Thursday, June 5, 2025

The Third Man

 


The worst kept secret in FCS football is a secret no more. 

In a matter of a little more than 13 months, the conference where time stood still has added three nationally prominent programs, including two former national champions, and positioned the Patriot League as the most interesting conference in FCS football. The addition Thursday of Villanova, the third jewel in the PL's triple crown of expansion candidates, is stunning in its impact, and remarkable that the stars aligned as they did.

For forty years, Villanova was the school that wanted nothing to do with the PL, and did its part to steer clear of the Last Amateurs while they were still amateur. The Andy Talley era positioned Villanova as the school which took I-AA and FCS football seriously, something to which Patriot schools were not altogether seen in such company. Yet, much like their fellow CAA stable mates in Richmond and William & Mary, the ground had changed underneath them, and the Patriot had changed to offer them a competitive home where one was fraying around them in the CAA.

Unless you're a Georgetown fan who grew up in or around the Philadelphia area, chances are you don't know much about the Wildcats, inasmuch as these schools never played each other in football over the last 75 years.  How Villanova got to this position is a story worth telling.

A football program since 1894, Villanova was the smallest of the three Philadelphia area programs behind Penn and Temple. A major college program throughout, Villanova played larger opponents at Shibe Park or Municipal (JFK) Stadium, but more often than not at the 12,000 seat on-campus stadium which still stands along Lancaster Avenue. Though it had not been ranked nationally since 1949, the Wildcats were invited to the 1961 Sun Bowl versus Wichita State and the 1962 Liberty Bowl versus Oregon State, the latter played at Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium before its move to Memphis later in the decade.


Following a 9-2 season in 1970 with wins over Maryland, Navy, and Temple, the Wildcats managed just two winning seasons the remainder of the decade before a 6-5 season in 1980. The year 1980 is a seminal date for Villanova football, for it was following that season that, citing a $500,000 loss, that the program was discontinued.


"Interest had dwindled to the point where we sold only 750 season tickets in 1980, and we had 95 players on scholarship,'' said athletic director Ted Aceto, himself  the quarterback of the 1961 and 1962 teams. 

Rather than dutifully accepting its fate as Georgetown had done two decades earlier, alumni pushed back. A group known as the Committee to Restore Football began to get attention, even going so far as to book the legendary Bob Hope for a fundraiser later that year at the Philadelphia Academy Of Music, titled "Hope For Football".  According to local reports, the event covered expenses but "we got about $5 million in free advertising from the papers."

What really got the school's attention was getting alumni to show their dissatisfaction over the decision. 

"During those years the university realized it had dropped a notch in prestige and how people viewed it,” said sports information director Craig Miller to the Philadelphia Inquirer.  “People would send checks and write "Void" on them, saying they wouldn’t continue to make donations until football returns.” Homecoming attendance dropped over 90 percent in two years. University officials saw the issue and understood that it needed a second look. 

"We have 54 (alumni) clubs throughout the country--including three in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego,” said its alumni director. “And 52 of the 54 club presidents returned to campus the day we urged [Villanova] to reconsider.”

In 1983, Villanova restored football, to begin at the Division III level with a move to Division I-AA within four years--a lower scholarship threshold and a perceived better positioning for the school as a whole, now a member (in other sports) of the Big East conference. 

"You simply have to look to the overall benefits (of playing the game) instead of the financial benefits (of not playing),” its school president told the Inquirer., “Football is a unique college activity that has the strong support of the alumni and the school’s other friends." 

"If it’s that important to them, it’s that important to the university.”

With a new coach in Andy Talley, a non-scholarship team debuted with an intrasquad scrimamge at Homecoming on November 3, 1984. 

"We weren't going to have a team until the following fall, we still hadn't recruited a single player and yet we had a capacity crowd of 13,400 people who had paid $10 each to see the game,'' said Aceto in a story picked up by the Los Angeles Times.  "It was absolutely amazing. Except for three players, who had accepted scholarships before the football program was abandoned, everyone was a walk-on, and we were so short of offensive linemen that some guys had to keep running on and off the field to change jerseys.''

Beginning with a Division III schedule in 1985,  Talley won 17 of its next 18 over the next three seasons, and the Wildcats were off and running. Amidst early opponents such as Iona, Pace, Fordham, and even Catholic University, Talley took care not to schedule, or even be compared to, Georgetown. To this date, and at least until 2026, Georgetown remains the only PL school Villanova football has not played in its modern era.

Villanova joined the Yankee Conference in 1988, hosting Wake Forest at home but finishing 4-4 in conference against the likes of Delaware, UConn, and UMass, and with a run of four consecutive weeks versus nationally ranked teams. The next season, Villanova won its first Yankee title, one of five such titles across the Yankee, A-10, and CAA nameplates. The Wildcats have 16 NCAA appearances, including the 2009 national championship.


In 2011, Villanova gave serious consideration to upgrading to FBS and joining Big East football, with a move of its games to what is now known as Subaru Park in Chester. One week before the trustees' meeting, Pitt and Syracuse announced a departure from the Big East and the vote was tabled.

In the intervening years, Villanova was a loyal and successful CAA program. The loss of James Madison in 2021 stirred some questions among the fan base, as did the addition of unfamiliar and disparate programs: Bryant, Campbell, Hampton, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T. In 2023, its  major CAA rival, Delaware, announced a move out of the conference. With Richmond and William & Mary moving to the Patriot, the stage was set to join them.

So what does this mean for Villanova? 

At the forefront, stability. The PL is a conference of like minded schools that the Villanova fan base is familiar with. Richmond and W&M renew regional ties, while Lehigh and Lafayette are nearby regionally. According to a report, the average distance for road games across the PL will be just 175 miles compared to trips along the CAA schedule which ranged from Buies Creek, North Carolina to Orono, Maine. 

As to home games, Villanova should see a boost in attendance. Lehigh fans will buy tickets. So will Lafayette and Bucknell, Fordham and Holy Cross.

"The geographic footprint of the Patriot League is a perfect fit for Villanova," said  athletic director Eric Roedl.

