(05-15-2017 03:12 PM)Oldduke Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 02:55 PM)DolleyMadison Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 07:22 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  I believe watching football is about personal enjoyment. If Monday water cooler talk does it for you, then I guess we want different things.

I played high school football and basketball in a rural community. That community would show up every Friday night. Hearing the crowd cheer made me feel legitimate. I never once compared our team to any other high school or college experience. I just know how good it felt to hear the cheers with every score and the satisfaction of winning. The community loved getting behind its local high school and the community pride meant something to all of us. Coming together in this fashion and the bonds created by this life experience is what sports are all about not the constant measuring stick of some other level a school may never achieve and being jealous because our school is not there yet.

I live far away from my high school but still check the scores every Saturday morning to see Friday nights game results. I wish all of our fans could enjoy what we as a community are experiencing now instead of being like a crack addict looking for an even greater high.

I fear once we obtain FBS, the same crowd pushing so hard will be the first to complain that our program can't do anything more than play in some meaningless bowl game every few years.

I think one can enjoy the ride while looking forward to what the future might bring as well. Why some are trying to poo poo what we are experiencing leaves me scratching my head. So the discussion of conference affiliation will carry on until the change comes then the next debate will start. Wonder what it will be about?

You think FBS vs. FCS is about water cooler talk? Or bragging rights? Then I'm afraid you have glanced over many people's arguments for FBS.

Here is mine for the 1000th time:

Our budget is not FCS. Our fan base is not FCS. Our facilities are not FCS. Our peer institutions are not FCS. Call me crazy but I think at a minimum we should be playing App State, ODU, Marshall, Charlotte, ECU, Liberty, etc.

I want to play with our peers. I want to play against schools with similar sized fan bases. I want to play schools that invest into their program like we invest into ours. I want the chance to play at the highest level.

I don't care if we are FBS, FCS, Division 3 or NAIA. I want to play schools like us. Some of you can get over the whole bowl game vs. FCS national championship thing. What about the 11-12 games before that? Do they mean nothing? National Championships are hard to come by and winning them is even harder. I want to be put in a position where our ceiling is higher and when that ceiling is not achieved, we still have an incredible regular season full of peer institutions that provide for an enjoyable football season.

If those schools were all in a conference that issued JMU an invitation, that would be absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, that conference nor the invitation exists.

No but we have/had all of those schools on the schedule.

(05-15-2017 02:55 PM)DolleyMadison Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 07:22 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  I believe watching football is about personal enjoyment. If Monday water cooler talk does it for you, then I guess we want different things.

I played high school football and basketball in a rural community. That community would show up every Friday night. Hearing the crowd cheer made me feel legitimate. I never once compared our team to any other high school or college experience. I just know how good it felt to hear the cheers with every score and the satisfaction of winning. The community loved getting behind its local high school and the community pride meant something to all of us. Coming together in this fashion and the bonds created by this life experience is what sports are all about not the constant measuring stick of some other level a school may never achieve and being jealous because our school is not there yet.

I live far away from my high school but still check the scores every Saturday morning to see Friday nights game results. I wish all of our fans could enjoy what we as a community are experiencing now instead of being like a crack addict looking for an even greater high.

I fear once we obtain FBS, the same crowd pushing so hard will be the first to complain that our program can't do anything more than play in some meaningless bowl game every few years.

I think one can enjoy the ride while looking forward to what the future might bring as well. Why some are trying to poo poo what we are experiencing leaves me scratching my head. So the discussion of conference affiliation will carry on until the change comes then the next debate will start. Wonder what it will be about?

You think FBS vs. FCS is about water cooler talk? Or bragging rights? Then I'm afraid you have glanced over many people's arguments for FBS.

Here is mine for the 1000th time:

Our budget is not FCS. Our fan base is not FCS. Our facilities are not FCS. Our peer institutions are not FCS. Call me crazy but I think at a minimum we should be playing App State, ODU, Marshall, Charlotte, ECU, Liberty, etc.

I want to play with our peers. I want to play against schools with similar sized fan bases. I want to play schools that invest into their program like we invest into ours. I want the chance to play at the highest level.

I don't care if we are FBS, FCS, Division 3 or NAIA. I want to play schools like us. Some of you can get over the whole bowl game vs. FCS national championship thing. What about the 11-12 games before that? Do they mean nothing? National Championships are hard to come by and winning them is even harder. I want to be put in a position where our ceiling is higher and when that ceiling is not achieved, we still have an incredible regular season full of peer institutions that provide for an enjoyable football season.

Okay. Do you want to go independent?

Liberty and Coastal Carolina have passed us..

Not taking away from this team or an amazing year - but we are so out of place...how can some people not see that?

Haven't you done all that can be done in FCS? Been there, done that. You have budget, facilities, and support, what's missing? Time to move to the bigger pond.

