Youngstown Football 2024 Report card. Tired of excuses! What needs to be done!

[Wick250]

YSU is in the midst of dark winter in the athletic department.  I'm not sure if any of the major sports are on the rise and most of them seem to be in the decline.  Give me something tangible to be excited about when it comes to YSU sports.  What can we be genuinely optimistic about?

Bad football team
Bad men's basketball team
Bad women's basketball team (judgment should be tempered by injuries to key players)

Continuing on:

Bad volleyball team
Bad soccer team
Bad baseball team

But:

Good women's tennis and golf programs
Excellent mid-major track and field programs
Good softball team, until Campbell chokes again in the conference tournament

Great women's bowling team (DI top five nationally)

That is a sparse menu. But the important thing is that our army of athletic administrators still cash their fat paychecks.

[Double ET]

YSU is in the midst of dark winter in the athletic department.  I'm not sure if any of the major sports are on the rise and most of them seem to be in the decline.  Give me something tangible to be excited about when it comes to YSU sports.  What can we be genuinely optimistic about?

Bad football team
Bad men's basketball team
Bad women's basketball team (judgment should be tempered by injuries to key players)

Continuing on:

Bad volleyball team
Bad soccer team
Bad baseball team

But:

Good women's tennis and golf programs
Excellent mid-major track and field programs
Good softball team, until Campbell chokes again in the conference tournament

Great women's bowling team (DI top five nationally)

That is a sparse menu. But the important thing is that our army of athletic administrators still cash their fat paychecks.

Just an observation, all bad programs are revenue generating sports and the good ones are not…
Looks like we need a business guy to focus on the right products….

[YSUGO]

Seems like with all the changes in college athletics we haven’t adjusted at all.  I said this over get out of the MVFC and honestly move all sports to the NEC.  Our budget would put us at the top of that league.  Stay where we are at and we will always be a middle of the pack team in all major sports most of the time

[guinpen]

Seems like with all the changes in college athletics we haven’t adjusted at all.  I said this over get out of the MVFC and honestly move all sports to the NEC.  Our budget would put us at the top of that league.  Stay where we are at and we will always be a middle of the pack team in all major sports most of the time

But would they want us?

[coachtress]

Seems like with all the changes in college athletics we haven’t adjusted at all.  I said this over get out of the MVFC and honestly move all sports to the NEC.  Our budget would put us at the top of that league.  Stay where we are at and we will always be a middle of the pack team in all major sports most of the time

I like the Horizon League.  You have CSU,WSU, NKU, Detroit schools, etc.  Regionally and competitively, I think it is a good fit.

Though, yes, I agree on the MVFC.  No real rivals except for maybe UNI.  We are not competitive, and it does not look like we will be competitive going forward.  Just a poor fit.

Honestly, I do not know what the right answer is.

[Wick250]

Seems like with all the changes in college athletics we haven’t adjusted at all.  I said this over get out of the MVFC and honestly move all sports to the NEC.  Our budget would put us at the top of that league.  Stay where we are at and we will always be a middle of the pack team in all major sports most of the time

But would they want us?

We have 5 times the athletic resources of any full-time member of the NEC (Duquesne and Robert Morris are football-only.) We would be about as welcome to them as the reappearance of the bubonic plague.

As coachtress just noted, the Horizon League is an excellent fit. Membership has migrated east, and we now have three schools in Ohio and five more within 50 miles of Ohio. Football remains the problem: a geographic orphan with no place to go.

[Dmorton]

That schedule is calling for a 2-10 season!  Unbelievably tough!   Of course I'm hoping for a winning record, but I trying to be optimistic

[YSUGO]

Seems like with all the changes in college athletics we haven’t adjusted at all.  I said this over get out of the MVFC and honestly move all sports to the NEC.  Our budget would put us at the top of that league.  Stay where we are at and we will always be a middle of the pack team in all major sports most of the time

But would they want us?

We have 5 times the athletic resources of any full-time member of the NEC (Duquesne and Robert Morris are football-only.) We would be about as welcome to them as the reappearance of the bubonic plague.

As coachtress just noted, the Horizon League is an excellent fit. Membership has migrated east, and we now have three schools in Ohio and five more within 50 miles of Ohio. Football remains the problem: a geographic orphan with no place to go.

I’m not disagreeing with the wick. But why can’t we join as football only in the NEC? We already have two rivals or would that are close to us for travel purposes. We could be the big fish and give them exposure to help build league brand. I’m just trying to think outside the box. Something has to change. The current Conference on Football is not working and you know that for whatever reason and her athletic director seems to feel it’s OK to be a middle of the road football team and Conference just a thought.

[goodnews]

While every other successful FCS/1-AA team moved up we're discussing going backwards.  If the administration and AD would hold the head coach responsible we wouldn't have this issue.  Bad hires, poor coaching, poor recruiting and a bevy of excuses have hung over this program for almost 25 years. 

[Wick250]

While every other successful FCS/1-AA team moved up we're discussing going backwards.  If the administration and AD would hold the head coach responsible we wouldn't have this issue.  Bad hires, poor coaching, poor recruiting and a bevy of excuses have hung over this program for almost 25 years.

Goodnews, that is a perfect summation of our ongoing problem. I will scream this from the mountaintop: We Have the Money!  300k for a head coach and 100k for the coordinators is on par with the MVFC and FCS powers. I submit that all of our gridiron suffering could be cured if we simply do this:

Send the loser coaches packing.

