[gerb]

Source: http://www.vmikeydets.com/pdf9/3853209. ... EM_ID=9800 *Link no longer works

"Our institutions have chosen not to offer additional ―cost of attendance‖ payments to student-athletes at this time. We care deeply about our student-athletes, but we also care deeply about all of our students and want to treat all students equitably at a time when overall aid is limited, costs are increasing, and public financial support for higher education is diminishing."

JMU Message Board Discussion: http://csnbbs.com/thread-749995.html

Other schools signing this announcement include:

University of New Hampshire
Elon
VMI
Hofstra
William & Mary
Wofford
University of Vermont
University of Delaware

[Cider Jim]

Translation: "We can't afford it."

[soccer7]

Add Montana and Montana State to that list.

[Wvflame2013]

We definitely have an advantage over those institutions now. Money talks in regards to education.

Edit: Reading their message board reminds me how blessed we are as an institution. We may not be in fbs like we all want but things could be much worse. We are a program that is competitive. We are making a big name for ourselves. Most would agree that JB is doing a fantastic job along with Jerry. I laughed when the poster said he would have never imagined Liberty passing them up. JMU fans knows they have taken a backseat. There is a reason they didn't want to play us at our place.

[Humble_Opinion]

We definitely have an advantage over those institutions now. Money talks in regards to education.

Edit: Reading their message board reminds me how blessed we are as an institution. We may not be in fbs like we all want but things could be much worse. We are a program that is competitive. We are making a big name for ourselves. Most would agree that JB is doing a fantastic job along with Jerry. I laughed when the poster said he would have never imagined Liberty passing them up. JMU fans knows they have taken a backseat. There is a reason they didn't want to play us at our place.

Re: Montana Postmortem/Celebration

by Humble_Opinion » September 21st, 2015, 11:07 am

All I can say is... maybe JMU saw the writing on the wall. They might have been smart or lucky to avoid a trip to Williams Stadium this season. It sort of ticks me off, because we have one less home game and a ton of away games in a row.

Absolutely right. I said as much in another thread as well. They can't do FCOA because they want equitability, yet they forked over all the money they had and raised additional funds to beat us out in the bidding process to host the playoff game last year... just to lose.

The real secret is the optics of approving FCOA would fly in the face of the VA Assembly and force the assembly to act. The % of Tuition and Fees being consumed by public institutions athletic departments in VA has been growing and growing for years. It's now being examined in a much closer manner because of public outrage at the growth in TF over the past 15 years.

http://www.baconsrebellion.com/2013/09/ ... costs.html

[gerb]

Link to the original announcement no longer works. Looks like damage control at JMU as this wasn't intended to be announced yet. JMU message board is reporting that negative comments about this issue on JMU's Facebook page are being deleted. The implications of not entering the FCOA game is no doubt an unpopular reality for JMU fans.

This email was reportedly sent a few hours ago likely in response to the firestorm that's brewing in Harrisonburg.

Edit: Added Source Link: http://jmusports.com/news/2015/9/22/Ath ... 51219.aspx

"A Message from JMU President, Jonathan R. Alger

Issues related to the amateur model and the role of athletics in higher education have received significant national media attention recently. James Madison University has been very much involved at the national level in this dialogue (indeed, I currently serve on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors). I have had conversations with many higher education leaders from across the country on these issues, and all can agree that the issues are complex. To add some perspective to the dialogue based on our educational mission and values, several of my presidential colleagues and I came together and worked on a draft letter that has been submitted for publication in a national journal. Unfortunately, the letter was mistakenly published online prematurely and circulated widely in social media.

So that the JMU community has the full story, the contents of the letter are published below along with a statement I made in response to media inquiries about the letter:

The joint statement of philosophy is based on a variety of factors and, as it relates to JMU, is a reflection of our current circumstances -- not of what we might do in the future. It reflects what we have said consistently about the educational mission and values that guide our decisions. Like many other issues in intercollegiate athletics, cost of attendance remains a complex and fluid issue. As such, we look forward to participating in a continued national discussion on these issues through the foreseeable future."

[jimflamesfan]

I think COA will end up giving us a pretty big recruiting advantage.

This is a really interesting time. After seeing how fun the Montana game was...I don't think getting rejected by the Sunbelt was as bad as I thought.

I don't even know if we'd want to fight for the CAA if they require their members not to pay COA.

If the Big South is able to add Hampton and get some stability so that the basketball only schools don't want to split off...the big advantage we have to staying is that our conference lets each school choose weather to pay COA for football.

We could become one of the top tier FCS programs for the next 5 - 10 years right where we are. Plus, the Big South is friendly towards LFSN, and so we have good television coverage.

Apart from going FBS...COA may go away with another conference, as well as our television rights.

If we do go FBS, the advantage of COA goes away because most of the competitors offer it.

We may be able to build a better following and be in a better position to make the jump 10 years from now.

I don't know what to think...I was watching FAU play on 13.2 before I headed out to the game...it looked like there was NO ONE in the stands. Aren't they CUSA?

Anyone look at the pictures of the Pitt/Younstown State game...there was NO ONE THERE...even though the box score says 49,000 or something like that. Pitt's in the ACC and playiing in an NFL field. Still, there were probably only 2,000 people there.

Although if the Sunbelt offered us tomorrow I'd probably be excited. But there might be something to say for using this to the maximum advantage to build a winning reputation for football.

