USD lost to Harvard @ Harvard yesterday afternoon 28-13. It was a competitive game for 3 quarters and then Harvard asserted themselves -- USD just couldn't match their resolve. The USD QB was the better one on the field, but wound up getting pretty beat up by the end of the game. The USD DL is GOOD and made life miserable for the Harvard QB and running backs for 3 quarters -- but it was clear in Q4 that they had been on the field too many plays. USD also didn't help themselves with two personal fouls in one Harvard scoring drive. This will be another beatdown for Valpo as I am concerned that the Valpo defense will be on the field way too long.
Butler was down 0-14 at the end of Q1 and although they had some good plays, they were outmatched by a much more athletic Big Green. For Butler their QB is both the passing leader and one of the top two rushers. He's pretty good. I'll have more observations in a pre-Butler game post.
Other PFL vs. Ivy League scores:
Marist 9 - Columbia 10
Butler 7 - Dartmouth 35
It must be noted that in all these games the PFL team had two games under their belt while the Ivy teams were opening up their season and, at least for Harvard and Dartmouth, it took a half for them to realize that the season had begun. Two games from now both will be much more formidable. Can't comment on Columbia, but I know that they are usually in the bottom half of the league and have a new coach this year.
Generally it was a bad week win-wise for the PFL, but across the board, with the exception of JU, it was a real upgrade in terms of competition:
Morehead 23 - St. Francis (PA) [NEC] 57
Dayton 20 - Robert Morris [NEC] 14
Drake 10 - #22 Indiana State [MVFC] 27
Campbell 14 - #4/#6 ODU [CAA] 70
Jacksonville 33 - Webber International [NAIA] 10
Davidson 0 BYE 0
We play at San Diego this week, then two weeks to prepare for Butler at home. Both our offense and defense need to step up on third downs for us to be competitive. I don't see a win this week, but if we play like the first quarter last week, anything can happen.
Valpo - 17
USD - 35
Valpo - 17
USD - 35
After seeing the USD-Harvard game in person, I think that's a reasonable projection.
The USD resume so far:
USD 14 - Cal Poly (Big Sky) 41
USD 34 - Western NM (D-II) 27 (in last minute -- they could've been 0-3)
USD 13 - Harvard (Ivy) 28
However, they are vulnerable on D (heck they've given up 96 points in 3 games), yet that front 4 is really good. Their O is pretty good but they allowed a lot of QB pressure.
Despite losing ugly to Duquesne, interviews and quotes coming out of the Valpo locker room seem quite confident ("we can play with anyone in the PFL" kinds of things). They can, they just have to believe what they're saying, and, more importantly, believe it for a 60 minute ball game.
Here's an aside from watching USD and Butler go against Ivy teams this past weekend. In both cases, once Harvard and Dartmouth woke up and started playing tough, you could actually see both USD and Butler lose their edge and become deflated. Neither gave up, but there was timidity that wasn't there early on -- much the same way that Valpo implodes. So now, in PFL play, it'll come down to who believes in themselves the most for the longest part of the game. Good teams not only don't give up (haven't heard from anyone that VU gave up in any game so far), they rise up.
The team has a long way to go. This week's Sagarin ratings have have Valpo ranked # 246 - DEAD LAST! One hopeful sign is that Davidson is ranked at # 245. Should be a good game when we play them for the Tiolet Bowl Championship. :'(
Sports Network Weekly rankings of FCS teams of note because they are on PFL schedules:
Montana State #2
YSU #3
ODU #5
Goergia Southern #11
Illinois State #15
Eastern KY #21
Indiana State #22
Cal Poly RV (288)
Harvard RV (174)
U of North Dakota RV (76)
Jacksonville U RV (3) (JU lost 0-58 to GA Southern and beat a winless Charleston Southern (15 game losing streak) and a NAIA team)
Western Ill RV (1)
USD and Drake, the two PFL preseason leaders, have gotten clocked by FCS scholarship programs and both carry a 1-2 record going into conference play.
USD 38
Valpo 21
Quote from: VULB#62 on September 16, 2012, 05:07:52 PM
Valpo - 17
USD - 35
After seeing the USD-Harvard game in person, I think that's a reasonable projection.
