The Third Rail

The Breakup

2012-02-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

If it weren’t for sports columnist and Lehigh blogger Chuck Burton’s midday update, a lot of fans might have missed the arrival of the biggest news to hit the Patriot League in a generation, deciding ten months earlier than expected as to how to handle the issue of football scholarships.

Many had postulated of a measured approach for scholarships, some sort of Solomonic decision that would appease those for scholarships while not scaring away those with more tentative budgets. Instead, it’s full steam ahead, and six PL schools will have free rein to offer the same grants as found at Maine, James Madison, Georgia State, or any CAA school.

I said six, not seven.

The cloud hanging upon the celebratory mood at the PL headquarters was blue as well as gray. The PL leadership could not announce a unanimous vote, only vaguely referring to a “collectively” and “collegially” made decision. Presidents love unanimous votes, and are loathe to say otherwise. Except in this case they didn’t get it, because this isn’t a marriage of convenience, it’s the first step towards a divorce with Georgetown University.

The papers will be drawn up, they’ll be filed when both parties are agreeable with it, and a press release will dutifully wish GU all the best in their future endeavors.

Georgetown joined the Patriot League in 2000 specifically because it was a non-scholarship conference of academic renown. Now it’s one out of two.

“We are pleased with the addition of Georgetown University to our football league, said PL executive director Carolyn Femovich in 2000. “Georgetown’s outstanding tradition of excellence in academics and athletics reflects the core values of the Patriot League.”

They still do, except they’re not the PL core values anymore.

The decision to forgo need based aid began with Fordham, a school who hopes that they can recapture the glory of days gone by, when the Seven Blocks Of Granite and its Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl appearances made Fordham a household name, and arguably the most famous Jesuit college in the nation. The school which, along with Georgetown, helped spark the national nonscholarship football movement in 1964, wants no part of it today.

Fordham added scholarships unilaterally in 2010, facing a de facto ban from the PL in the progress. The Rams proudly added Army and Connecticut to its 2011 schedule, lost by a combined score of 90-3, won one game for the year, and fired its coach. By 2013, when the five other schools will have as many as 15 on scholarship, Fordham will already have 60.

The decision took root at Colgate, which also sees the big time through the smaller mirror of the Patriot League. Some Colgate fans have a particular antipathy for Georgetown and its perceived small-time ways, and others have still not got over the fact that a norovirus outbreak on Georgetown’s campus cost Colgate a win in 2008. They’ll be at 60 scholarships as fast as they can, and will see their football budget pass $5 million in the process.

The decision also took hold at Lehigh, who seem to have caught the same malady that Pitt, Syracuse, and a dozen other I-A schools found themselves with this past year: the fear of being left behind. Lehigh didn’t leave, but it may have come down to: "well, if Fordham and Colgate have 60 scholarships, we need them too." Never mind that Lehigh is a consistent PL champion and regular NCAA playoff entrant, it’s not good enough anymore.

As these schools sneezed, smaller PL schools caught the cold. Holy Cross has as deep a scholarship past as any of these schools, but approached it with a mix of pause and potential. They too won’t be left behind. Lafayette, which helped throw the wrench into delaying this decision two years ago, seems resigned rather than reinvigorated by the decision. “The league has made a decision to do this, and we are members of the league,” said Lafayette president Daniel Weiss. “So we are complying with the league. I'm not talking about my personal opinion.”

At Bucknell, the school went so far as to post a letter to alumni with their view of the situation. The smallest football budget in the league outside Georgetown, its president minced few words:

"Since December 2010, and notably late last year, the Presidents’ Council has had intensifying discussions about this question. We have looked at such issues as the following:
• The academic goals of the Patriot League and its member institutions.
• The student-athlete experience, including in such areas as admissions, retention, diversity and graduation.
• The long history of football at Patriot League member institutions and the support for these programs on each campus and among alumni.
• The expressed intent of Fordham to end league affiliation if it is not permitted the right to award merit aid scholarships in football. Any departure of a league affiliate or member in football would bring numerous risks for the future of Patriot League football competition and league continuance.
• The possibility of increasing the stability of the league, via growth in membership, should permissive merit aid be adopted.
• The financial impact on each institution of moving from football student-athletes receiving need-based financial aid to receiving athletic merit aid, including Title IX implications.
• The impact on each institution of a permissive system for merit aid for football student-athletes in the Patriot League that does not require athletic merit scholarships but that allows them.
• The problems currently affecting several college football programs at large public universities.
These conversations among the presidents have been thorough and candid.

I write now about these matters because, based on the recent pace of the presidents’ discussions, I believe (1) that the Patriot League Presidents’ Council will vote in February on whether the league will permit member institutions to award merit scholarships in football and, (2) that there will be a decisive majority vote to permit football scholarships. Should the Presidents’ Council reach this conclusion, it likely will become unavoidable for Bucknell to add merit-aid scholarships in football, not least to protect the health and well-being of student-athletes competing in that sport.”

(In short, we can’t lose Fordham.)

But they can lose Georgetown, and the warm breeze of collegiality was met with a colder response Jack DeGioia, who chose his words carefully but forcefully:

Since 2001, Georgetown has been committed to competing in the sport of football as an affiliate member of the Patriot League. This has allowed the University to compete with institutions that shared the same academic values and need-based financial aid philosophy.

"The Patriot League recently passed permissive legislation that will allow member institutions to award merit-based aid in the sport of football beginning in 2013-14. Georgetown will continue its membership in the Patriot League in the sport of football and explore all of its options, including our ability to compete as a need-based aid program. We remain committed to our goal of providing our student athletes with an unparalleled academic experience and an athletically competitive football program."

Points of interest:

1. Georgetown will continue its three year term as an associate member of the PL. There’s really nowhere for it to go for 2012, but that may change going forward.

2. Georgetown will explore its options, which is presidential-speak these days for taking a serious look at somewhere else.

3. The goal of an athletically competitive football program is not tied to finishing last in a 60-schoalrship Patriot League.

Left unsaid, some additional thoughts:

1. The fact that the PL is intent on a fast track scholarship approach, presumably to lure other scholarship schools (read: New Hampshire, Maine) to join its ranks is a tacit admission that a need based school like Georgetown is really no longer welcome. With a program that is considerably behind the other six not to even be mentioned to the media connotes an attitude that Georgetown is expendable for the greater good, however it is defined.

2. Nothing from the PL suggests a “no, we really, really want you” approach to maintaining league unity. Lehigh’s Alice Gast commented that the PL “is like a family”, but that doesn’t count the guests in the basement apartment. The lack of public response to Georgetown’s specific situation makes it sound as if the league has come to peace that it is sacrificing the values of one institution for the promise of expansion and the perception it is bigger-time than its Ivy-like demeanor once suggested.

3. The PL is putting its eggs in an expensive basket. Some of these schools will tell you that there’s no real cost to 60 men’s scholarships, but don’t be fooled. Between Title IX and the billable costs to the respective athletic departments, the athletic budgets at these schools will top $4-5 million a year on football alone, or about 20-25% of its entire budget.

Earlier last year, this blog discussed the organizational issues inherent in the decision.

"The Big East is the best basketball conference of its kind in the nation--teams are fully funded, nationally competitive, and there's a waiting list of interested schools who would join. The PL has none of these, and with its declining out of conference performance (the PL has won one I-AA playoff game since 2003, and a sub-.500 record versus the Northeast Conference this season), scholarships are seen by some as the means to turn around the league before it slides into the ditch of irrelevance.

Turnarounds cost money, though. And commitment. Does the Patriot League have this commitment, or is it becoming more of a scheduling arrangement across schools who want to spend $5 million a year to be the next Appalachian State, and those who don't? Will the seven schools fall in line and spend the money, or will the league devolve into three that do, three would like to, and one that doesn't seem motivated to follow?

Does the Patriot League want to be more closely associated with the style of competition at Dartmouth, or Delaware? Cornell, or Old Dominion? Georgetown, or Georgia State?

The Patriot League can reject Fordham's motion Monday and lose a school in the process. They can accept the motion, and risk whatever purpose the 1985 agreement provided it. That's the price of progress sometimes. But if they are not united moving forward, this league is adrift and, ultimately, divided."

In its show of near-unanimity Monday, the PL decided it is better to march behind the Rams than keep the Hoyas in tow. Everyone in that room knew the situation Georgetown faces that the other schools don’t, the gap in funding, in facilities, and in academics that makes a 60 scholarship decision not only unpopular at Georgetown, but untenable. They could have pursued an accommodation, an acknowledgement that without some sort of graduated approach, they were pricing the Hoyas right out of the PL. They knew it, and chose to let it pass.

The message was sent to DeGioia, his university, and the Hoya program: this isn’t the place for your team anymore.

If so, Georgetown needs to review those options and set a timetable for an amicable parting. Two years, four years, hard to say, but DeGioia said it himself before the season: “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."

Well, that’s exactly what the Patriot League is going with.

Or as they’re called in court, irreconcilable differences.

The Opportunity

2012-02-13T22:49:00.000-08:00

“Georgetown will continue its membership in the Patriot League in the sport of football and explore all of its options, including our ability to compete as a need-based aid program. We remain committed to our goal of providing our student athletes with an unparalleled academic experience and an athletically competitive football program.”—Georgetown University president Jack DeGioia

There once was a family who lived in a big house in the city but who kept a small rent house at the seashore. The house was modest in appearance but otherwise serviceable, and the neighbors were hospitable when they went to the shore every year. One day, the owners decided that the best way to improve the neighborhood as to raise all the tenants’ rent. The family saw the bill, as much as if they kept a second home in the city, and took pause. They enjoyed the summer house, but the neighborhood wasn’t going to be the same anymore, and there were other neighborhoods up the street more to their liking and at a better price.

The family gave notice that they wouldn’t be back next summer, and began looking farther up the road.

For Georgetown, it’s time to look up the road.

If the relative surprise of the Patriot League took fans by shock, such was not the case at the big house on 37th Street. Georgetown has seen this scenario coming for the better part of two years or more and if the “full steam ahead” option was a bit of a surprise, it was certainly one they’ve looked at.

By 2013, six Patriot league schools will offer full scholarships to most, if not all, their incoming recruiting class in football. For a variety of reasons: financial, institutional, and cultural, Georgetown University will not.

A school that spends the equivalent of 60 scholarships per year across its men’s sports is not going to double that number to pay Patriot league football and double it again for Title IX—heck, for that number, offer 40 full scholarships, 40 half scholarships and join the Big East for football. Financially, it’s a $6 million annual expenditure which Georgetown simply does not have the money for, nor the existing aid to convert.

Institutionally, Georgetown is not adding 120 accumulated scholarships when the stated goal of the University’s capital campaign is need based aid. This need based aid is the foundation of the capital campaign and it will be judged, in no small part, on its ability to raise 1,789 need based scholarships. Diverting resources to create 120 outside this formula is at best counterproductive and at worst, cannibalistic.

Culturally, Georgetown isn’t adding 60 men’s scholarships for the privilege of losing to Maryland or Wake Forest and collecting a $400,000 check. And, present rivalries notwithstanding, it’s not adding $3 million in scholarships for the privilege of playing Lafayette or Lehigh, either. The cultural footprint for football was set a half-century ago: “Football For Fun”, they called it—an opportunity for students representative of their class to compete against like minded teams: Fordham, not Florida State. (Well, that analogy seems destined for retirement.)

Georgetown is not selling a single extra seat at woeful Multi-Sport Field because a wide receiver or a linebacker got a full ride versus one who didn’t, and that raises a fourth element to this discussion—unlike the six other schools, there’s little or no marginal revenue that Georgetown could earn that could offset the costs. If Lehigh increase average attendance from its current 8,508 per game to just under 10,000, the Engineers could bring in as much as $110,000 a game, or pay for two scholarships. There’s no amount at MSF that could draw a similar revenue source.

Yes, in theory, Georgetown could look at its options and see where a few scholarships here of there could be of value, and they could be, in any sport. The Gridiron Club might engage a scholarship drive, but four or five scholarships a year won’t do the trick. Georgetown’s baseball team has been a low-scholarship team in a full scholarship Big East since 1985. They haven’t had a winning season since 1986, and are a combined 157-465-1 (.252) since. Baseball can endure 25 straight losing seasons because it is a lower cost and lower visibility sport. Football surely cannot.

Jack DeGioia was right—Georgetown needs to explore options. Here are five:

1. Stay in the Patriot League. Georgetown could maintain a need-based or ultra-low scholarship team in a 60-scholarship PL. Over time, the attrition would erode recruiting, send coaches looking elsewhere, and just steamroll the schedule. In short, Georgetown football 2015 might look a lot like 2002 or 2003: a few non-conference games with a chance of winning, but little else. Such a scenario is not unique to Georgetown, however. Over the last ten years Davidson competed as a non-scholarship team in the Southern Conference (1977-86), the Wildcats did not win a single conference game. Of its 32 wins over the ten years, 27 came against sub-Division I squads that were scheduled to keep the program afloat. (Of the remaining five, four came against teams that would join the non-scholarship Patriot League.) Georgetown would not only be competing against these schools, but these schools could (and likely would) out recruit at every turn. Got a promising tackle considering a need based offer at Georgetown? Come to Fordham on a full ride, regardless of income. So how long will Georgetown as an institution tolerate winless conference records, with little hope of change? It got so bad at Davidson that they dropped from the Southern after 51 years, spent two years as a underfunded Colonial (Patriot) League program, and soon dropped to Division III. That’s not an option for Georgetown under current NCAA rules.

2. Join The Northeast Conference. A generation ago, the NEC was formed out of a group of mostly private, non-scholarship teams passed over by the MAAC. Instead, it was the NEC, not MAAC, which survived, adding a group of regional state-supported schools like Albany and Central Connecticut, and allowing up to 40 scholarships, though not all teams are at that level. Many of the NEC programs are familiar to Georgetown fans (Duquesne, Wagner, Monmouth, St. Francis, Sacred Heart, etc.) but none carry much in the way of fan interest or peer institution relationships. The NEC offers a full schedule, no restrictions on recruiting (as does the Patriot) and an autobid to the tournament just like the Patriot. Longer term, however, the NEC will see the Patriot’s move to 60 and follow suit. Georgetown could beat Wagner or St. Francis now, but the numbers could be too much to overcome if the league as a whole steps forward when Georgetown does not. It would make little sense in leaving the PL to join the NEC if the NEC becomes a less visible version of the PL.

3. Join The Pioneer Football League. There is a league of schools with no financial aid whatsoever, the far-flung Pioneer League. Think of it as the MAAC with lots of frequent flyer miles. To join the PFL, Georgetown would have to drop all of its packaged aid to athletes and fly to games with such schools as San Diego, Jacksonville, Drake, and Butler. Outside Marist or Davidson , none would draw any interest from recruits or fans, and Georgetown football would further lapse into irrelevancy with a schedule of teams like Morehead State, Stetson, or Mercer. Because these schools are often in remote areas vis a vis the rest of the subdivision, the PFL is more a scheduling arrangement than a true conference, and it’s something Georgetown would do well to avoid as a long term home for its program.

4. Play as an Division I Independent. An independent plays by its own rules on scholarships, on admissions, on scheduling, but at a price. When Georgetown played as a Division III independent, there were over 100 non-scholarship schools in the East to schedule. As late as 2000, the year Georgetown competed as an independent in the transition year to the PL, Division I-AA could offer as many as 30 non-scholarship teams in the East for GU to fill its schedule. By 2013, there will be just two eastern non-scholarship teams outside the Ivy League, and both of them will be in conference play by late October, leaving Georgetown to fill its November schedules with schools below Division I or needing to travel across the country to play one-off games with North Dakota State or Southeast Missouri, looking for an easy win. In fact, by 2013 there are scheduled to be no other independents in the subdivision, as the current five all have conference ties by then. If Georgetown doesn’t mind playing the minimum six I-AA games and filling up the rest of the slate with schools like Lock Haven, Ursinus or Gallaudet, future coaches and recruits will inevitably see the program as having no direction or purpose and a steep decline will follow.

A fifth option is one worth considering, however, what I call “Ivy+1”.

No, Georgetown is not going to be accepted into the Ivy League. The Ancient Eight neither expands nor contracts, and likes it that way. But the Ivy League has a problem, a big one, and one Georgetown could do well to help.

Over the years, Ivy teams have heavily relied on Patriot League schools to fill its non-conference schedules as the Ivy has moved off the national stage. At one point, over 80% of the Ivy’s 24 non-conference games during football season came from the PL; after all, it was the Ivy League that was the impetus to gather the original Patriot schools together, to serve as a competitive league that shared the same values and standards and , well, wasn’t too competitive for the Ivy schools as non-scholarship programs.

As of 2013, that all changes. The league that has mostly withdrawn from playing scholarship schools faces a quandary—the old standbys like Lehigh and Colgate are now recruiting just like Delaware or Villanova. Do the Ivies really want to get crunched by schools recruiting talent that no longer represents the Ivy model, and beats them without regard?

Dartmouth used to play the University of New Hampshire until the Wildcats went full scholarship—from 1901 to 1980, Dartmouth was 16-1-1 vs. New Hampshire. Since 1980, 1-17-1. Yale no longer plays Connecticut, Princeton long since fell off Rutgers’ calendar.

If Georgetown is to end its PL relationship, it needs lots of non-scholarship opponents, and the Ivy needs non-scholarship opponents, too. One or two Ivy games helps the Hoyas, but why not aim higher?

Submitted for approval: Georgetown University and the Ivy Group arrange a multi-year (10-15 year) agreement whereby Georgetown is an official “scheduling partner” in football without membership privileges or a place in the standings. The league, which traditionally plays ten straight games from weeks 3-12 in the season, agrees to begin play a week early and each Ivy school incorporates a game with Georgetown over the first eight weeks of the season, weeks 2-9, leaving the remaining three weeks reserved for traditional in-league rivalries like Harvard-Yale or Cornell-Penn.

As an example, here’s the chart of the 2012 composite Ivy schedule (non-conference in gold):

Here’s a chart of what it could look like if Georgetown was incorporated upon the same schedules:

With that grid, the schedule would translate to Georgetown as follows, with some additional non-conference opponents added in for seasoning:

Week 1: at Holy Cross
Week 2: BROWN
Week 3: at Penn
Week 4: CORNELL
Week 5: PRINCETON
Week 6: at Dartmouth
Week 7: at Yale
Week 8: HARVARD
Week 9: at Columbia
Week 10: Open
Week 11; HOWARD
Week 12 DAVIDSON

Not a bad schedule, is it?

What does it buy Georgetown? Eight competitive games against the very peer institutions GU has always wanted for football—Yale, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, just like the fight song says. You can sell eight Ivy games a year to the kind of student-athlete GU wants to recruit, and you can sell it to alumni, with the remainder of the schedule against a Marist, Davidson, or even a PL school or two to fill out the mix. Georgetown can continue to recruit as it does now, and its budget (comparable today to Brown) won’t require a massive uptick. The games are all along the school’s traditional Northeast corridor, and fans could expect annual games in places like New York, Boston, New Haven, Providence, and Philadelphia.

What does it buy the Ivies? An insurance policy against the decline of available Eastern opponents willing to compete at this level. Fewer competitive opponents raises the risk that the Ivies will be seen as less competitive and recruits could go elsewhere. A willing partner to support non-scholarship football, Ivy style, actually improves the brand.

Numerically speaking, it takes eight games out of the 24 from which the Ivy need to find suitable opponents from which to schedule, and against PL schools, that could easily become eight losses. If Princeton still wants to play Lafayette, that’s fine, but they may not have to get thumped by Colgate and Lehigh every year as a matter of course.

PL fans may scoff at this and say that Princeton will always play Lafayette and Lehigh and perhaps they might. But adding Georgetown gives the Tigers one more chance for a win than they’re likely to get from a 60-schoalrship PL team, one less scheduling agreement to renew, one more bit of certainty in a college football world where nothing seems too certain.

Without a supply of non-scholarship opponents in the East, the Ivies have to either add scholarship opponents, reach out to Pioneer League teams in the South and Midwest, or add unfamiliar Division II or Division III schools to make up the difference. Harvard hasn’t played a game west of Pennsylvania or south of Williamsburg, VA until this season since 1949—do they really want to play nationwide to fill its schedule? Georgetown is a name most Ivy fans understand as being a peer (though to their eyes, a lesser one), but certainly not a school to which the Ancient Eight would be embarrassed to schedule, and one where they have a fair shot at winning some years. The Ivy schools would each be guaranteed a trip to Washington every other year, and who knows, maybe this would be the impetus to do what the Patriot League could not—get the MSF built.

We’ll be talking amore about Ivy+1 next week, but consider this question—absent the Big East, what kind of schools would you like Georgetown associated with in football?

The rent at Patriot Place is going up $3 million a year. It’s time to look up the road.

Why Coaching Matters

2012-01-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

(Over the weekend, a letter attributed to former Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman has made its way across the Internet and it's worth reposting in knowing why good coaching matters. While works like this can be apocryphal (the Kurt Vonnegut commencement speech being a popular urban legend), Sherman was known for letters to high school coaches as part of his recruiting effort, so this is not in that category.)

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for allowing my staff and me to come into your high schools, recruit your players and share ideas with you. I am forever grateful for the access and opportunity you’ve offered me over the last four years.

Other than going to practice every day and being on the field with my players, the one thing I am going to miss the most is visiting with high school coaches, listening to you talk about your kids and your programs, and watching practices and off-season workouts. Since this will be my last letter to high school coaches, besides thanking you for the opportunities to visit with you, I wanted to share with you some of the things I learned over the years that might be of help to you down the road. Sometimes I think as football coaches we are so competitive we are reluctant to share ideas. This profession has been good to me. I believe giving back when you can is important. These are my ideas - not suggesting they are for you. They are some of the things I came away with.

I. Core Values

If a player learns anything from me, he’ll learn that you have specific core values to live his life. These ‘core values’ are his guiding light in the decisions he makes not just as a football player, but as a man.

Our ‘core values’ for our team were simple: Truth and Love. I believe these are essential elements to run a football team, a business, organization, government or family.

A. Truth:

Be who you say you are. Do what you say you are going to do. Be truthful to yourself and others.
Be accountable. No excuses. Seek the truth. Demand the truth. Tell the truth. Live the truth.

If there is no truth, there is no trust. If there is no trust, there is no relationship. If there is no relationship, there is no value or substance to what you are doing.

As coaches we must:

Never, never lie or mislead a player. It’s simple. He has to trust you. You have to trust him. There is no trust when truth isn’t at the forefront.

You cannot fix something unless there is absolute truth.

Never, never let a player get away with lying to you. Go the Nth degree if necessary to confirm what he is telling you is true. He’s got to know you will not accept dishonesty and there are consequences for not being honest. Without absolute truth, there is no relationship. Without relationships there is no chemistry. Without chemistry, you lack a major component towards winning championships.

B. Love:

Love your God. Love your family and friends. Love your country. Love your freedom and those who protect those freedoms. Love your teammates, coaches and school. Love the game of football. Love competition and winning. Love all things that equate to winning.

Love is a passion that can bring great success to your life and to your team.. It is one emotion that always plays out positively. It is the glue for your team and promotes great chemistry. Watching this year's Texas H.S. State Championship games, I saw a lot of this on the field and on the sidelines.

I must admit, this is something I’ve learned over time. I have not been a "touchy feely guy" and have been a fairly private person with my words and actions, but once I began to tell players that I loved them I could see it started to make a difference in their lives. I’ve said it to my wife and five kids often but it was not natural for me to say it outside that circle. A lot of my players like yours never hear that word. It took a conscious effort on my part. After disciplining a player I always would say, "you know I love you, right?" Reluctantly they would agree and eventually say it back. When I was dismissed as the HFC, I can’t tell you how many players texted me to tell me "love ya coach." This brought great closure to me because I feel we impacted them in a positive way - even beyond the game of football. This was a great lesson I learned that will stay with me forever.

II. Be Honest But Positive

One thing I’ve learned is that young men respond better to honesty than "blowing smoke" at them. Too many people - parent and friends - tell them they are all this and all that. People tell them they are great. Everyone is worried about self-esteem so much , no one tells them what is real. Kids today have a false sense of confidence and bravado that when the first time things go bad in their lives or on the field, they can’t handle it. They have to know where they truthfully stand and what they need to do to get better. I do believe this is the best approach. Honesty however, must be buoyed by positive encouragement not negative criticism.

III. Embrace Your Players

Another thing I’ve learned the past four years is that you need to physically embrace your players with a tap on the back, arm around the shoulder, hand shake, hug. They not only need to hear your care about them but feel you care about them. They need to know you love them and care for them beyond just their ability as a football player. They have to feel you are going to be their coach for life, not just until they graduate and they are done playing for you. They have to trust that you will be there for them in the long term.

IV. Be Harder On Your Star Players

To become a great team I believe you must push your star players harder than the rest of the team. You cannot concede your principles because you know these players are the ones who will help you win games. Become more demanding of them, not less. The lesser players will respond to this in a positive way because you do not play favorites. The star players will also benefit from this because they will not be thinking they are something they are not. (See Tom Brady - perfect example.)

V. Be Respectful and Positive Toward the Lesser Talented Kids in Your Program

It’s not necessarily their fault they can’t play as well as you would like. As long as they are part of the program, as long as they are working hard, they deserve your respect as well as respect from your entire staff. Empower them whenever you can. If they earn it, say things like "great job by our scout team today -best in the country." Compliment them on their little accomplishments. They won’t forget you for that. They are the ones in ten years that will come back to visit their Coach.

I promise you, they may not all play in the game on Friday or Saturday, but they share a locker room with every member of the team all year long. If you empower them, you will have a tighter, stronger team. You will have a better locker room, and ultimately, if you don’t have a good locker room, you can’t win.

VI. Have Components of Championship Play

Have specific components for Championship play for offense / defense / special teams. These are your components that you believe are most valuable in your quest to win a Championship. You must reference them three times a week. Do not stray from them. Be committed to them. Constantly reinforce these components.. It’s what you believe and it’s what the staff and players must believe. (See the end of this letter for my components.)

VII. Delegate to Your Assistant Coaches

I believe I tried to do too much at times. Step back so you can be more objective about problems that arise. You can fix them better from this perspective as a Head Football Coach.

This is difficult for me since I love to coach every play. I tried to fix every problem and player. I think I would have been more helpful in other phases if I wasn’t so consumed. I tried on occasion to step away, but certain issues arose that brought me back to it.

VIII. Break Down Barriers

When I got to campus at Texas A&M, I felt there were barriers between our student body and our athletes. I felt our players had an overly high opinion of themselves but the students had a low opinion of our athletes. I have adamantly explained to our kids that they are "special" on Saturday when we play the game as well as when they practice and prepare to play. But during the week, walking across campus, they are students just like everyone else and should act and engage themselves that way. We were able to include the student body and faculty in a lot of football functions. This helped us eliminate the barriers.

I wanted our faculty and student body to embrace our players and wanted our players to embrace them as well. I believe we accomplished this. I believe when players play for something bigger then themselves, they player better.

IX. Never Throw a Player Under the Bus

I see this all too often at the college level. The Head Football Coach has to assume all responsibility publicly for the player’s performance. Privately it is different. Hold them accountable one on one and in team meetings in front of their peers.

X. Players Have to Play for You

The only way this happens is if they ultimately believe in you and trust in you. Other than pure talent, there is no greater component towards winning than this. Schemes, practice plans, game plans, off season, concepts, philosophy and ideas mean nothing if you can’t get the players to play for you. This is key. Relationships with players have to be at the forefront of who you are as a coach.

XI. Peer Pressure is a Valuable Tool

Although I will not throw a player under the bus publicly, I will call him out in a team meeting when he displays behavior contrary to what we want to accomplish as a team, whether it be on or off the field. As long as you are consistent with this to all players, it will be very effective.

XII. Battalions

One of the best things I did was break our locker room down into 6 battalions. The seniors drafted players to their battalions (locker room section). Battalions are about accountability. As a player, you are accountable to yourself, but you are also accountable to your battalion. When a player steps out of line, the player is punished, usually a difficult conditioning run, but if it happens a second time, the entire battalion runs. Stepping out of line usually revolved about class and study hall attendance, but it wasn’t limited to that. The seniors who understood the purpose of battalions drafted not based upon talent, but based upon accountability. One of our very best players talent wise was the last player drafted this past year. He had no idea his teammates viewed him this way. He was embarrassed and disappointed that he was viewed this way. It changed him instantly and dramatically. He didn’t want to be that guy.

The lesson I learned about battalions is that players will sometimes let themselves down, but very few are willing to let their team mates down.

XIII. Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Fundamentals.

There were times this past season I felt our fundamentals were not at the level I wanted them. I talked about this weekly to coaches but I felt it was an area we could and should have been better at. Sometimes players forget what got them to be the players they are.

Sometimes coaches get too tied up in the scheme and they sacrifice fundamentals in the process. There has to be a consistent commitment to this from beginning to end of season. It’s still a game of blocking and tackling, throwing and catching. That will never change. If you do those things well, you will win regardless of what scheme you run.

XIV. Never Pass Up an Opportunity to Practice Tackling

Whether in pads or in shorts, your team can always practice the techniques of proper form tackling. Breaking down, coming to balance, bending knees and keeping eyes with a form fit can be practiced every day and in every drill. With pads or without - always coach the proper angle and fit on a tackle.

XV. Hiring Staff

When hiring a staff, always take your time and get the right fit and what you want. Not everyone should be the same personality or talent. You need different personalities, different strengths, but all on the same page from what you as Head Football Coach want to accomplish. You are only as good as those around you. Take your time here. Very critical to get the right fit, staff talent and chemistry is key. It carries over to the players.

XVI. Dismissing a Staff Member

If someone is not doing their job the way you want it done, it is imperative you tell them immediately. I think it is unfair to fire someone without letting them know they are not meeting your expectations first. I believe you give a staff member three opportunities to fix what needs to be fixed. You hired him, you fix him. You owe him that . If you can’t, you owe it to the rest of the staff and team to make a change.

I tell the staff every pre-season what my expectations are. I tell them I will be up front and honest with them about their performance. I tell them if during the season I don’t like something, you’d better fix it.

It’s important to separate the professional criticism from the personal. You may like the person but you may not like how he is doing his job. When relieving someone of their duties, never let it get personal. This was always the toughest part of being a head coach. Your obligation is to the overall team and you cannot allow poor performance keep you from getting there. If you have been up front and honest with the coach, he can have no qualms about the direction you eventually decide to go.

XVII. Take Care of the Person and the Football Player Will Come Out

I tell our coaches this all the time. The players have to know you care before they will care about what you want them to do. Be involved in their lives. Ask questions about their families and girlfriends. Know their likes and dislikes. They have to know your care and are concerned about them as men first, players second. They have to know you care about their lives outside of and after football.

XVIII. Never Let the Negative Criticism Get to You

As Head Football Coach, you must assume total responsibility for your players and coaches performance. In order to handle this responsibility you must keep your head above the fray. Do not let things on the outside influence you. Be the leader you were hired to be.

Never let other people define you. You and you alone define the coach and the man that you are. No matter what happens, they can’t take that away from you. Hold true to your principles regardless of the circumstances or consequences.. Your players are watching how you react to these situations. In times of adversity are you who you say you are? Anybody can make it work when you are winning and everyone is happy. More importantly , your own family watches you and will learn a lot about their husband and dad in these adverse situations..

XIX. The Burst

You have to coach "the burst." This is the fine line between making a tackle and not making a tackle, scoring a T.D. or not. Wins and losses are dictated and determined by a player’s ability and desire to show a burst. In season and out of season, you must coach this. They have to know the difference between running to the ball and bursting to the ball- running toward the end zone or "bursting" toward the end zone. We always reward/acknowledge "the Burst of the Week" whether it be in season or out of season.

XX. More Games Are Lost Than Won

At times this past season, I thought we might be trying to do too much. You win games when players are comfortable and know what to do. Thinking too much can cause hesitancy. You want them to be aggressive, play with good fundamentals, do not make the game too hard for them. From watching tapes of different teams and even my own, I’ve come to the conclusion that the best coaches are the one who don’t feel they have to out smart the opponent, but would rather out coach and out play them. You do this with fundamentals.

If players on defense know what to do and recognizes offensive schemes faster, they will make plays and create turnovers.

If players on offense know what to do and recognize defensive schemes, they will make plays and not turn the ball over. Ultimately in football, the team that makes plays and creates turnovers and doesn’t give the ball away, wins games.

XXI. Common Language

I believe it is imperative to have certain principles of the game of football defined the exact same way by all staff members. Effective communication is the key to success. Players cannot hear the same concept defined multiple ways. Definitions must be consistent.

