THE IUP Football Thread

[Fightingscot82]

What most don't get, either, is St. Francis had a following on par with a Clarion type. Maybe less.

I've been to basketball games there with about 175 people in the gym.

It's not like the phony D1 status was some crowd draw.

If you've (anybody) never been on campus there, it's a prototype D3 vibe. This will be a good move for them.

Their fanbase is similar to IUP football. I was at the 2020 NEC championship game and they had a big crowd - very noticeably older folks.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

They're not broke - but they're not comfortable. This is a proactive move. Some good analysis here: https://www.chronicle.com/article/wh...back-in-sports

They still have to budget in D2 scholarships and I doubt it would have been a significant difference from "NEC D1" to D2. Private schools almost always just budget in the "athletic scholarship" tuition discount unlike PASSHE who have to fundraise every cent.

Other than the truly national colleges and universities (Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, Swarthmore, Penn, etc.) everyone is adjusting their admission standard. The PASSHE schools and similar privates are too tuition dependent and budget sensitive to not try to widen the funnel.

What most don't get, either, is St. Francis had a following on par with a Clarion type. Maybe less.

I've been to basketball games there with about 175 people in the gym.

It's not like the phony D1 status was some crowd draw.

If you've (anybody) never been on campus there, it's a prototype D3 vibe. This will be a good move for them.

[Fightingscot82]

How broke our they to drop past D2 and a natural landing spot for all sports in the PSAC…..Probably close to a Notre Dame type shut down from what I heard. D3 model works well bring in huge rosters in all sports which equals tuition upon tuition…..I remember PAC schools with rosters in basketball of 25 and football 130…There u go $$$$.

They're not broke - but they're not comfortable. This is a proactive move. Some good analysis here: https://www.chronicle.com/article/wh...back-in-sports

They still have to budget in D2 scholarships and I doubt it would have been a significant difference from "NEC D1" to D2. Private schools almost always just budget in the "athletic scholarship" tuition discount unlike PASSHE who have to fundraise every cent.

Other than the truly national colleges and universities (Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, Swarthmore, Penn, etc.) everyone is adjusting their admission standard. The PASSHE schools and similar privates are too tuition dependent and budget sensitive to not try to widen the funnel.

[ironmaniup]

How broke our they to drop past D2 and a natural landing spot for all sports in the PSAC…..Probably close to a Notre Dame type shut down from what I heard. D3 model works well bring in huge rosters in all sports which equals tuition upon tuition…..I remember PAC schools with rosters in basketball of 25 and football 130…There u go $$$$.

I'd guess it has more to do with recruiting more high quality students. Lots of kids with high SATs and GPAs like to play sports on a higher level, but they would be mediocre D2 athletes. In D3 they compete at a decent level, and get some help with paying for a private college without the high crime rate, and a good reputation. They can be more local, which helps retention a lot. Given the size of about 2500 students, 10 to 15 per cent will be athletes, it will definitely give a boost to things like average SAT, retention, and help maintain enrollment. D1 was a bad idea for them from the get go. Academia is definitely in a time of "degrowth" - that's liberal speak for chicken's coming home to roost.

[IUPNation]

What is the benefit of them dropping down to D2 as opposed to D3? The PAC may be a more natural landing spot than the PSAC all things considered.

I know Beano Cook said that athletics are the front porch to the university, but let’s get real, that doesn’t apply to the schools of our ilk, or St. Francis.

Well Dr. Front Porch did say that about IUP.

[IUP24]

How broke our they to drop past D2 and a natural landing spot for all sports in the PSAC…..Probably close to a Notre Dame type shut down from what I heard. D3 model works well bring in huge rosters in all sports which equals tuition upon tuition…..I remember PAC schools with rosters in basketball of 25 and football 130…There u go $$$$.

What is the benefit of them dropping down to D2 as opposed to D3? The PAC may be a more natural landing spot than the PSAC all things considered.

I know Beano Cook said that athletics are the front porch to the university, but let’s get real, that doesn’t apply to the schools of our ilk, or St. Francis.

[Iupgh]

St. Francis is dropping to D3 (and joining the PAC).

