DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Jul 13, 2020 10:43:42 GMT -5
Georgetown's league of convenience suddenly isn't very convenient anymore. It's left holding the bag.
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hoyasaxa2003
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Jul 14, 2020 23:26:22 GMT -5
Georgetown's league of convenience suddenly isn't very convenient anymore. It's left holding the bag. I realize this isn't the thread for a full discussion, but I think it's time to pull the plug on Georgetown football.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Jul 15, 2020 1:10:12 GMT -5
Georgetown's league of convenience suddenly isn't very convenient anymore. It's left holding the bag. I realize this isn't the thread for a full discussion, but I think it's time to pull the plug on Georgetown football. How about baseball? A big, 40-player roster. When was the last time GU baseball had a winning season? I checked GUHoyas.com, which only went back to 2005, and all seasons were under .500. Just plain awful.
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Bigs"R"Us
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Post by Bigs"R"Us on Jul 15, 2020 4:57:12 GMT -5
It was nice when you could watch the baseball games on campus. Catch even a few innings on the grassy hill or strategically from ICC. Football has a long tradition, no need to pull the plug. The Patriot League doesn’t have the same priorities and pressures that a power conference has. Also, the geography is different. For now, we have to take pride in our soccer team.
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hoyasaxa2003
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Jul 15, 2020 8:51:34 GMT -5
I realize this isn't the thread for a full discussion, but I think it's time to pull the plug on Georgetown football. How about baseball? A big, 40-player roster. When was the last time GU baseball had a winning season? I checked GUHoyas.com, which only went back to 2005, and all seasons were under .500. Just plain awful. For me, it's really a matter of dollars and cents. Generally speaking, football as a sport is more expensive to run than baseball, but it is true that Georgetown does football on the cheap, and the financial requirement is certainly lower than a major football team would be. There also seems to be extremely low support for football, except a small number of alumni. Game threads on HoyaTalk are often lucky to get 20 posts, and half or more of them are usually DFW/Admin providing updates. To be clear, if the university has the funds and desire to do it, then I'm fine. My bigger problem with football is that, institutionally, we cannot possibly even compete in a scholarship conference when we refuse to use scholarships. To me, there should at least be some hope of competing and succeeding, and that seems virtually nil at this point. On baseball, I will plead ignorance, but the fact that we have had so many seasons under .500 (which I think goes farther back than 2005) would seem to tell a similar story. I just do not know if there is a structural reason why we are so bad in baseball (like competing in a scholarship conference without scholarships), or if we are just bad.
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Jul 15, 2020 11:38:16 GMT -5
How about baseball? A big, 40-player roster. When was the last time GU baseball had a winning season? I checked GUHoyas.com, which only went back to 2005, and all seasons were under .500. Just plain awful. For me, it's really a matter of dollars and cents. Generally speaking, football as a sport is more expensive to run than baseball, but it is true that Georgetown does football on the cheap, and the financial requirement is certainly lower than a major football team would be. There also seems to be extremely low support for football, except a small number of alumni. Game threads on HoyaTalk are often lucky to get 20 posts, and half or more of them are usually DFW/Admin providing updates. To be clear, if the university has the funds and desire to do it, then I'm fine. My bigger problem with football is that, institutionally, we cannot possibly even compete in a scholarship conference when we refuse to use scholarships. To me, there should at least be some hope of competing and succeeding, and that seems virtually nil at this point. On baseball, I will plead ignorance, but the fact that we have had so many seasons under .500 (which I think goes farther back than 2005) would seem to tell a similar story. I just do not know if there is a structural reason why we are so bad in baseball (like competing in a scholarship conference without scholarships), or if we are just bad. Sport support is more complicated than wins and loses. If it were, lacrosse would have never made it to the arrival of Dave Urick and soccer would have run out of gas before Keith Tabatznick. Georgetown tends to follow an approach similar to its peers. There are roughly 10 factors which come into play: 1. Quality of the student-athlete experience 2. History of the sport at the school 3. Potential for success (local, regional, national) 4. Quality of facilities 5. Investment required to excel 6. Title IX 7. Diversity 8. Ability to play a representative schedule 9. Alumni and donor support 10. The "ethos and culture" argument Relative to each sport, some thoughts. Baseball1. Baseball enjoys a good student athlete experience but Georgetown is aware that it's left the team short over the years. Baseball had its scholarships taken away in the 1970's, it lost its field in the 1990's, and the lack of staff support led to its major probation a decade ago. The kids like the program, and attrition is low. 2. This is the oldest sport at the school, but to be fair it's lacked any national standing since the 1920's. Its last winning season was in 1986, a function of non-scholarship play in a scholarship conference, and a chronic lack of depth in pitching, which is where scholarships are usually the most impactful. 