A. Physical Play - finish each play in a dominant position
B. Mental Toughness - complete the task at hand regardless of the circumstances
C. Fanatical Effort - the maximum level of strain or speed toward the successful completion of the play

These are just a couple of examples but a common vocabulary on certain fundamentals is critical for the ultimate success of teaching and evaluating those fundamentals. You ask ten coaches to define "physical play" you will have ten different interpretations. As the Head Football coach, you determine how you want it defined and demand everyone use that definition.

XXII. Leadership

Different situations call for different styles of leadership. Players and coaches must know that if things do not go right in preparation and practice, the Head Football Coach may snap or vent or lose it to those not working toward the desired goal that week.

Preparation time requires a different form of leadership than game time.

On game day, however, the Head Football Coach - in my opinion - must keep his composure and not show panic but rather calmness and direction in adverse situations. Losing it in this situation does not necessarily create the desired result conducive to winning.

This concept of leadership was re-enforced on my trip to Iraq two years ago in visiting with General Odierno and others in position of leadership. Cool heads must prevail when adversity strikes. Players (soldiers) do not and will not follow panic driven reactionary leaders, but rather those with confidence, composure, and direction of purpose.

Leadership does require that you be yourself and not try to be someone you are not, but it requires the best version of yourself.

XXIII. Maintaining Balance

Keep everything in perspective is keeping everything in "balance". There have been times in my career I have lost this balance. As a football coach, it is so easy to become consumed by it all. We are evaluated publicly every Friday night or Saturday afternoon. The pressures we impose on ourselves to be the best and to win are vastly greater than those pressures we face on the outside. Our competitiveness is a great thing- although if not kept in check- can be our downfall as well. You have to have balance in your life to make it all work effectively. Make sure you keep vision on your principles. Faith and family cannot take a back seat to football and winning.

I have made this mistake in my career at times.

Trust me when I say this, and I say it from my own experience, the more balanced you are, the better coach you will be. Do not neglect the essential elements of your life. If you win a state championship but miss seeing your son dress up as Brett Favre at Halloween or see your daughter play her viola in a Christmas recital ¨C what have you gained in the long term compared to what have you lost? I do believe you can have both but it takes a conscious effort and discipline to maintain balance in your life and make it work. You will be a better coach, husband, father and man if you do this.

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks for me to say the least. I’m disappointed I won’t have the opportunity to finish what we started at Texas A&M. We have come a long way in my four years here. I believe in the foundation we have laid both on and off the field. Talent levels and expectations have increased dramatically.

We had record crowds at Kyle Field this year. Graduation rates and GPAs are higher than they’ve ever been. We have great kids in the program that know how to work. They understand the principles of the university. We have kids who have core values which will not only help them be better football players but men, husbands, and fathers as well. I feel good about that.

Last season we exceeded expectations with a young football team. This past season we had opportunities to do some great things , but they literally slipped through our fingers. Our season basically came down to 5 or 6 plays. If we made those plays, we could have ended up with a 10 or 11 win season. Winning and losing is a fine line- we ended up on the wrong side one too many times. As the Head Coach, I am ultimately responsible for that- me and me alone.

This season has been difficult because we have not been able to meet the expectations we ourselves have created with what we accomplished in the previous season. Our season this year was a lot like the Houston Texans last year. I do believe this, however, if you stay true to your principles, and given the opportunity, you eventually will win out in the long run. My Dad always told me many years ago, 'the cream always rises to the top'--and I still believe that.

I do feel the future is bright for Texas A&M Football, however. Kevin Sumlin will do a great job as the new Head Football Coach at A&M. He is a good coach and a good man.

In closing I want you to know that if there is ever anything I can do for any of you, do not hesitate to contact me. You’ve always been very gracious towards my staff and me and I thank you for that. It’s meant world to me.

Again, I appreciate the opportunity to have met and talked with many of you. Of those I haven’t met, I want you to know I respect the work you all do with your high schools, teams and players. I believe high school football coaches are the most influential leaders of their high schools and communities. Their impact on not just the football players but students and administration, as well as the cities and towns they live is huge.

Coaching high school football is not an easy job. If you all got paid by the hour, you’d be very wealthy men. With that said, coaching is an extremely rewarding and honorable profession. The game of football is so special on so many fronts. Winning is the ultimate goal and there are few things more fun than being in that locker room after a hard fought victory. I never remember scores of games, but I do remember locker rooms after we won- faces of players and coaches all huddled together yelling, screaming, smiling and laughing, ¬acting totally emotional and truthful- devoid of any apprehensiveness or inhibitions, ¬just enjoying the moment. There is no doubt that it’s the competition week in and week out that keeps us going- wanting to relive that experience again.

We must never lose sight, however, that with the opportunity to coach these young men and experience victory together, there also comes the huge responsibility to make a difference in their lives. We must never lose sight of the fact- "once their coach always their coach." Where others may have failed them , we as coaches cannot. Where others have created mistrust, we must bring trust . Where others have created disrespect, we must bring respect. Where others have let them down, we must support them. We owe that to them regardless of their talent or ability. We owe that to them regardless of wins and losses.

We owe that to this great game of football which constantly challenges us- week in and week out. What job could anyone of us have that does that? This game we coach not only challenges us to keep our egos in check when we win, but forces us to face our fears when we lose. This "game" also has the ability to bring out the very best in us at times as well the very worst in us at times. Here is hoping that it brings out the very best in each and every one of us all the time.

Best wishes for great success both on and off the field.
God bless , Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.
Mike Sherman

Welcome Back

2012-01-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

At most major college football schools, coaching changes and the back-room dealings to hire a new coach are, for better or worse, commonplace. Georgetown and Yale are not major college programs, and such changes are all but unseen at either school.

Nonetheless, the peek behind the curtains at Yale's uncomfortable dismissal of Tom Williams, its attraction to the job by Kevin Kelly, and Kelly's ultimate decision to stay at Georgetown are worth paying attention to, if not for what happened, but what didn't.

The initial reaction by those fans who heard this (and let's be clear, it got zero coverage in the press in DC) was one of surprise--why would someoine from Georgetown be in the market? It was a reflection of Georgetown has a somewhat unique niche in college coaching--it's not a stepping stone, and people who leave Georgetown tend to leave coaching, period. The last basketball coach to leave Georgetown to become a head coach elsewhere was Elmer Ripley...in 1949. The last football coach to do so was Lou Little, 20 years earlier. So when people are willing to look beyond the gates (and let's be fair, Kelly was interested in going to Yale), people are surprised, as if college provides some sort of academic tenure to coaches. They do not.

The head coach's stay at Georgetown (six years) is the longest of a winding career that has taken Kelly and his family to the Bronx (Fieldston, School, 1982-83), New Haven (Southern Connecticut State, 1984-85), upstate New York (Syracuse, 1986-88), Boston (Northeastern, 1989-90), Hanover, NH (Dartmouth, 1991), New Orleans (Tulane, 1992-94), Huntington, WV (Marshall, 1996-97), Brunswick, Maine (Bowdoin, 1998), back to Syracuse (1999), back to Marshall (2000-01), to Annapolis (2002-05), and finally, Washington DC...some military families have had fewer stops. That's not unusual for an assistant coach, it's the price of keeping a job. And it's also not unusual for a coach to keep looking for the next door before you're shown it otherwise--no matter whether you're Tom Williams or Ralph Friedgen, there are no sure things from year to year.

Williams' admission that he exaggerated claims of a Rhodes Scholarship interview may have allowed him to survive at Yale, but a tall tale that he was on the San Franscisco 49ers practice squad (he was actually invited to a three day spring tryout camp) convinced Yale officials to cut ties with the up and coming Stanford grad. Williams was already on shaky ground having lost to Harvard three straight times, but schools tolerate defeat a lot more than deception.

So it is with Georgetown, and it tolerated defeat in the Kelly era. Lots of it. You can point to the caliber of recruits, or Jim Miceli's playcalling, or the tougher schedule Bob Benson had been building up for, but in any event, there's not another university in America where Kelly's 5-38 record would have returned him for a fifth season in 2010, period. Had it not been for a confluence of events, chief among them a vacancy in the athletic director's chair, Kelly's fourth year could have been his last, if not sooner.

Kelly was able to turn it around--first, by exceeding expecations with a 4-7 mark in 2010, then, by surprising the rest of the PL that marked a "W" next to Georgetown on the schedule with an 8-3 mark, one game removed from an NCAA playoff bid. He earned the respect of his peers and of his University by making Georgetown football relevant and respected by opponents. Like the welterweight that takes out a couple of light heavyweights, his PL Coach of the Year award was a reflection by the rest of the league that winning eight games at Georgetown is an astounding accomplishment in a league with such financial disparity.

So when Kelly heard about the Yale opening, well, you strike while the iron is hot. Had he applied for Jack Siedlecki's job at Yale in 2008, his 5-27 record would not have returned any phone calls. But the coaching fraternity took note of Kelly's unusual turnaround at a school where the odds are stacked against it, and took his call. With no previous tiles to the Old Blue, Kelly was nonetheless one of the two initial finalists for the job and that says something.

UConn coordinator Don Brown, a favorite of Yale legend Carm Cozza, was first in line and actually turned down the job. Internet chatter says that it was about money and/or presidential interference from Richard Levin, or that Yale had bought out Williams' contract and couldn't afford what Brown was seeking. We don't know (nor should we) if money steered Kelly back to DC, whether the Yale negotiations were unproductive, or whether he had a chance to politely back out before a younger assistant was going to get the job anyway, and it's no matter in any case. Kelly's interest from Yale sends a message to Georgetown going forward.

Georgetown has never publicly said it has signed coach Kelly to a long term deal. The good times of 2011 and presumably 2012 may or may not manifest itself in a long term arrangement, and the scholarship-based storm clouds ahead do not bode well for Georgetown, the square peg among the rounder shapes of the PL. Like Bob Benson's nine win seasons in 1998 and 1999, the changing landscape may well send Kelly's numbers downhill going forward and such phone calls won't be as numerous.

The promises unkept to Benson and his recruits remain unkept to Kelly, who must sign some of the best student-athletes in America every year without a finished game field to show recruits, with no practice field, no game day locker rooms, no dedicated weight room, and without the carrot that up to six other PL teams will soon be dangling in front of high school prospects: scholarships. Benson turned down a chance to leave Georgetown when he was a hot commodity, and now, as an Division II assistant in Colorado, such Div. I opportunities may not come again. Kelly, more than anyone, knows there are no guarantees in coaching.

Ask Jack Siedlecki, who was 9-1 at Yale in 2007. A year later, he resigned under pressure (with a 6-4 record, no less) and was said to remain as an assistant athletic director. Instead, he became quarterbacks coach at Division III Wesleyan. "It’s an ideal coaching job at this stage of my career,' the then 59 year old Siedlecki said. Well, not so much.

Siedlecki won two Ivy titles for Yale, but that's not enough when the Elis are 1-10 against Harvard's Tim Murphy since 2000. No one cared that Tom Williams beat Georgetown three straight times. They cared when he lost to Harvard three straight times.

Yale welcomes Tony Reno, a former Harvard assistant, to turn that record around, but there are no rules against hiring from an opponent. The Dallas Cowboys' first coach was the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. Ara Parseghian was neither a ND grad nor Catholic; he was hired away from Northwestern. Bo Schembechler was an assistant under Woody Hayes at Ohio State. Reno will be charged with three goals at Yale: 1) play by the rules, 2), win honorably, and 3) beat Harvard. Two out of three won't cut it.

"My family and I enjoy being a part of the Georgetown community and we love living in Washington, D.C. We really want to finish what we've started here at Georgetown," wrote coach Kelly. I think he can do this. The larger question is where Georgetown wants to be when he does finish this, and what is the three, five, or ten year plan for football at Georgetown going forward.

The Second Line

2012-01-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

A new year dawns and like most things at Georgetown, not much changes. In higher education, that's not a bad thing, but institutional inertia is like hardening of the arteries to an athletic program: sooner or later, it's going to get you.

So it is with a ray of hope that I came across a name from the past and a nod to the future, unrelated to Georgetown in name but not in spirit: Tulane Stadium.

Imagine an 80,000 seat stadium right in the middle of Georgetown's campus, say along the edge of campus near the Reiss Science Center. Such was the home of the Sugar Bowl for 40 years, sitting amidst a 110 acre college campus (just 6 acres larger than the Hilltop) with no discernible parking--a boon to the the street cars and enterprising neighbors along St. Charles Avenue who would welcome passers-by with a front lawn to park in, or a cold beverage en route along the walk. Laissez les bons temps rouler.

Of course, there was no 80,000 seat stadium at Georgetown, not even the 25,000 seat facility proposed in the 1920's. And today at Tulane, there is no 80,000 seat stadium either--the arrival of the NFL to the Crescent City in 1967 was the beginning of the end for the old stadium, which hosted two Super Bowls as late as 1975 before the Louisiana Superdome made it obsolete. Tulane moved its games off campus, tore down the old stadium and built dorms in its place, and went on its way.

Ask any Green Wave fan, though, and they'll tell you something was missing, and has been for a long while. Attendance has languished at the Superdome. Purple and gold are the predominant colors around town these days, not green and white. Days of yore between Tulane and LSU are long gone (yes, Tulane once played in the SEC) and the Tigers dropped the longtime series because it was no longer competitive.

The school came close to dropping the program in the early 2000's and nearly did it again after Hurricane Katrina. But despite it all, there were hopes that football could return to the small campus, in some form or fashion. And it will.

The drawing above was introduced to the Tulane community last month, as the school has announced a $60 million campaign for a new Tulane Stadium. Smaller than its namesake by design, the stadium will stand just north of the old stadium (check the running track in the older photo above, and that's roughly where it will be built) and seat 30,000.

"Tulane University has enjoyed many successes while playing the last 36 football seasons in the Superdome," reads a University release. "Players and fans alike share memories of victories and celebrations under the roof of an iconic structure. But in the collective imagination of the Green Wave faithful there has remained an underlying interest in bringing the Greenies home to an uptown, on-campus football stadium…a place to continue traditions and inspire the next generation of athletes and fans, and bring the New Orleans community to campus. Coming back to campus…a true home field advantage."

That is more than a press release, but the first of a coordinated campaign--web, social media, and development-- poised to make the new Tulane Stadium more than a subject of polite discussion at university gatherings, they're going to get it built. In less than two years.

Visiting its web site-- http://www.tulanestadium.com/ -- introduces guests to a variety of views of the old and new, with designs of the proposed stadium, teestimonials from local residents and former players, and a list of commitments already made before one shovel goes into land that once was a sugar plantation. You can follow the stadium's on Twitter. On Facebook. On YouTube.

Want to name the stadium? It's already done, although not announced. How about the field? Sold. Of the $60 million for the project, $40 million has already been raised.

"The experience of these kids who are students at this school will be so much more memorable that the fundraising from the academic side to the athletic side — the total endowment that this school will get from the experience that the students will get from having an on-campus stadium will fund many things for years to come,” a Tulane supporter told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

"We really undertook the task of doing the stadium regardless of conference affiliation; we thought it was the right thing to do for our program and the community,” said school president Scott Cowen. Dr. Cowen, who was once cast as the villain for proposing doing away with the program a decade earlier, added: "Might it have some impact later on? It could, but I think what conferences look at is, ‘Are you making a commitment?’

A thousand miles north and east, that question is still being asked.

"It is crucial that we complete the Multi-Sport Field. Our goals will stay the same: To improve our teams' game-day experience, to make the venue more fan-friendly, and to construct an aesthetically pleasing facility. As we develop new options for this important project in the coming months, we look forward to sharing its details with our friends and donors."--Interim A.D. Dan Porterfield, 2009

2012 marks the 13th year of the Multi-Sport Facility effort, an effort that continues to be placed on the backburner of campus projects and politics--first, a pause to get the Southwest Quad built, then to wait to get Hariri Hall built, next to focus on the Science Building, now to plan for the $50 million Intercollegiate Athletics Center, a project which Georgetown has set no public timeline, because the money is not there.

I would not claim, nor intend to, that the MSF is "owed" to be placed ahead of any of these projects. But is there any direction for how and when this project will be completed? Where is the web site? Where is the means to give? Where is the social media reminding people that, yes, the MSF (and/or the IAC, for that matter) is a priority? A Facebook page for Tulane Stadium opened last month and has passed 600 followers. A Facebook page for the MSF is out there and has four followers. At Georgetown, if you never announce a start date, you're never really "behind schedule". So it is with the MSF.

On or about Sep. 6, 2014 (and that's not that far away), Tulane may well open its new stadium in traditional New Orleans style--a brass band making its way from Uptown across the campus, while a "second line" of revelers follows in tune. Why not throw a party? This is a remarkable accomplishment, and a sign of new vitality for the Uptown campus. Not even a hurricane could stop this Green Wave.

"It is important for our program to have a central location on campus where we can bring the excitement of Green Wave Football and celebrate together," said new Tulane coach Curtis Johnson. "Once completed, I believe the stadium will be the crown jewel of the Tulane campus, as well as a defining point of our great city, and a magnificent place for recruits to visit.”

On or about Sep. 6, 2014, Georgetown players, coaches, and fans will open its season, the 50th anniversary of the return of intercollegiate football to its campus, asking why, after 15 years, it still hasn't built the MSF. There will be no second line.

Week 11 Thoughts

2011-11-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

Some thoughts following Georgetown’s 34-12 loss to Lehigh Saturday.

1. What Worked, What Didn’t. Georgetown came into the game as an underdog and was able to take advantage of many of its strengths—turnovers, red zone defense, special teams returns. To its credit, Lehigh scoured the films of the past three weeks and picked apart a pass defense that had been ineffective in the cover 2 scenarios. It helps to have a Drwal and a Spadola running the patterns, of course, but lacking a rush game, Lehigh turned to its demonstrated strengths in the passing game and it worked exceedingly well for them.

Not that Georgetown didn’t have its chances. I’m convinced that if Georgetown scores a touchdown on that opening turnover, holds Lehigh on its next series, and executes a capable drive on its next series, this was a different game. Not necessarily a different outcome, of course, because Lehigh had the firepower, but the 2011 Hoyas were a team that had much more confidence playing ahead rather than playing from behind. If the Hoyas could have opened the second half at 20-17 instead of 20-6, Waizenegger’s third quarter TD could have been a real game changed. Instead, the ensuing pick-six deep-sixed the Hoyas thereafter.

2. Fan support. Thanks in absentia to all the fans who made it to the game. I am sure it meant a lot to the parents and local fans to be there, and even to a few of those who passed on the men’s basketball opener to see this potentially historic game in person. I would have very much liked to have attended but the air fare was absolutely prohibitive, but it was encouraging to watch the game and hear so many cheering on the east end of the stadium and the announcers remark favorably about the turnout. Having been there at the low point of Georgetown football attendance (the 20 or so of us who sat through the game at Old Dominion in 2009), I hope those who attended can be encouraged to make it a return affair next year at Princeton and at other road games next fall.

3. Press coverage. Another measure of thanks to the local papers that rediscovered the Hoyas. A trailing horse doesn’t get race coverage, and it’s been that way for a decade or more of Georgetown coverage in the PL. John Feinstein’s column used the word “remarkable” when comparing the Hoyas to its 2009-era struggles, and I think it’s an appropriate term. Georgetown isn’t a Top 10 team, of course, but with many of the same members from that 2009 team, the Hoyas were able to do considerably better and do so with purpose and conviction.

4. Lessons Learned. There is a temptation to see a game like this as an accomplishment for a formerly 0-11 team, or as a source of frustration for reaching the precipice and not being up to the opponent at hand. Instead, I’d like to see a game like this serve as a lesson to the next generation of student-athletes to rededicate themselves to the season to come.

In 2010, Georgetown was 3-1 and finished 4-7; in part, because the talent had not matched up with the game plan, and mistakes were common. In 2010, Georgetown was 3-1 and finished 8-3 because the talent level rose and the mistakes diminished—a +17 in turnover margin is no accident. Yes, there is no shame in losing to Lehigh—plenty have done so this season, and plenty more in prior years—but it’s up to the team and the coaches to use the off-season to rededicate itself to doing the things necessary to be back in a position to compete at the highest level of the conference in 2012, and to develop the talent coming up through the ranks to maintain the standard that this year’s team set.

5. Goals for 2012. Here are ten:

1. Build on success. It’s not easy to recruit kids at 0-11, but look at the sophomores on this team which made a strong contribution, and the freshman which have followed. Every prospective recruit needs to hear the call—this is a program on the way up and you need to be a part of it.

2. Tell the story. Recruits need to know what 8-3 means. So do alumni. Early and often. For all those who have stood on the sidelines in the Kelly era and not supported the team, it’s time to remind them of just what this program is capable of doing with better support. Let’s not understate this point: the program with the smallest budget in the league ($1.6 million), half of the next closest team and a third of the others, not only can compete but can win games against these schools. If the Hoyas can compete on this level at $1.6 million, what more could they do at $2.1? Georgetown doesn’t need to spend Fordham money ($5.1 million) to be successful, but it has to be able to compete with decent financial aid to its recruits. This may be one off-season when that message gets out, or it better.

2A. Tell That Story, Too: Announce a plan to finish the MSF, or at least mow the weeds.

3. Develop the next quarterback. Isaiah Kempf is the senior incumbent, but Georgetown needs to look to Aaron Aiken, Stephen Skon, or an incoming freshman as both a strong challenger to Kempf and a capable substitute should the need arises next season.

4. Recruit another power back. A reflection of Georgetown’s competitive imbalance in PL recruiting, it has long relied on smaller RB’s in the absence of larger power backs and, with a banged-up offensive line, have paid the price for it. Nick Campanella’s play this year was a welcome addition, and if there is a power runner out there that can join the backfield, it’s going to make things better not only for the offense, but for the sets that Dalen Claytor, Brandon Durham, et al. are running as well.

5. Recruit a placekicker. Brett Weiss’ results against Lehigh should not obscure a fine two years as kicker for the Hoyas; remember, Weiss walked on the team from Maryland , following another walk on in Jose-Pablo Buerba from 2007-09. Weiss missed only two kicks inside the 40 all season and only four since the second week of the season. With Weiss and David Conway graduating, developing a strong replacement is a priority.

6. Keep fighting for the belt. For my two cents, the development of the offensive line has been the story of the 2011 season. The work in the weight room, er, weight area, and the commitment to be the very best they can be paid off this year and can be even more effective in 2012, especially as the Hoyas have the wide receivers necessary to open up the passing game in ways they were unable in prior years.

7. Jordan Richardson. All the tools to become a great player. Keep up the hard work.

8. Rebuild the secondary. Three seniors leave behind a lot of experience and some battle scars in the Georgetown secondary over the years, and this is the only part of the lineup that suffers significant losses from 2011. There’s a lot of good talent among the upperclassmen and now is their time to step up.

9. Stay together. This is not a time for attrition. The rising class of 2013 numbers just 14 juniors, a victim of students giving up or giving in, following the rough endings in 2009 and 2010. Georgetown needs all its freshmen and sophomores to recommit to 2012 and bring the experience and dedication for next year that returning players can bring. There is no substitute for experience in college football.

10. Remember, but don’t forget. Yes, it’s OK to call this season a success, but the players and coaches should remember that Lehigh clinched consecutive PL titles with wins over Georgetown, and for Lehigh to capture a third consecutive title in 2012, they will have to go through Georgetown to do it. The next 41 weeks, the next 293 days, the next 7000 hours of the off-season should be all about what it will take—in recruiting, in weight training, in plain hard work, to get Georgetown to lift that trophy on Nov. 17, 2012. And for the first time in its PL tenure, the pieces are in place for Georgetown to be a credible option to do just that.

The late Scotty Glacken once said that it’s the 40 weeks of the off-season that builds winners. Let’s win that day.

Week 10 Thoughts

2011-11-11T07:06:00.000-08:00

Some brief thoughts following Georgetown's 30-13 win over Fordham:

First and foremost, well done. The home fans may not all appreciate the level of commitment and hard work of this team over the last two seasons, but Saturday's effort should remind even the most fervent doubters out there that when it sets its mind to it, Georgetown can be a competitive football team no matter how steep the climb.

And without looking into too much of a rear view mirror (after all, this post is a few days late), on to Lehigh. Most of my thoughts on the game are found in the HoyaSaxa.com Pre-Game Report, and if you didn't have a chance to read it, I've reposted it below. Needless to say, Lehigh is the favorite in this game and for good reason, and no one is going to set couches ablaze if Georgetown falls short in this one. Yet, they're one game, one game from something quite remarkable.

Do your best, and don't leave anything behind. The seniors know this all too well. Here's the preview:

Saturday's unexpected but eagerly anticipated Patriot League final is not an accident.

Statistically speaking, Lehigh and Georgetown enter the game among the 2011 league leaders across the board, with significant national statistical rankings to back it up. The Engineers are one overtime possession short of an undefeated season, while the Hoyas have leveraged a steadier offense with a ferocious run defense to put together a run unlike seen by a Georgetown team since the MAAC days. Talent and home field advantage may favor Lehigh, but the Hoyas shouldn't be counted out.

The fans of the Lehigh Valley have never quite figured out the Hoyas, who are 3-18 against the home town teams (Lafayette, Lehigh) and 0-10 versus Lehigh. Georgetown might be viewed the same way DePaul is seen in the Big East--a geographic outlier with a small budget and unfulfilled potential. Georgetown's task is not to make believers out of the Murray Goodman Stadium crowds, but instead to believe in what got them to this point in the schedule and execute upon it.

The Engineers have maintained a wide open passing attack with a veteran defense to pick up big leads in many of its games this season. Last week's 14-7 win against Holy Cross could be seen as an anomaly, but may have also provided Georgetown with some leads as how to solve the Lehigh game plan.

Here's a review of the major matchups of the game:

Lehigh rush offense versus Georgetown rush defense: The Engineers have ben efficient on the ground all season, with junior RB Zach Barket now leading the way. Barket rushed for 102 of the Engineers' 143 yards against Holy Cross, and has been on a roll of late, with 111 against Colgate and 185 versus Colgate. Barket (and to a lesser extent, RB Keith Sherman) help open up the Lehigh offense so that it does not depend exclusively on the pass. Lehigh was held below 120 yards a game in five of its first six, with a season low of 43 versus Bucknell, but has largely been untouched down the stretch. The Georgetown rush defense has been especially strong on single-back sets and stopping Barket remains a high priority. Advantage: Georgetown.

Lehigh pass offense versus Georgetown pass defense: Lehigh QB Chris Lum is an outstanding dual-threat passer, and his numbers reflect it. Lum's 12.1 yards per catch among four top receivers will put pressure on Georgetown's pass defense to play a little tighter than they did in the past two games, which led to easier gains in yardage before the red zone. WR Ryan Spadola (71-1215-10 TD) is the obvious point of defense, but two other receivers will be options as well, including Jake Drwal (64-732-9), and RB Zach Barket (30-309-5). If Lum gets the time, he will find his receivers, but Georgetown needs to take advantage of a smaller Lehigh offensive line (average weight=289) and put pressure on Lum with its 3-4. That may prove to be a tough task. Advantage: Lehigh.

Georgetown rush offense versus Georgetown rush defense: Both teams don't allow much in the way of rushing; in fact, the schools are less than a yard apart in average rushing yards allowed per game. DE Andrew Knapp will be counted upon to work the Georgetown offensive line (average weight=311) and force the Hoyas to outside running tp pick up yards. Smaller backs like Wilburn Logan and Dalen Claytor may struggle early as a result, but if Nick Campanella can get some traction and more 4-6 yard gains, the Hoyas will benefit greatly. No team in the last six weeks has rushed for more than 107 yards, and if Georgetown is to win, that has to change. Advantage: Lehigh.

Georgetown pass offense versus Lehigh pass defense: Like Georgetown, Lehigh has been a bit more liberal on pass defense but tends to lock down opponents in the red zone (only 13 TD's in 29 opponent possessions). The Hoyas have not relied on a heavy passing game due to the success on the ground, but Isaiah Kempf will need big games from Jamal Davis, Patrick Ryan, and either Jeff Burke or Max Waizenegger to pick up yards after the catch to extend the Lehigh defenses. Kempf must be careful with sacks, as Lehigh enters the game with 25 on the season. Advantage: Even.

Lehigh kicking game versus Georgetown return game: Lehigh punter Tim Divers is averaging 37.5 yards a kick, with 10 inside the 20 and only one touchback all season. Lehigh stands to gain on field position if Divers is at the top of his game, and Jeremy Moore will be tracked very closely. Advantage: Lehigh.

Georgetown kicking game versus Lehigh return game: The Hoyas have been, for the most part, capable of containing kick and punt returns, but the advantage isn't overwhelming. The efforts of the return teams really need to be heightened, and avoid post-possession penalties. Advantage: Even.

Intangibles: This is Georgetown's first trip to Goodman Stadium for nearly two thirds of the team, and while the pressure is on Lehigh to win the title in front of the home crowd, the younger Hoyas need to settle down and not get overwhelmed by the atmosphere and the nature of a title game. Lehigh has been there, done that, not so for Georgetown. Advantage: Lehigh.

Some keys to the game:

1. Get Ahead Early: Georgetown is 8-0 this season when leading at halftime, and are not considered a comeback team when trailing by 10 or more points. Lehigh may strike early to put the Hoyas in a deep hole early, something they were unable to do against Holy Cross. For its part, Lehigh is 7-0 when leading at halftime.

2. Linebacker Penetration: Watch to see how eager either defensive coordinator will be to commit linebackers to the run or to drop a linebacker into midfield protection. Establishing a ground game early for Georgetown may force all-PL candidate Mike Groome (78 tackles, 4.5 TFL) to stay closer to scrimmage.

3. Playing The Fourth Quarter Like any boxing match, the favorite is hoping for an early knockdown and a decision before things get late. Georgetown must play to be in contention by the fourth quarter, and when it has a lead to play with the same intensity as it would in a comeback. This balance was best seen in the Colgate game and will be crucial as Georgetown tries to manage the clock as well as the scoreboard.

Georgetown would do well to follow the road map of the past three games: shut down the run, control the passing lanes and lock down Lehigh in the red zone, and pick up turnovers in the secondary. The task is a steeper climb against Lehigh, but so is the reward. Underdogs thought they may be, Saturday's game is both an opportunity and an affirmation of a remarkable turnaround, and opportunity that doesn't come along every year...or decade. Make the most of it, and while the Lehigh fans may still not understand the Hoyas, it's time for them to respect them.

Week 9 Thoughts

2011-11-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

Some brief thoughts following Georgetown's 19-6 win over Holy Cross:

This was the first (and likely only) game this season I wasn't able to catch a radio or TV feed, owing that I was at the Georgetown campaign kickoff events. As a result, it would be improper to relay game day thoughts and impressions. But one cannot help but be impressed by the effort and the result.

In its last 24 games where its opponents were held under 20 points, Holy Cross was 23-1. Now it's 23-2.

Holy Cross had its opportunities, a given. But Georgetown had its opportunities to stop the Crusaders on fiurth down, to force a fumble and to make their own history, and they stepped up to do it. After a decade of grumbling by various Patriot League fans (and a few Georgetown ones) that the Hoyas were not up to to the task of being a competitive Patriot League program, you don't hear as much of that anymore.

So, as we near the Senior Day game with Fordham and a memorable finale with Lehigh, it bears repeating how much Georgetown needs to express its thanks to these seniors, the ones that lost 18 of its first 20 games, and 11 straight in 2009, when nothing was going right. These are the men that didn't quit, that didn't transfer, that found a way to keep working and keep training and keep looking forward and not back. The ones that lost six of its last seven games last season and didn't quit. The ones that took a hard loss to Bucknell a month ago and didn't give up.

Many years ago,a Prairie View A&M running back was asked what he though of that's school's monumental losing streak in the 1980's. "Nobody gets used to losing." And while Georgetown has never faced the struggles of a Prairie View, a Northwestern, a Columbia or schools tagged with long and bleak losing streaks, the past ten years of Patriot League football have been a dark cloud around the program, that the budget and the unfinished field and the losing ways were all endemic of a program which could never succeed.

In 2009, these then-sophomores faced another challenge, one which was never proven to be more than a hoax or a sad prank. On the night of the season finale, with the 0-10 Hoyas about to face Forham on Senior Day, a phony e-mail was sent to players claiming that the University would close the program in 2010. There was nothing of the sort, but as those players trudged off Multi-Sport Field after losing 40-14, the sophomores had to be asking themselves what they had gotten themselves into. The next week, a parent responded on the football message board.

