2012 Schedule

[EWURanger]

Sep. 1 @ Idaho
Sep. 8 @ Washington State
Sep. 15 BYE
Sep. 22 @ Weber State
Sep. 29 vs. Montana
Oct. 6 vs. North Dakota
Oct. 13 @ Montana State
Oct. 20 vs. Sacramento State
Oct. 27 @ Southern Utah
Nov. 3 vs. Cal-Poly
Nov. 10 vs. UC Davis
Nov. 17 @ Portland State

It should look like the above. I am guessing on the date of the Cal-Poly game, because I can't find anything that has the date listed. But there are only two possible dates for it, and we usually have the bye late in the season like we did this year.

As I have said before, I'd rather see the Idaho game replaced with an FCS, but I know the difficulties in scheduling out West. It just isn't going to happen. That said, what I DO like about our OOC schedule is that it does NOT involve extensive travel. Our first two games are both bus trips within 90 miles of campus; that's tough to beat. Plus, depending on the strength of next year's team, the Idaho game is winnable. But I guess this does pose that on-going question of whether or not scheduling a DII at home for the first week of the season is more beneficial than going on the road. In this situation, I don't think it is. A September 1st game weeks before school starts against a DII opponent just isn't going to draw well, and what's more it doesn't count. Going on the road to play a weak Idaho team 90 miles away makes more sense.....plus the program will get a marginal sum to do it. The Washington State game you're not going to get out of; we're going to play a BCS opponent every season, and I'm actually ok with that.

Our conference schedule isn't too bad, expect for the fact that we won't play UNC or ISU, which in the past several years have basically been guaranteed wins. That said, North Dakota and Davis haven't exactly been world-beaters, and we should be favored in both those games. Our road games in conference are pretty brutal, though.

All in all, a difficult schedule, but what I like about it is that there isn't a ton of tough travel and basically every game is winnable. Hell, with the talent returning it wouldn't even be out of the realm of possibility to walk out of Pullman with a "W".

 

[LDopaPDX]

The scheduling difficulties out west are now made a lot harder by the inclusion of the Great West teams into the Big Sky. Those were typically the only teams Eastern scheduled as FCS out of conference games. Eastern needs to get figure out some MVC and Southland teams to play in home-homes... and we haven't done that in years (NEVER during the Chaves tenure).

I see no reason to open with Idaho either. No money for an FBS game and a terrible way to open the season. It's almost like the AD just never learns from past mistakes.

 

[kalm]

Sep. 1 @ Idaho
Sep. 8 @ Washington State
Sep. 15 vs. Cal-Poly
Sep. 22 @ Weber State
Sep. 29 vs. Montana
Oct. 6 vs. North Dakota
Oct. 13 @ Montana State
Oct. 20 vs. Sacramento State
Oct. 27 @ Southern Utah
Nov. 3 BYE
Nov. 10 vs. UC Davis
Nov. 17 @ Portland State

It should look like the above. I am guessing on the date of the Cal-Poly game, because I can't find anything that has the date listed. But there are only two possible dates for it, and we usually have the bye late in the season like we did this year.

As I have said before, I'd rather see the Idaho game replaced with an FCS, but I know the difficulties in scheduling out West. It just isn't going to happen. That said, what I DO like about our OOC schedule is that it does NOT involve extensive travel. Our first two games are both bus trips within 90 miles of campus; that's tough to beat. Plus, depending on the strength of next year's team, the Idaho game is winnable. But I guess this does pose that on-going question of whether or not scheduling a DII at home for the first week of the season is more beneficial than going on the road. In this situation, I don't think it is. A September 1st game weeks before school starts against a DII opponent just isn't going to draw well, and what's more it doesn't count. Going on the road to play a weak Idaho team 90 miles away makes more sense.....plus the program will get a marginal sum to do it. The Washington State game you're not going to get out of; we're going to play a BCS opponent every season, and I'm actually ok with that.