3. Potential for success? The Big East will never be regular entrants to the CWS but it's a solid mid-major as far as conferences go. Creighton (and to a lesser extent, St. John's) takes baseball seriously but it could certainly compete. 4. Facilities. Playing in Bethesda hurts the program. No students in the last 20 years have probably seen them play. 5. Investment required to excel? Scholarships and a better long term home. Doesn't have to be on-campus but certainly nearer. 6. Title IX is balanced by softball. 7. College baseball is not diverse. Only 4.9% of athletes nationwide are at black. According to GUHoyas.com, there is one African-American player on the 35 man roster. 8. There are enough teams playing baseball in the East to make it work. 9. Alumni and donor support has really kicked up in recent years. 10. Baseball fits the "ethos and culture" argument, even if out of sight. Football1. Football has one of the strongest student-athlete experiences in large part due to Rob Sgarlata. He can't sell conference championships and playoffs so he sells "Four for 40" and a lifetime of personal and professional (Wall Street) contacts. 2. The second oldest sport (1874 or 1887, take your pick) with some bowl history, but the last 20 years has been poor: one winning season. There is an odd relationship with the Patriot League which feeds upon itself- the PL is a low-wattage, low-results league so Georgetown does not invest, then wonders why it has no results. 3. Potential for Success? First you must define success and GU has avoided that definition for years. Next, is the PL a support structure to be successful? I am losing faith in that argument. 4. Facilities: Going from an F- to a D with the Cooper Field updates but it's still below average from what it could be. 5. Investment? Could be scholarships but it doesn't have to be. Sgarlata can compete with the formula he has but the PL rules really, really work against him. With two PL rule changes (end the Ivy League Academic Index, allow redshirts) Georgetown could be a legitimate top 50-60 program. 6. Football isn't a comparable sport to any Title IX balance. 7. Football is the most diverse sport on campus. A total of 55 men of color played on the 2019 roster. 8. The "representative schedule" is a tricky one. Yes, there are plenty of opponents left but far fewer want to play Georgetown for what they perceive as a negative to their schedule and others won't touch GU over the bowl eligibility issue--Georgetown is the only PL team where a "guarantee" game won't count for a bowl (FYI, every other Patriot League team gets guarantee games. Absent COVID, Fordham was going to get $300K+ to play at Hawaii and Lafayette was going to play Navy this fall.) Even the Ivies are giving up on the Hoyas--there is only one Ivy home game on the public schedules until 2026. My two cents: Georgetown needs a new approach to scheduling that is going to be at odds to the kind of schools people "think" GU should play. 9. Donor support is strong, and having Peter Cooper's gift doesn't hurt. 10. Football fits Jack's "ethos and culture" argument, as long as there's no scholarships.
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metaphor
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Post by metaphor on Jul 15, 2020 13:43:40 GMT -5
Thoughtful response DFW
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Jul 15, 2020 22:18:33 GMT -5
For me, it's really a matter of dollars and cents. Generally speaking, football as a sport is more expensive to run than baseball, but it is true that Georgetown does football on the cheap, and the financial requirement is certainly lower than a major football team would be. There also seems to be extremely low support for football, except a small number of alumni. Game threads on HoyaTalk are often lucky to get 20 posts, and half or more of them are usually DFW/Admin providing updates. To be clear, if the university has the funds and desire to do it, then I'm fine. My bigger problem with football is that, institutionally, we cannot possibly even compete in a scholarship conference when we refuse to use scholarships. To me, there should at least be some hope of competing and succeeding, and that seems virtually nil at this point. On baseball, I will plead ignorance, but the fact that we have had so many seasons under .500 (which I think goes farther back than 2005) would seem to tell a similar story. I just do not know if there is a structural reason why we are so bad in baseball (like competing in a scholarship conference without scholarships), or if we are just bad. Sport support is more complicated than wins and loses. If it were, lacrosse would have never made it to the arrival of Dave Urick and soccer would have run out of gas before Keith Tabatznick. Thanks for your thorough response. I think the current times call for a complete revision of GU Athletics. As to soccer and lacrosse, what were the key moments when those sports turned for the better. I remember that during my time in school the soccer team looked more like Div. II. Was it a big donation like the Shaw's in soccer? Was it a change of coach or a special recruit who then attracted others? Could baseball and football attract big donations like the Cooper's and from former players who want to see their team excel? With such big rosters, there must be a number of big pockets. If both sports improve considerably, I bet at least the football games would be filled to the top of the bleachers.
