(01-05-2016 02:10 PM)blunderbuss Wrote:  Yep, and it's all an idiotic waste of money at that level. I'd much rather see that money put towards academic needs. Many of those kids are misled into thinking sports are the "way out".

Not everyone grows up in a boomburb with McMansions and a top flight high school football program that recruiters come out to see. For some, sports are their way out, their opportunity to try and leave their impoverished state. This goes back to how entertainment and sports have historically been the only way for minorities to thrive in society, or so it felt like.

I do agree that it is foolhardy for some to think its realistic at any level below FCS.

(01-06-2016 07:38 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  

(01-05-2016 02:10 PM)blunderbuss Wrote:  Yep, and it's all an idiotic waste of money at that level. I'd much rather see that money put towards academic needs. Many of those kids are misled into thinking sports are the "way out".

Not everyone grows up in a boomburb with McMansions and a top flight high school football program that recruiters come out to see. For some, sports are their way out, their opportunity to try and leave their impoverished state. This goes back to how entertainment and sports have historically been the only way for minorities to thrive in society, or so it felt like.

I do agree that it is foolhardy for some to think its realistic at any level below FCS.

I don't think that's fair to say. Once you go below FCS the investment is substantially smaller. You have to weight input against output; looking at just one side of the equation won't give you much a look at what is really going on.

The problem lies with those who spend a lot of money and get nothing in return, or then in turn go to local communities etc with their hands out.

(01-05-2016 03:44 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(01-05-2016 11:27 AM)bluesox Wrote:  Never heard of the school. Football can be a money maker for Division 3 school's if the students are actually paying tuition.

I had, but only because they are a rarity.....they are a Lutheran HBCU.

I am a Lutheran Pastor... Concordia-Selma, is the ONLY Lutheran HBCU. They actually have quite an interesting history.


That being said, they were way too small to offer varsity football in the first place. This is sad, but completely understandable.

Maybe some kids just like to play football and be a part of a team. Small schools are their only way to keep playing. I coached high school ball for 20 years and every year there would be kids crying after their last game because they knew they would never be able to play again.

(01-05-2016 02:54 PM)panama Wrote:  

(01-05-2016 09:24 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(01-05-2016 08:49 AM)blunderbuss Wrote:  so what?

It reduces the number of David's potential FBS members by two.

...and FJ's SBC members by at least one

Come on Panama? I never mentioned Stillman or Concordia. Hey..but I love you man.

(01-07-2016 08:06 PM)PirateJim Wrote:  Maybe some kids just like to play football and be a part of a team. Small schools are their only way to keep playing. I coached high school ball for 20 years and every year there would be kids crying after their last game because they knew they would never be able to play again.

The other thing that needs to be remembered is that Football is often a much needed source for scholarships. Often students on a FB scholly...even a partial...ease the load for other scholarship programs. And often the athletic scholarship funds are endowed independently from other scholarship funds, meaning that the funds used to provide an athletic scholarship supplement open up funds for academic grants and scholarships in smaller schools for additional students.

But back to the topic at hand... CU-A (nee Concordia-Selma... The Concordia System schools have been renaming themselves to wider regional identities recently) had long been tenuously providing varsity FB. With insurance and everything else, it's only getting more expensive to do it and CU-A is shrinking.

It was time.

Plus, with Concordia and Stillman dropping football can hurt the HSBC schools in a long run. You usually see the SWAC teams play them. Now, it could hurt in the pocket books of the HSBC schools in Alabama without those two. Could we start to see a trend that HSBC schools start dropping the sport of football? I could see schools like Jackson State, Alabama State and Alcorn State could survive a lot longer, and play football in the Big South with Kennesaw State, Jacksonville and North Alabama.

(01-08-2016 08:25 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  Plus, with Concordia and Stillman dropping football can hurt the HSBC schools in a long run. You usually see the SWAC teams play them. Now, it could hurt in the pocket books of the HSBC schools in Alabama without those two. Could we start to see a trend that HSBC schools start dropping the sport of football? I could see schools like Jackson State, Alabama State and Alcorn State could survive a lot longer, and play football in the Big South with Kennesaw State, Jacksonville and North Alabama.