[bluejacket]

Can this be merged with the other thread?

[gerb]

Seems that perhaps administrators that are making this decision either:

1. Don't fully appreciate the impact that this will have on recruiting (and in JMU's case, maintaining a ranked program)
2. they just don't have the money

Teams do not need to offer the reported $6k in FCOA that LU is providing. They can offer less.

Its interesting logic: we won't be offering FCOA because its not equitable but we'll drop $200k to watch the Flames beat us at home and spend $62MM to upgrade Bridgeforth.

[flameshaw]

I wouldn't get too excited about JMU not being able to pay COA and it becoming a huge recruiting advantage. Will it help? Yes. But of the schools mentioned, I am sure JMU and Delaware can afford to pay COA. They have just chosen not to for the time being. In JMU's case, it probably has more to do with student fees, that have been an issue with the state.
In my opinion, we should be careful verbalizing that JMU is/was afraid to play us and bought us out. I am very disappointed, but it happens. I am not sure we could beat them right now, regardless of where we played, they are a good team too. You have to remember JMU bid almost twice as much as we did to host the playoff game last year. Yes, it was a money loser for them, but they probably knew it was going to be break even at best, going in.
I am happy that we can pay COA, but that doesn't mean we should assume those who don't, cant.

[gerb]

Valid point on the state issue flameshaw. If thats the case, its a huge PR blunder not to point to that as the reason. I'm not sure JMU fans would agree that its not a big deal - full blown meltdown says otherwise: http://csnbbs.com/thread-741929-page-14.html

[Wvflame2013]

After reading more of that forum. I just want to say, I love all you Liberty Fans!

[Hold My Own]

Valid point on the state issue flameshaw. If thats the case, its a huge PR blunder not to point to that as the reason. I'm not sure JMU fans would agree that its not a big deal - full blown meltdown says otherwise: http://csnbbs.com/thread-741929-page-14.html

Thank you for posting this. Epic meltdown to say the least; I think it's fair to say their alumni and fans have ZERO faith in their leadership.

My favorite post was: "Do you know what happens when you don't make your payments to the Duke Club? Will they send it to collections? - Asking for a friend"

Ha! This was awesome to watch unfold on their board. Thank you again!

[flamesfan30]

Coastal might be our biggest rival, but i think there's more real emotion with JMU. the coastal rivalry is fun, but i think JMU genuinely hates us. and now were just laughing at their pain. its pretty great. I wish so very much that we could play them this week.

[Hold My Own]

They're deleting all of their comments on FB. Someone just posted this:

RE: Cost of Attendance
Email response I got from John Boy asking he and JB to resign immediately,

Mr. XXXX,

I respectfully decline your request.

Jon Alger

Color me engaged!!

Can't buy this type of entertainment.

[Cider Jim]

This was my favorite quote from the JMU board:

the JMU PR dumpster fire continues to burn

[SoD BAS]

Coastal might be our biggest rival, but i think there's more real emotion with JMU. the coastal rivalry is fun, but i think JMU genuinely hates us. and now were just laughing at their pain. its pretty great. I wish so very much that we could play them this week.

I agree with this 100%. I love beating Coastal, but being there to see the win in JMU's house in the playoffs... I'll hold onto that for a very long time. Especially with them jumping ship from the game this year and with this FCOA thing going on.

[gerb]

another good one:

I really think we should set high goals and try to be the only remaining FCS team in the country, then JB and JA can tout us being pernially ranked #1 in Division 1 football.

[gerb]

Oh my, its getting a bit chippy in Harrisonburg:

I met Jon Alger at a Duke Club pre game event when we played in Akron a few years ago. My grandmother had a more masculine handshake and she was relegated to a wheelchair. That was all I needed to know.

[ballcoach15]

I have no love for JMU athletics.

Hopefully the FCOA will give us an advantage in recruiting. I see too many athletes now pick JMU over LU. Same goes for Richmond. I'd love to see athletes reject the Spiders and sign with LU.

[JakeP50]

Beating them is REALLY fun though. And we've been doing a lot of that recently.

[Purple Haize]

I have no love for JMU athletics.

Hopefully the FCOA will give us an advantage in recruiting. I see too many athletes now pick JMU over LU. Same goes for Richmond. I'd love to see athletes reject the Spiders and sign with LU.

The LU environment will always be an issue that keeps athletes away. I hope we don't have kids coming for the cash and not understanding the mission

[gerb]

Take an umbrella. It's raining pitchforks and hammer handles out there...

Screw being positive, we need them to know where we stand. I'm done teying to put lipstick on this pig, mattress time.

+ 1 gloves come off or we are part the problem

[alabama24]

The LU environment will always be an issue that keeps athletes away. I hope we don't have kids coming for the cash and not understanding the mission

Wow. Dark meets light.

[olldflame]

I have no love for JMU athletics.

Hopefully the FCOA will give us an advantage in recruiting. I see too many athletes now pick JMU over LU. Same goes for Richmond. I'd love to see athletes reject the Spiders and sign with LU.

The LU environment will always be an issue that keeps athletes away. I hope we don't have kids coming for the cash and not understanding the mission

I firmly believe that avoiding that is part of the responsibility of the coaches recruiting at Liberty. We should be confident the player is on board with the mission before we offer a scholarship, let alone talk about FCOA. Tough to do in football because of the numbers required. Most other sports, not so much.