[Purple Haize]

While there is something to be said for being proactive in the conference realignment game, I think its time we take a lesson from the book on which we base our mission and remember that "Even a fool will be counted wise when he holds his tongue,"* and focus on one thing: just win, baby.

Sounds like good advice to me. CCU would be less of a draw if LU would start smoking them across the board.

Now back to this sudden consensus that LU made some grave mistakes by making known its FBS aspirations......

How? What did they do wrong:

-The press conference announcing the CarrSports Consulting results? (In 21 years of consulting..."there's really been no school more prepared for its major athletics initiative than Liberty. Liberty is prepared in every sense of the word for this move.")

-Announcing it at graduation?
-Giving quotes to USA Today and Washington Post?
-Traveling and making presentations introducing LU to various Sun Belt university heads?

Just what is this supposed dealbreaker that caused such great offense?

Pretty much, other than the last one

[olldflame]

I know that Carr supposedly has had a great reputation as an expert consultant for athletic departments, but I suspect that his credability has taken a bit of a hit between the report he did for us and the one for UAB. In both cases it seems his results were taylored to what the school wanted to hear. I do believe he was pretty much on target with ours, but may have left out some negative things that needed to be addressed, such as our lack of success in certain sports. The UAB report on the other hand seemed to be too negative, and overlooked the newfound success of the football team as well as the potential of the alumni base and the local community if it were to become motivated. As it turned out, what was necessary to motivate them was to shut down the football program, but it looks like the resources were there.

[jimflamesfan]

But Liberty could have presented the Carr Report Results to commissioners of the Sunbelt, CUSA, and MAC without announcing it to the public.

What need was there to announce it at graduation, or have a press conference about it?

When the CAA was looking at options to replace Old Dominion and Hofstra...it didn't help LU's case to be publicly saying, "FBS or bust".

[SuperJon]

What need was there to announce it at graduation, or have a press conference about it?

To tell people that we're better than everyone else. It's what we do.

[Purple Haize]

What need was there to announce it at graduation, or have a press conference about it?

To tell people that we're better than everyone else. It's what we do.

This screams for a 'Who WE think we are, who others think we are, who we really are" meme

[flameshaw]

Yeah, we probably should have kept it quiet and not let anyone know we were looking to move up. You know, just keep everyone in the dark, wondering why we are spending so much money to update our athletic facilities. Maybe those other conferences that may be looking for another member would just figure it out via osmosis. I see the logic in that. smh.

[Purple Haize]

Yeah, we probably should have kept it quiet and not let anyone know we were looking to move up. You know, just keep everyone in the dark, wondering why we are spending so much money to update our athletic facilities. Maybe those other conferences that may be looking for another member would just figure it out via osmosis. I see the logic in that. smh.

Seems to have worked for CCU.
You sound like the President, "It's either this or that". It simply is not the case. There were/are far better ways of handling the situation.

[bluejacket]

Now back to this sudden consensus that LU made some grave mistakes by making known its FBS aspirations......

How? What did they do wrong:

-The press conference announcing the CarrSports Consulting results? (In 21 years of consulting..."there's really been no school more prepared for its major athletics initiative than Liberty. Liberty is prepared in every sense of the word for this move.")

-Announcing it at graduation?
-Giving quotes to USA Today and Washington Post?
-Traveling and making presentations introducing LU to various Sun Belt university heads?

Just what is this supposed dealbreaker that caused such great offense?

But Liberty could have presented the Carr Report Results to commissioners of the Sunbelt, CUSA, and MAC without announcing it to the public.

What need was there to announce it at graduation, or have a press conference about it?

When the CAA was looking at options to replace Old Dominion and Hofstra...it didn't help LU's case to be publicly saying, "FBS or bust".

Yeah, we probably should have kept it quiet and not let anyone know we were looking to move up. You know, just keep everyone in the dark, wondering why we are spending so much money to update our athletic facilities. Maybe those other conferences that may be looking for another member would just figure it out via osmosis. I see the logic in that. smh.