Our conference schedule isn't too bad, expect for the fact that we won't play UNC or ISU, which in the past several years have basically been guaranteed wins. That said, North Dakota and Davis haven't exactly been world-beaters, and we should be favored in both those games. Our road games in conference are pretty brutal, though.

All in all, a difficult schedule, but what I like about it is that there isn't a ton of tough travel and basically every game is winnable. Hell, with the talent returning it wouldn't even be out of the realm of possibility to walk out of Pullman with a "W".

I'm not sure our conference road games are that brutal. MSU and PSU should be tough, but Mcbride is retiring at WSU and SUU will not have Sorenson. And finally, we don't have to play the Montana's back to back. But yes, a home and home with another FCS would be much more favorable to Idaho.

 

[Obzerver]

Sorenson will be back unless he leaves for NFL early...

 

[EWURanger]

Yeah, I think Sorenson is a Junior this year.

 

[clawman1]

The scheduling difficulties out west are now made a lot harder by the inclusion of the Great West teams into the Big Sky. Those were typically the only teams Eastern scheduled as FCS out of conference games. Eastern needs to get figure out some MVC and Southland teams to play in home-homes... and we haven't done that in years (NEVER during the Chaves tenure).

I see no reason to open with Idaho either. No money for an FBS game and a terrible way to open the season. It's almost like the AD just never learns from past mistakes.

LDopaPDX;
I asked you earlier after one of your rants concerning scheduling if you felt Chaves is intentionally sabotaging the program, was not capable of anything better or just too lazy to try. Don't recall your answer. I also asked you if you felt you are smarter than he is, and I know I did not hear back from you on that one.
Same question.

 

[kalm]

Yeah, I think Sorenson is a Junior this year.

Well damn.

 

[LDopaPDX]

The scheduling difficulties out west are now made a lot harder by the inclusion of the Great West teams into the Big Sky. Those were typically the only teams Eastern scheduled as FCS out of conference games. Eastern needs to get figure out some MVC and Southland teams to play in home-homes... and we haven't done that in years (NEVER during the Chaves tenure).

I see no reason to open with Idaho either. No money for an FBS game and a terrible way to open the season. It's almost like the AD just never learns from past mistakes.

LDopaPDX;
I asked you earlier after one of your rants concerning scheduling if you felt Chaves is intentionally sabotaging the program, was not capable of anything better or just too lazy to try. Don't recall your answer. I also asked you if you felt you are smarter than he is, and I know I did not hear back from you on that one.
Same question.

Dude, I've always been a Chaves advocate... except when it comes to scheduling. He does a lot of things right, and I think he is a nice guy and good ambassador of the program. Clearly, a national championship in football and our increasing attendace speak volumes.

But c'mon, our schedules have been pretty much rotten for several years now. We continue to make many of the same mistakes (scheduling too many road games, multiple FBS games when it has NEVER worked, and scheduling comparably difficult to our peers) over and over again. I don't understand why some people need to see something fail multiple times before realizing it is the wrong approach. We've NEVER made the playoffs when opening with two FBS games... NEVER, as in, not once. We have historically drawn well in September as opposed to any other month. So why are we so averse to scheduling home games in September and scheduling multiple FBS roadies when the evidence that these are terrible ideas is so overwhelming?

And again, this situation is growing increasing more difficult, not easier. If finding out of conference games was tough before, it ain't get easier with most of our former out of conference foes now in the Big Sky. I realize you CAN schedule one of these teams as a non-con, but I'm pretty sure there will be consequences from the playoff committee as the NCAA has actively and vocally discouraged it in the past.

 

[clawman1]

LDdopa;
Again you rant but do not answer any of my questions. Given your adamant position on this issue you must know far more details of the athletic department than I. Otherwise it would be VERY foolish to take such a negative position when you do not know what drives the decisions that are made.
So... any answers?

