Third Rail Blog on MSF

[thebin]

Great job as always DFW. I intend to email a link to this to everyone within the AD and the president's office I can think of pleading with them to answer this challenge. The more the merrier.....

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Here's a link to the article in question:

georgetownfootball.blogspot.com/2011/09/another-day-at-msf.html

here's a link to the athletic department directory
www.guhoyas.com/staffdir/gu-staffdir.html

Here's the email for DeGioia's head of staff:

Edited. We do not post e-mails on the site without that person's consent.--Admin

[thebin]

They are publically available to anyone who wants to find them, as of course they should be, on GUHoyas.com. These are professional email accounts, not personal ones, and the purpose of emailing them (politely) is certainly well within their professional responsabilites. I've just emailed the office of the president and 7 Assistant ADs. Please show your support if you agree by doing the same with personal emails. Cheers.

[derhoya]

"Who or when is not important, the time has long since passed for finger pointing. The time has come to recommit to this project, without delaying or damaging the IAC fundraising, and work towards a suitable and sustainable model to build a permanent facility within the next three years—not in 2020, not in 2030. This project has been approved, zoned and vetted across the campus and community bureaucracy for years. It was variously waited for smaller donors, for larger donors, for naming donors, for design studies, for architecture reviews...only to see its core constituents, the students themselves, lose faith in the coaches and University that once told them, “By the time you are a senior you’ll be playing in a new stadium.” Nearly a quarter of the living alumni of Georgetown football have been told this. None have seen it happen."

First, great article as always DFW.

Second, the 2nd to last sentence is a very sad truth but an easy conversation starter (ha) amongst us recent alums.

DFW - Are there publicly available plans/blue prints for the IAC available?

[3706R]

The promise of playing in a new stadium my Senior year was one of the reasons why I went to Georgetown. I distinctly remember Bob Benson sitting in my parent's living room and promising me that opportunity.

That meeting was in 1998.

Because of the lack of execution and false promises surrounding the new stadium, I have been reluctant to donate money to the football program. I have absolutely no faith that the athletic department or senior administration at GU supports the medium to long term prospects of GU Football. They should be ashamed of themselves. It is a disgrace to the Alumni that have gone through the program and to the current players and coaches. I haven't even seen an effort by the athletic department or senior admin to offer a plan or explanation for the continuous delay in the progress of the stadium, ever. I sit here absolutely disgusted. I would love to donate to the program but until I get some assurance that the University supports the team and the new stadium, I simply cannot do it. I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way.

[Ro]

In an effort to not get too fired up and in trying to continue my moral support of the program, rather than go deeply into in I'll simply agree with 3706R's sentiments. Evidently, my financial support along with my time-commitment to the program after my graduation wasn't enough to get the slightest bit of feedback, response, or actual plan of action. Oh, but I certainly still get requests for donations. I think that the Gridiron Club does an admirable job, but until the University gets on board and shows some actual support and interest in the program I'll be forced to remain a highly disgruntled and insulted agnostic alum/former player/supporter/booster of the program.

It's really a shame because it's starting to feel like things are changing for the better, but hope springs eternal from this fan.

[Problem of Dog]

I wouldn't consider donating to the building of the MSF unless I was convinced that the university was committed to devoting the necessary funds and resources to other aspects of the program. That includes both tangible resources, and intangible resources. I'd rather see the program fold than continue to be given a half-deleted effort by the AD. The traditional "fish or cut bait" mantra.

Even if you built a new MSF by the next home game, the program will still be playing in front of small crowds due to an incredibly weak non-conference schedule, a lackluster gameday atmosphere, training in a pathetic excuse for a weightroom, dressing in what would be considered a joke of a HS locker room, and under the direction of a very poor (and not very well liked) head coach who hasn't been fired because the school doesn't care enough to make a real change.