"My name is Pat Matheny. My son Daniel was a four year starter at center and two year captain. Unfortunately he missed 7 games due to injury. He played his last game against Fordham [on] 11/21. This ends 14 years of football. I am not a football coach, I am a supportive parent. We are not unique. There are a hundred other players and parents with the same story.

"This season was extremely difficult for all of us. Believe me when I say that ALL persons involved worked very hard to make this program successful from a win loss perspective. Over fours years things happen within the team you never hear of. Death in someone's family, loss of close friends, cancer, serious player injuries, the list goes on. Then add to this year an anonymous previous player/parent sending e-mails directly to the players the night before the Marist game that Georgetown is dropping football after the 2010 season and you have a recipe for disaster. Believe me no one on this blog wanted success more than me and my son. It just did not come in the form of victories.

That having been said, think about this:

There are multiple factions that occur when a team goes 0-11. Everyone involved carries some blame. That does not mean players/coaches are not GOOD. The worst player on the 2008-09 Detroit Lions was a superstar in Div-I football.

"These players are basically volunteers. There are need based grants,. Yes they are admitted to an outstanding university, but I basically pay tuition. It's very difficult for any coach to get players into this system...

"I know some of you played here. The perception of this program is very negative. The university does not offer any viable support for the team and coaches. No matter what anyone thinks the fact that recruits come to campus and see unfinished Multi Sport Field with its temporary stands and porta potties is a turn off...The athletic department told the parents that there are no plans to drop football. they are close to finishing the field. I have heard that story multiple times over the past 4-5 yrs. I talked with Daniel about that. I said it doesn't do anything for you. He responded "Yes I know, but it helps our program improve."

"My suggestion is to put pressure on the school administration to show STRONG signs of support that include facilities. Make our non Patriot games reasonable competition. Focus on the benefits of a Georgetown education. We ALL want success on the field. There are multiple problems. They can be worked out. Remember 900,000 young men play high school football. approx. 28000 play in all of Division 1. Our players have much potential.The glass is half full...Move ahead."

This is the circumstances to which the seniors endured, overcame, and in Senior Day this week, can stand above.

In 2010, the Georgetown Voice wrote: "There is no easy cure for Georgetown football’s ills. In the end, it comes down to unwavering commitment from everyone involved. The University has to back the program with its full financial and administrative support. The coaches have to always keep working, whether on the field, in the film room, or on the recruiting trail. Fans and alumni need to show up and pay up. The players need to go hard on every play in games and in practice. For those who have watched the Hoyas flounder in recent years, that may seem impossible."

There is nothing impossible when it comes to sports and if the 2011 Georgetown Hoyas have taught us anything, it's precisely that.

Week 8 Thoughts

2011-10-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts following Georgetown’s 40-17 victory over Colgate on Saturday:

All Three Phases: I’ve followed Georgetown football closely for 18 years and have seen games for a dozen more, and I will pay a compliment when it was due—Saturday’s effort against Colgate was among the top two or three games I’ve seen for the Blue and Gray. Yes, there were some well played games out there: Duquesne, 1997, Holy Cross, 1998, Cornell, 2003, but what was remarkable about Saturday’s effort was something coaches like to talk about: the "three phases" of the game: offense, defense, and special teams.

Every phase came up big Saturday.

Offensively, start with the line. For a decade, Georgetown has suffered with offensive lines that were too small, too slow or just injury-plagued, allowing defenses to flood the box and provide Georgetown’s running backs with little protection. Saturday, the line continued its growth this season and owned the line of scrimmage, allowing the running backs opportunities to get yardage, while protecting the quarterback and giving him time to find receivers. In Saturday’s game the offensive line, which have up five sacks in the 2010 loss to the Red Raiders, allowed one coverage sack this year, for no net yards lost.

The running backs also excelled. Wilburn Logan averaged 6.6 yards a carry, Brandon Durham seven. With line support, backs can get it done, and when the backs are getting yards, it opens up opportunities for receivers. Jamal Davis’ opening TD paved the way for Georgetown to dictate tempo and maintain offensive consistency after Colgate had dominated time of possession in the first quarter.

Defensively, the game was a gem. Anytime a team holds the #7-ranked rushing game in the nation to 84 yards entering the final series of the game, it’s worth saluting. Nate Eachus was stopped in a way no one before (or maybe since) will do, and you saw inspired tackling and defensive focus from the line and the linebackers. Georgetown’s secondary continues to make big plays and its reads on Colgate QB’s Gavin McCarney and Ryan Smith shut down three second half drives that could have got Colgate back in contention. Robert McCabe’s 15 tackles was one of many outstanding individual efforts defensively.

Special teams, the third "phase", was efficient throughout. Matt MacZura’s punting has struggled this year but he got it done without incident Saturday, Brett Weiss was 4-4 on the field goals and the kick return game (Jeremy Moore and Kevin Macari at he forefront) gave Georgetown vital field position all day. One stat tells it all: between return yardage and turnovers, the average starting field position for the Hoyas was midfield, and that’s a great place to start for any team.

Well done to the team, well done to the coaches who really studied the film on Colgate despite the uncertainty on Eachus’ recent absence, and well done to all the preparation in spring and in August that has now completed what was once a lofty goal for the program: a winning season. Now, an even more impressive goal awaits, and it starts at Holy Cross Saturday. A win over the Crusaders would put Georgetown in line for a shot at the PL title in three weeks versus Lehigh, something once unthinkable in PL circles.

Time to put away the plaudits from Colgate, and now focus on the task (and the opportunity) at hand.

How Many More? Saturday’s attendance was 3,215, and so many people tried to get in the game that Georgetown students migrated over to the visitors seats to get a better view, and others were left watching the game from the Hariri (business school) steps. For the amount of people on campus that afternoon (well over 5,000, by some estimates), the MSF should have been accommodating to as many of these guests as possible.

Which raises at least three questions.

1. What is the plan to provide Homecoming seating for home fans? At some point, Georgetown needs to assign seating so it knows when it is oversold.

2. Why can’t Georgetown employ temporary seats in the end zones or along the thick brush along the 40 yards in the northwest corner not occupied by stands? If people knew there were seats to be had, maybe they’ll be more likely to attend.

3. Can there be some effort to provide suitable pre-game and halftime activity at the field and not just at the tent?

And, while we’re at it, THAT question:

Is Georgetown any closer to keeping the promise it made a decade ago about actually finishing the MSF, and not letting what purports to be a field degrade even further?

Myopia, Or HoyaVision? For out of towners such as myself, the video feed from GUHoyas.com is an essential means of following the team...when it works. Saturday’s game had no audio for the entire first half.
Audio and video overage is vital in the Internet age but still seems to be a point of confusion at the Hilltop.

Football needs more than a one camera setup on top of the press box, and hope that someone is picking up the transmission. By contrast, Verizon FiOS broadcasts home games with a full production setup, yet 99.99% of fans will never see it. There has to be a way whereby Chuck Timanus could have more resources to broadcast the game with the ability to reach more fans in a way that people will want to watch, and that any agreement to show the games on cable TV gets the opportunity for wider clearance (even if tape delayed) than the FiOS public access channel.

Yes, we know the campus can see the games. Let's take a longer view.

A Tree Falling In The Forest: Which is more surprising: a) no local reporter sent a reporter to cover the Georgetown game, b) that the Howard Homecoming game was equally shut out, c) Georgetown was oversold and no one covered it, or d) that Howard had 3,000 empty seats at its game?

If the papers don’t or won’t commit to regular coverage of local teams, it’s time to revisit an old practice in the print medium—the stringer. A stringer is a free lance writer paid per story to cover what the staff cannot. Certainly there are writers at The HOYA, the Voice or Howard’s Hilltop who would be thrilled to see their name in print in a major newspaper with a recap of the game and would do so for little or no remuneration (though, we hope, it is the former).

With coverage comes awareness. With awareness comes interest. With interest comes support. With support comes growth. It’s got to start somewhere.

Week 7 Thoughts

2011-10-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts following Saturday’s 21-3 win over Howard:

How To Build A Rivalry: In his post-game comments, coach Kevin Kelly was right on target that Georgetown-Howard can be a rivalry game to benefit both schools. But are the parties listening?

Saturday’s game drew a MAAC-like 1,891 to Greene Stadium. No Hoya Blue caravan, no Showtime Band halftime, nothing. Subtracting Magruder and Gwynn Park, the two high school bands that played in Howard’s own absence, you might have had 1,500 people there. What gives?

First, Howard has to start caring about this rivalry. This week, the Bison play its Homecoming, a mix of activities and celebrity watching that would dwarf anything on the western side of the G2 bus line. YardFest, step shows, a Homecoming Parade, and wondering which rappers will find their way to fraternity row draw thousands to the weekend of events, though not always the game itself.

The game is very much a celebration of the HBCU experience, while the buildup to Saturday’s game with the Hoyas had all the enthusiasm of a women’s volleyball game. The Howard athletics web site didn’t even post a pre-game article, by contrast, its front page was a three minute video touting the Homecoming experience, with the words and music sounds of the late Notorious B.I.G.: "Ain't no tellin where I may be..May see me in DC at Howard Homecoming." (He was said to have made his professional debut at YardFest.)

But in 2011, would Howard promote a game with Georgetown? Why? Do Howard students even want to play a school like Georgetown?

Second, Georgetown has to start caring about this rivalry. For much of the last decade Georgetown ahs put all its promotional assets into basketball and students come to assume that since no other sports are promoted by the school, no other sports are worthy of their support. Two thousand showed up for Midnight Madness, but how many of them took the bus to Howard? How many of them were even aware of it? Was it mentioned at Midnight Madness? Was it promoted by Hoya Blue? Do Georgetown students even want to play a school like Howard?

Third, the DC community has to start caring abut this rivalry. Earlier this year, Howard signed a deal with AT&T to sponsor an annual game with Division II Morehouse at RFK stadium. AT&T provided promotional support and the game drew 18,403. How much excitement would be leveraged for Hoya football if it could play before 18,000 at RFK Stadium?

Nothing against the fine men of Morehouse, but there are probably 60,000 alumni of Georgetown and Howard in a one hour range of RFK Stadium, and with any, iota of coordinated publicity, both schools could gain a tremendous boost from a game of this magnitude and a sizeable walk-up crowd as well. It takes a village, and some sponsors too. Will either school reach out from its comfort zone and support an event that is not Howard Homecoming or Georgetown Basketball?

Where Was The Mayor? Can there be a Mayor's Cup if the Mayor isn't there to present it?

Mayor Vincent Gray's schedule Saturday included a rally with the Rev. Al Sharpton from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm which drew "several hundred", according to press reports, to push for DC voting rights. That evening, he attended a MLK dedication dinner. His web site did not list any official events from 1:00 to 6:00 pm.

Various reports in the DC press suggest Gray never made it to Greene Stadium that afternoon. If the current DC chief executive isn't supportive of an event which bears his office's name, maybe the Mayor's Cup needs a new sponsor who is more supportive
.

Air Defense: One number that really jumped out from Saturday’s game wasn’t the stout run defense or the third down conversions from the game recap, but the way Georgetown’s pass defense stepped up its efforts. Howard has been in the rise in the passing game and it just wasn’t there Saturday, in part to a better effort in the secondary. Yes, the Hoyas miss Jeremy Moore (of whose ongoing suspension nothing has been said in official or campus reports) but Stephen Atwater has stepped up and filled the role well.

Ground Control: Meanwhile, the rush defense faces its toughest test of the season Saturday against Colgate. The Red Raiders have endured another slow start but are picking up the momentum, and their ability to win the game usually rests on the shoulders of its running backs, which always seem to run roughshod over Georgetown’s defenses.

Two keys to the Colgate ground attack-- QB Gavin McCarney and RB Nate Eachus—were each held out of Saturday’s overtime win over Cornell. Eachus is working through the effects of a concussion, and with a doctor’s OK would be back in action Saturday. Eachus rushed more in the first quarter than Georgetown rushed all day in last year’s game, and finished with 44 carries for 214 yards against the Hoyas. Clearly, he would be the focus for Georgetown’s upset-minded hopes should he play in the game.

Ground Control, Pt. 2. On Georgetown’s side of the line, the rushing numbers are in decline. The Hoyas have rushed for 1,024 yards in six games, but nearly half (485) come against the two Pioneer opponents on the schedule. Between Claytor, Logan, Campanella, and Durham, the coaches have to figure out a better way to leverage their speed if they can’t plow inside. These four accounted for only 85 yards against Howard Saturday.

Home-coming: For a five game road trip, 3-2 is a good outcome. It’s a little disappointing that students aren’t following the team as closely as they should, but these kids deserve a loyal and loud following on Saturday. Over the last year and a half, Georgetown has gone from 0-11 in 2009 to 9-9 (.500)—a number not insignificant given the size of the hill to which it is climbing and the amount of road games needed to do it.

Georgetown has never defeated Colgate in this century, most of the games haven’t been close, and the fans of the Red Raiders usually don’t take this game very seriously. Ah, what a win could mean for these kids and this program. Let’s make this a week to get ready for a great game.

Week 6 Thoughts

2011-10-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts following Saturday’s 24-10 win over Wagner:

Kempf: A Step Ahead? During Georgetown’s platooning of quarterbacks, it was said that Scott Darby was the running QB who couldn’t consistently throw, while Isaiah Kempf was the passing QB who couldn’t consistently run. In recent games, however, Kempf may be proving conventional wisdom wrong.
In the Wagner game, Kempf had 11 carries for 46 yards, before three sacks netted to 35 yards. Not a huge number, granted, but Kempf is developing as a better runner when necessary, and that’s the operative word—necessary. Georgetown neither needs nor wants its quarterback to lead the stat sheet in carries, but if Kempf can keep opposing defenses honest, it’s going to open up opportunities—if not with Wagner, than in upcoming games.

The platoon still seems to be in action, so the job isn’t Kempf’s to stay. Still, he’s making a positive impression into the Howard game.

Defensive Stat Of The Day: I can’t say enough about how the defense has stepped it up this season. Here’s one number that is fairly obvious: Wagner (entering the game at 160 yards rushing per game) ended up with 33 carries for 77 yards, with a long of 21. Outside that one run in the third, Wagner was rushing 1.7 yards per carry, and managed only six rushes for first downs in the game—three each in the first and third, but none in the second or fourth quarters. Well done, Hoyas!

Defensive Stat Of The Day, #2: Wagner was held to 3-18 on third down conversions, a big improvement from Bucknell’s 9-17 conversion the week before.

Here Comes The Cup: Georgetown and Howard return to the gridiron in the best regional rivalry that really isn’t one. For some reason, this game gets no “pop” from the fan bases of either school, and local interest seems to be at about the level engaged during the Steve Dean Memorial trophy games with GU and Catholic.

It’s not enough to say that I-AA city rivalries don’t draw interest. Morgan State and Towson (one HBCU, one not) battle for local bragging rights and draw representative crowds, with just short of 10,000 in the stands to open this season. In Philadelphia, Penn and Villanova drew 10,071. In New York, Columbia and Fordham drew 6,820 to 7,000 seat Jack Coffey Field.

Obviously, the unfinished Multi-Sport field isn’t accommodating crowds like this, but 10,000 seat Greene Stadium can. It remains to be seen, however, what interest the Bison can draw this season after such a poor start to open its season. Howard’s only home game at Greene this season drew 4,063 versus Norfolk State.
In 2008, columnist Dick Heller of Washington Times had this description of the outcome of the first game between the schools:

“Howard coach Carey Bailey tried to explain how the Bison managed to lose their opener to a poor opponent while a few thousand home fans mumbled and grumbled in the stands. The Bison lost the ball four times and didn’t do much when they hung on to it. After Floyd Haigler’s 5-yard TD pass to Willie Carter in the first quarter, Howard’s attack was totally inoffensive.

"We have to do a better job of coaching," Bailey said, using a standard excuse after a losing game. Not to mention a better job of playing. As Bailey spoke, three Bison players sat morosely at his side. Losing to a team like Georgetown is enough to depress anyone."

But, hey, cheer up, coach. Regardless of the outcome, doesn’t it make a lot of sense for Howard to play Georgetown? Dry chuckle. "It would make lot more sense if we had won."

And Heller added: “Nowadays, both football programs have nowhere to go but up, and it’s fitting that they try to do so together. Mediocrity marked their first joint appearance, but that impression need not be lasting.”

Three years later, the teams have as many wins in the 2011 season (seven) as the two teams managed in all of 2009 and 2010 combined. It would be great if the coverage and the crowd reflected it.

Week 5 Thoughts

2011-10-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts following Saturday’s 35-18 loss to Bucknell.

Bucknell isn’t Marist. We said as much last week, but Bucknell proved a significant step up in competition from the previous week’s effort. Although the Hoyas made its share of mistakes (and no matter what a team can do, fumbling on the second play carries no excuse), this game was won by a Bucknell team that did its homework and controlled the three phases of the game.

Offensively, Bucknell was not afraid to mix up the calls, especially seizing opportunities against a Georgetown secondary that has underperformed this year. Defensively, the Bison shut down the Georgetown running game and further wounded its ability to be an effective option in league play. The disappearance of stats for Nick Campanella (229 yards in three non-conference games, 22 yards over two league games) bear this out. Special teams-wise, the Bison overcame a pair of poor punts and held its own on punt returns, less so on kick returns. Most of all, Bucknell won the turnover battle, and that was the key stat from this game.

Yes, Georgetown had its chances, particularly to start the second half, but a lack of depth can hurt down the stretch, and it did. The offensive line never seemed to adjust to Thomas Gallagher’s absence, the same for the secondary minus Jeremy Moore. When starters struggle, Georgetown does not have the firepower to pull from its bench. That’s a point of concern as the season enters the second half of the schedule, when injuries take its toll and the strength of schedule starts to climb.

Moore’s Status: The announcement on Saturday that Jeremy Moore was suspended for the game was rare for Georgetown—if a player has been suspended in the last decade before a game, I’m not aware of it. The last time I’m even remotely aware of players were removed from the roster was in early 2004, when sophomore Alondzo Turner and senior Byron Anderson were placed off the pre-season roster without fanfare.

If this was men’s basketball and a player of Moore’s talent was suspended for a game, the HoyaTalk boards would be ablaze, but again, this isn’t basketball. Nonetheless, Moore is a good kid and I hope whatever was at issue Saturday can be resolved for his prompt return.

Strength Of Schedule: Some sobering numbers in this regard: in the 59 games of the Kelly era, Georgetown is 12-47, but 6-2 against Davidson and Marist; put another way, they’re 6-45 against everyone else. Of Georgetown’s 12 wins since 2006, 11 have come against teams which ended their season below .500 --only a win over 6-5 Holy Cross in 2010 could be categorized as a upset.

So what awaits the Hoyas in the second half of 2011? Saturday’s game at 1-4 Wagner should be one the Hoyas can win. The Seahawks are struggling, albeit with scholarships: Wagner has played just over .500 ball over the last two seasons at Grimes Hill, but Georgetown hasn’t won a non-conference game beyond Davidson or Marist since Howard in 2008.

As for Howard, that’s a competitive game, too—the Bison have wins over Div. II Morehouse and MEAC newcomer Savannah State, the latter of which ended a 0-29 streak in MEAC play for the Bison dating to 2007. But following Howard, the Hoyas must end the season with the PL’s best: Colgate, Holy Cross, (Fordham), and Lehigh—all of which expect to end the season over .500.

Hoya fans are a remarkably patient group, and a 5-6 record in 2011 would represent progress across the board. To do so, Georgetown needs to step it up over the next two weeks.

The Freshman 15: At the halfway point in the season, half of the 30+ newcomers have seen action, with significant contributions from starting DL Jordan Richardson, OL Mike Roland, and WR Kevin Macari. Each of these three have been great additions this season, and Richardson figures to be a prominent GU lineman after Andrew Schaetzke graduates in 2012.

Most of the action from the frosh has been on defense and special teams, with DB Javan Robinson, LB Nick Alfieri, DB Chad Coleman, DB John Egan, DL Kevin Bond, DL Alec May, DL Xander Carpousis, DL Peter Daibes, and DL Joe Rosenblatt getting on the field through five games this season. But I wouldn’t be too concerned of the lack of time for the remaining freshman—it’s OK to serve some apprentice time and not be thrust into the lineup, especially in skill positions. Hard work and learning the college game should be the prime ingredients for the freshmen, whether or not they are on the field this season.

Most Unusual Georgetown Football Sub-Reference. Ever. From the Georgetown Voice:

“During his lecture on Friday afternoon, filmmaker and author Michael Moore demonstrated an acute sense of his audience and location. Not only did he acknowledge that Georgetown has been or will be host to such conservative figureheads as Karl Rove and Ann Coulter, but he drew a political parallel that would make Hoyas from any corner of the political spectrum crack a smile. When discussing the voting patterns of young people, he explained why so few 18- to 25-year-olds bothered to vote in the 2010 midterm elections. “[Obama]’s been playing it like Georgetown football,” he said. The crowd erupted with laughter, whoops, and applause.”

OK, so someone probably slipped this into his speech, right? That is, unless Moore is:

a) a secret Georgetown football fan,
b) a fan of the Hoyas’ Michigan products (Mose Hogan, Chad Coleman, James Spaly, Mike McIntyre), or
c) a very happy man now that Jim Schwartz (C'88) has the Lions at 4-0.

Either way, it’s probably the only time you’ll hear a major speaker mix presidential politics and Georgetown football.

For this year, anyway.

Another Day At The MSF

2011-09-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

“Rumors abound that Harbin Field will eventually be turned into a real stadium, to be used by such teams as soccer, football and lacrosse. If this is the case, it will be a major boost for campus ... The university should do all that it can to provide better accommodations; after all, having sports on campus for all to enjoy follows the Jesuit ideal of educating the whole person - mind and body. We already have the teams ... now let's live up to our reputation and give them the facilities they deserve."—The HOYA, 2000

Day 2,200 for Phase 2 of the Multi-Sport Field (nee Facility) was much like the previous 2,199: nothing to see here.

For those who have forgotten (and there are too many), “the most significant project in the history of Georgetown Athletics” sits idly by, waiting for one of its various designs (there have been at least six, perhaps more) to rise from the sand and gravel that was laid down on a temporary basis in 2005 to accommodate the home season while construction would begin soon thereafter.

Except it didn’t.

It was to wait for the Southwest Quadrangle to be built. And it waits.

It was to wait for the Davis Arts Center to be finished. And it waits.

It was to be built in conjunction with the Hariri Business Building to be completed. And it waits.

It would surely be completed before the Science Building, right? And it waits.

Now, the 11-year project could be moved further back in the line as plans for a basketball training facility, the Intercollegiate Athletics Center, have come to the forefront. No one denies the need and the urgency for that project, not just for basketball but for all Georgetown sports, but now is not the time to put away the MSF plans for another five years and wait for the next capital project to come along and push it aside again. And frankly, it’s time for football and lacrosse supporters to speak up.

When proposed in 2000, the MSF (yet another utilitarian name for a campus that still has a 30 year temporary title for Village A) was priced at $22 million, not an insubstantial sum for what was a 4,600 seat field. (By contrast, Stony Brook got an 8,000 seat, $22 million stadium that looked like this ).

What Georgetown was really getting with the MSF was the ability to move offices out of McDonough in the absence of a training facility at the time, and when the price increased, more functionality was envisioned, from skyboxes to locker rooms.

In 2004, a number of factors intervened. Public fundraising stopped on the project, with reports of up to $12 million raised. A field was approved by the board of directors, but running electrical and plumbing lines to the business school took priority. Forty yards of fence was added with only half the 4,600 seat total in rented, temporary seats for the Brown game, but that was about it. A series of lights (mostly for team and intramural practice and less for game conditions) and a low-cost replacement to years of problems with a similarly low-tech scoreboard are the only changes to the area since the field debuted (and construction stopped) 2200 days ago on Sep. 17, 2005.

As time went on, athletic director Bernard Muir sold a phased approach to building the MSF, but made no outward progress, and left before the inaction caused any damage to his professional reputation. Dan Porterfield took over as interim director (a two month assignment that lasted over a year) and promoted a lower-cost alternative to get the project back in gear, but it too stalled. In his 17 months as athletic director, Lee Reed has not made any public statements as to its timeline.

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.

With the IAC assuming many of the locker, training, and facilities needs originally envisioned under the MSF circa 2000, what does this project really need?

Permanent seating and/or standing room for 5,000, ideally within a design that is aesthetically and architecturally consistent with that part of campus.
A workable press box
A contemporary scoreboard
Some minimum amount of game day space for players, coaches and officials
Replacement turf (after six years, the ten-year lifespan of the MSF surface is likely to wear out soon given its continuous use)
Fencing and landscaping around the entire complex, not one side of it.
Permanent concession and rest room areas, a source of derision in the lacrosse community this past season:

“I went to the G-Town/Nova game Saturday night. As we approached the stadium from the parking garage, I had in mind...posts about the lack of funding for the Georgetown program. I commented out loud that the stadium and field looked awesome, with huge buildings surrounding the stadium. Initially, I could not see any evidence to support the criticism from the Hoya alumni and fans. Then I noticed the chain link fencing, the construction gravel, the wooden ramp and the poorly constructed bleachers. I also saw tents, which I thought are probably used for the home and visiting teams. However, my biggest shock came upon observing the porta-johns. Then I began to understand and respect the frustration of the Gtown alumni. The final blow came at halftime. While the Hoyas players were playing their hearts out against my former team, I saw four of those Georgetown players in full uniform, waiting in line with me to use ......the porta-johns. I could only imagine a scenario more embarrassing for the players in the middle of a hard fought game. I, and other Nova fans simply stepped aside and allowed the players to go in front of us, as we collectively shook our heads. Loyalty to Nova does not in any way prevent support for the Georgetown lacrosse program. The Big East Lacrosse benefits when all teams are competitive. I have seen Villanova's Athletic Director and staff support the lax program and the benefits are clear. There is simply no reason the Georgetown AD should allow such an unacceptable situation to exist on its campus. It not only makes the program look bad, it makes the school look bad." –Laxpower.com

Even with inflation, this is not a $22 million project. Saint Louis built a 6,000 seat soccer stadium for $5.1 million. Denver built a 2,000 seat lacrosse stadium for $6 million. Arlotta Stadium was build for the Notre Dame lacrosse program for for $5 million in 2008 and was completed in 15 months. If Georgetown had a copy of Arlotta Stadium, students and fans would do backflips.

It’s not enough to delay the MSF yet again because Georgetown can only build one project at a time. This would be an ideal opportunity to leverage the construction resources that will be needed at the IAC and get the MSF (ideally with a new name) up and running. Raise the money in 2012, start building by the fall of 2013, even if it means moving late season football games on the road. Move lacrosse up to North Kehoe for the spring, and open it in time for the 2014 season opener, the 50th anniversary season for modern Georgetown football. Short of joining the Big East for football, and that’s not happening, no single effort would do more to engage and energize the football and lacrosse community than a recommitment to a permanent home for these sports on the Hilltop.

Name it after a donor. Name it for Dave Urick, or Frank Rienzo, or even Al Blozis. Name it for a sponsor if they care to contribute. No matter the name, the mere presence of a facility that, as the front page reminds us, is a home, a home that befits Georgetown. No one expects Jerry World on the edge of the Southwest Quad, but a reasonable place to watch a game, to enjoy a concert, or simply to spend a relaxing spring day watching teams practice. The present eyesore accomplishes none of this, and the institutional inertia surrounding this project can only be a distraction as the IAC fundraising heats up.

If this reads like I’ve made this argument before, well, I did. Below is an excerpt from a 1998 HoyaSaxa.com article:

“What is needed, therefore, is an adequate and expandable facility that could serve many needs--football, lacrosse, soccer, concerts, even commencement. Such a project would be a tangible commitment to maintaining green space at the Hilltop, a project that the University community could look upon with pride--just like any homeowner would. But if Georgetown builds it, will they come? First, they've got to know it's [coming].”

This is the time to recommit to a football and lacrosse facility for Georgetown University.

Week 4 Thoughts

2011-09-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts following Saturday’s 52-28 win over Marist:

1. Remember, It Was Marist. Not Bucknell, not Wagner, not even Howard. It was Marist.

If Georgetown is going to continue its move up the ladder of I-AA football, it has to dominate teams like Davidson and Marist and the Hoyas met the challenge this season. The Pioneer League is a lot like the old MAAC Fotball league in philosophy and talent, and if you’re in the Patriot League, you absolutely need to win these games. In recent years, that was not always a sure thing.

The Red Foxes entered the game with a good passing game, a poor running game, and a defense that could absolutely not afford turnovers. All three factors came to fruition in Saturday’s game. Marist's passing game was strong (300+ yards), its rushing game was poor (49 yards) and turnovers buried them Any team, whether it’s Marist or LSU, can’t give up three INTs that convert to short-drive touchdowns. That Marist is now a -7 in turnover margin after four games and is 1-3 makes sense. That Georgetown is now a +7 in turnover margin after four games and is 3-1 makes sense, too

And for those wondering, Bucknell’s turnover margin is +11, among the best in the nation.

2. Another Name In The Backfield. Brandon Durham’s strong effort in the Marist game adds another option to a need for the Hoyas entering October: depth in the backfield.

After four games, its smaller backs (Logan and Claytor) have not been able to make much headway with the offensive line. Nick Campanella had a big opening game but is now a marked man in opponents’ film preparation. A fifth option in the backfield opens opportunities to build a better running game and force the defense to pay more attention up front, opening up the secondary for a number of improved receivers.

For his part, QB Scott Darby had eight carries for 50 yards—good numbers for a quarterback, and reflective of the fact that a QB can’t (or shouldn’t) lead his team in rushing. While Georgetown has options in the air, it will win or lose in 2011 based on its ability to establish a running game. Saturday's game was another step in that direction

3. Best Number After Week 4: Sacks allowed: 2. In 2009, the Hoyas allowed 37 sacks, in 2010, 25.

4. Second Best Number After Week 4: Red zone conversions for touchdown: 13-16 (81%). In 2009, that number was 32%, in 2010, 60%.

5. The Week 5 Crossroads: Yes, few expected Georgetown and Bucknell to be at the top of the standings on October 1, but both will take it. As to week five, it can be a turning point for both teams

Georgetown has not won in week five since the 2003 season, while Bucknell has split its last six in the first week of October; surprisingly, the Bison have played at home on the first week of October six straight years while Georgetown hasn’t played the same week at home since 2006. (Two years ago, a winless Georgetown team lost at Bucknell 14-6 on Oct. 3, 2009.)

Georgetown could see its first 4-1 season in 12 years with a win, and despite two more road games ahead, could really build some momentum for a program unaccustomed to it. For its part, a Bucknell team which has only enjoyed one winning season since 2005 could make its own statement to go to 4-1 with three of its next four at home. Only one can do so, of course, and in a series where close finishes are a matter of course, it’ll be a busy week for both teams.

For once, there’s a lot on the line for the presumed second tier of PL football.

Week 3 Thoughts

2011-09-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts following Yale’s 37-27 win over Georgetown on Saturday.

1. Um, While We Were Away… Yes, the weekly blog post was held up with all the firestorm over Big East realignment. If a bullet has been dodged, it’s neither the first nor the last, and while it’s not the driver to the discussion, the issue of football at Georgetown plays a role in the outlook for basketball—namely, if Georgetown doesn’t want to commit to a more competitive football program (at least in the eyes of other schools, conferences, or TV networks), where does that leave the basketball one?

No one that I know is calling for a lease at FedEx Field and getting Urban Meyer on speed dial anytime soon, certainly not Jack DeGioia. But one of the byproducts of this latest mess is the growing idea that teams move or stay in tandem—Pitt and Syracuse, Texas and Texas Tech, Rutgers and UConn, etc. Who is (or would be) Georgetown’s wing man in future discussion? Are the Hoyas a coupled entry with Villanova, who may or may not see a second opportunity to jump start its PPL Park I-A bid? Does Vilanova, a team that has studiously avoided scheduling games with Georgetown in football to resist any temptation of comparisons, want to steer clear of being associated with Georgetown for its athletics future? If Villanova got an better offer elsewhere, would they weven try to bring Georgetown along?

If not, who? Does Georgetown want to take its chances in the world of college athletics as St. John’s traveling buddy? Are we just another Seton Hall? Another DePaul? Is Georgetown even less valuable as a major program if its athletic program is seeking as lacking in commitment, with or without major college football?