"We believe this move will foster strong regional rivalries while maintaining our commitment to excellence on and off the field,” said ninth year coach Mark Ferrante. “It’s a natural fit that positions us well for the future.”

Second, it allows the Wildcats to remain nationally competitive. Villanova is 72-42 (.632) over the past ten seasons and has made the NCAA playoffs four of the past six seasons. The PL, in its scholarship era, allows them to continue to compete at a high competitive level for FCS be seen (by opponents or fans) as not deemphasizing the sport.

Third, it mitigates risk. The CAA has endured its hills and valleys over the years and the next few years may be challenging for that conferences. In an era of turmoil ahead for college athletics as a while, the PL is one less thing for Villanova athletic leadership to worry about.


What does this mean for the Patriot League? 

It's the big prize that gives the PL a 10 team conference without the need for further expansion. Short of the Ivy League breaking apart or the service academies dropping to FCS, there are really no other schools that fit the PL model in its footprint, and now the league can sit back and say they have the optimal collection of football teams in this region, including a school in Villanova which is a Top 60  academic university nationally.  For the first time in its history,  multiple bids to the NCAA playoffs  from the PL is not a hope, it is an expectation.

It's also an addition of affirmation. Were Villanova to consider this even a decade ago, it would have brought back a lot of pushback, if not outright revolt, from players, the coaching staff, the alumni base, and the local press. In 2025, there's no grumbling that Villanova is downgrading or given up its national ambitions. 

There's not a team in the league who will not be a better program, competitively speaking, by adding Villanova to its schedule.  That said...

What does this mean for Georgetown? 


At the outset, pain. 

Villanova is leagues ahead of Georgetown across the board on football: reputation, recruiting, player development, coaching, strength and conditioning, and, of course, results. Villanova is 72-42 since 2015. Georgetown? 32-66. Villanova's operating expenses are nearly twice that of GU, while its budget of $8.4 million doubles that spent on the Hilltop. While Georgetown plays Wagner in its second game this season, Villanova is playing Penn State.

The Georgetown program can compete alongside Bucknell and Lafayette, and can hang around with a Lehigh or Fordham. As presently constructed in 2025, it can't compete with Villanova.

Therein lies opportunity. 

The football program needs to have a real conversation about the ingredients it needs, inside and outside the University, to be successful going forward in a PL where eight or nine other schools are prepared and ready to compete at a national level. The ongoing series on this blog, the Georgetown Football Puzzle, is an example of such ideas, but there are others. Georgetown doesn't have to outspend everyone to compete, but first, it must compete. Football isn't fun if this is a one or two-win program within four years. 

For a student and alumni body which can struggle to hold back a yawn when mentioning Georgetown's football opponents, this is the only name out there to which people will sit up and pay attention. In nearly a half century, Georgetown fans know the name and know the rivalry. This isn't a rivalry from another era a la Fordham and Holy Cross, this is twice a year, every year, in basketball and 20 other sports. Now, add football.

Properly positioned and marketed, this series can reignite real support for Georgetown football, something that's been missing for decades as the Big East overwhelmed the sports landscape at Georgetown. This is the kind of event where Georgetown fans could take the Amtrak from Union Station to 30th Street, change to the SEPTA or regional rail, and walk right to the gate. 

Conversely, it's an open invite for Villanova fans who haven't visited Washington for a football game in decades to make this game a destination. Maybe that destination is Cooper Field. Maybe it's Audi Field. Maybe it's the new Commanders Stadium someday, no matter.  This game must become a destination on the calendar of every Georgetown and Villanova fan, and their communities at large. 

Marist can't do that. Neither can Bucknell or Lafayette. Villanova can.

From time to time, I've quoted a 2001 article by former coach Bob Benson on what football can do at Georgetown. This is a good time to revisit it.

"The move to the Patriot League is an expensive one," he wrote in 2001. "For Georgetown University to make this decision, the change must not only be a positive move for the football program, but for the entire university. There must be a vision!"

"It is really quite simple," he continued. "Utilize the game of football to create an environment and atmosphere among our students, faculty, and community on an autumn Saturday afternoon and bring to our campus a school spirit on a fall day that is desperately needed."

The Villanova Wildcats arrive to the Georgetown schedule in 15 months . Let's be up to the challenge.


Monday, June 2, 2025

The Georgetown Football Puzzle (Part One)

 

 


"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them”--Albert Einstein

Entering its 25th season of Patriot League football this fall, upcoming changes to Patriot League football figure to test a competitive model at Georgetown University that has largely been unchanged in decades.

With an alchemy of philosophical, institutional, and financial constraints, Georgetown is one of just two Division I schools in the East playing nonscholarship football outside of the Ivy League, and is the only nonscholarship program in all of Division I competing in a scholarship conference. That the Hoyas have been able to compete in the Patriot has been due in no small part to the resolve of its coaches and players, but the league is poised for a significant upgrade in the years to come.

The arrival of two, perhaps three new member schools is one part of the change, but revisions to the league bylaws put additional scrutiny on how the Georgetown model, once dubbed as "football for fun", will compete going forward in recruiting, admissions, and ultimately for wins.

In the midst of the uncertainty of NIL and pressure on men's basketball to support the budget at-large, there are no clear paths to determine which tactics are best aligned to a strategy to meet competitive and institutional obligations. Priorities that once relegated football within a narrow definition of the "ethos and culture" of Georgetown require a second look to see what can be retained, and what must be realigned for the future.

To address a problem, of course, first one must identify that there is a problem.

Plainly speaking, Georgetown's 25 years in the Patriot League have been a challenging (at best) exercise in competing against better funded programs to whom it does not compete on a level playing field in terms of resources or results. Since 2001, Georgetown is 29-111 against PL teams. In almost any other program, that would be wholly unacceptable. It's not that Georgetown can't do so, but often times it has chose not to.

The Rubik's cube analogy is especially appropriate here. The balance of recruiting, admissions, retention, staff, facilities, and competitive outcomes are all weighted against drivers that are equal parts experiential (a worthwhile student experience), expectational (a record of success worthy of the effort) and economic. A coach, an athletic director and even a president at Georgetown is expected to make it all work, in every sport, and at every time.

