THE IUP Football Thread

[IUP24]

I don't think anybody actually expects them to win the Region yearly. History of late shows Cal has owned the series and SRU is about .500


I accept they won't sweep them yearly.

I don't accept, however, what I've watched this year. Losing to ESU (in that fashion) made me sick. Losing to Seton Hill is just embarrassing. Listening to every thing and person under the sun get blamed has been nauseating. Seeing a
talented team so aloof in attention to detail is maddening. Missing 9 extra points, etc , etc., etc.

When the congregation stops listening to the preacher ... you've got problems.

I'm not disagreeing with that whatsoever. It goes back to the sentiment of what I alluded to.. What are you doing when you aren't in position to really win? I'll accept not making the playoffs if it means you have a BIG year every 3-4 seasons.

I'm not speaking in a micro level pertaining to this year, rather at a macro of the region and how IUP fits into it.

I've never once said I don't think there should be a coaching change (whether that happens or not is an entirely different discussion). The timeout fiasco was laughable. The continued slow starts are tiresome. Getting boatraced in a huge game against your biggest rival is indefensible. The other consistent issues that are never fixed are alarming.

So... "What are you doing when you aren't in position to really win?" If this is the answer, that's bad. Really bad.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

They could just shut down the football program and go D1 in all of the remaining sports. Seems like there might be some support for that. Of course, we've looked into the D1 thing a couple of times in the past but maybe now is the time. What do you think?

They need a start-over. Tort and his good 'ol boy network needs to go. They got old. It happens. Regardless, it's time to exit the stage.

They'd be swimming in good applicants for that job -- highly likely to include many sitting PSAC HCs.

[Fightingscot82]

They could just shut down the football program and go D1 in all of the remaining sports. Seems like there might be some support for that. Of course, we've looked into the D1 thing a couple of times in the past but maybe now is the time. What do you think?

I'm not sure they have the money. There are scholarship minimums and any D1 conference that takes them will most likely be lowest level private schools who recruit with coupon codes instead of golf outing revenue and alumni donations. Redistribute IUP's 25ish football scholarships to the other sports and its possible they're high enough to make minimum funding levels. The other piece is travel. IUP has it pretty dang good that conference travel is no more than a 5 hour bus ride. Moving up will most likely blow up their usual travel budgets. A lot more overnight trips to Fairfield, Connecticut or Macomb, Illinois.

Scholarship wise its possible they could meet minimums and be competitive if they cut football and redistribute to other men's programs. Operationally, its possible that the additional March Madness revenue helps offset the increased travel. BUT - moving up usually hurts winning at least at first. Will IUP fans continue to throw money at IUP athletics a) without their more prominent sport, and b) if they aren't dominating?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'm not sure they have the money. There are scholarship minimums and any D1 conference that takes them will most likely be lowest level private schools who recruit with coupon codes instead of golf outing revenue and alumni donations. Redistribute IUP's 25ish football scholarships to the other sports and its possible they're high enough to make minimum funding levels. The other piece is travel. IUP has it pretty dang good that conference travel is no more than a 5 hour bus ride. Moving up will most likely blow up their usual travel budgets. A lot more overnight trips to Fairfield, Connecticut or Macomb, Illinois.

Scholarship wise its possible they could meet minimums and be competitive if they cut football and redistribute to other men's programs. Operationally, its possible that the additional March Madness revenue helps offset the increased travel. BUT - moving up usually hurts winning at least at first. Will IUP fans continue to throw money at IUP athletics a) without their more prominent sport, and b) if they aren't dominating?

Obviously they aren't dropping the sport but the real elephant in the room is the aging donor base. They aren't getting any younger. IUP Football has an extremely old core following.

How many donors has the Tort regime turned off? That's a major problem.

[Fightingscot82]

Obviously they aren't dropping the sport but the real elephant in the room is the aging donor base. They aren't getting any younger. IUP Football has an extremely old core following.

How many donors has the Tort regime turned off? That's a major problem.