Late last week, over at the HoyaSaxa.com basketball page, I wrote the following:

‘If Georgetown has enjoyed unprecedented success in the last 32 years despite spartan and grossly inferior facilities, know that men's basketball is the engine. Georgetown has an impressive 29 sport program for over 700 men and women...because of men's basketball. It has build a worldwide brand for the University, its admissions, and the pride of the Georgetown community...because of men's basketball. If Lee Reed gets the long-delayed athletic training facility off the drawing board he will do so...because of men's basketball. But if Georgetown watches these assets disappear, so will its resources and ultimately its institutional support. If that happens, the basketball training facility will join a list of projects which Athletics could not secure funding for...and never got back.

“So if "change" means adding travel packages to unfamiliar locales like Ames and Waco and Lawrence, let's do it. If "change" means calling up Temple and UMass and rebuilding the old Northeast Corridor footprint, let's get it done. Georgetown doesn't need to settle for a national "CYO League" of faded Catholic programs that can only hope for one NCAA bid a year while the super conferences will clamor for eight and ten bids a year. And if "change" means setting a new course in an unfamiliar conference setting, much as Georgetown did in 1979, that should be vetted as well.”

When this scenario comes around again, and it eventually will, what kind of peer institution does Georgetown want to be associated with, and by whom? Answering that demands a positioning for football in the equation, whether as a university that aspires, that acquiesces, or simply accepts whatever fate is dealt it.

And if the Ivy League needs a ninth team for scheduling, well, that’s another topic entirely.

2. Special Teams: Special teams didn’t lose the Yale game but it was a major factor. Each of Yale’s first scores were the result of kickoff returns of 60 yards or more which set up short fields for the scores. Georgetown owned the kickoff return against Lafayette and had, on average a +4 yard gain in average field position to start a drive. Against Yale, that average number was a -6 yards.

3. Did The Hoyas Get Tired? During the radio broadcasts, the Yale announcers noted how Yale was wearing down Georgetown in the third quarter, and a few of the player quotes from Yale backed this up as well. While this was the first afternoon game for the Hoyas, the game time temperature (61 degrees) wasn’t the issue. The issue? For whatever reason (physical, mental, or teams adjusting at halftime) Georgetown is losing the third quarters in its 2011 games.

Against Davidson, the Wildcats held a 2:42 advantage in time of possession: 2- 4 on third down conversion versus Georgetown’s 1-4.
Against Lafayette, the Leopards held a 5:32 advantage in time of possession: 1- 4 on third down conversion versus Georgetown’s 0-3.
Against Yale, the Bulldogs held a 5:08 advantage in time of possession: they converted where Davidson and Lafayette didn’t (4-5 on third down conversion) versus Georgetown’s 0-3.

In 2011, winning the day means Georgetown must win the third quarter.

4. Freeze Frame: This was the point in the 2010 season where Georgetown’s offensive strategies began to wilt under film analysis by opposing coaches. Even though the Hoyas were nonetheless able to pick up a win in week four of the 2010 season, the seeds of its October decline were coming into play. It’s worth watching (figuratively, of course, to those not able to be in Poughkeepsie this week) to see if Marist is more proactive and keying on Georgetown’s offensive sets than its first three opponents were.

Offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude made few visible changes to the offense last season and the result reflected this. Will we see new wrinkles heading into October, or more that opponents can prepare for?

5. A Statement Win? The words “Marist” and “statement win” seem incongruous, but if Georgetown is to start making a move up the steep ladder of I-AA football, it needs to get to a point where games with Marist College are expected wins, not just competitive ones.

As Georgetown stalled and stumbled over the first decade of the patriot league, the gap between its skills and that of non-scholarship Marist has not been much. Since joining the PL, Georgetown is only 4-3 against Marist, and none of its wins have been by more than seven points. It has not defeated Marist in Poughkeepsie in three tries .

We’re not talking Lehigh or new Hampshire or even Dayton here, but Marist, a second-division team in the weakest conference in Division I-AA. This series shouldn’t be this close and this game shouldn’t be either, but the Hoyas have a habit of playing down to its competition in games like this. Much like it has begun to separate itself from Davidson in recent games (and Davidson’s not a powerhouse either), it must do the same with Marist, which will allow it to reach higher in the schedules and maybe, just maybe, be a little more competitive against the next tier upward, that being the Ivy League.

Georgetown’s records against Ivy schools since 2003? 0-11.

Yes, there is still work to be done. Lots of it. Getting a third win Saturday is the next step on a long climb.

Week 2 Thoughts

2011-09-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts following Saturday’s 14-13 win over Lafayette:

1. "Oh, The Humanity..." A good, hard fought game. A close finish. Both teams played well, right? Not if you read the post-mortems coming out of Central Pennsylvania. Titles and quotes like "Lafayette College staring into an abyss of disaster", "Saturday's horrifying 14-13 loss to Georgetown", and a "death march" of a schedule filled Brad Wilson's Monday column in the Easton Express Times. It's not like Lafayette lost to the Apprentice School Shipbuilders, did they?

Unfortunately, there's a thread in some PL writers which is not far removed from that. They see the Georegetown program as so far beneath the Patriot League as to be virtually noncompetitive. A loss to Georgetown is not seen as a win by a better team as much as it is the signs of a collapse by the other team.

"Georgetown is improving -- its talent level, especially on defense, increases each season," Wilson writes, avoiding any such laurels offensively, but past columns from the Express-Times and Allentown Morning Call still read as if Georgetown is making a step up from Division III.

I suspect some of this animus comes from having to travel to Washington and sit in what passes for a press box at the MSF. Whereas the press areas at Fisher Stadium are clean, comfortable and well stocked with food and beverages, the MSF has, well, none of this.

"This place is brutal," writes Paul Reinhard of the Allentown Morning Call. "I'm seated between the public address announcer and a Georgetown intern who is in charge of pumping music into the stadium."

"With 35 minutes to game time the Lafayette crowd outnumbers the Georgetown following," said Reinhard. Fact check: by gametime, the Lafayette crowd (maybe 500 or so, as evidenced by many empty seats across the way) are a fraction of the announced 2,435 at MSF, many spilling over from the temporary aluminum seating across the field. Then again, given how uncomfortable the MSF seating is, why would any Geogetown fans want to sit there a half hour early, anyway?

Bottom line, in the last 13 games, Lafayette is 2-11, Georgetown 6-7. At some point, the PL press will have to give Georgetown its due, but probably not this year.

2. What Worked: Offensively, Georgetown's running game was inert, and the Lafayette defensive strategies all but neutralized Nick Campanella after a strong showing agaisnt Davidson. But Isaiah Kempf was able to keep the passing game going in two key drives, and did the one thing that is essential to a good quarterback--he did not commit turnovers. Too often in prior games, Georgetown has collectively shot itself in the foot with turnovers with were converted into easy opponents scores and deflated the Hoyas accordingly. No such mistakes Saturday night.

Defensively, the Hoyas continue to surprise the experts, some of whom assumed Lafayette would have its way with the Georgetown secondary. In the final four Lafayette drives of the first half, the Leopards failed to pick up a single first down, and the secondary continues to step up its defensive play late in possessions. An opponent might get to the red zone, but Kaisamba, Heimuli, Quintero et al. aren't ready to hand them a ticket into the end zone. In two games, opponents are just 1-7 in red zone touchdown conversions. Georgetown is 7-7 in that same category. Outstanding!

3. Rushing Defense: Stat of the week: After two games, opponents are averaging just 1.9 yards a carry against the Georgetown defense. That's to be expected against a somewhat nonexistent Davidson run game, but the ability to hold Vaughn Hebron and the Leopards in check was a key factor in the game. As has been said before, a strong defense gives the offense more time on the field and more opportunities to build field position, and field positioned powered the G-men to the win Saturday.

4. Five Weeks Of White Jerseys: Much was made in the Lafayette press about a four week run on the road to start the season. Georgetown, unfortunately, can take that four and raise it. Georgetown's next home game will not be until October 22.

How (and why) did this take place?

If Georgetown and Yale were a home and home series, the Elis would be at Multi-Sport Field this weekend, but Georgetown signed a six year series which guaranteed Yale four home games (and three straight from 2010-12). it's been extended to 2013, so Yale gets home games over the next three years with no return game required. In Geoprgetown's view, a game against Yale still carries more prestige than looking to St. Francis or Campbell to pick up a game, and Georgetown's not the only school to take annual visits to New Haven. According to the College Football Data Warehouse, Dartmouth did not get a home game at Memorial Field versus Yale until 1971--that's right--the schools met at New Haven annually from 1924-1970.

As to the other games, Marist, Bucknell, and Wagner are return games, and there was no return by Sacred Heart, so the Hoyas accepted a road game at Howard, which isn't a home game but no bus trip, either. Let's be fair: home and away travel is a fact of football life, but if you don't have to play a game at the MSF, chances are you won't.

Still, five road games is an anomaly and a challenge. No Georgetown team has played five straight road games since 1940, and the travel can wear on a team. The story of the 2011 season will rest on those white jerseys.

5. A Story Worth Telling: I wasn't at Saturday's game, and didn't learn about this event until seeing photos posted on Jack DeGioia's Facebook page: the football team held a dinner Friday night in honor of Joe Eacobacci (C'96), whose death from the 105th floor of 1 World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 was also recognized at a pre-game ceremony. The dinner featured speeches by Coach Kelly, University president DeGioia, and Tom Eacobacci (B'93), Joe's older brother who was three years ahead of him on the team.

Those of us who were of working age that day will never forget where we were--whether in lower Manhattan, Washington DC, or at countless places worldwide. I was in New Orleans, attending a travel conference which was featuring a panel of airline executives that morning. The exodus of CEO's and airline executives from that meeting hall in those earliest minutes was telling that something was going on.

But to the kids on the football team, let's not forget that they were not much older in 2001 than that group of elementary students President George W. Bush was visiting in Florida. Today's freshmen were but eight years old, the seniors not much older than 11. As time goes on, the direct memory of 9/11 will not be a part of the lives of future Americans. By the time of the 20th anniversary, our college age population will have no memory of it.

We must not forget, nor must we let the passage of time diminish its impact and the sacrifices made to those who sill simply be too young to remember otherwise. I hope the dinner noted above can become an annual tribute to Joe and those Georgetown alumni who lost their lives that day.

"Those in [the Pentagon] that day knew what they were witnessing," said vice president Joe Biden at ceremonies yesterday. "It was a declaration of war, by stateless actors bent on changing our way of life, who believed that these horrible acts of terror directed against innocents could buckle our knees, could bend our will, to begin to break us, break our resolve."

"They did not know us."

Lost In Translation

2011-09-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Was it something he said?

Or maybe how people read (into) it?

Such was the curious response to an August interview in the Georgetown Voice with University president Jack DeGioia (C'79, G'95). The annual interview gives the student press an opportunity to ask some topical questions to DeGioia on the upcoming school year. To those that follow such things, the responses (on issues ranging from the August earthquake to the upcoming capital campaign) follow the calm, measured cadence that DeGioia offers in situations like these. Entering his 10th year in the office of president, DeGioia remains a steady hand on the ship of state that is Georgetown University—a well regarded ship on the high seas of higher education, but a ship seen as slow to change its course.

The interview also included DeGioia's thoughts on football scholarships and his reaction to Fordham University's move towards schoalrship football. As to the response within the University community to the interview, well, there really wasn’t any. The article gathered no responses at the HoyaTalk message board. Ten responses followed the Voice article, most mired in a somewhat internecine argument about how Latinos are defined in faculty recruitment.

A comment posted today from someone named Lynn Blackwell, was anything but obscure. The comments are below:

"I can’t begin to express my outrage at President’s DeGioia’s comments regarding the Patriot League. In just about all other areas of the Division I athletics played at Georgetown, scholarships are awarded. It is understood, that the time and commitment required by athletes, exceeds those required by “regular” students, particularly at Division I level. It is with this understanding that schools provide scholarships as incentives and recognition of these students abilities and their commitment to continue provide their services. Georgetown is fine with rewarding students with scholarships in other areas, basketball, lacrosse, tennis, etc. However, football is supposed to be different? I totally disagree. As long as the academic standards are high, providing scholarships to football students will not lower the type of players that Georgetown attracts.

How is it a school with such prestigious alumnus and such a high tuition, cannot cover the costs associated with football? I suspect, that if Georgetown invested in football [one fourth] of what is invested in basketball, they would have an exceptional football program. I think President DeGioia’s response regarding Georgetown’s participation in the Patriot League is a cop-out and it does a disservice to the student athlete’s that participate on the football program and to the coaches who have to recruit each year.

There is a large pool of qualified candidates that will not attend Georgetown, because their families make just enough money that will disqualify them from financial aid needed to cover the cost of attendance. If these athletes have worked hard on and off of the field and they qualify academically, Georgetown should be willing to step up and do its part."

Well, that’s a strong response. What exactly did DeGioia say, again?

Here’s the excerpt of the interview Blackwell cites.

Voice: The issue of scholarships in the Patriot League remains unresolved with Fordham’s continued presence in the conference. Where do you stand on the issue of football scholarships, and how do you see this issue affecting the football team and other athletic teams?

DeGioia: We compete in football in the Patriot League, and we joined the Patriot League because it was consistent with the way in which we want to conduct the football program, which is a non-scholarship program. There are three tiers of football. We’re non scholarship, the next tier is the Football Championship Series, 63 scholarships from my recollection, and then I think it’s 82, and 82 is the Bowl Championship Series. We’re the least-cost program that you can offer, and this has been an ongoing issue within the Patriot League. To date, we have sustained the commitment to non-scholarship, and Fordham has gone scholarship, but they’re not eligible for the championship within the Patriot League because they’re playing by a different set of assumptions.

DeGioia (continued): The Patriot League has worked for us in terms of providing a very good context for our football program. It’s been very competitive and it’s required the highest level of competition that we have ever played since the 1950s, and I’m very proud of the way our young men have represented us on our football field. 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."

The article link got picked up on a Division I-AA message board many Patriot league fans follow, and the responses were akin to a declaration of war. Some responses include the following:

"What a piece of **** statement from an enlightened individual. So..what about all the rest of the ethos of scholarships with every other sport you sponsor?"
"He has no clue about the football program except they are taking more money away from the well funded basketball team."
"I have been a strong supporter of Georgetown's participation in Patriot League football, but this statement by Dr. DeGioia really has to raise some eyebrows. Somebody had better clue him in that, regardless of the funding formula, the Patriot League fully expects all of its members to compete on a national level in FCS."
"He said that football scholarships - in and of themselves - don't fit in with the character and culture of Georgetown. It's as if he believes that any kid on scholarship for athletics is somehow against the culture of the institution. Either he feels that all scholarshipped kids don't fit in with the "ethos" of Georgetown - or that it's just specific to football players. Either way, it's an awful thing to be saying about the very students that attend your school. At the bare minimum it is incredibly hypocritical."

There’s a subplot to this ire, and it’s the Patriot League’s presidential punt last December on the issue of football scholarships. Lafayette president Daniel Weiss took a shot across the bow when he told the Lafayette student newspaper in advance of the vote he was not in favor of adding scholarships, and Weiss was held out to ridicule when the decision was tabled.

Proponents of scholarships in the league vary wildly in their outlook on its effects—some see it as elevating the league to better competing in the Division I playoffs. Others see it as a means to fend off the Ivy League’s growing advantages in need-based recruiting, while still others see the Patriot League going the way of the buggy whip and the landline telephone if it does not adopt a model as Fordham is already doing. Good people can agree to disagree on such matters, and that includes the PL presidents.

There also was some fan indigestion raised over DeGioia’s comment in the transcript that “there are three tiers of football” and "the next tier is the Football Championship Series”. “The real problem here is Dr. DeGioia's supposition that the Patriot League competes at a level below that of the Football Championship Subdivision,” wrote one fan. “That is wholly unacceptable.”

Except he didn’t say that.

(Note: My initial response, portions of which were previously posted on that message board, is included within the overall comments below.)

First, I don't see anything particularly remarkable in this interview, as it follows a long-held institutional belief that Georgetown is better suited as a program recruited and funded along the lines of the Ivy League than the Colonial Athletic Association (Delaware, James Madison, Richmond, etc.). DeGioia didn't say he wants out of the Patriot League or Division I-AA, only that the Fordham approach doesn't appeal to him.”

What is the “Fordham approach”? Well, for the uninitiated that haven’t read this blog for the last three years, Fordham is moving towards a 63-scholarship program that will increase its football budget to $5 million a year, or about 25% of its athletics budget. (By contrast, Georgetown spends about $1.4 million of its $29 million athletic program on football, or about five percent). It will allow Fordham to offer full rides (grants) to football players regardless of family income, while Georgetown may offer a lot or a little, depending on family income, and in varying forms of loan, grant, or work study. Fordham is leveraging this heightened investment to play one to two major college opponents a season (it lost to Connecticut in the opener, 35-3) and become a national I-AA playoff contender. Colgate would like to do this, too.

Lehigh, probably. Holy Cross and Bucknell, a little less so. Lafayette, as before, no. Thus, the aforementioned December "punt".

Do the absence of athletic scholarships hold the Patriot League back? Yes, but no less so than its long-held ban on 85% of all football recruits nationally who do not meet its self-imposed minimums on SAT and GPA, the Ivy-League approved “Academic Index”. (Some PL fans are quick to do battle on scholarships, but are otherwise loyal to the arbitrary nature of the Ivy Index, but that’s another topic.)

So for those unaware with Georgetown football, the obvious retort follows: “if you’re against scholarships, why do you have them in basketball?” But Georgetown doesn't have an philosophy against athletic scholarships. Some sports at GU are fully funded, some sit in the middle with need-based aid, and some get next to nothing at all, because it's never been able to fully fund all its sports (and unless you're Notre Dame, Stanford, or Texas, chances are your school can't, either). Football has long been a middle tier sport at Georgetown sitting between the fully funded programs (basketball, track, lacrosse, and soon, soccer) and those with even less (tennis, swimming, baseball, softball).

And without the ability to recoup scholarship expenses (as basketball can), where is the return on a 63-grant football program? You could charge $100 a ticket at the MSF for every home game, students included, and that still wouldn't fund 25 men's scholarships a year. Is there huge untapped demand for alumni to see Georgetown aspire to play Delaware or James Madison, assuming there is a place built to fit them?

On one level, it really is a money issue DeGioia is driving at. Georgetown doesn't view an extra $3-6 million a year (incorporating Title IX) in grant-based scholarships a good return for its investment, and it doesn't stand to make much of it back playing in the mess that is the MSF. The PL presidents also see much of the same paradox--they see Fordham drawing the same crowds as Bucknell and spending twice as much to do so, asking "what's in it for us, again?"

Jack DeGioia is not an casual observer here. He is the only PL president that actually played the game, and at Georgetown, no less. He is a past president of the Big East Conference, was invited to Mark Emmert's NCAA summit last month, and knows the PL's balance sheets far better than any of us do.

I neither claim nor pretend to have the view “behind the curtain” that DeGioia does, but some public data illustrates his institutional concern. U.S. Department of Education data allows readers to contrast schools by the amount of athletic-based aid it awards versus the number of participants in their sports. Georgetown University awarded $3.071 million in athletic aid to male participants in 2009-10 (I’m using the male half of the equation for consistency purposes across schools, below).

$3.071 million, sounds like a large number, but is it?

There are over 400 men on 14 Georgetown teams from baseball to sailing, and at a cost of $58,500 a year (tuition, room, board, books and fees), that amount “buys” 52.5 funded scholarship equivalencies (FSE’s), a term I use to describe the composite athletic aid available for a school to award.

What are the comparable male FSE’s for other Patriot League schools?

Colgate: 102.3 students
Fordham: 96.8
Lehigh: 89.6
Lafayette: 82.4
Holy Cross: 69.7
Bucknell: 67.3
Georgetown: 52.5

Yes, that's right: Georgetown spends less on athletic aid than not only Big East schools, but Patriot League schools.

But put another way, Colgate has enough athletics aid in its budget for 102 male students to receive some form of athletics grant…if the PL allowed it, of course. Currently, only men’s basketball and men’s soccer are scholarship-available, leaving the rest for various aid buyouts, but if Colgate wanted to convert some number up to 63 from its FSE list for football, there seems to be room to do it.

Allocating 52.5 scholarships for Georgetown wouldn’t even cover the football team, but remember, that number covers all 14 sports, not one. When you subtract out the commitments for Big East basketball scholarships (13), track (12.6), lacrosse (12.6), and soccer (maybe 6.3 out of the 9.9 allowed), that’s 44.5 scholarships. Some quick math leaves somewhere about eight FSE’s for ten remaining sports, including football. In business, that’s called a tight margin.

These may not be the hard and fast numbers at play, and I don’t suggest it is. But DeGioia does know the numbers, and he knows 63 doesn’t work at Georgetown. The Big East requirements for scholarship minimums in key sports don’t give Georgetown the wiggle room to transfer athletic aid into football in ways Fordham can--and Colgate could. To suggest Georgetown could is one thing. To suggest it would is quite another.

That having been said, DeGioia s also incredibly supportive of the Georgetown football program when others have been less so, and attends as many games as he can (although at the MSF, there's even not a box seat for him to sit at). But asking the Board of Directors to get behind a multi-million scholarship initiative that his head coach hasn't pushed for, that his athletic director hasn't pushed for, and frankly, the fan base hasn't pushed for is unrealistic. For a University that lost hundreds of millions of dollars before DeGioia took over, advancing a plan with little institutional support and with almost minimal ROI isn't good business sense for any CEO.

Fans at other schools didn’t hear that, of course. They read a statement from the interview as a roadblock to progress, to I-A games, to the kind of visibility Fordham aspires to.

Where DeGioia says “The Patriot League has worked for us in terms of providing a very good context for our football program,” they see “We’re non scholarship, the next tier is the Football Championship Series.” Yes, the Patriot League is part of the Championship Series and yes, there is a long standing funding gap at Georgetown between the two. The two statements are not mutually exclusive.

Of course, if someone wanted to make seven-figure gifts in that direction, he's not going to turn it down, either. Alumni have raised funds to fund women's soccer grants and a baseball grant here and there, and that's fine by him. Could Georgetown convert a few need based awards to scholarships? Maybe. But Georgetown itself doesn't want to be caught on the hook for 63 every year when the donors grow weary and the school’s balance sheet doesn't have that kind of leverage. If Georgetown fans like Lynn Blackwell want DeGioia to see the benefit in football scholarships and make it financially palatable to do so (as lacrosse did to their credit), well, why not work through the Gridiron Club and make it a priority? DeGioia has never drawn a Hunter Guthrie-like line in the sand and said “No More Scholarships For Us!” Instead, the approach has been that in an era where the university’s stated #1 priority is need-based aid, any drive towards scholarships that go beyond need would have to come from the constituents themselves and not at the expense of the University’s stated priorities. Absent some major donors to change the equation, why would any college president commit to doing otherwise?

For those that like to use such a debate to question Georgetown's interest in football, this quote from DeGioia bears repeating: "I believe the way that the Patriot League as 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."

Short of the PL mandating 63 scholarships, that sounds like an affirmation to me.

It’s all in how you read it.

Week 1 Thoughts

2011-09-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts following Saturday’s 40-16 win over Davidson:

1. It Was What It Was: A home opener is designed for three things, and Georgetown got each of them Saturday: 1) a win, 2) a successful opening for the offense, and 3) a win. And while fans left the unfinished MSF with some good feelings about the 2011 Hoyas, it’s always fair to keep it in perspective—Davidson isn’t Delaware, and Georgetown isn’t Eastern Washington, either.

The Wildcats entered the game picked ninth in the ten team Pioneer League, and its lack of running game really hurt its ability to mix up the offensive sequences. Still, Davidson was able to get four red zone possessions off its passing game, but misfired on two that could have really made the game interesting, none more so than midway through the third, trailing by seven. Davidson stood second and goal at the eight, then proceeded to give up a sack, an illegal forward pass, and a blocked field goal. One minute and 42 seconds later, the Hoyas were up 21-7 and never looked back.

The offense was proficient and the defense held its own, so you can’t argue with the results. The -7 yards rushing is the fewest allowed in 15 years, but Georgetown ought to be careful to put the win into context. Seven years ago, a similar verdict was reached over an outmanned St. Francis team, 36-7, whereupon the Hoyas defense remained strong but the offense scored a total of just one touchdown in the next three games. The longer-term takeaway from Davidson is not the win, but how it prepared the Hoyas for what lies ahead.

2. Welcome, Mr. Campanella. After years of struggles from the backfield, the arrival of RB Nick Campanella added a much needed boost to the Georgetown running game. Campanella rushed 13 times for a game-high 82 yards, with six of those rushes resulting in first down yardage and three for touchdowns. If there were accuracy statistics for that kind of running, he’d be off the charts.

To be fair, it’s not like Davidson had any game film of Campanella in the backfield, unless they tracked Campanella via his YouTube clips at Montini Catholic HS. The element of the unknown rendered Davidson fairly unaware of what to do with the big back, but Lafayette defensive coordinator John Loose will be doing his homework on defensive sets to limit Campanella off the line of scrimmage. For its part, RB’s Wilburn Logan and Dalen Claytor had much less impact against a defense they should have been able to make some against Davidson, and the task at hand is going to be tougher Saturday. Logan rushed for only 14 yards in last season’s game, while Claytor did not play. And excepting a 30 yard touchdown run by Philip Oladeji, the Hoyas managed just 63 yards on the ground last season versus Lafayette. A better rushing game by everyone will need to be in order Saturday.

3. Hold (Together) That Line. Both teams’ offensive lines came under scrutiny Saturday, for different reasons. The Hoyas seemed to hold its own but a couple of players were dinged up in the process. The ability of the offensive line to stay together is among the most pressing issues facing the 2011 Hoyas, and they’ll need a strong effort Saturday versus. Lafayette.

Across the sidelines, the Leopards didn’t do much with its line, with four seniors and three three-year starters, against a tougher North Dakota State team. Lafayette managed no running game of note, were 2-12 on third down conversions, and gave up four sacks. Not that Georgetown’s numbers wouldn’t have looked different had Georgetown took up the offer to travel to Fargo last year (NDSU had offered, and Georgetown declined, just such an offer) but Lafayette knows its needs a better line effort to allow QB Ryan O’Neil to go to work on the Georgetown secondary as he did so effectively last season.

If you’re looking for a storyline to Saturday’s game, start in the trenches.

4. A Successful Deployment. I’m a skeptic on the QB platoon process, having felt neither QB in the rotation has enough skills on both sides of the ball to dominate on both sides of the stat sheet. For this week, however, it paid off. Isaiah Kempf took advantage of Davidson’s gaps at linebacker and picked up some much needed yardage; how 16-24 passing was proficient and did not harm, particularly in the red zone. Lafayette presents some different quarterback challenges and it would not surprise me to see Darby back in the game next week—it’s going to be like this for much of the season.

5. Opportunities Lost. I can’t say enough about how the defense forced Davidson into mistakes on key possessions in the red zone. A blocked FG in the second, settling for a FG in the third, an incompletion on 4th and 2 at the 19. You’re talking about as many as 21 points coming off the table, and with two teams as closely matched as they were, you just can’t win like that.

Rewind, then, to the second game of last season. Here were the outcomes of four Lafayette second half possessions against the Hoyas:

66 yards, interception at the Georgetown 6
39 yards, missed a 33 yard field goal
61 yards, fumble at the Georgetown 17
60 yards, interception at Georgetown 23

The Leopards know first-hand that they can’t leave points like that on the table. But it’s up to Georgetown to do its part, too. Again.

The Patriot League and Georgetown, Ten Years Ago

2011-09-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

"The size and depth of #11 ranked Lehigh powered the Engineers past Georgetown, 41-14, in the Patriot League debut for the Hoyas. Despite the loss, and more tough competition around the corner, the game gave Hoyas fans a glimpse of some exciting times to come."--HoyaSaxa.com, Sep. 1, 2001

Ten years ago today, Georgetown made its Patriot League debut at Kehoe Field against Lehigh University, a 41-14 loss before 2,512 at Kehoe Field. The Hoyas, who had lost just 28 games in the entire MAAC era under coach Bob Benson, entered a decade that was, by most accounts, the worst in Georgetown's longstanding football history: from 2001-10, the Hoyas were just 28-81, 8-52 in the Patriot League (5-27 for Benson, 3-25 for his successor, Kevin Kelly).

Root causes for the last decade's performance are myriad: Georgetown offered far less financial aid than other PL schools, its academic index requirements were much more restrictive than its peers, injuries and player attrition cost it key contributors, and the ongoing failure of the Multi-Sport Facility project (prominently promoted in the 2001 media guide as "scheduled to begin construction in the fall of 2003") became a decade-long obstacle towards program stability. Whatever the causes, the 2011 Hoyas continue to build from the bottom up as they did that day on Kehoe Field, a site which was eventually ruled unplayable for intercollegiate play by the University.

The recap from that 2001 game, posted here, included the following:

"Lehigh made its statement early, returning the opening kickoff 50 yards to the Georgetown 41, and scoring three plays later. The Hoyas made a nice comeback, advancing to the Lehigh 19, but QB Sean Peterson's pass was intercepted in the end zone. Lehigh answered with a field goal to lead 10-0, and held Georgetown to frequent punts in the first half, extending the lead to 24-0 in the second. A fourth TD in the half was narrowly was avoided when DB Byron Anderson stripped the ball from Lehigh's Josh Snyder at the one yard line, following a 62 yard pass completion headed straight to the end zone. However, the Hoyas offense stalled, and Lehigh took the punt and drove for a 35 yard field goal, which sailed wide.

"With 3:35 to play, Peterson took the Hoyas on a 82 yard drive, culminating in an exciting TD pass from Peterson to Craig Agnello with no time outs and :02 remaining in the half.

"The two teams traded field position in the the third quarter, with Dave Wilson scoring on a 1 yard run to increase the lead to 31-7 with 3:46 in the third. Following a field goal to lead 34-7, Lehigh took advantage of Georgetown's special teams to block a Dave Paulus punt at the Georgetown 18. Despite holding the Engineers in a goal line stand, Lehigh pushed through on fourth and goal to lead 41-7.

"The Hoyas completed the last score, with Peterson finding sophomore Luke McArdle on a 38 yard touchdown strike with 5:28 to play. Overall, Peterson finished the game 23-33 for 288 yards.
"There was still a positive attitude on the sideline and on the offensive side of the ball," Peterson said in the Washington Post... "It was good to score late in the game. That shows we still had a lot of pride."

After the game, Benson told the Allentown Morning Call, "We realize what kind of team we were playing today. If you're going to start something, you might as well as start at the top and that's where Lehigh is right now."

Then and now.

The Most Important Games Of 2011

2011-08-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Now that was a long off season, wasn’t it?

There’s no denying that football is in the air, and amidst the tide of predictions and previews for college teams nationwide, the schedules demand our attention. Unlike baseball, where the prevailing wisdom is that anyone can win coming out of spring training, a lot of teams come into the season opener knowing the die is cast.
Vanderbilt is not winning the ACC. Indiana is not taking orders for the Rose Bowl. No one is putting names like New Mexico and Duke together when reviewing BCS matchups.

But if some teams can’t reach the summit in one season, they can certainly try to reach for it, and such is the case with the 2011 Georgetown Hoyas. I live roughly 15 miles from the site of the I-AA national title game and the odds that Kevin Kelly is leading his team onto Pizza Hut Park in January is not worth spending too much time on. The 2011 Hoyas are still too young, a step slow on offense, lack a playmaker in the backfield, and have not yet shown the ability to make it to the fourth quarter in games and still compete within it. That’s certainly not to say it’s time to make plans for basketball season, only that the holes over the last five+ seasons don’t fill back by themselves.

And when people circle a proverbial calendar and say this is the most important game of the season, which is it for Georgetown?

Howard? Colgate? Fordham? Lehigh? In fact I’d say there are two, and they are the first two weeks of the season.

Why now? And why Davidson and Lafayette?

Thanks to a gauntlet of a schedule that takes the Hoyas on the road five straight weeks from Sep. 17 through Oct. 22, home games are absolutely essential for Georgetown to build some…no, make that ANY momentum. Kelly-coached teams are 4-24 on the road since 2006 (to be fair, not much better than a 5-21 at home), but three of those road wins came within the first two weeks of the season. Put another way, Georgetown has not shown any ability over the last five seasons picking up road wins after game films are broken down and teams are picking up the GU sets.

The last four games are troubling in a different way. For a number of years, Georgetown has fallen victim to a Patriot league scheduling measure which allows its preferred teams (I can almost hear Chris Rock saying “Yeah! I said it!”) the ability to schedule three of more Ivy teams in the early season and backload its PL games, meaning that Georgetown would spend September in league play and be all but finished with league games when some were just getting started, with the Ivies already locked into their schedules. In each of the last two seasons, Georgetown has had just one PL game after Oct. 17.