The USD resume so far:
USD 14 - Cal Poly (Big Sky) 41
USD 34 - Western NM (D-II) 27 (in last minute -- they could've been 0-3)
USD 13 - Harvard (Ivy) 28
However, they are vulnerable on D (heck they've given up 96 points in 3 games), yet that front 4 is really good. Their O is pretty good but they allowed a lot of QB pressure.
Despite losing ugly to Duquesne, interviews and quotes coming out of the Valpo locker room seem quite confident ("we can play with anyone in the PFL" kinds of things). They can, they just have to believe what they're saying, and, more importantly, believe it for a 60 minute ball game.
Here's an aside from watching USD and Butler go against Ivy teams this past weekend. In both cases, once Harvard and Dartmouth woke up and started playing tough, you could actually see both USD and Butler lose their edge and become deflated. Neither gave up, but there was timidity that wasn't there early on -- much the same way that Valpo implodes. So now, in PFL play, it'll come down to who believes in themselves the most for the longest part of the game. Good teams not only don't give up (haven't heard from anyone that VU gave up in any game so far), they rise up.
My predictions tend to be more hope - hope that if VU plays a good game on both sides that we can keep it to 35-17.
USD 41
Valpo 7
If the Crusaders consume more protein through fish tacos in San Diego, they could add another score.
Valpo 10 (all scored in the last minute of the 1st quarter and the first 3 minutes of the 2nd quarter)
San Diego 57
I'll say 48-7 only because Valpo will be in field goal range late, and choose to go for it rather than kick the field goal.
USD 31
Valpo 13
BLMVU97 - Brian is your dad Dale, out of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma?
My hope is that Valpo can put together a complete game against San Diego. We have seen some pretty good play for potions of games but we don't sustain it. I believe it comes down to our youth. Duquense and Youngstown had 15 junior and senior starters San Diego has 17, we have eight. I don't think the job Coach Carlson and his staff are doing can be truly evaluated until we get to upperclassmen being the majority of our starters like these other programs. I look at it like a high school varsity team playing a sophomore team, what do you think is going to happen. I know they are working hard and better days are ahead of us.
My question is sustainability. Will the current freshmen and sophomores stay around for the long haul? Or will they bag it and focus on their degree at Valpo or somewhere else?
Quote from: usc4valpo on September 21, 2012, 02:02:02 PM
My question is sustainability. Will the current freshmen and sophomores stay around for the long haul? Or will they bag it and focus on their degree at Valpo or somewhere else?
Part of sustainability is something for players to look forward to and knowing you're a part of something bigger. Hopefully, buried in the recently released 20 Year Master Plan are specific elements and a time table for development and support of football operations and facilities (Yeah, I know -- there he goes again). Giving the youngsters something to anticipate, even in the next two years (for instance, track installation and grandstand/press box expansion???), might be helpful, and it will be an enticement recruiting-wise for the coaching staff to be able to point to specific Master Plan items that future players will experience in their time on campus. Of course, winning some games is really the best way to sustain program growth and player retention.
Here's hoping VU gives USD a tough game and keeps the score respectable.
The master plan was rather fluffy. How this will enhance football is beyond me.
Quote from: usc4valpo on September 21, 2012, 08:33:03 PM
The master plan was rather fluffy. How this will enhance football is beyond me.
Until details and a schedule are described and released, to a certain extent I gotta wonder as well. My previous post was based more on hope than fact. A track and enhanced stands and press box to complete a true college stadium environment scheduled for 2017 isn't going to help the program. If it is planned to be in place by 2014 it could.
I've got to believe that ARC expansion is very high on the to-do list. From another facilities perspective, it might be nice if football operations could be moved into the ARC expansion in that same time frame instead. But IMO football has to be in the facilities mix in the next two years to have an impact My problem with the process is that I still don't understand whether the Valpo development philosophy is (a) winning will bring us upgrades or (b) upgrades will help bring us winning. I am partial to the up-front investment approach. It removes excuses.
I certainly like the two diagrams that have been made public so far. The campus of the future looks great. But if they're all that's the product of two years of effort..........
I agree with your comments - very well said. I think cleaning up the ARC and expanding it is a great idea for many reasons. Regarding football, Ithink they need to take a systematic, holistic view and see where this fits in the the school goals. Having a football program for the sake of saying you have a football program will not lead to success - where does this fit with the school vision?
Perfect question to ask. By the way San Diego beating Valpo 37-0 at the half. It looks like we have about 30 yards in net offense.
