as many of these programs struggle to be a 500 team and the only reason why they draw is because of their locale especially down South so I don't think that at this time it would pay for SBU to consider doing anything like that until they figure out on how to draw fans to LaValle Stadium. I also believe to leave the CAA a team must now pay $1,000,000 exit fee.

I know we lose about 20 players who are graduating plus expect at least a half dozen players who will transfer or get dropped from the squad for a assortment of reasons, however the recruiting classes for 2016, 2017 and now for 2018 have been really solid classes so even though they are young they will be talented plus we do have a big junior class coming back next season
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Wolffan on November 22, 2017, 03:07:50 pm
Either drop scholarships and be like Ivy, or add red-shirting and be like CAA. Most of them have pretty good facilities for FCS standard. Or may be Fordham can get into CAA if JMU ever leaves.

I am pretty certain the PL does have red shirting...for example I know Holy Cross' QB is a 5th year senior and thanks to being redshirted was able to be the rare (or maybe only) 4 year football captain.

PL only allows medical redshirting if I am not mistaken. May be they changed the rule recently.

Medical redshirt only in the Patriot League.

 Ivy League doesn't even allow that - An Ivy  player has to withdraw from school (if they are hurt very early in a season) to maintain eligibility given the rule that they can not play beyond their first four years of college.

Patriot League football is suffering because they cannot generally compete with the Ivies in turns of recruiting. Given the new (last 7 or 8 years) generous financial aid practices at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton the same kid can usually attend cost free at Yale (full financial aid) or (for example) cost free at Lehigh (full athletic scholarship).  Who - given that choice - is picking Lehigh? Patriot League also cannot really compete with CAA in recruiting for a number of reasons. Of course there are exceptions in  matchups with Ivy and CAA but that is the new trend.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on December 04, 2017, 10:18:54 am
I found an interesting link yesterday... athletic expenses by public institutions. Not sure if it has been discussed on this board previously. I am guessing they couldn't get the info from private institutions, hence only public.. link: http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/

Brook.land has some good analysis here: https://brook.land/stony-brook-is-spending-more-than-almost-every-other-fcs-program-a71a2028e857

It's very interesting. We have increased our yearly expense a lot. Now we are one of the leading FCS program in terms of expense. From FCS programs only JMU, Delaware and UC-Davis spends more.

Total expenses comparison (skipping no-football schools from CAA and America east):

JMU $47.4m
UD $34.3m
SBU $30.9m
Towson $29.4m
W&M $26.5 m
UNH $28.9m
URI $26.6m
Albany $20.9m
Maine $20.9m

We spend more than half the MAC teams, more than most of the SunBelt teams, more than one third of the C-USA teams.

It just shows what we already knew. Money$$$ is not the issue. We have got that. Attendance and relevancy is the issue. For both of them, winning is the only cure. We are on the right track!







 
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on December 04, 2017, 10:41:41 am
winning might not be enough.  we won this year.  and yet still struggled to fill a somewhat small stadium.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on December 04, 2017, 11:37:21 am
It is a number of things . Student support runs cool for a school of nearly 26k not many students show up for games.  Then we compete against some very good high schools in our area who draw fans on a Saturday from our fan base and of course  the pros .  The Jets and Giants as bad as they have been  still draw.  We also need to advertise locally and throughout at least Suffolk County . I don't understand  why we don't have posters up at LIRR stations with our home schedule as Army and Fordham have on the Metro North .
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Campi47 on December 04, 2017, 02:25:57 pm
There are a lot of HS teams in Nassau/Suffolk and many play on Fridays we need to give price breaks to HS so we draw the whole team in on Saturday all it takes is for someone from the football department to put a plan out and get it to the HS coaches/AD's
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on December 04, 2017, 06:53:54 pm
There are a lot of HS teams in Nassau/Suffolk and many play on Fridays we need to give price breaks to HS so we draw the whole team in on Saturday all it takes is for someone from the football department to put a plan out and get it to the HS coaches/AD's
I agree. But this school his horrible with getting the brand name out there for the island to see. Not everybody listens to 94.3 the Shark. Even tho I do!!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on December 04, 2017, 09:35:35 pm
I found an interesting link yesterday... athletic expenses by public institutions. Not sure if it has been discussed on this board previously. I am guessing they couldn't get the info from private institutions, hence only public.. link: http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/

Brook.land has some good analysis here: https://brook.land/stony-brook-is-spending-more-than-almost-every-other-fcs-program-a71a2028e857

It's very interesting. We have increased our yearly expense a lot. Now we are one of the leading FCS program in terms of expense. From FCS programs only JMU, Delaware and UC-Davis spends more.

Total expenses comparison (skipping no-football schools from CAA and America east):

JMU $47.4m
UD $34.3m
SBU $30.9m
Towson $29.4m
W&M $26.5 m
UNH $28.9m
URI $26.6m
Albany $20.9m
Maine $20.9m

We spend more than half the MAC teams, more than most of the SunBelt teams, more than one third of the C-USA teams.

It just shows what we already knew. Money$$$ is not the issue. We have got that. Attendance and relevancy is the issue. For both of them, winning is the only cure. We are on the right track!

I posted this back in July. We're definitely on the right track as far as spending and all the new facilities, IPF, stadium expansion, etc. prove that.

It is a number of things . Student support runs cool for a school of nearly 26k not many students show up for games.  Then we compete against some very good high schools in our area who draw fans on a Saturday from our fan base and of course  the pros .  The Jets and Giants as bad as they have been  still draw.  We also need to advertise locally and throughout at least Suffolk County . I don't understand  why we don't have posters up at LIRR stations with our home schedule as Army and Fordham have on the Metro North .