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Jul 15, 2020 22:52:15 GMT -5
Thanks for your thorough response. I think the current times call for a complete revision of GU Athletics. As to soccer and lacrosse, what were the key moments when those sports turned for the better. I remember that during my time in school the soccer team looked more like Div. II. Was it a big donation like the Shaw's in soccer? Was it a change of coach or a special recruit who then attracted others? Could baseball and football attract big donations like the Cooper's and from former players who want to see their team excel? With such big rosters, there must be a number of big pockets. If both sports improve considerably, I bet at least the football games would be filled to the top of the bleachers. The turning point for lacrosse was Dave Urick, plain and simple. The first 20 years of Georgetown lacrosse were a lot like football is today--loyal but understaffed coaches, players who liked being there, but no path to sustained success. Its record from 1970 to 1989 was 44-150 (.226). In 1989, Frank Rienzo took a swing for the fences by recruiting one of the greatest coaches ever in men's lacrosse, and trying to get him to come to a place with no lacrosse tradition and not a single winning season in the sport. It would be the modern equivalent of Lee Reed signing Urban Meyer to coach the football team. While Georgetown never cracked the code to join that cadre of elite schools which dominate the sport (Hopkins, Virginia, Syracuse, Princeton, Maryland, and most recently Duke), it was a consistent Top 10 team for a decade or more. The common thread between the rise of lacrosse and the rise of soccer are two important things: good coaching hires and full scholarships. It's one thing to ask Brian Wiese to win and do it with preferred walk-ons, but to give him the full complement of scholarships to recruit nationally was a game changer. The donors followed, but without that initial commitment it's hard seeing where soccer would be today without it.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Jul 16, 2020 1:03:59 GMT -5
The common thread between the rise of lacrosse and the rise of soccer are two important things: good coaching hires and full scholarships. It's one thing to ask Brian Wiese to win and do it with preferred walk-ons, but to give him the full complement of scholarships to recruit nationally was a game changer. The donors followed, but without that initial commitment it's hard seeing where soccer would be today without it. Was the commitment of scholarships there first or the donor money came in and then the scholarships?
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TC
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Post by TC on Jul 16, 2020 10:22:03 GMT -5
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Jul 16, 2020 11:19:52 GMT -5
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Jul 16, 2020 11:43:53 GMT -5
Was the commitment of scholarships there first or the donor money came in and then the scholarships? Can't say for sure (the Georgetown of the 1980's were not very transparent) but my guess would that some donors came forward to support the new coach and the university then committed to the scholarships as a result.
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hoopsmccan
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Post by hoopsmccan on Jul 16, 2020 11:45:06 GMT -5
Especially with all your coughing. I agree though...if most of the country didn't waste the Spring acting like jackasses, perhaps it would be different. hm
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TC
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Post by TC on Jul 16, 2020 11:52:43 GMT -5
I don't understand how Zagoria is going from "they cancelled non-conference schedule" to "will play conference-only games". This probably is a punt.
