Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

LHU Relieves Kelling of HC Duties.

Collapse

Support The Site!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #31
    Originally posted by Fightingscot82 View Post

    Something off the field has to be it. The AD has been there for a few years so its not like its a matter of new guy wants his own hire or thinks he can do something better. Has to be something inside the department or something about Kelling & Sprague performance. Kelling's wife is letting them have it though! My worry is that this doesn't reverse the trend of players leaving after 1-2 years or the lack of alumni & community buy-in. Just before the release went out there were players sharing their Lock Haven offers online and thanking Kelling and Sprague. Without any more details (and we're unlikely to get any) this just hits strange.
    Today will be LH portal day.

    Comment


    • #32
      Originally posted by iupgroundhog View Post
      At least LHU's Wrestling team put up a good showing against Big 10 Michigan State tonight, losing 19-17. The Spartans came through with a victory at Heavyweight to take their first lead and win the match. Somewhat offsets the Bald Eagles football ills.
      Wrestling has been something Lock Haven has featured for decades, certainly more than football. Maybe that is part of their football problem.

      Comment


      • #33
        Originally posted by Ship69 View Post

        Wrestling has been something Lock Haven has featured for decades, certainly more than football. Maybe that is part of their football problem.
        Totally their football problem. Similar to Bloom, Clarion & Edinboro. Most PSAC schools have two major attendance-drawing men's sports, football and basketball. Bloomsburg, Clarion, Edinboro, & Lock Haven have three. Playing up at D1 also means more travel, more tournaments, etc. but it also means more financial support. There's a greater sense of urgency to support a program playing up than a ho-hum D2 program - but it comes at the detriment of football & basketball. If anyone has 3 kids they know what its like versus if they had just 2 kids.

        Comment


        • #34
          Originally posted by Fightingscot82 View Post

          Totally their football problem. Similar to Bloom, Clarion & Edinboro. Most PSAC schools have two major attendance-drawing men's sports, football and basketball. Bloomsburg, Clarion, Edinboro, & Lock Haven have three. Playing up at D1 also means more travel, more tournaments, etc. but it also means more financial support. There's a greater sense of urgency to support a program playing up than a ho-hum D2 program - but it comes at the detriment of football & basketball. If anyone has 3 kids they know what its like versus if they had just 2 kids.
          By choice, according to your model, LHU has 4 if you include Women's Field Hockey , also D1. Luckily, there is something called diversity in the world and all athletic programs are not the same. Trust me, as someone who grew up in LH and has been a fervent Bald Eagle Wrestling fan for over 50 years, LHU isn't going to give up having a major wrestling program in exchange for a couple more wins in football each year. That's not who they are.

          As for FH, that D1 program is a legacy from the overall strong women's athletics they have had in many sports for decades (actually going back to before the Ms. Taylor era). Generally, there is a lot of pressure from the women's side, e.g. the boys have their D1 program so the girls should, too. And that's the way it is. Just like the difference between D1 and D2 in football, that difference exists in these other sports, too. I have no problem with LHU's athletics being structured the way it is. They are the only D2 affiliated school that has two D1 sports. They don't want to give that up. Now, who knows how the triad evolves and what it will mean for athletics.

          Comment


          • #35
            Originally posted by iupgroundhog View Post

            By choice, according to your model, LHU has 4 if you include Women's Field Hockey , also D1. Luckily, there is something called diversity in the world and all athletic programs are not the same. Trust me, as someone who grew up in LH and has been a fervent Bald Eagle Wrestling fan for over 50 years, LHU isn't going to give up having a major wrestling program in exchange for a couple more wins in football each year. That's not who they are.

            As for FH, that D1 program is a legacy from the overall strong women's athletics they have had in many sports for decades (actually going back to before the Ms. Taylor era). Generally, there is a lot of pressure from the women's side, e.g. the boys have their D1 program so the girls should, too. And that's the way it is. Just like the difference between D1 and D2 in football, that difference exists in these other sports, too. I have no problem with LHU's athletics being structured the way it is. They are the only D2 affiliated school that has two D1 sports. They don't want to give that up. Now, who knows how the triad evolves and what it will mean for athletics.
            Totally agree. In the mid-80s when Edinboro decided to go D1 in wrestling, it was to the detriment of men's basketball and baseball. When Bruce became AD and elevated them even more, he cut sports & pushed resources from football to boost wrestling. I'd rather be back on the level Edinboro football was in the 80s and 90s, but I can't say it would increase Edinboro's profile the way wrestling has. Its also something somewhat unique to Edinboro. Rural PA does love their wrestling, especially NWPA. I still meet a lot of people who tell me their only time on Edinboro's campus was for a wrestling camp.

            My hope is that the four schools with D1 wrestling (all coincidentally involved in mergers) can figure out a way to preserve solid D1 wrestling while also finding additional resources for football (and basketball). The IUP & Cal model doesn't exactly work as effectively because you're splitting 3 ways instead of 2 (what I was trying to get at before). There are a lot of bitter alumni at schools that have cut wrestling (understandably) but those schools have also significantly increased their profile in other sports. Cal - football, IUP - basketball, SRU - football and at the D1 level, Duquesne - football, Miami U - hockey.