Some people love the status quo, while other seek the challenge. Some enjoy the little pond, while others seek the lake. I am upset that JMU hasn't moved up, but I will still support them because they are my alma mater and my team. However, a team can only go but so far, do fans truly believe JMU has reached its ceiling and can no longer compete at the next level (after a few years in FBS)? Are they really at the highest level of competition that striving for more is no longer an option? For FCS, JMU plays a "challenging" schedule within the CAA, our out of conference schedule has much to be desired. I want to be FBS and it should have been 2 years ago that JMU moved up. Personally, the NC is nice and a great accomplishment, and I do not care about the bowls either. I am okay with a conference championship game only. But again, there are powers that be, that do not see it that way. Need leadership change...

In FCS we should always strive to win a national championship, in FBS we should always strive to win a conference championship and compete at the highest level and with the bigger schools.

(05-16-2017 02:45 AM)hburg Wrote:  Some people love the status quo, while other seek the challenge. Some enjoy the little pond, while others seek the lake. I am upset that JMU hasn't moved up, but I will still support them because they are my alma mater and my team. However, a team can only go but so far, do fans truly believe JMU has reached its ceiling and can no longer compete at the next level (after a few years in FBS)? Are they really at the highest level of competition that striving for more is no longer an option? For FCS, JMU plays a "challenging" schedule within the CAA, our out of conference schedule has much to be desired. I want to be FBS and it should have been 2 years ago that JMU moved up. Personally, the NC is nice and a great accomplishment, and I do not care about the bowls either. I am okay with a conference championship game only. But again, there are powers that be, that do not see it that way. Need leadership change...

In FCS we should always strive to win a national championship, in FBS we should always strive to win a conference championship and compete at the highest level and with the bigger schools.

Despite my posts I'm all for real FBS. I was a contributor to the fly over. I just try to take a step back and see things from JMU's perspective.

The options in FBS are not great right now. A lot of these conferences and schools are struggling to keep their head above water. I believe there will be changes and movement and the current system will become unsustainable.

I don't subscribe to this idea that schools have passed us by. I think there is plenty of proof to show that they haven't. These schools are playing in FBS in name only and incurring a lot of added costs to do so without any greater opportunity for exposure than JMU has today. These teams aren't really competing against the best. These teams aren't perceived any differently by fans and the general public than JMU. They play against the best a couple of times a year (and lose) and then play each other the rest of the time including in the post season. They have no shot to compete for a national championship.

I also don't believe that when things change/shift that JMU will be left behind because they didn't take their lumps and an intermediate step by joining a low-mid level FBS conference.

I think every JMU fan aspires for JMU to play the best and be the best and ultimately to play in real FBS level football. Nobody enjoys seeing JMU romp over schools with a lower number of scholarships 70-5 etc. But based on what is available in today's FBS system I can see why JMU has been so patient/deliberate about things.

(05-16-2017 02:45 AM)hburg Wrote:  Some people love the status quo, while other seek the challenge. Some enjoy the little pond, while others seek the lake. I am upset that JMU hasn't moved up, but I will still support them because they are my alma mater and my team. However, a team can only go but so far, do fans truly believe JMU has reached its ceiling and can no longer compete at the next level (after a few years in FBS)? Are they really at the highest level of competition that striving for more is no longer an option? For FCS, JMU plays a "challenging" schedule within the CAA, our out of conference schedule has much to be desired. I want to be FBS and it should have been 2 years ago that JMU moved up. Personally, the NC is nice and a great accomplishment, and I do not care about the bowls either. I am okay with a conference championship game only. But again, there are powers that be, that do not see it that way. Need leadership change...

In FCS we should always strive to win a national championship, in FBS we should always strive to win a conference championship and compete at the highest level and with the bigger schools.

Serious question.... other topics on this board have been proven to be contained in a single thread (e.g., Hoops Recruiting, Football Recruiting, the entire softball season), is there any way you as a Moderator can start fusing all of these threads that essentially say the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over into one thread in a similar fashion? Perhaps call it the Wailing Wall thread so all the sad sacks who contribute absolutely nothing to this board other than constant whining and moaning can cry together in one concise thread.

Or, should we do the opposite and start new threads for every softball game, every new recruiting target/signing, etc.? This board is too often a terrible, embarrassing representation of the JMU fanbase not because it has to be, but because it is allowed to be.

(05-16-2017 02:45 AM)hburg Wrote:  Some people love the status quo, while other seek the challenge. Some enjoy the little pond, while others seek the lake. I am upset that JMU hasn't moved up, but I will still support them because they are my alma mater and my team. However, a team can only go but so far, do fans truly believe JMU has reached its ceiling and can no longer compete at the next level (after a few years in FBS)? Are they really at the highest level of competition that striving for more is no longer an option? For FCS, JMU plays a "challenging" schedule within the CAA, our out of conference schedule has much to be desired. I want to be FBS and it should have been 2 years ago that JMU moved up. Personally, the NC is nice and a great accomplishment, and I do not care about the bowls either. I am okay with a conference championship game only. But again, there are powers that be, that do not see it that way. Need leadership change...