 

[marceagfan5]

This has the makings of a difficult schedule next year, we have 5 home games which is good, but starting with 2 FBS teams is just stupid! We also don't know what date the Cal Poly game is, so we essentially could play 3 straight on the road to start again, but hopefully that is not the case and our bye is in November. It will be nice to see some new teams in Cheney next year, plus we get the Griz at home, and our road games are not that bad. MSU will be really good and WSU should be solid. PSU loses a lot and SUU is up and down.

The bad situation with the schedule is starting with 2 FBS games, this just can't happen, something has to change with our scheduling non-conf games. This year our 3 non conf games were road games, next year we play 2 FBS games. I know some will be saying Idaho is a winnable game, but we will be staring a brand new QB, possibly a freshman in Adams, and it is our first game, followed by a Coug team that is improving every year.

I know a lot of on this board are completely against drop down games, but with the lack of FBS teams out west, it is better to schedule a drop down then a 2nd FCS. It really is a formula that a lot of the top teams use. We used it last year, won the national championship, MSU and UM used it this year, both will be ranked in the top 10 and make the playoffs this year. Look at most of the top 10 teams in the FCS and past champions and see what kind of schedules they had, nothing like ours, and most played drop down games. It lets you work on your offensive and defensive sets, pretty much wraps up a win, and you play an extra home game. Look at all the top FBS teams, they do it. I know it is difficult to schedule, no doubt about it, but we have to do something different rather than continue to make things as difficult as possible.

 

[LDopaPDX]

LDdopa;
Again you rant but do not answer any of my questions. Given your adamant position on this issue you must know far more details of the athletic department than I. Otherwise it would be VERY foolish to take such a negative position when you do not know what drives the decisions that are made.
So... any answers?

I don't feel it necessary to detail my experiences. Been around this program for decades, this shit isn't new to me. These new 2 FBS game schedules are an exception opf the recent past... more markedly, the Chaves era. you go back through the previous 4 ADs and you didn't see that strategy. It isn't a case of someone being stupid, it's just seeing the same mistakes repeated.

It costs about $50k to bring a D-II opponent into Roos. We're only making 2x that to open the season with two straight on the road (what Idaho is paying us). Perhaps you can tell me, how does that make sense?

 

[EWURanger]

Marc, the Cal Poly game is the tail end of a home and home so it will be at Roos. So it will just be the two road games to open the season with the third at home.

 

[marceagfan5]

Marc, the Cal Poly game is the tail end of a home and home so it will be at Roos. So it will just be the two road games to open the season with the third at home.

Ranger, I knew that the cal poly was the return game, I just wasn't certain if we know which of our 2 open dates it is scheduled for? If it is played in November, that means we have an early bye but start with 3 on the road. Hopefully we play the Cal Poly game early and keep our normal November bye, just wasn't too certain because we played Cal Poly this year in November and it is possible the return game is in Roos next November.

 

[clawman1]

LDdopa;
Again you rant but do not answer any of my questions. Given your adamant position on this issue you must know far more details of the athletic department than I. Otherwise it would be VERY foolish to take such a negative position when you do not know what drives the decisions that are made.
So... any answers?

I don't feel it necessary to detail my experiences. Been around this program for decades, this shit isn't new to me. These new 2 FBS game schedules are an exception opf the recent past... more markedly, the Chaves era. you go back through the previous 4 ADs and you didn't see that strategy. It isn't a case of someone being stupid, it's just seeing the same mistakes repeated.

It costs about $50k to bring a D-II opponent into Roos. We're only making 2x that to open the season with two straight on the road (what Idaho is paying us). Perhaps you can tell me, how does that make sense?

Don't recall asking how long you have been around the program. I asked if you felt Chaves is intentionally sabotaging the program, if he is not capable of negotiating a favorable (in your eyes) schedule, or he is too lazy to make the effort to do the same. If there are other possibilities please share it with me. I do not have the details of what Bill has to work with in the negotiating process, what the strategies of the coaches may be, or which teams are even willing to talk. Sounds like you THINK you know from your decades following the program but I doubt you are as knowledgeable as you THINK you are.