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hoyasaxa2003
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Jul 16, 2020 12:38:54 GMT -5
Football1. Football has one of the strongest student-athlete experiences in large part due to Rob Sgarlata. He can't sell conference championships and playoffs so he sells "Four for 40" and a lifetime of personal and professional (Wall Street) contacts. 2. The second oldest sport (1874 or 1887, take your pick) with some bowl history, but the last 20 years has been poor: one winning season. There is an odd relationship with the Patriot League which feeds upon itself- the PL is a low-wattage, low-results league so Georgetown does not invest, then wonders why it has no results. 3. Potential for Success? First you must define success and GU has avoided that definition for years. Next, is the PL a support structure to be successful? I am losing faith in that argument. 4. Facilities: Going from an F- to a D with the Cooper Field updates but it's still below average from what it could be. 5. Investment? Could be scholarships but it doesn't have to be. Sgarlata can compete with the formula he has but the PL rules really, really work against him. With two PL rule changes (end the Ivy League Academic Index, allow redshirts) Georgetown could be a legitimate top 50-60 program. 6. Football isn't a comparable sport to any Title IX balance. 7. Football is the most diverse sport on campus. A total of 55 men of color played on the 2019 roster. 8. The "representative schedule" is a tricky one. Yes, there are plenty of opponents left but far fewer want to play Georgetown for what they perceive as a negative to their schedule and others won't touch GU over the bowl eligibility issue--Georgetown is the only PL team where a "guarantee" game won't count for a bowl (FYI, every other Patriot League team gets guarantee games. Absent COVID, Fordham was going to get $300K+ to play at Hawaii and Lafayette was going to play Navy this fall.) Even the Ivies are giving up on the Hoyas--there is only one Ivy home game on the public schedules until 2026. My two cents: Georgetown needs a new approach to scheduling that is going to be at odds to the kind of schools people "think" GU should play. 9. Donor support is strong, and having Peter Cooper's gift doesn't hurt. 10. Football fits Jack's "ethos and culture" argument, as long as there's no scholarships. Thanks for this, as it's a very informative post. To me, the biggest problem is that football, as currently constituted, is a huge embarrassment. As you said, Georgetown really does not have a goal or definition of success, so instead we go year-to-year basically losing and being uncompetitive. To address #4 and #9 together, you say donor support is strong, and obviously the Cooper gift was great, but the facilities are still miserable. As you said, it's going from an F to a D. I assume money is the biggest reason why our facilities stink, but it has to be a lack of institutional support too. There are TONS of universities with less money than Georgetown that have drastically better facilities. Granted, I understand if you're in the midwest or south, it's cheaper and there's more room, but our facilities are really laughable, even for FCS football. Heck, there are tons of high schools in the south with much better facilities! Why are we the only Patriot League team that doesn't count for a bowl? Because of scholarships? The Patriot League overall is a real problem. By definition, without scholarships, we aren't going to be competitive, yet there also aren't really any other conferences that would be good fits either. In this sense, we are in a very bad position because there's little hope for the future as long as this arrangement continues. I just think a full commitment to football would require scholarship and/or a different conference, and better facilities, all of which are hugely expensive for a sport with very little fan support. Granted, I think doing those things would raise the interest levels, but I still think ultimately, fielding a competitive football team at Georgetown is tough.
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Post by RockawayHoya on Jul 16, 2020 13:30:22 GMT -5
For me, it's really a matter of dollars and cents. Generally speaking, football as a sport is more expensive to run than baseball, but it is true that Georgetown does football on the cheap, and the financial requirement is certainly lower than a major football team would be. There also seems to be extremely low support for football, except a small number of alumni. Game threads on HoyaTalk are often lucky to get 20 posts, and half or more of them are usually DFW/Admin providing updates. To be clear, if the university has the funds and desire to do it, then I'm fine. My bigger problem with football is that, institutionally, we cannot possibly even compete in a scholarship conference when we refuse to use scholarships. To me, there should at least be some hope of competing and succeeding, and that seems virtually nil at this point. On baseball, I will plead ignorance, but the fact that we have had so many seasons under .500 (which I think goes farther back than 2005) would seem to tell a similar story. I just do not know if there is a structural reason why we are so bad in baseball (like competing in a scholarship conference without scholarships), or if we are just bad. Sport support is more complicated than wins and loses. If it were, lacrosse would have never made it to the arrival of Dave Urick and soccer would have run out of gas before Keith Tabatznick. Georgetown tends to follow an approach similar to its peers. There are roughly 10 factors which come into play: 1. Quality