Everyone seemed to rip Tom Horne 8-10 years ago. But the guy did win titles in 2000 and 2004 if I recall....maybe wrong years. And we actually beat San Diego a couple of times in those years.
Here's where the university element comes in. My understanding is this. When Valpo won the north division and hosted Morehead State in a title game the players were not allowed to stay in their dorms on the Friday night because Spring Break had started. Now there's a way to build football alumni loyalty!!.
Quote from: crusadermoe on September 22, 2012, 04:20:45 PMBy the way San Diego beating Valpo 37-0 at the half.When Valpo won the north division and hosted Morehead State in a title game the players were not allowed to stay in their dorms on the Friday night because Spring Break had started.
Ouch, just tuned into the score.
Probably not Spring Break, but agree that VU wanted students out of dorms for long breaks - probably Thanksgiving Break. You'd think they could let them stay one more night, and be out by Saturday evening.
Quote from: crusadermoe on September 22, 2012, 04:20:45 PM
Everyone seemed to rip Tom Horne 8-10 years ago. But the guy did win titles in 2000 and 2004 if I recall....maybe wrong years. And we actually beat San Diego a couple of times in those years.
Arghhhhhh! I watched the entire game on the USD internet hook-up. 14-51. Enough dumb (but aggressive, I must admit) errors to seal the coffin very early. Basic, fundamental football ------- not. I have to believe that all the kids on the field are fairly comparable (height, weight, speed). What's causing these implosions? I checked Wofford out for grins. 1536 students and only 736 males on campus. They are #7 FCS at 3-0 and their stadium averages 10K per game. They are scholarship FCS, but they are 1/2 the size of Valpo. They have great baseball and could probably hang with us in mens basketball for 3/4ers of a game. The point I'm trying to make is that this little school has a very high profile due to athletics that boosts the entire university's profile nationally. For them it's FB, but their other sports are extremely competitive (see ESPN crawler in the Winter -- they're there maybe because they are competitive in the Fall). Valpo has most of it's eggs in the basketball basket, but as most of us agree, without a dance bid, regular season titles are not enough to put VU in the limelight. So, in the Fall, when peoples' attention swing to college athletics, VU as a D-I program, needs to project a competitive profile in the national media.
BTW, I hate the current no-huddle, spread 'em out, empty backfield offenses that all the copy-cat college programs are running these days.
But, then, I am dating myself. :rant:
What kind of unwritten rules are there in football? I grew up with baseball as my primary sport and those debates are interesting to talk about...
I ask that question to ask this one: at what score or in what scenarios do you "call off the dogs?" I didn't follow the game actively because I was at another event, but I saw in the box score that San Diego had a late 2nd quarter drive, seemed to run a 2-minute offense, stopped the clock with a late timeout to get a field goal in before halftime to make it 37-0. Obviously from our perspective, it'd be easy to say that the game was already over by then. I'm sure this situation isn't even close to the magnitude of Jacksonville doing it during its blowout 2 years ago, but the small similarities to that incident came to my mind when I saw the final.
The Valpo-Morehead State game was on the Saturday after the Purdue game, prior to the start of Thanksgiving Break. I remember this game because we had Jerry Glanville and DeMarco Farr calling the action on television. I don't know what is the tough sell about being a part of something new in Valpo football, but whatever Coach Carlson is trying to sell, it seems NO ONE is willing to really buy into it completely. Why is this?
Well, the good news is that Valpo won't get spanked again this weekend. I saw Carlson's comments about how the defense should have had 5 sacks instead of zero. He is starting to sould like Wannstadt when he was coaching the Bears - and beleive me, that is not a good sign.
I hope the team enjoyed some good fish tacos before they flew back...
Let's be realistic here - is there progress being made?
Quote from: KL31NY on September 22, 2012, 11:14:28 PM
What kind of unwritten rules are there in football? I grew up with baseball as my primary sport and those debates are interesting to talk about...
I ask that question to ask this one: at what score or in what scenarios do you "call off the dogs?" I didn't follow the game actively because I was at another event, but I saw in the box score that San Diego had a late 2nd quarter drive, seemed to run a 2-minute offense, stopped the clock with a late timeout to get a field goal in before halftime to make it 37-0. Obviously from our perspective, it'd be easy to say that the game was already over by then. I'm sure this situation isn't even close to the magnitude of Jacksonville doing it during its blowout 2 years ago, but the small similarities to that incident came to my mind when I saw the final.
