Still bugs me

[guinpen]

Old subject that has been beaten to death but still bugs me.

So many of our old peers, have moved up and done so well. We all know the long list.

Yesterday Appy beats Texas A&M, Marshall beats the Irish and we beat Dayton!

[Cimo7]

Absolutely.
So my question is, why not us?

[Penquin68]

I think we just do not have the financial resources to go to FBS. Our region is not attracting more companies and thus more families and potential YSU students which is the main driving force for YSU income. Look at Poland schools as just one example of the lack of potential YSU students in our future. Need to work on improving our business climate to get more companies to want to locate here if you want YSU to grow to where we could think about FBS. Look at the trouble Akron U is having and their business climate is better than ours in my opinion. Remember Athletics is a losing proposition at all Ohio Universities except OSU when looking in financial terms.

[Double ET]

I think we just do not have the financial resources to go to FBS. Our region is not attracting more companies and thus more families and potential YSU students which is the main driving force for YSU income. Look at Poland schools as just one example of the lack of potential YSU students in our future. Need to work on improving our business climate to get more companies to want to locate here if you want YSU to grow to where we could think about FBS. Look at the trouble Akron U is having and their business climate is better than ours in my opinion. Remember Athletics is a losing proposition at all Ohio Universities except OSU when looking in financial terms.

That time has come and gone. We had a chance to get in MAC in 90’s, but the university could not made the financial commitment. So we were not selected.

Now, this valley has lost much of the major industrial companies who might be able to provide $$ to the university to get us there.

With falling enrollment and lack of a committed fan base (looking at the attendance from the first 2 games), there is almost no way for the university to increase the athletic budget to get us into FBS.

We can now only dream.

We now have a better chance to get us into the big dance in our basketball programs.

[Kandrase]

I think we just do not have the financial resources to go to FBS. Our region is not attracting more companies and thus more families and potential YSU students which is the main driving force for YSU income. Look at Poland schools as just one example of the lack of potential YSU students in our future. Need to work on improving our business climate to get more companies to want to locate here if you want YSU to grow to where we could think about FBS. Look at the trouble Akron U is having and their business climate is better than ours in my opinion. Remember Athletics is a losing proposition at all Ohio Universities except OSU when looking in financial terms.

That time has come and gone. We had a chance to get in MAC in 90’s, but the university could not made the financial commitment. So we were not selected.

Now, this valley has lost much of the major industrial companies who might be able to provide $$ to the university to get us there.

With falling enrollment and lack of a committed fan base (looking at the attendance from the first 2 games), there is almost no way for the university to increase the athletic budget to get us into FBS.

We can now only dream.

We now have a better chance to get us into the big dance in our basketball programs.

Despite the fact that these teams may pull the occasional upset, they’ll never have true relevance in the FBS world. I like the idea of local rivalries for us  in FBS but besides that I think it’s boring to never have a shot at playoffs or a real championship.

… I just don’t see much of a benefit in moving “up” and being a pretender FBS team like most of the MAC.

[guinpen]

Old subject that has been beaten to death but still bugs me.

So many of our old peers, have moved up and done so well. We all know the long list.

Yesterday Appy beats Texas A&M, Marshall beats the Irish and we beat Dayton!

Oh Yea Georgia Southern beat Nebraska,

[Wick250]

Once the P5 expands their playoffs to 12, the G5 will become even more irrelevant than it is today. The P5 might grant one or even two spots in the field to G5 teams, but that will be the equivalent of allowing the NEC and the Pioneer League to "participate" in the FCS playoffs.  Basically a joke.

No, we are a mid-major athletic program.  We are doing things right.  The entire MAC spends millions of student money for respect that nobody will ever give them. How many casual fans of "big time" college sports could differentiate between a Ball State and an Illinois State?  I suspect that answer is less than 5%.

[Kandrase]

Old subject that has been beaten to death but still bugs me.

So many of our old peers, have moved up and done so well. We all know the long list.

