Delaware and the FBS

[ODUalum11]

I haven't heard anything about this and not sure if its relevant but could this be a possibility in the near future? I posted this over in the UMass thread so it might be repetitive.

There are currently numerous CAA schools who have had rumors going around that they don't plan in being in the CAA for much longer.

Obviously UMass is going to the MAC, Villanova very likely will become a full member in the Big East, JMU seems to have the expectations to make the jump soon with the renovations they are working on with their stadium, GSU fans think they will make the jump soon and ODU has been consulted and recommended to make a jump soon. With UNH and Maine it doesn't make any sense at all for them to stay as well in regards to the conferences geography. I mention this over in the UMass thread that I wouldn't be surprised if UNH and Maine follow URI to the Northeast Conference.

So in the end, is there a possibility Delaware will follow any current CAA members to the FBS? It's been talked about that either JMU or ODU would follow each other if either one made the jump. How about Delaware? Could they follow UMass to the MAC?

One thing that UDel can rely on is that it seems as if William & Mary and Richmond have no plans in making conference moves in the near future.

[ODUalum11]

double post.

[citdog]

would love to see the caa broken up and William and Mary and Confederate Capitol U return to where they belong. The Southern Conference.

[93henfan]

There are a lot of mixed feelings right now at UD, which you will quickly pick up on if you visit GoHens. The season ticket base is bleeding off at the rapid rate as a poorly communicated mandatory seat contribution plan has been instituted, and no firm plans for any sort of facilities improvements for football have ever come to fruition. Our season ticket base may dip down below 7,500 this season after approaching 12,000 just three seasons ago. It wouldn't surprise me to see Delaware lose its streak this year as the longest running FCS school with a 20K+ per game average attendance. We seem to be going the wrong way, IMHO, under a University and AD that are run by out of state resume builders that couldn't give a flying fuck about Delaware Football, other than milking it for a few bucks before they drive it into the ground.

The University has stretched itself thin on capital improvements on campus, and with the recent purchase of the huge former Chrysler assembly plant, the capital dollars will be tied up for the next couple of decades building the new high-tech/medical campus. The mandatory seat donations for football do not go toward capital improvements but rather the general athletic scholarship fund for all sports. The University has stated that if people want facilities improvements for football, it will have to come from some sugar daddy donors. The only real athletics improvements that have been started are to on-campus sports facilities for the general student population and most recently an expansion of the Bob Carpenter Center with increased faculty and practice space for basketball and volleyball. The AD really screwed itself by ratcheting up the mandatory donations for football without breaking some ground on something substantial for football. The conspiracy theorist might say that they want to drive down attendance so they don't have a basis to make any real improvements to The Tub. After all, who needs a bigger stadium if you don't sell out and you average 5,000 under capacity?

I don't see Delaware going anywhere anytime soon unless our hand is forced in some way. The current administration seems content with stagnation.

[PenthouseClosedEnd]

would love to see the caa broken up and William and Mary and Confederate Capitol U return to where they belong. The Southern Conference.

Food for thought.

[89Hen]

There are a lot of mixed feelings right now at UD, which you will quickly pick up on if you visit GoHens.

F the old asshats at gohens. Sky has been falling for years. Could use some more folks to leave and give up their prime parking spots.

[93henfan]

There are a lot of mixed feelings right now at UD, which you will quickly pick up on if you visit GoHens.

F the old asshats at gohens. Sky has been falling for years. Could use some more folks to leave and give up their prime parking spots.

I'm just reporting. My personal opinion is I hate to see us lose attendance, but I'm sure as shit not giving up my season tickets, and I'll keep on moving to better seats every year as those geezers move on. I put in another upgrade request with my invoice a few weeks ago.

[89Hen]

I'm just reporting. My personal opinion is I hate to see us lose attendance, but I'm sure as shit not giving up my season tickets, and I'll keep on moving to better seats every year as those geezers move on. I put in another upgrade request with my invoice a few weeks ago.

Agreed. I want to stay at 20k+ but won't lose sleep if a few of those guys disappear.

[ODUalum11]

I can't believe with the type of success Delaware Football has had with players in the NFL, appearances in National Championship games, frequent contender for conference championships is actually losing attendance and donor money.

[93henfan]

I can't believe with the type of success Delaware Football has had with players in the NFL, appearances in National Championship games, frequent contender for conference championships is actually losing attendance and donor money.

Not to mention a billion dollar endowment. Too bad not a cent of it goes toward a storied FCS program.

[HenZoneNation]

There are a lot of mixed feelings right now at UD, which you will quickly pick up on if you visit GoHens. The season ticket base is bleeding off at the rapid rate as a poorly communicated mandatory seat contribution plan has been instituted, and no firm plans for any sort of facilities improvements for football have ever come to fruition. Our season ticket base may dip down below 7,500 this season after approaching 12,000 just three seasons ago. It wouldn't surprise me to see Delaware lose its streak this year as the longest running FCS school with a 20K+ per game average attendance. We seem to be going the wrong way, IMHO, under a University and AD that are run by out of state resume builders that couldn't give a flying **** about Delaware Football, other than milking it for a few bucks before they drive it into the ground.