In FCS we should always strive to win a national championship, in FBS we should always strive to win a conference championship and compete at the highest level and with the bigger schools.

And some people are for living within their means, and can separate providing for the necessities in life from the non-necessities.

JMU plays football at a very high level of amateur competition, and presently competes in an excellent conference, and ultimately for a NCAA sanctioned NC. Aspirations to add additional scholarships (and annual expenses of between $3-6 million) so JMU can join other G5 teams playing in some "mediocrity bowl" is not my idea of competing at the highest level. The highest level is pro ball, and at the amateur level, membership in a power conference. Neither of those aspirations is rational or realistic for JMU, ODU, LU, or any of those other institutions that have moved from FCS to the FBS level.

If I may, I'd like to interject a bit of financial common sense into this discussion. Reserved JMU FB season tickets for a Duke Club member run around $30 per game,
this year. I'm happy to support the university and team and pony up that amount for a good seat with decent views to watch a FB program that competes at a very high level and provides entertainment value for my dollar. As a graduate not of JMU, but of two other institutions who are members of a P5 conference, I can speak with certainty that the cost of an enzone seat at either of those P5 schools would be more than double the cost of attending a JMU game. That's not providing "value" for my entertainment dollar, it's an indulgence, and certainly not a necessity.

If JMU moves "up" or stays in FCS I will still support the team, but I will also gauge the value of watching a game (in person) against the metric of perceived entertainment value. Now that a law restricts schools from passing the extra costs of running "highest level of competition" athletic programs onto its students I'll watch with interest whether the people so gung-ho about JMU playing FBS ball can walk the talk, and will pay double (or more) for their tickets, and to finance the construction of the other side of the FB stadium.

The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago...or...NOW!!!

(05-15-2017 09:35 AM)2Buck Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 01:38 PM)Capt Ed Wrote:  Wow, I feel bad for the JMU fans who understand how much better football is even at the lowest levels of FBS. Oh well, I'll still pull for you guys when you play Furman.

Dude, don't mind the venom. The one thing you're going to learn is the majority of JMU fans who want FBS aren't on this board, they've given up and moved on (or never engaged in the first place). Most of the replies you'll get are from the locals/employees/homers who can't see beyond the Blue Ridge mountains. Another few years of this admin and there'll be nothing left but Xenophobic sycophants.

Thus the reason I am daring any of the locals to the Valley not attend our game in Norfolk in 2018. They will feel what we face every every time we play one of those powder puff games. They don't have a hair on their behind if they choose to do anything other than make the trip to Norfolk. Our AD made a deal with the devil himself, but we will see who are fans and who are the pretenders living in the Greater Harrisonburg area. They'd better be getting their hotel reservations made soon.

(05-16-2017 12:16 AM)bcp_jmu Wrote:  Liberty and Coastal Carolina have passed us..

Not taking away from this team or an amazing year - but we are so out of place...how can some people not see that?

(05-16-2017 06:06 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 02:45 AM)hburg Wrote:  Some people love the status quo, while other seek the challenge. Some enjoy the little pond, while others seek the lake. I am upset that JMU hasn't moved up, but I will still support them because they are my alma mater and my team. However, a team can only go but so far, do fans truly believe JMU has reached its ceiling and can no longer compete at the next level (after a few years in FBS)? Are they really at the highest level of competition that striving for more is no longer an option? For FCS, JMU plays a "challenging" schedule within the CAA, our out of conference schedule has much to be desired. I want to be FBS and it should have been 2 years ago that JMU moved up. Personally, the NC is nice and a great accomplishment, and I do not care about the bowls either. I am okay with a conference championship game only. But again, there are powers that be, that do not see it that way. Need leadership change...

In FCS we should always strive to win a national championship, in FBS we should always strive to win a conference championship and compete at the highest level and with the bigger schools.

Despite my posts I'm all for real FBS. I was a contributor to the fly over. I just try to take a step back and see things from JMU's perspective.

The options in FBS are not great right now. A lot of these conferences and schools are struggling to keep their head above water. I believe there will be changes and movement and the current system will become unsustainable.

I don't subscribe to this idea that schools have passed us by. I think there is plenty of proof to show that they haven't. These schools are playing in FBS in name only and incurring a lot of added costs to do so without any greater opportunity for exposure than JMU has today. These teams aren't really competing against the best. These teams aren't perceived any differently by fans and the general public than JMU. They play against the best a couple of times a year (and lose) and then play each other the rest of the time including in the post season. They have no shot to compete for a national championship.