The portal will explode. Hopefully Tort can cherry pick a couple. He's lost a handful of recruits to them recently.

How broke our they to drop past D2 and a natural landing spot for all sports in the PSAC…..Probably close to a Notre Dame type shut down from what I heard. D3 model works well bring in huge rosters in all sports which equals tuition upon tuition…..I remember PAC schools with rosters in basketball of 25 and football 130…There u go $$$$.

[IUPNation]

St. Francis is dropping to D3 (and joining the PAC).

The portal will explode. Hopefully Tort can cherry pick a couple. He's lost a handful of recruits to them recently.

That’s about where they belonged all along. Is Chris still the foosball coach there?

[IUPNation]

Every town has the woefully uninformed or the group that doesn’t want to be informed, and those tend to be the ones to comment. Overwhelmingly people were happy to see the stacks drop and are optimistic about future possibilities. The people you see complaining about that situation are the same ones that complain about everything.

There are some that feel a certain way just because they’ve looked at the stacks their entire lives so the implosion represents the end of an era, but if you’ve lived here long enough you eventually didn’t even notice them. When I drove by after they were gone I was already past before I thought to look over. I say good riddance. Time to move on.

It seems like the new plant will sustain jobs and provide the energy that is needed. I see it as a big win for Indiana County.

[IUPNation]

Why are they letting a lot of things happen?

Start at the top of the food chain. Work your way down.

You'll find your answers.

The Bow Tie needs to do better.

[iupgroundhog]

St. Francis is dropping to D3 (and joining the PAC).

The portal will explode. Hopefully Tort can cherry pick a couple. He's lost a handful of recruits to them recently.

We do have a connection in Loretto.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

St. Francis is dropping to D3 (and joining the PAC).

The portal will explode. Hopefully Tort can cherry pick a couple. He's lost a handful of recruits to them recently.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I’ve been getting posts about the plant demolition on my Facebook feed from local media outlets and I regret reading the comments by people out there woefully uninformed about the whole situation. In 5 minutes I learned the plant was closed and offline for 2 years and is being replaced by a new gas fired plant..all
of this resulting lots of local jobs for it all. Yet too many Cletuses acting like it’s conspiracy and bring back coal. Hello..they frack now. IUP has had a gas cogeneration plant for what 35 years now? I remember when it went online replacing the crap campus coal power plant.


On other PA news..it looks like the Commonwealth did not lose population as previously reported since 2020 but has gained 70,000 plus new residents..obviously in the eastern half. Beautiful Chester County leads with 4.9 percent growth and 26,000 new residents and our clogged roads prove it,

Every town has the woefully uninformed or the group that doesn’t want to be informed, and those tend to be the ones to comment. Overwhelmingly people were happy to see the stacks drop and are optimistic about future possibilities. The people you see complaining about that situation are the same ones that complain about everything.

There are some that feel a certain way just because they’ve looked at the stacks their entire lives so the implosion represents the end of an era, but if you’ve lived here long enough you eventually didn’t even notice them. When I drove by after they were gone I was already past before I thought to look over. I say good riddance. Time to move on.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Yeah those things are alarming. I know of one stadium where an employee was running fitness classes on the turf as a side business without actually renting the space. Huge state law violation.

I get allowing the public to walk the track or something like that, but it only opens the gate (pun intended) to the public using the turf as you describe or possibly causing damage to the track.

Some might say that the condition of Miller Stadium is a bit of a microcosm of the state of the athletic department as a whole.

[Fightingscot82]

My issue with the Miller turf is they let the students and local yocals treat it like a playground. It should not be open to the public.

I can't tell you how many times I'm down there in the summer and kids have their bikes on the field, etc. I've even seen people hitting golf balls on it.

I don't have any actual stats, but I know a large majority of stadiums are not open to the public.

Yeah those things are alarming. I know of one stadium where an employee was running fitness classes on the turf as a side business without actually renting the space. Huge state law violation.

I get allowing the public to walk the track or something like that, but it only opens the gate (pun intended) to the public using the turf as you describe or possibly causing damage to the track.