I apologize ahead of time as this lacks any brevity at all. I posted this on an azdailysun.com article today and figured I'd start things up here. There were a few fan comments over there discussing their take on the state of the program so I threw my two cents worth in also. Commitment to excellence.....winning program.....attendance is down.....need to dominate like the U of Montana.....lack of fan support....what it takes to build a winning football program that is also successful off the field and in the classroom. Talking points...that kind of stuff.
I don't think things are perfect in NAU's football program. The Jacks have been prone to losing quite a few close games but also won a few close ones this year as well. The two years in a row of late-season swoons hurts but I have a different feel towards this year's version than last year's. I'm not averse to change but I can see the other side of the coin and can say things could be much, much worse than they are. One FBS school instead of two in football would certainly help schedule wise but I'm sure the reason it's done is to pay bills and help keep the athletic dept afloat as a whole. If it occurs again...please don't throw one in the middle of conference play again. I'd much prefer NAU tried to schedule regional FCS teams such as UC Davis or Cal Poly. I hope the Southern Utah series continues as I've seen some definite improvement with them. I'd be giddy to see some good Missouri Valley or Colonial Conference teams in a home and home with the Jacks but I'd guess that travel expenditures put that on the backburner right now.
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I have neither the time, the energy or the true research know-how to substantiate this but I can say that from my long-distance following of the team, the Lumberjacks football players have kept out of the crime report better recently than they did in the past.
Having 100 or so players on the active roster, not including red-shirt and scout team players, is a lot of people a few coaches are responsible for. That responsiblity carries over into the players behavior off the field as well as on the field and in the classroom. Anyone out there remember what their friends, acquaintances and themselves were like when they were 18-24? Probably far from perfect. Coaching staffs are expected to produce wins on the court while molding successful academic scholars and model (moral) citizens as well. That's a whole lot on the plate for coaching staffs to deal with. I have a hard time believing many of the doubters
If a university/athletic department wants the biggest, fastest and most athletically gifted athletes to compete at the highest level then compromises (i.e. graduation rate, GPA, APR, athletes in the crime report) often come with the glory of accumulated victories. Throw just about any big time FBS school name out there and this has been the case at some point. It's even been the case with NAU and some of their Big Sky Conference brethren in the past.....most recently UofM and MSU players getting unwanted national notoriety for off-the-field trouble.
I'd love to see my alma mater's football team win year in and year out and consistently make the playoffs. I've lived out of state and gone out of my way to support NAU's teams. I grew up playing sports and count college basketball and college football as my favorite sports to follow.
All this being said, the education these athletes are receiving, what they're learning off the field in their role as student-athletes, and the type of people they are becoming is more important in the end than whether or not they scored more points than the other team.
It's good to put things in perspective on occasion.
This year's end of the season four game losing streak had a totally different feel than the one last year. I didn't see a team that quit or was outmatched - even in a case vs. UofA and U of Mississippi when NAU should have been destroyed. Some comments here on azdailysun.com speak of a stagnancy in the football program. I didn't see it in the student support when I attended the three games I did this season. Where I saw the lack of support was from the community. People live in Flagstaff for many reasons other than big time college sports. That's my abbreviated reason why crowds are the way they are. There's lots of local competition for limited free time and rapidly decreasing free dollars here in Arizona. I've lived in Montana and the reason college athletics (football in particular) are top dog up there is there is limited competition. You're born and raised either UofM or MSU. Yes, success will breed further success but saying NAU can become what UofM is football-wise is a bit unrealistic.
I'll crawl off my soapbox now and conclude by saying that 5-6 this season seems more positive than 6-5 did at the end of last season. Does NAU's fanbase want a head coach with a win-at-all-costs approach, who is surly with media/boosters/students/fellow state employees and leads a "f*** the opposition" at the end of the game who goes 12-0. Ahem...Grizzlies. Or a coach whose teams play hard, generally stay out of trouble but don't bring the "glory" to their fanbase.
Tough way to end the season but I, for one, am not calling for Coach Souers and his staff's heads on a platter. I see many positives with this team and continue my support.