[RusskyHoya]

Sept 27, 2011 9:37:42 GMT -5 HoyaSinceBirth said:

Here's a link to the article in question:

georgetownfootball.blogspot.com/2011/09/another-day-at-msf.html

here's a link to the athletic department directory
www.guhoyas.com/staffdir/gu-staffdir.html

Here's the email for DeGioia's head of staff:

Edited. We do not post e-mails on the site without that person's consent.--Admin

If you go to the President's website - www.georgetown.edu/president - and scroll down to the bottom, it lists Office Contacts, including Chief of Staff: Joseph A. Ferrara. His name is a hyperlink which, when clicked, opens up an email with his address in the To: line. It's every bit as publicly listed as the Athletic Department ones, you just have to know where to look.

Sept 27, 2011 17:01:06 GMT -5 3706R said:

I haven't even seen an effort by the athletic department or senior admin to offer a plan or explanation for the continuous delay in the progress of the stadium, ever.

It's the lack of transparency and information that's the most maddening aspect, isn't it? I mean, I know more about the status of the Boathouse - defunct since 2007 website notwithstanding - than I do about the MSF.

The reasons are all too obvious, of course: it's a natural human tendency to want to avoid admitting failure, and the University demonstrates this attitude in spades, unless the mistake is completely undeniable (e.g. the "univeristy" misspelling on the commencement books this spring). With something like the MSF, it's easy enough to sweep everything under the rug and simply respond with "we're working on it, hope to announce something soon" to any questions. Well, any questions from those who aren't 5-digit and up donors.

The other big issue is that letting on what's going on would run the risk of exposing internal battles, conflicts, power struggles, etc. If there is one thing the University is absolutely 100% committed to, it is keeping any and all dirty laundry in house as much as possible. If that is one of your major driving factors, you can't very well announce "well, we had options, but Bernard didn't really care much about this because it wasn't his idea" or "well, we thought we could rely on some money from the capital campaign, but there are lots of faculty and administrators who are dead set against using zero-sum general fundraising money for athletics, especially football." (Not saying that's necessarily what happened, just an illustration).

[thebin]

Sept 27, 2011 22:23:58 GMT -5 Problem of Dog said:

I wouldn't consider donating to the building of the MSF unless I was convinced that the university was committed to devoting the necessary funds and resources to other aspects of the program. That includes both tangible resources, and intangible resources. I'd rather see the program fold than continue to be given a half-deleted effort by the AD. The traditional "fish or cut bait" mantra.

Even if you built a new MSF by the next home game, the program will still be playing in front of small crowds due to an incredibly weak non-conference schedule, a lackluster gameday atmosphere, training in a pathetic excuse for a weightroom, dressing in what would be considered a joke of a HS locker room, and under the direction of a very poor (and not very well liked) head coach who hasn't been fired because the school doesn't care enough to make a real change.

All of your points are valid but, and I know this is getting into hair-splitting territory, I think you actually undersell the importance of the stadium by saying it is only one thing of many needed. I'd say rather that it is by far the most important thing and more to the point it happens to directly impact all of the other things you rightly mention. It is the only thing worth worrying about because without it I believe sooner or later the program withers on the vine and dies. Check Change- sooner and not later. I literally believe the future of the program depends directly on it. Time to put all of our eggs in the stadium basket or there literally might be no program in 5-10 years.

The stadium will have a very tangible and direct impact on the other problems you mention. The stadium will lead to instantly and dramatically better gameday atmosphere- which is currently suffocated by the joke of a "stadium" it rests in. We play in the 18" Stonehedge model from Spinal Tap. Its kinda hard to get fired up for a home game when you can see the opposing fans saying to each other "My god, is this really it? No. It can't be...this must be for woman's field hockey. Wait- are those goalposts? I thought GU was a good school."