 

[LDopaPDX]

OK... let me be clear. I do NOT think Chaves is intentionally sabotaging the program nor lazy. I didn't answer those questions directly because I figured they were just rhetorical. I have a lot of confidence in his abilities. I just think his scheduling is terrible, and based on long-term evidence, the strategy of playing two FBS road games and few September games is in poor judgment. I don't understand why we have to rehash a failed strategy over and over just to remind ourselves it is a continual failure.

Think about this... it takes about $60k to bring a D-II team into Cheney for an easy win. Let's say we pay Eastern Oregon $50k, we have event insurance (most of which the university already has), game day employees (which are readily available and cheap in a college town), and various overhead. Again, we'd be about $60k in.

If we had 5,000 paying customers at an average of $10 per ticket, which is about right where we're at, we cover the cost of the opponent. We get parking, concessions, and EAA donations on tickets to cover the add'l $10k. And guess what, we're even. It's not like we have to go into the hole to schedule ourselves a great shot of success.

Compare that with the $50k we took to play South Dakota. Travel expenses aren't included in that figure. We had to charter a flight (done that lately? Flying private is RIDICULOUS... my company won't even allow it anymore for anybody other than C-level managers), hotel, and logistics. We were probably netting $10-15k for that enitre game. Was that worth blowing our playoff chances?

Playing Idaho, the expsnes for travel will be less, and the revenues more, but we're still only about $90k into the black for a game with a lot of risk. Again, is that worth the risk? What if we lay an egg, can't get Cal Poly until November, and wind up 0-3 before we play a home game next year? Talk about a momentum killer, and for what? This boost we've got in attendance won't be a given if we keep playing ourselves out of the playoffs early in the season.

It just doesn't make sense financially to put losses onto the ledger.

 

[clawman1]

So I guess you are far more intelligent than Chaves, or could it be that he has much more information than you?

 

[kalm]

My guess, and I could be wrong, is that Chaves is very much aware of all the issues that Dopa brings up. I think that if a viable FCS home and home was possible at this time it would happen. But I would also like to think that is something Chaves is still working on. The wildcard here is the finances. If Dopa's analysis is close, even a $90,000 difference between Idaho and a WOU might be too good to pass up given the current financial constraints. There might even be pressure from above to go this route.

 

[talon38]

OK, so I guess I've been misinformed ,but the 2012 schedule I've been given for the first 6 games is:
@ IDAHO on 9/1
@WSU on 9/8
H ISU on 9/15
H Sac ST on 9/22
@ PSU on 9/29
H Grizz on 10/6, then MSU away on 10/13.
This is contrary to what I've been reading?
I see 3 home and away, of which 5 of the 1st 6 winnable?
What schedule am I NOT looking at? Thanks for input!

 

[LDopaPDX]

Well, then genius, why don't you tell me what those reasons are? Because they must be reasons that didn't exist for any other AD at any other point in EWU history. Do you have access to some almanac or online resource that shows we won a bunch of games that I thought we lost? If so, please take a picture or send me a link.

 

[LDopaPDX]

My guess, and I could be wrong, is that Chaves is very much aware of all the issues that Dopa brings up. I think that if a viable FCS home and home was possible at this time it would happen. But I would also like to think that is something Chaves is still working on. The wildcard here is the finances. If Dopa's analysis is close, even a $90,000 difference between Idaho and a WOU might be too good to pass up given the current financial constraints. There might even be pressure from above to go this route.

Of course there is "pressure from above" to go this route. Given the choice, do you think our President wants the athletic department to run in the black or in the red? The unfortunate reality is that most ADs run in the red... only about 10 in the entire country at any level actually make money... we are a Gov't Instituion for God's sake; that alone ought to tell you were not in the business of making money!

That said, there are two ways to make money in college sports... the topline revenue method (such as running a program in the black) and the much more common revenue stream of tax-free receivables (donations). Winning builds financial reserves in the second method. Scheduling yourself into a bodybag might make you more on the front, but it ain't the way to inspire your donor base.