(Summary from DNR article)

Posted: August 21, 2015

By CHRIS SIMMONS

HARRISONBURG – Every time I write about the issues facing James Madison University athletics, I feel like I’m being sucked into a cathode-ray TV set and becoming part of “I Love Lucy,” where every episode repeats the same themes over and over and over..........

Let’s start with the obvious question: What’s up with Madison’s quest to join an FBS – aka, Division I-A – conference in football? The short answer: Very little.

According to sources, neither Conference USA nor the Mid-American Conference has contacted JMU about membership. Even the Sun Belt is looking at programs other than Madison as it considers expansion, according to the Lafayette (La.) Daily Advertiser, with Commissioner Karl Benson acknowledging that Coastal Carolina and Eastern Kentucky are candidates.

Of course, the reason JMU isn’t on the Sun Belt’s list might be because the university has made clear its distaste for the far-flung league.

Other pieces of the article:

- Problem: Fund-raising for the new Convo is going poorly.

- Besides, against all odds, Brady has become part of the furniture: He’s now the third-longest serving men’s basketball coach in JMU history, trailing only Lou Campanelli (13 seasons before leaving for Cal-Berkeley) and Lefty Driesell (nine seasons before being fired).

So there you go. Anybody want to watch “Groundhog Day”?

Apathy is high. We've had our chances and we prefer the small time

Although I agree apathy is high within our fan base and you could probably add me to that group I foresee a shot in the arm to JMU Nation thanks to HH&C and 2Buck once we flip the switch on the website. I truly believe this grassroots movement is going to take off and create a buzz which will have people talking about the campaign in the tailgate lots, in the stands of Bridgeforth, by the student body, and eventually the local news outlets.

Maybe fundraising for the Convo would be doing much better if, yknow, emails from alumni offering to send money were REPLIED TO. Like, either of the two I sent in Spring. It's as if they're trying to sabotage the whole thing and fall back on the excuse, "hey the alumni didn't want to contribute."

(08-22-2015 08:26 AM)madizoned-level2004 Wrote:  Maybe fundraising for the Convo would be doing much better if, yknow, emails from alumni offering to send money were REPLIED TO. Like, either of the two I sent in Spring. It's as if they're trying to sabotage the whole thing and fall back on the excuse, "hey the alumni didn't want to contribute."

I am of the opinion that the new arena is struggling for financial support due to so many alumni believing their most pressing desire is not being met and that donors will come forward for the arena issue when the admin displays a strong desire to move on our conference affiliation.

I like the idea new arena. I for one believe they need to lay out specific details of how it will be run. It has been presented with a very vague and open ended details. Things like goals for the number and types of events beyond MBB and WBB games need to be addressed. Will a strong event promotion staff be hired? What has been presented is very much in line with their thinking on almost all things JMU. If we build it they will come mentality. Who will be the authority? Who will be held accountable for meeting the established measures? This isn't a new dorm or building for classrooms, this place is an income generator and needs to be thought of as such.

(08-22-2015 08:26 AM)madizoned-level2004 Wrote:  Maybe fundraising for the Convo would be doing much better if, yknow, emails from alumni offering to send money were REPLIED TO. Like, either of the two I sent in Spring. It's as if they're trying to sabotage the whole thing and fall back on the excuse, "hey the alumni didn't want to contribute."

That's when you know **** hit the bottom of the barrel when you extend your unsolicited support and nobody even cares. We are like the guy who keeps calling and texting the girl and she's not responding. At some point you gotta throw in the towel.

(08-22-2015 05:53 AM)Dukeman Wrote:  (Summary from DNR article)

Posted: August 21, 2015

By CHRIS SIMMONS

HARRISONBURG – Every time I write about the issues facing James Madison University athletics, I feel like I’m being sucked into a cathode-ray TV set and becoming part of “I Love Lucy,” where every episode repeats the same themes over and over and over..........

Let’s start with the obvious question: What’s up with Madison’s quest to join an FBS – aka, Division I-A – conference in football? The short answer: Very little.

