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Topics - ysuindy

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1
Their coach is apparently as big of a dick as their star player

@PaulKampe  11m
About getting to return to campus tonight, @KampeOU says on radio: "I can't imagine five days in Youngstown (Ohio)." #HLMBB


2
0505 has been doing a great job of digging out the verbals.  Updated again tonight.

I know I don't always look up there for updates - just a friendly reminder in case you have not been checking.

3
YSU Penguin Athletics / Upgraded basketball facilities
« on: January 26, 2014, 04:47:44 PM »
Joe Scalzo with a story in today's Vindicator about the new basketball weight room and video room, among other facility improvements.

Some interesting discussion from Strollo about how the perception of Youngstown as an unsafe city hampered not only recruiting efforts, but the women's hoops coaching search.

Also some discussion from Slocum about how financial needs impact the schedule, both home and away - need to make $80k or $90k on the road, need people to come here on the cheap.

I have no doubt the facility upgrades will help recruiting.  These kind of things matter to kids, even more than the gameday arena itself.

Kudos to those who stepped up financially to make this come through.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/jan/26/facilitating/

4
YSU Penguin Athletics / Coaches for Cancer NEOhio tip-off next year?
« on: January 25, 2014, 09:30:42 PM »
Listening to Coach Slocum's post game press conference.  Talked about wearing purple to support Dan Peters. 

He mentioned that instead of doing a Coaches vs Cancer banquet next year, talk of a tip off tournament with the four NEO schools.  Said Cleveland State is the hold up right now.

I think that would be a great idea and should happen every year with the schools alternating against teams from the other league.  It would be great to do it at the Q, but even if it happens at Kent or Akron (centrally located) that would be fine.  Similar to the Crossroads Classic in Indy each year where Butler and Notre Dame play Purdue and Indiana each year.

5
YSU Penguin Athletics / Preview: Men's basketball vs Valparaiso
« on: January 23, 2014, 12:09:24 PM »
YSU hosts Valpo tonight.  The Crusaders are 11-9, 3-2 in the Horizon League

Valpo has home wins over UIC and UWM and a road win at Detroit.  League losses are at Oakland and home to Wright State.

Non-conference includes 3 non-Division I wins and no wins against Pomeroy top 150 teams. Bad losses (Pomeroy 200 or higher) were to 227 Evansville and 270 Eastern Tennessee.

Pomeroy  gives YSU a 73% chance of winning and projects a 81-74 final.

Massey gives YSU a 66% chance of winning and project 80-75.

Sagarin's ratings make YSU a 4 1/2 point favorite

Dunkel indicates the Vegas line is YSU by 4 and recommends taking Valpo plus the points.

My morning paper has YSU a 2 1/2 point favorite.

This is the weakest Valpo team in a few years. YSU has won the last two at Beeghley against them.  This is a game that YSU needs to win if they hope to contend for a double bye in the conference tournament.

I will be away from the computer for most of the night - hoping to come back to a good result.

7
YSU Penguin Athletics / Women beat Green Bay 66-57
« on: January 16, 2014, 09:07:21 PM »
Congratulations to Coach Barnes and the team.  YSU now 3-0 in Horizon League for first time ever.  Given the way the season started, I didn't see this coming.

Green Bay now 8-7, clearly not what they have been but this is still a very good win.

51 fouls in the game - YSU shot 33 free throws.  Green Bay threw up 40 three point attempts.

I have never seen a game with so many offensive fouls called - most of which were NBA worthy flops.  Maybe I need to watch more women's basketball, but the officials were not very good IMO.

8
YSU (11-8, 2-2) will host Detroit Saturday night.

Detroit is 8-10, 1-2 in the Horizon heading in to a home game tonight against Valpo.  The Titans are 2-6 on the road this year

Detroit has one "good" win ( top 150 Pomeroy) - over 137 Rhode Island.  The Titans have two "bad" losses (to sub Pomeroy 200 teams) at South Alabama and at Bowling Green.

