LOOKS LIKE URI GETS IT

[hoyaparents]

Everyone should read the article on URI, and their public commitment to rebuilding the football program.

It's time for GU President to make a statement.

[theexorcist]

Could you possibly provide a link? I'd be interested in reading what plan a 1-10 team that lost to a school that's about to disband its football team has to set the world on fire.

EDIT - Thank you!

www.hoyasaxa.com/sports/football.htm

[HoyaNyr320]

If the Northeastern thread was deemed "irrelevent" to Georgetown football, this should be moved to Pro & College Sports too. The reactions by Northeastern and URI are both interesting when thinking about our team's situation.

[hoyaparents]

exorcist, see Monday Update, bottom of article, Rhode Island link is there.

[hoyaparents]

hoyanyr320, absolutely relevant to GU. Two programs, going in totally opposite directions.

Time for GU to make up their mind; check, (the status quo) raise, go all in, or fold.

I'm a gambler, lets play.

[DFW HOYA]

Well, I won't gamble on issues like this and these are not two programs going in different directions.

URI is a state funded institution that has swung two and fro for years on athletics. PC passed them by in the 1960's on basketball and they got caught napping when football's quiet Yankee Conference morphed into the big-time CAA and they're not a good fit amidst teams like Georgia State, James Madison, and Old Dominion. But they don't fit inside the PL or the NEC, so their options are limited.

By contrast, Georgetown's philosophy has stayed remarkably consistent over the years and remains in a upward direction within the Ivy model, which is why the kids (minus Brady) stay focused and generally positive about their experience.

When it comes to Georgetown, I never mistake quiet for inaction. Yes, there's always institutional inertia to fight through, but progress continues.

[98hoya]

I think DFW is right on the hoyasaxa page when he indicates that the thing that kills programs isn't losses, it's apathy. If we can somehow make people interested in the program, it'll solve lots of problems. I think that welcoming tailgating will help.

Having been to NU games, I can say that their facility was probably - believe it or not - worse than ours. It was bigger, but basically just metal bleachers. The worst part about it is that it was pretty far from campus and there was no easy way to get there.

DFW, could you comment specifically on the progress you see happening? You've made a couple of references ("change is coming" last week), but these statements have been pretty opaque. Are you at liberty to say what's happening if you know?

[hoyaparents]

DFW HOYA, change is coming? Can you be more specific?

[FLHoya]

Nov 23, 2009 11:38:12 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

When it comes to Georgetown, I never mistake quiet for inaction. Yes, there's always institutional inertia to fight through, but progress continues.

Then why in the world does Georgetown seem so reluctant to talk about it to their alumni and fans?

The one thing the URI and Northeastern stories have in common: somebody actually released a statement or talked to the press.

Any kind of communication--a website, a newsletter, an email, a statement from someone in McDonough, a blog (seems to be about a bajillion of those sprouting up in McD lately)--anything would do wonders for the (extremely) small but loyal GU football fan community, and may well draw people in.

On the Sports board, we're making fun of GW for putting up the beatgeorgemason.com website (it's actually a splash intro page for their athletics website), but lemme tell you...it's paid huuuuuuuuuuge dividends.

GW basketball fans as a whole were a pretty disgruntled lot over the past two seasons. On the court performance went way down, there were major questions about coaching and recruiting, the facility was pretty dumpy, and the Athletic Dept didn't seemed to give it a crap and were sometimes borderline hostile to fans.

But all of a sudden in the offseason, it seemed like a light switch went on in Foggy Bottom. The Athl Dept started communicating with fans--heck, one rep even responded once or twice to fan concerns on their fan message board. They renovated the Smith Center and the big donor areas, along the way offering updates and events at the under construction place. Karl Hobbs kinda sorta maybe indicated in the media he knew he'd been kind of a dolt the past few years.

And for all that, strangely, the thing that got everyone the most excited was that stupid website. My thought is that it's because unlike facilities/coaching/basic PR which are "need to haves" the website and promotion for the GMU were "nice to haves" which are a clear signal somebody actually cares about making the program successful and accessible and is willing to go the extra mile.

So please don't take offense to this DFW, but 99 percent of the time when it comes to GU football I do assume quiet to be inaction. And yes, it's absolutely on them to address that problem of perception...or reality.

[gwhiz]

Nov 23, 2009 11:38:12 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

Well, I won't gamble on issues like this and these are not two programs going in different directions.

URI is a state funded institution that has swung two and fro for years on athletics. PC passed them by in the 1960's on basketball and they got caught napping when football's quiet Yankee Conference morphed into the big-time CAA and they're not a good fit amidst teams like Georgia State, James Madison, and Old Dominion. But they don't fit inside the PL or the NEC, so their options are limited.

By contrast, Georgetown's philosophy has stayed remarkably consistent over the years and remains in a upward direction within the Ivy model, which is why the kids (minus Brady) stay focused and generally positive about their experience.

When it comes to Georgetown, I never mistake quiet for inaction. Yes, there's always institutional inertia to fight through, but progress continues.

If you think commitment to the cellar of the PL is admirable, then you need to put away the pipe. The player feedback is less than positive this season, as it was was last year. Who are you talking to?

[98hoya]

Nov 23, 2009 17:34:32 GMT -5 FLHoya said:

Nov 23, 2009 11:38:12 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

When it comes to Georgetown, I never mistake quiet for inaction. Yes, there's always institutional inertia to fight through, but progress continues.

Then why in the world does Georgetown seem so reluctant to talk about it to their alumni and fans?

The one thing the URI and Northeastern stories have in common: somebody actually released a statement or talked to the press.

Any kind of communication--a website, a newsletter, an email, a statement from someone in McDonough, a blog (seems to be about a bajillion of those sprouting up in McD lately)--anything would do wonders for the (extremely) small but loyal GU football fan community, and may well draw people in.

On the Sports board, we're making fun of GW for putting up the beatgeorgemason.com website (it's actually a splash intro page for their athletics website), but lemme tell you...it's paid huuuuuuuuuuge dividends.

GW basketball fans as a whole were a pretty disgruntled lot over the past two seasons. On the court performance went way down, there were major questions about coaching and recruiting, the facility was pretty dumpy, and the Athletic Dept didn't seemed to give it a crap and were sometimes borderline hostile to fans.

But all of a sudden in the offseason, it seemed like a light switch went on in Foggy Bottom. The Athl Dept started communicating with fans--heck, one rep even responded once or twice to fan concerns on their fan message board. They renovated the Smith Center and the big donor areas, along the way offering updates and events at the under construction place. Karl Hobbs kinda sorta maybe indicated in the media he knew he'd been kind of a dolt the past few years.

And for all that, strangely, the thing that got everyone the most excited was that stupid website. My thought is that it's because unlike facilities/coaching/basic PR which are "need to haves" the website and promotion for the GMU were "nice to haves" which are a clear signal somebody actually cares about making the program successful and accessible and is willing to go the extra mile.

So please don't take offense to this DFW, but 99 percent of the time when it comes to GU football I do assume quiet to be inaction. And yes, it's absolutely on them to address that problem of perception...or reality.

I think FLHoya has it right. With some things, I'm willing to accept that silence doesn't equate to inaction...but for a program where we can't get a working scoreboard (that thing had to be under warranty, right?) and the last meaningful communication was a NY Times article 2 years ago that turned out to be a pack of lies, well, it sort of supports the idea that the administration/emperor wears no clothes.