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

People may laugh or scoff at fans starting petitions, etc.., but it is more than what the administration is doing even if it isn't getting the response desired. The problem with the petition is one it is probably poorly written, two probably not pushed as strong as it could have been, and three many people do not like putting their name to something that they feel could come back on them. Not only that, but online petitions are probably not a good indicator of what most JMU fans, alumni, or the community feels and it is evidenced by some of the fake names on that petition.

Oh lord....

It really is funny. Now the attitude is changing to ODU has made a mistake and that jmu come out better in the end. Whatever makes them feel better.

My take on JMU fans, both online and in person after dealing with them for the twenty years we were in the CAA, is that they have a huge inferiority complex. They are snobbish, and condenscending about being at JMU - they are at once proud of JMU because they percieve their academics to be better than that of ODU (it is tougher to get into JMU, but the mission of JMU and ODU are different), and a little disheartened to be at JMU because they really wanted to go to UVA (it has been said that JMU stands for Just Missed UVA).

They feel the need to go to other boards and correct spelling errors and typos, but chastise anybody else for doing the same on their board. They feel the sense of entitlement to go onto other boards and chime in with their opinion, but again will chastise others for doing likewise to their board (unless the poster is in complete agreement).

I realize all this is a blanket statement and that blanket statements are foolish to make; and it is true that not all JMU people are like that. Most of the JMU alumni with whom I have worked have been decent people; and one on one they can be, I'm sure. But when they are en mass they tend to act like the above.

edited for grammar

Let's not get carried away - JMU is by no means a peer of UVA. In fact, outside of UVA, W&M, & perhaps Richmond (although private), I don't see much differentiation between the rest of the state universities in terms of academic rigor. Of course, now having said that, I eagerly await the JMU faithful to provide mindless banter illustrating otherwise...

I vacillate between laughing and getting angry whenever the "our academics are superior to your's" topic comes up. First, in regards to athletics....who cares? The vast majority of the American public believes a school with a strong athletic program is a "good" school. Look no further than Alabama and LSU. They're good schools academically, but they're certainly not in the Top 30 category. Still, both are top of mind due to their success on the gridiron.

Second, just because you're a graduate of a "better" school doesn't mean you're smarter or more accomplished than a graduate of a "lessor" school. Not everyone that was admitted to JMU had better credentials than everyone admitted to ODU. Sometimes life circumstances dictate where you go to school, i.e. serving in the military. I've been very successful with my ODU degree, as I'm sure most of you have been. To me, the degree is a prerequisite for a job. After that, you prove yourself with your performance.

So the next time a JMU grad starts spouting off how impressive their academics are, invite him to your next "Fantasy SAT" draft party. It will be you and 11 other poindexters in a room talking about who has a better Celtic Harp program.

All good comments.

Academically, JMU and ODU are apples and oranges. One is a large full scale research university in a large metropolitan area, while the other is primarily just an undergraduate school in the middle of nowhere. Two different schools, with two very different agendas.

With that said, what's most telling are the comments from those that attended JMU that are absolutely ignorant of ODU in every way. It's one thing to be "educated" and willfully ignorant, it's quite another when you truly believe in unfounded conclusions. The JMU people I have met in person really make me question the level of critical thinking that's required to earn a degree there. Their hateful and illogical arguments on the Zone verify that.

As I pointed out in the zone, when a school starts boasting of superior academics on an athletic message board, you know their sports programs are in trouble.

(05-24-2012 11:42 AM)Swamp Wrote:  JMU is more selective, but I think that's a pretty terrible statistic to use to prove you're a quality institution. I'm sure we've all had that smart friend that went to a UVA type school, only to end up going through the motions and getting their degree. Sure they went to UVA and did all they had to, but they never really developed. They went in as an 18 year old high schooler and left as a 22 year old high schooler. Plus as mentioned before, everyone has different reasons why they ended going to where they did.

In the end, it's basically about the individual and how they take advantage of their education. JMU, ODU, VCU, GMU, VT, UVA...it's all the essentially the same. It's more about what you did while in school than where you went.

Plus, I think ODU is really going to have an advantage over JMU in the future. From talking to teachers, they've explained that education works in a sort of cycle. In the last 15-20 years, a big push was made for kids go to school for what they love which created a demand in the liberal arts that's benefited schools like JMU. However, with American math and science scores down, we're nearing the end of that cycle. New generations are being pushed to go in the technology sector and STEM schools like ODU will benefit from it as we see those kids grow up and choose more majors in the applied sciences.