of the student-athlete experience 2. History of the sport at the school 3. Potential for success (local, regional, national) 4. Quality of facilities 5. Investment required to excel 6. Title IX 7. Diversity 8. Ability to play a representative schedule 9. Alumni and donor support 10. The "ethos and culture" argument Relative to each sport, some thoughts. Baseball1. Baseball enjoys a good student athlete experience but Georgetown is aware that it's left the team short over the years. Baseball had its scholarships taken away in the 1970's, it lost its field in the 1990's, and the lack of staff support led to its major probation a decade ago. The kids like the program, and attrition is low. 2. This is the oldest sport at the school, but to be fair it's lacked any national standing since the 1920's. Its last winning season was in 1986, a function of non-scholarship play in a scholarship conference, and a chronic lack of depth in pitching, which is where scholarships are usually the most impactful. 3. Potential for success? The Big East will never be regular entrants to the CWS but it's a solid mid-major as far as conferences go. Creighton (and to a lesser extent, St. John's) takes baseball seriously but it could certainly compete. 4. Facilities. Playing in Bethesda hurts the program. No students in the last 20 years have probably seen them play. 5. Investment required to excel? Scholarships and a better long term home. Doesn't have to be on-campus but certainly nearer. 6. Title IX is balanced by softball. 7. College baseball is not diverse. Only 4.9% of athletes nationwide are at black. According to GUHoyas.com, there is one African-American player on the 35 man roster. 8. There are enough teams playing baseball in the East to make it work. 9. Alumni and donor support has really kicked up in recent years. 10. Baseball fits the "ethos and culture" argument, even if out of sight. Football1. Football has one of the strongest student-athlete experiences in large part due to Rob Sgarlata. He can't sell conference championships and playoffs so he sells "Four for 40" and a lifetime of personal and professional (Wall Street) contacts. 2. The second oldest sport (1874 or 1887, take your pick) with some bowl history, but the last 20 years has been poor: one winning season. There is an odd relationship with the Patriot League which feeds upon itself- the PL is a low-wattage, low-results league so Georgetown does not invest, then wonders why it has no results. 3. Potential for Success? First you must define success and GU has avoided that definition for years. Next, is the PL a support structure to be successful? I am losing faith in that argument. 4. Facilities: Going from an F- to a D with the Cooper Field updates but it's still below average from what it could be. 5. Investment? Could be scholarships but it doesn't have to be. Sgarlata can compete with the formula he has but the PL rules really, really work against him. With two PL rule changes (end the Ivy League Academic Index, allow redshirts) Georgetown could be a legitimate top 50-60 program. 6. Football isn't a comparable sport to any Title IX balance. 7. Football is the most diverse sport on campus. A total of 55 men of color played on the 2019 roster. 8. The "representative schedule" is a tricky one. Yes, there are plenty of opponents left but far fewer want to play Georgetown for what they perceive as a negative to their schedule and others won't touch GU over the bowl eligibility issue--Georgetown is the only PL team where a "guarantee" game won't count for a bowl (FYI, every other Patriot League team gets guarantee games. Absent COVID, Fordham was going to get $300K+ to play at Hawaii and Lafayette was going to play Navy this fall.) Even the Ivies are giving up on the Hoyas--there is only one Ivy home game on the public schedules until 2026. My two cents: Georgetown needs a new approach to scheduling that is going to be at odds to the kind of schools people "think" GU should play. 9. Donor support is strong, and having Peter Cooper's gift doesn't hurt. 10. Football fits Jack's "ethos and culture" argument, as long as there's no scholarships. Re: #8 on football, that's a real eye opener to me and something I never knew. Why is that? Is it the scholarship issue? Seems to me if we are actively forfeiting the ability to earn guarantee money playing away games, there better be a good reason.
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Jul 16, 2020 20:43:34 GMT -5
Re: #8 on football, that's a real eye opener to me and something I never knew. Why is that? Is it the scholarship issue? Seems to me if we are actively forfeiting the ability to earn guarantee money playing away games, there better be a good reason. Thanks for this, as it's a very informative post. To me, the biggest problem is that football, as currently constituted, is a huge embarrassment. As you said, Georgetown really does not have a goal or definition of success, so instead we go year-to-year basically losing and being uncompetitive. To address #4 and #9 together, you say donor support is strong, and obviously the Cooper gift was great, but the facilities are still miserable. As you said, it's going from an F to a D. I assume money is the biggest reason why our facilities stink, but it has to be a lack of institutional support too. There are TONS of universities with less money than Georgetown that have drastically better facilities. Granted, I understand if you're in the midwest or south, it's cheaper and there's more room, but our facilities are really laughable, even for FCS football. Heck, there are tons of high schools in the south with much better facilities! Three points: 1. Back to back 5-6 seasons is not "a huge embarrassment". If your problem is who they play, or where the play, that's another issue. The team doesn't embarrass themselves on the field and certainly not off it, either. 