Increase the football budget by just 200K; 400k for the head coach and 150k for each coordinator. That would make YSU one of the most financially enticing jobs in FCS, combined with our excellent facilities (stadium, the Watts, a weight room that impressed the San Francisco 49ers.)

Then form a real search committee of football experts who care about this community, and let them find the right men. With his abysmal track record, Strollo has forfeited any right to simply make the pick.

[Cimo7]

While every other successful FCS/1-AA team moved up we're discussing going backwards.  If the administration and AD would hold the head coach responsible we wouldn't have this issue.  Bad hires, poor coaching, poor recruiting and a bevy of excuses have hung over this program for almost 25 years.

Right?? LOL, lets downgrade to an irrelevant conference in an already irrelevant subdivision of football that maybe 10 people watch.

[Double ET]

While every other successful FCS/1-AA team moved up we're discussing going backwards.  If the administration and AD would hold the head coach responsible we wouldn't have this issue.  Bad hires, poor coaching, poor recruiting and a bevy of excuses have hung over this program for almost 25 years.

Right?? LOL, lets downgrade to an irrelevant conference in an already irrelevant subdivision of football that maybe 10 people watch.

Agreed. Good luck trying to sell a YUGO car…..no matter how cheap it was..you can’t sell what people don’t want…

[33Y0]

While every other successful FCS/1-AA team moved up we're discussing going backwards.  If the administration and AD would hold the head coach responsible we wouldn't have this issue.  Bad hires, poor coaching, poor recruiting and a bevy of excuses have hung over this program for almost 25 years.

Right?? LOL, lets downgrade to an irrelevant conference in an already irrelevant subdivision of football that maybe 10 people watch.

This is what makes me laugh.

On one end of things, folks want to join the MAC because they want regional rivalries and to move up. Well, let's check in on attendance over there with our local rivals:

2024 average attendance:
Kent 8,447
Akron 6,374

2023 average attendance:
Kent 9,511
Akron 7,237

Year over Year change:
Kent -11.19%
Akron -11.92%

5 Year average:
Akron 13,021
Kent 12,317

5 Year over Year change:
Akron -51.04%
Kent -31.42%

Now let's plug in some YSU data...

2024 attendance:
YSU 8,974
Kent St 8,447
Akron 6,374

2023 attendance:
YSU 10,065
Kent St 9,511
Akron 7,237

Year-over-Year change:
YSU -10.9%
Kent St -11.19%
Akron -11.92%

Not only has YSU been drawing bigger crowds than the both of them being in the Missouri Valley, but our drop in attendance less drastic as well. The MAC certainly isn't giving us any opportunity to compete for a national championship. Some might argue we aren't going to get that playing in the Missouri Valley either. Probably fair.

Do you think changing conferences to a lower level conference (where YSU could be more competitive and still have some local rivalries) could be any worse? I doubt it. I have my serious doubts you'd gain anymore interest moving to the MAC where other local regional schools, their fanbases quite frankly don't care either.

[goodnews]

Spin the attendance numbers and defend whomever you want.  The ONLY number that matters is the WIN column.

[guinpen]

While every other successful FCS/1-AA team moved up we're discussing going backwards.  If the administration and AD would hold the head coach responsible we wouldn't have this issue.  Bad hires, poor coaching, poor recruiting and a bevy of excuses have hung over this program for almost 25 years.

Right?? LOL, lets downgrade to an irrelevant conference in an already irrelevant subdivision of football that maybe 10 people watch.

This is what makes me laugh.

On one end of things, folks want to join the MAC because they want regional rivalries and to move up. Well, let's check in on attendance over there with our local rivals:

2024 average attendance:
Kent 8,447
Akron 6,374

2023 average attendance:
Kent 9,511
Akron 7,237

Year over Year change:
Kent -11.19%
Akron -11.92%

5 Year average:
Akron 13,021
Kent 12,317

5 Year over Year change:
Akron -51.04%
Kent -31.42%

Now let's plug in some YSU data...

2024 attendance:
YSU 8,974
Kent St 8,447
Akron 6,374

2023 attendance:
YSU 10,065
Kent St 9,511
Akron 7,237

Year-over-Year change:
YSU -10.9%
Kent St -11.19%
Akron -11.92%

Not only has YSU been drawing bigger crowds than the both of them being in the Missouri Valley, but our drop in attendance less drastic as well. The MAC certainly isn't giving us any opportunity to compete for a national championship. Some might argue we aren't going to get that playing in the Missouri Valley either. Probably fair.

Do you think changing conferences to a lower level conference (where YSU could be more competitive and still have some local rivalries) could be any worse? I doubt it. I have my serious doubts you'd gain anymore interest moving to the MAC where other local regional schools, their fanbases quite frankly don't care either.

Lots of good info here, thanks.

Would there be more fan interest if we were in the MAC, yes and for two reasons. Local schools and a "step up". Another plus would be a bigger payday for the money games. And oh yea maybe a chance at some obscure bowl game.

NEC would also increase fan interest with more local teams and a better chance at the play-offs.

I think that alot of fans feel the way I do with our current league, very little interest with the other teams and no close rival. I could live with the strength of the league and staying where we are if I felt we were serious to do what it takes to compete.

I think that it is very simple, if you win they will come. So which of the above options give us a better chance to win?