THE IUP Football Thread

[Bart]

Sadly, Fake ND might be one of the few SR1 stadiums outside of the NE-10 that are worse than Miller.

Never seen Fake ND, what is wrong with it?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Never seen Fake ND, what is wrong with it?

If most of our stadiums compare to Class 4-A or 5-A Pennsylvania high school stadiums ... Fake ND is more in the realm of a Class A high school stadium.

Many of the 6-A stadiums (at least in the WPIAL) are way nicer than our venues.

[Matt Burglund]

Sadly, Fake ND might be one of the few SR1 stadiums outside of the NE-10 that are worse than Miller.

I dunno. Doesn't look all that bad, relatively speaking.

[Ship69]

If most of our stadiums compare to Class 4-A or 5-A Pennsylvania high school stadiums ... Fake ND is more in the realm of a Class A high school stadium.

Many of the 6-A stadiums (at least in the WPIAL) are way nicer than our venues.

When I attended Ship in the '60s Heiges Gymnasium (now Henderson Gymnasium) seated fewer than 800 fans and the football field stands were smaller than that of most high schools. The plus side was that our gym was usually packed for our largely unsuccessful men's basketball games. Probably the most successful team then was women's basketball, which went 38-2 in the years I was there.

[iupgroundhog]

I dunno. Doesn't look all that bad, relatively speaking.

It does look adequate and appears well-maintained in that picture. The bottom line is that they are putting a pretty good product on the field, regardless of the field.

I understand the critique, though, because you kind of expect more when you think of a college-level stadium.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It does look adequate and appears well-maintained in that picture. The bottom line is that they are putting a pretty good product on the field, regardless of the field.

I understand the critique, though, because you kind of expect more when you think of a college-level stadium.

If we're talking solely just about the stadiums (not atmosphere, etc.) ... I don't know which West program would have the nicest. That's essentially a race to the bottom.

SRU gets the biggest crowds and has the best tailgating, but the stadium up there isn't anything special. It's on par with the others.

My personal two favorite stadiums to watch games are Mercyhurst and Seton Hill (neither venue has a track).

You could probably make a case for Adamson being the nicest, but it has its issues. The concessions are a major headache and the visitor seating is horrendous.

I'd personally rank them (having been at all of them) based solely on the actual venue and not atmosphere:

1. California - Great home side. Nice pressbox. Very tall bleachers. Visitor side is awful. Parking is easy.
2. Slippery Rock - Lots of (cheap) parking close to the stadium. Visitor section is old but large. Restrooms and concessions fairly modern.
3. Mercyhurst - Small -- and parking is a pain -- but overall a nice small-college stadium. Lack of a track puts fans very close.
4. Edinboro, IUP, Clarion -- Basically these three are interchangeable. All three have a long list of needed upgrades.
7. Seton Hill -- Parking is awful, but SH rarely draws much of a crowd. Stigma of a 'high school stadium' because, well, it is. No track is a plus.
8 Gannon -- Total mess top to bottom.

[Fightingscot82]

If we're talking solely just about the stadiums (not atmosphere, etc.) ... I don't know which West program would have the nicest. That's essentially a race to the bottom.

SRU gets the biggest crowds and has the best tailgating, but the stadium up there isn't anything special. It's on par with the others.

My personal two favorite stadiums to watch games are Mercyhurst and Seton Hill (neither venue has a track).

You could probably make a case for Adamson being the nicest, but it has its issues. The concessions are a major headache and the visitor seating is horrendous.

I'd personally rank them (having been at all of them) based solely on the actual venue and not atmosphere:

1. California - Great home side. Nice pressbox. Very tall bleachers. Visitor side is awful. Parking is easy.
2. Slippery Rock - Lots of (cheap) parking close to the stadium. Visitor section is old but large. Restrooms and concessions fairly modern.
3. Mercyhurst - Small -- and parking is a pain -- but overall a nice small-college stadium. Lack of a track puts fans very close.
4. Edinboro, IUP, Clarion -- Basically these three are interchangeable. All three have a long list of needed upgrades.
7. Seton Hill -- Parking is awful, but SH rarely draws much of a crowd. Stigma of a 'high school stadium' because, well, it is. No track is a plus.
8 Gannon -- Total mess top to bottom.

I think the order of 4-5-6 is spot on. Edinboro has the second-largest away side after Rock and adds the benefit of separate away side parking, ticketing, and full service bathrooms. IUP has newer turf and a video board but its away side is pretty basic - are there bathrooms or anything else on that visitors side? I can't remember. Clarion has parking near the away side but its just moveable bleachers - no amenities.

[iupgroundhog]

I think the order of 4-5-6 is spot on. Edinboro has the second-largest away side after Rock and adds the benefit of separate away side parking, ticketing, and full service bathrooms. IUP has newer turf and a video board but its away side is pretty basic - are there bathrooms or anything else on that visitors side? I can't remember. Clarion has parking near the away side but its just moveable bleachers - no amenities.

I've never been to a FB game at Edinboro. What's a full service bathroom?

[Fightingscot82]

I've never been to a FB game at Edinboro. What's a full service bathroom?

A standard bathroom - flush toilets, urinals, sinks, etc. rather than simply port-a-johns. I guess I could have just said standard bathroom :)

[iupgroundhog]

A standard bathroom - flush toilets, urinals, sinks, etc. rather than simply port-a-johns. I guess I could have just said standard bathroom :)

Thanks. By full-service I was thinking they might have a bathroom attendant handing out paper towels in a kilt.

[Fightingscot82]

Thanks. By full-service I was thinking they might have a bathroom attendant handing out paper towels in a kilt.

I've never seen a paper towel in a kilt. I'll have to check that out.

[ctrabs74]

I dunno. Doesn't look all that bad, relatively speaking.

That must have been recent renovations, because my recollections go back about 6-7 years ago, when they didn't have much of a press box that I could recall. When I was a freelancer, I was looking to cover a game at NDC, but was warned by their own SID staff that the press box facilities weren't that great or something along those lines. Now that I look at the pictures of Mueller Field off their own website it's, well, not that impressive. Cal High School has a better stadium than that.

[IUPNation]

I think the order of 4-5-6 is spot on. Edinboro has the second-largest away side after Rock and adds the benefit of separate away side parking, ticketing, and full service bathrooms. IUP has newer turf and a video board but its away side is pretty basic - are there bathrooms or anything else on that visitors side? I can't remember. Clarion has parking near the away side but its just moveable bleachers - no amenities.

Literally fairly new restrooms on the visitors side next to the fairly new stands.

[Fightingscot82]

Literally fairly new restrooms on the visitors side next to the fairly new stands.

Okay that makes sense. Its been a few years since I was at Miller and I couldn't remember. I'm usually a 'go before you get there' kind of person.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Literally fairly new restrooms on the visitors side next to the fairly new stands.

The visitor side is nicer than than the home side. I still prefer to sit on that side but you get roasted over there in early season games. A lot of IUP fans sit on that side. It's a bit less 'stuffy'. People actually cheer on that side unlike the funeral parlor across the field.

In reality, unless it's Cal or SRU at Miller, no other team travels aside from a handful of parents.