2. Poor facilities are not unique to football. Georgetown has a nationally ranked track team without a track of its own for 24 years, teams which are left to play at public parks, a boathouse in its 36th year of paperwork, and a new squash team who can't practice or play on campus because the courts at Yates weren't built to regulation specs. One need look no further to McDonough Gymnasium to view what Georgetown's priority on the physical plant--but that's a symptom of being institutionally over-leveraged on a plot of land where they can't make major changes, and lacking the will to commit to a 200 acre satellite campus beyond the lore of the waterfront. 3. Now, as to scholarships, some background. I-A (FBS or major college) schools are allowed 85 scholarships on 85 counters--whether they get $1 or a full ride, it's a counter all the same, so everyone gets full ride. I-AA (FCS where Georgetown sits) are allowed 63 scholarships across 85 counters, so they can split it as they see fit: 40 full ride, 40 half, five partials, for example. Outside the woebegone Pioneer League, Georgetown is the only school among the 91 playoff-eligible teams not to award scholarships. In 2013, Patriot League schools voted 6-1 to move its financial aid money to 60 full scholarships per team, which put them in line for guarantee games. Scheduled (but now cancelled) games for PL teams in 2020 included Bucknell at Army, Colgate at Syracuse, Fordham at Hawaii (reported at $300K plus travel), Holy Cross at Boston College, and Lafayette at Navy. None of them would have won, but none were going to be embarrassed either, which is what some might think if Georgetown played BC or Navy. These are known as "guarantee games". To fill its schedule, larger schools offer smaller opponents a check if they play a game in the non-conference to fill the schedule, and provide a win. Payoffs range from as low as $100K for bus trips to as much as $1,200,000 for a game, which is what Rutgers paid Southwest Texas State for a 35-7 win in 2018. But the guarantees only work if a I-AA team is a "bowl eligible" opponent, defined as offering at least 90% of the scholarship maximum, of 56.7 equivalent grants-in-aid, which is defined as any combination of scholarship or other financial aid available to an athlete. A half-scholarship, for example, is 0.5 equivalency, while a half-scholarship + financial aid to cover the difference is 1.0 equivalency. (And FWIW, Georgetown pays guarantees to its December basketball opponents, albeit at a smaller and usually undisclosed cost.) Sometimes you don't even need 60 scholarships. Wagner College, for instance, offers only 38 scholarships but packages another 21 full need grants to get to 61, and they play Syracuse this year. In 2021, LIU (the former CW Post) has a deal to play at West Virginia with the same formula. Georgetown is not a team of walk-ons. They give equivalent financial aid. If Rob Sgarlata recruited lots and lots of full-need kids, their equivalency numbers would go up, although they never disclose what it is. But call them what you will, they won't be called "scholarships" in what is known as the "ethos and culture" statement on GU football. In 2013, when asked about fellow Jesuit school Fordham adding scholarships, Jack DeGioia said: "I am not supportive of moving to a scholarship program. I don’t believe that fits the ethos and the culture of Georgetown, and I believe the way that the Patriot League is conducted is exactly the right place for us to be, and I’m hopeful that it will continue to be the best place for us to be, but I’m not supportive of moving to a scholarship program and I’m not supportive that Georgetown would follow the move that Fordham did and go to 63 scholarships. It’s just very expensive and I don’t think it’s commensurate in who we are and in our aspirations for our athletic program." As such, Georgetown never talks about football scholarships, nor being in a position to schedule guarantee games. "Hey, we're playing UConn in 2023" or "Georgetown and Duke are playing at Audi Field" isn't happening. Now, you don't need 60 scholarships to play regional FCS opponents, but JMU or Delaware doesn't fit the "ethos and culture" standard, either. And since Georgetown has not scheduled a publicly-funded school in over a decade, the pool of opponents is so shallow that Georgetown had to play Catholic U last year, a 69-0 walkover, and sign a three year deal with Catholic for 2022-24 because they need to fill open dates. Personally, I'd rather lose to Villanova in a fair fight than beat Marist by four touchdowns, but Villanova et al. sees no gain in playing GU. Many Ivy schools have walked away altogether. The Patriot League is that gilded cage that appeals to administrators about "like minded" schools, but with next to no fan interest and a point of diminishing returns if other like minded schools won't play them in the non-conference. Add in the Patriot League restrictive admissions criteria that hurts GU more than any other PL school, and it's a wonder Sgarlata's teams do as well as they do. Would a six figure check and a 49-14 loss to Syracuse on ESPN2 be good for Georgetown football? There's no answer, because it's not happening.
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LCPolo18
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Post by LCPolo18 on Jul 18, 2020 14:06:41 GMT -5
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Post by DanMcQ on Jul 18, 2020 16:13:48 GMT -5
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