The cat was out of the bag a long time ago. The administration could not keep our FBS intentions quiet. The administration should not have broadcast it as loudly as they did, but they could not keep any decision makers in any potential conference (FCS or FBS) in the dark either.

Right now, there are two options. Fight to get into the FBS or stay in the Big South. Neither are good options. There are no lateral landing places for us in FCS, there haven't been for a long time, and there won't be in the future.

[flameshaw]

Yeah, we probably should have kept it quiet and not let anyone know we were looking to move up. You know, just keep everyone in the dark, wondering why we are spending so much money to update our athletic facilities. Maybe those other conferences that may be looking for another member would just figure it out via osmosis. I see the logic in that. smh.

Seems to have worked for CCU.
You sound like the President, "It's either this or that". It simply is not the case. There were/are far better ways of handling the situation.

Maybe we can hire Haize to be the PR guy. President of the Dark Side and PR, would probably pay pretty good.

[Purple Haize]

Yeah, we probably should have kept it quiet and not let anyone know we were looking to move up. You know, just keep everyone in the dark, wondering why we are spending so much money to update our athletic facilities. Maybe those other conferences that may be looking for another member would just figure it out via osmosis. I see the logic in that. smh.

Seems to have worked for CCU.
You sound like the President, "It's either this or that". It simply is not the case. There were/are far better ways of handling the situation.

Maybe we can hire Haize to be the PR guy. President of the Dark Side and PR, would probably pay pretty good.

Ha. I would have done a much better job. I don't think they'd have listened to me. They had stars in their eyes

[Kiwon]

Apparently you guys are not trying too hard because so far no one has given a specific reason for this sudden change of heart regarding LU's approach. I don't recall any poster here protesting that LU's FBS plans should not go public when the Carr Sports press conference was announced.

Chris Lang, you said that you are "completely convinced" that "The FBS or bust announcement was a total miscalculation by the LU admin." Why? Hindsight is 20/20, of course, so what specifically has transpired to bring you to this conclusion?

[flameshaw]

It's pretty easy to guess all of the NFL scores for the past week come Tuesday morning. Besides, it is all just opinions anyway, and everyone has one of those.

[Purple Haize]

Apparently you guys are not trying too hard because so far no one has given a specific reason for this sudden change of heart regarding LU's approach. I don't recall any poster here protesting that LU's FBS plans should not go public when the Carr Sports press conference was announced.

Chris Lang, you said that you are "completely convinced" that "The FBS or bust announcement was a total miscalculation by the LU admin." Why? Hindsight is 20/20, of course, so what specifically has transpired to bring you to this conclusion?

Go back and re read the thread. It was there.

[SuperJon]

Apparently you guys are not trying too hard because so far no one has given a specific reason for this sudden change of heart regarding LU's approach. I don't recall any poster here protesting that LU's FBS plans should not go public when the Carr Sports press conference was announced.

No one says it shouldn't have been public. It's always been public. We're saying the way the admin did it - bragging about being the most ready, the entire #FBSready campaign, constantly talking about how we were the best ever in everything in every medium we have - was the wrong move. There was no humility in it. It was, "We've built the best school ever and you'd be lucky to have us" instead of being a young school that grinds its way to the top and shows its ready through success. We essentially went into the projects and bragged about our mansion and then were offended when the people in the projects didn't want to be friends with us.

[Purple Haize]

Apparently you guys are not trying too hard because so far no one has given a specific reason for this sudden change of heart regarding LU's approach. I don't recall any poster here protesting that LU's FBS plans should not go public when the Carr Sports press conference was announced.

No one says it shouldn't have been public. It's always been public. We're saying the way the admin did it - bragging about being the most ready, the entire #FBSready campaign, constantly talking about how we were the best ever in everything in every medium we have - was the wrong move. There was no humility in it. It was, "We've built the best school ever and you'd be lucky to have us" instead of being a young school that grinds its way to the top and shows its ready through success. We essentially went into the projects and bragged about our mansion and then were offended when the people in the projects didn't want to be friends with us.