Yesterday Appy beats Texas A&M, Marshall beats the Irish and we beat Dayton!

Oh Yea Georgia Southern beat Nebraska,

I mean we beat Pitt while still being FCS.

[YSUGO]

Most casual fans could careless about FBS.
Most casual local fans could careless or know we play in the Missouri valley conference or how tough of a football league it is
We have no real rivals in the Missouri Valley and so we will never see or get the casual fan. 
Translation declining attendance lack of interest from fans and media. 
This program has done squat since we have been in this conference And all we have become is everyone’s homecoming game.

I love YSU and it hurts to say that.

[Double ET]

Most casual fans could careless about FBS.
Most casual local fans could careless or know we play in the Missouri valley conference or how tough of a football league it is
We have no real rivals in the Missouri Valley and so we will never see or get the casual fan. 
Translation declining attendance lack of interest from fans and media. 
This program has done squat since we have been in this conference And all we have become is everyone’s homecoming game.

I love YSU and it hurts to say that.

I know it does not make much sense for us to spend the $$ to be in FBS. I mentioned MAC because of the rivalry we might be able to create to attract more fans to the game. Akron, Kent, Ohio and Toledo just to name a few.
I don’t know if our fans will ever care about the MVC teams.

I have been going to the games since my Freshman year in the mid-60’s at YSU. It also hurts me to say that I have lost my interests in those teams although I did enjoy watching those two games in Pittsburgh.

[YsuPride]

like Boone and Statesboro are better than Youngstown?   It's all about the university at this point and not business in the area.   We need to commit the budget for a move up soon or we are going to be in deep dodo if we don't .  We cannot even be middle of the pack in the Missouri valley.   It all boils down to the University committing to making the move.  The funds will come if we are FBS.  Trust me.   Everyone including Liberty is moving up and these teams we used to manhandle in the 90's.   I am not sold on Phillips as our Head coach.  Should have never got rid of Wolford.  He beat PITT.

[ucfpengbuck]

Youngstown > Huntington.

[Penquin68]

I don't know how other states fund their Universities, but Ohio is mostly based on attendance. YSU is not going to commit to Athletic budget increases as funding currently exists. I am concerned that we can stay where we are with the current decrease in enrollment. The University of Akron is firing tenured faculty due to budget shortfalls.

We had our chance with the MAC in the 90's and did not make it. Reason rummers persist about Akron and Kent not supporting us. Another version has us not making the financial commitment the MAC wanted for entry. I don't know what the truth is. I can believe either reason, but don't know for sure about any of that. I can see us competing in the MAC, but not many of the other conferences in FBS. Things may change with the power 5 schools changing what they want and knock the MAC down to our level. Then we have a chance.

[goodnews]

No doubt, college athletics are expensive.  I think YSU does a good job securing scholarship money for various sports.  Some of the sports have done much better then others if you ever read through the endowed scholarship list.  With that being said higher education and for that matter K-12 is not sustainable financially.  You have these unions holding up small town tax payers and universities for raises so they can work 32 hour work weeks and have 3 months off.   Not to mention, we pay these educators benefits until they die.  Maybe more tenured professors should be let go including at YSU.

[guinpen]

For years I have been waiting for the mac schools to move back to our level, maybe the answer is for a little of two things to happen. Maybe the mac will not move down but stay where they are and the P5 will move up leaving the mac behind. Hope that the cost to match them would not be as steep.

I believe that osu is paying us 800k to play them, I think that they signed can't st a week or so later for several million, do not recall the exact amount. But the bottom line is that our level does not demand as much respect as the g5. Not sure if the difference in payout would make that much difference to justify moving up.

Our league was "ok" at first but with Western leaving and then the expansion north and west with schools that I have no interest in it is no longer "ok". Yes it is a great league and I am not afraid of playing them, they just do not interest me.

maybe I would not be so frustrated if we had at least stayed competitive at our level. It is so hard to build a program to the point we were in the 90's but we did it. Then we let it slip away and have not been able to get back on the right track since.