In football I think the first half is fair game. The coach of the better team is still trying to coach skills and play execution. For the Valpo USD game, both teams should be evenly matched - no scholarships, same opportunities for recruiting and coaching, etc. I remember when Notre Dame played SMU just after SMU came off the "death penalty". SMU was undermanned, did not have full complement of scholarships, no team the previous year, etc. In that case calling off the dogs might be a little different. Even in the the Valpo-USD game, if USD puts in second and third teamers, each of them should play their hardest, and if they still score, it is on Valpo not USD. Even a second or third team QB should get a chance for a few passes, but not downfield. However, if the QB and recievers are well coached, and the defense makes mistakes and the receivers and QB react properly, it will look as though the team is running up the score, when actually they are more prepared and reacted as they were coached. Hopefully, we'll be in that position one day.
To the question of whether we are seeing progress:
If you trust the comparisons of this year vs. last year in St Joe and Duchesne games, you can argue there is progress.
Unfortunately, if we don't show solid progress in Pioneer results, I think we will all be deflated. San Diego seems an equal result.
Quote from: covufan on September 24, 2012, 11:01:39 AMQuote from: KL31NY on September 22, 2012, 11:14:28 PMWhat kind of unwritten rules are there in football? I grew up with baseball as my primary sport and those debates are interesting to talk about... I ask that question to ask this one: at what score or in what scenarios do you "call off the dogs?" I didn't follow the game actively because I was at another event, but I saw in the box score that San Diego had a late 2nd quarter drive, seemed to run a 2-minute offense, stopped the clock with a late timeout to get a field goal in before halftime to make it 37-0. Obviously from our perspective, it'd be easy to say that the game was already over by then. I'm sure this situation isn't even close to the magnitude of Jacksonville doing it during its blowout 2 years ago, but the small similarities to that incident came to my mind when I saw the final.
In football I think the first half is fair game. The coach of the better team is still trying to coach skills and play execution. For the Valpo USD game, both teams should be evenly matched - no scholarships, same opportunities for recruiting and coaching, etc. I remember when Notre Dame played SMU just after SMU came off the "death penalty". SMU was undermanned, did not have full complement of scholarships, no team the previous year, etc. In that case calling off the dogs might be a little different. Even in the the Valpo-USD game, if USD puts in second and third teamers, each of them should play their hardest, and if they still score, it is on Valpo not USD. Even a second or third team QB should get a chance for a few passes, but not downfield. However, if the QB and recievers are well coached, and the defense makes mistakes and the receivers and QB react properly, it will look as though the team is running up the score, when actually they are more prepared and reacted as they were coached. Hopefully, we'll be in that position one day.
The best thing you can do in these situations is not allow yourself to get behind like 34-0 in the first place. Perhaps they were getting practice for their kicker - who knows. But the problem is why these guys keep getting hammered.
Quote from: VULB#62 on September 22, 2012, 06:18:09 PM
Quote from: crusadermoe on September 22, 2012, 04:20:45 PM
Everyone seemed to rip Tom Horne 8-10 years ago. But the guy did win titles in 2000 and 2004 if I recall....maybe wrong years. And we actually beat San Diego a couple of times in those years.
Arghhhhhh! I watched the entire game on the USD internet hook-up. 14-51. Enough dumb (but aggressive, I must admit) errors to seal the coffin very early. Basic, fundamental football ------- not. I have to believe that all the kids on the field are fairly comparable (height, weight, speed). What's causing these implosions? I checked Wofford out for grins. 1536 students and only 736 males on campus. They are #7 FCS at 3-0 and their stadium averages 10K per game. They are scholarship FCS, but they are 1/2 the size of Valpo. They have great baseball and could probably hang with us in mens basketball for 3/4ers of a game. The point I'm trying to make is that this little school has a very high profile due to athletics that boosts the entire university's profile nationally. For them it's FB, but their other sports are extremely competitive (see ESPN crawler in the Winter -- they're there maybe because they are competitive in the Fall). Valpo has most of it's eggs in the basketball basket, but as most of us agree, without a dance bid, regular season titles are not enough to put VU in the limelight. So, in the Fall, when peoples' attention swing to college athletics, VU as a D-I program, needs to project a competitive profile in the national media.
BTW, I hate the current no-huddle, spread 'em out, empty backfield offenses that all the copy-cat college programs are running these days.