This is why you are also a valued member of

[thepostman]

The FBS ready campaign made me cringe from the beginning as it did many others. I was more cautiously optimistic before but that quickly faded

[SuperJon]

Apparently you guys are not trying too hard because so far no one has given a specific reason for this sudden change of heart regarding LU's approach. I don't recall any poster here protesting that LU's FBS plans should not go public when the Carr Sports press conference was announced.

Also, to respond to this quote about "sudden change":

From October 25, 2013

[Kiwon]

Apparently you guys are not trying too hard because so far no one has given a specific reason for this sudden change of heart regarding LU's approach. I don't recall any poster here protesting that LU's FBS plans should not go public when the Carr Sports press conference was announced.

Chris Lang, you said that you are "completely convinced" that "The FBS or bust announcement was a total miscalculation by the LU admin." Why? Hindsight is 20/20, of course, so what specifically has transpired to bring you to this conclusion?

Go back and re read the thread. It was there.

Non-answer.

[From the class of 09]

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/barfknecht ... a1bfe.html

Of the opinion that Oklahoma and Kansas are in play to move to the B1G. That would really but the screws to what remains of the Big 12.

[Purple Haize]

Apparently you guys are not trying too hard because so far no one has given a specific reason for this sudden change of heart regarding LU's approach. I don't recall any poster here protesting that LU's FBS plans should not go public when the Carr Sports press conference was announced.

Chris Lang, you said that you are "completely convinced" that "The FBS or bust announcement was a total miscalculation by the LU admin." Why? Hindsight is 20/20, of course, so what specifically has transpired to bring you to this conclusion?

Go back and re read the thread. It was there.

Non-answer.

It's not my fault you are too lazy to go check your facts. The way this was rolled out has been criticized from the beginning

[Purple Haize]

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/barfknecht ... a1bfe.html

Of the opinion that Oklahoma and Kansas are in play to move to the B1G. That would really but the screws to what remains of the Big 12.

So glad WVU made the jump to the Big XII

[Kiwon]

Apparently you guys are not trying too hard because so far no one has given a specific reason for this sudden change of heart regarding LU's approach. I don't recall any poster here protesting that LU's FBS plans should not go public when the Carr Sports press conference was announced.

Also, to respond to this quote about "sudden change":

From October 25, 2013

Getting closer....but October 2013 isn't May 2013.

You made some good points in the post though and most of us would agree about the main reasons why LU doesn't have a FBS offer yet.

But what I have observed is that since Chris Lang's tweet, others are chiming in as if they felt all along the way he does now. I just don't recall anyone here warning that holding a press conference announcing Carr Sports study report was a mistake. Please correct me if you did.

[Purple Haize]

Apparently you guys are not trying too hard because so far no one has given a specific reason for this sudden change of heart regarding LU's approach. I don't recall any poster here protesting that LU's FBS plans should not go public when the Carr Sports press conference was announced.

Also, to respond to this quote about "sudden change":

From October 25, 2013

Getting closer....but October 2013 isn't May 2013.

You made some good points in the post though and most of us would agree about the main reasons why LU doesn't have a FBS offer yet.

But what I have observed is that since Chris Lang's tweet, others are chiming in as if they felt all along the way he does now. I just don't recall anyone here warning that holding a press conference announcing Carr Sports study report was a mistake. Please correct me if you did.

It's not that we did it. It's how we did it and what we added to it.

[Kiwon]

Don't talk to me, Purple......You called me lazy so I'm busy reading a 10,000 post thread to find "facts" that you said exist but don't really.

I'll prove to you that "facts" that never existed, never existed! Yeah, buddy, I'll show you who the lazy one is!

[Chris Lang]

Kiwon,

Notice I said miscalculation and not mistake. It was not a mistake to make intentions known. The miscalculation was in just how ready an FBS conference was to receive LU, and it's clear that the Sun Belt (preferred landing spot of the admin, it seems) was never going to embrace a private school with unlimited resources among its group of public schools with limited resources. The same issue exists with the MAC. The admin has done everything it can to try to convince Sun Belt presidents to look at Liberty with more of an objective eye, but only a precious few have flipped their positions. Liberty was ready for FBS. Clearly FBS was not ready for Liberty. That's my point.