Consolidation Conference

[boatcapt]

As a long-time ACC fan ... still can't believe they left.

MD just always seemed to be right at the door step of taking that giant step in football but we only ever saw flashes here and there.

Yea...MD in the Big 10 still doesn't feel right. Miss the games on tobacco road and the basketball rivalry with Duke was INTENSE! Many times I left Cole so horse I couldn't talk after SCREAMING DUKE SUCKS and F*CK DUKE all game long!!

It had always come down to recruiting. The DMV is considered by many to be one of the top 5 recruting places in the nation after FL, Cali, TX and I think Alabama. I'm not a big fan of Locksley but he is supposed to be a great recruiter with the DMV being his prime wheel house. He has a couple of big gets so far so well see if he can keep the local 4 and 5 star recruits home. If he can, Maryland has potential to be really good.

While our deep pocketed donor has caused the coaching mess at MD...the positive side of his giving is that Marylands football facilities are first rate only laging slightly behind the likes of Bama, Ohio State and Oregon.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I heard that. Big donors can be great (money can really help a program) but can also really hurt a program. Rumor among us WLU fans is that the reason our football coach has been permitted to stay on the job after years of ball shriveling abject failure is his friendship with our big donor. Another example is the Univ of MD and their "cash cow" donor Plank (founder of Under Armor). He was insturmental in getting Ralph Fridgen fired as the football HC even though "Fridge" has the Terps in a bowl almost every year and getting the train wreck known as Randy Edsel hired. Maryland was the first and marque Under Armor sponsored school and Plank wanted a HC that would look good in TV commercials...Let's just say Fridge came by his nickname honestly!!

As a long-time ACC fan ... still can't believe they left.

MD just always seemed to be right at the door step of taking that giant step in football but we only ever saw flashes here and there.

[boatcapt]

If you ever want a prime example of how badly the 'high profile' donors can F up an athletic program ... look no further than Pitt. They call the shots in Oakland. Heather Lyke essentially works from them.

I heard that. Big donors can be great (money can really help a program) but can also really hurt a program. Rumor among us WLU fans is that the reason our football coach has been permitted to stay on the job after years of ball shriveling abject failure is his friendship with our big donor. Another example is the Univ of MD and their "cash cow" donor Plank (founder of Under Armor). He was insturmental in getting Ralph Fridgen fired as the football HC even though "Fridge" has the Terps in a bowl almost every year and getting the train wreck known as Randy Edsel hired. Maryland was the first and marque Under Armor sponsored school and Plank wanted a HC that would look good in TV commercials...Let's just say Fridge came by his nickname honestly!!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

If you ever want a prime example of how badly the 'high profile' donors can F up an athletic program ... look no further than Pitt. They call the shots in Oakland. Heather Lyke essentially works from them.

[boatcapt]

This is a re-write of my previously deleted post. I didn't feel it was appropriate to include names:

Yes, indeed. I lived in a local area of MD between 2015 and 18. While there, I was involved in high school athletics. One of the schools in my area had an AD who had worked in the Shepherd athletic office in the 2010-15 time frame. We became friends of a sort...maybe not best buddies, but someone you could have truthful conversations with. We talked more than a few times about Shepherd, the WVIAC break-up, how the MEC was formed as well as WLU (big fan of their basketball program...very confused about their football program!). To paraphrase several conversations over the course of several years, this person said that Shepherd was very happy being one of the founding members of the MEC. After the UVa-Wise debacle, this person had initially advocated that the WVIAC develop a formula for athletic department budgets for member schools that insured a comperable level of commitment among the member schools but that when that was voted down by the non-football playing schools, it became clear that the only option was for the football schools to leave the WVIAC and form their own conference. That the new conference received a lot of inquiries from some pretty surprizing places in OH, PA, MD and VA and that the at that point the MEC probably could have gone to 16+ schools. That the decision was made to stick to 12 members all playing football. Knowing I was a fan of WLU, this person provided that Wheeling was indeed sponsored by WLU due to their intense basketball rivalry. My source said that Wheeling not only committed to starting football, but that the commitment was that they would start the process within one year of joining the MEC. Once in the conference, they began lobbying for the conference to provide them money so they could start football.

On several occasions I asked about new teams coming to the MEC and the possibility of teams leaving. This person said in general that the MEC had established a non-interfear process in that they wouldn't actively solicit new members instead relying on schools to contact them if they wanted to join. My source said that in general, it was common for schools and conferences to put out feelers to each other even though neither had any real desire to have the school join (conference) or for the school to leave. Source said these were like contingency plans so if something grave happened, the school or conference at least had contact numbers. My friend said the GMAC was the MOST aggressive, out and out inviting schools to join even if the school had said it had no interested. He said that was considered very bad form by the other area conferences including the MEC. This person relayed one conversation they overheard between the MEC commish and the GMAC's that was very heated concering the GMAC's on going and aggressive offers to NDC and Urbana. Concerning Shepherd specifically, said that while he/she was there there was no desire on Shepherds part to leave the MEC but that there were a couple of influental donors that were constantly beating that drum. He said that these donors had gotten in the ear of the new President big time when she was hired and that that was largely the reason a new AD was hired (who whole heartedly supported Shepherd moving to the PSAC). I called my source when Shepherd possibly moving to the PSAC story popped up. source said that it was a shock to them because during the time he/she was at Shepherd, beyond the two vocal donors, this was not even on the radar. Sources opinion was that this was all the new AD's and the two donors who convinced the school president that moving to the PSAC was a good idea.

[boatcapt]

Money always talks. Just a guess but if your infamous Mr. West down on the Hilltop wanted to leave the MEC ... WLU would be leaving the MEC.