I wholeheartedly agree. I don't know WTF we're doing in this regard. As mentioned we should do something to draw local HS students, parents, etc. to games. Arranging free tickets for a local HS team to attend a home game would be good. Things like that.

I think we can position ourselves well as a local, cheaper alternative to the Giants and Jets when we're good. But that would be easier if we were FBS. There's lots we can still do though.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on December 04, 2017, 10:12:28 pm
I totally missed your thread from July. Agree with you all.. we should be advertising the hell out of every LIRR station and on public buses. Fee tickets to HS is a great idea too. We have the best football product on LI and we need to let everyone know. Now is the time to spend money on advertising.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on December 04, 2017, 10:44:58 pm
Start out by conquering your own house first and then expand the marketing efforts to the rest of Long Island. You know why I go to games? Because I did while I was a student and I became a fan of College Football thanks to the Seawolves (Adam Peck, Chris Creamer, myself... we were the kids that used to facepaint or paint letters into our chest). That's why I'm willing to make that drive east every Saturday. But for me (alum) to follow now I had to cultivate the following before graduating. If you don't grab the attention of the students and turn them into fans before they graduate... Those alums will never come back for game

We have to build the next generation of Seawolves fanatics... and that starts ON CAMPUS. Nothing else will work as good as cultivating a good student and then alumni fandom. Those alumni will draw their parents, cousins, friends, and next thing you know you are packing the house and need further expansion.

It's not that difficult. Its just lack of effort. Plain and simple. There should be a USG-Athletics committe of student and administrators with the sole purpose of fostering student following and spirit.

Forget about the suitcase campus... forget about the lack of parties. Those are secondary issues. The primary and sole issue remains lack of marketing and unified effort between the Athletics department and other areas of the University.

The only marketing you see on campus right now is "Home of the Stony Brook Seawolves" banners in every other light pole. What the heck does that do for it if the students don't feel it?

Heck. Make a student club of promoters...

Or you know what. Make it college-credit course MKT101 and make the final project: Draw 1000 students to every game. LOL
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on December 05, 2017, 08:31:38 am
Start out by conquering your own house first and then expand the marketing efforts to the rest of Long Island. You know why I go to games? Because I did while I was a student and I became a fan of College Football thanks to the Seawolves (Adam Peck, Chris Creamer, myself... we were the kids that used to facepaint or paint letters into our chest). That's why I'm willing to make that drive east every Saturday. But for me (alum) to follow now I had to cultivate the following before graduating. If you don't grab the attention of the students and turn them into fans before they graduate... Those alums will never come back for game

We have to build the next generation of Seawolves fanatics... and that starts ON CAMPUS. Nothing else will work as good as cultivating a good student and then alumni fandom. Those alumni will draw their parents, cousins, friends, and next thing you know you are packing the house and need further expansion.

It's not that difficult. Its just lack of effort. Plain and simple. There should be a USG-Athletics committe of student and administrators with the sole purpose of fostering student following and spirit.

Forget about the suitcase campus... forget about the lack of parties. Those are secondary issues. The primary and sole issue remains lack of marketing and unified effort between the Athletics department and other areas of the University.

The only marketing you see on campus right now is "Home of the Stony Brook Seawolves" banners in every other light pole. What the heck does that do for it if the students don't feel it?

Heck. Make a student club of promoters...

Or you know what. Make it college-credit course MKT101 and make the final project: Draw 1000 students to every game. LOL


maybe just my guess... but i dont think we will get significant crowds via train.  which means if no students show up, you're sitting in traffic on nicholls.  the more attendance we get, the bigger those delays become.

the other option is to get students to games.  i argue that not all fans are equal.  there is something about the student attendee that makes the college football atmosphere.  it's the reason why pundits use the term "hostile atmosphere".

but we can't get students to games if they arent even on campus.  why arent they?  we arent addressing the real issue here.

PS since we're talking bona fides here, yes i was there with a homemade piece of wooden fence (from leftovers building lofts in the dorms) before there was even a LaValle Stadium.  ;D
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on December 05, 2017, 08:59:14 am
Start out by conquering your own house first and then expand the marketing efforts to the rest of Long Island. You know why I go to games? Because I did while I was a student and I became a fan of College Football thanks to the Seawolves (Adam Peck, Chris Creamer, myself... we were the kids that used to facepaint or paint letters into our chest). That's why I'm willing to make that drive east every Saturday. But for me (alum) to follow now I had to cultivate the following before graduating. If you don't grab the attention of the students and turn them into fans before they graduate... Those alums will never come back for game

We have to build the next generation of Seawolves fanatics... and that starts ON CAMPUS. Nothing else will work as good as cultivating a good student and then alumni fandom. Those alumni will draw their parents, cousins, friends, and next thing you know you are packing the house and need further expansion.

It's not that difficult. Its just lack of effort. Plain and simple. There should be a USG-Athletics committe of student and administrators with the sole purpose of fostering student following and spirit.

Forget about the suitcase campus... forget about the lack of parties. Those are secondary issues. The primary and sole issue remains lack of marketing and unified effort between the Athletics department and other areas of the University.

The only marketing you see on campus right now is "Home of the Stony Brook Seawolves" banners in every other light pole. What the heck does that do for it if the students don't feel it?

Heck. Make a student club of promoters...