However daunting at times, the Frank Rienzo-era model of Georgetown athletics has, for the most part succeeded, but 2025 is not 1975. Football is a visible example of this. Even if Georgetown doesn't seek to compete with Auburn or Syracuse, how can it even compete with Richmond or William & Mary on a 50 year old competitive model?

This column, in three parts, will attempt to raise issues through a nine-box chart, comparing opportunities based on cost versus program change. It's not a risk model in that neither cost nor program change is inherently more or less risk-averse, but that competitive improvements come with an impact to the model to which a sport is situated at Georgetown. Some are optimal, some are disruptive, and still others may never gain the momentum to act upon it, but they bear discussion.



In part one, let's look at three issues with relatively little cost to the Georgetown football model, but with some degree of program change.

1. Local recruiting (low cost, low program change).


All politics is local, so they say, and so is football.

Take a look at the Georgetown roster of 2024. Just one player played high school ball in the District, another five played inside the Beltway. Georgetown is not even an afterthought to the All-Met or all-conference selections among nearly 200 high school programs in the region, and not merely the ESPN Top 300 selections for whom a major college program offers opportunities to play in the NFL. Of the top 20 teams in the Washington Post's 2024 high school rankings, just one current GU player graduated from one of these schools. In the past 10 seasons, a total of just seven Georgetown players  are alumni of any of these 20 high schools.

This is not new to football or to the University. For much of the 20th century, Georgetown took a patrician view of local high schools, passing over most public school applicants (before and after desegregation) and limiting its private school interest to a coterie of schools such as Gonzaga, St. John's, Landon, or Georgetown Prep, ostensibly over grades and academic reputation. Outside a period in the early 1970s where Georgetown picked up recruits from the now-defunct football program at Montgomery Junior College,  local recruiting in football remains an anomaly.

Today, a competitive FCS-level candidate from Good Counsel, Churchill, or DeMatha would be more likely to end up on a roster at Holy Cross or Lehigh than Georgetown. The 2024 Villanova roster has more Washington kids than Georgetown does. So does Richmond.

For the majority of its PL existence, Georgetown could shrug its shoulders and point to the Patriot League Academic index as the governor on local recruiting. For the first 20 years of PL football at Georgetown, the restrictions that limited Georgetown to a narrow subset of recruitable athletes based on GPA and SATs within one standard deviation of the admitted pool of students largely wiped away any recruit below a 1200 SAT, and that was a lion's share of the local market. Even if one were to have the numbers,  Georgetown's competitive standing would lead the high-score recruits elsewhere.

Quietly, this has changed.

The Patriot League began to take a look at SAT's during COVID, where six of the seven schools (Georgetown excepted) went test optional. In 2023, the NCAA ruled that SAT scores were no longer required for eligibility. By late 2024, references in the Patriot League bylaws were revised from "Academic Index" guidelines to "Narrative Reporting". By many accounts, the banding of recruits to a strict index is no longer maintained.

While no one will say so publicly, this subtle change, along with expected changes to the league's redshirting policy, persuaded Richmond and William & Mary that PL football would not be a competitive stranglehold on the recruiting bases it already maintains.

Potentially, this change should open the recruiting window a little wider on Georgetown recruits, including local ones, to whom the GU staff could not even look at before, but to whom its financial aid would be otherwise competitive among lower-income and Pell Grant eligible applicants (the latter of which is a public priority of the University at large). This is not to suggest that low-performing rockheads are suddenly in the consideration set, only that the coaches can cast a wider net at talent to whom the opportunity to study and compete at Georgetown is no longer a deal-breaker. But will it?

The lack of an academic index is not the salvation of Georgetown recruiting: it's still an difficult proposition to attract talent without sustained success. I have called it the Cornell paradox-- a top prospect with an offer to Harvard or Princeton wouldn't go to Ithaca because the Big Red aren't successful, even if the aid was comparable. Cornell hasn't won an outright Ivy title ever and its last shared title was 35 years ago. The Big Red have 32 wins in the past 10 years, the Hoyas 35. 

To paraphrase an old argument, before you win the game, you must win the recruit. However, successful programs are built with a local (or regional) foundation: an Alabama or a Penn State can recruit nationally, but they had better in the mix for every top recruit in the state. To the degree Georgetown can be a realistic option for local and regional talent, it needs a foundation.

Georgetown has posted only 17 first team all PL selections since 2001. Of these, one was a local product. There is too much talent in the region not to prioritize local recruiting and not just settle for the boarding schools and the second team all-county selections to compete in today's Patriot League.

Recruiting is about relationships, and the turnover in assistant coaches doesn't make that job any easier for the Hoyas. (On its web site, a page titled "Who Recruits My State" lists Steve Thames as the contact for DC and suburban Maryland; unfortunately, Thames left Georgetown for Rutgers two seasons ago.) Assistant coaches can't go very deep with dozens, if not hundreds of high schools in their assigned region, and must rely on the trust built with high school coaches who understand the PL model and Georgetown's place within it. The Hoyas' two veteran assistants (Rob Spence, Kevin Doherty) recruit the tried and true of Georgetown recruiting: the New York Tri-State area and New England.  However, fewer players are coming from this region: in 1996, 44 members of the team came from either New York or New Jersey. In 2024, just 12. Personally, I'd like to see more signees from Texas and Florida, but that comes with a cost. 

Local recruiting remains a low cost, value-added approach and one which could open the door to more talented recruits that want to make a difference close to home.

2. Focus On The Transfer Portal (low cost, moderate program change).



One of the unfortunate byproducts of this era is the transitory nature of college athletes through the increasingly volatile NCAA transfer portal.  Between the transfer portal and name, image, and likeness, the tenures of the four year player is an increasingly rare one in Division I athletics.

Georgetown University is not immune to these trends, and not just in the revolving door that is men's basketball. The transfer portal opens for baseball today and players from a lot of teams, Georgetown included, will be out the door. Head baseball coach Edwin Thompson hasn't hesitated to make his case online.

