on the attendance issue- we landed at: 40k (8k/game)
9652+5742+6204+12812+5599
(always have to disclaim counting tickets, free tickets, the gate, etc.)
while solid, i think most would want it improved. given that JMU (homecoming) was 13k, leaving us at 6750/game (roughly half full).
i propose an experiment- give away all the tickets for free and see how many students show up.
whoops.
They can try giving away all the tickets they want, but at this point the brand of football is holding SBU back more than anything. Back in the Big South days when we had Maysonett, Essington, etc. our offense put up way more points and was exciting to watch as Kyle could make all the throws and we had a clear talent advantage over the rest of that conference. These days? It's run up the middle three times and then punt against much more formidable competition in the CAA.
Fields brings a dual threat element to this offense finally, but that's still not enough when Coach still runs it up the middle every play. We need somebody who can run the air raid offense and develop a quarterback. This is the system you see at Oklahoma, Washington State, SMU, and other places.
One thing I will agree with Campi on is who that person is. You'd probably have to manage to pull away one of the low level assistant coaches at one of the P5 schools mentioned which is a tall order. SBU is a tier 1 academic university and is right up there with the Big Ten schools academically though, so while it wouldn't be easy, it's certainly not impossible for us to get a guy like that.