This season changes that equation, although not necessarily to Georgetown’s immediate benefit. The Hoyas end the season with three PL teams and Fordham to run out the season, splitting two home (Colgate, Fordham) and two on the road (Holy Cross, Lehigh). Since 2001, Georgetown is a combined 0-18 against Colgate and Lehigh, 2-18 against HC and Fordham, and each of these teams enters late October and early November as significant favorites, home or away. That's not to say Georgetown can't win these games, but there's no track record of it, either.

So let’s return to Davidson and Lafayette. The Wildcats (3-8 in 2010) are a lot like Georgetown—they don’t recruit from depth, they struggle to maintain offensive intensity, and late season mistakes have begun to resemble a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Wildcats enter the 2011 season with a new offensive coordinator and a commitment to a pass-intensive game plan,emblematic of its days as a power in the Southern Conference (where the Wildcats even made the 1969 Tangerine Bowl). That promise makes it debut Saturday against Georgetown’s best secondary in a decade. If the veteran Hoyas can shut down the Davidson passing offense, the Wildcats are going to struggle. A lot.

So too, the Lafayette Leopards, who turned in a sub-par 2-9 season in 2010 but return depth and experience in the passing game for 2011. Senior QB Ryan O’Neil completed 20 straight passes against Georgetown en route to 343 yards last season, but four turnovers were Lafayette’s undoing in a 28-24 loss that still baffles the Easton faithful . Once again, the Hoyas and Leopards could come down to the Lafayette passing game and the Georgetown secondary. Were the Leopards looking past Georgetown that night, as most PL teams are altogether capable of doing? Perhaps. There’ll be no such looking ahead this time.

Lafayette’s opening schedule is as imbalanced as Georgetown’s, beginning at North Dakota State and three more on the road, with its first home game in October. Depending on the severity of play against ND State, the Leopards could arrive in Washington looking to recover, or coming off a big upset and ready for more. Similarly, Lafayette could be staring at 0-4 if things get out of hand early.

And that’s why the first two games of this Georgetown season, at home, drive the discussion thereafter. A 2-0 Hoya team after week two would have a fighting chance for redemption Yale, a better chance at Marist, a split at Bucknell and Wagner, and a toss-up at Howard that could see the Hoyas at 5-2 or better heading into Homecoming. A 1-1 outcome means the Hoyas have its work cut out for them to build some momentum on the road, where it has never done much agaisnt these opponents in the last decade: (0-2 at Yale, 0-3 at Marist, 1-4 at Bucknell). An 0-2 start is a hole this young team does not want to climb out of.

If you don’t believe the power of an quick start, look no further than last season. Coming off a winless 2009 season, the 3-1 start (and a last second loss at Yale) was the story of the season, not the six straight losses which followed. Were it not for the adrenaline from wins over Davidson and Lafayette to open the season, was a 1-10 season in its flight path?

Once again, Davidson and Lafayette are the biggest games of the season, and for a team with two home games thereafter, Georgetown must make the most of them, and give fans a reason to come back in October to see what they’ve done with it. Coach Kelly has raised the expectations game for a program whose expectations have been unusually low in recent years. It’s time to see the Hoyas take its next step forward.

National title game? No.

3-8? Likely.

So how about 5-6? It’s time to see the Hoyas take its next step forward, and for the next two weeks, it's all that matters.

Five Questions, Defense

2011-08-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

In the second part of some pre-season questions to consider for the 2011 Hoyas, this column focuses on defense.

1. How good can this defense be? In many years, the defense was considered as good enough to hang in games, but not enough to counter a noticeably weaker offense. In 2011, the Hoyas return seven starters on defense, as experienced a group on the field as any Georgetown team since its days as a MAAC power.

The return of Dan Lenihan to the rotation will certainly help the loss of two starters from 2010, so the Hoyas are almost looking at eight returning starters. But if the defensive line is really going to elevate its role in stopping rush-based offenses (read= Colgate and Lehigh, where the Hoyas are a combined 0-18 since 2001), look to sophomores Charlie Dann (6-2, 285) and John Porter (6-3,250) to be a part of that. Dann is ready for a move into the starting lineup but will have to fight for it, and freshman Mike Roland (6-4,310) can't be overlooked.

Georgetown finished the 2010 season ranked fourth of six PL teams in defense. Yes, there's experience, but yes, there's more to be done.

2. Can the linebackers step up? The pre-season prospectus wrote that "Three of the team's top nine tacklers, all three inside linebackers have graduated, including...Nick Parrish."

If Robert McCabe and Jeremy Grasso are the mainstays on the outside, a new middle LB will be vital for setting the tone for the defense. Senior Nate Zimmel didn't get as much starting time behind the mainstay of Parrish, and freshman Nick Alfieri could have a role before all is said and done. Sophomores Jon Brucia and Sean Campbell are at a point when they can legitimately challenge in the two-deep, but the sooner the Hoyas can settle on an middle LB, the sooner the outside backs can begin to get a rotation and into a rhythm.

3. How good is the secondary? Very good. Nothing against the freshmen, but don't be surprised if you don't see much of the newcomers with five seniors and a junior ahead of them on the depth chart. Some combination of junior Jeremy Moore and seniors Wayne Heimuli and Jayah Kaisamba are all candidates for all-Pl honors.

Georgetown finished last among the six active PL schools in pass defense--while they often bent but did not break (18 INT's),teams began to respect the secondary later in the season. A strong secondary may force teams to rely more on the run, which can help the Hoyas focus more strength up front. Heimuli, who has battled injuries in his college career, was nothing sort of a fearless tackler in high school and it would be great to see him really return to that level as a senior at Georgetown.

4. Any changes at kicker? Don't expect any. Brett Weiss seems set at PK and Matt MacZura had a solid freshman season at punter. For the first time in the Kelly era, the Hoyas did not add a kicker to the recruiting class, and that's a sign that its kicking staff (including sophomores David Conway and Devon Papandrew) can get it done in the years to come.

5. Can Time of Possession Be Controlled? This statistics has bedeviled the Hoyas over the years. As I wrote last year, "However, there is one statistic that cannot be ignored: time of possession. Georgetown's defense was on the field over 35 minutes a game last season, and you cannot win consistently when the defense gets worn out like that over the course of a season. Obviously, the offense could do a lot more on its part, but for its own sake the defense needs to work on improving third down conversion rates, particularly early in the season when the legs are still fresh and injuries and attrition have not yet taken its toll."

This year's defense is strong enough and experienced enough to do its part; inevitably, the offensive game plan will drive much of the inequity on time of possession that saw Georgetown average less than 26 minutes a game in possessions--which begets a tired defense.

With five straight road games from Sep. 17 through Oct. 22, the defense will be tested to be rested and ready. if the Hoyas have what it takes to weather this storm, it will be led on the defensive side of the field.
In Kevin Kelly's five seasons the defense has held opponents to 10 of fewer points just five times. Not encouraging, of course, but realize that three of those five were accomplished last year (Davidson, Holy Cross, Marist). 2011 could be an opportunity to match those numbers and give the offense a chance to compete into the fourth quarter of games that once were not competitive.

The experience is there, now it's time to put experience to the test.

Five Questions, Offense

2011-08-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

There's no denying it--football season is around the corner, and for those that wonder about it, Georgetown is back at work trying to improve on a 4-7 record which looks better than what it was.

The Hoyas started 3-1, yes, but thee of these opponents were in their first game against Georgetown's retooled offense and Holy Cross took a siesta in the second half in the fourth. While Georgetown played well in these games, the element of surprise was in force in the Lafayette win and the near-upset at Yale. By October, with tapes exchanged and opposing coaches tuned in to the style of play, Georgetown dropped quickly, losing six straight before earning a 14-7 win over Marist that should not been that close.

So, half-full or half-empty? It's August, so I'll go with half-full. And returning to some pre-season questions, fans need to take note of a simple truism--the defense will come to play every week, but unless the offense steps it up, it'll be another long season.

1. Quarterback-- Safety or security? The Darby-Kempf rotation returns for a third season. Is experience the better teacher, or is Georgetown playing it safe with the platoon system? In Scott Darby, you have a quarterback which can run the option and lead the various run-heavy formats that Dave Patenaude (and before him, Jim Miceli) favored, but he has never been a prolific pocket passer. By contrast, Isaiah Kempf is comfortable looking downfield, but seems a step slow in the backfield. I think there were two, maybe three games where opposing coaches saw this too, keying on the Darby-Kempf rotations as telegraphing Georgetown's game plan. In one game, Kelly substituted the two QB's by play, which was no less successful in 2010 than it was nearly forty years earlier, when Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry tried to solve the riddle of his own QB dilemma by substituting Craig Morton and Roger Staubach likewise, and all it did was give the Chicago bears' defense a field day in the backfield.

Georgetown needs to see more efficiency from its quarterbacks and a little more in the way in surprises. Absent an unforeseen appearance from backups Aiken and Skon, the two veterans provide a level of comfort for the coaches in that they understand the system better than anyone, but it's got to work better than it did in the second half last season.

2. Are the backs too small? It seems that there hasn't been a sizeable running back at the Hilltop since when, Marcus Slayton? With the likes of 5-8 Wilburn Logan, 5-8 Dalen Claytor, and 5-7 Brandon Durham figuring to get many of the carries, the coaching staff should be taking a look at 6-0, 215 lb. Nick Campanella, who moves into the backfield in 2011. No, there isn't a Slayton or even Charlie Houghton out there, but if Campanella can reduce some of the defensive keys on the smaller backs, Georgetown may be able to build a more effective running game and not one where the defense floods the holes for the backs and puts Darby and/or Kempf on improvisation mode. Since the position of fullback has fallen out of the GU vocabulary in lieu of the slot receiver, the Hoyas could use some bigger backs to help out Logan and Claytor hitting the trenches. For now, anyway, smaller ball is what they have to work with.

3. Watch That Line. After years of the Hoyas fielding the smallest offensive line in the patriot league (once starting a 240 lb. center), this year could see a change in that perception. With five returning linemen over 300, the Hoyas have size, but must replace four starters up front which is never easy.
A big addition will be the return of junior Fino Caliguire from injury, and the efforts of Donald Rhodes and Kevin Sullivan continue to improve each season. Two to watch from the underclassmen will be sophomore Fred Eggert and sophomore Thomas Gallagher. That Gallagher was a little too big for the line was in evidence last season, when his 365 lb. frame could not fit into a standard sized jersey--he's dropped 20 lbs. according to the pre-season prospectus and could be a big help on the line if his conditioning improves.
Patriot League teams win on the offensive line.

There's a big difference whey Lehigh and Colgate are playing in late November and Georgetown and Bucknell are making plans for basketball season--it's the line. A step up for the Georgetown line this fall is two steps up for the team.

4. Just Given Them The $%$%# Ball! No, there's no Keyshawn Johnson on the sidelines, but for the first time in Kevin Kelly's six seasons on the unfinished Multi-Sport Field, he has some real options at receiver. The return of Brandon Floyd, the speed of Ken Furlough, and the toughness of Patrick Ryan could give the quarterbacks a number of options down the field...if Georgetown will do so. Line of scrimmage passing, made somewhat famous at GU by Matt Bassuener shortens the field and allows opponents to jam Georgetown inside. Slot backs are fine for the line of scrimmage, but this is the year Georgetown needs to start looking long--if the line can do its part, Floyd, Furlough, and Ryan can as well. Georgetown had just three completed pass plays over 40 yards all season, and they should at least twice that this year if the gamelan accounts for it.

5. Who Will be The Player To Watch? I'll admit it, I've proven a poor prognosticator in picking a player that will take games over, once hoping Tucker Stafford would get his shot at QB, that Charlie Houghton would get a second wind, or that Keerome Lawrence would put down the jitters and hold on to the big catch. Instead, in 2011 I'm rooting for Donald Rhodes across the line, an outside candidate for all-PL honors based on his development over his first two years. No matter how many of the PL experts would hold their nose to select a Georgetown lineman to league honors, if Rhodes and the line can do its part, the Hoyas have a lot more options to make a difference on the offense, and a lot less excuses than they've had in recent years.

One of the by-products from the 2010 season is that the Hoyas can't sneak up on anyone this year. When Frank Tavani and Tom Gilmore warn their squads about Georgetown, the kids will listen this time. It's time to add a couple more believers from the PL coaching fraternity that this offense is capable of knocking them around.

Eight Ways To Improve The Patriot League

2011-08-01T05:13:00.000-07:00

Tuesday marks the Patriot League’s annual Media Day, though if you live in Washington, New York, or anywhere west of Allentown, PA, chances are you’ll read very little or nothing about it.

The event, conveniently located for the press that covers Lehigh and Lafayette sports, allow sportswriters to enjoy a luncheon and ask some questions to the coaches of the various schools in advance of game day stories this season.

Most of the cast is familiar with each other, even Kevin Kelly, returning for his sixth media day, the most of any Georgetown coach. With no changes in the head coaching ranks among the member schools, the questions figure to be much the same and the responses much the same, mixed in with some coach-speak. For example, which of these quotes from last season’s media day could be attributed to Coach Kelly’s thoughts on the 2010 season?

a) “My biggest concern is getting through healthy. We don’t have a lot of depth right now; our numbers are down a little bit.”

b) “We're worried about where we finish, not where we start.”

c) “Don't let the past affect you too much, don't let the future affect you too much. Live in the moment. If we can master that, and it's hard because this is an emotional game, we've got a chance.”

Actually, none of these. These were quotes by a) Colgate’s Dick Biddle, b) Lafayette’s Frank Tavani, and c) Bucknell’s Joe Susan, but you get the idea. No one is going to say something too far off script (well, maybe Tavani) and no one is going to upset their athletic director’s lunch by teeing off on the scholarship divide or the Patriot’s diminishing returns as a competitive I-AA conference. Everyone’s 0-0 and looking forward to the opening of the season.

As for the pre-season polls, Colgate and Lehigh will be at the top of the coaches and media poll (again), Bucknell and Georgetown at the bottom (again), and all is well at the Green Pond Country Club.

The scholarship issue hasn’t gone away, however. In December 2010, we wrote:

“The presidents arrived last week to make a decision [on scholarships] , and they decided, well, not to decide at all. There’s a old saying that “not to decide is to decide.” But in this case, it is not a decision as much as a stalemate, for as Samuel Johnson observed centuries earlier, "Present opportunities are neglected, and attainable good is slighted, by minds busied in extensive ranges and intent upon future advantages." In football terms, the scholarship issue was on the 20-yard line. The league could go in for the score, or punt. Instead, it took a knee and ran out the clock. What does this mean (or in this case, not mean) for Georgetown?...This is an alarm clock ringing on the future of the Patriot League and of Georgetown’s options within it. Georgetown can use this as a clarion call to reengage a increasingly distant alumni population which has grown tired in the Kevin Kelly era, to build a culture of sustained giving, one which men’s basketball and rowing has successfully maintained for two decades, but which football has never mustered the cause to develop….Or, Georgetown can hit the snooze button and wake up in two years, and found that the house has burned down.”

This is but one of a number of issues, some great, some small, which the PL would do well to reflect and refocus on before the house really does comes down. With that in mind, eight suggestions to (re) start the dialogue:

1. Make a decision: introduce scholarships for football, beginning in the 2014 season. The raison d'etre of the PL was never a ban on athletic scholarships, but of student athletes being representative of their class. For those that proffered the argument that an athletic scholarship would be an impediment to a representative class, well, that ship sailed with the rest of the league’s sports nearly a decade ago when scholarships were approved. So why not football?

If the argument can be made that athletic scholarships in basketball and other sports have been introduced and have proven successful towards the PL’s goals of student athletes that are consistent with the league’s goals, the time has come to acknowledge that it can do so in football without the irrational fear that Lehigh will not become the next Ohio State or that the Colgate will adopt the same standards as Ole Miss.

Yes, there are Title IX and competitive considerations, each of which can be addressed by two points: 1) no school is required to offer and athletic scholarships, and 2) to address the short-term needs of the conference to meet these considerations, the PL would adopt a plan by which no amount of aggregate merit (athletic) scholarship aid would exceed the amount of need-based aid offered in a four year average of recruiting classes. Put another way, the PL would move towards a 31.5 scholarship plateau, with the option to award enough need-based aid so that those schools who wish to be a counter for I-A non-conference purposes (57 merit and/or need equivalencies across no more than 85 players) could do so by awarding a comparable amount of need-based aid. A school could offer full scholarships, half scholarships, or such money as it sees fit for Title IX purposes, but so that the merit portion of the aid awarded would not exceed the need based aid awarded.

And yes, this recommendation does not bring Fordham back. A school with 63 scholarships by 2013 isn’t dropping half of them for the purpose of rejoining the league. The PL can’t get the votes for 63 scholarships this and last year’s tabling proved it. Could the PL get a vote internally for fewer grants instead? I think it can.

Would 31.5 scholarships affect competitiveness? Of course it would. Not every school has the ability to offer this much aid (read=Georgetown), but most do and none would not be required to do so, anyway. Of the six PL schools excepting Fordham, four offer at least 31 or more in need-based equivalencies right now, with Bucknell close behind. If a school couldn’t offer as many for Title IX or financial reasons based on a 25 man class (more on that below), that’s OK--what it could offer would still be better from a competitiveness quotient against schools outside the PL that is hurting the league ability to compete.

This recommendation impacts Georgetown the most in the near-term, but it’s the long term interests on scholarships that will sink or the swim the league as a whole. Sure, the PL could stay non-scholarship among GU, Lafayette, Holy Cross, and Bucknell, and give a pass to Colgate and Lehigh. But the day Colgate or Lehigh leaves the league to pursue scholarship football elsewhere, the Patriot League must end its sponsorship in football. Why? The PL bylaws require five full-member schools to play in a sport for the league to sponsor it, and only five such schools do so now. Barring the development of intercollegiate football at American (unlikely), the PL can only continue if all five current full-member schools stay together, regardless of Fordham or Georgetown.

And what about Georgetown? Can it cover an additional $3 million in scholarships a year across football and comparable women’s sports? As of this writing, no. But even as few as four scholarships a year could give the coaches options with kids that it cannot even get close to today, all because of the cost of higher education and the inability of GU to offer aid to parents with higher family incomes. As cited on this blog in 2010:

“In past years, Ivy and PL schools followed similar aid formulas that made it theoretically comparable to accept an offer from Brown versus, say, Colgate. That has changed. Examples are noted at FinAid.org:
•Brown: Eliminated parent contribution in financial aid formula. Eliminated any loans for household incomes (HHI) under $100K, caps total indebtedness to $20,000 for any student with a HHI over $150,000.
•Columbia: Eliminated parent contribution, replaced all loans with grants. No debt for HHI under $60,000.
•Cornell: Eliminated parent contribution for HHI under $75,000. Caps loans at $3,500 per year for HHI under $120,000, caps loans at $7,500 above $120,000.
•Dartmouth: No loans for HHI under $75,000.
•Harvard: No parent contribution needed, no loans offered. Families with HHI over $120,000 expected to pay no more than 10% of their income for tuition.
•Pennsylvania: No loans.
•Princeton: All loans converted to grants.
•Yale: No parent contribution under $60,000, sliding scale of 1%-10% of income expected to pay for tuition.

"There are some families that will pay less for their kid to go an Ivy League school than they would if their kid went to a state school," said financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz to FinAid.org.

And they are not alone. In addition to schools like Duke, Stanford, North Carolina, Caltech, and more than two dozen no-loan programs among major colleges, Patriot League schools are getting into the fray: At Lafayette, no loans are offered to families with a HHI under $60,000, and cap loans above this at $2,500 a year. A similar program is found at Lehigh.

Where you won't find this--football or not, is Georgetown. The money's not there. And as Ivy and PL schools become more competitive aid-wise, scholarship or not, the means by which Georgetown can remain competitive for students and student-athletes becomes ever less productive. “

Can Georgetown even compete against scholarship schools? Its record against scholarship programs outside the league since 2000 isn’t great (2-10, .200), but compared to its record in the PL during that same period (8-52, .133), it begs the question—if Georgetown can schedule Wagner, Howard, or Sacred Heart (all of which offer football scholarships), and live to tell the tale, why wouldn’t it do the same with Lehigh and Colgate?

This recommendation is not intended to be Solomonic. Instead, a scholarship policy that rests on twin pillars of merit and need could allow the PL to be as competitive in football as it is on other sports without destroying its relationships with the Ivy League, while improving the student-athlete experience for those that can attend and excel, but may lack the means to do so without scholarship support.

Finally, a brief note about the Ivies. Adding scholarships in basketball did not cause the PL to run over the Ancient Eight: last season, the scholarship PL was a mere 9-12 (.428) against the non-scholarship Ivy in men’s basketball. Given the Ivies’ advantages in recruiting lower income families with full need aid, the rivalries can be enhanced by a more competitive product against the Ancient Eight across the sidelines, and in a way that does not split the PL in two.

2. Remove standardized test scores from the Academic Index. The Patriot is one of three conferences in college sports (the other being the Ivy and the Division III NESCAC) which artificially limit athletic recruiting classes based on the self-satisfying perception that grades and SAT scores qualify an athlete for admission. Note that no such index is used to admit or deny music majors, English majors, or the like at any of these schools, only self-identified athletes.

While I would do away with the Index altogether, this mathematical exercise is sacrosanct in many PL quarters north of the Mason-Dixon Line. What I would then offer is to end the use of the SAT scores in index consideration, moving the banding process to one based on grade point averages, or what is called the converted rank score (CRS).

The bias inherent in standardized testing are well known. Holy Cross no longer requires the SAT as a means of admission, and a growing number of SAT-optional schools could render the Index inert in quantifying recruits which take the SAT and those that do not. Four years in a classroom is a better predictor for college than four hours in a SAT test, and if banding of recruits is considered essential for the PL, let’s focus on core grades and not on the vagaries of standardized testing, which would also make the PL more attractive to possible expansion (more on this below, too.).

The PL will not go the way of Oklahoma if recruits are banded by GPA’s. If an index must be maintained, the CRS may be the fairest way to do it.

3. End the association with Fordham University. That’s a difficult recommendation to a fellow PL school after 20+ years in the league, but Fordham is clearly moving its program beyond the league and it’s time for all parties to be up front and admit it. Unless the league completely adopts Fordham’s scholarship model in 2013 (and shows no signs of doing so), the Rams are leaving, and everyone knows it. What does another season in 2012 accomplish at this point?

If 60+ scholarships doesn’t change your view of the future of Fordham football, perhaps Vaughn Scott will. Over the summer, Fordham signed Scott, a talented RB who was considered a non-qualifier after a combination of GPA and ACT scores left him below the NCAA minimum for a grant-in-aid (a number that is leagues below the Patriot’s Academic Index scores.)

Scott was headed to a prep program called the Atlanta Sports Academy when his high school coach recalculated his GPA and found him eligible to earn a scholarship after all. Fordham was one of four schools which offered along with Towson, Stony Brook and Monmouth. “I thought I’d have to take that extra year and raise my grade-point average, but now I can start my college career”, Scott said.

We wish Scott well, but Fordham is clearly planning for a future that does not involve the PL’s goals and/or its academic restrictions. Recruiting and signing the best players available at the NCAA threshold is neither immoral nor unethical, and it’s accepted practice at over 200 Division I schools from Alabama to Youngstown State. But for the Patriot League, it is not and has never been.

Fordham, to its credit, made its own decision that it was no longer willing to play under the PL’s rules to build its football program. That having been said, the PL is not under any duty to maintain ties with a school whose admissions standards and scholarship commitments are now reaching outside the league’s bylaws. Maintaining an extra year with Fordham on everyone’s schedule (that does not count in the standings) does neither side much good in the long run— a scholarship Fordham may pummel around a lot of PL teams on its way out the door in 2012, and it’s not a good thing for potentially the best team in a conference to be ineligible for its title in the first place.

The PL presidents should give Fordham its notice at the conclusion of the 2011 season, allow the Rams the option to continue to play some or all the PL schools previously scheduled in 2012, and wish the Rams well in its transition to a new conference affiliation. When Georgetown left the MAAC in 1999, five schools opted to continue to play the Hoyas in its transition year, but three did not. Georgetown went 3-2 against the five MAAC teams and went 0-3 against pending PL foes Holy Cross, Fordham, and Bucknell, finishing 5-6.

4. Commit to expansion as early as the 2014 season. “When we first started the league and the presidents would meet, we would tell one another 'We're building a model that others will follow,” former Holy Cross president John Brooks S.J. once said. “So far,” he added, “no one has followed." And to be frank, no one will join the PL in its current form with the Scylla and Charybdis of non-scholarship football on one side of the harbor and a SAT range out of reach for nearly every school outside the Ivy League across the other side. Reforming the league’s scholarship policy and its means of evaluating recruits could open the door to some interest by those schools to whom the PL would be a more competitive proposition under those parameters than what it currently maintains.

With Fordham departing, the PL needs eight schools, not six or seven, to maintain competitive conference play and to achieve numerical parity with the Ivy League. To that end, it should approach two schools for full membership—the Virginia Military Institute and Bryant University. In the absence or failure of those discussions, it should consider associate memberships in football for Duquesne University and Marist College.

For all the past talk about inviting the likes Villanova, Richmond or William & Mary, that ship has sailed, nor will schools like Maine and New Hampshire risk a fan insurrection to move teams to what is considered an inferior conference to the CAA. By contrast, VMI (enrollment: 1,375) fits the PL standard of academic and athletic excellence, has a natural affinity with the service academies, and forms a geographic pairing with Georgetown in football and American in other sports. The Keydets have always fought above its weight class in the competitive Southern Conference, and in moving to the Big South Conference, the wins haven’t followed, either. As anyone at Annapolis or West Point will tell you, athletic recruiting is challenging at a military academy. It’s a little shocking to think that VMI hasn’t posted a winning season in football since 1981, but anyone who has seen them play knows VMI gives 110% in every game and a gameday in Lexington is a tradition all its own.

VMI would be an outstanding candidate for PL admission, and grandfathering its existing scholarship support gives the school the opportunity to move without the backlash that other rumored PL candidates of the past soon faced.

Similarly, Bryant would be more amenable to considering the PL with a scholarship component, adds a New England tie with Holy Cross, and has the rising academic chops to build the PL brand. Bryant is a newcomer to the scene, having started football in 1999 under former Georgetown offensive coordinator Jim Miceli. In the last five seasons, Bryant is 35-20 (.636), defeated Fordham last season in its only prior meeting against the PL, and opened a small but functional 4,400 seat stadium before it moved to Division I-AA. Visiting its web site, it’s clear Bryant has institutional aspirations beyond that of most NEC schools, and has an enrollment (3,370) and accept rate (43%) common with many PL schools.

If neither of these schools seek to move, Duquesne and Marist, the last of the MAAC survivors, might be options, at least for football. Each fits the current PL footprint, already compete against PL schools, and would not upset the current eight team alignment in other sports (i.e, Army, Navy, and American). The move to the PL would be a step up for both schools, as it was for Georgetown, but would also provide renewed interest in their football programs and open the door for games with the Ivy League. And while schools like Monmouth would appear a more competitive football-only option, Monmouth cannot play football in the Patriot and remain in the Northeast Conference for other sports; of course, it hasn't shown interest in leaving the NEC and this continues to be the case. On the other hand, Duquesne (A-10) and Marist (MAAC) can federate (play in the PL) for football and still maintain their membership in their primary conferences, much like Georgetown and the Big East.

Villanova could do so as well, but did we already say that the ship has sailed?

5. Establish an Ivy-Patriot challenge week. Any new school to the PL is going to learn a lesson that Georgetown has faced for the last decade—getting on an Ivy schedule is a political and logistical nightmare. Not only do some PL schools enjoy 3-4 Ivy games a year and don’t want to give that up, but the vagaries of the 10-week Ivy schedule may not give some PL schools the means to play them amidst their open dates.

Resolved: block out the PL’s week 3 (week 1 in the Ivy calendar) with all eight PL and Ivy teams facing each other that weekend, rotating each year so that over an eight year period, every PL school will play every Ivy school at least once. (If the opponents for any one year intersect with an existing series, that series would be adjusted so the teams do not play twice in the season.) Example:

Brown vs Bryant

Columbia vs. Colgate

Cornell vs. Bucknell

Dartmouth vs.Lafayette

Harvard vs. Georgetown

Pennsylvania vs.VMI

Princeton vs. Holy Cross

Yale vs. Lehigh

These names were picked largely at random, but not quite. For instance, Harvard has never played Georgetown, nor Brown vs. Bryant, and Penn and VMI have only met twice (last in 1921). But it’s also surprising that in 120 years of football and all the supposed ties between the Ivy and PL, Dartmouth and Lafayette have met just eight times ever, Princeton and Holy Cross just ten. A week where new rivalries are explored and old ones revisited each year offers schedule stability for both leagues, and renewed interest at the member schools.

Instead of Georgetown playing Yale for six straight seasons in week 3, for example, it would rotate through games like Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, etc., providing interest for fans and recruits alike. Properly promoted by both leagues, this would be a win-win for teams that are hardly recognized in the college football landscape by mid-September.

6. Limit freshman recruiting to 25 signings. With or without scholarships, schools that are signing 30 or more freshmen (and inevitably losing a certain number of these a year later) are not well served by large recruiting classes, which invites claims of overrecruiting of positions to which the previous class was signed.

Patriot League schools don’t need to sign 30 kids because somehow only 20 will be eligible in the fall, nor does anyone want a situation where financial aid and/or scholarships are put into question when a player is less than productive after a season. Continue to allow walk-ons, but limit signings (and the presumed admissions offers these entail) to a more representative number of recruits each year (which would include transfers) that works for the coaches, for the recruits, is favorable to Title IX pressures, and is a reasonable impact upon the sport as a whole. If the Southeastern Conference can get by with 25 signings, so can the Patriot League.

7. Standardize the schedule. Did anyone find it strange that Georgetown was nearly finished with its 2010 league schedule when Lehigh was just about to start theirs? The odd juxtaposition of Patriot league schedules to accommodate Ivy League slots for some schools and not for others needs to be fixed. The last five weeks of the Ivy League season are for in-league competition only. The Patriot League should adopt the same rules, and with an eight team schedule as envisioned above, no one would need to be playing out of conference after mid-October to fill out a schedule.

Further, what prevents the league from standardizing and promoting rivalry games beyond Lehigh-Lafayette? The Bethlehem and Easton folks get one game to end the season, every year but no one else does. Colgate’s regular season finales over the last four years have been Bucknell, Holy Cross, Georgetown and Fordham and while there may be a rivalry game in there somewhere, it’s not always much to end a season on. Why is this? Is the league telling us that only one rivalry game matters, and the others are out of luck?

If Lafayette-Lehigh can always be the end of the season, so can Colgate and Bucknell, Georgetown-Holy Cross, or whatever matchups it sees fit, but let’s get them set. Attendance at Fisher Stadium won’t be harmed if another rivalry game is recognized at week 12 on the PL calendar.

8. Develop a strategy for league-wide TV and radio coverage. The league congratulated itself last month for entering into a two game national package with CBS College Sports for PL football—yet, only one of the two games is actually a conference game. For a league which has severed ties with the Worldwide Leader and figures to get even less ESPN coverage as a result, what does one league game do per year to a highly fractious media strategy across some schools which maintain their own TV and radio networks, and some which have neither?

Regardless if the broadcast is carried through WFMZ, Time Warner Cable, FiOS, or the like, the PL would be well served by some sort of “Patriot League Network” branding which would allow these games tape-delay carriage across other platforms, including the CBS cable channel or other sites, and including a PL online channel. The opportunities for a branded streaming broadcast seems an unappreciated opportunity for a league that recruits nationally, with parents and alumni across the nation who would not otherwise see their teams play. Similarly, why not investigate opportunities in satellite radio? Sirius has a lot of extra bandwidth on Saturdays that could host a Patriot League game on one of its channels.

Lots of points to consider, any one of which would make the Patriot a different and potentially more competitive league in the months ahead. For now, anyway, it’s on to Media Day , where at least one coach will claim his team has a chance to compete for the championship, and three months later, will see it come to fruition.

Investing In Football, Part 4: Progress

2011-07-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

In the previous entries, investing in football was more than just numbers, it was about investing in visibility, and in people. So if there’s a third element that Georgetown must consider when setting a course for football spending, it’s the investment in progress. Or more specifically, unforeseen progress, the progress to invent the future, not merely to fix the present.