But, then, I am dating myself. :rant:
I agree with you VULB#62! I'm not a fan of the spread offense either, unless you can have some sort of balance between the run and the pass. We had 34 yards rushing against USD. Valpo needs to improve that if they even want to come close to sniffing a victory this year.
FCS "non scholarship" survival / 101...first you Recruit and then you Retain! There are a lot of things VU Football can do to recruit solid recruits...first is Upgrade the locker room...as a parent that took many Official and Un-Official visits VU locker room does not come close to competing. Get rid of the over painted conventional lockers an install "cubbies" like every other football teams (Pro and College)...real cheap upgrade, but important to the players! May have staff take trip to other team facilities (BCS) and get some cheap inexpensive ideas...
Quote from: Coach DJ on October 03, 2012, 09:12:52 AM
FCS "non scholarship" survival / 101...first you Recruit and then you Retain! There are a lot of things VU Football can do to recruit solid recruits...first is Upgrade the locker room...as a parent that took many Official and Un-Official visits VU locker room does not come close to competing. Get rid of the over painted conventional lockers an install "cubbies" like every other football teams (Pro and College)...real cheap upgrade, but important to the players! May have staff take trip to other team facilities (BCS) and get some cheap inexpensive ideas...
Welcome aboard CoachDJ. Can't agree more. Not having seen the locker facilities (I'm in New England and well past taking a kid on a recruiting trip), I've got to agree that anything that improves the football environment, regardless how simple, needs to be done. If you have the time to go back in various strings regarding FB and you'll see recurrent themes among the posters regarding recruiting and retention as well as facilities. You'll also see my posts on facilities (I am kind of a one-trick pony in that regard) wherever I can justify them. IMO kids and parents look for
visible signs of program commitment in selecting a college where their son would play football. Some might disagree, but aside from the academics (which Valpo certainly provides) what besides facilities and winning attract recruits? And to win, the recruit and retain component is paramount. So we are back to facilities and I am a believer in the "if you build it, they will come" approach to program development.
Quote from: Coach DJ on October 03, 2012, 09:12:52 AM
FCS "non scholarship" survival / 101...first you Recruit and then you Retain! There are a lot of things VU Football can do to recruit solid recruits...first is Upgrade the locker room...as a parent that took many Official and Un-Official visits VU locker room does not come close to competing. Get rid of the over painted conventional lockers an install "cubbies" like every other football teams (Pro and College)...real cheap upgrade, but important to the players! May have staff take trip to other team facilities (BCS) and get some cheap inexpensive ideas...
I think this is over the top for Valpo, who clearly doesn't place the same priority on football as YSU, but it illustrates what you are talking about.
http://www.ysusports.com/sports/fball/2011-12/files/locker-room (http://www.ysusports.com/sports/fball/2011-12/files/locker-room)
Even we had 'cubbies' for our baseball lockers in the clubhouse my last few years of ball at Valpo. Definitely much better than the old-school looking ones the football program still has
Quote from: VULB#62 on October 03, 2012, 10:40:11 AM
Quote from: Coach DJ on October 03, 2012, 09:12:52 AM
FCS "non scholarship" survival / 101...first you Recruit and then you Retain! There are a lot of things VU Football can do to recruit solid recruits...first is Upgrade the locker room...as a parent that took many Official and Un-Official visits VU locker room does not come close to competing. Get rid of the over painted conventional lockers an install "cubbies" like every other football teams (Pro and College)...real cheap upgrade, but important to the players! May have staff take trip to other team facilities (BCS) and get some cheap inexpensive ideas...
Welcome aboard CoachDJ. Can't agree more. Not having seen the locker facilities (I'm in New England and well past taking a kid on a recruiting trip), I've got to agree that anything that improves the football environment, regardless how simple, needs to be done. If you have the time to go back in various strings regarding FB and you'll see recurrent themes among the posters regarding recruiting and retention as well as facilities. You'll also see my posts on facilities (I am kind of a one-trick pony in that regard) wherever I can justify them. IMO kids and parents look for visible signs of program commitment in selecting a college where their son would play football. Some might disagree, but aside from the academics (which Valpo certainly provides) what besides facilities and winning attract recruits? And to win, the recruit and retain component is paramount. So we are back to facilities and I am a believer in the "if you build it, they will come" approach to program development.
