New Regional Rankings

[IUPNation]

Re: New Regional Rankings

If the IUPNation ever hits the lottery...in addition to fully funding all of IUP athletics so that they are so far ahead of everyone else....he will donate the necessary money so that the home side of The Cig can be fully renovated or replaced entirely and the have in place the luxurious and state of the art Jack Benedict Press Box.

...and I'd make sure we'd have another new video board that would be bigger than Grand Valley's.

[ctrabs74]

Re: New Regional Rankings

I don't know that any of them have a 'wow' factor like Chambersburg and Pine-Richland, but I think Downingtown has a great stadium.

When I moved here, I was actually surprised schools with pedigrees like Neshaminy, North Penn and Coatesville don't have nicer stadiums. But honestly, I would put them all above NDC. Why? Because they have visitor bleachers. Plus, that NDC field reminds me too much of Gannon. I played one game at Gannon and still hate that place.

If you knew how economically distressed some parts of the Coatesville Area School District are, you'd understand why their stadium isn't exactly the Taj Mahal (though, to be fair, it's still better than some of the stadiums in the PSAC from my recollection).

[ctrabs74]

Re: New Regional Rankings

Add to it all newspapers have cut staff way back. Half of 20 years ago. So, the reporters they are sending out on Saturday are headed to Morgantown, State College and Pitt. You'll see some Duquesne coverage by stringers (occasionally).

Some smaller papers like the Indiana Gazette do a great job with IUP football and basketball. Others, like the Erie paper (which has three PSAC teams) barely covers the games. Usually one a weekend and certainly not on the road. And, no, printing the blurb from the SID office is not 'covering' the game.

Gannon basketball fans were furious the past several years. They rarely even get covered much anymore and used to be the biggest ticket in Erie.

But, major media, ... forget about it. You're living in a click world.

I seem to recall one of the Erie writers who covered the PSAC schools semi-regularly ended up taking a job in Alabama a few years ago.

[ctrabs74]

Re: New Regional Rankings

If the IUPNation ever hits the lottery...in addition to fully funding all of IUP athletics so that they are so far ahead of everyone else....he will donate the necessary money so that the home side of The Cig can be fully renovated or replaced entirely and the have in place the luxurious and state of the art Jack Benedict Press Box.

...and I'd make sure we'd have another new video board that would be bigger than Grand Valley's.

Maybe you could get IUP to move up to D1, just like Grand Valley. :smile-big:

[jrshooter]

Re: New Regional Rankings

This is so true. I'm no longer a subscriber to DK on Pittsburgh Sports, but I used to be. Two years ago I direct messaged with him back and forth on twitter to get him to send a reporter down to the IUP-Cal playoff game. He about laughed at me. This is coming from a guy who runs a site that covers some of the most obscure sporting events you can find. He's got full time people covering the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL. He treats Robert Morris hockey as though we are in the college hockey hotbed of Boston with BU and BC. This is a guy that acts like the Pittsburgh Riverhounds are playing for a shot at the English Premier League. He's got full timers to cover non-revenue sports at Pitt, PSU, WVU, and Duq.

So what's my point? DK probably has the widest range of sports coverage a fan can ask for, and the most in depth too. The coverage and content offering far exceeds what any of the local outlets offer. He covers more obscure sporting events than anybody else. If there was ever a media outlet to give legitimate coverage to a local collegiate football playoff clash between two rival programs, that was it. The last message he sent me went exactly like this, "We cover what our subscribers want. Nobody wants Division 2 football."

This is just another case of people thinking D2 football is bigger than what it is. At least in PA.

And you're talking about a Pittsburgh-based website. Believe it or not, there's a whole lot more media out there in the state than Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Harrisburg, and it moves the needle, too.

Chambersburg, 11 miles away, does nothing with Shippensburg. The Pocono Record, from what I can see, uses the East Stroudsburg SID's releases verbatim. Tales like these probably cover every school in the conference, and there was a time, not that long ago, that all these entities were staffing PSAC football games. It seems as though the Indiana Gazette is the only daily that gives their local D-II school its due.

[Fightingscot82]

Re: New Regional Rankings

I seem to recall one of the Erie writers who covered the PSAC schools semi-regularly ended up taking a job in Alabama a few years ago.

Duane Rankin? I think that was his name.

[EastStroud13]

Re: New Regional Rankings

Chambersburg, 11 miles away, does nothing with Shippensburg. The Pocono Record, from what I can see, uses the East Stroudsburg SID's releases verbatim. Tales like these probably cover every school in the conference, and there was a time, not that long ago, that all these entities were staffing PSAC football games. It seems as though the Indiana Gazette is the only daily that gives their local D-II school its due.

Yep, checking now you are right about that. But they do supplement the releases with their own articles, usually in the form of a preview article, a couple in-season updates, and postseason/end-of-season content.

[jrshooter]

Re: New Regional Rankings

Yep, checking now you are right about that. But they do supplement the releases with their own articles, usually in the form of a preview article, a couple in-season updates, and postseason/end-of-season content.

And, you know, I'll give them points for that. It's more than most local papers are doing.

What the major-city outlets do, I couldn't care less. Let them have their pros and FBS. The yinzers sometimes get "Big Apple syndrome," think Pittsburgh is the center of some universe. It's not.

[IUPNation]

If you knew how economically distressed some parts of the Coatesville Area School District are, you'd understand why their stadium isn't exactly the Taj Mahal (though, to be fair, it's still better than some of the stadiums in the PSAC from my recollection).

[IUPNation]

Maybe you could get IUP to move up to D1, just like Grand Valley. :smile-big:

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: New Regional Rankings

And, you know, I'll give them points for that. It's more than most local papers are doing.

What the major-city outlets do, I couldn't care less. Let them have their pros and FBS. The yinzers sometimes get "Big Apple syndrome," think Pittsburgh is the center of some universe. It's not.

The problem with that premise is the 'little' papers aren't going to be around much longer. They are vanishing by the month.

[IUPNation]

The problem with that premise is the 'little' papers aren't going to be around much longer. They are vanishing by the month.

The Indiana Gazette seems to be holding on...

[Matt Burglund]

Re: New Regional Rankings

there was a time, not that long ago, that all these entities were staffing PSAC football games. It seems as though the Indiana Gazette is the only daily that gives their local D-II school its due.

Yup.

It's sad that I've lost track of the number of places I've been to in the PSAC where I'm the only newspaper reporter there.

[jrshooter]

Re: New Regional Rankings

Yup.

It's sad that I've lost track of the number of places I've been to in the PSAC where I'm the only newspaper reporter there.

Well, count me as a fan of yourself -- and Tony C., a former co-worker -- for what you do. Even if it's for IUP. :wink:

[NE10Fan]

Re: New Regional Rankings

No doubt. As I recall Assumption took out a PSAC school last year up in New England. Slips my mind who it was.

PSAC and a GMAC (Findlay) and was pretty even with IUP in Stewartville. Ahh... the good old days.