If you want to talk ASUN smack or ramble ad nauseum about your favorite pro or major college teams, this is the place to let it rip.

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke

#509838
We've talked about this in other threads. But let's be honest, we all get a certain amount of joy watching then struggle with this don't we? I'm getting the impression someone over there jumped the gun in accepting the offer and didn't have all their boxes checked and are now getting slapped down in the legislature because of it. Enjoy FBS Chickes, it's only going to keep costing you more money you don't have
#509856
I don't like seeing people struggle, and if this gets bad enough, I would assume someone is going to be out of a job. Even when it's deserved, that's something that will never bring me joy.

However, to your point PH, I do think that the longer this plays out, the better for LU and the worse for JMU. Should the C-USA or AAC expand, we can use this case as a reason why their conference needs to add a program with a strong financial structure. In the past, I don't think this was really a concern for most conferences, albeit it should have been.
#509860
What I would enjoy would be having the SBC now be so desperate for a financially stable school to join their Conference they have to come to LU with hat in hand and LU rejects them. I've never thought The SBC was a good fit for the SBC (although that view has softened) but they way they have treated LU makes the mantra 'Karma is a biatch' very pertinent
#509863
Purple Haize wrote:What I would enjoy would be having the SBC now be so desperate for a financially stable school to join their Conference they have to come to LU with hat in hand and LU rejects them. I've never thought The SBC was a good fit for the SBC (although that view has softened) but they way they have treated LU makes the mantra 'Karma is a biatch' very pertinent
Agreed. The more I look at the SunBelt and MAC, the happier I am that we have no long-term commitment with either conference. Coastal can enjoy this mess...it's getting ugly.
#509864
To say Coastal isn't financially stable is to speak out of complete ignorance. They have undergone a campus expansion very similar to ours over the last 5-6 years. Their enrollment has grown by close to 4000 since I was there in fall 2005. The money for this stadium is there and available for them to use through bonds and other avenues, just like they've used for their campus expansion. They won't have to raise taxes or take any extra money through taxpayers. The issue they're running into is two-fold:

1) SCSU almost had to shut its doors a year ago because of massive debt and a huge mismanagement of the entire school. This led to a complete overhaul of the CHE and much stricter standards that no one really knows what they are. Coastal is the first school to try and get a large amount of money approved since SCSU's situation.

2) South Carolina politics is very much a good ole boy network, especially when it comes to college athletics. Clemson and USC are the pillars of that state and to have little ole CCU at only 23 years old break into FBS and be considered on the same level as South Carolina and Clemson is something a ton of people don't want. The bitterness of Coastal going independent and breaking off from the USC system in the early 90s is still very strong on an institutional level.

Filling a 19,000 seat stadium is going to be an issue for them, but getting the money to build it shouldn't be. The state is unnecessarily playing hardball with them right now.
#509902
Jonathan Carone wrote:To say Coastal isn't financially stable is to speak out of complete ignorance. They have undergone a campus expansion very similar to ours over the last 5-6 years. Their enrollment has grown by close to 4000 since I was there in fall 2005. The money for this stadium is there and available for them to use through bonds and other avenues, just like they've used for their campus expansion. They won't have to raise taxes or take any extra money through taxpayers.
It seems as though the state wants to have significant outside contributions before allowing bonds to be pursued. College funding is tricky; with not too much private support and a small endowment to boot, no school in Virginia would get the legislature approval, either. Coastal using bonds is very different than a school like ODU using bonds (their endowment is almost ten times larger) or even Liberty, which has less oversight. It is apparent that Coastal is stretching it financially with this jump.
#509903
Jonathan Carone wrote:Haize inferred it in the post above yours earlier and pretty much said it outright in the post about them not having money. They have the money for this project but can't get permission to access it.
If they need permission to access it, is it actually theirs? You were correct in saying that this is turning out to be a test case for the new realities of funding for education in SC, and its really lousy timing for Coastal, but the old way of "rubber-stamping" projects like this just won't work any more. Bummer.

In general, I would also agree that it is not fair or accurate to say that CCU is "struggling" financially, but I really don't think anyone is saying that. There is a difference between "struggling" and being ill-prepared to take on a move like this which IMHO for them has a questionable reward vs. risk. I still don't see any indication they have the fan/alumni/donor base to support a G5 program on an ongoing basis, and the problems they have had raising the relatively small amount of private donations they would need to green-light this stadium project seem to bear that out.
#509904
I thought to go FBS, a school had to average 15,000 fans per game for X number of years to even be considered. How did CCU get an invite in the first place with a 9,000 seat stadium ? I know they not have 6,000 standing room only fans.

Looks like another example of NCAA playing favorites.
#509908
Ballcoach - the rule is they have to average 15,000 fans for a rolling two year period once in FBS, not before.