As for attendance, our crowds have been for the most part at or very near capacity (weather permitting as is the case for all IAA teams in the northeast) for the last few years. Build it and they will come I say. Not 8-10K, but certainly 4-5K which is 4x what we used to get for the MAAC games when we were dominant. 6-7K overflow for big games every now and then should be the reasonable goal. That's quite doable. Beyond that and you quickly run up against space/parking/lack of fans issues. The people that think we can manage a 10-15K stadium are doing our cause no favors by continuing to give fodder to opponents by promoting what is just not feasible. But build something in the 5K range and I'm confident we'll easily double avg home attendance in the first couple of years. Not sure if we still have enough room, but if possible, leave a sloped lawn in endzone lending a bowl feel that can easily accomodate another 2K for overflow. As it is now we are asking people to stand for the big games and wait in line for a porta-john. You don't think that keeps a lot of people in the dorms/homes? And like I said, we are still at capacity fairly often.

I think we know our OOC sked has been bad of late because we needed Wins so badly. OOC was quite strong a few years ago and we were getting killed. The temporary OOC downgrade was intentional and it has served a useful purpose. It has worked I say- we have built on the wins we needed so badly to the point where we can compete on the field with any PL team. Probably time to let Wagner and Davidson go when current slates end. Keep Howard I say and fire up a big DC Classic complete with their band and a massive BBQ. Beyond that game, let's go back to better OOC which frankly is already on the books...next year we actually have Yale, Princeton, and Brown in 3 consecutive weeks. A decent stadium will make it easier to schedule those better teams of course, which increases attendance...which fuels gameday atmosphere........hmmm....what is the one damn thing that links these things altogether? El Estadio.

Don't even get me started with the DIRECT impact it will have on recruiting students who by now must be aware of the empty promise of the stadium lie the university has been pushing since 1995 anyway. What is the one thing we can do that will drastically improve atmosphere, attendance, OOC sked, and recruiting? The Stadium. Build it.

[thebin]

By the way, why are we so bad with naming facilities generally? Does anyone really think that by calling it the "multi sport facility" we are tricking anyone into opening up their wallets who dont like football or lax? Was it because we thought the ANC would freak? They will anyway, more so when it is explained to them and they say..."Wait...you mean stadium?"

Can't we just call the thing Georgetown or Alumni stadium until someone pays for naming rights? Ditto with Villages A, B, C....just pick a random Jesuit to name them after and if you get naming money, change it later.

[DFW HOYA]

Sept 28, 2011 9:50:11 GMT -5 thebin said:

Can't we just call the thing Georgetown or Alumni stadium until someone pays for naming rights? Ditto with Villages A, B, C....just pick a random Jesuit to name them after and if you get naming money, change it later.

Village A was originally going to be called "Carrollton" but the story goes it used the "A" moniker to attract a naming gift. Didn't happen.

Village B did get donors for the four buildings but no one calls them by those names (Beh, Groves, McCahill, McBride)

Village C...who knows? Again, it's a temporary name that never went away. I once kidded an development official that the SW Quad could end up being Villages D, E and F. She was (probably)not amused.

Main campus construction in the last 100 years tends to be moving toward donor-based names.

New North (1925, directional)
Copley (1930, Jesuit)
White-Gravenor (1932, Jesuits)
Poulton (1946, Jesuit)
McDonough (1951, Jesuit)
St. Mary's (mid-50's, saint)
New South (1955, directional)
Walsh (1958, Jesuit)
Harbin (1962, teacher)
Darnall (1964, 1800's donor)
Lauinger Library (1970, donor)
Henle Village (1976, Jesuit)
Yates (1979, Jesuit)
Village A (1979, temporary name)
Bunn ICC (1982, Jesuit)
Nevils (1983, Jesuit)
Village B (1983, temporary name)
Village C (1987, temporary name)
Leavey Center (1988, donor)
Multi-Sport Facility (??, name TBA)
O'Donovan Dining Hall (2003, Jesuit)
Wolfington Hall (2003, donor)
SW Quad/Kennedy, Reynolds (2003, donors)
Davis Fine Arts (2007, Jesuit)
Hariri (2009, donor)
Science Building (2012, name TBA)

[rosslynhoya]

Sept 28, 2011 9:50:11 GMT -5 thebin said:

Can't we just call the thing Georgetown or Alumni stadium until someone pays for naming rights? Ditto with Villages A, B, C....just pick a random Jesuit to name them after and if you get naming money, change it later.