YSU has two "good" wins - 81 Cleveland State and 142 Eastern Kentucky and of course the two "bad" losses to 281 Austin Peay and at 212 UMKC.  Pomeroy has YSU ranked 141.

Pomeroy gives YSU a 73% chance of winning with a 79-72 projection.

Massey gives YSU a 69% chance of winning, projecting 80-75.

Sagarin's ratings make YSU a 7 point favorite at home.


9
Scalzo with a couple of Tweets indicating Strollo has said Wolford will get a contract extension:

Joe Scalzo ‏@JoeScalzo1
YSU athletic director Ron Strollo said Eric Wolford will get an extension. Wolford is entering last year of original contract.

Strollo believes program is headed in the right direction. Said playoffs are still the standard. More in Saturday's paper.


Hopefully the article will be on-line.

Two points (that I've probably made before)

1.  An extension is imperative for recruiting as we head in to the last month.  If Wolford doesn't get an extension, it will be used against YSU by other coaches.  Doing nothing was not an option IMO.  Strollo either has to let Wolford go (and would have had to it as season ended) or extend him.

2.  The real key to an extension (which I would think has to be at least two years and most likely three) is what are the buyout terms.  If we are sitting here in two years and YSU still hasn't made the playoffs, Strollo needs a way out of the contract - with a buyout cost that YSU can afford.


11
I do not recall any prior high school recruit graduating early and enrolling at YSU in January.


SCPrepNation.com ‏@SCPrepNation  2h
14' York High RB Ryan Moore will sign today with Youngstown State and will enroll in January.  Congrats! @ATH_Moore21

12
YSU Penguin Athletics / Sad news - Dan Peters battling pancreatic cancer
« on: December 14, 2013, 06:40:56 PM »
Sorry to hear this about the former YSU men's basketball coach.  Best of luck Coach.

Ed Puskas ‏@EdPuskas85  · 4m 
Dan Peters, former YSU men's basketball coach, is taking leave from his job as Akron's director of operations to battle pancreatic cancer.


13
YSU Penguin Athletics / YSU to play Pitt in 2015 and 2017
« on: December 14, 2013, 01:34:49 PM »
Dana Balash reporting via Twitter that YSU will play Pitt in 2015 and 2017.

so

2014 - Illinois
2015 - Pitt
2016 - ?
2017 - Pitt

correct?

14

The student/taxpayer subsidy for the Minutemen's move to FBS has been $1 million higher than anticipated over the first two years of FBS football and next year will be $5.1 million per year.

There clearly is some logic is a flagship state university moving up and becoming just the third FBS school in New England.  But playing in the MAC and having home games many miles from campus doesn't seem to be working.  Another example of the folly of "big time football" for schools that should be FCS

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/12/13/umass-football-subsidy-exceeds-projections/LdMZCquclCgNI7YFMYWeNP/story.html



Students and taxpayers have spent $1 million more than projected to help fund the first two seasons of the UMass Amherst football team’s ambitious — and so far disappointing — upgrade to elite collegiate competition, according to a report presented Thursday to the university’s Faculty Senate.

The subsidy, known as institutional support, is expected to exceed projections by an additional $600,000 next season, reaching $5.1 million of the $7.8 million football budget. The overrun is considered a reflection of the Minutemen’s struggle to generate enthusiasm for the upgrade, which included moving most of the team’s home games to Gillette Stadium.

The report triggered a new round of complaints that UMass leaders invested scarce public dollars that could have been better spent when they elevated the football team in 2012 to the NCAA’s top Football Bowl Subdivision.

“What becomes clearer each year is that this is a huge financial disaster for the university,’’ said Max Page, a co-chairman of the school’s Ad Hoc Committee on FBS Football, which prepared the report.


The committee is composed of faculty, students, and staff, including leaders of the athletic department.

“The promises that were made are not panning out,’’ said Page, an art and history professor.

