True! I’m pretty sure the new AD wants to do something, but it’s got to be a money issue. I talked to him at Homecoming and made a subtle comment that I hope he can get the program on a tract. He seemed to act as if he’s tired of hearing that. I didn’t say much ore on the subject.
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College Football Today.
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niklz62
The Menser Level
I would like to see how mallory could do at a school who plays other teams that are on the same playing field. unless we are regularly going to be in the top 8 teams in the playoffs we wont be regularly in the top half of our conference.
No telling. We will just have to deal with him another 2 years.
So we just need to drop down to the PFL and be done with it.
I say the OVC/Big South for now until we get a feel for what the FCS football landscape looks like in the next 5-10 years.
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That really doesn't change much expenditure wise. I put together this chart that has the MVFC, OVC and PFL budgets. Disregard Tennessee State because their administration are absolute morons and pay $200k to rent out Nissan Stadium for every home game. With them removed, the OVC league average budget is still $3.9m. I didn't toss in the Big South, but I'd imagine that may skew it back upwards towards the MVFC since Southern schools (typically) spend more on football.
I don't see the value in the OVC. You're currently in the SEC of FCS. So you drop down to the MAC/American of FCS only for $800k savings if you revert to their league average? You may not even have those savings because this data from from the last full reporting period before they got into the Big South agreement, which may carry higher logistical costs.
Football has always come down to one of three options:
1) Find enough donors to fund at the MVFC level. We simply do not have the donor base and those donors do not have the means or appetite to spend millions on FCS football. Nor do our fans want to spend what would be required to maintain this level.
2) Drop to non-scholarship football and divert those student fees to programs that have a better chance to succeed.
3) Drop football and completely eliminate the expense.
Since Option 3 isn't an option for a multitude of reasons, Option 2 is the only realistic option Indiana State has. IMO, moving to the OVC is just another suboptimal decision in a sea of bad decisions our administration has made. Since the Pioneer has an automatic berth in the FCS playoffs, we would literally be better off funding at the top of that league which would divert $2.2m while keeping football. That is without even getting into the accounting voodoo where you find academic rides so your players are still scholarship athletes like the PFL schools are. Same way we've hidden baseball scholarships in the various academic programs like Networks Scholars, etc.
DyedBlue
The All-MVC Level
Football has 40+ players who are either on academic scholarship or paying their own way to some degree. You always leave that out of your consideration. I expect the same could be said for baseball, soccer and T&F which have huge rosters relative to the available scholarships. Perhaps our leaders are taking a 'realistic' look at the entire situation involving cash flows.
If they are not realistic, then why are they entrusted with the more important academic aspects of a State University???
If they are not realistic, then why are they entrusted with the more important academic aspects of a State University???
Watching BYU TX Tech. Normally would root for TX Tech, but I want to see Notre Dame get knocked out.
South Dakota up 14-0 on Mercer early.
I'm back and forth between the MVFC and the OVC. The MVFC is probably the best spot for us if we can get to at least being a mid pack team. The league got 6 bids this year, which is over half the league, and usually gets 4-6 every year.
I'm really not interested in the Pioneer League unless it's between that and keeping the program. We're never going to make the playoffs from that league ever, and in the miracle we do we'll lose on the first round like Drake has the past two years.
Personally I think having a successful program at ISU starts with hiring the right coach. We can't hire people because of DEI or because their dad was okay / popular at IU who's always been a dumpster fire until Cig came into town. We need to hire a head coach that has proven they can win (at lower level FCS or D2) or who have been directly involved (OC/DC) at a prestigious / highly successful FCS program.
The highest position Curt Mallory ever held before coming to ISU was DC at Akron for a year in 2010. That team went 1-11 (1-7 MAC) and gave up 35 ppg. I really don't know how he got hired with his resume.
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South Dakota is well on their way to the Quarterfinals up 38-0 now at Mercer.
Lehigh and Villanova tied at 7 in the 4th. North Dakota hanging with Tarleton State. Hawks down 13-7, but driving in the 2nd. NDSU up 21-7 on the Jailbirds nearing the end of the half.
BYU missed a field goal and it's still 13-7 TX Tech in the 3rd.
Lehigh and Villanova tied at 7 in the 4th. North Dakota hanging with Tarleton State. Hawks down 13-7, but driving in the 2nd. NDSU up 21-7 on the Jailbirds nearing the end of the half.
BYU missed a field goal and it's still 13-7 TX Tech in the 3rd.
Any idea if Christensen has the stones to at least explore that idea with the 'big' donors; most vocal football alumni?
Likely, the math doesn't math -- Pioneer has some far-flung schools; California, Florida, The Carolinas
Probably the "same way" Trent Miles landed the job... Miles was never an OC or DC at any of his previous stops (9 college programs, 1 yr NFL "fellowship") -- every job was Grad Ass't or position coach, no coordinator time.
Pretty sure MOST ISU fball fans hold Miles and his tenure in high regard
He has.
As for PFL, the logistics costs are in their included budgets. The two biggest cost centers are coaching salaries and staff compensation and then scholarship and related-aid expense -- room and board, cost-of-attendance stipends, etc. Knowing that one of our issues with staff is we pay the position coaches jack shit, it is likely #2 to scholarship/aid in our case.
For our overall athletics budget, those two account for exactly 50% of all expense -- $10.01M of the $20.16M budget in 2024.
Jackrabbits lead Montana 14-6 at the end of the first quarter. Winner will play South Dakota who is up 47-0 in the 4th.
Villanova also took a late 14-7 lead in a defensive struggle against Lehigh with 2 min to go, but Lehigh is driving down the field.
Villanova also took a late 14-7 lead in a defensive struggle against Lehigh with 2 min to go, but Lehigh is driving down the field.
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Byu totally melting down now
Wonder what kind of feedback Christensen has been getting by putting out PFL feelers.
--Will the PFL Presidents take ISU? Does it have to a be unanimous vote?
--Is there an MVFC exit fee?
--How much?
--Is it enforceable in Court?
--Will the MVFC waive it?
--Are Goddard and the BOT's on board? (I assume so)
--What is different now compared to the botched attempt to go non-scholly from the early 2000s that set the program back years (other than a clear upgrade in administrator competence)?
--Will the PFL Presidents take ISU? Does it have to a be unanimous vote?
--Is there an MVFC exit fee?
--How much?
--Is it enforceable in Court?
--Will the MVFC waive it?
--Are Goddard and the BOT's on board? (I assume so)
--What is different now compared to the botched attempt to go non-scholly from the early 2000s that set the program back years (other than a clear upgrade in administrator competence)?
Fair point, but Trent Miles is an ISU alum that played on a team that made the playoffs twice. Hiring alums that played for successful teams is a reasonable exception to that rule.
As I mentioned, scholarship and related-aid expense -- room and board, cost-of-attendance stipends, etc. is the biggest cost center for Indiana State football. FCS is capped at 63 scholarships that can be split among 105 players. If 40 additional mouths were included, it would make the dollar figures infinitely worse. Point being is moving to PFL means you simply remove that fixed expense from athletics to academic side of the house. You have to then find ways to get kids academic scholarships and other financial aid.
I think that would be a much better issue to try to tackle considering we didn't even mention how much is needed for facilities, touch NIL, etc. This is also the solution to keep football versus dropping it outright, which is the compromise since even our most staunch football supporters here have said they aren't willing to give outside of their menial ticket costs. Going non-scholarship potentially helps the NIL cause to boot because donor contributions that went to funding football program expense could instead be put in the NIL coffers.
As for your last statement, people make bad decisions every day. I don't think they're being malicious, but I do think they are making decisions based on emotional versus rational and logical data.