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

(09-12-2019 07:10 AM)Mr.BigBlue Wrote:  

(09-12-2019 05:39 AM)EverRespect Wrote:  Guys, we are who we are. In the present landscape and our present conference, moral victories against P5 teams with a once in a decade or so stars aligning upset is our ceiling. The Bahamas Bowl is our ceiling. Better toilets and concessions aren't going to change that. A new coach isn't going to change that. I've been trying to tell you this for years. This is what we signed up for. Might as well grab your ankles and enjoy it the best you can.

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This is a status quo way of thinking and frankly how teams end up being mediocre at best. This thinking is so debilitating to the growth of a program. If every program thought this way then none would grow and compete at a higher level. Frankly...I will never accept this and everyone should reject this. If should have P5 aspirations that drive our decisions. ODU itself being the largest University in SE Va. should be pushing to grow academically (Med school, etc.) and athletically (Top G5 and ultimately P5) because the opportunity is there.

I would be onboard if someone put something forward that would actually improve the situation. Bobby Wilder is earning about what we are paying him relative to what other coaches are paid (as is Jeff Jones by the way). We are limited in what we can get in both sports. We have no national brand, which is why when we do have a good year, we wind up in the Bahamas on a weekday before the holidays. And the players suiting up today were recruited under the impression that they would be playing from a sold out 35,000 seat waterfront stadium with the expectations slowly eroding down over the years to what they got. We tried, but spent too long playing footsie with the consultants and were unable to act quick enough to take advantage of momentum.

When was peak ODU football and what has changed?

Unless he started battling unknown personal demons, it wasn't Wilder... he has been here the whole time. It wasn't recruiting competition... VT and ECU are also in decline and theoretically, we shouldn't have slipped relative to the many FCS schools in the region.

Something was working that we stopped doing and it changed the trajectory of the program.