The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(10-05-2018 11:55 AM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(10-05-2018 10:55 AM)Monarchblue Wrote:  

(10-05-2018 09:04 AM)odu09 Wrote:  

(10-05-2018 08:29 AM)Monarchblue Wrote:  

(10-05-2018 08:13 AM)odu09 Wrote:  Agreed. As I said before, dress for the job you want, not the one you have.

Does paying coaches a salary in line with "the job you want" count as "dressing for the job you want"?

Seems you are picking and choosing apparel. Winning big in football and basketball is a nice suit, shirt, and shoes. Supporting 20 sports is a nice pare of socks and underwear.

I would think bigger and better conferences (American) would want us competing in all their sports if they were to call us up, not just 2 of them.

I think that is a pretty myopic take on college athletics. They could give 2 ***** about a golf team if we have football and basketball teams that could compete for championships in their league from day 1.

Actually I'd say that the myopic take is assuming that conferences and schools only care (or should only care) about football and basketball. Yes, those sports drive the bus, but they're not the only ones on board. There's a reason Tulane is in the American and not the Sun Belt or Southland despite having minimal success in the major sports. Or why Rutgers is in the Big 10 or Rice is a reasonable move-up candidate. There's also a reason why there's a requirement that D1 schools sponsor at least x number of sports.

ODU athletics is more than just a football and basketball franchise in branded uniforms. They, and every athletic department, represent their school every time they take a field or mat or court, and not just when they're on TV. They provide opportunities for prospective students and an outlet for current ones. They're not just trotting field hockey and swimming teams out there for the hell of it.

In essence, I think some people are saying "ODU should deemphasize or shut down programs I don't care about so they can put more money into the ones I do care about." At which point the question to them becomes: Do you support ODU athletics, or just the one or two teams you like to watch on Saturdays?

It doesn't matter how much I care about sport X or sport Y. What matters is where you get ROI, and it doesn't come from the Diving team. This isn't charity. We are donating our money to build an athletic brand. Two sports drive that brand. If you are unable to fund those sports, and you are funding more non revenue sports than your peers, then you are engaging in malpractice, or delusions of grandeur. When we are funding basketball and football at a level that is commensurate with the large budget that our admin has to work with, then we can talk about charity and your imaginary world where universities are charged with creating an athletic culture that celebrates and rewards every sport equally regardless of their contribution to the brand.