They're going to experience what some schools like Clarion and Edinboro are experiencing now. Your most enthusiastic supporters don't have a lot of cash to give and most others aren't of generations that are likely to donate to their schools.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Some players respond to bad losses by spending a little extra time in the film room, or maybe taking out their frustration by throwing around some weights or doing drills well into the night. Others relieve the pressure by breaking and entering. From the Indiana Gazette:

On Sunday at 2:22 a.m., according to Indiana Borough Police, a [prominent IUP football player], of Indiana, broke into an occupied residence along the 200 block of South Seventh Street. [The player] was arraigned Sunday morning before Blairsville Magisterial District Judge Robert Steele Bell Sr. on criminal trespass and criminal mischief charges and released on $20,000 unsecured bond pending a preliminary hearing on Nov. 8 at 9 a.m.

I excluded the name in the 1% chance it’s someone else with the same name and age, but you can find it in today’s crime and punishment section. Must have been pretty serious to require $20,000 bond. Innocent until proven guilty, of course.

So, what are the legalities associated with these charges?

Criminal trespass is not the same as burglary (drastically less, if any, time up state). The article did state he 'broke in' to the residence. Recall last year we had a player kick in a door. I suppose that, too, was considered breaking in.


Based on the time (230am), I would hope he was just drunk as a skunk and wanted to crash a party. It could be as simple as the door was locked and he wanted inside. Of course, they obviously did call the police. He is quite a big dude.

I can say the accused is not a bad young man. Quite the opposite, actually, which makes this even worse.

Hopefully he can get this cleared up, do some community service and move along. The justice system works quite differently in Indiana for star athletes. Keep that in mind.

Not that it matters much, but I beleive Tort suspended Stewart just one game last year (naturally the game they lost in Erie).

[IUP24]

They're going to experience what some schools like Clarion and Edinboro are experiencing now. Your most enthusiastic supporters don't have a lot of cash to give and most others aren't of generations that are likely to donate to their schools.

I think the 40-60 age bracket is donating across the parking lot in the KCAC. That should be where they are focusing efforts to try to get program funds, while also finding ways to energize more young people to gain interest in the program.

Show students and young alumni a reason to be interested in the program and they are more likely to donate later. But as we’ve discussed at length, the “getting the students interested” part is an uphill battle.

[EyeoftheHawk]

So, what are the legalities associated with these charges?

Criminal trespass is not the same as burglary (drastically less, if any, time up state). The article did state he 'broke in' to the residence. Recall last year we had a player kick in a door. I suppose that, too, was considered breaking in.


Based on the time (230am), I would hope he was just drunk as a skunk and wanted to crash a party. It could be as simple as the door was locked and he wanted inside. Of course, they obviously did call the police. He is quite a big dude.

I can say the accused is not a bad young man. Quite the opposite, actually, which makes this even worse.

Hopefully he can get this cleared up, do some community service and move along. The justice system works quite differently in Indiana for star athletes. Keep that in mind.

Not that it matters much, but I beleive Tort suspended Stewart just one game last year (naturally the game they lost in Erie).

What stood out to me was the bond amount. That tells me it was more than just a little misunderstanding or accidentally being locked out.

Kids make mistakes and a lot of them are “good” kids for the most part that just have a lapse in judgement. We’ll see how it plays out but this gets back to the leadership comments earlier in the thread. Being out at 2:30 AM and breaking in to places is not leadership, or conducting yourself as a responsible human being. It should also be pointed out that he’s 21, so one of the older players on the team that should know better. It’s a pretty quick turnaround on the preliminary hearing so we’ll have a pretty good indication of where this is going soon.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

What stood out to me was the bond amount. That tells me it was more than just a little misunderstanding or accidentally being locked out.

Kids make mistakes and a lot of them are “good” kids for the most part that just have a lapse in judgement. We’ll see how it plays out but this gets back to the leadership comments earlier in the thread. Being out at 2:30 AM and breaking in to places is not leadership, or conducting yourself as a responsible human being. It should also be pointed out that he’s 21, so one of the older players on the team that should know better. It’s a pretty quick turnaround on the preliminary hearing so we’ll have a pretty good indication of where this is going soon.

