• Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts, upgrade to remove ads and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your BigSkyFans.com experience today!

Football Program Self-Sufficiency

Here is a sample schedule I would propose:

FCS SCHOOL
@ WSU
FCS SCHOOL
Nevada (arrange a 2-1 deal as I think you would have to to get a MWC team at home)
@Boise State
@Oregon State
Old Dominion
San Jose State
@Idaho
New Mexico State
@Army
@BYU


This type of schedule could net us a 6-7 win season in 3-4 years. Yes it isnt ideal to play 2 FCS schools as an FBS team but it isnt unheard of either. Plus it could help us add a couple home games and a potential pair of wins. Keep in mind that recruiting instantly gets a boost when you announce you are transitioning to FBS.
 
VikingCard said:
It would only be temporary. Once you build up a bit more of a fan base then start having more home games. Plus as i mentioned before, scheduling NMSU, ODU, Idaho and other independents could get you some wins as most of those teams arent that great.

So we could just move up and knock off NMSU, ODU, Idaho and other independents?
 
martymoose said:
VikingCard said:
It would only be temporary. Once you build up a bit more of a fan base then start having more home games. Plus as i mentioned before, scheduling NMSU, ODU, Idaho and other independents could get you some wins as most of those teams arent that great.

So we could just move up and knock off NMSU, ODU, Idaho and other independents?


I qualified that by saying over the course of a few years. But yes. The recruiting boost we could get by moving up would make it possible. I am not saying it is a sure thing but it is more possible than scheduling a murderer's row of opponents. Plus then you could maintain having around 6 home games.
 
VikingCard said:
Here is a sample schedule I would propose:

FCS SCHOOL
@ WSU
FCS SCHOOL
Nevada (arrange a 2-1 deal as I think you would have to to get a MWC team at home)
@Boise State
@Oregon State
Old Dominion
San Jose State
@Idaho
New Mexico State
@Army
@BYU


This type of schedule could net us a 6-7 win season in 3-4 years. Yes it isnt ideal to play 2 FCS schools as an FBS team but it isnt unheard of either. Plus it could help us add a couple home games and a potential pair of wins. Keep in mind that recruiting instantly gets a boost when you announce you are transitioning to FBS.

OK.

BYU... replace with Navy, and maybe they'll come here. BYU is actually trying to achieve strength of schedule due to lack of conference affiliation. Maybe once in 10 years.

WSU, OSU, Boise State... first three weeks of the season. They've shown a lack of desire to play non-conference games during the conference season. Point is; everyone will play you in September. It's October when the schedule sucks. In other words, PSU isn't getting that good a schedule.

Of course, the NCAA has standards by which you can move up. This is really a non-issue. It's time for me to replace GVG as the bad guy here. Hang on.
 
goviksgo said:
As usual goviks passes right by the main issues and goes after me personally. It's a lot of fun dealing with the people on this forum. I'm trying to get you to see the picture of the problems being caused in this program which leads to individuals not committing funds or time or energy.

This isn't about whether the program can somehow come up with 900K. That should be a no brainer if we could right the ship. What business says "it doesn't start at the top" or "the CEO has nothing to do with it?

I think GOVIKS2 has a love affair with the program and can't see the forest through the trees. This is not about losing scholarships it's about lying to players about their scholarships. Talk to the controller in the financial aid office maybe he is willing to speak up?

What is Torre doing about Nigel? Heard he might bring in a new head coach? Got to do something to right this ship?

What are Alumni doing? Smart ones are watching and keeping the check books sealed tight. Maybe not the donor whose house Coach Burton lives in ...maybe that's your house GOVIKS2?

I don't like when big men pick on little old ladies, I don't like when bosses take advantage of their employees and I certainly don't like when someone in power speaks abusively to their subordinates. maybe you think all these things are okay?

This is a wake up call because we aren't going to have a team or this forum to discuss it in 2015 if something doesn't change quickly. There will be no miracle on 10th street without change today.

I'm replacing you as bad guy here. Step aside. You're wasting your energy on personality conflicts, and you're missing the main target anyway. Stop embarrassing yourself.