I agree. It has been my position for the last ten or more years that the smaller schools especially the HBCUs would find it tough to keep their football programs. Primarily due to the cost for helmets, shoulder pads, jerseys, insurance and travel are the same for every school and they increase every year. When the smaller schools start dropping it helps the bigger HBCUs because there are more marquee match-ups that their alumni/fans want to see. However, with the influx of more FBS/FCS schools the paid beat downs from the larger wealthier schools don't come as often.

Therefore, I agree with you. "I could see schools like Jackson State, Alabama State and Alcorn State could survive a lot longer, and play football in the Big South with Kennesaw State, Jacksonville and North Alabama."

If they don't, I could see them losing their football programs within the next ten years due to lack of revenues.

(01-08-2016 10:23 AM)FloridaJag Wrote:  

(01-08-2016 08:25 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  Plus, with Concordia and Stillman dropping football can hurt the HSBC schools in a long run. You usually see the SWAC teams play them. Now, it could hurt in the pocket books of the HSBC schools in Alabama without those two. Could we start to see a trend that HSBC schools start dropping the sport of football? I could see schools like Jackson State, Alabama State and Alcorn State could survive a lot longer, and play football in the Big South with Kennesaw State, Jacksonville and North Alabama.

I agree. It has been my position for the last ten or more years that the smaller schools especially the HBCUs would find it tough to keep their football programs. Primarily due to the cost for helmets, shoulder pads, jerseys, insurance and travel are the same for every school and they increase every year. When the smaller schools start dropping it helps the bigger HBCUs because there are more marquee match-ups that their alumni/fans want to see. However, with the influx of more FBS/FCS schools the paid beat downs from the larger wealthier schools don't come as often.

Therefore, I agree with you. "I could see schools like Jackson State, Alabama State and Alcorn State could survive a lot longer, and play football in the Big South with Kennesaw State, Jacksonville and North Alabama."

If they don't, I could see them losing their football programs within the next ten years due to lack of revenues.

Tuskegee could be brought up to play in the Big South as well since they are a successful private HBCU as well. Not sure about UAPB right now. Since I am not hearing any problems with them right now, and they are getting white students to come in, they might survive as well.

Someone will blame the Crimson Tide.

(01-08-2016 08:25 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  Plus, with Concordia and Stillman dropping football can hurt the HSBC schools in a long run. You usually see the SWAC teams play them. Now, it could hurt in the pocket books of the HSBC schools in Alabama without those two. Could we start to see a trend that HSBC schools start dropping the sport of football? I could see schools like Jackson State, Alabama State and Alcorn State could survive a lot longer, and play football in the Big South with Kennesaw State, Jacksonville and North Alabama.

Concordia has played very few SWAC teams. I think Alcorn played them this past season as apart of a deal from 6 seasons ago. Concordia played more SIAC schools than anything.

(01-08-2016 08:25 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  Plus, with Concordia and Stillman dropping football can hurt the HSBC schools in a long run. You usually see the SWAC teams play them. Now, it could hurt in the pocket books of the HSBC schools in Alabama without those two. Could we start to see a trend that HSBC schools start dropping the sport of football? I could see schools like Jackson State, Alabama State and Alcorn State could survive a lot longer, and play football in the Big South with Kennesaw State, Jacksonville and North Alabama.

No. Concordia and Stillman hardly ever played any of the FCS HBCUs in the state anyway. Concordia and Stillman were in a much different boat than the other HBCU schools. Concordia has no facilities and lost a lot of their football equipment in a bus fire a few years back. Concordia had even gotten to the point where they were asking kids to bring their own equipment. Concordia and Stillman both lack fan and alumni support such is something that the other instate HBCU programs do not. Concordia and Stillman were relatively new programs as opposed to the other in state HBCUs that have been playing for over 100 years.