"We welcome anyone interested that is looking to come play @GtownBaseball," he wrote on Twitter. "Want a chance to develop on the field?  Get a world class degree? Come grow in Washington D.C. Come join us for the next chapter! DM’s are wide open!"

 By contrast, Georgetown football hasn't made inbound transfers a priority.

It's still "Four for 40" for Rob Sgarlata and staff,  not "One or two for 40" and that's understandable--he's been with the program for 35 years and understands the importance of class ties that extends from one's arrival as freshmen right through life as alumni.  As a result, the four year development is part of the program's fabric: more than many programs, most Georgetown underclassmen won't see the starting lineup until their junior season. To bring someone into the starting lineup that didn't go through one, two, or three years learning the ropes is a big change, but an increasingly necessary one in this era of college football.

Georgetown has accepted transfers in the past, but few if any have been game changers as the program goes. Most of the transfers over the years have been walk-ons at FBS programs that didn't get time there, and many didn't get time at Georgetown, either. I recall one WAC transfer in the mid-2000s who arrived that summer and didn't even make the team (though he stayed to graduate), another was a kicker from the University of Texas that played in the Georgetown spring game but then transferred back to Texas and finished his degree there. The current team's most notable inbound transfer is WR Nick Dunneman, but he arrived from a Division III program. More often than not, transfer admissions have been rare at Georgetown and not changed the trajectory of their respective teams.

Other PL schools have seen an impact from transfers. The 2024 Patriot League offensive player of the year was Bucknell QB Ralph Rucker, was a transfer from Oklahoma. Fordham quarterback J.J. Montes arrived from New Mexico and was a Walter Payton finalist in 2023. But what the portal giveth, however, it can taketh away: Lafayette lost nine players this past season to transfers, Richmond lost ten. Lafayette head coach John Troxell told the student newspaper what is driving this.

 "Agents [are] becoming more active in communicating with players [which] gives them an enticing opportunity to leave and chase money or a higher level,” he said. “We lost more guys [in 2024] than we lost probably in the first two years combined."

"My ultimate goal is to become a pro,” said all-PL first team RB Jamar Curtis, who left Lafayette and is now enrolled at Sacramento State.  "I’ve got a better chance of reaching my potential and our goals from where I’m at now.”

Georgetown is unlikely to be the place for such aspirations, but there is a sweet spot where, for a sophomore or a redshirt freshman, a commitment to a Patriot League school makes sense. Richmond is positioned for that this season, adding three well recruited players that did not see time at Maryland, North Carolina and Appalachian State, respectively but still want to play football.  Bucknell and Holy Cross have three adds as well.  The Hoyas have apparently added one transfer, though they never announced it.  Luke Daly, a reserve WR that played at Villanova for three seasons, announced a transfer to Georgetown on January 12.


Three transfers seems a good number for Georgetown to aspire to each year: impact players that were either previously recruited by Georgetown and took offers elsewhere before entering the portal, or those with previous FBS experience elsewhere but wish to return closer to home. One or two years of grades provides the staff and the office of admissions with a review of what they are capable of, and if admitted they arrive to the team with the intangible asset of experience. This is especially valuable, and needed, in impact positions like running back and the offensive line, where Georgetown simply does not recruit as well, and often wears out during the season.

It's also a good number given that, maintains the high school recruiting strategy, so that Georgetown does not become a way-station for 10-15 transfers in and out every season. A limited number of transfers replaces experience with experience.

The Patriot League isn't at the stage where it is ready to sign off on grad transfers... well, not yet, anyway. Georgetown's place in that discussion needs some internal consensus as this is where a Georgetown degree may be most impactful to a graduate with excess eligibility, and how to make that case to commit to a fifth year at the program.

3. Alternate Degree Programs (low cost, high program change).


A four year residential experience is a traditional one for Georgetown student-athletes. As recent years have shown, it's no longer the only path to an education.

Some will transfer in, others will transfer out. Online education is now a factor. At a University which is actively trying to create a separate campus in downtown Washington, some majors, particularly in public policy, face a different student life than those in dormitories. As this column has discussed, the opportunities to draw more local recruits and more transfer opportunities, it must discuss, if not engage with, academic opportunities which align with nontraditional degree opportunities.

In 2024, two men's basketball players, Jay Heath and Akok Akok, received bachelor's degrees in liberal studies (BLS) from Georgetown University. Each were transfer students (from Arizona State and Connecticut, respectively) who joined the team. A BLS is not a degree from the College, or the SFS, or even the business school. It's a degree from the School of Continuing Studies (SCS), which has quietly become the largest degree granting school at the University. Primarily known for a wide variety of master's degree and professional certificate programs to working professionals, the downtown campus has been offering the BLS degree for a number of years, primarily to those who have completed up to two years elsewhere, in concentrations such as Business & Entrepreneurship, Cybersecurity, Analytics, & Technology, Media, Communications, & Humanities, Politics & International Relations, and Interdisciplinary Studies.





Two items distinguish the BLS from its A.B. and B.S. brethren: flexibility and cost.

First, it's an online degree. Some may object to say that an online education isn't a "real" education, but two years of Georgetown students navigated online coursework during COVID-19 and did fine. It is a degree in course per the University. For transfer applicants who have completed as many as two years elsewhere and do not expect to retake core courses to fit the requirements of a specific four year College or MSB program, such a program gives them the flexibility to earn a degree and stay on focus to graduate on time.

Watching a lecture online may not be the same as sitting in the back of a classroom at Hariri, but the coursework is designed to be held up to the same standards as a classroom environment. As online education grows more comfortable within the 18-24 audience, it's an option for some candidates which heretofore has gone unnoticed.

The second issue is cost. The need award for a football player coming to Georgetown will be based on a 15 hour per semester commitment at an average of $2,550 per credit hour. This, plus the cost of attendance, is a University commitment of somewhere short of $92,000 per FTE per year and that's what the program must work to get an aid package that a recruit and his family can afford.  The cost of a credit hour for the BLS degree is $412.

And you read that correctly.