I am right there with you! Build something better than they have now. Heck, some of the Duneland teams have better facilities than Valpo U. Merrillville comes to mind, as does Michigan City. Actually, if Valpo wants a blueprint...go to City. It's not expensive to recreate that, and it would certainly help create a "college" atmosphere. Yes, their stadium is small, but it's a brick and mortar facility and would be a nice compliment to the campus.
Quote from: milanmiracle on October 03, 2012, 12:33:00 PM
Quote from: Coach DJ on October 03, 2012, 09:12:52 AM
FCS "non scholarship" survival / 101...first you Recruit and then you Retain! There are a lot of things VU Football can do to recruit solid recruits...first is Upgrade the locker room...as a parent that took many Official and Un-Official visits VU locker room does not come close to competing. Get rid of the over painted conventional lockers an install "cubbies" like every other football teams (Pro and College)...real cheap upgrade, but important to the players! May have staff take trip to other team facilities (BCS) and get some cheap inexpensive ideas...
I think this is over the top for Valpo, who clearly doesn't place the same priority on football as YSU, but it illustrates what you are talking about.
http://www.ysusports.com/sports/fball/2011-12/files/locker-room (http://www.ysusports.com/sports/fball/2011-12/files/locker-room)
Hmmmmm, looks a lot like the walk-in closet in my master bedroom except the colors are brown and gold :rotfl:
I am afraid to ask...but what do the facilities and locker room look like? Is it that behind other schools in the Pioneer?
Also, if they are that bad, why does Valpo even try to have football? Where is the committment? It sounds like the university provides football just to say they have football.
USC4valpo: CoachDJ noted they were the old fashion steel ones (probably 12"-16" wide and 6' tall?) that have been painted over several times. Other than that, I have no additional information. I'd like to see the team facilities myself if/when I get on campus again so I can make a better assessment. I can refer you to Campbell's new field house and stadium and their current campaign to further expand it as well as the new football complex being built at Mercer for starters:
http://issuu.com/campbelluniversity/docs/football-campaign?mode=embed&documentId=081009180153-c020d9b6ec8b4491b3f104011d38608a&layout=grey (http://issuu.com/campbelluniversity/docs/football-campaign?mode=embed&documentId=081009180153-c020d9b6ec8b4491b3f104011d38608a&layout=grey)
http://www.mercer.edu/football/renderings/ (http://www.mercer.edu/football/renderings/)
How do we help correct the situation? Obviously we help by donating. But part of the donation problem is that we are asked to give to athletic accounts without seeing where the money is going. Kinda like dropping money down a dark well. Coach Carlson has sent out an appeal for donations for two specific items: funding of two additional intern coaching positions and money to support recruiting (expenses for both coaches ' and recruits' travel). That's important, but there is more to be done as witnessed by CoachDJ's post regarding, "hey, once they get on campus (either as a recruit or a player) what can we show them to cement the deal, show commitment and retain them as players?" He is right. How much would it cost to totally upgrade the football locker room? $50,000? OK, let's put out an appeal to all football alums to "buy a locker." Each locker will have a small plaque somewhere recognizing the alum and the years he played at Valpo. Besides renovating the locker room, it would do two things: it would 1) link the current program to tradition and honor the VU football past and 2) it would tie football alums tangibly to the program today. Need more weights for training, a "buy a dumbell" campaign seems in order. You get my point. I'd give $XXX.00 or $XXXX.00 dollars if I knew exactly what it is buying. I'm sure a lot of you would too.
If I remember correctly, there are ways that you can donate to Valpo Athletics to a specific program, even if it goes to that program's general fund. It is still money that goes to that sport's needs. I bet if you e-mailed or called Coach Carlson, he'd be welcome to doing a specific donation project like the locker room upgrade idea proposed. I think most coaches would rather have the one-on-one donation interaction with the donor this way, than just having the AD's secretary come to their office with a check from a donor, or recognition of a check received, so the coach knows how much money is now in their account/budget.
Gotta propose that (or something like it) to Coach C.
Sorry, but if the university has to depend on alumni funds to raise an extra $50K for a decent locker room, we have problems keeping a Div 1 team.
Quote from: usc4valpo on October 05, 2012, 09:35:03 PM
Sorry, but if the university has to depend on alumni funds to raise an extra $50K for a decent locker room, we have problems keeping a Div 1 team.