According to sources, neither Conference USA nor the Mid-American Conference has contacted JMU about membership. Even the Sun Belt is looking at programs other than Madison as it considers expansion, according to the Lafayette (La.) Daily Advertiser, with Commissioner Karl Benson acknowledging that Coastal Carolina and Eastern Kentucky are candidates.

Of course, the reason JMU isn’t on the Sun Belt’s list might be because the university has made clear its distaste for the far-flung league.

Other pieces of the article:

- Problem: Fund-raising for the new Convo is going poorly.

- Besides, against all odds, Brady has become part of the furniture: He’s now the third-longest serving men’s basketball coach in JMU history, trailing only Lou Campanelli (13 seasons before leaving for Cal-Berkeley) and Lefty Driesell (nine seasons before being fired).

So there you go. Anybody want to watch “Groundhog Day”?

And now we know Chris Simmons true colors. This is a bald faced lie, it has been well documented that C-USA has contacted JMU in the past (read ODU/Delaware/JMU meeting) as well as strongly rumored and I believe reported by the DNR that they have done a site visit. You wouldn't come do a site visit if you weren't in contact about an invite.

(08-22-2015 11:24 AM)CISDuke2014 Wrote:  

(08-22-2015 05:53 AM)Dukeman Wrote:  (Summary from DNR article)

Posted: August 21, 2015

By CHRIS SIMMONS

HARRISONBURG – Every time I write about the issues facing James Madison University athletics, I feel like I’m being sucked into a cathode-ray TV set and becoming part of “I Love Lucy,” where every episode repeats the same themes over and over and over..........

Let’s start with the obvious question: What’s up with Madison’s quest to join an FBS – aka, Division I-A – conference in football? The short answer: Very little.

According to sources, neither Conference USA nor the Mid-American Conference has contacted JMU about membership. Even the Sun Belt is looking at programs other than Madison as it considers expansion, according to the Lafayette (La.) Daily Advertiser, with Commissioner Karl Benson acknowledging that Coastal Carolina and Eastern Kentucky are candidates.

Of course, the reason JMU isn’t on the Sun Belt’s list might be because the university has made clear its distaste for the far-flung league.

Other pieces of the article:

- Problem: Fund-raising for the new Convo is going poorly.

- Besides, against all odds, Brady has become part of the furniture: He’s now the third-longest serving men’s basketball coach in JMU history, trailing only Lou Campanelli (13 seasons before leaving for Cal-Berkeley) and Lefty Driesell (nine seasons before being fired).

So there you go. Anybody want to watch “Groundhog Day”?

And now we know Chris Simmons true colors. This is a bald faced lie, it has been well documented that C-USA has contacted JMU in the past (read ODU/Delaware/JMU meeting) as well as strongly rumored and I believe reported by the DNR that they have done a site visit. You wouldn't come do a site visit if you weren't in contact about an invite.

Pretty sure he's talking about the recent past. He's not lying. JMU has put itself in a bad position and has no one to blame but it's fearless leaders.

(08-22-2015 11:30 AM)atljmualum Wrote:  

(08-22-2015 11:24 AM)CISDuke2014 Wrote:  

(08-22-2015 05:53 AM)Dukeman Wrote:  (Summary from DNR article)

Posted: August 21, 2015

By CHRIS SIMMONS

HARRISONBURG – Every time I write about the issues facing James Madison University athletics, I feel like I’m being sucked into a cathode-ray TV set and becoming part of “I Love Lucy,” where every episode repeats the same themes over and over and over..........

Let’s start with the obvious question: What’s up with Madison’s quest to join an FBS – aka, Division I-A – conference in football? The short answer: Very little.

According to sources, neither Conference USA nor the Mid-American Conference has contacted JMU about membership. Even the Sun Belt is looking at programs other than Madison as it considers expansion, according to the Lafayette (La.) Daily Advertiser, with Commissioner Karl Benson acknowledging that Coastal Carolina and Eastern Kentucky are candidates.

Of course, the reason JMU isn’t on the Sun Belt’s list might be because the university has made clear its distaste for the far-flung league.

Other pieces of the article:

- Problem: Fund-raising for the new Convo is going poorly.

- Besides, against all odds, Brady has become part of the furniture: He’s now the third-longest serving men’s basketball coach in JMU history, trailing only Lou Campanelli (13 seasons before leaving for Cal-Berkeley) and Lefty Driesell (nine seasons before being fired).