A full year's tuition in SCS, therefore, runs $12,360 versus $71,136 for the main campus. Even adding in the cost of room and board, a year in SCS would be as little as one-third the cost of a main campus undergraduate degree program.

While a note in the online undergraduate bulletin notes that "undergraduates in the [SCS] may be eligible for loans, federal grants, private scholarships, and other external awards, but are generally not eligible for [University aid] scholarships," an SCS applicant of a middle class household income has a much, much lower threshold of affordability than one where the expected gap between the parent contribution and the coat of attendance is much higher, and even less should the applicant be local to the area and thus not opt for  room and board (required on main campus, but not within SCS). It also suggests that if the football program bought out the loan or work study portion of the gross cost, the gap could come in at a much lower cost and be much more competitive.

Generally speaking, Georgetown football hasn't had commuting students since it made dormitory living a requirement in the 1980s (and gained the annual revenue from doing so). To no surprise, perhaps, on-campus housing now runs between $15,000 to $19,000 per year in financial aid calculations. For those families that can afford it or who have a full aid package,  living on campus is a good thing. For those that don't have that financial option, it can be a deal breaker.

Granted, an online education is a marked change from where Georgetown football is right now--there will always be those who want the four year finance degree and the entre to Wall Street. For some transfers, and that's the group in discussion here, it may not be. For them, it may be more about a Georgetown degree and less about the view from Village A or the food in the dining hall. Were it to be an option down the road, an online program could be an opening to recruits who, with transfer credits, can earn their degree and compete for the team, and be able to afford both.

These three topics are about change as opening doors. In part 2, we'll talk about looking at new ways to fund such changes.



Monday, April 28, 2025

William & Mary's Move To The Patriot League (Part One)

 


It was not a year ago that news of the arrival of the University of Richmond to the Patriot League foretold a tectonic shift in the regional football landscape. If so, Friday's announcement of a ninth PL school is the first of two earthquakes to reshape the landscape of Eastern football.

But this took years. The move by William & Mary was, by contrast, mere weeks. What happened? And what does this mean for Georgetown?

"It was very obvious to me,” said former W&M coach Jimmye Laycock, "[that] it’s not the CAA that we used to know, and it’s not the Patriot League that we used to know.”

"Once upon a time, Patriot League members did not offer athletics-based financial aid and had little hope of competing nationally," wrote columnist David Teel. "[In 2012] the dinosaurs realized that athletic scholarships do not equate to academic decline, and their pivot to modern times enhanced Patriot League football, witness its subsequent playoff encounters with CAA programs.

"In the last 10 postseasons, Patriot teams are 5-5 versus the CAA. In 2015, Patriot champ Colgate defeated the CAA’s New Hampshire and JMU en route to the quarterfinals, and last year Lehigh rallied for a playoff victory at Richmond. This one week after the Spiders had routed W&M 27-0 to finish 8-0 in the CAA."

The word "Richmond" is at the center of this move.

In hindsight, Richmond's move to the PL was surprising but not altogether shocking. Despite its roots in the capital of the Confederacy, the school has longed looked north for students and within athletics. It left the Southern Conference in 1975 in search of a major college home and, finding none for the next decade, joined a league literally called the Yankee Conference. It joined the Atlantic 10 for basketball and most of its sports over 20 years ago, and seemed a more plausible fit for the PL's somewhat parochial view of college football at the time.

Richmond's move was years in the making. Twenty years earlier, UR alumni were in open revolt over a plan being floated to join the PL at the conclusion of the A-10's sponsorship of the conference.  "The decision came after a frantic week that began with a Richmond Times-Dispatch article that revealed that the board of trustees was considering...a move to the non-scholarship Patriot League," wrote the Richmond Collegian. "Within days, flyers had been posted, petitions had been circulated and the overwhelming opinion of the student body, alumni and supporters became apparent they wanted Richmond football in the CAA. According to a university representative cited in the Times-Dispatch article, the administration office received more communication about the proposed league change than the tuition increase."

"If the school does want to move to the Patriot League, it seems as if they are just trying to get rid of football in the long run," said Stacy Tutt, its all-conference quarterback.

Two decades later, no such opposition. Football scholarships made the PL model more palatable, as did a league wide move to FBS guarantee games (except Georgetown, of course) that was comparable to CAA football aspirations. The ongoing loss of rivalries that had dated to the Yankee Conference was no small factor: UConn, UMass, Delaware, and James Madison were gone, and the likes of Bryant, Campbell, NC A&T and Hampton were poor substitutes.

As stated above, this change took 20 years at Richmond but a matter of months or even weeks at Williamsburg. Why? An article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch offers some clues.

"I think it comes down to a couple of things for us," said W&M athletic director Brian Mann. "First is, we wanted to be connected to the University of Richmond and play them in football every year, and when we can do it the last Saturday before Thanksgiving with the hopes that that game will have some postseason implications, that’s a place where we want to be.”

Mann added the missing piece to the puzzle: by adding Richmond, the PL was, in his words,  "serious about becoming a nationally relevant football conference and building on the successes they’ve already had. And Richmond going in, without reducing anything that they were doing in football, we took notice of that. And so when the conversation started up not long ago, we had a different perspective on how the Patriot League was viewing their future.”

The Newport News Daily Press compresses the timeline even further. " As outlined by Mann, the Patriot-W&M courtship began only a few weeks ago, the process streamlined by mutual interest and a football-only focus. A quick and enthusiastic endorsement from Mike London, Laycock’s successor as head coach, made Mann’s sales pitch to other constituents even easier."

"For us it’s great because it’s the same number of conference games we’re used to playing,” Mann said, “and our (non-league) schedule is built that way for the next few years.”

In one sense, Richmond jumped into the PL pool and called over to the Tribe: "Jump in, the water's fine". This isn't the Patriot League that sneered at the playoffs, that eschewed scholarships, or would aspire to play nothing more than Ivy League teams in their off weeks. In the 2025 season, PL teams not named  Georgetown will play the likes of Air Force, Boston College, Northern Illinois, Oregon State, and Syracuse this fall, not dissimilar to Richmond playing North Carolina nor William & Mary at Virginia.  For a William and Mary program which also has games with Duke, Stanford,  and Wisconsin on its plate through 2030, this was an affirmation that a move alongside Richmond, preserving its signature rivalry, would not be in vain.