A word about progress. Like apple pie, good schools and lower taxes, no one is exactly “against” progress, it’s part of the American DNA. There isn’t a college president in America that is going to come out against progress, but few will stand up solely for progress at the expense of the stasis which given colleges an institutional sense of self-satisfaction. Universities like things old, dusty, and relatively unchanged, as if to say that their progress is measured in generations and centuries, not in years. The Las Vegas mantra of “ build, demolish and build a bigger one” finds few adherents in higher education, located in a mythical place where, as Garrison Keillor intoned, “the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve ... where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average” .

But any university that measures success in athletics over the generations or the centuries probably isn’t progressing at all, merely riding the tide of upward mobility and population growth. The sheer nature of competition, fueled by television, makes it difficult for standing on the sidelines. There are a handful of schools which stepped away from major college sports, but it’s hard to say that NYU or the University of Tampa or Centenary is better for the experience, only different.

There are three dates which are mileposts in Georgetown’s athletic progress, and that they are roughly three decades apart is probably not an accident.

In 1924, Georgetown made the decision to hire a full time football coach to run an athletic department that to date, had been a student-run operation. Lou Little brought a successful if somewhat undervalued Georgetown program to the national spotlight.

In 1951, Hunter Guthrie S.J., for reasons not fully understood to this day, decoupled Georgetown from major college football train and instituted a period of athletic deemphasis—concurrent with that move was a period of academic stasis where Georgetown considered itself a fine university among the Jesuit institutions of the country, but did not have true aspirations outside that circle.

In 1979, Frank Rienzo followed the old adage that if you want something done right, do it yourself, and joined three other athletic directors and forged a new model in college athletics, the Big East conference. It would be hard to imagine a major college coming to Georgetown in the 1970’s, even with basketball, and inviting them aboard, with an $850,000 budget, a smattering of sports across Divisions I, II, and III, and a student-led drive to defund all intercollegiate sports at Georgetown with the bulk of the budget redistributed to library expenses.

The move to the Big East was the third of three paradigm shifts for Georgetown in the 1970’s, beginning with the repositioning of GU as an international university (largely through the efforts of Peter Krogh and the School of Foreign Service) and the move to need blind, full need financial aid in 1978. If someone tells you that Patrick Ewing began the admissions climb at Georgetown, tell them it started years earlier.

Georgetown’s decision to place its financial aid commitment alongside the top universities in the world not only parted it from the regional schools like St. Joseph’s, Fordham, and Holy Cross to which Georgetown was associated with, but students increasingly began to associate Georgetown alongside the Ivies, Stanford, Northwestern, and Duke (another fast climber in this period).

These three great changes are all, to one form another, still in effect today, but show signs of wear. Georgetown might have been one of the first schools to the political/international realm, but it’s a crowded field now. Three U.N. ambassadors from 1979-1997 were Georgetown faculty, but it’s increasingly a wider talent pool outside Georgetown and none of the last seven ambassadors have taught on the Hilltop. Financial aid elevated Georgetown, but the University now treads water financially with a huge aid commitment that is engulfing the annual budget. The Big East model of a strong basketball program carrying the budgets of smaller sports has been challenged by the rise of I-A football into the Big East landscape.

The upcoming capital campaign for Georgetown suggests rapid change ahead: the redirection of Georgetown from an international university to a global leader in higher education, a commitment of $500 million in need based aid, and some undisclosed level of financial and facilities stability for intercollegiate athletics. It is no small challenge for Lee Reed to have joined the athletic department as he did in 2010 and have this waiting on his desk. It is difficult to theorize where Georgetown will be left in the world of modern intercollegiate athletics without an enhanced level of support in this upcoming campaign. the day John Thompson III takes another job should never be a death knell for the entire program, but without some planning, Georgetown continues to rely on salad days in men's basketball without a safety net.

And as for football, this campaign offers a outstanding and much needed opportunity to invest in the unforseen progress that time, on its own, cannot. The guarded expectations of football expressed in 1964 remains in force today, but as times change there must be a road map of progress and the financial muscle needed to accomplish this. There was no Patriot League in 1964, no cable TV, and little hope of ever playing Division I programs. But times change--of the opponents played in the club football era, all but two no longer play football.

Every sport at Georgetown, and that includes men’s basketball and football, can see this capital campaign as an opportunity to map a course for the future and to solicit the transformative gifts (financial and otherwise) to meet this course. If all Georgetown did for athletics over the next six years is build a practice facility, this campaign will, at least for athletics, be a failure.

In January, 2010, I wrote:

The case for better football continues at the donor level. A clear positioning statement provides the donor base with a mandate on how and to what degree it can provide both substantive and meaningful support. What would one scholarship "buy" Georgetown as to its competitive position? What would ten do? What would 50 do? This is not something the Gridiron Club has done a good job in communicating, but to be fair, it's not like Georgetown has been clear about it, either, athletic or otherwise.

Where is your $10 gift doing the most good? Your $100 gift? Your $1,000 gift? Your $1 million gift?

So, to that end, what is the priority list for Georgetown football? In any particular order, it could be:

Finishing the MSF
Securing better competition
Improved recruiting budget
Merit scholarships
Need based aid
Coaching salaries
Media (TV, radio contracts)
Travel
Program support
Game day activities
Ancillary support (cheerleaders, marching band)
Training and athletic support

The key, of course, is the order. If finishing the MSF is #4 on the list, don't treat it like it is the #1 priority. If it is #1, don't do the opposite.”

This is the time to invest in football, but football needs a plan and needs to get it not only to seven figure donors, but to the community at large. If Georgetown is going to consider scholarships, what is the plan and how do donors support it? If Georgetown wants to upgrade its coaching, what is the plan and how do donors support it? If Georgetown wants to be the proverbial Ninth Ivy, what is the plan and how do donors support it?

It’s not too soon to convene a football summit at Georgetown at the conclusion of this season, bring in the AD, the coaches, parents, and major donors, get the facts on the table and start hammering out a plan of attack to move forward, to be "quick, but not to hurry.". So what does Georgetown want out of the football program and how can the community support it? What does Lee Reed want out of the football program and how can the community support it? What does Kevin Kelly want out of the football program and how can the community support it? And, of course, what can the community do about it within the parameters of where Georgetown is headed? If athletics in general and football in specific are not prepared for reaching out to its donor base at this time of the campaign, rest assured that these same donors will be cornered by every other group at Georgetown seeking to raise money.

Over generations, football at Georgetown can and will grow. But athletics no long grows by carbon-dating, and change can come suddenly and without mercy. It’s not enough to spend to elevate Georgetown football. Are we ready to invest in it?

And Then There Were None

2011-07-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Note: The final installment of the "Investing In Football" series follows Thursday; this article speaks to the July 25 announcement of an All-Patriot League team in conjunction with the league's 25th anniversary.

As the Patriot League continues to march towards an uncomfortable obsolescence, the league took time this week to remember better days, saluting the schools and the players that have contributed to the league over the past quarter century. In the results of this “vote”, the League is saying a lot about where it is, and ultimately where it is going.

A vote of the seven member schools was held, at least according to the press release to the press corps of the PL, otherwise known as the Allentown Morning Call and the Easton Express-Times. The league announced that "a select group of players spanning four decades and seven different schools have been honored as the best of the best in Patriot League Football history." The link to the 25th Anniversary All-Patriot League Team is linked here.

Except it wasn’t the seven schools you thought. Or the players.

In it selections, which skew to players who were selected to a similar team ten years ago (17 of the 25 selections played prior to 2000) a number of omissions follow. The great Holy Cross teams of the late 1980’s, who ranked #1 in the Division I-AA polls and squashed most of their PL contemporaries in the transition away from scholarship play, received only three selections and no others since. Would (or should) a Colgate team that advanced to the 2003 I-AA national championship have zero representation on a All-PL team whatsoever, or were there just too many from Colgate already counted? Jamaal Branch won the Walter Payton Award but there’s no room for him on a list like this? Granted, every school has a claim to one or more of those selections, right?

Well, not every school.

For, in its enduring wisdom, the Patriot League leadership opted to recognize every member school in this award except one, Georgetown, failing to place even one GU player of the last ten years on the list, and going so far as to add a selection from the expats at Towson. And while it can be argued that the best 25 PL players of all time may not include anyone from Georgetown, are these really the best of the best, or a subjective award that blends accomplishment with the current politics of the member schools?

Rarely do award votes go so clean as to offend no one, but such was (mostly) the outcome of this vote, with presumed league leaders Colgate and Lehigh having 13 selections between them, with Holy Cross, Fordham, Lafayette, and Bucknell all earning three each.

"Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out." Or something like that.

While Georgetown’s teams have admittedly not made their mark on 15 years of the PL's record books (as if Towson did, but that’s another story), ignoring the contributions of student-athletes like Luke McArdle, Michael Ononibaku, and Alex Buzbee, seems a lost opportunity. Not all three were going to be included because, hey, that’s politics. But not one?

Let’s remember some of the highlights of Ononibaku. Honorable mention All-America, scholar-athlete, two time all-PL, leading the league in sacks and ranked nationally in tackles for loss, arguably the best defender at Georgetown in a generation. Sized as a linebacker, he played defensive line because head coach Bob Benson needed him to, and Ononibaku's smarts and quickness changed the way opponents had to play the Hoyas as a result. Yet,because he played at Georgetown, hindsight means no big deal to the league's voters, few of which probably ever saw him play.

As to the snub, how should Georgetown respond? It would be s story to see Kevin Kelly and Ryan Sakamoto walk into the PL media day next week, sign their names to a blank slate of the pre-season poll, and turn it in, leaving the PL leadership to awkwardly explain why the numbers aren’t adding up this year. That wouldn’t be good sportsmanship, of course, and it also wouldn’t be Georgetown. Instead, there's not a single mention of the 25th anniversary team news release at GUHoyas.com this week, while it’s cited at every other PL football program's web site. Good for them.

Increasingly, the Patriot League is acting less a conference and more of a confederation, seeking not to offend anyone while stalling out as a result. Fordham is out the door next year, and no one wants to say otherwise. At least one other PL school wants full scholarships, but no one wants to come out and say so. A vote for full scholarships for everyone splits the league, a vote against scholarships might split the league, and a vote to do nothing (as it did in December) only extends the timeline, but doesn’t change the outcome. The PL needs a league that is working together for the future, not moving apart, and ignoring one member altogether in simple recognition events like this seems an unnecessary and petty oversight.

As for the members of the 25th anniversary team, congratulations. But without a hard look at where this league is headed in the next decade, there probably won’t be a 35th anniversary team in years to come. To that end, coming next week at this blog: ten ways to fix the Patriot League...none of which involve lists like this.

Investing In Football, Part 3: People

2011-07-21T23:04:00.000-07:00

In this series, we’ve talked about the need to invest in key elements of Georgetown football, and, of course, there are many. But is there any element more important than investing in people?

Every school has something different it can “sell” to prospective recruits . To no surprise, Georgetown can’t sell the Golden Dome, the “Big House”, or running down a hill before 90,000 fans on a Saturday afternoon. That’s never been the driving force, anyway. What it does have, and what it can “sell”, is a student-athlete experience that allows young men to build the core foundation for a lifetime of leadership and service to one’s chosen field.

To do so, words only go so far. I’m of the opinion that while there are great assets for Georgetown, they can only be strengthened by putting more time and money into providing a better student-athlete experience. Many of the tools are already there, it’s a case of picking them up, putting them to use, and where appropriate, engaging the alumni and donor community to give it the financial and organizational support to make it happen.

One of these is the Leadership Academy. Introduced at Georgetown in 2009 (and recently added by the Patriot League as a whole), this program introduces students to workshops and mentoring opportunities to help them grow and mature as young leaders. Some take advantage of this, others not, but there is certainly room to grow the program at Georgetown to cover more student athletes and give them even more opportunities for personal and professional development. But how many alumni and donors know it exists? There’s a 2009 article archived on GUHoyas.com about the program, but who’s going to find that? Over and above the costs of running such a program, there are certainly opportunities to reach out to selected constituents in the alumni and donor community to help elevate the program to reach more students, tackle greater challenges, and make the program a standard by which other schools aspire to…and in doing so, give potential students another reason to look past the MSF and the losing records to realize that playing football at Georgetown is more than what is seems.

Is Georgetown talking about the Leadership Academy as a support opportunity for donors? It should.

Another activity that ought to be supported and funded is the mentorship program administered through the Gridiron Club. Introduced by former GC president Jim Lenihan in 2009, the program is designed for a one on one relationship between athletes and alumni in related business fields to help students get a better idea of the planning and execution required to enter the job market in that industry.

More than ever, one cannot walk into an investment bank or a tech firm or even a management training program without doing some real homework and effectively building a network of contacts to be a competitive candidate. It boggles the mind to hear stories from my parents generation (that’s the grandparents’ generation to you current students) about the days when someone could get a C average at a good school, have someone make a couple of calls at graduation, and get that person a spot in law school or a job that set him up for life. For everyone else, a good alumni mentorship program is an absolutely valuable asset in a career (one that never existed in my days on the Hilltop) and one which, properly funded and positioned, could give Georgetown students an position of competitive leadership when evaluating a four year offer to attend the University.

Let’s not forget the coaches, either.

The life of a football coach is a nomadic one and unless you’re a head coach or an SEC assistant, it’s not likely to be a lucrative one. Start with Kevin Kelly’s resume—before Georgetown, he saw stops at Southern Connecticut, Bowdoin, Northeastern, Dartmouth, Syracuse, Tulane, and Marshall, all before the age of 40. He wasn't doing it dor the money, either. What’s an average salary for an assistant coach? Probably, between $30,000-50,000, much less for graduate assistants. Add in the cost of raising a family and/or living in a palce like Washington DC and that doesn’t get you very far. Further, add the percevied lack of amenities waiting for coaches at Georgetown, and it begs the question—how does Lee Reed and Kevin Kelly attract the best coaches to attract the best players to produce the best team possible?

Even with better salaries, there’s no one answer, but a powerful weapon in that regard lies just up the hill.

Unbeknownst to most Georgetown alumni, the University has a master’s degree program in sports management, featuring faculty from many of the area’s leading pro and institutional sports firms.

“Georgetown's graduate degree program in Sports Industry Management embraces real-world learning,“ reads its web site. “Learn about the latest practices in sports management from industry leaders. Work in a hands-on internship with one of the program's strategic organizational partners (including major league teams and leading sports-industry businesses and nonprofit entities). Complete a Capstone Project that lets you demonstrate real experience addressing key challenges and opportunities in the industry… Connect with the program's industry partners through mentoring opportunities and internships. Engage on key issues and discuss sports industry careers with program faculty, visiting speakers and members of the program's distinguished Advisory Board of industry leaders. Find the right place for you in one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.”

Courses include Sales Promotion, Licensing and Sponsorship Development , Social Responsibility and Diversity in Sports, Sports Business and Finance, Communications and Public Relations, Digital Media and Consumer Engagement, Global Brand Management, Sports Event Planning and Facility Management, Sports Law, Contracts, and Negotiation, Sports Leadership and Management and Sports Marketing Strategy, among others.

This would seem a tailor-made opportunity for up and coming coaches to gain practical experience in the business of sports while serving as an assistant coach at a academically prestigious university. Any assistant or GA can come to a school, get a degree and move on, but a master’s degree that can prepare them for a sports management career (in or out of the college environment) would seem, at least on the outside, as an extraordinary personal and professional opportunity for a young coach.

Is there an opportunity to fund a scholarship for an assistant coach each year to enroll in the program, to take classes in the spring and summer, and commit to the program during his studies? I suspect that there are those who avail themselves of the opportunity, but the cost of attendance is not solely covered by an employee discount for tuition. If a GA or assistant’s position was funded in conjunction with a degree program like this, could the next Urban Meyer or Gary Patterson or Chris Petersen get his start at a place like Georgetown? Each of these coaches, by the way, got a master’s degree before moving up the head coaching ranks, at places such as Ohio State, Tennessee Tech, and UC-Davis, respectively.

It also goes without saying that such an academic program on the campus could introduce students, undergraduate or graduate, to an amazing world of networking opportunities, from attending speeches by leading industry officials to inviting these faculty to speak to the team during the year. As is the case with so many things at Georgetown, a good idea usually sits dormant until someone picks up the ball and starts to run with it. But if we want to provide a better environment for learning for all of Georgetown football, why not start with the resources Georgetown already has?

And a word on investing. There are donors and alumni out there who have a capacity to support the program but have grown tired and/or disillusioned over sending in a check for “program needs” without knowing where it goes. The late philanthropist Percy Ross, who used to send checks to people that wrote to an newspaper advice column he wrote, was asked why he only gave to those requests that he approved. “He who gives while he lives,” said Ross, “gets to know where it goes.”

More to the point, another Ross quote: “You've got to ask! Asking is, in my opinion, the world's most powerful - and neglected - secret to success and happiness.”

Is Georgetown asking the right people the right questions? An amorphous “Give to the football program” for an underfunded program may not sell to an equity trader or a tech exec, but introducing a mentorship program or a master’s degree scholarship or even accepting an invite to talk to the team might pay bigger dividends down the road. I would argue that if the Gridiron Club, Annual Fund, Advancement, et al. offered a variety of options to middle and major donors to support (and participate in) efforts like this, the response would be much more impactful and allow the existing budget to cover existing needs, while these ancillary programs can continue to build up the intellectual capital that sets Georgetown apart and add to the total value of playing football and studying at Georgetown.

Or as Ben Franklin put it, “an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

Investing In Football, Part 2: Visibility

2011-07-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

Before you can invest in an asset, you’ve got to know about it. Before you build a culture, you’ve got to develop one.

Kevin Kelly is a bright individual-he knows football in and out, and he can make a strong case to recruits and their parents on the value of a Georgetown education. That can build a team, but it does not build visibility. For six years (and to be fair, much longer than that), Georgetown’s visibility in football outside McDonough Gymnasium has declined to the point where many fans either don’t know Georgetown has a program, or are ashamed to say that it does. Georgetown gets one article a year in the football preview of the Post, and that’s about it. No radio. No TV. No social media.

A skeptic might think it’s on purpose, as if it’s some modern twist on a Monty Python sketch. "In this film we hope to show how not to be seen," it begins. "[First], this is Mr. E.R. Bradshaw of Napier Court, Black Lion Road, London SE5. He cannot be seen. Now I am going to ask him to stand up. Mr. Bradshaw, will you stand up, please?"

The man stands up, and is promptly shot.

"This," intones John Cleese, "demonstrates the value of not being seen."

Thankfully, Georgetown does not hold such grudges, and should not be holding back any of its coaches from standing up for their program, literally or figuratively. More to the point, programs grow on talent, coaching, and success. None come without some basic visibility among recruits and the community at large, something Georgetown Football does not have and does not seem on the verge of embarking upon.

Well, what can Georgetown do to fix this? First and foremost (and I’ll say this without much further comment), it needs a public plan on the Multi-Sport Field. Ten years of hand-wringing and equivocation engender diminishing confidence in anything Georgetown says unless there is a firm commitment to move forward.

Second, football seeks visibility within its own community. The coaches and players have a story to tell, but first, it must tell it better—get the word out about mentoring, community service, leadership on campus. Coaches need to extend a hand at University events, be it orientation, parents weekends, reunion. A little extra effort? Sure, and it’s an hour coaches aren’t spending on the phone with recruits or studying film, but positive public relations pays off across the board. That alumnus in conversation could be the next football parent, the next donor or benefactor. (On disclosure: this is how my modern interest in Georgetown football took off--in 1994, while at Chadwicks, I bumped into former coach Bob Benson and heard the sales talk, the "gold mine" speech. I bought it then, and continue to buy it now. I sent in a check for $50, got a Georgetown Football sweatshirt, and got connected with the program.)

They don’t give out sweatshirts anymore, but I digress.

Third, visibility in the community is essential. Georgetown’s long-held inability to sign local recruits is troublesome, but how do these kids hear of GU in the first place? How many local players see a Georgetown ad in a Metrorail station and say, "Yeah, I’d like to play football there." The University doesn’t have to erect a television tower or buy a radio station to get the word out, because modern communications makes it so much more simpler and cost effective.

Facebook? Yes, but just one post since Oct. 9, 2010.

Twitter? No.

YouTube? No.

Email? Even this could use a second look. Not too many years ago, Georgetown would send a fax out every Monday to fans with scores and stats of Saturday’s game. Sure, the fax machine is about as relevant as a telephone extension cord today, but how do you keep people informed that aren’t plugged into social media or who don’t scour GUHoyas.com (or HoyaSaxa.com)? What the cost of a blast e-mail or text message to alumni, to prospects (within the rules), or to high school coaches by 9:00 am for 11 Mondays in a row? What’s the cost of not doing so?

Visibility doesn’t bring wins, but it’s a prelude to taking advantage of them. People ask me if Georgetown is somehow anti-football as it puts seemingly so little effort into it. I tell them it’s not anti-football, it just lacks the knowledge of what winning football can mean to a community. Eleven straight football seasons will wear out the best of fans, not to mention those who are saturated with the bright lights of men’s basketball nine months of the year. Tell me what Georgetown would be like with eleven straight 20-loss seasons in hoops.

What does visibility bring? It can bring hope. Any coach will tell you that without hope, you start from nothing. I saw it 20 years ago when a former USFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner was hired at Duke and told a group of fans there he was going to build a winning football team there--a huge leap of faith for a school that routinely turned down recruits that got in at other schools, had the poorest facilities in its conference, had posted losing seasons in eight of the last 10 seasons and did not won more than six games in a season since 1962.

Year one, he won five.
Year two, seven.
Year three: eight wins, a win over Clemson to share the ACC title, and a bowl bid.

Yes, Steve Spurrier was then hired away by Florida and in the 21 years since Spurrier left, the Blue Devils have posted 20 losing seasons; yet, the program keeps fighting not because Ted Roof or Carl Franks or Fred Goldsmith or Barry Wilson couldn’t win, but that Steve Spurrier showed them they could.

So it is with Vanderbilt. One winning season since 1982, a combined 13-67 (.162) in SEC action in the last decade, and a stadium that you could place at LSU or Alabama and still be 50,000 seats short of what they have. Oh, and the academics too. What kind of football player would want to go there? Ask James Franklin.

Franklin, a long time coordinator at Maryland who was given the "coach in waiting" title under Ralph Friedgen left for Vanderbilt when officials in College Park looked to Randy Edsall instead. As coaching jobs go, a move from Maryland to Vanderbilt was akin to an ESPN reporter packing up to join the Tennis Channel--a move towards anonymity. Can you name the last Vanderbilt head coach? Or any former Vanderbilt coach?

It’s early, and Franklin hasn’t coached a single game for the Commodores, but the visibility he has added to the Vanderbilt program in just six months should be a case study on how to jump-start a sleeping program.
He’s faced the academics issue first hand. This excerpt from SI.com: "Is it too hard? That's what people use against us," Franklin said. "Don't go to Vanderbilt. It's too hard academically. Well, what are they telling you? What are they saying to you when they say don't go to Vanderbilt because it's too hard academically?" The answer is obvious; in not so many words, Franklin has just convinced a recruit that a competing coach thinks the player is too stupid to succeed at Vandy."

"If you feel that you are the best and the brightest, come prove it with me week in and week out," Franklin said. "If you're afraid of competition, then you'd better not be playing [here]."

He’s already signed the top running back in the state of Tennessee as a junior. "Football is something that's not always promised to you. In the long run, being at a school with good academics is like a win-win situation," said RB Brian Kimbrow.

And he’s getting the visibility message out to donors and recruits. Take a look at this Vanderbilt-produced video and ask what kind of message this sends about getting motivated to play football at this school:

In the end, visibility takes investment. Videos and appearances and promotional materials aren’t free, but their cost is marginal in establishing interest and demand for a product that has atrophied over the last decade. As Georgetown’s budget for football has declined against the economic realities of the sport, it seems a stretch to expect Georgetown to plow large sums of money into a sport which has not moved forward in the public arena to make the case for it. The message and potential of the program has been under wraps for too long.

Investing In Football

2011-07-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

The headline below has nothing to do with Georgetown football, but the story does.

Deadspin.com posted a story this week titled “ESPN’s Wimbledon Bid Is The Future Of Televised Sports,” a review of the circumstances in which NBC, after having broadcast the world’s preeminent tennis tournament since the dawn of the open era, lost its rights to ESPN, a network which has over the past two decades picked up Major League Baseball, the NBA, most of NCAA college sports, and the entire sports remnants of the ABC television network. But what makes this story interesting is not that ESPN took it away inasmuch as NBC gave it up."

"NBC's not stupid, and GE didn't become the third-largest public company because it passes on chances to make the most money,” wrote author Barry Petchesky. “The decision comes down to opportunity cost. On one hand, there's the viewership lost by airing a match we already know the outcome of. On the other hand, there's the viewership lost by preempting The Today Show for live tennis. Guess which brings in more ad sales?”

"NBC, or any network that commits to a long-term TV deal, has to be concerned not only with recouping its money from commercial sales, but also the lost money from whatever's being preempted. For NBC, that's a fortnight of The Today Show, with around 5 million viewers daily; for ESPN, it's the 7am SportsCenter.”

Hold that thought as we begin with a review of the costs associated with intercollegiate football at Georgetown University.

First, this question: what is the opportunity cost for Georgetown to be a competitive football program? Or, more appropriately, how much investment will it take? For this column, a lot less opinion and a few more numbers will be in play. Few fans pay attention to a team's budget--perhaps it's assumed that schools send an equivalent amount on equivalent sports.

A closer look at U.S. Department of Education budgets for football suggests a changing landscape. Five seasons ago, the 2005-06 academic year, Georgetown ranked as follows among those Eastern schools playing Division I-AA football:

1	James Madison University	$4,208,133
2	Fordham University	$3,898,156
3	University of Delaware	$3,890,595
4	Villanova University	$3,791,955
5	University of Richmond	$3,658,117
6	Colgate University	$3,628,807
7	Hofstra University	$3,602,055
8	University of Massachusetts	$3,318,205
9	Lehigh University	$3,261,340
10	Northeastern University	$3,166,474
11	Lafayette College	$3,109,946
12	University of Rhode Island	$3,040,230
13	University of New Hampshire	$3,022,471
14	College of William and Mary	$3,006,528
15	College of the Holy Cross	$2,716,725
16	University of Maine	$2,621,578
17	Bucknell University	$2,488,592
18	Yale University	$2,155,095
19	Harvard University	$2,090,271
20	Columbia University	$1,971,707
21	Towson University	$1,962,285
22	Princeton University	$1,801,579
23	Georgetown University	$1,666,297
24	Dartmouth College	$1,624,336
25	University of Pennsylvania	$1,497,051
26	Cornell University	$1,441,074
27	Brown University	$1,256,085
28	Stony Brook University	$1,225,656
29	Wagner College	$1,198,243
30	Sacred Heart University	$994,970
31	Central Connecticut State Univ	$972,558
32	Monmouth University	$880,823
33	SUNY at Albany	$877,574
34	Bryant University	$876,671
35	Saint Francis University	$867,629
36	Robert Morris University	$843,158
37	Duquesne University	$465,936
38	Marist College	$456,575
39	Iona College	$355,172

Twenty-third? Not great, but look at the comparable budgets: Princeton, Dartmouth, Penn. Say what you will, but those are names Georgetown could be comfortable with. In 2009-10, look how that ranking had changed:

1	University of Delaware	$5,744,858
2	Villanova University	$5,228,231
3	Fordham University	$4,809,131
4	University of Richmond	$4,783,891
5	College of William and Mary	$4,535,570
6	Colgate University	$4,514,524
7	Old Dominion University	$4,415,209
8	University of Massachusetts	$4,332,838
9	Lafayette College	$4,198,351
10	James Madison University	$4,197,097
11	Towson University	$4,050,261
12	College of the Holy Cross	$3,920,294
13	University of New Hampshire	$3,824,532
14	University of Rhode Island	$3,730,269
15	Lehigh University	$3,671,791
16	University of Maine	$3,593,951
17	Stony Brook University	$3,452,189
18	Bucknell University	$3,008,262
19	Princeton University	$2,929,356
20	Columbia University	$2,745,817
21	Yale University	$2,507,069
22	Monmouth University	$2,265,998
23	Harvard University	$2,142,235
24	University of Pennsylvania	$2,079,036
25	Cornell University	$2,015,525
26	Dartmouth College	$1,920,170
27	SUNY at Albany	$1,903,667
28	Wagner College	$1,866,061
29	Bryant University	$1,847,498
30	Central Connecticut State Univ	$1,779,801
31	Robert Morris University	$1,639,539
32	Brown University	$1,538,414
33	Duquesne University	$1,529,237
34	Georgetown University	$1,430,512
35	Saint Francis University	$1,415,266
36	Sacred Heart University	$1,384,786
37	Marist College	$760,699

Goodbye, Princeton, Dartmouth, Penn. Say hello to Duquesne, St. Francis, and Sacred Heart.

So what changed? For Georgetown, very little. Its four year net change in football spending was a slight decrease from $1.6 to $1.4 million. Trouble was (and is), it was the only school in the region to actually decrease spending. When viewed on percentage change, Georgetown's place in the Eastern landscape is even more disturbing:

1	Duquesne University	228%
2	Stony Brook University	182%
3	Monmouth University	157%
4	SUNY at Albany	117%
5	Bryant University	111%
6	Towson University	106%
7	Robert Morris University	94%
8	Central Connecticut State Univ	83%
9	Marist College	67%
10	Saint Francis University	63%
11	Princeton University	63%
12	Wagner College	56%
13	College of William and Mary	51%
14	University of Delaware	48%
15	College of the Holy Cross	44%
16	Cornell University	40%
17	Columbia University	39%
18	Sacred Heart University	39%
19	University of Pennsylvania	39%
20	Villanova University	38%
21	University of Maine	37%
22	Lafayette College	35%
23	University of Richmond	31%
24	University of New Hampshire	27%
25	Colgate University	24%
26	Fordham University	23%
27	University of Rhode Island	23%
28	Brown University	22%
29	Bucknell University	21%
30	Dartmouth College	18%
31	Yale University	16%
32	Lehigh University	13%
33	Harvard University	2%
34	James Madison University	0%
35	Georgetown University	-14%

	(new programs since 2006 not included)

It’s no secret that Georgetown spends a lot less on football, than, say, men’s basketball. There is historical as well as economic precedent for this. The dropping of major college football remains a tear in the Georgetown athletic fabric sixty years later, because it cemented an institutional distrust in sports becoming bigger than the school could manage. Football wasn’t dropped for scandal, nor for any shame brought upon the school, but for the sin that it was an expensive proposition for the University. That football returned at all was based upon the premise—a compact, perhaps-- that football at Georgetown, expensive football, would not return as it did before.

“Any form of highly subsidized football is an economic impossibility here at Georgetown,” wrote The HOYA in 1964. “There is big-time football and non-scholarship football. There is no in between.”

For most of Georgetown’s 28 other sports, then as now, its programs are underfunded. It’s not a slight, but it’s reflective of a school which decided long ago not to invest in the land and the tools that major college programs do to be in that select company. Few expected Georgetown ever to be in the select company of major college athletics again, but it happened.

What happened was, of course, men’s basketball, which also existed on a shoestring when John Thompson arrived in 1972. The perfect storm of Thompson, the arrival of the Big East Conference, and the explosion of TV sports elevated Georgetown from a local team to a national one within three years, even if McDonough Gym was better suited to a Division II program than one that was moving through the NCAA Tournament.

It was during the early 1980’s (and revisited in 2004) that Georgetown took a hard look at the opportunity costs of men’s basketball and decided that the costs of investing in basketball had a return that Georgetown could live with, and be successful with. Georgetown’s basketball spending went from “spending to compete” to “spending to excel”.

Georgetown football does not spend to excel. It has not demonstrated the capacity or the financial commitment to compete for the I-AA national championship.

It is arguable that Georgetown football does not spend to be regularly competitive. With a budget that trails fellow Patriot league schools by such a degree that the Hoyas could double its spending and still rank last in the conference by budget, one unfamiliar with GU could assume that Georgetown’s financial backing does not put it in a position to compete for the Patriot League title; not spending to compete, merely spending to play.

"How will ...football better the school?” asked The HOYA 47 years ago. “Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s advantageous.”

The secret to Georgetown’s future success isn’t to look to Delaware or Villanova for budgetary guidance. First, look up the hill.

