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.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
The Opportunity
“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.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Why Coaching Matters
(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
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
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Welcome Back
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
The Second Line
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.
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.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Week 11 Thoughts
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:
The late Scotty Glacken once said that it’s the 40 weeks of the off-season that builds winners. Let’s win that day.
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.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Week 10 Thoughts
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.
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.
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