Conference moves are not easy, of course, because they affect the college as a whole, endure significant exit fees, and can be institutionally acrimonious. How did William & Mary pull it off? Someone did their homework. 

Yes, W&M is a member of the Coastal Athletic Association and has no interest, for now, in moving its teams elsewhere. The reported exit fee to leave the CAA is $1 million, a pittance compared to $30 million and 27 months advance notice for the Big East Conference and over $100 million in the power football conferences, but no small sum, either.

But CAA football isn't the CAA, at least not exactly. The CAA is a successor in interest to the conference previously sponsored by the A-10 and the former Yankee Conference and was always a separate entity, which allowed schools like Richmond, Villanova, New Hampshire, et al. to play football but not move all its sports there. A reported exit fee of just $250,000 for schools under the CAA football entity is more than manageable--a $420,000 guarantee fee for W&M's game at Virginia on September 13 covers the entire cost and then some.

What does a move offer William & Mary? Playoff opportunities, sure. Marginal savings on travel? Yes. What is really protects is 1) the Richmond rivalry and 2) a hedge against further instability in the CAA, where a house divided between the likes of Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island and a southern flank of Campbell, Elon, and NC A&T is increasingly unstable. 

If the proverbial ground shook the Tidewater region, rest assured it was felt in McDonough Gymnasium, too. The arrival of two very strong football programs to a league that has not changed in over 20 seasons does not go unnoticed, no less so for a Georgetown program that has long been in its own peculiar orbit for years. It's the school that aspires to be Penn State in one sport (men's basketball) but is closer to Penn in 29 others. It's the only non-scholarship football program within a Division I scholarship conference.

Some of this was tolerated to the fact that Georgetown was seen by some as an insurance policy of sorts to maintain a minimum number of PL schools for playoff consideration and that, while the Hoyas don't win very often, they play by the rules and are a nice addition to the annual schedules. But as the quotes above suggest, Richmond and William & Mary are coming to compete, and to win. It's raising the game for Holy Cross and Lehigh, Colgate and Fordham and at the very least, may be a walk-up call at Lafayette and Bucknell. How this changes Georgetown, if at all, bears watching.

More in part two of the series.


Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Week 9 Thoughts

 


A bye week can dull, but not the dim the opportunity lost in Georgetown's 43-6 loss to Lehigh.  It wasn't so much that they lost but how they did, and the recurring theme in the world that is Georgetown football.

Lehigh was a five point favorite entering the game, and that lasted about 15 minutes and 12 seconds. With Danny Lauter's interception on the first play of the second quarter, the progress of the 2024 season began to unravel before a crowd at Cooper Field who, if they have been to enough games, has seen this before.

One play, 7-0.

Three plays, zero yards, Georgetown punt to Lehigh. Three plays, 14-0.

Three plays, six yards, punt to Lehigh, 57 yards on second down, 21-0. 

A late field goal with 22 seconds to halftime and it's all over. Oh, there was still 30 minutes and two more interceptions to follow, but this has never been a comeback program and PL teams know it. When a Patriot League team has scored 24 points on Georgetown since 2001, their record is 85-4. When that team is not named Bucknell, it's 78-2.

As has been said for many years, the defense can't do it all. Danny Layer has thrown two or more interceptions four times this season. The run game, always a victim of underrecruiting, grinds down in November and can't threaten a defense which knows the Hoyas run short of options thereafter. Georgetown ranks last in the PL in points scored in conference games despite leading the league in first downs. When the Bucknell video announcer saw the score later that day, her remarked on ESPN+ that it seems that when the "bright lights" of PL play dawn every year, Georgetown just isn't ready. Looking in the mirror notwithstanding, that's the perception in other schools.

Two games remain on the schedule. If the Hoyas can't beat a 1-9 Fordham team, there's little chance against Holy Cross. A 6-5 mark versus 5-6 is a big deal, especially at a school which hasn't enjoyed a real football "moment"  among students or alumni in, well, when? 

Until then, it's more of the same.








Thursday, October 31, 2024

A Letter To Students

 Dear Georgetown Students:

As you are no doubt aware, your University is always busy with acronyms and slogans. For every ICC, SFS, or GUASFCU out there, so too the slogans: cura personalis, interreligious understanding, community in diversity. As to the latter, I would suggest that a community is not defined simply by being diverse, however one defines it, but a true community is that where people gather and celebrate each other's accomplishments.

The next few days offer two opportunities to do just that, and it's something that has been frankly missing around the place in recent years.

Being a student in 2024 isn't what it was in your parents years, and that's not your fault. While an 18 or 19 year old of days gone by could celebrate the Hoyas winning an NCAA championship or marching en masse to Wisconsin and M when the Redskins won a Super Bowl, that's not the Georgetown you've been a part of. The COVID years and its aftermath have made large group gatherings less common, not as much for health reasons but that it isn't what people do as much now. 

If your candidate happens to win the general election next week, well, you have every right to march triumphantly to the White House as countless other eras of Hoyas have done, back when political parties respected each other and being a D or an R was simply how you voted, not your tribe. But many will keep to themselves and trade thoughts over their phones.

As this is a sports column, let me draw your attention to two upcoming activities worth your collective time and interest.

Saturday, Georgetown hosts Lehigh for a football game with some consequence. A win puts Georgetown two games from its first NCAA "tournament" appearance in football (otherwise called the playoffs) in school history, and marks its first winning season in 13 years. Yes, here are a lot of students who look down on football for not being good, when most don't know why that's the case. Without a history lesson, Georgetown University doesn't want to spend the money on football other schools do, and as such the team can struggle against schools with more resources. That doesn't make those players, your fellow students, any less committed to playing and winning--not for a scholarship or NIL money, but simply for being a team that wears the blue and gray, as students have done, more or less, for 150 years. 