That is an enormous bond amount for criminal trespass (typically $1k to $3k).

[IUPNation]

Regarding the upside…I imagine the sell gets incrementally tougher the worse the season and off-the-field nonsense pops up. If I’m a talented young kid looking for a new home and I want to win, I’d certainly be looking at Slippery Rock, Shepherd, Kutztown, Cal, and even ESU before IUP. They all currently have more upside, better facilities, and equally quality education (cue IUPNation and the gym teacher comments, LOL).

Yeah...they are all glorified high schools and our campus is far nicer than all of theirs combined.

:-)

[IUPNation]

I don't think anybody actually expects them to win the Region yearly. .

I think we should be. We are IUP. We should be demanding Sutton Hall to make it that we are back to destroying everyone in our path.

I don't want to be entertained by close games with regional rivals.

I want weekly blowout wins and stomp downs of the opposition.

I hate close games. I like it when my team has it won by halftime or earlier.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think we should be. We are IUP. We should be demanding Sutton Hall to make it that we are back to destroying everyone in our path.

I don't want to be entertained by close games with regional rivals.

I want weekly blowout wins and stomp downs of the opposition.

I hate close games. I like it when my team has it won by halftime or earlier.

They should be in the race every year. Tort has loads more resources than most of the league. For instance, he has 20-ish more scholarships than Edinboro. That should never be a close game. Edinboro is just coached better -- details, discipline, etc.

[Fightingscot82]

So, what are the legalities associated with these charges?

Criminal trespass is not the same as burglary (drastically less, if any, time up state). The article did state he 'broke in' to the residence. Recall last year we had a player kick in a door. I suppose that, too, was considered breaking in.


Based on the time (230am), I would hope he was just drunk as a skunk and wanted to crash a party. It could be as simple as the door was locked and he wanted inside. Of course, they obviously did call the police. He is quite a big dude.

I can say the accused is not a bad young man. Quite the opposite, actually, which makes this even worse.

Hopefully he can get this cleared up, do some community service and move along. The justice system works quite differently in Indiana for star athletes. Keep that in mind.

Not that it matters much, but I beleive Tort suspended Stewart just one game last year (naturally the game they lost in Erie).

2nd degree felony criminal trespass is breaking into a building or structure could be anything. The second charge, 2nd degree misdemeanor criminal mischief - tampering with property definitely gives some specific possibilities. He broke into somewhere or something (like a shed or garage) and messed around with something. Probably entered a fenced in area or shed/garage that was locked then messed with cable, internet, etc.

IUPbigINDIANS you should pay the money to get a copy of the complaint from the magistrate's office lol

[IUPbigINDIANS]

2nd degree felony criminal trespass is breaking into a building or structure could be anything. The second charge, 2nd degree misdemeanor criminal mischief - tampering with property definitely gives some specific possibilities. He broke into somewhere or something (like a shed or garage) and messed around with something. Probably entered a fenced in area or shed/garage that was locked then messed with cable, internet, etc.

IUPbigINDIANS you should pay the money to get a copy of the complaint from the magistrate's office lol

It won't amount to anything. Slap on the wrist and suspended for a game. Let's just say he's likely to have program-friendly representation, etc. It will be plead down to next to nothing and we'll never hear about it again.


Speaking of never hearing anything, I'm shocked there are still no arrests in the 'homecoming' shooting. That's amazingly a completely ignored story in the media, too. I mean there hasn't been a local story on it in two weeks.

[iupgroundhog]

It won't amount to anything. Slap on the wrist and suspended for a game. Let's just say he's likely to have program-friendly representation, etc. It will be plead down to next to nothing and we'll never hear about it again.


Speaking of never hearing anything, I'm shocked there are still no arrests in the 'homecoming' shooting. That's amazingly a completely ignored story in the media, too. I mean there hasn't been a local story on it in two weeks.

I have to think there is an anti-snitch mentality at play there.

Also, there are not that many ways to drive out of Indiana. I ain't no expert but the police response was probably inadequate.