Or you know what. Make it college-credit course MKT101 and make the final project: Draw 1000 students to every game. LOL


maybe just my guess... but i dont think we will get significant crowds via train.  which means if no students show up, you're sitting in traffic on nicholls.  the more attendance we get, the bigger those delays become.

the other option is to get students to games.  i argue that not all fans are equal.  there is something about the student attendee that makes the college football atmosphere.  it's the reason why pundits use the term "hostile atmosphere".

but we can't get students to games if they arent even on campus.  why arent they?  we arent addressing the real issue here.

PS since we're talking bona fides here, yes i was there with a homemade piece of wooden fence (from leftovers building lofts in the dorms) before there was even a LaValle Stadium.  ;D

Chairman. Even with the students that go home on weekends there are at the very least 3000-5000 students left on campus. Not everyone goes home. Trust me. Stony Brook is more residential now than ever. Especially with the new fancy student dorms and the other activities that students can enjoy on their spare time (like the Rec center). Walk past the Rec Center on game time and you see plenty of students exercising which is a good thing (but not on gametime. lol)
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on December 05, 2017, 09:16:54 am
yeah but with 3-5k students remaining on campus, now you've got to get nearly 100% of them to show up to a game to fill over ten thousand seats.

college football atmosphere starts with the students.  not a mid 30s single guy driving in from huntington and driving home post game.  that's not what ESPN Gameday looks for when seeking locations.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ibosbu on December 06, 2017, 05:57:08 am
Learnt something new. Can’t give tickets to high schools per NCAA rules.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ry1nik on January 07, 2018, 08:46:02 am
A good discussion of FCS affiliation vs. FBS, and how staying at playoff-level FCS has its advantages.

http://www.richmond.com/sports/dukes-coach-mike-houston-sees-only-the-perfect-opportunity-drawing/article_bfb79fcf-42e6-57e7-bdc9-1519c24292f3.html
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on January 07, 2018, 10:24:20 pm
A good discussion of FCS affiliation vs. FBS, and how staying at playoff-level FCS has its advantages.

http://www.richmond.com/sports/dukes-coach-mike-houston-sees-only-the-perfect-opportunity-drawing/article_bfb79fcf-42e6-57e7-bdc9-1519c24292f3.html

This season definitely made me take a closer look at FCS vs FBS and what that would actually look like. As mentioned, unless we're like WMU last year and go undefeated plus a couple losses by the AAC and MWC champ, we're not getting the access bowl that UCF got and instead would at best get the Go Daddy bowl or something like that vs the Sun Belt. The MAC is the only realistic league in the next 5-8 years for us and outside of Buffalo and whoever there is in the western division, there really isn't anybody who I'm excited to play.

This season with our playoff run (though short) showed the benefits of staying FCS. We're an attractive enough school that FBS conferences will want us no matter what as us and UC Davis are the only public AAU schools with football in the FCS. The rest are all FBS or don't have football.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 08, 2018, 06:52:53 am
A good discussion of FCS affiliation vs. FBS, and how staying at playoff-level FCS has its advantages.

http://www.richmond.com/sports/dukes-coach-mike-houston-sees-only-the-perfect-opportunity-drawing/article_bfb79fcf-42e6-57e7-bdc9-1519c24292f3.html

This season definitely made me take a closer look at FCS vs FBS and what that would actually look like. As mentioned, unless we're like WMU last year and go undefeated plus a couple losses by the AAC and MWC champ, we're not getting the access bowl that UCF got and instead would at best get the Go Daddy bowl or something like that vs the Sun Belt. The MAC is the only realistic league in the next 5-8 years for us and outside of Buffalo and whoever there is in the western division, there really isn't anybody who I'm excited to play.

This season with our playoff run (though short) showed the benefits of staying FCS. We're an attractive enough school that FBS conferences will want us no matter what as us and UC Davis are the only public AAU schools with football in the FCS. The rest are all FBS or don't have football.

5 years ago I was dreaming FBS, no more..Lets try to win the CAA at least once and maybe beat a really bad FBS team before we even talk about that move up..  If coach P gets another long term contract you can kiss goodbye any chance of winning the CAA.. I believe he just doesnt have it to take this program to the next level, FBS..

This football team needs a extreme makeover with all new coaches, top to bottom. Delaware did it, JMU did it and SB can do it. If SB can bring in an assistant from a power 5 conference or even from a well known team, ie. Washington, Oregon, UCF.... , who wants to make a name for himself, this program would grow be leaps and bounds. Just pay the man $700,000 a year plus bonuses and watch the 3 star players from around the country come flocking to this school. look at this as an investment.  It might sound expensive now, and it is, but it will reward the university with more students wanting to come to SB for their education and with national recognition.. I read an article on the internet yesterday about how JMU attendance has increased recently because of all the publicity the university is getting from Football..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on January 08, 2018, 09:32:25 am
im with hammer and 97 on this.  dont forget, we were one hail mary away (maine!) from being sweaty on selection day, and potentially left out of the FCS tournament.  not exactly a case for jumping to FBS. 

in other news.  an anecdote, but relevant to hammer's post.  my cousin's son at xmas, i asked where is he looking at colleges.  clemson.  not exactly a school that LIers flock to.  we all know why it's on his radar though.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 08, 2018, 10:05:55 am
im with hammer and 97 on this.  dont forget, we were one hail mary away (maine!) from being sweaty on selection day, and potentially left out of the FCS tournament.  not exactly a case for jumping to FBS. 

in other news.  an anecdote, but relevant to hammer's post.  my cousin's son at xmas, i asked where is he looking at colleges.  clemson.  not exactly a school that LIers flock to.  we all know why it's on his radar though.