Athletic department spokesman John Sinnett said it’s too soon to pass judgment on a lengthy commitment. The Minutemen are two years into a five-year agreement with Gillette Stadium, and UMass administrators continue to believe the program will thrive over time.

In launching the upgrade, school officials projected the football team would generate an annual budget surplus greater than $1 million by 2018.

“This is a long-term project,’’ Sinnett said. “We made certain estimates that will change over time, especially where there is a great deal of transition involved. You need time to build the infrastructure’’

University officials said the report should not be viewed as a definitive portrait of the program’s financial status. They said the football budget would have increased even if the Minutemen had remained in the lower Football Championship Subdivision. They also said that much of the institutional support would not be used for educational purposes if football were eliminated because student athletic fees would be dedicated to other athletic programs and tuition waivers for football players would not be available to other students.

No one disputes, however, that the team’s performance has fallen short of expectations. The Minutemen have posted 1-11 records in each of the first two seasons in the tougher Mid-American Conference. The on-field performance was particularly disappointing this year, as the Minutemen squandered chances to beat winless Western Michigan (a 31-30 loss) and struggling Akron (a 14-13 defeat) at Gillette.

UMass improved defensively, surrendering an average of 33 points per game, down from 40.2 in 2012. But they scored only 11.7 points per game, a drop from 12.7 the previous year.

“Obviously, the record hasn’t been what we would have liked,’’ Sinnett said. “But this is something that we and the players are committed to, and at the end of the day it can help promote the university.’’

Ticket sales at Gillette improved from an average of 10,901 in 2012 to 15,830 in 2013, the highest ever for a UMass football team. Still, attendance remained significantly lower than school officials had projected.

“My personal view is that the program is off to a weak start,’’ said Nelson Lacey, who co-chaired the committee that produced the report. “This isn’t terribly surprising given that it will take some time for young recruits to get winning experience. But it is disappointing.’’

Lacey, a professor of finance, said he would prefer to evaluate the upgrade after three to five years. He said he is not opposed to the university increasing its football budget in the early years of the upgrade.

“Spending more to build the program is a good idea if the extra spending creates benefits such as guarantees, ticket sales, and additional giving,’’ Lacey said.

The guarantees include Penn State paying UMass $850,000 to play there next season. The Minutemen are scheduled to open the 2014 season at Gillette against Boston College, which school officials hope builds interest in the program.

UMass also will resume playing in Amherst for the first time since 2011. The Minutemen are scheduled to play three games in refurbished McGuirk Stadium, which will please many fans who felt abandoned by the move to Gillette.

As part of the upgrade, UMass built a new football training facility and made improvements to the McGuirk press box, which will require the school next year to begin paying an annual $2.2 million debt service on the projects.

Faculty members who oppose the upgrade described it in a written assessment as “a costly ‘Hail Mary’ pass that looks as if it is bound to fall incomplete.’’

Supporters, meanwhile, said the initiative has begun to pay dividends. Last summer, two UMass alumni who are football supporters, Ed Ward and Martin Jacobson, each committed $2.5 million to the athletic department.

Sinnett said the hope is that the football team replicates the recent success of the UMass men’s basketball squad, which this season has been ranked in the Top 25 nationally, five years after coach Derek Kellogg began a rebuilding effort.

Bob Hoh

15
YSU Penguin Athletics / Future football game with Robert Morris
« on: December 12, 2013, 11:09:15 AM »
The Robert Morris Rivals site indicates they have a future (not 2014) football game with YSU.

Surprised to see they have a home game in 2014 with Eastern Kentucky in their 3,000 seat stadium.


http://robertmorris.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1219&CID=1586355

As John Banaszak moves into the head coaching job at Robert Morris in the wake of Joe Walton's retirement, ColonialsCorner caught up with him to talk about the dawn of a new era. This is the final part of a three-part series. You can read part one here and see what Banaszak's mindset is as he moves into the job. Part two focused on Banaszak's changes to the program , including a new offense.

