DeGioia: Reaffirming Support

[DFW HOYA]

For those who did not see the story on front page, Jack DeGioia's comments on football bear repeating:

"We have a sense of what it takes to be more competitive. We're just going to stay at it, work hard at it, and try to ensure that we are in a place where we can be more competitive to provide that much better of an experience for our team."

Fans can debate the strategies and tactics needed to accomplish this, but it is always a good sign to hear it from the top. With a jump-start of commitment, this program is a diamond in the rough.

[EasyEd]

Pablum.

[SSHoya]

And a diamond in the rough can be a lump of coal and can take billions of years to form a diamond!

[mercadaj]

It's also nice to find out that we can end our "Shutting down the Program" rumors that we all heard circling during the season. Now we can try and focus on correcting the issues/deficiencies. Also, does anybody know if he spoke of the current A/D position. That affects all sports obviously. Just curious.

[CAHoya07]

Full quote from the front page:

We have built that program over the course of many generations...It was a disappointing season, but we've been at this awhile. We have a sense of what it takes to be more competitive. We're just going to stay at it, work hard at it, and try to ensure that we are in a place where we can be more competitive to provide that much better of an experience for our team.

Isn't one of the definitions of insanity doing the same thing time and time again, but expecting a different result?

I mean, it's nice to reaffirm the commitment to the program, but I don't think "staying at it" is the right answer. Yes, we've been at this awhile, but football was also gone for a while, and hasn't been successful at a high level since the 1940's. I'm not confident that University has that sense anymore to make football more competitive.

We need a new strategy and approach. "Staying at it" has not cut it.

[strummer8526]

Jan 24, 2010 19:15:46 GMT -5 EasyEd said:

Pablum.

It's all Jack is good for. I have never once heard him speak and thought that he was any better than "adequate." He's just 100% purely "adequate." But never anything special at all, ever. He's a painfully uninspiring (and probable uninspired) leader.

[3706R]

Yeah, not exactly a rousing pep talk from President DeGioia. I realize the Football prgram may not be high on his priority list but "staying at it" after comming off of a 0-11 season does not leave a good taste in my mouth. Especially when you consider that this new stadium has been proposed for over a decade and all we have are temporary bleechers. Staying at it? Come on.

DeGioia's statement reminds me of former AD Joe Lang's remarks one year in regards to the basketball team not making the NCAA tourney. Something to the effect of competing for a national championship every year is a unrealistic expectation. In the words of Herm Edwards, "YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME." We should strive to be the best in everything we do and if we come up short of that goal, changes need to be made to ensure that it will never happen again.

I would love to see a greater commitment from the administration to strive towards a more well rounded athletic program. We should be able to compete in the Partirot League year in and year out. The football team's recrutiing credibility has been severly hurt by retaining a coach who has not put up numbers and having a lack of facilities. Academics and our location in a major metropolitan city should get stud players on our campus alone. Would you rather go to school in Washington, D.C. or Hamilton, NY or Lewisburg, PA. When I was getting recruited, I went on a trip to Colgate and one of the highlights of the campus tour was that the town of Hamilton has only one traffic light, and we actually got to see it in person. I went to Georgetown and saw the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the U.S. Capitol building, etc. Let's wake up people, staying at it is not going to cut it.

[mercadaj]

I had a question concerning funding. I was reading DeGioia's comments and he speaks of the Construciton of the Science Center. It's over-all cost is close to $100 million. Clearly there is $ being spent on campus. My question is, do athletics receive a portion of funding, donations etc, or was the $ for the Science Center or any other projecte donated/allocated to strictly that partiucular project? And if it is school funds, was the Science Center on the list of construction projects before the MSF? Or have we clearly been passed by for other projects?

[theexorcist]

Jan 25, 2010 13:15:22 GMT -5 mercadaj said:

I had a question concerning funding. I was reading DeGioia's comments and he speaks of the Construciton of the Science Center. It's over-all cost is close to $100 million. Clearly there is $ being spent on campus. My question is, do athletics receive a portion of funding, donations etc, or was the $ for the Science Center or any other projecte donated/allocated to strictly that partiucular project? And if it is school funds, was the Science Center on the list of construction projects before the MSF? Or have we clearly been passed by for other projects?

The Science Center jumped to the top of the list due to Georgetown's very real need for science facilities - the last time this was brought up in a facilities discussion re: McDonough, the comments were that W-G was older than McD.

On DeG's comments, I believe that the key point is that he's said that football's safe, at least for another year. The program has bottomed out and keeps digging - as long as this problem exists, I believe that the goal of any football coach, less than bidding for a Patriot League championship or whatever, is to advance the team so it's no longer considered a campuswide embarassment and thus a prime target if the budget axe needs to fall.

[DFW HOYA]

So many of these comments miss the point that Georgetown is not looking to cut sports and that with a measure of support and leadership can be successful. Baseball hasn't had a winning season in 24 years but like football, baseball has a history behind it and a core base of support.

Anyone who remembers the 9-2 seasons in 1998 and 1999 and having the top ranked defense in the nation knows that Georgetown can do better and DeGioia is giving a measure of support to the process in the absence of an athletic director, which cannot be underestimated when it comes to people's frustrations about why things aren't changing/improving more quickly.