So there you go. Anybody want to watch “Groundhog Day”?

And now we know Chris Simmons true colors. This is a bald faced lie, it has been well documented that C-USA has contacted JMU in the past (read ODU/Delaware/JMU meeting) as well as strongly rumored and I believe reported by the DNR that they have done a site visit. You wouldn't come do a site visit if you weren't in contact about an invite.

Pretty sure he's talking about the recent past. He's not lying. JMU has put itself in a bad position and has no one to blame but it's fearless leaders.

Couldn't agree more about JMU leadership being ultimately at fault. They have been so scared of risk that they may have set the athletic department back decades.

But Mr. Simmons bias against JMU is well known and he either:

1. conveniently left out the words recent past (FYI site visit was about 2 years ago is that not recent)
2. left out the mention of the meeting and site visit

for 1 single reason: to belittle JMU and make JMU look bad. He has more bias against JMU then Fox News has for the RNP

(08-22-2015 11:30 AM)atljmualum Wrote:  

(08-22-2015 11:24 AM)CISDuke2014 Wrote:  

(08-22-2015 05:53 AM)Dukeman Wrote:  (Summary from DNR article)

Posted: August 21, 2015

By CHRIS SIMMONS

HARRISONBURG – Every time I write about the issues facing James Madison University athletics, I feel like I’m being sucked into a cathode-ray TV set and becoming part of “I Love Lucy,” where every episode repeats the same themes over and over and over..........

Let’s start with the obvious question: What’s up with Madison’s quest to join an FBS – aka, Division I-A – conference in football? The short answer: Very little.

According to sources, neither Conference USA nor the Mid-American Conference has contacted JMU about membership. Even the Sun Belt is looking at programs other than Madison as it considers expansion, according to the Lafayette (La.) Daily Advertiser, with Commissioner Karl Benson acknowledging that Coastal Carolina and Eastern Kentucky are candidates.

Of course, the reason JMU isn’t on the Sun Belt’s list might be because the university has made clear its distaste for the far-flung league.

Other pieces of the article:

- Problem: Fund-raising for the new Convo is going poorly.

- Besides, against all odds, Brady has become part of the furniture: He’s now the third-longest serving men’s basketball coach in JMU history, trailing only Lou Campanelli (13 seasons before leaving for Cal-Berkeley) and Lefty Driesell (nine seasons before being fired).

So there you go. Anybody want to watch “Groundhog Day”?

And now we know Chris Simmons true colors. This is a bald faced lie, it has been well documented that C-USA has contacted JMU in the past (read ODU/Delaware/JMU meeting) as well as strongly rumored and I believe reported by the DNR that they have done a site visit. You wouldn't come do a site visit if you weren't in contact about an invite.

Pretty sure he's talking about the recent past. He's not lying. JMU has put itself in a bad position and has no one to blame but it's fearless leaders.

Yeah, I read it as the recent past also. CUSA visited but it was a couple of years ago now. I'd bet the MAC visited also but it just wasn't reported. A site visit is really not much to get worked up about. It's like buying a new house. You might visit 15 of them before you decide on one.

If you read the full article he also says that JMU believes that Oklahoma may leave the Big 12 for the SEC which will start a ripple effect. Sounds like a long shot to me.

That would definitely create a ripple effect but not sure if it'd ripple down to JMU. I think based on the comments of Big 12 leadership and simple common sense, something is going to happen there one way or the other. I see them adding two teams. I don't see them staying at 10. Oklahoma is a coveted program for any conference but with the SEC sitting at a healthy 14 with nobody going anywhere I don't see that happening.

(08-22-2015 11:24 AM)CISDuke2014 Wrote:  

(08-22-2015 05:53 AM)Dukeman Wrote:  (Summary from DNR article)

Posted: August 21, 2015

By CHRIS SIMMONS

HARRISONBURG – Every time I write about the issues facing James Madison University athletics, I feel like I’m being sucked into a cathode-ray TV set and becoming part of “I Love Lucy,” where every episode repeats the same themes over and over and over..........

