THE IUP Football Thread

[Matt Burglund]

I can imagine the budgets are much tighter than they were 30 years ago.

Absolutely. Remember a sizeable part of the athletic department's budget comes from the Co-Op fee that all students pay. With enrollment down, that means far less $$$. Throw in the increased cost to travel, you can see why Tort isn't flying the team to Portland State like Frank did.

[Fightingscot82]

Aside from budgets, it creates a headache heading in to the next week. Instead of being home Saturday night, they are likely traveling all day Sunday instead of watching film and in the pool (or whatever they do for day-after-game recovery).

Thank goodness we don't have to hear about this Week 1 game for the next four years. Ashland is certainly a 'big boy opponent' to open each season.

Tort did say on his show a couple weeks ago that they are getting all kinds of calls for a Week 1 game (after people know they signed a 4-year deal). He said it's ironic they couldn't get a game for two years and now his phone is blowing up. Funny how that works. He also pointed out 8 of the Top 25 didn't play an 11th game.

Players also miss extra class time. Let's say Grand Valley pays IUP $25k to play them Labor Day weekend. I'd bet that trip costs half that guarantee - but that's an 8 hour coach bus trip plus stops (they pay for player meals along the way) and they probably leave on Thursday so the team can have a full practice on Friday. That's probably $10-15k to take IUP's travel roster. So all for the low low price of $15-20k net you can have a long weekend trip where players miss two days of class.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Each team gets its own budget for things like travel and equipment. They spend it at their discretion.

But unless whatever MIAA or GSC school we're talking about paid for IUP's expenses, I doubt Tort would do it because it would break the travel budget. Some faraway schools have offered a guarantee to play, but it's not enough to cover IUP's travel costs.

Aside from budgets, it creates a headache heading in to the next week. Instead of being home Saturday night, they are likely traveling all day Sunday instead of watching film and in the pool (or whatever they do for day-after-game recovery).

Thank goodness we don't have to hear about this Week 1 game for the next four years. Ashland is certainly a 'big boy opponent' to open each season.

Tort did say on his show a couple weeks ago that they are getting all kinds of calls for a Week 1 game (after people know they signed a 4-year deal). He said it's ironic they couldn't get a game for two years and now his phone is blowing up. Funny how that works. He also pointed out 8 of the Top 25 didn't play an 11th game.

[IUPNation]

Each team gets its own budget for things like travel and equipment. They spend it at their discretion.

But unless whatever MIAA or GSC school we're talking about paid for IUP's expenses, I doubt Tort would do it because it would break the travel budget. Some faraway schools have offered a guarantee to play, but it's not enough to cover IUP's travel costs.

I can imagine the budgets are much tighter than they were 30 years ago.

[Matt Burglund]

You are saying Sutton Hall would pay for the foosball team to travel to MIAA and GSC country for a regular season game?

Each team gets its own budget for things like travel and equipment. They spend it at their discretion.

But unless whatever MIAA or GSC school we're talking about paid for IUP's expenses, I doubt Tort would do it because it would break the travel budget. Some faraway schools have offered a guarantee to play, but it's not enough to cover IUP's travel costs.

[IUPNation]

Not true.

You are saying Sutton Hall would pay for the foosball team to travel to MIAA and GSC country for a regular season game?

The band can’t even finds a bus to take the 60 of them to an away game.

[Matt Burglund]

Even if Torts wanted to travel beyond the region and play the big dogs in D2....the bean counters would squash it.

Not true.

[IUPalum]

Even if Torts wanted to travel beyond the region and play the big dogs in D2....the bean counters would squash it.

In this system it makes no sense to leave the region.

[IUPNation]

Even if Torts wanted to travel beyond the region and play the big dogs in D2....the bean counters would squash it.

[IUPalum]

Those non conference games were the best. National spotlight games. Fun times!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Loved those games. That Catawba game at Miller was unreal. It had it all from the disastrous start to the lightning delay to the huge IUP comeback win. It was a night game too, and I think it was a pretty late night by the time the dust settled. I remember watching Catawba walk out with looks on their faces like they had just seen a ghost.

I remember the Nebraska-Omaha game like it was yesterday. Talk about a dramatic walk-off.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Those games were cool for the actual football fans. I remember when IUP played Catawba (when they were a power) and also Ferris State ... and 98% of campus and fans basically said "who the F are these guys" as they'd never heard of them. So, to many it was just another game on another Saturday.

Loved those games. That Catawba game at Miller was unreal. It had it all from the disastrous start to the lightning delay to the huge IUP comeback win. It was a night game too, and I think it was a pretty late night by the time the dust settled. I remember watching Catawba walk out with looks on their faces like they had just seen a ghost.

[jrshooter]

Why do you keep trying to insult a school that has beat “you’re school” 8 times in the last 10 years? All I have to say is 41-0 LOL… typical IUP hater.

Sigh. It always comes down to the same thing with you guys. Stop thinking you can win debates by being a bigger dick.

I fully expect a Shippensburg insult. Thankfully, our personal worth is not always dictated by how much our alma mater wins or loses football games.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Reminds me of when Penn State joined the Big 10 and wanted to form a rivalry with Minnesota and Michigan State. I don't think anybody bought in to it.

I suppose definitions of rivalries vary.

Maryland would really like to have a rivalry with Penn State and it might be gaining some traction, but the Terps are going to have to be more of a threat in the bigger picture. Of course, Penn State is at best second but more often third or even fourth in their division so maybe it’s closer than it seems.

[Ship69]

Reminds me of when Penn State joined the Big 10 and wanted to form a rivalry with Minnesota and Michigan State. I don't think anybody bought in to it.

I suppose definitions of rivalries vary.

There was some attempt to promote the rivalry with Michigan State as two of the original land grant colleges — Minnesota not so much. Obviously the B1G rival that makes the most sense is Ohio State, a powerful program in a neighboring state, but Ohio State already had Michigan as a chief football rival. And Penn State hasn't done enough to emerge as the chief football rival to Ohio State. Maryland and Rutgers would be natural football rivals for PSU, but their football programs haven't been strong enough. Former Maryland and NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason hit the nail on the head years ago when he said you have to beat a team once in a while for them to consider you a rival. I think Maryland had won something like one of 35 games against Penn State at that point.