THE IUP Football Thread

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Don’t care about stadium talk and building talk, I have heard another transfer big fish has landed at Miller Stadium…can’t wait for September Football….just sayin

That's the rumor.

If true, this is an exciting one.

[IUPNation]

We don't need to be picky. Fill the campus up with anybody who can provide a check that will clear. LOL. Fix this crisis and then get more selective.

10K for room and board is the biggest problem. That’s was three years of tuition in the 80’s.

[IUPNation]

Atwater one of worst of all time. Total clown.

IUP hasn’t had a good President since Welty left…

[Iupgh]

Well, there was a change at Miller this Spring. That big row of pine (type) trees behind the visitors' bleachers was all removed.

Now ... that big, ugly chain-link fence we all hate is even more visible.

Don’t care about stadium talk and building talk, I have heard another transfer big fish has landed at Miller Stadium…can’t wait for September Football….just sayin

[Iupgh]

True. IUP should have gone D1 when they had the chance. Maybe Tony Atwater was on to something with his front porch bit.

Atwater one of worst of all time. Total clown.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Silly Yinzers can’t appreciate the gems amongst them…

IUP doesn’t have a bad reputation where the high schools still have kids in this state. Look east IUP admissions …look east. Fill the campus up with Iggles fans…

We don't need to be picky. Fill the campus up with anybody who can provide a check that will clear. LOL. Fix this crisis and then get more selective.

[IUPNation]

We'll agree to disagree on that one. IUP has a terrible reputation in Western Pennsylvania. The past is mostly to blame, but the school has never been able to shake that stigma. The reputation also makes IUP an easy target.

As for Indiana (and Indiana County), IUP has shrunk so much it's pretty much its own little world. The locals and campus folk don't mingle much these days. I live in Indiana but only go near campus for football and basketball games (and you sure as hell don't see many students at those). On the positive, they've had a couple-year stretch here of no student deaths, shootings or other newsworthy embarrassing events.

Perhaps the change to more respected academic programs will help in the coming decade. In the 'diploma factory' era of the 80s and 90s, IUP had more worthless majors here than one could count -- and the academic standards of a high school summer school program.

Silly Yinzers can’t appreciate the gems amongst them…

IUP doesn’t have a bad reputation where the high schools still have kids in this state. Look east IUP admissions …look east. Fill the campus up with Iggles fans…

[IUPbigINDIANS]

There are a lot of variables to play out and even us posters with our advanced vision can't project where it all ends up IUP isn't even in their building yet.

Not to get personal but I will reiterate a couple of points. You always accentuate the "education school" heritage of the PASSHE. However, none of the IUP faithful went to an "education school." Don't forget that IUP was a comprehensive university from the mid-1960's. You weren't there so you don't have an appreciation for that. As for BigIndians party school, low academics image I think that is much truer in Indiana County than outside of Indiana County.

We'll agree to disagree on that one. IUP has a terrible reputation in Western Pennsylvania. The past is mostly to blame, but the school has never been able to shake that stigma. The reputation also makes IUP an easy target.

As for Indiana (and Indiana County), IUP has shrunk so much it's pretty much its own little world. The locals and campus folk don't mingle much these days. I live in Indiana but only go near campus for football and basketball games (and you sure as hell don't see many students at those). On the positive, they've had a couple-year stretch here of no student deaths, shootings or other newsworthy embarrassing events.

Perhaps the change to more respected academic programs will help in the coming decade. In the 'diploma factory' era of the 80s and 90s, IUP had more worthless majors here than one could count -- and the academic standards of a high school summer school program.

[Ship69]

Ship had a benefactor for their engineering program, plus it's been in the works for many years. The SRU situation is more mysterious. Are they trying to be all things to all people?

The benefactor at Ship came along relatively late in the process. It certainly helped. There are some heavy industries in the area (Volvo, Manitowac Crane, etc.) that offer some good interning opportunities. The funding stagnation from Harrisburg is currently putting a dent in plans to renovate the Franklin Science Center at Ship. They are going to proceed using the funds available, but currently don't have the money to do as much as they wanted.

[iupgroundhog]

There are also a lot of low information families who somehow believe that academic quality is tied to athletics classification, so IUP being D2 must be a second-rate education.

True. IUP should have gone D1 when they had the chance. Maybe Tony Atwater was on to something with his front porch bit.

[Fightingscot82]

There are a lot of variables to play out and even us posters with our advanced vision can't project where it all ends up IUP isn't even in their building yet.

Not to get personal but I will reiterate a couple of points. You always accentuate the "education school" heritage of the PASSHE. However, none of the IUP faithful went to an "education school." Don't forget that IUP was a comprehensive university from the mid-1960's. You weren't there so you don't have an appreciation for that. As for BigIndians party school, low academics image I think that is much truer in Indiana County than outside of Indiana County.