The University has stretched itself thin on capital improvements on campus, and with the recent purchase of the huge former Chrysler assembly plant, the capital dollars will be tied up for the next couple of decades building the new high-tech/medical campus. The mandatory seat donations for football do not go toward capital improvements but rather the general athletic scholarship fund for all sports. The University has stated that if people want facilities improvements for football, it will have to come from some sugar daddy donors. The only real athletics improvements that have been started are to on-campus sports facilities for the general student population and most recently an expansion of the Bob Carpenter Center with increased faculty and practice space for basketball and volleyball. The AD really screwed itself by ratcheting up the mandatory donations for football without breaking some ground on something substantial for football. The conspiracy theorist might say that they want to drive down attendance so they don't have a basis to make any real improvements to The Tub. After all, who needs a bigger stadium if you don't sell out and you average 5,000 under capacity?

I don't see Delaware going anywhere anytime soon unless our hand is forced in some way. The current administration seems content with stagnation.

I certainly agree with many of your points and there is a lot of frustration from the fan base...however, the economy plays a lot in this as well. People cut back on things they don't need. The NY Giants had a 65 year waiting list for season tickets, since the new stadium and ticket costs, it's vanished. Once things go back to normal, you'll see the crowds return. It's a great program with no in state competition. I love the fact that they focus on the academics of our school. They're are a lot of great football programs and ther are a lot of great academic programs...there are very few great academic and great football programs...have faith.

[BigSkyBears]

I can't believe with the type of success Delaware Football has had with players in the NFL, appearances in National Championship games, frequent contender for conference championships is actually losing attendance and donor money.

Not to mention a billion dollar endowment. Too bad not a cent of it goes toward a storied FCS program.

Explain.

[State Line Liquors]

Just as an FYI, the purchase of the Chrysler Property is already paid for. All that steel and aluminum sold for scrap. Direct from the mouth of the big cheese at the bbq after the golf outing.

[93henfan]

Just as an FYI, the purchase of the Chrysler Property is already paid for. All that steel and aluminum sold for scrap. Direct from the mouth of the big cheese at the bbq after the golf outing.

I trust accounting ledgers way more than former Ivy League business school deans.

[93henfan]

Not to mention a billion dollar endowment. Too bad not a cent of it goes toward a storied FCS program.

Explain.

I'm not sure what needs to be explained.

[State Line Liquors]

I trust accounting ledgers way more than former Ivy League business school deans.

Trust whatever or whomever you want. It doesn't take a CPA or an Ivy League degree, to realize the acquisition of the Chrysler property was an absolute slam dunk.

[bluehenbillk]

UD crowd split, leaning towards status quo for the most part. The fans, resemble the school for the most part in that they are traditionalists. The University is extremely reactive rather than proactive, and won't really probably do anything unless they see the CAA collapsing around them. Personally I'd like to see a FBS move but realize chances are against it. Heck, we're just getting out of the West Chester game after 2012....

[State Line Liquors]

Being for or against a move is entirely dependent on the circumstances.

Everyone would welcome an opportunity to play in a conference that would allow us a legitimate shot to play for the D1A national championship, but that's not going to happen. As a whole, our athletics department isn't good enough to stand on it's own merits in a major conference. Just look at what a disgrace our basketball program is...

Joining the MAC as it presently stands, like UMass, is unappealing. Outside of perhaps 1 game a year against Temple it would pretty much be a worthless venture. UMass's conference affiliations are like kid finger painting who can't make up his mind between eating the paint and actually painting with it.

If something happens, and I don't really know what exactly that might be, it's important to me that we have some traditional rivals as part of the league.

[93henfan]

I trust accounting ledgers way more than former Ivy League business school deans.

Trust whatever or whomever you want. It doesn't take a CPA or an Ivy League degree, to realize the acquisition of the Chrysler property was an absolute slam dunk.

Sure, the acquisition was. My earlier point is that the U's capital expenditures will be tied up in this thing for decades, at the expense of our (or at least my) beloved football. Scrap might have offset the purchase of the land, but I doubt it will cover the steep cost for soil remediation, and it certainly won't even begin to cover hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure that will have to be built.

[dbackjon]

Trust whatever or whomever you want. It doesn't take a CPA or an Ivy League degree, to realize the acquisition of the Chrysler property was an absolute slam dunk.

Sure, the acquisition was. My earlier point is that the U's capital expenditures will be tied up in this thing for decades, at the expense of our (or at least my) beloved football. Scrap might have offset the purchase of the land, but I doubt it will cover the steep cost for soil remediation, and it certainly won't even begin to cover hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure that will have to be built.

I was wondering about that - how much crap is in the ground at the site?