[jerseyhoya34]

IIRC, AD Lang's comment was that it was unrealistic to make the tournament every year. He was pilloried for it at the time and had a subsequent interview session with campus newspapers (although the initial comment went to the Washington Post IIRC).

[gwhiz]

Jan 25, 2010 14:03:52 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

So many of these comments miss the point that Georgetown is not looking to cut sports and that with a measure of support and leadership can be successful. Baseball hasn't had a winning season in 24 years but like football, baseball has a history behind it and a core base of support.

Anyone who remembers the 9-2 seasons in 1998 and 1999 and having the top ranked defense in the nation knows that Georgetown can do better and DeGioia is giving a measure of support to the process in the absence of an athletic director, which cannot be underestimated when it comes to people's frustrations about why things aren't changing/improving more quickly.

I agree that support and leadership can make a difference when present. That "reaffirmation" is simply not leadership. It's essentially the least he can say. Leaving a lame duck coach in there for 2011 contradicts this modicum of support, and shows complete disregard for the players and everyone else that has an interest. Call it what is and stop providing cover for this debacle they call a football program. Why don't you get his commitment that he'll attend every home game next season, and stay through 4 quarters.

[rosslynhoya]

Jan 25, 2010 11:48:55 GMT -5 mercadaj said:

It's also nice to find out that we can end our "Shutting down the Program" rumors that we all heard circling during the season.

That's right, you heard Jack and his unequivocal, irreversible promise of support. Football ain't going anywhere -- football may be here another thirty years.

[lfn]

I think what's almost as important as what was said is what wasn't said. There were no concerns about costs spiraling out of control; no complaining that the best PL schools are too good; no complaints that Georgetown has a tough time competing.

"We really believe in the importance of that kind of experience for those who have an interest in continuing that here—and football has been one of those experiences that we’ve now offered for more than two generations consistently."

[hoyawatcher]

Given that we don't have a long term AD right now this statement is about all one could reasonably expect right now in reality. I would expect that neither the prez nor the interim AD wanted to fire and hire a FB coach while the long term AD search was ongoing. That is unfortunately a "mess" being left for the new guy. As it probably should be.

All this was designed to do IMHO was put to rest any thought GU was going to can FB.

[hoyahopeful]

Jan 25, 2010 14:03:52 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

So many of these comments miss the point that Georgetown is not looking to cut sports and that with a measure of support and leadership can be successful. Baseball hasn't had a winning season in 24 years but like football, baseball has a history behind it and a core base of support.

Anyone who remembers the 9-2 seasons in 1998 and 1999 and having the top ranked defense in the nation knows that Georgetown can do better and DeGioia is giving a measure of support to the process in the absence of an athletic director, which cannot be underestimated when it comes to people's frustrations about why things aren't changing/improving more quickly.

DFW, this is why your perspective is so valuable to many of us. Either as students or parents of students, our impressions of the sports programs are developed during a four year sampling and that is the foundation of our opinions. Sadly the past four years have seen nothing but deterioration in the football program and the head coach is unable to instill any feeling of confidence.

Currently the program is likely boxed in by money. The coach wants to keep getting paid and the university cannot afford to pay two coaches. If DeGioia is being forthright in his statements, we will see some tangible changes in less than a year. Hopefully that will energize those of us who have no recollection of a winning football program.

[strummer8526]

Jan 26, 2010 0:21:02 GMT -5 gwhiz said:

Why don't you get his commitment that he'll attend every home game next season, and stay through 4 quarters.

I don't think Jack spends the length of a football game on campus in a month. Counting halftime, timeouts, etc...God, it could get up to two hours. Yeah, he's definitely not on campus that long.

[FormerHoya]

This sounded like the dreaded "vote of confidence" to me.

[reformation]

Jan 25, 2010 14:03:52 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

So many of these comments miss the point that Georgetown is not looking to cut sports and that with a measure of support and leadership can be successful. Baseball hasn't had a winning season in 24 years but like football, baseball has a history behind it and a core base of support.

Anyone who remembers the 9-2 seasons in 1998 and 1999 and having the top ranked defense in the nation knows that Georgetown can do better and DeGioia is giving a measure of support to the process in the absence of an athletic director, which cannot be underestimated when it comes to people's frustrations about why things aren't changing/improving more quickly.

Seems like we need to rethink our philosophy towards a lot of these sports--24 yrs in a row of a losing record is nothing to point to with pride-it doesn't seem that we ever view decisions about these matters in terms of opportunity costs, we just keep the status quo going unless there is a rebellion.

Re: football specifically I'm sure you're right DFW that Jack just wanted to quiet rumors re shutting down the program--Seems like he accomplished that.

[theexorcist]

I'll beat DFW to it:

Lacrosse was worse. Losing season after losing season. The administration hired Dave Urick and the program turned around, making the semifinals a few years ago and consistently being in the playoffs until they weakened the last two years.

And sports are all about educating the whole person, and many people credit athletics as part of the value of college. Simply axeing a program because it loses seems overly harsh.