Let’s start with the obvious question: What’s up with Madison’s quest to join an FBS – aka, Division I-A – conference in football? The short answer: Very little.

According to sources, neither Conference USA nor the Mid-American Conference has contacted JMU about membership. Even the Sun Belt is looking at programs other than Madison as it considers expansion, according to the Lafayette (La.) Daily Advertiser, with Commissioner Karl Benson acknowledging that Coastal Carolina and Eastern Kentucky are candidates.

Of course, the reason JMU isn’t on the Sun Belt’s list might be because the university has made clear its distaste for the far-flung league.

Other pieces of the article:

- Problem: Fund-raising for the new Convo is going poorly.

- Besides, against all odds, Brady has become part of the furniture: He’s now the third-longest serving men’s basketball coach in JMU history, trailing only Lou Campanelli (13 seasons before leaving for Cal-Berkeley) and Lefty Driesell (nine seasons before being fired).

So there you go. Anybody want to watch “Groundhog Day”?

And now we know Chris Simmons true colors. This is a bald faced lie, it has been well documented that C-USA has contacted JMU in the past (read ODU/Delaware/JMU meeting) as well as strongly rumored and I believe reported by the DNR that they have done a site visit. You wouldn't come do a site visit if you weren't in contact about an invite.

Speaking of bald faced lies, at least Simmons did not perpetuate the Bourne and Alger public lie that JMU has not had an invite in the recent past from the SBC.

The rest may not be news or well received but is spot on...same things year after year after year...and yes, my DC rep has gone incognito since I have begun asking conference questions when handing over cash.

The article says somebody in the admin thinks a Big 12 move ©(w)ould create a spot in CUSA for JMU. This has to be Jeffrey Bourne, right, he is our engaged athletic director.

While trying to raise money for a new bball home, why would JMU not market the need to be even more ready to transition to CUSA if Bourne can support a Big 12 poaching theory? If the AD can't support a Big 12 poaching theory and make decisions and communicate a plan, "thinking it may happen" is worth a bucket of spit.

The admin's unwillingness to be transparent has created distrust.

The admin intentionally leaves a potential conference move on the table but they have created so many outs that it's not hard to believe that they have no intention of ever leaving the CAA and that they are more than willing to ride the purple lie for years to come.

Yeah, this is probably the first and only time I've seen the DNR finally come close to acknowledging that we're not FBS because THE ADMINISTRATION REFUSES TO PURSUE THE SUN BELT, which obviously is our only FBS option. That fact cannot be repeated frequently enough.

As Pogo once said, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

(08-22-2015 02:20 PM)NovaDuke Wrote:  The article says somebody in the admin thinks a Big 12 move ©(w)ould create a spot in CUSA for JMU. This has to be Jeffrey Bourne, right, he is our engaged athletic director.

While trying to raise money for a new bball home, why would JMU not market the need to be even more ready to transition to CUSA if Bourne can support a Big 12 poaching theory? If the AD can't support a Big 12 poaching theory and make decisions and communicate a plan, "thinking it may happen" is worth a bucket of spit.

The admin's unwillingness to be transparent has created distrust.

The admin intentionally leaves a potential conference move on the table but they have created so many outs that it's not hard to believe that they have no intention of ever leaving the CAA and that they are more than willing to ride the purple lie for years to come.

I have yet to hear anyone put forth a believable rationale as to why we would be more attractive to CUSA than ULL, App St or Ga Southern at this point. Academic fit? Geographic fit? Athletic prowess and success? What exactly is our selling point to the "higher than entry level" leagues? What specifically does our FCS program bring to the table that would be so compelling that a league would bypass an FBS-ready equivalent for us?

We are years behind any SBC school in terms of being ready to compete at an FBS level, and I think the days of CUSA and MAC settling for an FCS school are long past (since they can now have playoffs with <12 members). There is one entry point to FBS, we had an offer, and we turned it down. And to top it off, we voted for a $1M penalty for anyone leaving the CAA. I'm convinced we're not going anywhere, and I doubt there was ever any real intention to do so.

To say anything else is the "purple lie" indeed.