Broadway unearthed a 5-year-old interview with Torre Chisholm. The link to the interview is gone. I'd forgotten all about it, but my reaction to it was clear. Chisholm had the clearest vision for Viking Pavilion and the faintest platitudes for football.

Football has been cut loose to sink or swim for some time. It's proving it can't swim. It's going, it's soon to be gone.

Torre Chisholm made the right call, too. This program could be sustained when other programs were selling tickets for $20-30, the competition practiced outdoors, the stadium held more people, and travel was more reasonably regional. This isn't that era; it's time to get the frack out.

This isn't to say that college basketball is the savior. It's the fallback. Portland State has a more than marginal chance at being good at it. The Pavilion should, at least, attract some attention.

There's no way this program can reconcile the culture of the city with that of the suburbs, much less football (that culture basically = "football must die" anyway). Portland is too far gone to be Atlanta. NFL, sure. Trying to reach UO or OSU, never happen. (For that matter, most students THERE think they're there for school, never mind PSU). The program's fan base is freaking old and sparse in a town repopulated with youth and a different vision of life.

So make the most of what you've got... and understand that Torre Chisholm has gone down this path with purpose. (Is he great? I didn't say that. Good? Heck if I know. Just that he set on this path and this is it.)
 
I think what people mean is for the proper investment be made that would make and FBS teams a reality and not a fantasy.
 
Pounder said:
Football has been cut loose to sink or swim for some time. It's proving it can't swim. It's going, it's soon to be gone.

Pounder you made some great points. I agree with you that PSU is in a better position to succeed at men's basketball than they are at football. The environment has changed, and our football program did not. That's not to say that it can't get things turned around.

I'm in no way advocating dropping football, but just thinking out loud:

If I'm looking at this correctly, PSU would need to add another men's sport if they cut football, unless they added two men's sports and dropped a women's sport. Given that the Pavilion that should (hopefully) break ground soon, the big sport will obviously be basketball.
 
BroadwayVik said:
I think what people mean is for the proper investment be made that would make and FBS teams a reality and not a fantasy.


Exactly. I think FCS is a poor way to spend any money. A football team costs a lot of money to field and if you are going to do it you might as well do it right. At least then you might have a chance at catching the average fan's eye. At the FCS level even if we get to the playoffs nobody in the area cares. Where as if we were FBS and made a bowl then we would at least get some press in town and maybe start building a fan base.
 
Looks as if gvg has changed his name to Vikingcard...assume we can expect the same drumbeat of negativity.

Still think the best role for a real PSU sports fan is to support our teams and quit this second guessing the coaches and the administration. The coaches are working hard to recruit quality young men to play at Portand State right now. Do what you can to support their efforts. A playoff team next year would go a long way toward quieting the down-on-everything crowd.

As to basketball...PSU basketball is fun and exciting. So is UP, when they have a good team. But, Portland is a Trailblazer town. Hole in the sports market here is college football. With the new Pavillion, the Vikes could draw well...but you'll never get 10,000-15,000 fans to a game, which would be doable with a winning football program.

Let's do everything we can to keep football strong here.
 
Wow, what a range of opinions. I have always been a big believer in what was said earlier...when there is much risk the opportunities are endless. It's human nature, when we are pushed to the brink we figure out how to survive. The FBS discussion is not so impossible. Are we forgetting that with a couple breaks we would have beaten Cal? How about all the other games we could have won. Heck we outplayed #3 Eastern Oregon. Who beat Oregon State this year? Stop focusing on the negatives...

I believe this program is close to turning that corner. My son does not see the extreme discord and says most players believe the future is bright. Cutting funding will force the staff to be more creative, more disciplined, more committed. No question they need to convince their players more that the entire staff has their backs; that everyone is in this together. But I can't wait to see what is going to happen. I think we will look back in 5 years at a rising FBS program that people love to come watch and support and will remember 2013 as the turning point.

I'd rather be known for how hard I fought to support a program and then lose then to be a cancer to a program and celebrate its demise. I'd rather go out fighting.
 
Agree, Faithinviks. We're not going to drop football. We came out in the middle of the pack, exactly where we were projected to be. Next year we should be projected at fifth. Maybe better. Jeez, two of our losses were by one or two points! Recruiting seems to be going along just fine.