Both of my boys play football. One varsity the other JV this year and want to apply to Clemson to further their education. God help me my wallet if they get in. $50,000 a year.. My niece graduated from Clemson and I have been there a few times, so have my boys. It is an amazing school.. Your cousin son, when he visits there , will be hooked and will want to attend.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on January 08, 2018, 12:17:51 pm
I agree with virtually everything you said Hammer, though I will say that moving up to a higher level of competition often has little to do with how good you are on the field. It's just as much a decision regarding academics as well as an institutional one on how much to emphasize athletics. Rutgers is in the Big Ten for crying out loud and if we played them this year, we'd probably have won (not even joking).

I want to see how well Coach P does this upcoming season. If we win 6 or 7 games, Heilbron will have to look at giving him an extension despite all the issues we've had winning games in the past. It's hard to justify letting go of your coach coming off of a 10 win season and Coach P knows that. Getting a big time coordinator would be a great get for SBU, though I'd have been in favor of giving Hemphill the job before he left for Wake. If Coach P doesn't get his contract extended, I think we might be able to get Lyle back here. If not him, then go in a totally different direction and get someone who will hopefully stir up some excitement for the program and recruits. Someone who has had some FCS success in the past. Mike Houston from JMU won at The Citadel and beat South Carolina before heading to JMU. Someone with a record like that, preferably with some roots in the northeast would be a great get.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 10, 2018, 01:54:09 pm
Some good read on the Vandals moving down to the FCS.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/jan/08/college-football-title-pits-rich-vs-richer-idaho-v/
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ry1nik on January 10, 2018, 02:41:40 pm
Some good read on the Vandals moving down to the FCS.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/jan/08/college-football-title-pits-rich-vs-richer-idaho-v/
Very good read. There's a general bias towards "grow it" and "bigger is better," but there's no way SBU will reach power conference status in football in the foreseeable future. I'm not convinced that playing at the lower FBS level does a school any better than having a consistent FCS playoff team...much more achievable and affordable.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 10, 2018, 04:08:33 pm
Some good read on the Vandals moving down to the FCS.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/jan/08/college-football-title-pits-rich-vs-richer-idaho-v/
Very good read. There's a general bias towards "grow it" and "bigger is better," but there's no way SBU will reach power conference status in football in the foreseeable future. I'm not convinced that playing at the lower FBS level does a school any better than having a consistent FCS playoff team...much more achievable and affordable.

I dont see SB going into the FBS anytime soon, never mind a power conference.

JMU is light years ahead of us in every athletic category, mainly football, and they still haven't gotten an invite from any respectable FBS conference. Even though their stadium meets NCAA div1 standards, and crowds each game...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: sbufan on January 10, 2018, 04:59:39 pm
We're a flagship university of New York. It's crazy that we're NOT playing power conference football. We're not Idaho or James Madison. We have something like a 100k alumni living in the New York Metro area. Stony Brook is an absolute sleeping giant in college athletics, and the goal needs to be a power 5 conference affiliation by 2040 (hopefully a lot sooner). If it's not, I'm not sure I would continue to support the department.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 10, 2018, 07:27:10 pm
We're a flagship university of New York. It's crazy that we're NOT playing power conference football. We're not Idaho or James Madison. We have something like a 100k alumni living in the New York Metro area. Stony Brook is an absolute sleeping giant in college athletics, and the goal needs to be a power 5 conference affiliation by 2040 (hopefully a lot sooner). If it's not, I'm not sure I would continue to support the department.
And how do you get 60,000 +fans to pack the stadium each and every game. We cant even get 5k to each gane!!

Long Island never was and never will be a college town. We are a pro sport community and people could care less about college on long island
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on January 10, 2018, 07:48:25 pm
but.  with a student body in the 20k range, thousands of faculty, and 3m inhabitants in an hour drive, we could fill something.

just query why they dont show.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on January 10, 2018, 09:03:12 pm
At best we wind up in the MAC or the AAC .  The administration and Albany does not want us or any SUNY school in a Power Conference  so kiss that goodbye.  We rarely advertise and the local media doesn't cover us very well .  When we are on TV its a backchannel  not a  regional broadcast .   I'm guessing but maybe in the next 5 years we might move up but don't hold your breath.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 10, 2018, 09:08:06 pm
At best we wind up in the MAC or the AAC .  The administration and Albany does not want us or any SUNY school in a Power Conference  so kiss that goodbye.  We rarely advertise and the local media doesn't cover us very well .  When we are on TV its a backchannel  not a  regional broadcast .   I'm guessing but maybe in the next 5 years we might move up but don't hold your breath.

I always love your optimism Seawolf. But give me one reason, just one why and how SB can move up in 5,6, or even 7 years from now...
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on January 10, 2018, 09:25:12 pm
My  feeling is we have to keep winning for one thing , keep improving facilities , our other sports have to win their share also such womens lax and baseball as they did in 2012.  The idea is make yourself known around the country as an overall winner. Basketball is big part of the formula.  James Madison is pretty 1 dimensional with football their other sports are average at best. Show up in the FCS playoffs, win in baseball, lax etc .  This was a good year so far with wins in Volleyball and Soccer and I'm sure ladies lax .    Then hope for an invite but winning all around  is going to be the key not just football
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on January 10, 2018, 10:18:20 pm
A whole lot of small minded thinking in this thread. Fortunately Heilbron and Stanley along with their predecessors disagree with you, otherwise we'd probably still be in D3.