As operating budgets go, Georgetown University is half that of Duke, a quarter that of Stanford. Yale produces enough endowment proceeds to fund the entire Georgetown operating budget, yet Georgetown’s annual endowment proceeds would fund two weeks of expenses at Yale. Yet, against considerable odds, Georgetown nonetheless competes with Duke, Yale, and other peers—not because it outspends these schools, but because, in part, it leverages its message and its spending that play to Georgetown’s strengths.

And what are these strengths? From Georgetown.edu: "Established in 1789, Georgetown is the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university. Drawing upon this legacy, we provide students with a world-class learning experience focused on educating the whole person through exposure to different faiths, cultures and beliefs. With our Jesuit values and location in Washington, D.C., Georgetown offers students a distinct opportunity to learn, experience and understand more about the world."

Put another way:

1. The preeminent Roman Catholic university in the nation.
2. Exposure to a world-class education.
3. Location, location, location.

Over the next four installments, let’s talk about the targeted investment that could allow Georgetown to compete at the top of its football peer set, focusing to its strengths and opening the doors of a Georgetown education to a new generation of student-athlete that may have never considered it in the first place.

(That, and finishing the field.)

Hail And Farewell

2011-05-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

Ah, the commencement weekend.

Simultaneously the most remarkable and most forgettable time in one’s young life, college commencement is a big deal, even if the speaker isn’t. Some graduates will be hard pressed to remember the speaker at all in six months time, much less a quarter century passed.

My commencement speaker was a South African poet. I have no memory of what was said, but we weren’t there for the talk, anyway. Graduation Day, 1984 marked two lasting images. First, it was the happiest I would ever see my father. Only a day removed from a particularly sharp chewing out over my sleeping through their breakfast at the Key Bridge Marriott (last call at Senior Ball was the unmentioned culprit), he nonetheless was sincerely happy to see me make it through college. I was only the second member of my extended family ever to graduate college, neither of my parents made it through a year after high school.

Simultaneously, it was among the saddest—three hours later, as friends and family had left and I was packing up the Village A dorm, the stark reality followed—this really was all over. The campus was deserted, and four years were done. Finished. They may tell you the class will all get together at Reunion, but once the ceremonies conclude, this will really be the last time you may ever see some of these people again. Some will lose touch with you, some won’t care, and for some, the end is sooner than we all know. A month after I graduated, one of our colleagues at the radio station died in a car crash. He was 21.

There is now a cottage industry in commencement speakers—actors, statesmen, journalists, humorists. Georgetown’s somewhat short-sighted policy on commencement contributes to this, in a way. For the 25th straight year, commencement will not be one speaker, but up to ten, where quantity does not always equal quality. The Class of 1981—all 1200 of them--heard from Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Impressive. Would it have been the same for the SLL to get the Assistant Undersecretary of the Interior that year instead and for the business school to get the CEO at Giant Food?

The official reason there is not one commencement speaker is that no facility is capable of holding 1200 graduates and three or four guests each. Funny, that approximates the expected capacity of the Multi-Sp….no, that couldn’t be. Yet, back in the 20th Century when this plan was hatched, the use of the MSF for commencement was a viable and worthwhile goal.

This weekend, the weeds grow a little taller at the Millions Short of Fundraising Field, but for those up top on the hill, congratulations and a few words of my own, directed at the newest members of the alumni family.

"If there are three things you take away from four years at Georgetown, what would they be, debt service notwithstanding? Three.

Pay attention. So much of life is about those who are aware to the world around them and those who let it slide on by. A movie from your parents’ generation summed it thusly: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” So whether it’s grad school, raising a family, joining a community, or simply knowing when to cross the yellow light and when there’s a red light camera waiting around the bend, a Georgetown education should offer you the benefit being involved and active. Don’t fall for the adage that ninety percent of life is just showing up. If you do, you will die an unfulfilled man.
Ask questions. Nothing in life isn’t made better by critical thinking. At the turn of the 20th century, the director of the U.S. Patent Office questioned his department’s legitimacy, saying “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” It’s easy to jump to the same conclusion today, and while we are not all inventors, we have the opportunity to be innovators in our chosen fields. I don’t care what you do it or how you do it, but make it better, and know that you can’t get to the answers without posing the questions.
Lend a hand. In a time of such great bounty in our history, there are always those in need—in your neighborhood, in your church, in your nation, in your world. Remember those cards with the different-colored spots harkened back at Orientation? The spots indicating the number of people that do not have the opportunities you have had? Those haven’t gone away in four years and they won’t unless people of good will can offer to help. Closer to home, alma mater needs your help. Don’t turn your back on this place because you can’t afford to write a check. There are institutional needs that do not require a few zeroes behind your name, and young alumni can play a vital role in this. For starters, how about talking up the need to get these athletic facilities taken seriously by more people? It’s one thing to read about the woebegone MSF and the McDonough locker rooms, it’s another think to have lived it, as you have. Tell us what needs to be done. Lead by example. This is no longer an era where you must generationally wait your turn to take positions of authority. Step up and be counted. Now.

And for our athletic alumni out there, don’t put aside the mantle of competition as you put aside the jerseys and pads. Character is revealed in athletics, and for those who put their sweat equity into the program at a time of low expectations by friend and foe alike, do not lose that intensity to be a productive alumnus and a productive member of your community. Get involved with the University. Get involved with your class. And in three years time, when the program recognizes its 50 years of modern football, do not be afraid to lead the charge once again, to make the academic and athletic experience of Georgetown University all the better because you were a once part of it.

Or, as simple as this, from your fellow alumnus Joe Lonardo (B’69): “When you leave Georgetown, Georgetown doesn’t have to leave you.” Take the best of the place and use it every day going forward. You’ll find out you’ve learned more about life than you’ll ever know."

Now, on to the field.

Nothing To See Here

2011-04-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since there was much to talk about on the blog, but there hasn't been much on the front burner of football to awake from hibernation (or basketball season, whichever applies). I had planned to talk this week about Villanova's big decision whether or not to join the Big East, but the Big East (read= Pitt) is making things a little more difficuly on the Main Line, essentially telling the Wildcats that an 18,000 seat soccer stadium isn't good enough for them. Some of the ACC media wags in Boston suggest this is the first step towards kicking all the non-IA schools out of the Big East. (Don't think so.)

As Georgetown goes, when it's the off-season, it's really the off-season. Recruits won't be announced until May (whatever rules apply which do not allow GU football to announce recruits doesn't apply at the five other PL schools which have already posted theirs). As far as we know all the coaches are back for 2011, and if there are transfers or attrition from the 2010 season, it may take a while to know more about it.

The 2012 schedule was announced earlier this year, adding the first meeting with Princeton since 1923, and a return series with Brown. The Hoyas travel to Old Nassau on Sept. 28, 2012. (Red Line to Union Station, Amtrak to Princeton Junction, one stop on the famous "Dinky" line, and you're right there.) For 2011, only four home games but a road game at Howard keeps one close.

If it's been quiet off the field, it's been quiet on the field as well.

Unlike the interest that predominates I-A spring football and finds its way to I-AA teams as well, Georgetown wraps up its spring practice with nary an article written on it. A brief blurb at GUHoyas.com noted that sQB Scott Darby threw a touchdown pass and three interceptions last week, but without further clarification of how the scrimmage was set up, it's impossible to determine what that means. If you're looking for a spring roster, stop looking: GU did not release one.

Kevin Kelly's degree in college wasn't marketing, but you have to think he would like to promote this program better than what has shown to the public these last five years. Outside of an interview with Bernard in the New York Times in 2007, there may not be five articles in the off-campus press about Georgetown Football. That Kelly and his staff is back for a sixth year after dropping six of its final seven games may be enough for now; like some other smaller sports, staying off the campus radar may have its advantages when the win-loss record isn't there.

We are also not hearing from Georgetown on either of the two pressing issues circling the program: funding and facilities.

The avoidance approach by the Patriot League presidents to the "fight or flight" posed by Fordham will continue through 2012, whereupon the Rams will have signed 60 on full scholarship athletes and the rest of the league will not. One of three outcomes await:

The league will deny Fordham's plan for scholarships, and the Rams will leave the league after 2012.
The league will accept Fordham's plan for schoalrships, a mad dash to match Fordham's 60 grants ensue, whereupon Georgetown is left far, far behind or eventually asked to leave; or
The league will stall again, and Fordham will leave anyway.

Georgetown is not in the driver's seat on this matter but it wouldn't hurt to check out its safety belt. Does Georgetown need to start soliciting funds for schoalrship support, however one defines it? Should it be up front and let everyone know it won't play scholarship football even if the rest of the PL does? With new leadership at the Gridiron Club (Bruce Simmons '69), there are a lot of opportunities to energize the base. And that's important--with materially less to offer than every other PL school, when does Georgetown University start the process of stepping up its financial support, whether to be a truly competitive PL program in a scholarship scenario, or finding a soft landing elsewhere if the league becomes untenable?

The time to act is not in 2013. It starts in 2011.

Of similar and growing concern--heard much of late about the Multi-Sport Facility, "the most important project in the history of Georgetown Athletics"? Me neither.

On the front page of the HoyaSaxa.com football site, a clock ticks away the days since construction was stopped on the Field With No Name--as of this writing, 2,035 days and counting. Those temporary stands hastily constructed before the home opener in 2005 weren't put up to withstand the tests of time, and a FieldTurf surface meant to withstand 10 seasons of football games is approaching some real maintenance concerns with 12-16 hours of usage a day among various teams.

The fundraising model that started with this project is broke. The efforts to focus on a name donor before any movement forward isn't there, either. Further complicating the situation is the idea of timing--Georgetown cannot seem to do more than one construction project at a time, which put the MSF behind the Southwest Quad...then the business school...then the science building...and soon, the inertia for building the Athletic Training Facility (ATF), delayed now for 4+ years, will soon overtake the MSF as the top project for Athletics. Meanwhile, the gravel will wash away, the field will wear out, and recruits will find other places to go.

If the decision comes down to building the ATF or the MSF, well, no question. But with technology in the area of modular stadiums, a concept at its infancy when the MSF make-do began, maybe there's a middle ground between doing nothing and waiting for Godot.

A modular stadium is a means to construct a facility which is not intended to be a permanent facility, but has all the acoutrements of a permanent facility but without the foundations and the building materials that would add to the cost. Modular building is the new buzzword in soccer circles, particularly for countries bidding on world events. Rather than spend billions on dozens of World Cup facilities, build what you need and keep only that which you want to keep after the event.

In theory, the temporary grandstands at MSF were a crude form of a modular stadium. "Georgetown had the idea in motion to build a multi purpose stadium on campus and initially thought that their need would be for a two season rental of our Ultimate seating," wrote the 2006 press release at Seatingsolutions.com. "When the larger project stalled, the University then purchased the Ultimate bench seating system... and the three press boxes with the intent to move the entire modular system to various sports fields on campus once the new stadium is built."

But the technology is so much more developed than 2005. So it was with some interest that I read about the efforts un Vancouver, BC to solve a real problem with facilities.

In 2010-11, Vancouver will be converting its downtown domed stadium, BC Place, from a inflatable roof to a retractable one, which moved the Lions (CFL) and the Whitecaps (MLS) out of the building for a season. With no good options anywhere nearby to handle such crowds, an RFP was posted for what they were looking for:

"Pavco, the crown corporation responsible for BC Place, is seeking proposals for the construction of temporary grandstands to facilitate the formation of a stadium suitable for the playing of Canadian football or soccer. Specific requirements are:
- Capacity of 30,000 to 32,000 with at least 75% of the seats covered
- Individual and seating preferred (to at least 85% of capacity)
- Other facilities required include:
- 24 private boxes
- Media facilities (press box)
- Broadcast boxes"

The winning bid was a European company called Nussli AG, and I'll share three amazing numbers from their bid:

Capacity: 27,500 seats
Cost: $14.5 million
Construction time: 111 days

OK, it's not BC Place, but it's not a half-bleacher across from Harbin Hall, either. Take a look at the photos below (courtesy the Nussli site) and ask yourself: do we wait another 10 years for the MSF, or get something in the ground sooner? If $14.5 million bought all this, what would a 7,500 or 10,000 seat facility cost?

And what's a 111 day construction schedule? To meet a September 1 deadline, it would have to start by what, May 13? Amazing.

"The temporary stadium matches the quality of a permanently built stadium in many respects," reads the Nussli web site. "In time for the BC Lions to host their first home game of the 2010 CFL season, Nussli has concluded construction of the Empire Fields temporary football and soccer stadium in only three month[s] time. Capacity is 27,500 seats, including two roofed main grandstands and twelve VIP suites. 20,500 seats have been equipped with seat shells, 7,000 with bench seating for the balance. The Nussli contract also included responsibility for supplying complete power supply systems, flood and area lighting, stadium and emergency lighting, the sound system, and the construction of a VIP zone with turnkey suites, media and press rooms, as well as the installation of external cladding...The timeframe for construction of this stadium is unprecedented in the history of modular construction in North America."

Ok, It's a discussion starter, nothing more. But if the MSF falls behind yet another project (or two), someone is going to ask the question, "What's the point?" We can't let it come to that.

So if there's not much to see in Hilltop Football this time of year, know that there is still plenty to do. This is the challenge that faces Bruce Simmons and the Gridiron Club, and I look forward to their efforts.

The Alarm Clock

2010-12-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

It's been one week since the Patriot League presidents met in their showdown over scholarship football, a defining issue over a conference once called "The Last Amateurs". Except that some of them don’t want to be amateurs anymore.

The collective hand of the league was called by Fordham University, which announced nearly two years ago that they would offer football scholarships whether the league liked it or not, and the PL leadership made the mistake of choosing compromise over principle. The league has been clear about football scholarships from the start--it's the reason the league is there in the first place. And amidst a challenge to the fundamental principle of the league, the PL simply wavered, and followed the precedent a decade earlier when Holy Cross threatened to leave the PL unless it offered basketball scholarships. (The day Columbia walks into the Ivy League and announces it is going full scholarship in basketball, rest assured the Ivies will not make an accommodation.)

Which is, of course, what the Patriot League did. In exchange for making the Rams ineligible for the league title (for whatever that is worth), Fordham was allowed to add scholarships, with the understanding that this would be settled one way or another by the end of the 2010 calendar year, allowing Fordham a chance to stay in the league, or make plans to go elsewhere when it reaches 60 scholarships in 2012. However one viewed the compromise, the understanding was that a decision would be reached, and it would either be to Fordham's benefit or its detriment.

The presidents arrived last week to make a decision, and they decided, well, not to decide at all. There’s a old saying that “not to decide is to decide.” But in this case, it is not a decision as much as a stalemate, for as Samuel Johnson observed centuries earlier, "Present opportunities are neglected, and attainable good is slighted, by minds busied in extensive ranges and intent upon future advantages." In football terms, the scholarship issue was on the 20-yard line. The league could go in for the score, or punt. Instead, it took a knee and ran out the clock. What does this mean (or in this case, not mean) for Georgetown?

Aside from the obvious financial issues, there are program-wide issues to be settled for Georgetown over this issue, and it’s not clear if Georgetown will settle them itself or have it settled for them.

Every twenty years or so, Georgetown has one of those “fork in the road” decisions which, by its decision, has charted the course of the program:

1930-31: In the midst of the Great Depression, Georgetown quietly dropped scholarship support for football. While alumni were driving Tommy Mills out of his job with his 11-13-1 record, the decision set back the Hoyas for half a decade. Jack Hagerty got scholarship support returned in 1934, but it wasn’t until 1938 that the impact was truly seen: an undefeated season.
1950-51: In the midst of the Korean War, Hunter Guthrie S.J. saw athletic scholarships as a luxury not matched by the Hoyas’ indifferent attendance patterns. With no alumni that stepped up to support the program or build the stadium that was sitting on the drawing board since the 1920’s, Guthrie unilaterally cut the program and no one was there to say otherwise.
1969-70: The club program had taken hold at Georgetown, but the national club movement was faltering. Georgetown could have stood pat as schools like Marquette and St. Louis did with their club programs, but otherwise made the decision to step up to the NCAA College Division. It allowed the program not only to grow, but ultimately survive as the club level vanished.
1990-91: With an NCAA decision that forced Division III schools to move to Division I, the likelihood of Georgetown football after the 1992 season was no given. Various alternatives were on the table—a return to club football, for one, or dropping it altogether. With consensus and support, Georgetown took the leap forward, and we’re all the better for it.

And now it’s 2010. The scholarship issue, either way, will define the direction of the Georgetown program for another decade or more. Publicly, Georgetown doesn’t talk about it but scholarships (merit and/or need) have to be actively pursued if Georgetown is going to be able to stay on the field with its peers, much less anyone else. Yes, there are some “endowed” scholarships, but those are fractional gifts and nothing more. If ten years of getting its collective hat handed to it hasn’t got the message through to Georgetown that you can’t bring a knife to a gunfight, a scholarship Patriot League surely will pound it to them, and will the program be strong enough to stand on its own two feet thereafter?

Georgetown doesn’t have to make a decision today, but it needs a direction. There are any of five different ways this could all shake out in the PL, and the presidential non-decision increasingly points to a league splitting along financial lines. A $5 million Fordham program is, eventually, going to distance itself from the $1.4 million Georgetowns of the world just as Georgetown distanced itself from the MAAC schools, and
before that, the Catholic and Washington and Lee programs of its past. Maybe schools like Georgetown, Holy Cross, and Bucknell can stick together. Maybe not.

The Patriot League faces this brave new world: for all intents and purposes, it has lost Fordham. If even one of the all-sports members (Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh) leaves the conference, the PL drops football as a sponsored sport and Georgetown is cast adrift. Think it can’t happen? At least two of these schools (Colgate, Lehigh) will give full scholarships a hard look next season and may be tempted to pull the same trump card Fordham pulled—‘we’re going scholarship, what are you going to do about it?” And what will the PL do, if anything? At that point, what can they do, short of disbanding the conference?

Lafayette is on the record in the Allentown and Easton press—it won’t support a 63 scholarship league, the source of considerable consternation in the only media market that really follows the PL anymore. Maybe the PL can’t stomach 63, but it needs a compromise.

Resolved: “In the sport of football, the League shall allow member schools to offer not more than 15 equivalent grants-in-aid that do not involve financial need.”

Why only fifteen? Six of the seven PL schools already field teams of 40 or more equivalencies. A 15 scholarship addition elevates every PL school but Georgetown to the status of a “counter” to get I-A opponents to schedule them for “body bag” guarantee games, which is what most coaches and fans want anyway. Colgate can schedule Syracuse and pick up a check for $400,000 because it’s at or near counter status. That pays bills, and presidents like paying bills. Fans like the thought of Lehigh and Penn State, regardless of the score. From a financial perspective, this gives them the opportunity to show "improvement" to the alumni without committing $2-3 million to do it.

Fifteen scholarships makes the remaining PL schools immediately better, and, by force of sheer movement, gives them a reason to hang together, rather than, as Benjamin Franklin put it , “to hang separately” and have to commit the capital to add 60 full scholarships, meet Title IX, and face an uncertain competitive climate in conferences like the Big South or CAA. It also keeps them close enough competitively where the Ivy League will continue to play them.

Georgetown can’t be a counter under its current funding formula, but the impact of 15 scholarships raised directly from the Gridiron Club could become a powerful ally in recruiting. Partnered with the 1789 Scholarship Imperative, $750,000 a year in annual fundraising brings forth 30 new half-scholarships, opening the doors to Georgetown that a lot of recruits aren’t getting near right now. No, Syracuse won’t be calling, but it allows GU to continue to pursue a need-based quotient as it does, or mix in some athletic-based grants as well.

Fifteen scholarships won’t win the Patriot League on its own, but it’s the same 15 that everyone else would have, and at least make Georgetown a more competitive entity in a league where they have mostly been anything but.

It’s clear that there was not the consensus within the league presidents to move to 60 scholarships. Was any other number discussed? No one is saying, but for this argument 15 is a number that may be more palatable; without it, no number will ever be.

The PL's decision merited not one article in the Washington Post, the Washington Examiner, The HOYA, or the Voice. Like a tree in some Pennsylvania forest, it fell down and no one heard it, but listen closely: this is an alarm clock ringing on the future of the Patriot League and of Georgetown’s options within it. Georgetown can use this as a clarion call to reengage a increasingly distant alumni population which has grown tired in the Kevin Kelly era, to build a culture of sustained giving, one which men’s basketball and rowing has successfully maintained for two decades, but which football has never mustered the cause to develop. Brining in $650,000 would only be the start of a wave of philanthropy from football alumni--some of the most successful alumni at this institution came through the football program and their support remains untapped. Give them a reason for giving, and you can see the results in winning, and you will see the foundation built for a home in Division I-AA for generations to come.

Or, Georgetown can hit the snooze button and wake up in two years, and found that the house has burned down.

A House Divided

2010-12-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

The cold weather of December heralds the traditional end of news on Georgetown football for the year

MSF? No change. Coaches? No comment. Recruits? Not yet. Schedule? Wait until the spring.

Elsewhere in the Patriot League, it's a winter of rising discontent over the issue that seemingly has captivated the league (sans one school, that is): whether the league ought to allow (or, to some minds, mandate) up to 63 athletic scholarships as a means to better compete in NCAA Division I-AA football. Thanks to a dare by Fordham University, the league has a central question before it, the one that founded the group in the first place: can a conference built on the principle of not offering athletic aid for football now embrace it... and what does it do if everyone is not on board?

"Suffice it to say that the Ivy League has become non-competitive outside of the league to the point of being unable to even fill their stadiums," wrote former Colgate beat writer Tom Lazzaro in 1985. "Rather than bring back spring football or institute various other reforms to raise this sad level of competition, the Ivy League presidents looked around for schools which shared, as Brown University president Howard Swearer announced 'our philosophy of sports, and our view of the role of athletics in higher education .'" Such was the aegis of what was originally called the Colonial League, a view that grew from a football-only model to an all-sports league by the early 1990's.

Numbers were the the problem then, as well as today. The Ivy had a stable eight to work with--no one was leaving, no one needed an invitation. The Patriot League had a founding four (Lehigh, Lafayette, Bucknell, Colgate), adding a reluctant Holy Cross fan base when the Crusaders let the Big East bandwagon pass it by. For the most part, then as well as now, the five agreed on matters and funded its progams at a similar scale. Getting to seven, much less eight, has never quite worked out.

In is earliest days, the league presidents sought out the likes of William & Mary, Delaware, and VMI, according to reports. None were willing to trade football competitiveness (e.g., scholarships) for being able to hobnob around New Haven and Old Nassau. The PL sought out Davidson, in its sunset years as a football power in the Southern Conference, who found the transition so rough (1-20) they got up and moved down to Division III. When the president of the University of Richmond suggested his Spiders join the PL, they ran him out of town, literally. Towson joined as a bridge back to the CAA, and left soon after the league had added an eager but underfunded addition in Georgetown.

The scholarship issue was instigated by Fordham, another school that has never quite bought into the PL's model of Ivy proximity at the expense of a reduced athletic emphasis. The Rams' insistence in the mid-1990's to add basketball schoalrships led them ultimately to leave the PL in sports other than football, and led Holy Cross to threaten the same if the PL did not change its ways. At the risk of losing the league, the PL presidents reluctantly agreed to basketball schoalrships a decade ago, and all have eventually followed. Football is the only PL sport where scholarships are expessly prohibited.

And in 2009, Fordham called the question again. Accept 63 schoalrships or they walk, destination unknown. Surely, most PL presidents would concur, the conventional wisdom held, and if Georgetown didn't, well, who needs 'em. Other Eastern schools would see the wisdom and join the league. Happy days are here again, at least north of Washington.

If this was still the 1990's, with $1.10 a gallon gas and a budget surplus at most schools, maybe this would be a plausible argument. Instead, the fianncial and Title IX logjam between the pros and cons of this situation gets its hearing Monday and Tuesday at the league meetings, with a resolution many will find unpalatable in any form--because there really won't be a true resolution.

A decade after joining the Patriot League, most Georgetown fans don't give it much thought, and are as unaware of the rest of the PL as the PL fans are, frankly, unaware of Georgetown. Some Big East comparisons for the PL football configuration may help:

Lehigh and Lafayette are the Pitt and West Virginia of the Patriot League. To them, separated by mere miles and not time zones, the Backyard Brawl means everything, and the schools value the need for fierce competition, if regardless of the other rivalries in the league. Recent comments by Lafayette President Daniel Weiss that he wasn't supportive of football scholarships had more comments asking what would happen to the rivalry game than what it would do to the league.
Think of Colgate as Syracuse: a really strong program with a long-time coach, whose fan base doesn't accept falling behind. They've played for a national championship, they know they can compete outside the Ivy League sphere, and if scholarships makes them better, well, sign them up.
Bucknell is the Providence of the Patriot League--a founding member, its size and location have made it a tougher sell to compete in the league, but they always find a away to do so. No one can underrate Bucknell in a game, because they always fight hard. Its recent run of second division finishes, however, have led some among the league to ask if the Bison can still find a way to stay with the leaders, or will they remain a permanent step behind.
Holy Cross shares a number of comparisons with St. John's--a storied program, a demonstrated commitment to the sport, but a constant battle with its past to avoid those who wish "the good old days" were back. Granted, Holy Cross has been more successful on the gridiron than the Redmen have been on the court of late, but neither can be dismissed as the kind of program that could be nationally relevant again with the right ingredients. "If Villanova can do it, why can't we?", both schools might ask, albeit for different reasons. But let's ask it--if Holy Cross had 63 schoalrships, would they be playing Appalachian State on a Saturday afternoon in December?
By comparison, Fordham is a little like Rutgers--a sleeping giant in the big media market who has enjoyed some recent success but certainly not enough of it for their expectations. And much like Rutgers doesn't mind the whsipers that the Big Ten could be a future suitor, Fordham fans have bigger dreams than the Patriot League, realistic or not. Fordham could get its 63 grants and still leave, and the league knows it.
As for the last member, Georgetown, think a school on the edge of the Big East conference, a recent addition to the league, a recognizable name in a big media market with next to no success since joining the league (okay, none), and a general lack of interest in its program by many recruits. Sounds a lot like DePaul, doesn't it? Unfortunately.

Problem is, the Big East is not the Patriot League. The Big East is the best basketball conference of its kind in the nation--teams are fully funded, nationally competitive, and there's a waiting list of interested schools who would join. The PL has none of these, and with its declining out of conference performance (the PL has won one I-AA playoff game since 2003, and a sub-.500 record versus the Northeast Conference this season), scholarships are seen by some as the means to turn around the league before it slides into the ditch of irrelevance.

Turnarounds cost money, though. And commitment. Does the Patriot League have this commitment, or is it becoming more of a scheduling arrangement across schools who want to spend $5 million a year to be the next Appalachian State, and those who don't? Will the seven schools fall in line and spend the money, or will the league devolve into three that do, three would like to, and one that doesn't seem motivated to follow? Does the Patriot League want to be more closely associated with the style of competition at Dartmouth, or Delaware? Cornell, or Old Dominion? Georgetown, or Georgia State?

The Patriot League can reject Fordham's motion Monday and lose a school in the process. They can accept the motion, and risk whatver purpose the 1985 agreement provided it. That's the price of progress sometimes. But if they are not united moving forward, this league is adrift and, ultimately, divided.

A house divided against itself cannot stand. Nor a league.

Where The East Begins

2010-11-30T08:43:00.000-08:00

Georgetown fans of a certain age remember the story. In his first week of practices in the fall of 1972, 30 year old John Thompson pointed to the empty wall on the southern side of McDonough Gymnasium and told his players a national championship banner would hang there. For a team coming off a 3-23 season, it must have sounded crazy.

About as crazy as someone telling his friends, “someday, Texas Christian University will play in the Rose Bowl and play Big East basketball.”

(And even less likely than winning the national championship.)

Monday’s announcement of TCU joining the Big East conference has spun off more than its share of “Why?” from the working press as well as the blogosphere. A world where TCU and Providence College are partners seems as incongruous as a cattle drive down Kennedy Plaza. But a better question is not “Why?” (read=it’s football) but “How?”. That’s a question Georgetown and its football constituents ought to think about.

Much like the Big East in its earliest days, the eight team Southwest Conference was the place where everybody knew each other and almost everyone was a winner. Four private schools (Rice, SMU, TCU, Baylor) stood side by side with four public schools (Texas, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Texas Tech) and, as often as any, the private schools held the upper hand. From 1941 to 1980, Texas A&M qualified for just one Cotton Bowl, but TCU went to five. Indeed, the late 1950’s saw four straight years where the private school team won the conference title.

Soon, things changed. Pro football siphons away fans. State schools began to offer unlimited scholarships, and suddenly Texas and Arkansas were picking off kids to sit on the fifth string that could start at Rice or TCU. And the losses mounted. And mounted. Beginning in 1966, TCU had 25 losing seasons of its next 27, amidst a run where the Horned Frogs were 28-100 over a ten year stretch from 1972-1982.

And it didn’t get any better. From 1971 through 1990, TCU was 5-55 in games against conference heavyweights Texas, Texas A&M, and Arkansas (three of those wins were against Arkansas). It was possible for someone to go through four years at TCU, marry, have a kid, and have that child go to TCU, graduate…and still have not seen a win over Texas in the intervening years. So it was no great surprise when, upon the first major realignment of the modern era, the public schools kicked the private schools to the curb, (with Baylor added only upon the severe arm-twisting of the then-Governor, a Baylor grad.) TCU, the home of Slingin Sammy Baugh, Davey O’Brien and Bob Lilly, was left with poor talent, declining attendance and no real direction for its future.

If left to the vagaries of a university financial analyst after 1994, TCU football would have drifted into the back roads of college football, maybe even Division I-AA. Instead, it discovered the difference between charity and philanthropy, and the upward trajectory was in place.

Former Georgetown vice president Jim Langley isn’t mentioned much anymore in Hilltop circles since his departure from GU last year. At a school which focuses so much on the annual use dollar, Langley tried to make a distinction between the ask (at GU, common) and the give (less so), and was keen on the concept of philanthropy. “Philanthropy provides the margin of excellence; charity provides the margin for survival,” says Langley in his post-GU blog. And in 1994, TCU was a charity case.

It was also about that time that a local Fort Worth businessman, Roger Williams, decided to change that. Instead of waiting around for someone at the school to start find a shovel to pour dirt over the program, he organized a committee of local business and civic leaders, later known as the “Committee of 100”, to buy season tickets to show support for the program. The Committee sold over 12,000 season tickets in one year, effectively improving attendance by 42% in 1995 and flipping on a light inside the school. Instead of trying to be just TCU’s team, this could be Fort Worth’s team. And it could compete in the future.

It was. And it is.

TCU moved to the Western Athletic Conference but were short-timers there—TCU wanted to distinguish its program against the other Southwest Conference jetsam, and then moved to Conference USA. When C-USA expanded in the ACC/Big East realignment, welcoming in the likes of Rice, SMU, and Houston, TCU upgraded to the Mountain West, all with a growing base of philanthropic support, which manifested itself in things like a new football practice facility, an indoor training area, new facilities for baseball, soccer, and track.

Two years ago, with TCU’s star climbing into national polls, local leaders and alumni asked themselves what two steps were needed to get to the next level. Answer? Better facilities and a BCS conference. A call was made with those who could make a difference to raise funds for a $104 million renovation of aging Amon Carter Stadium, built about the time Georgetown built Copley Hall on top of the old football field.

Thirty four people put up the money.

Let me repeat that. Thirty-four people, $104 million.

Without a five year discernment process, without a “Phase 1B”, without a “let’s wait until the next campaign” answer, TCU boldly started construction a week after the end of the season on the project, which will be finished in the 2012 season, not coincidentally, the season where TCU will find a BCS home in the Big East. It has risen from being one of the four or five worst programs in major college football to the #3 program in the nation, playing in the 2011 Rose Bowl, for cryin’ out loud, and now a member of an elite conference trying to figure out how 17 teams are going to play in Madison Square Garden in two years.

"It is a great scenario for us,” said TCU coach Gary Patterson, about the best college coach in America most people have never heard of. “It has been a hard road, an interesting road. But the last two seasons we have gone to BCS games, and I have been proud of how the DFW community has embraced us, becoming Frog fans. It should be interesting, we certainly don't seem to be getting bored."

I mean, think about it. What were the odds a decade ago that Notre Dame, Syracuse, UConn, and even Georgetown (a school that has played all of three basketball games ever in the second most populous state in the Union), is going to make semi-regular stops in Ft. Worth, Texas?

As the late TCU coach Jim Wacker might have said, “Un-belieeevable.”