Head on over to http://lumberjacks.bigskyfans.com for the NAU fan board/forum. The few of us posting over there are always looking for additional voices to spark up the conversation.
Go Jacks!
-MTJack
I don't think things are perfect in NAU's football program. The Jacks have been prone to losing quite a few close games but also won a few close ones this year as well. The two years in a row of late-season swoons hurts but I have a different feel towards this year's version than last year's. I'm not averse to change but I can see the other side of the coin and can say things could be much, much worse than they are. One FBS school instead of two in football would certainly help schedule wise but I'm sure the reason it's done is to pay bills and help keep the athletic dept afloat as a whole. If it occurs again...please don't throw one in the middle of conference play again. I'd much prefer NAU tried to schedule regional FCS teams such as UC Davis or Cal Poly. I hope the Southern Utah series continues as I've seen some definite improvement with them. I'd be giddy to see some good Missouri Valley or Colonial Conference teams in a home and home with the Jacks but I'd guess that travel expenditures put that on the backburner right now.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I have neither the time, the energy or the true research know-how to substantiate this but I can say that from my long-distance following of the team, the Lumberjacks football players have kept out of the crime report better recently than they did in the past.
Having 100 or so players on the active roster, not including red-shirt and scout team players, is a lot of people a few coaches are responsible for. That responsiblity carries over into the players behavior off the field as well as on the field and in the classroom. Anyone out there remember what their friends, acquaintances and themselves were like when they were 18-24? Probably far from perfect. Coaching staffs are expected to produce wins on the court while molding successful academic scholars and model (moral) citizens as well. That's a whole lot on the plate for coaching staffs to deal with. I have a hard time believing many of the doubters
If a university/athletic department wants the biggest, fastest and most athletically gifted athletes to compete at the highest level then compromises (i.e. graduation rate, GPA, APR, athletes in the crime report) often come with the glory of accumulated victories. Throw just about any big time FBS school name out there and this has been the case at some point. It's even been the case with NAU and some of their Big Sky Conference brethren in the past.....most recently UofM and MSU players getting unwanted national notoriety for off-the-field trouble.
I'd love to see my alma mater's football team win year in and year out and consistently make the playoffs. I've lived out of state and gone out of my way to support NAU's teams. I grew up playing sports and count college basketball and college football as my favorite sports to follow.
All this being said, the education these athletes are receiving, what they're learning off the field in their role as student-athletes, and the type of people they are becoming is more important in the end than whether or not they scored more points than the other team.
It's good to put things in perspective on occasion.
This year's end of the season four game losing streak had a totally different feel than the one last year. I didn't see a team that quit or was outmatched - even in a case vs. UofA and U of Mississippi when NAU should have been destroyed. Some comments here on azdailysun.com speak of a stagnancy in the football program. I didn't see it in the student support when I attended the three games I did this season. Where I saw the lack of support was from the community. People live in Flagstaff for many reasons other than big time college sports. That's my abbreviated reason why crowds are the way they are. There's lots of local competition for limited free time and rapidly decreasing free dollars here in Arizona. I've lived in Montana and the reason college athletics (football in particular) are top dog up there is there is limited competition. You're born and raised either UofM or MSU. Yes, success will breed further success but saying NAU can become what UofM is football-wise is a bit unrealistic.
I'll crawl off my soapbox now and conclude by saying that 5-6 this season seems more positive than 6-5 did at the end of last season. Does NAU's fanbase want a head coach with a win-at-all-costs approach, who is surly with media/boosters/students/fellow state employees and leads a "f*** the opposition" at the end of the game who goes 12-0. Ahem...Grizzlies. Or a coach whose teams play hard, generally stay out of trouble but don't bring the "glory" to their fanbase.
Tough way to end the season but I, for one, am not calling for Coach Souers and his staff's heads on a platter. I see many positives with this team and continue my support.
Head on over to http://lumberjacks.bigskyfans.com for the NAU fan board/forum. The few of us posting over there are always looking for additional voices to spark up the conversation.
Go Jacks!
-MTJack