Being in a power conference, or even an FBS conference may seem like a pipe dream, but as an FCS school, we fit the profile of a power conference school to the T. We're the public flagship institution for the state of New York and unlike the other three campuses, we're actually near the economic and population engine of the state. We're not some directional backup to the backup school that many of the other FCS programs are. I'm from VA and JMU is a fantastic school. I even considered going there, but at the end of the day, it's the kind of place you choose to go when you don't get into UVA or Tech. SBU doesn't have that issue. NY state students WANT to come here. We're the best public option in the state for NYC and Long Island residents. That's 12 million people within an hour of the campus. You can't ignore that.

Academically, I'm not sure you guys realize this, but we're in the AAU:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Universities#Membership

Only the best research schools are in the AAU and you have to be invited in by existing members. Look at those schools gentlemen, you can't keep any better company than that. I'm not going to say we're peers to Berkely, the Ivies, Stanford, Rice, etc. I won't go that far, but when those schools invite you into their club? That means something. Iowa St.? Rutgers? Pittsburgh? Oregon? Maryland? Those are our academic peers and they're damn good schools. Those schools also want to play us in sports which is part of why we're able to get OOC games against schools like Michigan St., Washington, etc.

Of all the public schools in the AAU with football, only two have the sport in the FCS. UC Davis, and us. Buffalo is the only FBS public school in the club that's in a G5 conference. Every single other school;  literally every single one is in a power conference. The only thing stopping us is that unlike the power conference schools that have been around for over 150 years, we've only been around 60, so we're the new kids on the block. We're ascending at an astonishing rate given how young we are as a school. Don't let the current attendance and fan apathy fool you. Institutionally, we're a power school in every way. Enrollment, research, you name it. The athletics just need to catch up which they are. I'd drop the small minded thinking guys. We're not a Boise State who can tear it up on the field for decades but still never sniff a power conference because of their junior college level academics. We're better than that.

Our academics and location are why I think come the next round of realignment in 7-8 years we could get called up to a better conference. University presidents make realignment decisions on who they want to align themselves with, and the upside of an AAU flagship school within an hour of 12 million people makes SBU a risk worth taking. Our floor is higher than Buffalo, because unlike Buffalo, we're not hours away from most of the state in the frigid cold with nothing to do. They're going to be the ones not wanting us to move up. On the recruiting trail for football, the only thing they have over us is they're FBS and we're FCS. We win in pretty much every other category.

In the meantime, keep fielding competitive FCS teams, and really put out a good basketball product. Nothing can put your school on the map faster than good basketball. People still remember those GMU and VCU final four runs and Gonzaga went from a nobody to a well known school thanks to their basketball.

Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on January 11, 2018, 05:33:03 am
VA_SEAWOLF .. I appreciate you putting together that really good synopsis to why you think SB belongs in a power 5 conference. But I have one tiny, little problem that could put the breaks on to this pipe dream. MONEY!!!!!$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Just think of the money that is needed to upgrade every single athletic facility SB has.. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to bring it up to par with the likes of Michigan, Pitt, Oregon Maryland etc.. Where is that money coming from, NYS?? Coumo would never allow that to happen.. Look what he did with that twenty five million dollars that was earmarked for science, but after that program got squashed SB tried to funnel that into athletics. Big state daddy took it right back... Bottom line is. SB doesnt have the booster, Alumni to invest that kind of money back into athletics to be in par with the big, ACC, Big10 schools.. Mr. James Simons can make that happen with a stroke of his pen, but just like all the other wealthy, non athletic boosters SB has, they could care less about sports!

IFCU would have to be expanded several thousand more seats and that cant be done because of structural reasons. LaValle stadium would have to most likely torn down and rebuilt to around 40,000 seats. What about the baseball field and seating area? Something SB doesnt even have.. etc. etc. etc.......

I can go on and on to why this university will not go into the power conference in my life time. G5?? , maybe. Even that is a far cry in my lifetime for all the reasons I outlined..

Baby steps, lots of athletic money and a history of winning and beating bigger school will eventually get you an invite and a move up into a G5 conference ..

p.s. Warney was the main reason why SB had a hard time playing big school in fear of us beating them.. That came from Pikiel mouth to my ears. I dont think the AAU affiliation mattered at that time... But, what do I know.. I never even step one foot into SB classroom.

Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ry1nik on January 11, 2018, 08:15:40 am
A whole lot of small minded thinking in this thread. Fortunately Heilbron and Stanley along with their predecessors disagree with you, otherwise we'd probably still be in D3.

Being in a power conference, or even an FBS conference may seem like a pipe dream, but as an FCS school, we fit the profile of a power conference school to the T. We're the public flagship institution for the state of New York and unlike the other three campuses, we're actually near the economic and population engine of the state. We're not some directional backup to the backup school that many of the other FCS programs are. I'm from VA and JMU is a fantastic school. I even considered going there, but at the end of the day, it's the kind of place you choose to go when you don't get into UVA or Tech. SBU doesn't have that issue. NY state students WANT to come here. We're the best public option in the state for NYC and Long Island residents. That's 12 million people within an hour of the campus. You can't ignore that.

Academically, I'm not sure you guys realize this, but we're in the AAU:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Universities#Membership

Only the best research schools are in the AAU and you have to be invited in by existing members. Look at those schools gentlemen, you can't keep any better company than that. I'm not going to say we're peers to Berkely, the Ivies, Stanford, Rice, etc. I won't go that far, but when those schools invite you into their club? That means something. Iowa St.? Rutgers? Pittsburgh? Oregon? Maryland? Those are our academic peers and they're damn good schools. Those schools also want to play us in sports which is part of why we're able to get OOC games against schools like Michigan St., Washington, etc.

