Bloomsburg Has A New Head Coach

[HuskyNation24]

Bloom kind of led us to believe that was the direction. In hindsight, though, this is where they are. I could be wrong about Bloom athletics. I base my observations on following them in football and wrestling and online conversations I've had with Bart, Blue Jay, and other Bloom folks.

I think Bloom has a vision for athletics that is in line with the school's overall mission. They want to compete. They want to make sure that the student-athlete concept is an important part of the university life. Believe it or not, they know they will both win and lose. They are happy with that.

There are other PSAC programs that only think about the winning part, my own alma mater included. That's ok and that's what we, as fans, spend the fall of the year talking about.

I don't think Bloom has that kind of win at all costs (possibly overstated) mentality.

Right now and in the foreseeable future I don't see Bloom beating out WCU, KU, or Shepherd in the east, not to mention ESU which is likely on the rise. The money they just received will help but they will need more.

In wrestling, I don't see how Bloom will compete in the MAC. I think they will be 15th out of 15 every year. The logical move will be to D2. I know you guys are talking about the team showing improvement but all of the other MAC East teams are improving more, even Cleveland State.

[Bart]

Bloom kind of led us to believe that was the direction. In hindsight, though, this is where they are. I could be wrong about Bloom athletics. I base my observations on following them in football and wrestling and online conversations I've had with Bart, Blue Jay, and other Bloom folks.

I think Bloom has a vision for athletics that is in line with the school's overall mission. They want to compete. They want to make sure that the student-athlete concept is an important part of the university life. Believe it or not, they know they will both win and lose. They are happy with that.

There are other PSAC programs that only think about the winning part, my own alma mater included. That's ok and that's what we, as fans, spend the fall of the year talking about.

I don't think Bloom has that kind of win at all costs (possibly overstated) mentality.

Right now and in the foreseeable future I don't see Bloom beating out WCU, KU, or Shepherd in the east, not to mention ESU which is likely on the rise. The money they just received will help but they will need more.

In wrestling, I don't see how Bloom will compete in the MAC. I think they will be 15th out of 15 every year. The logical move will be to D2. I know you guys are talking about the team showing improvement but all of the other MAC East teams are improving more, even Cleveland State.

You may be partly right in that Bloom athletics isn't seen as the "front porch" of the University. During the 1898-99 campaign, Bloomsburg basketball was named the second-best team in the country behind Yale University.
There was a time when Bloom played Penn State in football. It would be great if Bloom had continued to be that competitive. Universities change for various reasons. Look at Yale winning 27 National Championships in football, but not being competitive now. Sometimes other teams catch up, and getting involved in an arms race isn't their mission. It appears Bloom doesn't mind winning, but they want all athletic programs to be successful. It would take a lot of water to raise all boats at the same time.

If the coach can make a difference, there will be results, even at Bloom. It has happened in football, basketball, and wrestling during my lifetime. Coach Sheptock doesn't sound like someone who has penciled in losses to anyone.
Frank Sheptock? @SheptockFrank
2020 HUSKIES! Maximum Effort. Relentlessly pursuing championship goals. Are you in?
6:36 PM - 28 Dec 2019

[IUPbigINDIANS]

i don't get the 'win at all costs' vibe at IUP. I don't know if anybody has noticed but IUP has really been tougher on getting kids admitted than they were in the past. As a result, none of the three revenue teams have had ANY off the field trouble in at least 5 years.

Tom McConnell (women's coach) has built an empire with 4.0 GPA athletes. He won't even look at players with less than 3.8 GPA's. He literally recruits Girl Scouts. They don't party, etc. He has that program just loaded - and the results speak for themselves.

Joe Lombardi only takes high character players -- and good students. He's had one brush-up off the court in his 13-year tenure. No charges were ultimately filed. He takes very few one-year guys and still recruits a lot of high school players. His teams are very active in the community and are the most polular guys on campus.

In fact, one of the biggest current stars in the PSAC was passed over by Joe due to issues off the court. I won't mention the name but it isn't hard to figure out. He wanted to come here and Joe said no. Men's basketball in the 90s and early 00's ... totally different culture and behavior.

Tort lost a couple impact transfers they wanted to sign last year because Driscoll wouldn't sign off on them. They all ended up at other PSAC programs. The football program hasn't had any off the field issues in many, many years. That's the polar opposite of the 90s. Ironically, Tort's team behaves off the field. It just doesn't behave on the field.

So, 'win at all costs' probably isn't accurate. But, what is accurate is there is certainly an expectation to win. A lot. Tort is 31-6 with a Regional title in his 3 years and half the board thinks he's not a good coach. Now, as we've said many times, the 'non-revenue' sports here get treated like third-class citizens. Minus Men's Golf (which has become a huge powerhouse) and women's tennis ... the other sports' performances are very blah (at best). But, that's the decison IUP made and thus they get treated like enrollment boosters. Nobody cares if they lose.