Who exactly is Chris Simmons and why does he have such an endless anti-JMU bias? What is his alma mater? Tech? I'm sure that will be telling. What exactly does he DO at the dnr? I mean other than bi.tch and moan.
Hasn't he been at the dnr for a good long while? I understand why with such highly biased "reporting" that is closer to a blog post than a real news article.

(08-22-2015 04:41 PM)Potomac Wrote:  Who exactly is Chris Simmons and why does he have such an endless anti-JMU bias? What is his alma mater? Tech? I'm sure that will be telling. What exactly does he DO at the dnr? I mean other than bi.tch and moan.
Hasn't he been at the dnr for a good long while? I understand why with such highly biased "reporting" that is closer to a blog post than a real news article.

Basically he just reads this board and posts the cliff notes for all the people in Harrisonburg who haven't heard of the internet yet. That's all I can really gather. He's usually accurate but doesn't have any inside information and never says anything that hasn't been talked about ad nausea.

(08-22-2015 03:54 PM)91Alum Wrote:  

(08-22-2015 02:20 PM)NovaDuke Wrote:  The article says somebody in the admin thinks a Big 12 move ©(w)ould create a spot in CUSA for JMU. This has to be Jeffrey Bourne, right, he is our engaged athletic director.

While trying to raise money for a new bball home, why would JMU not market the need to be even more ready to transition to CUSA if Bourne can support a Big 12 poaching theory? If the AD can't support a Big 12 poaching theory and make decisions and communicate a plan, "thinking it may happen" is worth a bucket of spit.

The admin's unwillingness to be transparent has created distrust.

The admin intentionally leaves a potential conference move on the table but they have created so many outs that it's not hard to believe that they have no intention of ever leaving the CAA and that they are more than willing to ride the purple lie for years to come.

I have yet to hear anyone put forth a believable rationale as to why we would be more attractive to CUSA than ULL, App St or Ga Southern at this point. Academic fit? Geographic fit? Athletic prowess and success? What exactly is our selling point to the "higher than entry level" leagues? What specifically does our FCS program bring to the table that would be so compelling that a league would bypass an FBS-ready equivalent for us?

We are years behind any SBC school in terms of being ready to compete at an FBS level, and I think the days of CUSA and MAC settling for an FCS school are long past (since they can now have playoffs with <12 members). There is one entry point to FBS, we had an offer, and we turned it down. And to top it off, we voted for a $1M penalty for anyone leaving the CAA. I'm convinced we're not going anywhere, and I doubt there was ever any real intention to do so.

To say anything else is the "purple lie" indeed.

Exactly. Almost any expansion scenario will likely play out by pecking order with an P5 vacancies getting filled from the AAC and/or MWC, which ripple down to pulling teams from the MAC, CUSA or Sun Belt.

The Sun Belt is no help because we won't join them now, so why do it when they have even fewer attractive teams. The CUSA is no help because they have two teams too many already, and even so would just pull from the Sun Belt to back fill, if they chose to at all.

The MAC is the only way and then it would be into a weaker MAC, of course. No big deal there. That would be fine with us. But which MAC team would the AAC or MWC want over CUSA or Sun Belt teams? I would think none.

And the CUSA wouldn't want any MAC teams. If the CUSA ever needs two, they take South Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas State, Georgia State, Texas State or Georgia Southern, IMO, ahead of us and we stay where we are.

And of course there is always UMass, which would be a decent AAC back fill, especially if UConn and Temple stay in the AAC, which they probably would. So, the AAC could only be looking for one other team from the CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt.

Let's face it, any realignment scenario that involves us would be to the Sun Belt, which already has a slot open for us, so why wait it out.

Let's get it done now just in case we can either get really good and attractive to the CUSA, AAC or whatever as a Sun Belt winner. Or we ride the Sun Belt as it becomes a much better conference (which is the most likely way for us to end up in a good conference; it would be a good Sun Belt, untouched by poaching for a few years to become a true peer with the CUSA and MAC).

Nobody ... and I mean nobody ... should ever want Georgia State for anything. They'd be an embarrassment to a D3 conference. The Sun Belt F'd that one up big time. Fine, they're in Atlanta. Anyone ever been to Atlanta? It's the worst large market sports city in the country. The only people at the game are the players' parents.