Of all the public schools in the AAU with football, only two have the sport in the FCS. UC Davis, and us. Buffalo is the only FBS public school in the club that's in a G5 conference. Every single other school;  literally every single one is in a power conference. The only thing stopping us is that unlike the power conference schools that have been around for over 150 years, we've only been around 60, so we're the new kids on the block. We're ascending at an astonishing rate given how young we are as a school. Don't let the current attendance and fan apathy fool you. Institutionally, we're a power school in every way. Enrollment, research, you name it. The athletics just need to catch up which they are. I'd drop the small minded thinking guys. We're not a Boise State who can tear it up on the field for decades but still never sniff a power conference because of their junior college level academics. We're better than that.

Our academics and location are why I think come the next round of realignment in 7-8 years we could get called up to a better conference. University presidents make realignment decisions on who they want to align themselves with, and the upside of an AAU flagship school within an hour of 12 million people makes SBU a risk worth taking. Our floor is higher than Buffalo, because unlike Buffalo, we're not hours away from most of the state in the frigid cold with nothing to do. They're going to be the ones not wanting us to move up. On the recruiting trail for football, the only thing they have over us is they're FBS and we're FCS. We win in pretty much every other category.

In the meantime, keep fielding competitive FCS teams, and really put out a good basketball product. Nothing can put your school on the map faster than good basketball. People still remember those GMU and VCU final four runs and Gonzaga went from a nobody to a well known school thanks to their basketball.

"Nothing can put your school on the map faster than good basketball. People still remember those GMU and VCU final four runs and Gonzaga went from a nobody to a well known school thanks to their basketball. " This statement weakens the case for big-time football and its link to putting a school on the map. GMU, VCU, and Gonzaga do not have football...let alone FBS football.

Athletics exist ultimately to support the academic mission and student experience. Most people would rather have a degree from MIT or Harvard (small athletic profile) than U. of Georgia or Alabama (large profile). Since SBU is already in the AAU, no need to connect AAU membership with the athletic profile of other AAU schools to try and make a case for FBS football. SBU is already in the AAU group.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on January 11, 2018, 09:01:58 am
A whole lot of small minded thinking in this thread. Fortunately Heilbron and Stanley along with their predecessors disagree with you, otherwise we'd probably still be in D3.

Being in a power conference, or even an FBS conference may seem like a pipe dream, but as an FCS school, we fit the profile of a power conference school to the T. We're the public flagship institution for the state of New York and unlike the other three campuses, we're actually near the economic and population engine of the state. We're not some directional backup to the backup school that many of the other FCS programs are. I'm from VA and JMU is a fantastic school. I even considered going there, but at the end of the day, it's the kind of place you choose to go when you don't get into UVA or Tech. SBU doesn't have that issue. NY state students WANT to come here. We're the best public option in the state for NYC and Long Island residents. That's 12 million people within an hour of the campus. You can't ignore that.

Academically, I'm not sure you guys realize this, but we're in the AAU:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Universities#Membership

Only the best research schools are in the AAU and you have to be invited in by existing members. Look at those schools gentlemen, you can't keep any better company than that. I'm not going to say we're peers to Berkely, the Ivies, Stanford, Rice, etc. I won't go that far, but when those schools invite you into their club? That means something. Iowa St.? Rutgers? Pittsburgh? Oregon? Maryland? Those are our academic peers and they're damn good schools. Those schools also want to play us in sports which is part of why we're able to get OOC games against schools like Michigan St., Washington, etc.

Of all the public schools in the AAU with football, only two have the sport in the FCS. UC Davis, and us. Buffalo is the only FBS public school in the club that's in a G5 conference. Every single other school;  literally every single one is in a power conference. The only thing stopping us is that unlike the power conference schools that have been around for over 150 years, we've only been around 60, so we're the new kids on the block. We're ascending at an astonishing rate given how young we are as a school. Don't let the current attendance and fan apathy fool you. Institutionally, we're a power school in every way. Enrollment, research, you name it. The athletics just need to catch up which they are. I'd drop the small minded thinking guys. We're not a Boise State who can tear it up on the field for decades but still never sniff a power conference because of their junior college level academics. We're better than that.

Our academics and location are why I think come the next round of realignment in 7-8 years we could get called up to a better conference. University presidents make realignment decisions on who they want to align themselves with, and the upside of an AAU flagship school within an hour of 12 million people makes SBU a risk worth taking. Our floor is higher than Buffalo, because unlike Buffalo, we're not hours away from most of the state in the frigid cold with nothing to do. They're going to be the ones not wanting us to move up. On the recruiting trail for football, the only thing they have over us is they're FBS and we're FCS. We win in pretty much every other category.

In the meantime, keep fielding competitive FCS teams, and really put out a good basketball product. Nothing can put your school on the map faster than good basketball. People still remember those GMU and VCU final four runs and Gonzaga went from a nobody to a well known school thanks to their basketball.


with all that said though (and i agree with it), why can't we get regular attendance. 

another thing ill add is that you point out the academic accolades.  and those are great.  and i hate that college sports have become infected with money.  but the plain fact is that they are money machines.  so that takes a back seat to ticket sales, TV deals, merchandise, concessions, media coverage, etc.  What im saying is that kids come to SB for academics and that's great, but we are missing the athletics powerhouse-ness. 

i turn on local tv from time to time.  and what do they broadcast?  softball, european soccer, NFL reruns, etc.  Because that's what locals want to watch.  not SB Lacrosse.  not fordham basketball.  not hofstra baseball. 

how many locals even tune in to st johns bball???  over a UNC game?  michigan on a winter saturday afternoon???  ive been to ONE game at carnesecca in 37 years, and that's because they were playing SB.  and im a college hoops fanatic. 

if that's what stations air on TV, it's reflective of how few attend our games.

i guess what im saying is- asses in seats drives the process, so i am fooled by attendance.

and there's no attendance because there's no atmosphere.

if there was stuff to do, kids would stick around.  but they dont.

maybe im wrong but if im an FBS conference, the first thing i look at is attendance, fan support, revenues, record, etc.  we just dont pass the test.

apathy is a bigger problem for the U and we have a whole separate thread on that.