Some students will tell you that football is not for "smart" schools. Ask your friends at Duke what it was like beating Clemson at home on national television. Ask your friends at Vanderbilt what it was like beating Alabama and carrying goalposts down Broadway en route to tossing them in the Cumberland River. These were not only great moments for the teams, but seminal moments for the student body, memories for a lifetime. 


No one is suggesting you to take the goalposts and deposit them in the Potomac, inasmuch as there is still one more home game. What is suggested is that you take the opportunity for you, your dorm floor, your housemates, to show up at Cooper Field at 12:30 Saturday and give them sixty minutes of support en route to a successful season against a team that has more resources than Georgetown and usually wins as a result. You can cheer, shout, sing, bang your shoes on the bleachers, do whatever, but your fellow students could use the support.

Four days later, another group of students welcomes your support as the men's and women's basketball team play in the first on-campus doubleheader in 20 years. Much has changed, unfortunately, in the intervening years, and while you are at Georgetown at the low point of college basketball on this campus, it doesn't mean you can't give these students the support needed to take the next step forward.

Yes, we get it. You won't have any memories of going to a Final Four, or that the President and Vice President shows up for a game one afternoon. Students are not going to march across downtown in the snow to defeat the #2 team in the nation. This is not the Georgetown of 10, 20, or more years ago. The steps forward begin this week, and playing on campus is a rare opportunity to skip the buses and the Ubers to soulless Capital One Arena for a walk down the hill to where basketball once meant a lot in the life of a Georgetown student. 



Support is lacking for these teams because there's a lot going on and, well, losing basketball games isn't fun. It's no fun for those that compete, either. It's no secret why a lot of names and faces from the last couple years aren't around campus anymore, but those that remain and 12 newcomers are less interested in past history and eager to begin some new history. Your support, for the men and women's, helps Georgetown begin the process of getting out of a ditch and take the steps necessary to remind people why Georgetown plays the game.

In the end, going to a game should be about fun. The world is a serious place and none moreso than Georgetown, where half the student body expects to solve the world's problems and the other half are worried they won't get the right job in New York. It won't hurt you to enjoy a sunny, 60 degree day at Cooper Field for a few hours, tell a few stories, and maybe see some really good football. Neither will these vagaries hold it against you if you put the cell phone down and see a basketball game from up close up, and leave the electoral minutiae for a couple of hours. 

Years from now, you won't remember how many hours you spend in the library or how often you checked your Instagram. Sometimes, it's as simple as remembering where you were and who you were with, and this week is a great time to do both. 

Together.



Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Week 8 Thoughts

 


Some thoughts following Georgetown's 21-20 win over Bucknell last week:

1. Five Plays: Yes, Georgetown-Bucknell games tend to be close outcomes (four of the last five by three points each) but this was an extremely tight game that legitimately could have gone either way, and nearly did.

The teams combined for 135 plays but five bear a second look:

Second Quarter: With 4:45 remaining and a 14-0 lead, Bucknell was on the verge of taking the game over. Following a Bucknell Punt and a 27 yard first down run by Savion Hart, the Hoyas ran Hart two carries for a combined two yards. On a third and eight at the Bucknell 40, the safe play was to have Danny Lauter scramble around for a short pass to Jimmy Kibble or Nick Dunneman, and certainly not to give it to Hart a fourth consecutive time. Surprisingly, this is what Georgetown did, and hart tore through the Bucknell line for 40 yards and the score. It awakened the Hoyas offensively and four minutes later they tied the score.

Third Quarter: With 1:16 remaining, the Bison had awoke from its third quarter slumber and drove into Georgetown territory. One a third and five from the Georgetown 46, Cooper Blomstrom broke up a pass at the Georgetown 35, and the Bison were forced to punt.  This was a drive that had points written all over it, and keeping them off the board bought the Hoyas some time.

Fourth Quarter: With 9:25 to play, Bucknell had drove to Georgetown five and a touchdown from QB Ralph Rucker had just been overturned by an offensive holding penalty. Still, the Bison had momentum, and Rucker's pass to WR Josh Gary in the end zone would have given Bucknell the lead. Gary dropped it, and the Bison had to settle for a field goal.

Fourth Quarter: 3:38 remaining: yes, the missed  Bucknell field goal was big, but perhaps an even more consequential play happened for the Hoyas on a third and two at the Georgetown 28. Fall short here, and the Bison get the ball back somewhere near midfield with three minutes (and two time outs) to get that winning score. Savion Hart rushes for two yards, and instead of kicking with 3:35 to play, the Hoyas get a first down and squeeze nearly two minutes off the clock for the Bison's last hope.

Fourth Quarter: With 24 seconds remaining, the Georgetown defense had withstood a pair of long incomplete passes, each of which could have conceivably won the game. On a  fourth and 10 inside the Georgetown 45, the defense simply did not allow Rucker to dial up a third pass play, and so saved the win.

Any of those four, any of them, go the other way, and it's a different game, and likely a loss. It's why coaches preach the need to focus on every play as the most important play of the game, because sometimes it's just that.



2. Good News On Attendance: With no fanfare, and even less promotion, home attendance through four games at Cooper Field bears some support. 

Through those four games, average home attendance is  3,262 per game. At many schools, this would be cause for widespread panic, but given the state of affairs at Georgetown, where parking is scarce, seating few, amenities lacking, and a student body that, post-COVID, doesn't experience a culture of athletic support, it's a good number; in fact, it's trending for the largest attendance since 1978, when games were held on the baseball field as Kehoe Field awaited the air rights under Yates Field House.

Two games remain, and there' s always room for more.

More on this Thursday.

3. Around The PL:

Holy Cross 34, Lafayette 28: The Crusaders have staked its claim to the driver's seat for the league's one (and likely, only) playoff berth, jumping to a  21-0 lead and fighting off two fourth quarter drives from the Leopards, the last one ending 16 yards short of the goal line. Crusader QB Joe Pesansky continues to be the most efficient signal caller in the conference: just 183 yards in the air, but eight of 12 on third down and no sacks surrendered. It's a tough loss for the defending PL champions, who are down two games to Holy Cross with three to play, traveling to Bucknell this weekend.