IUP is definitely viewed as a party school with low academic standards outside of Indiana County. Some of that is deflection and projection by other schools, but a lot of people view IUP with a little more hesitation than others. When I worked at RMU administrators would always joke about when students get kicked out, they transfer to IUP. In reality I saw more get in at D2 and D3 privates than state schools after they were kicked out. There are also a lot of low information families who somehow believe that academic quality is tied to athletics classification, so IUP being D2 must be a second-rate education.

[iupgroundhog]

IUP wins if they can sell themselves as an incredible research program at a much lower cost than the others. Hard sciences often require some advanced study to do the actual field work - IUP can get them to the big name school just as well without the bigger loan. IUP has some very successful alumni who leveraged their IUP experience for something bigger. Its proof that the value proposition works. Really, that's all of our schools, but "Great things happen here!" slogans don't differentiate you from all the other BS (not saying IUP does this).

There are a lot of variables to play out and even us posters with our advanced vision can't project where it all ends up IUP isn't even in their building yet.

Not to get personal but I will reiterate a couple of points. You always accentuate the "education school" heritage of the PASSHE. However, none of the IUP faithful went to an "education school." Don't forget that IUP was a comprehensive university from the mid-1960's. You weren't there so you don't have an appreciation for that. As for BigIndians party school, low academics image I think that is much truer in Indiana County than outside of Indiana County.

[Fightingscot82]

Good answer. My hope is that the new Kopchick building produces a 21st-century version of Gatorade that benefits IUP for generations. My fear is that there is a dinosaur named after Kopchick and the same does not apply to IUP.

IUP wins if they can sell themselves as an incredible research program at a much lower cost than the others. Hard sciences often require some advanced study to do the actual field work - IUP can get them to the big name school just as well without the bigger loan. IUP has some very successful alumni who leveraged their IUP experience for something bigger. Its proof that the value proposition works. Really, that's all of our schools, but "Great things happen here!" slogans don't differentiate you from all the other BS (not saying IUP does this).

[iupgroundhog]

No, SRU is realigning to meet market demand in SWPA: health professions, business, engineering & science. The engineering program was a build-out of pre-existing 2+2 and 3+2 agreements with Penn State, Pitt, and WVU. Its been expensive and there have been accusations about the cost but enrollment is soaring. I think the distinction with IUP is that a) SRU is building out a School of Engineering vs a department at IUP, and b) IUP is focusing on a research approach to science.

Good answer. My hope is that the new Kopchick building produces a 21st-century version of Gatorade that benefits IUP for generations. My fear is that there is a dinosaur named after Kopchick and the same does not apply to IUP.

[Fightingscot82]

It's amazing to think the two schools are about the same size now. I guess I was at IUP during the golden years of enrollment when IUP was at least double the size of SRU. Hell, that wasn't THAT long ago.

IUP's reputation is still garbage, academically. I know IUP does well in the PR-type rankings, but I'm talking 'street' reputation.

Western PA is full of parents with ties to IUP who now have college-aged kids. They all remember the 80s and 90s at IUP. I know many personally who didn't even consider letting their kids come here because of their memories (or lack there of) of the place.

IUP today isn't even remotely like it was back then. It's a pretty calm, normal school now. But, IUP has never escaped the stigma from that era. Its reputation among people my age ... who experienced the hey day of, well, IUP, is God awful.

I was just talking to a friend of my parents over the weekend who went to IUP and is a retired teacher. She didn't believe me that IUP is now under 9,000 students and less than 20% study education. I showed her online and her jaw dropped. She was like "well they aren't telling anybody this!" WHY WOULD THEY?

I think SRU's growth in the health professions helped a lot. Dr. Evil also was a boon to the safety science program. He was also a tenured professor in that department and would encourage A LOT of football players to study safety. Slip is also a much tinier and sleepier town. Its a thoroughfare cutting the corners between the Ohio Line and Butler and Grove City as much as it is college town. Being dry until 20 years ago helped keep the off campus culture tame and the school out of the news. IUP has Pittsburgh news covering it but also the Altoona/Johnstown/State College station. The Butler Eagle reports on SRU but doesn't have it as a staff assignment like the IG.

I also don't think IUP's reputation is much worse (if at all) than other PASSHE schools. We were all debauched party schools in the 70s through 90s. We've always had rather passive admission with a similar amount failing out or running out of money. Several D2 schools some of us would recognize have state mandated open admissions but you'd never know it - but for some reason giving a chance to anyone with a 2.5 and 900 SAT is not worthy of respect. We've always been the middle and working class entry level university. Most states have a similar attitude toward their D2 and D3 state schools with maybe the exception of Grand Valley State in Michigan and some SUNY schools like Brockport and Geneseo. Even Stony Brook has trouble shaking their state school designation.

We are all getting killed by decreased birth rates because we can't have more admission days in Florida and California. We're also getting it from the privates giving 50-60% discounts on tuition and selling that discount very well to families who view private schools as a rich thing and never could have afforded to send little Brayden to the local St. Grabbyhands Country Day School Academy. "Thiel really wants my Brayden - they're offering him $100,000 in scholarships! I went to IUP and can you believe it that they didn't even give him $500 off!"