As for the bonds issue - I get that their endowment is smaller. However, if you look at their track record of paying things back and how fiscally responsible the school as a whole has been for its entirety, you see that they're good for it. I can understand not approving the full $38 million because that's double the initial thoughts, but not approving the scaled down original $19 million plan is being petty on the state's part.

One of the things I learned in my time at Coastal was how the school as a whole is treated by the state. They receive next to no funding from the state of SC. I think they're bottom 3 in public school funding in the state. They've had to operate like a private/charter school almost from day one because of the bad blood in Columbia. There was even talk at one point of going private but they couldn't do it because the state technically owns the buildings, not the school.

As for the problems raising the "relatively small amount of private donations" issue: If I've read everything right in keeping up with this, that problem is a double edged sword. They can't meet the "small amount" needed because the state won't tell them a definitive answer on what that "small amount" is. It's not like they've said, "We want to see $5 million in donations before we say yes." If that were the case, Coastal could go out and begin to fundraise towards that goal. They're going after an arbitrary goal right now. The petition their fans started is actually asking for that goal so they know what the benchmark is.

The issue of Coastal being able to grow their fan base/donor support in the future to support a G5 program is one that's legitimate, but I think it's separate from the stadium issue. Knowing their culture as a school, I think you'll see an automatic rise in student support once they start playing some teams that are better known regionally. Being "Division I" (which is what the northern transplant think FBS is) will help the legitimacy and will make the transplants actually give the games a shot. Right now they don't even consider watching "JV football". The mid-week games will also help their student attendance. Another thing they have going for them in the future is the Myrtle Beach tourism industry and the MB Chamber. They're going to dump money in attracting tournaments, a future bowl game (assuming the stadium can get to the level needed) and things like that. They won't stay afloat on that alone, but it'll help.

Coastal is more similar to Liberty than many people realize. Their administration is really, really good and they do things the right way. Fan support will always be their biggest issue. Raising and managing their money is a non-issue though.
#509909
Attendance should improve once they start bringing in FBS schools for home games. Most FCS schools are not a big attraction for anyone. I would love to see a "name" FBS school come to LU for a game, just to see what attendance would be. (a good ACC school for example, or someone like Marshall).
Most FCS schools' fans do not travel well. Actually it's embrassing.
#509910
Field of Dreams has done more damage to the world of athletics than any other movie ever.
Being FBS doesn't guarantee an increase in attendance just like being FCS means lower attendance.
Just because you build it does not mean they will come
#509913
ballcoach15 wrote:Attendance should improve once they start bringing in FBS schools for home games. Most FCS schools are not a big attraction for anyone. I would love to see a "name" FBS school come to LU for a game, just to see what attendance would be. (a good ACC school for example, or someone like Marshall).
Most FCS schools' fans do not travel well. Actually it's embrassing.
Big name FBS schools will NOT be coming to Conway. They will have their SBC opponents (none of whom will be a "big attraction") and the occasional bottom dweller from other G5 conferences. The rest of their home schedule will be FCS, and they can COUNT THEIR BLESSINGS if Liberty will agree to go there again after this year, because it will be their biggest crowd of that season. I actually think we will do it if they agree to reciprocate with games at the Bill. Both programs would benefit by keeping that rivalry alive.

I can see Coastal's attendance getting a bit of a boost the first few years from fans of SBC opponents coming to spend a weekend at Myrtle Beach. I don't think it will be a huge boost, and I doubt it will last after the novelty wears off. It's the beach, but it's Myrtle, not Miami.

Even if we are able to get membership in a G5 conference at some future date, don't expect any ACC teams to play us at home in our lifetime. There is simply nothing in it for them. Nothing.
#509914
Coastal doesn't need ACC schools for an attendance boost. All they need is UMass, UConn, any of the Ohio G5 schools, Marshall, or really any FBS school from Maryland to Massachusetts. They have so many northern transplants as students and local residents that playing the schools they know will instantly increase interest. Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb, and Charleston Southern doesn't register with snowbirds because they've never heard of them.
#509917
Jonathan Carone wrote:Coastal doesn't need ACC schools for an attendance boost. All they need is UMass, UConn, any of the Ohio G5 schools, Marshall, or really any FBS school from Maryland to Massachusetts.
I'd definitely drive down to Myrtle Beach to see the Herd play! :nod
#509921
I don't disagree with you often Jon, but I will here. They may clear 10K or 15K with some of those but I don't think schools like UConn, UMass, Kent State, Akron et. al have enough Q-rating to really get much higher than that. You could get a 19K+ with a school like Clemson or maybe SC but that's gonna be a longshot unless there is a prior relationship being exercised (kinda like with ODU getting NC State to come to Norfolk last season)
Dondi Costin - LU President

Ive gone there a few times since moving to texas[…]

NCAA Realignment Megathread

Duke Gonzaga B12? https://larrybrownsports.com/co[…]

FlameFans Fantasy Baseball

We are on!!! Hope to see everyone tonight at 9:30[…]

Another player that most people who post on here[…]