We have all had time to read the Carr Report and it's clear to me that we are ready to move up to FBS. I posted my comments on the MFC site this morning. We all need to flood the MFC site with thoughtful comments. Don't wait and hope that someone else will carry the ball for you and your friends. Don't take the position that your comments don't really matter. Take some time today and over the next 2-3 days to be a leader.

(10-06-2013 10:28 AM)HotHamandCheese84 Wrote:  We have all had time to read the Carr Report and it's clear to me that we are ready to move up to FBS. I posted my comments on the MFC site this morning. We all need to flood the MFC site with thoughtful comments. Don't wait and hope that someone else will carry the ball for you and your friends. Don't take the position that your comments don't really matter. Take some time today and over the next 2-3 days to be a leader.

link

Here is the link: http://www.jmu.edu/madisonfuture/feedback.shtml

DO IT, Madison!

(10-06-2013 10:28 AM)HotHamandCheese84 Wrote:  We have all had time to read the Carr Report and it's clear to me that we are ready to move up to FBS. I posted my comments on the MFC site this morning. We all need to flood the MFC site with thoughtful comments. Don't wait and hope that someone else will carry the ball for you and your friends. Don't take the position that your comments don't really matter. Take some time today and over the next 2-3 days to be a leader.

My comments have been posted in support of FBS.

I wrote in favor of FBS, as well as improving the national academic standing for the school as well as adding a Law School. It is ridiculous that a school named after one of the primary developers of the US Constitution does not have a law school.

(10-06-2013 10:43 AM)JMaddy Wrote:  I wrote in favor of FBS, as well as improving the national academic standing for the school as well as adding a Law School. It is ridiculous that a school named after one of the primary developers of the US Constitution does not have a law school.

No, it's not. Law schools are tremendously overflooded already. That's the last thing we need is a law school. I know young lawyers from very prestigious law schools who have trouble finding a job.

I wrote in favor of a move to FBS. A smaller healthcare field professional school would fit JMU very well. We already have terminal degrees in Audiology and Occupational Therapy. The next program should be a Physical Therapy School. Maybe a couple decades down the road a small medical school, dental school, or pharmacy school focused on serving primary care needs in rural Virginia. The latter three would require significant faculty recruitment and more research dollars.

Done. Told them what I have been telling anyone willing to read it on this board for many months- don't settle. Compete with, be, and beat the best.

(10-06-2013 01:46 PM)MCVdukesfan003 Wrote:  I wrote in favor of a move to FBS. A smaller healthcare field professional school would fit JMU very well. We already have terminal degrees in Audiology, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy. The next program should be a Physical Therapy School. Maybe a couple decades down the road a small medical school, dental school, or pharmacy school focused on serving primary care needs in rural Virginia. The latter three would require significant faculty recruitment and more research dollars.

& music.

(10-06-2013 02:10 PM)HyperDuke Wrote:  

(10-06-2013 01:46 PM)MCVdukesfan003 Wrote:  I wrote in favor of a move to FBS. A smaller healthcare field professional school would fit JMU very well. We already have terminal degrees in Audiology, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy. The next program should be a Physical Therapy School. Maybe a couple decades down the road a small medical school, dental school, or pharmacy school focused on serving primary care needs in rural Virginia. The latter three would require significant faculty recruitment and more research dollars.

& music.

That's exactly what I was going to add.

I don't know how anyone could write anything against a move to FBS. Any person with at least 3 brain cells floating around would go that way. I'd love to hear an anti-FBS argument at this point. We're going to lose games this year, but FCS is dead as is the CAA.

Wrote a solid page and a half for an FBS move. I'm just thankful they're taking the time to ask for and read our feedback.

I am in favor of a move up to FBS - but for the sake of dialog and having people mount reasonable rebuttal, here are the top 10 things I would think come to mind for opponents of a move up.

1) Cost - extra scholarships and travel
2) Poor attendance
3) FBS corrupts - chasing $s leads to problems for the university
4) Focus - concentrate on what we do well (Academic mission), adding more things makes this more difficult
5) Weeknight football games
6) Uncertainty around FBS conferences
7) Student/Athlete well-being (safety, academic pressure linked to more travel)
8) Inability to compete at the next level
9) Traffic on game day (especially if we were to begin selling out at a $40K level)
10) Change - many people will resist just because they don't want change

Again - I am in favor of a move. But to the extent we can identify several oft mentioned obstacles, I think we can do a better job galvanizing support. I think on the most basic terms, there really is no such thing as the status quo. The CAA is shifting off a VA centric model, FCS teams will have hard times getting revenue games and getting 5 or 6 home games is becoming increasingly difficult. To boot, with a playoff, FBS AQ schools talking about breaking away from the FBS, and top-tier schools paying players - it is likely that a wider divide will appear between these schools and the rest of FBS.

2) As an FCS school facing primarily crappy opponents at home, JMU still gets more fans to show than most non power FBS school. Christ, our 3 year average at the new BFS is only a few thousand less a game than what Boise State averages.

6) True, compared to FBS conferences the CAA is super stable...oh wait...

Comments posted in support of FBS.

(10-06-2013 10:43 AM)JMaddy Wrote:  I wrote in favor of FBS, as well as improving the national academic standing for the school as well as adding a Law School. It is ridiculous that a school named after one of the primary developers of the US Constitution does not have a law school.

There are way too many lawyers and way too many law schools. And James Madison was not a lawyer--he studied a bit of everything, which is why JMU has to remain true to its liberal arts roots.

I shared my thoughts about the positives of moving up to FBS.

(10-07-2013 07:18 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  

(10-06-2013 10:43 AM)JMaddy Wrote:  I wrote in favor of FBS, as well as improving the national academic standing for the school as well as adding a Law School. It is ridiculous that a school named after one of the primary developers of the US Constitution does not have a law school.

There are way too many lawyers and way too many law schools. And James Madison was not a lawyer--he studied a bit of everything, which is why JMU has to remain true to its liberal arts roots.

Plus, Virginia in particular is saturated with law schools. I would've loved to have had the chance to go to law school at JMU, but it just doesn't make much sense for the university right now.

Medical school....the increased need for doctors and nurses will continue to grow. JMU has a good nursing department, but add the MD's.