            Comment


            • #36
              Originally posted by iupgroundhog View Post

              By choice, according to your model, LHU has 4 if you include Women's Field Hockey , also D1. Luckily, there is something called diversity in the world and all athletic programs are not the same. Trust me, as someone who grew up in LH and has been a fervent Bald Eagle Wrestling fan for over 50 years, LHU isn't going to give up having a major wrestling program in exchange for a couple more wins in football each year. That's not who they are.

              As for FH, that D1 program is a legacy from the overall strong women's athletics they have had in many sports for decades (actually going back to before the Ms. Taylor era). Generally, there is a lot of pressure from the women's side, e.g. the boys have their D1 program so the girls should, too. And that's the way it is. Just like the difference between D1 and D2 in football, that difference exists in these other sports, too. I have no problem with LHU's athletics being structured the way it is. They are the only D2 affiliated school that has two D1 sports. They don't want to give that up. Now, who knows how the triad evolves and what it will mean for athletics.
              http://www.indianagazette.com
              www.twitter.com/MattBurglund

              Comment


              • #37
                Originally posted by iupgroundhog View Post

                By choice, according to your model, LHU has 4 if you include Women's Field Hockey , also D1. Luckily, there is something called diversity in the world and all athletic programs are not the same. Trust me, as someone who grew up in LH and has been a fervent Bald Eagle Wrestling fan for over 50 years, LHU isn't going to give up having a major wrestling program in exchange for a couple more wins in football each year. That's not who they are.

                As for FH, that D1 program is a legacy from the overall strong women's athletics they have had in many sports for decades (actually going back to before the Ms. Taylor era). Generally, there is a lot of pressure from the women's side, e.g. the boys have their D1 program so the girls should, too. And that's the way it is. Just like the difference between D1 and D2 in football, that difference exists in these other sports, too. I have no problem with LHU's athletics being structured the way it is. They are the only D2 affiliated school that has two D1 sports. They don't want to give that up. Now, who knows how the triad evolves and what it will mean for athletics.
                I like the fact that LHU plays D1 FH as opposed to the sham D2 version. A college sport with 36 teams should not be eligible for a so called National Championship. Of the 36 teams in D2 field hockey 11 are PSAC and 11 in the NE10. Winning the league title is impressive and rewarding. Having a NC tournament between two leagues and assorted others shouldn't be a thing.

                Comment


                • #38
                  Exactly. And in these small markets, who is ever going to put the president or AD on record answering that question? Or even having them publicly outline their vision for the program? If the answer is to just have a stabile program regardless of success (and reap the annual reward in tuition revenue) then they should have kept Kelling. Or Taynor. Or Klacik.

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    There is a difference between making statements and taking action. You could say that the coaching change itself is "moving in a different direction", which is just a standard, meaningless phrase.

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      As LH plays 'up' in two sports ... could they play 'down' in football (and move to D3)?

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Originally posted by IUPbigINDIANS View Post

                        As LH plays 'up' in two sports ... could they play 'down' in football (and move to D3)?
                        I don't think so.
                        http://www.indianagazette.com
                        www.twitter.com/MattBurglund

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Will be difficult to find a head coach to take this job, especially with the lack of scholarships.

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Originally posted by ShoNuff View Post

                            Will be difficult to find a head coach to take this job, especially with the lack of scholarships.
                            I don' know if it's the lack of scholarships or the losing tradition. Maybe Bloom's Sheptock can coach both teams. They share a President.

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Originally posted by iupgroundhog View Post

                              Hopefully, for LHU's sake, there isn't some kind of violation involved. It makes me wonder, though.
                              My guess he was pushing for more scholarships and a bigger slice of the athletic pie. I've read some say he was fighting for the players and the administration didn't care. It's interesting that their football page had headlines stating a D2 Scholarship Program and players were tweeting they were offered and accepting scholarship offers to attend LHU, when they have so few to offer.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Originally posted by Bart View Post

                                My guess he was pushing for more scholarships and a bigger slice of the athletic pie. I've read some say he was fighting for the players and the administration didn't care. It's interesting that their football page had headlines stating a D2 Scholarship Program and players were tweeting they were offered and accepting scholarship offers to attend LHU, when they have so few to offer.
                                If that's the case I think he should have understood the financial situation when he took the job. Plus, the scholarship situation is now his responsibility to deal with, right?

                                The program is definitely spinning its wheels. As I recall, they had an interim coach before they hired Kelling. The guy was an assistant coach and I believe had been named D2 Asst. Coach of the Year or some such national honor. He had been in charge of recruiting and seemed like a great candidate to inherit the program but they hired Kelling.and the interim guy went elsewhere.

                                Comment

                                Ad3

                                Collapse
                                Working...
                                X