Next year it looks like we're playing both OSU and WSU, though WSU is uncertain. Has anyone got the schedule? If WSU, then those here pushing for FBS will cheer us on with two PAC-12 teams lined up. Me, I just worry about injuries.
 
faithinviks said:
Wow, what a range of opinions. I have always been a big believer in what was said earlier...when there is much risk the opportunities are endless. It's human nature, when we are pushed to the brink we figure out how to survive. The FBS discussion is not so impossible. Are we forgetting that with a couple breaks we would have beaten Cal? How about all the other games we could have won. Heck we outplayed #3 Eastern Oregon. Who beat Oregon State this year? Stop focusing on the negatives...

I believe this program is close to turning that corner. My son does not see the extreme discord and says most players believe the future is bright. Cutting funding will force the staff to be more creative, more disciplined, more committed. No question they need to convince their players more that the entire staff has their backs; that everyone is in this together. But I can't wait to see what is going to happen. I think we will look back in 5 years at a rising FBS program that people love to come watch and support and will remember 2013 as the turning point.

I'd rather be known for how hard I fought to support a program and then lose then to be a cancer to a program and celebrate its demise. I'd rather go out fighting.

Your desire for optimism stems from the play on the field. You're not wrong with that assessment.

The problem: if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to see it, did it actually happen? PSU's last two announced attendances this year were under 5,000... meaning there may have been 1,000 people actually in the stadium each time. That number is probably the actual PAID attendance.

The business numbers around this program SCREAM dropping it.
 
Re: Hersh interview on the Tao of Sports podcast

Postby BroadwayVik » December 16th, 2013, 3:18 pm

FINALLY! Someone with a heart-brain and vision. He gets it!! Portland leadership cannot see what this man from Philadelphia can see: The forest for the trees. Thank goodness he's also lived here for seven years. We need this East Coast mental toughness and depth of belief. Torre was wise to establish this relationship.
___________

No question attendance was down. Having been at each game it was painful to watch us shoot ourselves in the foot game after game. But with better promotion that may be coming, with a greater sense of urgency to win (requiring discipline, team unity, coaching)...if you combine that with a goal of moving up??? I think we got something here...
 
Having finished listening to that podcast...

...he's in a partnership with the people who have made the decisions, not a bully pulpit. Hersh is realistic about the situation. Hersh may not sound like Chisholm, and tries to give more lip service to football, but I have to tell you that there were football platitudes and basketball specifics.

There are a couple funnies (sort of) regarding basketball, too. He mentioned having to tell people on campus where Stott Center is even located. That's very likely true. True story on my part: I go to see PSU basketball down at Sac State, the facilities web page there doesn't really mention Yosemite Hall as the location, and it's not clearly identified on the website campus map. I get there a few hours in advance, I drive around for a bit, stymied, then I stop at the alumni center to ask directions. Nobody there knew where it is. A second look and stab-in-the-dark instinct got me to the vicinity.

(So... color me glad for the choice of fronts for Viking Pavilion, never mind that it's not going to exactly be in the high traffic corridor.)

So a question: is a Takeru Kobayashi visit what you had in mind? That sounds very much like the work of Hersh given that interview and past experience. I grew up when Hersh was GM of the Beavers... he made a splash, did several things right, and it wasn't long before the Yankees swept him up and things went right back to where they were before, creating the conditions by which Joe Buzas bought the team. I don't believe this partnership is a stepping stone for the man... but I don't think he'll have enough time to work with the football program before it's too late.
 
Well sounds like Coach Davis is gone headed to the east coast. That's too bad. He has done a great job with the line and has been a good leader on the team. He will be missed. That hurts a bit.
 
faithinviks said:
Well sounds like Coach Davis is gone headed to the east coast. That's too bad. He has done a great job with the line and has been a good leader on the team. He will be missed. That hurts a bit.

Agreed. I think that he'd done a great job with the o line.
 
Davis leaving was not a surprise to anyone on the team. This is not meant as a dig. It has been well known he was leaving for quite some time.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top