*   *   *

im not saying we wont get there.  i just dont know how soon, or whether we can really fill a stadium, or ever create the type of atmosphere that would, say, attract Gameday.  over/under, ill say 2035 and maybe even take the over.  GO SB
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on January 11, 2018, 04:06:15 pm
Hammertime, money wouldn't be an issue due in large part to the media contracts of these bigger conferences. The Big Ten TV deal will pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $50M per school next year. That's an unreal amount of money. Granted, I don't think the money will be quite that high in the future, but there will always be adequate money from the TV partners of power conferences to get the media rights for those leagues.

You also assume I'm talking about moving to the Big Ten or ACC tomorrow. That's not what I mean. In 50 years, I do believe we could get there and by that point the alumni, donor, and fanbases will be at a point to support inclusion into the power structure. We're a good school that will be at 30k enrollment in the not too distant future. It's not at all unreasonable to think we could be in a power conference 50 years down the road for the reasons I stated. Again, the school is only 60 years old right now.

If you want to talk short term, (the next 8 years) I believe we could move into the MAC or AAC today with our current facilities. All we'd need is a moderate expansion of the stadium and we're fine. You act like we're decades away from being FBS when really all it takes is for SH's phone to ring. Coastal and Liberty are FBS today and we frequently laid the beatdown on both of them in the Big South. Coastal's stadium was smaller than ours when they got the invite. The bar is lower than you think. There's going to be a BIG reshuffling of conferences come the middle of the next decade and I anticipate SBU will get an FBS invite somewhere in the middle of all that chaos.



"Nothing can put your school on the map faster than good basketball. People still remember those GMU and VCU final four runs and Gonzaga went from a nobody to a well known school thanks to their basketball. " This statement weakens the case for big-time football and its link to putting a school on the map. GMU, VCU, and Gonzaga do not have football...let alone FBS football.

Athletics exist ultimately to support the academic mission and student experience. Most people would rather have a degree from MIT or Harvard (small athletic profile) than U. of Georgia or Alabama (large profile). Since SBU is already in the AAU, no need to connect AAU membership with the athletic profile of other AAU schools to try and make a case for FBS football. SBU is already in the AAU group.

No, it doesn't weaken it at all. If you want to get on the map quickly and get a bunch of buzz around your school and programs, all you need is a deep run in the NCAA tournament. The momentum of that alone could bring an FBS invite along with it. Basketball can get you attention quickly, but if you want to sustain that and become a household name, football is key. Football drives the realignment and media bus. Basketball is our best bet to make a splash in the short term simply because nobody gives a damn about FCS football and the barriers to upgrading Olympic sports/basketball are much lower. Getting killed by Kentucky brought us more publicity than anything we've ever done in football. People just don't care about the FCS.

Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on January 11, 2018, 05:31:39 pm
Quote
There's going to be a BIG reshuffling of conferences come the middle of the next decade and I anticipate SBU will get an FBS invite somewhere in the middle of all that chaos.

just curious for more color on this, as it's intriguing.  what are you basing this on and thanks for your thoughts.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on January 11, 2018, 09:45:22 pm
Quote
There's going to be a BIG reshuffling of conferences come the middle of the next decade and I anticipate SBU will get an FBS invite somewhere in the middle of all that chaos.

just curious for more color on this, as it's intriguing.  what are you basing this on and thanks for your thoughts.

Schools in the Big 12, Oklahoma specifically aren't very happy with the league and could be looking elsewhere towards another conference once the GOR for the Big 12 expires in 2025. Big Ten, SEC, and Pac 12 could all be destinations. Oklahoma was heavily in favor of the Big 12 expanding last year, but the league decided against it:
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/9/22/16350026/bob-bowlsby-big-12-commissioner-contract

There's also the issue of CUSA, which overexpanded in 2013 taking mediocre schools only because they were in big media markets having their TV revenue drop from ~2M per school per year to just 200k per year per school. That small amount of TV money, when combined with all the travel they have to do in that league poses a huge problem for CUSA that they'll have to address. A split or some kind of reshuffling with the Sun Belt may happen down the road.
http://www.sunherald.com/sports/college/conference-usa/university-of-southern-mississippi/article83199052.html

Then there's always the spectre of Big East expansion. Potentially bringing Uconn back into the fold.
http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-huskies/hc-jacobs-column-uconn-big-east-0219-20170218-column.html

Any one of these events could have a trickle down effect through all of the conferences. Realignment never happens in a vacuum. The biggest catalyst is likely to be anything involving the Big 12, and then the moves would happen from there. There could be a lot of movement like in the great realignment of 2010-13, and this time SBU will hopefully be in prime position to claim a spot with our great academics, competitive programs and great facilities. 