Merrimack 51, Colgate 17: No one saw this coming--the Warriors ran up 535  yards total offense on a Colgate team coming off its win over Georgetown. Colgate QB Jake Stearney was held to 155 passing yards and two interceptions as the Red Raiders were outscored  34-7 after halftime. The loss clinches a fifth losing season for the Red Raiders over the past six seasons.

Lehigh  33, Fordham 19: The Engineers are trending upward as they meet the Hoyas Saturday, taking a 31-3 halftime lead en route to the win. Fordham, winless at 0-8, was held to 98 yards rushing and allowed 246 while Lehigh scored on five consecutive possessions to end the first half. More on the Engineers Friday, but its rushing game was clicking Saturday. As for Fordham, they will host Colgate.


Monday, October 21, 2024

Week 7 Thoughts

 


Some thoughts following Colgate's 38-28 win over Georgetown Saturday:

1. Follow The Trend: It was disappointing, but not altogether surprising in perhaps the most one-sided rivalry in FCS.. It's not about trickery or even the Colgate "hoodoo" (that's a reference to its old rivalry with Syracuse), but a consistent theme Georgetown has faced over the years. Excepting Davidson, the Hoyas' defense can struggle with teams that run the football.

In 2024, Georgetown is 3-0 when opponents rush under 40 times a game and 0-3 when they go over 40. In the prior three seasons, it's 1-12 when teams loads up on the run like this.  For a Colgate team with mixed results in the passing game is this season, it was a smart move and one which set the course for the second half. Colgate got a lead and Georgetown had to play from behind. More often than not, that's a winning formula for the Red Raiders, and not for the Hoyas.

Apologies to those who saw the Pre-Game Report page and asked "where's Michael Brescia, the scheduled starting QB?" Brescia was apparently injured but that didn't stop the media notes from selling this start, much as Georgetown's media notes keep listing Naieem Kearney starting at running back when he hasn't played in the last two games. If he maintains the starting role, Jake Stearney will have his hands full to maintain a ground game, given that Colgate finishes the season with four road games in its next five against some solid rushing defense teams. 

Offensively, the Hoyas did not play poorly: 415 total yards, 5-11 on third down, 3-4 in the red zone. Danny Lauter's two interceptions could have been impactful had they succeeded, but neither were the cause for the loss. Simply put, very few teams can give up 24 points in a half and that's what Georgetown did. It's a cautionary note as they Bucknell, as the Bison got behind 24-0 in the first half of its game with Cornell and never contended thereafter.

First half or second half, Georgetown has traditionally allowed Colgate a lot of points. Over the past 20 seasons the Red Raiders average  32.0 points per game against the Hoyas, most of any PL opponent. This marks the fourth consecutive season GU has lost by 10 points to Colgate, but four losses nonetheless.

2. The Road Ahead: All that said, if someone told you in August (it wasn't me) that Georgetown would hit the home stretch of its schedule at 4-3 without major injuries, many fans would look upon that with no small amount of hope. And heading down the stretch, that's where the Hoyas are.

Four games remain over five weeks, there at home and one at Fordham where the Rams are enduring a winless season, though they can't be taken for granted. Five scenarios are on the table:

Win four, and Georgetown wins its first Patriot League title. Barring a crazy run by Colgate on the road, the Hoyas would own the tiebreaker on every other teams and earn a NCAA playoff invitation. Historic.

Win three, and Georgetown is in the mix for a PL co-championship. The league is unlikely to see an at-large invitation to the playoffs, but 7-4 would be an extraordinary accomplishment.

Win two, and Georgetown is out of the PL race but earns a long-awaited winning season, something it has done once in the last quarter century.

Win one, and it's another frustrating 5-6 finish.

Win none, and  that's even more frustrating.

Three opportunities at home are a rare one this late in the season. No one confuses Cooper Field with Sanford Stadium, but these are three games where the team won't be on a bus to Lewisburg, to Bethlehem, or to Worcester. 

It is, again, an opportunity. Let's start that journey on Saturday

3. Around The PL:

Lafayette 35, Sacred Heart 17: The Leopards returned to form in this non-conference game, rushing 56 times for 297 yards (after just 69 yards against Georgetown the week before) and thoroughly dominating the Pioneers. A key PL game with Holy Cross Saturday is likely to determine the front runner for the PL crown thereafter.

Harvard 35, Holy Cross 34: This one could fill up a couple of pages--with three touchdowns in the final 1:44, the Crusaders battled back from 27-14 down to tie the score with no time remaining, only to fall short on a two point conversion. Writes the Harvard Crimson of the late game heroics:

"Holy Cross refused to give up, quickly making its way down the field. As Holy Cross receiver Byron Shipman jumped up in the air and collected a throw from Pesansky in the end zone, shock initially filled the air in Harvard Stadium. However, a massive offensive pass interference call reversed the touchdown and left little opportunity for Holy Cross to tie the game. 

One play later, Pesansky threw up the ball for another Hail Mary attempt and watched as both teams juggled it. The pass was initially ruled incomplete but officials sought a replay review.

Harvard fans looked on anxiously as the decision came. The ruling on the field stood, but one second was put back on the game clock — just enough for one more Hail Mary attempt.  On his third try, Pesansky finally struck gold as the Crusaders found the end zone as the clock expired. But [Harvard] ensured that Holy Cross’ crusade ended one point short."

A mere 3-5, Holy Cross is still the team to beat in the PL, and its game Saturday will be memorable.

Yale 38, Lehigh 23: It's been a productive year for Ivy League teams versus the Patriot League, and was the case in this one, as the Bulldogs picked up two touchdowns in the final 3:07 of the first half and never looked back. Lehigh actually outgained Yale in this one but four turnovers proved monumental. At 3-3, the Engineers host Fordham this Saturday.

Cornell 34, Bucknell 21: An upset of sorts in this one, where the Bison went to backup quarterback Michael Hardyway following an injury to Ralph Rucker the week prior. Three fumbles proved Bucknell's undoing, as the Big Red led 27-7 in the second quarter and never looked back.