For those who dismiss the soaring success of TCU as having no relationship whatsoever to the water-logged Georgetown football program, this thought. The ability of a school in Fort Worth Texas to join the Big East Conference is not an accident, but a process cast in motion by the efforts of those businessmen 16 years ago. They stepped up when the school did not. They gave the school institutional confidence that if it invested in football (and all the other sports which have grown and flourished in the interim), that investment would not be in vain. It also allowed the school to be proactive and to defy conventional wisdom by finding a home for its teams even if it, at first, it didn’t seem to fit. TCU in the Big East? Does it make any less sense for to have been in something called the Mountain West Conference?

Paul Tagliabue said it best Monday--if the Dallas Cowboys can compete in the NFC East, TCU can compete in the Big East.
TCU and Georgetown don’t share much in common but each had a point in its history where it had to change the direction. For TCU, it was that moment in 1994. For Georgetown basketball, it was that moment in 1979 when Frank Rienzo understood that if Georgetown did not build a new conference for its basketball team and its up and coming coach, two generations of Hoya athletics would be spent aside teams like UNC-Wilmington and Virginia Commonwealth before friends and family at aging McDonough Gym.

For Georgetown football, that moment is approaching. It needs its own Committee of 100. With the coming fissures in the Patriot League and a University stuck in institutional inertia over numerous competing priorities and fundraising, if Georgetown football continues to wait for the Red Sea to part, all it will do is get is wet. There is no full time fundraising effort for football, the head coach does not make fundraising a public priority, and more people than not give to the Gridiron Club as a charity than as a movement.

Today marks 1,900 days since the debut of the unnamed Multi-Sport Field and the “temporary” halt in construction. Georgetown should ashamed of this, but absent a true effort to get the dirt flying and resist temptation of "manana" that overshadows athletics projects, what changes? Is Kevin Kelly going to walk into Lee Reed and say “Build it, or I’m walking”? Is the Patriot League going to say “Build it, or go elsewhere?” Are students going to stage rallies and protest? No.

Instead of waiting for the one donor that is going to solve all its problems, reach out to the 100 that can do the heavy lifting. Reach out to a community who hears that “D.C. Is Our Playground” but don’t see enough ties that bind beyond the basketball court. Reach out to alumni who trade more securities in a day than the University has in its bank account and make them true partners in this process. Before Georgetown football moves from a charity to a charity case, make it something people are willing to commit their time, talent, and treasure towards. Or Georgetown can sit quiet, heap praise on a troubled four win season, and wait for things to change.

Those who wait for change often have no control over it. TCU understood this. Does Georgetown?

“A lot of great things are happening,” said TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte. “We have a chancellor that allowed us to dream. If you don’t dream, you’re living in a memory.”

A dream? Of course, dreams without support is like faith without works. But look where that got them, a school of 7,000 in a city whose motto is “Where The West Begins”. Now, it’s where the East begins.

Week 11 Thoughts

2010-11-23T19:48:00.000-08:00

Some brief thoughts from Saturday's win over Marist (or scattershooting as to whatever happened to Peter Carbonara...)

A recent scattershooting for former RB Keion Wade has turned him up in Garden City, KS, a redshirt sophomore for Garden City Community College. Wade was leading the Broncbusters in rushing before suffering a torn pectoral muscle, and will be back on the recruiting mix this season with two years eligibility remaining, and we wish him the best of luck at the next stop on his journey.

A Win Is A Win...Congratulations to the team for Saturday's win. Okay, so Marist isn't Richmond and it's not even Bucknell, but a seventh straight loss to end the season would have been tragic given the 3-1 start, though six losses wasn't great either.The offense showed some improvement but the Hoyas really should have dominated this game offensively and didn't, and it took some big defensive stops (and a tackle from Scott Darby) from turning this one into some serious indigestion.

Another plus: Sticking with Scott Darby. For those that have been following this column, I've grown weary of quarterback by committee, and it would not have worked Saturday, anyway. With Keerome Lawrence graduating, maybe GU needs to consider not a wildcat, but placing two QB's back there and use them to variously run or pass (whereas the Wildcat was nearly always a Lawrence run play). Call it the "bulldog" and see where it goes...

I'm not sure if Marist returns to the 2011 schedule but they are a competitive foe (which you can take however you'd like) and until Georgetown gets better, it beats getting run off the field for Senior Day.

Home Crowd: Congratulations as well to the 2010 attendance average, 2,489 a game, a mere 110th of 117 schools but a more significant 103% of capacity at unnamed Multi-Sport Field. Now, it was clear that not all of the visitors side was filled ina couple of games, but we continue to see people sitting on top of each other at the weather-worn aluminum stands to the west, and students don't seem to gravitate west. Can someone take the time to consider moving students to the east side stands? Next year's home games (tentatively Lafayette, Colgate, Fordham, Sacred Heart and two schools to be named later) aren't going to bring huge crowds anyway, and a little bit of excitement from across the field wouldn't hurt.

Some Very Unofficial Award Talk: With the Gridiron Club banquet now well into the spring, here are some unsolicited and very unofficial nominations for the team awards. While the season is still fresh, it bears remembering some remarkable efforts by the team this year:

MVP: Andrew Schaetzke. Did it all this year, and stands to be the defensive leader heading into 2011.
Outstanding Back: Jeremy Moore. A great season on defense and special teams.
Outstanding Lineman: One of the offensive line seniors, they all did their part.
Coaches Award: Nick Parrish. An outstanding four years in the Georegetown uniform.

A Tighter Budget: Without fanfare, Georgetown updated its disclosures to the Department of Education for the school year ending 6/30/2010. The football budget (as defined by expenses) shrank from from $1.5 million in 2009 to $1.4 million in 2010, likely a result of declines in Gridiron Club support. The school did not do a good job this season keeping people informed, and the coaching record, I think, keeps some donors on the sidelines. 4-7 is not something to be terribly excited about, either.

How does Georgetown's budget fare against the Patriot League? Uh-oh, here goes:

Fordham University: $4,809,131 (up 0.8% from 2008-09)
Colgate University: $4,514524 (up 1.9%)
Lafayette College: $4,198,351 (up 1.6%)
College of the Holy Cross: $3,920,294 (up 7.7%)
Lehigh University: $3,671,791 (up 6.6%)
Bucknell University: $3,008,262 (up 3.0%)
Georgetown University: $1,430,512 (down 7.6%)

Some food for thought as the PL presidents meet on Dec. 13 to debate...more likely, approve, athletic scholarships in football. The rich get richer, and Georgetown stays hungry.

Time Marches On...: Someday to debut on the front page, the "MSF Clock", or the number of days since construction was "temporarily" halted on the Field With No Name. As of today, (Nov. 23, 2010)...1,894 days. Are we any closer to a resolution in this institutional inertia?

Last Call

2010-11-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

The days grow short in the middle of November, when the optimism of two-a-days and the bright sun of August has given way to the inevitable enemy of every football player: time. From a pee-wee kicker to the likes of Bret Favre, time takes its toll, and walking away from the game that so many have put their heart, mind, and soul into for so long is no easy task.

Saturday's game with Marist concludes another season of Georgetown Football, another down year for what was (and otherwise should be) a storied program. But it's more than that for the 15 seniors who moved onto campus together in the summer of 2007, who suffered through good times (a few) and bad (more than enough), who sat on bus trips to Worcester and Hamilton and Easton, who kept their heads up high after the losses, and who never quit on themselves or their team.

As fans, there's always next year. For these young men, this is the end of the line.

OK, maybe Nick Parrish will get a tryout somewhere, or a call to play in Europe. Even with his career tackle record, he's one of the more underrated players you will see at linebacker, and with the right amount of luck could be at the right place at the right time for someone to give him a look. For the other 14, perhaps not. But it doesn't diminish the impact of one, just one more afternoon to get out there any play the game they love, because it'll never be the same again. It won't be for an axe or a bell or an old oaken bucket, and it even won't be against a school many of their classmates even have heard of. It's still a game, and it's worth playing.

A season ago, staring at an 0-11 season, senior lettermen offered their thoughts to GUHoyas.com on what it would mean to play that last game. Three are worth repeating.

"It has been 21-straight games since I have seen the field. But yet, I haven't missed a practice unless I was in the hospital," wrote linebacker Jon Cassidy (C'10). "I have this one game to finish my career on a high note, but I may only have a few plays or maybe even one depending on what my shoulder allows. However, what I can tell you is that no matter what I will make that play represent what these other guys mean to me. It has been a rough four years, but they have been there through it all and it demonstrates their character. They dedicated every waking minute to football (20 hours a week does not scrape the surface of what they put in). Football envelops your life whether you want it to or not, and without my teammates I was blessed with it wouldn't have been possible for me to keep coming back. I know I speak for everyone when I say I love football and the way it makes people show their true self. My teammates have shown over these past four years that they are committed, hardworking, and relentless individuals no matter the result. I will miss this game greatly, but I will miss most of all the opportunity to be involved with my friends. I wish everyone nothing but the best."

"The way I feel about playing at Georgetown and this being our last game is that I love playing football and wish I could play it for the rest of my life," wrote lineman Rich Hussey (C'10). "In other sports like basketball baseball and soccer you can always pick up a ball or bat and play again, but with football you're never going to suit up again and be able to go full tilt. I've been playing football since I was 6-years-old and ever since then, I've seen myself as a football player. So now that its almost over it's kind of depressing considering for most of us, it is all we've known and how we've described ourselves for so long as `a football player.' It's the greatest sport on earth since you can go out and act with controlled violence for 60 minutes without being arrested. Not many people can play college football, but many would die to play so you can't take it for granted. Overall I've made a lot of lifelong friends playing here and especially being part of such a big class with 22 seniors. I loved playing with these guys and I'm sad that it's over but I'm grateful I had the experience."

And then there was Dan Matheny (B'10), who gave it his all for four seasons in that most difficult of positions, the offensive line.

"This game means everything to me. Being able to put on my uniform one more time is going to be bittersweet. Playing football has been amazing. I would not trade it in for anything. When high school was over I was not even close to ready to hang it up. It is one of the best decisions and most challenging experiences of my life. The last practice has sunk in. My roommates and I have been talking a lot about it. I have been playing football since I was 8-years-old. August is now [just] a part of summer."

Of course, there's another finality to this game as well. For a number of people beyond the seniors, it's their last game at Georgetown as well; some know it, some don't. last season, 18 underclassmen suited up for the finale with Fordham and didn't come back; they didn't get a Senior Day and it was gone just the same. We never saw Dishon Hughes or Brandon Floyd become the stars they could have been, we never saw Charlie Houghton come back to finish his career. Promising linemen like Chris Bisanzo and Robert Watson probably expected a senior year of great memories, and those summarily ended a year ago.

And it wasn't just the players. Assistant Coaches Dassin Blackwell, Frank Colaprete, and Jim Miceli made the walk back to McDonough Gym that day as well, and a chapter of their professional lives ended that day as well. Ten coaches left the field at MSF after a humbling loss to Colgate to end the 2005 season, but few would have figured only one making the return trip the following season. You just don't know.

And so it is with Kevin Kelly and his staff. Unless you're Joe Paterno, it's part of the itinerant nature of coaching that people move around in their careers. For Kelly, who hasn't dwelled publicly on what his fate will be after this season, otherwise knows that this staff will change as well in some form or fashion.

Eight wins in five years would be grounds for civil unrest at some schools, but not at Georgetown; still, we'd all be foolish to say it doesn't get addressed with athletic director Lee Reed at some point. When Reed arrived at Georgetown, he received only two questions at the press conference: "When are you going to build a basketball practice facility?", and "When are you going to fix the football program?" Sooner or later, he's got to answer both questions, and whether Kelly and his staff are part of the problem or the solution is a question Reed will ultimately answer.

For coach Kelly, who has witnessed Senior Days at places as disparate as Bowdoin College's Whitter Field and Syracuse's Carrier Dome, Dartmouth's Memorial Field to Marshall Unviersity's Edwards Stadium, and from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium west to tiny, unnamed Multi-Sport Field, he has seen it all before. The only constant is change, and for those involved to make the most of it. That's the charge Kelly and his team have to take in its finale with Marist. The seniors will certainly get to sing the fight songs at reunions, at basketball games, and at events in the future, but never again on the field of battle with their teammates. A win Saturday offers that one, that last, that lasting chance.

Seniors, stay active, stay informed, and please stay involved. And to those who will follow in your footsteps, recall the classic verse from days gone by: To you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high.

Week 10 Thoughts

2010-11-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

Some brief thoughts from Saturday's loss to Lehigh (or scattershooting as to whatever happened to John Sims...)

Limping Home: Maybe it's not fair, but it just seems that this season is limping to the finish line. very little in the way of interest or enthusiasm remains after a sixth straight loss, which is why marking down a "W" next to Marist is no sure thing.

Georgetown continues to suffer from the quarterback carousel that produces no consistency and the special teams miscues that haven't gone away. (More on the quarterback situation below.) Maybe Brett Weiss' field goal wouldn't have won the game, but 10-6 Georgetown gives the Hoyas momentum, ever so brief, in a 3rd quarter where it owned time of possession. Instead, Lehigh marches down the field and takes over the clock for the remainder of the game. And fumbling a kickoff return? Maybe in week one or two, but this is mid-November.

This is just not a good way for a season to end, particularly for the coaching staff. Even the Gridiron Club seems to have faded from view--its last post on its Facebook page was September 27. But with any degree of preparation, focus, and/or good luck (take your pick), this could have been a six or seven win team hading into marist--and what would people be saying then about Coach Kelly and such a turnaround?

Not Worth Quoting: I'm still a bit surprised at Coach Kelly's comment last week to the Georgetown Voice that: "We started out strong, but still we're three games ahead of where we were last year and so it's all about how you look at it. Is the glass half full or half empty? Right now it's half full.”

No, it's not. That's the equivalent of saying the 2010 Hoyas are 300% better because won three more games.

Statistically speaking, Georgetown got off to a good start, may have caught a couple teams napping, early but ultimately failed to step up when the season hit its stride. I don't think the team ever recovered from losing on the last play to Yale, was fortunate that Holy Cross meandered through the Sep. 26 game, and it's been one week of shortfalls ever since. The defense still carries smore than its share of the load, the running game is still an easy target for a bigger defense, and the darby/Kempf rotation is as effective as when GU was swapping through the likes of Cangelosi, Allen, and Hostetler. Starting QB's are not baseball pitchers--teams don't respond long term to middle relievers.

Georgetown has one win this season over a team who was not playing in their season opener against the
Hoyas. That ought to say something about how this team has not progressed over the course of the 2010 season...or maybe that other teams have.

A Letter from The Coach: Finally, I found the following letter posted last season from Kevin Kelly's former boss at Navy, Paul Johnson, now at Georgia Tech:

Dear Georgia Tech Family:

I can’t thank you all enough for the great support you have shown our football team this season. The student-athletes, our coaches and staff are working extremely hard to make this a special season for all of us. We can’t complete that task without you.

That is why I am reaching out to you to today. It is important in the coming weeks that you get behind us like never before. Our stadium needs to be packed with supportive Tech fans when we take on Georgia on Saturday night and then we’ll need you all to plan to travel with us as we play for the ACC Championship in Tampa on December 5th.

"But during these critical game days for our football team, I am personally asking that we exhibit the utmost in sportsmanship. Please treat our opponents with respect and dignity. Make sure your actions reflect positively on yourself and on our football program. Your positive actions will continue to raise the profile of this great Institute and of Georgia Tech football across this nation.

Thank you and go Jackets!

Paul Johnson
Head Football Coach
Georgia Tech

Georgetown's coaches don't do enough of this. For fans that only see the box scores and don't know much else about the football program, Coach Kelly should (and should have) been more proactive with such communications. The more people can feel in touch with the program, the more support it will bring.

As Georgetown enters a long off-season in 2011, everyone needs to take positive steps forward: coaches, players, benefactors, fans. If the last decade has taught anything, it is that there is much work to be done, and it doesn't get done by itself. Everyone is needed to get it done.

Hail and Farewell: Six wins in four years is a disappointment by any definition for the class of 2011, but their departures will leave some big shoes to fill for the 2011 Hoyas. Here are three:

Running Back. Senior RB's at Georgetown do not have a great history of late, and Philip Oladeji's numbers reflect it: just 329 yards on the season. With Oladeji and slotback Keerome Lawrence graduating, the three returning RB's (Chance Logan, Dalen Claytor, Brandon Durham) combined for just 284 yards this season. Each are smaller backs, and GU still needs a bigger presence in the backfield to give these runners better opportunities.
Offensive Line: Dan Semler, Erik Antico, and Rob Bates did the heavy lifting--literally--but the GU line is still too small and a little too slow for its competition. Offensive linemen are one of those positions where recruiting can make a big imapct, and with GU's inability to match other offers, it's one they lose more than they win. If Georgetown is to improve in 2011, it will start with the line.
Linebackers: Nick Parrish's numbers speak for themselves, but Patrick O'Donnell and Paul Sant'Ambrogio had a big impact as well this season. Were it not for the defense, a lot of games could have got out of hand quickly, such as last week's Lehigh game. Nate Zimmel is the only returning inside LB on the two-deep, so this should be a point of emphasis in the off-season.

If you can make it to unnamed Multi-Sport Field Saturday, give these seniors (and their parents) a show of support. They have truly earned it.

What Might Have Been

2010-11-11T11:04:00.000-08:00

Men's basketball, a Friday opener at Old Dominion and a home opener Monday versus Tulane. Women's basketball, a home opener on Saturday afternoon. And over at unnamed Multi-Sport Field, a battle for the Patriot League championship. Talk about a Georgetown-centric sports weekend.

Instead, you're likely to see something else.

Like, for example, visitor's stands full of Lehigh people wondering where everyone is on the home side. A Georgetown band that packs up after halftime to go to the women's basketball game. A message from the officials that the game clock will be kept on the field because the scoreboard isn't responding. At least one comment from the parents group asking "where are all the students today"?

And an ever-patient Chuck Timanus trying to make sense of it all online.

Such is the game-time atmosphere that awaits the Georgetown Hoyas as the Lehigh Engineers arrive for what conventional wisdom holds as their PL championship coronation. Six weeks ago, with the Hoyas flying high at 3-1 and Lehigh struggling at 2-2, maybe things looked to be different in November for a decidedly one-way series between the schools. Since then, Lehigh has won five straight and Georgetown has lost five straight.

The Colgate game was lost because, frankly, Colgate was the better team. The Wagner game, however, was lost on turnovers. The Bucknell game was lost on turnovers. The Sacred Heart game was lost on turnovers. The Fordham game was lost on special teams mistakes. Win four of those games, a 7-2 or even 6-3 record entering November would have been grounds for a parade along O Street; instead, 3-6 and the specter of a 3-8 season is a call for another round of "same old Georgetown" among the Patriot League press and the GU student body at large. Coverage has fallen by the wayside, with one Hoya football blog's latest post reading "Hoyas Set To Tank Against Fordham."

That was two weeks ago.

What might have been Kevin Kelly's biggest moment on the Georgetown sidelines is likely to be pushed off the front page at GUHoyas.com as quickly as you can say, "Say, did you see the basketball game?"

Over at the Allentown Morning Call (one of the last remaining papers to regularly cover PL football), columnsit Keith Groller argues that parity has taken over the league...obvious parties excepted.

"Right now, Bucknell and Georgetown are the only ones who haven't been able to get into the good times," he writes. "The Bison have not won a league crown since 1996, and have gone just 9-24 in the league in the last six seasons. The Hoyas have scuffled even more since joining the league in 2001, going just 9-51 in Patriot play and 26-81 overall in the past 10 seasons.

"It's obvious that some schools are more concerned about football success than others, but in this league, there's a fine line between being a championship contender and a cellar dweller."

A fine line for some, perhaps. A giant leap for others, manifested in a 2010 Georgetown season whose schedule was more than tailor-made for non-conference wins. Georgetown dropped Howard, Old Dominion and Richmond for welterweights like Davidson, Wagner, and Sacred Heart, and has one win to show for it. Kelly enters November 0-8 all-time to schools not named Marist College, and this week's opponent bears no resemblance to same.

Georgetown knows it. So does Lehigh, and for a sixth straight week the Engineer defense will focus on putting pressure on the opponent running game and watching the field position follow. Last year at lehigh, Georgetown rushed 20 times for a net of -26 yards.

A good coach will tell you it's never too late to turn things around, but a wise coach will tell you that sometimes, it is. The Dallas Cowboys are not going to win eight straight and get into the NFL playoffs, and the 3-6 Georgetown Hoyas are not going to solve a season's worth of offensive inconsistency in one week.

"Right now, there's not a wide gap between the league's best and worst," Groller suggests, but if it was, Lehigh would be taking this game much more seriously than it is. And, the Georgetown community would be, too. But crazy as it sounds in retrospect, Georgetown was probably 10 minutes removed from this week being a chance for a PL title and a I-AA playoff bid. Let's go back to the fourth quarter, Oct. 15, 2010, leading then winless Bucknell 21-17:

"Having the lead into the fourth quarter, all the [Georgetown] offense needed to do was to get out of its own end zone on the ground and control the clock.

Instead, the play from the sidelines was a flare pass that Bucknell LB Sean Rafferty picked off untouched at the 12 [yard line] and went in for the stunning touchdown. The one play not to call, and Georgetown called it.

The shell-shocked MSF crowd saw the pass-only Hoyas go three and out with 10:34 to play, but the defense forced a stop and GU took over with 6:09 to play. Much as it did last week with 14 straight rushing plays against Wagner to ill effect, Kempf was now on a run of 16 consecutive pass attempts, a measure of predictability that was astounding. With a second and three at the BU 27, Kempf was stuffed in the backfield, and on third down, failed to connect with Keerome Lawrence with a sure first down.

With 3:08 to play, down three, PK Brett Weiss was available for a 48 yard attempt with no appreciable wind. Weiss was 5-6 on field goals this season, but the staff opted to go for it. Fourth and seven... but instead of reaching out for the first down with time on its side, the call went for the goal line, with Kempf throwing a 40 yarder past Kenneth Furlough in coverage. Bucknell ran out the clock thereafter."

Optimism for this team began to set as the sun did that day and it hasn't come back up. Which is why Lehigh is making plans for the playoffs and Georgetown is making plans for the men's basketball opener versus Tulane on Monday night.

What might have been.

Week 9 Thoughts

2010-11-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

Some brief thoughts from Saturday's loss to Fordham (or scattershooting as to whatever happened to Jim Goranson...)

End of an Era? Despite the frequent losses at Jack Coffey Field, a game at Fordham is part of the fabric of Georgetown football. But I can see one, maybe two more games there before the Rams go forward.

As noted in last week's column, Fordham appears to be going in one direction with its football program, Georgetown another. Whether that's in the PL, I don't know, but should Fordham and/or Georgetown move out of the league there seems less and less likelihood that the series with Georgetown would be maintained. And I don't think they're alone, either--in three or four years GU could have a considerably different schedule than it fields today, and not all of the teams you see in 2010 will be there in 2014.

Auto-Focus: The most frustrating take-away from Saturday's game? Well, take-aways. Georgetown's turnover numbers continue to hurt this team time, time, and time again, and that's a function of coaching and player focus. Fumbles in week one, udnerstood. Week three, troublesome but understood. Week nine? Teams that turn the ball over on a regular basis are not well prepared in the spring and summer to do so.

Yes, Brett Weiss' missed kicks hurt, but no kicker is automatic. Weiss missed jsut one field goal attempt and one extra point before Saturday's game, and bad luck came in twos that day. But fumbling an interception led to one Fordham touchdown, Kempfy's intereception a second. Turnovers have cost Georgetown three games outright this season, and what would we all be saying now if this team was 6-3? But you can't teach ball control in October, it's too late. And it's too late to expect much different when Lehigh rolls into unnamed Multi-Sport Field in a week and half, having fumbled the ball only three times all season. Georgetown? 11 in nine weeks.

Recruiting Need: Maybe it's asking too much with Georgetown's meager lot in PL recruiting, but running back is a clear and pressing recruiting need. For the last five or six years, the era of the small back and the slot receivers have been a mess for the rushing game, and the numbers reflect it:

2010: 104.1 yards a game
2009: 56.7
2008: 104.1
2007: 117.3
2006: 115.1
2005: 120.1

OK, maybe I'm a traditonalist and would rather see an old fashioned fullback opening up ground for the running back. The unfortunate trade-off is that opposing defenses have no fear of the Georgetown running game and can tee off accordingly.

251 Yards: Darryl Whiting's 251 yards on the ground was not an opponent record against the Hoyas. Fellow Fordham alumnus Chip Kron stung the Hoyas for 272 yards in 1985. Georgetown has not had a 200 yard rusher since 2003, and its last 150 yard rusher was in 2005, when Georgetown rushers surpassed the 100 yard mark three times that season. Since then, two in five years, and none against a Patriot League team.

Quarterback Carousel: I'll call it a draw. Will Aaron Aiken join the mix before the season ends?

Not So Fast, My Friends: There was plenty of Internet chatter this past weekend that a full scholarship football PL (well, most of the PL, that is...) is a "done deal", a month before the presidents meet to discuss it. Two things to consider as you hear this talk: 1) college presidents don't like being told what to do, so don't assume anything, and 2) for schools that are going to ramp up overnight, where does the money come from, including some 60 women's scholarships commensurate with Title IX? For some of these schools, it may well come from the backs of other team sports. I still think a vote will pass, but the devil is in the details.

Two Ships

2010-10-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

For years, Georgetown football fans have yearned for an old-fashioned rivalry, something that evokes the tales of great rivalries across college football. Turns out they had one all along...at least for now.

On November 20, 1890, St. John's College of Fordham, NY welcomed a college football team from Georgetown University to compete in the new game, ending in a 6-6 tie. It would be another 17 years before Georgetown would make the return trip to the school, renamed Fordham University, but it began a 53 game rivalry which has paralleled each school's rises and falls in college football.

The Rams boast a football tradition every bit as deep as the Hoyas. It looks back proudly upon its teams of the 1920's and 1930's, the "Seven Blocks of Granite", and consecutive appearances in the 1941 Cotton and 1942 Sugar Bowls. It was said that when Homer Marsham founded the NFL's Cleveland (now St. Louis) Rams in 1936, he named the team in honor of the Fordham eleven. (For what it's worth, Marsham ended up selling the team in 1941 to Dan Reeves (C'32), a Georgetown grad and NFL Hall of Fame member.)

In collegiate games from 1925 through 1928, Georgetown teams outscored Fordham by a combined 131-7, so perhaps that was why during the golden age for both schools in the 1930's and early 1940's, the teams kept their distance. With the exception of Notre Dame (and perhaps St. Mary's of California during the days of Slip Madigan), Fordham and Georgetown were among the most prominent Catholic college teams in the nation.

The rivalry resumed after World War II, albeit briefly. Georgetown lost to Fordham 14-13 on Nov. 11, 1950 before 13,130 at the Polo Grounds, and dropped football three months later. The Rams hung on through the 1954 season, finishing 1-7-1. In a moment of supreme bad timing, the school dropped football just as one of its football alumni, an assistant coach at Army, was approached about returning to campus to coach the team. Instead, 40 year old Vince Lombardi took a job in the NFL with the New York Giants.

Ten years later, the two schools would come together again, with football in mind.

When students at Georgetown were planning the revival of intercollegiate football in 1964, they soon realized it would not prove popular unless there were like-minded rivals from which to play. An outreach was made to the student councils at NYU and Fordham, each of which had dropped football within the last 15 years. As Georgetown returned to football in 1964 against NYU, Fordham joined as well, and the Nov. 20, 1965 Homecoming game at Kehoe Field between the Rams and Hoyas drew 9,002 fans, an on-campus record which remains to this day. Five years later, some 13,500 filled Jack Coffey Field for a Fordham Homecoming versus Georgetown, a road record for a GU game only passed last season at Old Dominion.

As club football waned, Georgetown and Fordham moved up to NCAA play as a tandem. From 1970 to 1984, the teams played 12 times, Fordham taking nine. After a 56-0 drubbing of the Hoyas at its 1984 Homecoming game, the series went on hiatus. A few years later, Fordham announced plans to leave Division III for the Patriot League, while Georgetown remained in Division III through the 1992 season.

Fordham's arrival in the Patriot League was a bitter one. In its first five seasons, the Rams were a combined 5-47 (.096), 2-23 in the conference, in ten seasons, 20-85-1 (.188) and 11-42 in league play. Unfortunately, one can compare that ten year mark, in progress, to Georgetown's ten year mark of 27-85 (.241) and 8-48 PL mark in recent years. But unlike GU, Fordham looked to do something about it.

The Rams leveraged one of its most powerful resources, alumni support, into becoming a competitive PL team inthe last decade, increasing its spending on financial aid to the point that, by 2008, Fordham was among the five largest budgets in I-AA and third only to Delaware and James Madison in Eastern football--a budget of $4.8 million that has grown by 47% in the last five years. At Georgetown? A $1.5 million budget that actually decreased slightly from 2005 to 2008.

Alumni rebuilt Jack Coffey Field from old wooden bleachers to a permanent 7,000 seat structure. When the Rams needed a weight room, alumni gifts got one built under the bleachers. This past season, alumni raised $2 million to turn a former swimming pool into dedicated football locker rooms. And when Fordham won two PL titles this decade, taking advantage of its Academic Index for recruits, alumni asked for more.

More, as in something missing at Fordham for 46 years: scholarship football.

As many Georgetown fans know, Fordham has now put the Patriot league into a institutional game of chicken, daring the league not to approve full scholarships. If Fordham gets to keep its 60 scholarships, they stay. Anything less, they're gone, putting the PL autobid at moderate risk, with only six schools remaining and a six team minumum required.

"Fordham strives to compete at the highest level in the FCS division, and we are convinced that the provision of athletic scholarships in football is an important component in advancing this goal," reads a school release. "We also wish to renew rivalries with past opponents, including Army and Villanova, while enhancing our schedule with other high profile opponents, such as Navy and the University of Connecticut."

Caught in the middle of this mess is Georgetown. Most Patriot League schools, both those pro and con on scholarships, still have the wherewithall to convert their existing aid to scholarships if push came to shove (read=shove). Obviously, Georgetown does not. A football program that can't get a stadium built, that has no game day locker rooms, and has almost few equivalencies for dedicated aid doesn't have the $6.1 million annually needed to float 60 full scholarships for football and the accompanying aid for women's sports required under Title IX. (Fact: Per public documetns, Georgetown's entire athletic scholarship budget in FY 2009 for all sports, basketball included, totaled just $6.4 million.)

Basketball forms a curious contrast between the schools. There was a time when Georgetown and Fordham, were basketball rivals, too. Excepting World War II, the schools played every season from 1941 through 1979. Fans of a certain age can still remember Fordham's 1971 win over Georgetown en route to a 26-3 season and a NCAA Sweet 16 appearance under rookie head coach Richard (Digger) Phelps. Unfortunately, Phelps left for Notre Dame after one season and so did the good times. In the intervening years, the Rams have made just one NCAA tournament since, in 1992, and hasn't seen a post-season game since. As Georgetown's star was ascendant in the Big East, it eventually dropped the Fordham series, as the Rams muddled their way through the ECAC, the MAAC, the Patriot League and now the A-10, finishing 2-26 and winless in the conference last season.

As Georgetown put its eggs in the hoop basket (no pun intended), Fordham has been relucantant to follow. The Rams play at Rose Hill Gym, the oldest basketball facility in Division I (25 years older than aging McDonough Gym) and spend about $2.5 million on men's basketball, eighth among the A-10 schools and comparable to the hoop budget of Liberty University. With its move to scholarships, Fordham is positioning itself as a football-first school.

Which brings us back to the rivalry. The sad outcome of the PL scholarship debate/drama is that, for this rivalry, it may well become the academic equivalent of a "loser leaves town" match. If the league presidents vote down schoalrships, Fordham will make a hasty retreat from the league, and with an expectation of 60 scholarships by 2012, is unlikely to pursue long-term arrangements with a nonscholarship team like Georgetown. If the scholarships pass, Georgetown becomes the odd-man out in a league now dedicated to fully funded football, and GU may well have to look at the more modest Northeast Conference as a safe harbor. As the Hoyas dropped three opponents this past season, all scholarship programs with considerably more resources and lesser academic standards for recruiting, it would seem less likely that this rivalry would continue under that disparity.

Over 120 years, through Division I, no football, club, Division II, Division III, and now Division I-AA, these two schools have built, rebuilt, and maintained college football through challenging circumstances among a dwindling number of Jesuit schools that are committed to the sport. Each has built a ship of football that has weathered the storms and carries a considerable legacy in its wake. Over the next few months, we will all learn whether these ships continue to sail together, or pass in the night.