That is certainly possible. And I wouldn't be surprised if after the fact there weren't posters here saying that the PSAC had had interest in WLU for 15 years! I think we are conflating due diligance conversations that happen regularly between schools and conferences with active interest. Heck, I've been told of conversations WLU has had with D1 conferences going back to the early years of their basketball success. WLU dutifully took the call, asked questions and decided not to move forward. Does that mean a poster can say that WLU is actively considering moving to D1? Can these conferences say we have been "after" WLU for over 10 years? I guess if they are so inclined, but to do so would be to grossly overstate the level of interest by both parties.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Money always talks. Just a guess but if your infamous Mr. West down on the Hilltop wanted to leave the MEC ... WLU would be leaving the MEC.

[boatcapt]

No Boat. That doesn't make sense. You implied that the PSAC constantly poaches school, and poached Shepherd. I actually provided information on a conversation that I had with Steve Murrary, who told me 15 years ago Shepherd wanted into the PSAC. Shepherd wanted out long before the invitation was given to them. Your rhetoric towards the PSAC and false claims have no merit.

Thought better of this post so I deleted it.

[ESU Warrior]

Ok...Teams leaving the PSAC without the PSAC's knowledge.

No Boat. That doesn't make sense. You implied that the PSAC constantly poaches school, and poached Shepherd. I actually provided information on a conversation that I had with Steve Murrary, who told me 15 years ago Shepherd wanted into the PSAC. Shepherd wanted out long before the invitation was given to them. Your rhetoric towards the PSAC and false claims have no merit.

[boatcapt]

Correct. It doesn't mean that the conference is kicking schools out! Boat is just reaching.

Also, I would like his response to my conversation with Steve Murray long ago...

Ok...Teams leaving the PSAC without the PSAC's knowledge.

[CALUPA69]

i

As time has gone by, the PSAC has become less and less a PASSHE/Pennsylvania/public school conference. Up until the Mansfield situation, the PSAC was 100% PASSHE, 100% PA, 100% public and 100% football playing. After Mansfield stepped out of football and Post took their place, the PSAC was 93% PASSHE, 93% PA, 93% public and 93% football playing. Fast forward a couple of years to the Gannon/Seton Hill/UPJ/Hurst addition and Posts departure and the PSAC was 77% PASSHE, 100% PA, 77% public and 88% football playing. Fast forward to the Cheyney/Shepherd swap and the PSAC is now 72% PASSHE, 94% PA, 77% public and 88% football playing.

No one knows how or even if the PASSHE will be able to reach an agreements that affect sports, but it seems that most posters are in agreement that Clarion, Locke Haven and Mansfield are on the chopping block and perhaps Edinboro also. Also, some have speculated that the PSAC will try and plump it's ranks up by adding another out of state member in the form of NDC. Assuming all this comes to pass, the PSAC will stand at 60% PASSHE, 83% PA, and 93% of it's members playing football. I on the other hand, think that in addition to trimming four schools from the PASSHE athletic roles, the PSAC will trim one football playing non-PASSHE school as well as non-football UPJ to give it 12 members all playing football. In that senario PASSHE membership in the PSAC goes to 75%, PA representation goes to 100% ( 91% if they trim a school other than Shepherd) and 100% playing football. Nice tight conference were the expense of travel for the still cash strapped schools is reduced.

You laid out a number of interesting possibilities many of which I agree are viable. Which tends to confirm what I indicated about PSAC aggressive forward thinking in this time of major structural change. Consider this possibility. After 3 years of discussion the administration comes up with a radical consolidation plan that reduces by nearly half the number of schools in the system. Maybe they even decide to toss the tainted PASSHE name to who knows what and in response PSAC decides to separate and become the ESAC, EASTERN STATES ATHLETIC CONFERENCE. At that point Pa will simply be the center point from which to pursue members in PA, OH, WV, MD and NJ. There are a lot of targets in that geography. Once again I emphasize this is all highly unlikely, but I don't believe STEVE MURRAY is going to caught unprepared.

[ESU Warrior]

Correct. It doesn't mean that the conference is kicking schools out! Boat is just reaching.

Also, I would like his response to my conversation with Steve Murray long ago...

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Mansfield dropped the sport on their own accord! Their president did not want to fund it anymore. How is that the PSACs fault?

As far as Cheyney, everyone on this board would agree it was long past due that THEY DECIDED TO DE-FUND THEIR ATHLETIC PROGRAM. The university did, not the PSAC.

So once again, you claim the PSAC has a history of kicking teams to the curb. I gave you Post because both sides have evidence to prove the other wrong, but who else have they kicked to the curb? So two schools decide to de-fund programs. That is your rationale that the PSAC has had a history of kicking schools out?

Post was also essentially a mutually-agreed stop-gap for each side ... much like the MEC currently adding UNC-Pembroke for football. UNCP won't be there long but they fill a gap in the meantime.

[ESU Warrior]

Cheyney for all sports and Mansfield for football.

Mansfield dropped the sport on their own accord! Their president did not want to fund it anymore. How is that the PSACs fault?

As far as Cheyney, everyone on this board would agree it was long past due that THEY DECIDED TO DE-FUND THEIR ATHLETIC PROGRAM. The university did, not the PSAC.

So once again, you claim the PSAC has a history of kicking teams to the curb. I gave you Post because both sides have evidence to prove the other wrong, but who else have they kicked to the curb? So two schools decide to de-fund programs. That is your rationale that the PSAC has had a history of kicking schools out?

[boatcapt]

You're just speculating at this point. IUP has lost as many students as Edinboro since 2010 but they're not in your list because they've been winning on the football field. All but 5 of the 14 PASSHE schools have notified the professors union that they are exploring layoffs within the next year. Those five NOT exploring faculty layoffs are East Stroudsburg, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, and West Chester.

Hummm...Isn't speculation what this thread, and most of this message board about???