Yep, gotta agree with you on that one. When you're not offering scholarships you should be able to afford a decent locker room and equipment. I was pretty annoyed when somebody said Valpo had to take the YSU beating so the players didnt have to buy their own shoes and gloves. If you're going to have a D1 team, even non scholarship, you should at least pretend you are a D1 program.
Here's pictures of the Football locker Room...
What?.....no medicine balls and everything dusty with talcum powder?
This looks palatial vs. my day at VU. Did anyone ever go into the "swiming locker room" lockers on way to the pool inside the ARC? It was right out of the late 40s and 50s.
Quote from: crusadermoe on October 09, 2012, 02:13:56 PM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was right out of the late 40s and 50s.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I can attest to the fact the swimming pool lockers have been there since the 60's or earlier.
Quote from: Coach DJ on October 09, 2012, 01:40:06 PM
Here's pictures of the Football locker Room...
While not on a par with YSU, at least it's clean and well lit. But the aisles are crowded and lockers are narrow (more like a typical HS phys ed locker room) and COACHDJ is comparing VU's to locker rooms visited at other D-I/II schools.
Just for grins I Goggled locker prices. The wood cubbies like the ones at YSU run about $1100 a piece. A more rudimentary metal units of approximately the same size goes for around $370. VU's roster has 95 players -- that's $105K for wood material alone or $35K for metal. The other thing you need, of course, is the available space.
Quote from: milanmiracle on October 03, 2012, 12:51:34 PM
Quote from: VULB#62 on October 03, 2012, 10:40:11 AM
Quote from: Coach DJ on October 03, 2012, 09:12:52 AM
FCS "non scholarship" survival / 101...first you Recruit and then you Retain! There are a lot of things VU Football can do to recruit solid recruits...first is Upgrade the locker room...as a parent that took many Official and Un-Official visits VU locker room does not come close to competing. Get rid of the over painted conventional lockers an install "cubbies" like every other football teams (Pro and College)...real cheap upgrade, but important to the players! May have staff take trip to other team facilities (BCS) and get some cheap inexpensive ideas...
Welcome aboard CoachDJ. Can't agree more. Not having seen the locker facilities (I'm in New England and well past taking a kid on a recruiting trip), I've got to agree that anything that improves the football environment, regardless how simple, needs to be done. If you have the time to go back in various strings regarding FB and you'll see recurrent themes among the posters regarding recruiting and retention as well as facilities. You'll also see my posts on facilities (I am kind of a one-trick pony in that regard) wherever I can justify them. IMO kids and parents look for visible signs of program commitment in selecting a college where their son would play football. Some might disagree, but aside from the academics (which Valpo certainly provides) what besides facilities and winning attract recruits? And to win, the recruit and retain component is paramount. So we are back to facilities and I am a believer in the "if you build it, they will come" approach to program development.
I am right there with you! Build something better than they have now. Heck, some of the Duneland teams have better facilities than Valpo U. Merrillville comes to mind, as does Michigan City. Actually, if Valpo wants a blueprint...go to City. It's not expensive to recreate that, and it would certainly help create a "college" atmosphere. Yes, their stadium is small, but it's a brick and mortar facility and would be a nice compliment to the campus.
Here is an article that will stun some folks, "High School To Open $60 million Stadium": "Call it the palace of high school football: A gleaming $60 million facility with seats for 18,000 roaring fans, a 38-foot-wide high-definition video screen, corporate sponsors and a towering upper deck."
"Chris Wallace, whose oldest son is a senior quarterback, said she had to reassure him when they visited smaller colleges over the summer with older facilities."
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/highschool/08/30/allen-high-football-stadium.ap/index.html#ixzz28sM1NqkB (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/highschool/08/30/allen-high-football-stadium.ap/index.html#ixzz28sM1NqkB)
That is pretty much the norm around here ;). You have a lot of ridiculous football stadiums in DFW
Quote from: valpotx on October 10, 2012, 03:50:23 AM
That is pretty much the norm around here ;). You have a lot of ridiculous football stadiums in DFW
yep, and a lot of those teams could probably beat us, on top of having nicer facilities.
Haha, yes, a lot of them would put up fairly similar scores to what we have seen the last few years. I believe my alma mater has averaged 8+ D-1 scholarship players each year since I graduated, with many other players continuing into college as well. Our QB this year is very highly rated and supposed to be better than Christian Ponder was at my school, but signed with Oklahoma....boooo