Of course, what would be toxic elsewhere is probably typical for northern Delawhere

[93henfan]

I was wondering about that - how much crap is in the ground at the site?

They're still doing the demo right now, so I don't think anyone knows what all is in the ground there just yet. The thing was a tank assembly plant at first and then a car assembly plant since the late 50s. I'd wager that there are all kinds of nasties in the ground. I'm not sure anyone really cared about overspray and carcinogens a whole helluva lot back in Ike's time.

[Ivytalk]

There are a lot of mixed feelings right now at UD, which you will quickly pick up on if you visit GoHens. The season ticket base is bleeding off at the rapid rate as a poorly communicated mandatory seat contribution plan has been instituted, and no firm plans for any sort of facilities improvements for football have ever come to fruition. Our season ticket base may dip down below 7,500 this season after approaching 12,000 just three seasons ago. It wouldn't surprise me to see Delaware lose its streak this year as the longest running FCS school with a 20K+ per game average attendance. We seem to be going the wrong way, IMHO, under a University and AD that are run by out of state resume builders that couldn't give a flying **** about Delaware Football, other than milking it for a few bucks before they drive it into the ground.

The University has stretched itself thin on capital improvements on campus, and with the recent purchase of the huge former Chrysler assembly plant, the capital dollars will be tied up for the next couple of decades building the new high-tech/medical campus. The mandatory seat donations for football do not go toward capital improvements but rather the general athletic scholarship fund for all sports. The University has stated that if people want facilities improvements for football, it will have to come from some sugar daddy donors. The only real athletics improvements that have been started are to on-campus sports facilities for the general student population and most recently an expansion of the Bob Carpenter Center with increased faculty and practice space for basketball and volleyball. The AD really screwed itself by ratcheting up the mandatory donations for football without breaking some ground on something substantial for football. The conspiracy theorist might say that they want to drive down attendance so they don't have a basis to make any real improvements to The Tub. After all, who needs a bigger stadium if you don't sell out and you average 5,000 under capacity?

I don't see Delaware going anywhere anytime soon unless our hand is forced in some way. The current administration seems content with stagnation.

I certainly agree with many of your points and there is a lot of frustration from the fan base...however, the economy plays a lot in this as well. People cut back on things they don't need. The NY Giants had a 65 year waiting list for season tickets, since the new stadium and ticket costs, it's vanished. Once things go back to normal, you'll see the crowds return. It's a great program with no in state competition. I love the fact that they focus on the academics of our school. They're are a lot of great football programs and ther are a lot of great academic programs...there are very few great academic and great football programs...have faith.

[State Line Liquors]

My earlier point is that the U's capital expenditures will be tied up in this thing for decades, at the expense of our (or at least my) beloved football.

They're still doing the demo right now, so I don't think anyone knows what all is in the ground there just yet.

Nobody knows what is in the ground there yet, but we know for sure that football will suffer at the expense of the project that to this point has paid for itself? ...does not compute.

But in all seriousness, I can appreciate and deep down agree with wanting us to sink a ton of jack into football. But if every other sum of money in the capital budget (despite revenue sources coming from plethora of grants) is going to be considered as a dollar for dollar loss to something for the football team you and I are both bound to be heavily disappointed in the long run. I've hedged my expectations in the short run until this seating realignment is done and the budget cuts from the state stop, or at least the State cuts continue enough until the U decides it's time to scrap the 'commitment to Delawareans' that they're losing money on.

Ancilliary point, but genuine question: Was that 'or at least my' beloved football remark intended as some kind of swipe? Hopefully I'm just misinterpreting.


As for the original topic, Delaware is capable and more capable of making the hop than anyone else in the conference. We've been capable of it for years. Just don't expect some lame-o study from us confirming it. It's obvious we can afford it. We spend more money on athletics than anyone else in the CAA, and we could probably probably spend it alot more wisely if we had 22 more football scholarships.

[93henfan]

Ancilliary point, but genuine question: Was that 'or at least my' beloved football remark intended as some kind of swipe? Hopefully I'm just misinterpreting.

No, not a direct swipe at you, but rather a swipe at the collective group of rah-rah sis boom bah people on GoHens that care more about everything but football at UD than football itself.

Many disagree with my particular take, but that take is that I am a UD football fan and season ticket holder first and foremost. When I send in my UDAF donation, I write in that it is to go to "FOOTBALL". I don't want it spread around to people throwing javelins, or synchronized swimming, or whatever the fuck else non-football players are doing at UD. Hopefully those sports have people that care about them, because I don't. I only care about UD football. That pisses off a lot of the well-rounded men on GoHens. They can below me.

[AppMan]

I can't believe with the type of success Delaware Football has had with players in the NFL, appearances in National Championship games, frequent contender for conference championships is actually losing attendance and donor money.

If you aren't moving forward you're going backward and it appears to me UD football has been treading water for quite a while in a lot of areas.