Loyola, Xavier, Ryder, Bunn, Walsh, Healy, Henle, Copley, Poulton, White, Gravenor, Gervase, McDonough, Yates, Nevils, Ryan, Mulledy, Kehoe... So what you're saying is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it?

(P.S.- we weren't supposed to call Village B "Village B" even back in the mid-90s. It's named for big alumni donors you know!)

[rosslynhoya]

Bah, DFW beat me to it.

Also, I thought Darnall was named after John Carroll's mom. Campus legend?

[RusskyHoya]

Sept 28, 2011 14:12:56 GMT -5 rosslynhoya said:

Bah, DFW beat me to it.

Also, I thought Darnall was named after John Carroll's mom. Campus legend?

That's what the Housing Office folks seem to think:

Dedicated to Eleanor Darnall, the mother of Georgetown University founder John Carroll, the residence hall opened in September 1965.

housing.georgetown.edu/academic/residences/Darnall/

[DFW HOYA]

That sounds more likely.

Actually, to confuse things further (thanks to Wikipedia and the GU scholarships pages), a prominent Marylander of the 1700's was Henry Darnall. Their grandson, Henry Darnall III, married a women named Eleanor. That family made one of the first scholarship gifts to Georgetown in 1809.

[hoyatables]

Village B is called Alumni Square these days. At least by the officials. but I distinctly remember living in "Village B" in 1997-1998.

[CTHoya08]

As Rosslyn said above, no students refer to Alumni Square as Alumni Square. It's Village B. My sister currently works for housing, and she jokes about how they're told to call it Alumni Square.

[eb59]

Saw this on another Blog site, listing Gtown as the #2 worst facility in FCS college football:

"Georgetown's is up there, considering their resources and how beautiful their campus is:

Even if Georgetown doesn't have any desire to support the football team, you'd think they'd want to improve the appearance of that blight upon an otherwise beautiful campus. Some brick stands, even if just to double the height of the current temporary ones, running the length of the field on either side to match the surrounding buildings would make it a great looking place to play."

Seems so simple and logical, this would easly be about 10k of seating and if they turned the giant construction pit in the North Endzone into a nice grassy slope it would be such a nice little stadium.

Man I hope the AD is wise enough to roll the completion into the planning and funding for the IAC!

[Problem of Dog]

Oct 20, 2011 14:17:24 GMT -5 eb59 said:

Saw this on another Blog site, listing Gtown as the #2 worst facility in FCS college football:

"Georgetown's is up there, considering their resources and how beautiful their campus is:

Even if Georgetown doesn't have any desire to support the football team, you'd think they'd want to improve the appearance of that blight upon an otherwise beautiful campus. Some brick stands, even if just to double the height of the current temporary ones, running the length of the field on either side to match the surrounding buildings would make it a great looking place to play."

Seems so simple and logical, this would easly be about 10k of seating and if they turned the giant construction pit in the North Endzone into a nice grassy slope it would be such a nice little stadium.

Man I hope the AD is wise enough to roll the completion into the planning and funding for the IAC!

That's a nice concept. I'm probably not alone, but that whole backside of campus surrounding the MSF is a dump and could use a major overhaul.

[thebin]

You almost certainly are alone if want a "major overhaul" of all the brand new buildings surrounding the MSF. Which one, the gorgeous SW quad that was one of the biggest things to happen to campus in 200 plus years? Or the state of the art business school in the other endzone? Maybe the state of the art science center going up now? Or perhaps in your world heating and cooling plants all look like the Roman Forum.

The entire area to which you refer used to be a parking lot/baseball diamond. Such a spolied kid. You should have seen the "backside" of campus when you were still crapping your pants, which I'm guessing was in the mid to late 1990s. You would have had something to complain about.