I also don't believe that when things change/shift that JMU will be left behind because they didn't take their lumps and an intermediate step by joining a low-mid level FBS conference.

I think every JMU fan aspires for JMU to play the best and be the best and ultimately to play in real FBS level football. Nobody enjoys seeing JMU romp over schools with a lower number of scholarships 70-5 etc. But based on what is available in today's FBS system I can see why JMU has been so patient/deliberate about things.

Thanks for the perfect response for the bolded, NJD. Exactly my response.

(05-16-2017 06:22 AM)Wear Purple Wrote:  Serious question.... other topics on this board have been proven to be contained in a single thread (e.g., Hoops Recruiting, Football Recruiting, the entire softball season), is there any way you as a Moderator can start fusing all of these threads that essentially say the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over into one thread in a similar fashion? Perhaps call it the Wailing Wall thread so all the sad sacks who contribute absolutely nothing to this board other than constant whining and moaning can cry together in one concise thread.

Or, should we do the opposite and start new threads for every softball game, every new recruiting target/signing, etc.? This board is too often a terrible, embarrassing representation of the JMU fanbase not because it has to be, but because it is allowed to be.

Hburg has a pretty hands off approach to moderating - I'm not sure if that's driven by GTSwagger or what. I tend to lean towards your view of how things should be run on a message board. If there's a process for adding another moderator I'd love to nominate you.

hahahaha....the truth is revealed - we can't go FBS so that longhorn can avoid spending more on tickets! way to crab-in-the-bucket our school.... :)

the flip side of more scholarships? provides a great opportunity for a student that, on average, may not have had the financial means to attend JMU - don't we want that?

I can fuse the conference realignment threads together that isn' an issue. I tend to allow threads to run their course. Though, I can understand why having so many conference realignment threads on a board can be annoying.

(05-16-2017 09:32 AM)hburg Wrote:  I can fuse the conference realignment threads together that isn' an issue. I tend to allow threads to run their course. Though, I can understand why having so many conference realignment threads on a board can be annoying.

It's just a sports message board to chat with like minded fans. There really should be absolutely nothing on here for anyone to ever be annoyed about. Whatever goes on off the computer is much more important.

(05-16-2017 08:30 AM)bcp_jmu Wrote:  hahahaha....the truth is revealed - we can't go FBS so that longhorn can avoid spending more on tickets! way to crab-in-the-bucket our school.... :)

the flip side of more scholarships? provides a great opportunity for a student that, on average, may not have had the financial means to attend JMU - don't we want that?

You provide $3-6 mil annually on scholarships for National Merit Finalists and you'd sure as heck have more students on campus (on scholarship) than funding those extra spots allocated to play FBS FB. You'd do more to enhance the academic rep of JMU too

Perhaps you should give up trying to justify your FBS obsession, and enjoy the program's improvement under Houston.

^ both are happening at the same time...nice try

(05-16-2017 12:59 PM)bcp_jmu Wrote:  ^ both are happening at the same time...nice try

Oh really? Both are happening, huh? Nice to know. I wasn't aware that JMU was already recruiting and funding 40 or so National Merit Finalists a year (with a trajectory of having 160 or so undergraduate scholars on full ride). Would love to see your source(s) on this newsworthy development.

Take a deep breath... was referring to my preference for FBS and simultaneous love for Houston's team...jeez..

(05-16-2017 12:25 PM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 08:30 AM)bcp_jmu Wrote:  hahahaha....the truth is revealed - we can't go FBS so that longhorn can avoid spending more on tickets! way to crab-in-the-bucket our school.... :)

the flip side of more scholarships? provides a great opportunity for a student that, on average, may not have had the financial means to attend JMU - don't we want that?

You provide $3-6 mil annually on scholarships for National Merit Finalists and you'd sure as heck have more students on campus (on scholarship) than funding those extra spots allocated to play FBS FB. You'd do more to enhance the academic rep of JMU too

Perhaps you should give up trying to justify your FBS obsession, and enjoy the program's improvement under Houston.

I'm just trying to following the logic behind your argument? What does providing $3-6 M a year for National Merit Finalists have to do with FBS? And where does 40 up to 160 students on said scholarships fit in?

How does that compare to going to 85 scholarships for FBS? Are you taking into account cost of attendance? Is there an assumption of greater financial loss each season?

I'm really not debating- just teying to understand.

Love the "cost" argument against FBS. Has anyone seen our budget compared to our "peers", it's completely out of line and out of control. If cost is such an issue we should cut most of the women's programs and go D-III. It has your precious playoffs and we can stop wasting money on needless athletics that aren't generating more money then they're spending. If you're going to go regional might as well wear the proper suit. Or garbage bag as the case may be.