Even after March 19, 2013 came and went, John Banaszak couldn't get the sights he saw that night out of his mind.

Not only did the Robert Morris football coach have a front row seat for the basketball team's upset of Kentucky, but he came away thrilled at the sight of the sea of red in the stands, a packed house full of vocal, crazed Robert Morris students.

That sea of red never really reached the shores of Joe Walton Stadium the next fall, and Banaszak is out to do something about it.

"We've got to have a sea of red in these stands. To be honest, I was very disappointed with our fan support this past season," Banaszak said. "That's not going to happen again. These students on this campus are looking for things to do. Come and see us play. Come and enjoy that college football atmosphere. We're not going to be on ESPN Game Day, but we can make that special."

Among his other tasks now that's he head coach, Banaszak's added the challenge of engaging the students and getting them to fill the stands for every home game. Part of the challenge is fighting the remnants of Robert Morris' commuter school base, which has long been a challenge for the school's athletic department. But Banaszak also knows that part of it is his football team holding up its end of the bargain.

"We win the conference championship and go to the NCAA playoffs in 2010, we graduate 26 kids, and we go to 2-9. That stinks," Banaszak said. "Never going to be 2-9 again. We improved to 4-7, that stinks. That's not good enough. But we're still able to have great recruiting classes those two years. 5-6 with an opportunity to win the conference is an improvement, but it's still not where we need to be."

Banaszak's hopeful that a model built on recruiting quality players, letting them grow for a couple years, and then step into major roles as juniors and seniors will turn Robert Morris into a perennial contender. Smart scheduling will also play a factor, and he's going to continue to push for night games - which have traditionally sold out - when they're feasible.

"I think it has to be sprinkled in, only because of our conference. It's not really fair to have a Central Connecticut come in and play at night and they have to travel back," Banaszak said. "We've tried to implement a conference rule that when you go east to west or west to east, that you start those games at noon so you give them some travel time. But if St. Francis and Duquesne come here, we'll play them at night. We like those night games."

Banaszak also likes tough competition. Robert Morris will host Eastern Kentucky, which is exploring a move to the FBS level, on Thursday, August 28 to open the 2014 season. Robert Morris also has road games against Lafayette and North Dakota next year, plus future games against Youngstown State and South Dakota State.

Beyond that, Banaszak is also hoping to put together the program's first game against an FBS school. Wagner's played Syracuse and Florida Atlantic, while Duquesne will play Buffalo next year. Banaszak wants a piece of that pie.

"I would play a MAC school in a heartbeat," Banaszak said. He paused and laughed, "Maybe not Northern Illinois, though. They're pretty freakin' good."

"For us to take a trip to Kent State, for us to take a trip to Eastern Michigan, that's no different than going to Connecticut. Get into the BCS schools? Absolutely. I'd be crazy to pass that up," Banaszak continued. "Our recruiting philosophy includes that. That's quite a challenge for us. We're in the search of kids that have been offered by MAC schools. Those are the kids I want to compete against, those MAC schools. If I can steal 8-to-10 of those kids a year, that believe they should be playing at the BCS level, then I think I can compete when we do get that opportunity."

The number of FCS wins over FBS programs has increased in recent years, and that provides additional motivation for schools like Robert Morris, who now qualify as bowl counters.

"Youngstown State beat Pitt two years ago. I'll go to Pitt tomorrow and play them for $500,000," Banaszak said. "I'd be crazy not to. What that could do for us as a program?"

FBS opponents or not, the tougher schedule and push for increased support are part of Banaszak's plan to make Robert Morris a perennial contender in the Northeast Conference and potentially a significant pest throughout the FCS. Time will tell if it's possible, but Banaszak believes it is.

"There wouldn't be anything greater than winning a national championship for little old Robert Morris University. Who would ever believe that? Who would ever think that would be possible?" Banaszak said. "But I can tell you that I think it's a worthy goal. I think we can do that. If I didn't believe that, I shouldn't be sitting here."

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