Side Show, I will address your concerns.
(07-26-2019 10:28 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote: * ODU has a losing record in C-USA
* Wilder has back to back losing seasons
* ODU has been picked to finish 6th in the east
* Adding 2 or 3K seats to your stadium is not much of an expansion
1. Losing record - I believe this one has been handled by Aggie, try taking the plank out of your eye before criticizing the speck in ours. Also I would challenge you to look at records for teams who go from FCS to FBS. Hint - it's not pretty. I'm pretty sure the only team who has done it better than ODU is App State.
2. Wilder also beat Virginia Tech last year, who is the flagship football program of the state who is ranked more often than not. That win alone bought him another season. If we win 4 or fewer games this season, I wouldn't mind a change. Our OOC is pretty challenging this year though with UVA (predicted to win their division) and Va Tech as away games.
3. I don't really care about preseason polls. I do care about how we finish, and see my point above.
4. Adding seats... I don't blame you if you haven't been paying attention, but our stadium is not an addition or an expansion. It's a renovation, with complete demolition of 82 year old elements. Our LEADERSHIP focused on amenities and comfort in the stadium, which equate to more room and therefore less capacity. With how attendance trends across the country with the largest programs in college football declining across the board, I think it was a very smart decision to build based on comfort and drawing fans out from their living rooms rather than trying to cram us in like sardines to get a better capacity number. Please also consider that ODU ticket sales are among the elite in the conference, only ODU and Marshall are making more than $3M each year from ticket sales. Capacity is not the problem, and it's incredibly short-sighted to think like that.
So yes, I think our leadership has done quite well. We now have two of the nicest facilities in football and basketball in the conference, and we have the most private donations in the conference, and we are among the top in ticket sales in the conference. So, we have a lot of fan support. I think that is a very sustainable way to build a program, and the trend is upwards.
Lastly, I will remind you again that even after posting back to back losing seasons, ODU still made the most (with Marshall) in ticket sales, and made the most in private donations. I wonder how the support will look once we are successful on the field again?