There's also the possibility of the CAA football schools moving to FBS as independents, then forming a new conference later. OR that league forming as a part of the eastern split of CUSA. Liberty going to FBS as independent has opened the door for other schools to do the same.
https://pilotonline.com/sports/columnist/harry-minium/minium-ncaa-exception-for-liberty-was-right-call-but-could/article_cccaf7d1-88de-5c93-bf5d-1943f64e9aaa.html

Interesting times are ahead! I also wouldn't be too shocked if a move to the A10 or CAA happened for us before 2025. I used to be vehemently anti CAA calling it a lateral move, but I'm starting to reconsider my stance on that one.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on January 12, 2018, 09:02:20 am
thanks!  makes sense.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 01, 2018, 04:06:38 pm
2 year extension for priore: http://sbufan.createaforum.com/general-discussion/shawn-heilbron/msg23796/#new
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 01, 2018, 04:54:53 pm
The dreaded contract extension (for some of you) is here!

Lets go Seawolves!!! Make us Championship caliber Priore!!
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on November 01, 2018, 05:47:27 pm
2 year extension for priore: http://sbufan.createaforum.com/general-discussion/shawn-heilbron/msg23796/#new

Not a shocker. I said all along he would get an extension. 2 years though is too long.  Year to year is acceptable.  Oh, well. His record with getting SB to the Playoffs doesnt warrent a 2 year extension. Anyway, what do I know..
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on November 01, 2018, 10:56:38 pm
I thought his contact went through the end of this season, but really it's through 2022. I thought for some reason his contact expired this season. In that case, I think giving him the extension right now is unnecessary. I get recruiting and blah blah, but this could have waited until the off-season. If we lose out and finish 6-5, we'll all look like fools for doing this.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on November 02, 2018, 04:27:41 am
I thought his contact went through the end of this season, but really it's through 2022. I thought for some reason his contact expired this season. In that case, I think giving him the extension right now is unnecessary. I get recruiting and blah blah, but this could have waited until the off-season. If we lose out and finish 6-5, we'll all look like fools for doing this.

I thought that as well. I have to dig up where I read that this was coach P last season.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on November 02, 2018, 04:54:31 am
I thought his contact went through the end of this season, but really it's through 2022. I thought for some reason his contact expired this season. In that case, I think giving him the extension right now is unnecessary. I get recruiting and blah blah, but this could have waited until the off-season. If we lose out and finish 6-5, we'll all look like fools for doing this.

I thought that as well. I have to dig up where I read that this was coach P last season.

Apparently, SB added a couple more years to the existing contract he had that was extended 1 year from 2017 to 2018 without making it public...

https://stonybrookathletics.com/news/2014/1/9/Priore_s_contract_extended_through_2018.aspx
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Seawolf97 on November 02, 2018, 04:32:09 pm
It would have been better to wait until the season officially ended . As posted earlier if we lose out and go 6-5 it looks messy .
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 02, 2018, 04:39:53 pm
for all we know he was getting an offer away and we acted quickly... it's just guesswork at this point.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on November 02, 2018, 04:45:05 pm
It would have been better to wait until the season officially ended . As posted earlier if we lose out and go 6-5 it looks messy .

I find it very interesting how his contract was extended to 1 year from 2017 to 2018. Read what I posted earlier. Now all the reports are saying his contract was for 2020 . Something smells fishy. But you know what!! I really dont care if Daffy Duck is SB HC, just win games and get to the playoffs every year is my goal. Goof for coach P.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Hammertime on November 02, 2018, 04:45:42 pm
for all we know he was getting an offer away and we acted quickly... it's just guesswork at this point.

Really Chair???????
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Chairman of the Board on November 02, 2018, 04:47:06 pm
in the world of college sports, nothing should surprise anyone anymore.  what with the expenditures and the need to win now.

the point was- we arent working with a whole lot of facts here.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: VA_Seawolf on November 02, 2018, 10:17:01 pm
for all we know he was getting an offer away and we acted quickly... it's just guesswork at this point.

Really Chair???????

The team is playing well and we lost by only 3 to the #2 team in the country. It's not that crazy of a suggestion. I do somewhat question it though, because Coach P is already getting low FBS money from us, so few FCS programs could really poach him from us as the ones who have the means probably already have solid coaches. If he actually had legit FBS offers to move up, they'd pay more than we could and it'd be a near no-brainer for him to take it. I honestly doubt it's he had an offer, but ya never know. The fact that he got ninja extended two years without anybody knowing is strange enough already.
Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: ecasadoSBU on November 02, 2018, 10:54:34 pm
I thought his contact went through the end of this season, but really it's through 2022. I thought for some reason his contact expired this season. In that case, I think giving him the extension right now is unnecessary. I get recruiting and blah blah, but this could have waited until the off-season. If we lose out and finish 6-5, we'll all look like fools for doing this.

Whether we go 8-3 or 6-5 we are going to keep Priore anyway. Priore is doing well and has us competing in the CAA at a high level. He provides the stability the program needs in the next few years as we continue to build facilities to support the program.

Title: Re: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc
Post by: Wolffan on November 03, 2018, 05:24:31 am
I thought his contact went through the end of this season, but really it's through 2022. I thought for some reason his contact expired this season. In that case, I think giving him the extension right now is unnecessary. I get recruiting and blah blah, but this could have waited until the off-season. If we lose out and finish 6-5, we'll all look like fools for doing this.

Whether we go 8-3 or 6-5 we are going to keep Priore anyway. Priore is doing well and has us competing in the CAA at a high level. He provides the stability the program needs in the next few years as we continue to build facilities to support the program.

Agreed. He helped build our enhanced reputation (athletics and academics) as reflected in various national rankings. FWIW he is just a good quarterback away from an excellent season...but the program he built is having another very good season.