As for SRU ... football drives the bus. Basketball doesn't move the needle there even though the men's side has had some success the past decade.

[Fightingscot82]

i don't get the 'win at all costs' vibe at IUP. I don't know if anybody has noticed but IUP has really been tougher on getting kids admitted than they were in the past. As a result, none of the three revenue teams have had ANY off the field trouble in at least 5 years.

Tom McConnell (women's coach) has built an empire with 4.0 GPA athletes. He won't even look at players with less than 3.8 GPA's. He literally recruits Girl Scouts. They don't party, etc. He has that program just loaded - and the results speak for themselves.

Joe Lombardi only takes high character players -- and good students. He's had one brush-up off the court in his 13-year tenure. No charges were ultimately filed. He takes very few one-year guys and still recruits a lot of high school players. His teams are very active in the community and are the most polular guys on campus.

In fact, one of the biggest current stars in the PSAC was passed over by Joe due to issues off the court. I won't mention the name but it isn't hard to figure out. He wanted to come here and Joe said no. Men's basketball in the 90s and early 00's ... totally different culture and behavior.

Tort lost a couple impact transfers they wanted to sign last year because Driscoll wouldn't sign off on them. They all ended up at other PSAC programs. The football program hasn't had any off the field issues in many, many years. That's the polar opposite of the 90s. Ironically, Tort's team behaves off the field. It just doesn't behave on the field.

So, 'win at all costs' probably isn't accurate. But, what is accurate is there is certainly an expectation to win. A lot. Tort is 31-6 with a Regional title in his 3 years and half the board thinks he's not a good coach. Now, as we've said many times, the 'non-revenue' sports here get treated like third-class citizens. Minus Men's Golf (which has become a huge powerhouse) and women's tennis ... the other sports' performances are very blah (at best). But, that's the decison IUP made and thus they get treated like enrollment boosters. Nobody cares if they lose.


As for SRU ... football drives the bus. Basketball doesn't move the needle there even though the men's side has had some success the past decade.

I think you'd be surprised at how much of that is luck. Also now coaches aren't afraid to threaten to kick a player off the team. Lastly, Driscoll doesn't have a word in transfer admissions. He could tell them to stop taking somebody else's screw ups but he couldn't name 2 transfer applicants.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think you'd be surprised at how much of that is luck. Also now coaches aren't afraid to threaten to kick a player off the team. Lastly, Driscoll doesn't have a word in transfer admissions. He could tell them to stop taking somebody else's screw ups but he couldn't name 2 transfer applicants.

Some is luck but they also aren't taking renegade jackasses anymore, either. Five years of no trouble off the field is five years. It is impressive.

[iupgroundhog]

So, 'win at all costs' probably isn't accurate. But, what is accurate is there is certainly an expectation to win. A lot.
.

That's what I meant. More of an emphasis on winning. Call it the "front porch" effect, if you like. It's good to know IUP places a value on character

[Fightingscot82]

Some is luck but they also aren't taking renegade jackasses anymore, either. Five years of no trouble off the field is five years. It is impressive.

No trouble in the local newspapers.

[ShoNuff]

No trouble in the local newspapers.

After the incident during 2015 Homecoming weekend there has been no trouble that made the newspaper...

[ShoNuff]

You may be partly right in that Bloom athletics isn't seen as the "front porch" of the University. During the 1898-99 campaign, Bloomsburg basketball was named the second-best team in the country behind Yale University.
There was a time when Bloom played Penn State in football. It would be great if Bloom had continued to be that competitive. Universities change for various reasons. Look at Yale winning 27 National Championships in football, but not being competitive now. Sometimes other teams catch up, and getting involved in an arms race isn't their mission. It appears Bloom doesn't mind winning, but they want all athletic programs to be successful. It would take a lot of water to raise all boats at the same time.

If the coach can make a difference, there will be results, even at Bloom. It has happened in football, basketball, and wrestling during my lifetime. Coach Sheptock doesn't sound like someone who has penciled in losses to anyone.
Frank Sheptock? @SheptockFrank
2020 HUSKIES! Maximum Effort. Relentlessly pursuing championship goals. Are you in?
6:36 PM - 28 Dec 2019

Any word on whether HC Sheptock will keep the current staff or will there be changes?

[Bart]

Any word on whether HC Sheptock will keep the current staff or will there be changes?

Looking at everyone's twitter, they're all still on board. I see coaches and some high school players re-twitting his statement. We shall see.