How very true and for any alumni of any school to spout off how they are better than the other because of academics is nonsense. If I had a business and were hiring people, I would care less where a person went to school, so long they can do the job. I had an instructor tell me the same thing that nowadays it doesn't really matter where you get your degree from, because it doesn't carry the weight that it once did.

All of your JMU being bitter questions can be answered in this thread. It is too long to read (371 pages to date) so just concentrate on the last four or five pages.

CAAZone - Newest Conference Rumor (JMU Section)

The anger is extraordinary, even on the blogs, as evidenced by this:

"ODU formally announced they are accepting their invitation to Conference USA today. They will be joining in all sports except football beginning Summer 2013 and for football in 2015. Obviously this is disappointing, concerning, disturbing, and largely just plain sad for JMU fans. To watch a school we wouldn’t wipe our feet with academically that just started football three years ago pass us by and leave us holding our shiny new stadium (and our dicks) just makes you feel like some big meathead kid stole your middle-school girlfriend."
http://jmusportsblog.com/?p=3931

I am not sure I understand this obsession with "JMU academics". Comparing JMU with ODU is comparing apples and oranges . ODU is a STEM school and a National Carnegie Research institution.
JMU is a regional institution. They are an excellent school, but have a different "mission" than ODU.

JMU is NOT a W&M, or IMO even a Delaware (as they often compare themselves to) academically.
Three CAA schools have excellent academics, and rate very highly depending on the ratings services and associated metrics used; UD, Hofstra, and W&M. I believe that they are also the only three that have a Phi Beta Kappa presence on their campuses.
JMU is NOT one of those.

Also;
If they value academics so highly, why the constant derision of The University of Virginia ("UVgAy") on their boards?

Additionally, only W&M (NOT JMU) in the CAA is so selective academically that it substantially impacts their athletic programs.

JMU has long taken for granted their football heritage. They are the first of the orginial CAA teams that won a FCS National Championship. They felt they were royalty and entitled to the be the first to move to FBS. Once we got an invite and they didn't it burned a deep hole in their psyche. We got the plumb that they felt was theirs by right. From their prespective I completely understand their frustration. However, to direct it at ODU is wrong. We didn't go behind their back and steal an invite from them. Their Admin let them down, but so much of the anger has been directed at ODU. Which further proves their "academic" arguement is full of BS. If they were so much smarter than us, so better educated, they would they not vent towards the people responsible and not an innocent bystander - as we are in this instance.

Razor said it right when he said if they'd gotten and invite and our admin seemingly did nothing we would be in an uproar. If you want proof of that, look at the Zone before news got out that we had the C-USA invite. How many members of this board and the Zone were openly questioning and attacking our Admin?

Anyone seen the latest over there? It's still hilarious as ever. Now there's an 11 page thread of their fans doing their best to convince themselves that they're better than us. Pretty sad. Apparently we also begged this conference to let us in with them. Yet no one's come out with proof of that, of course. Just another little scenario they've dreamed up over there in duke land to make themselves feel better. I'm glad we won't be associated with those guys forever. For all the academic crap they swing over our heads, they sure do act pretty damn dumb.

(06-04-2012 03:24 PM)SPACESCAPE Wrote:  Anyone seen the latest over there? It's still hilarious as ever. Now there's an 11 page thread of their fans doing their best to convince themselves that they're better than us. Pretty sad. Apparently we also begged this conference to let us in with them. Yet no one's come out with proof of that, of course. Just another little scenario they've dreamed up over there in duke land to make themselves feel better. I'm glad we won't be associated with those guys forever. For all the academic crap they swing over our heads, they sure do act pretty damn dumb.

I saw that; apparantly free popcorn too!

For years, the only thing that they had over us was a good FCS football team while we had nothing. Once we started our program, they commented on how cute it was, and how they were going to pound us 55-0, etc. Well, that changed like a Blitzkreig. Nevermind that we finished ahead of them in the national rankings, beat them in our only meeting, and came within a miraculous onside-kick-plus 4 & 29 hail mary of winning the CAA in our first year. We're now moving on to play with the big boys. The JMU Blog article is funny, if for no other reason, it expresses how the majority of JMU nation actually feels.

Honestly though, looking over that messageboard the entire place has fallen apart. It seems like there's more arguing and bickering than ever. It isn't even worth reading anymore... wish that the rest of our posters would come over here. VCU fans are lucky, they get to just bounce and don't have to deal with the likes of these people. Sure we're "in" that conference next season but good grief, that board is nothing but somewhere for those with obvious shortcomings to use in making themselves feel good. It isn't even worth reading, pretty much at all. Other than for the comedy of course.

(06-04-2012 04:15 PM)SPACESCAPE Wrote:  Honestly though, looking over that messageboard the entire place has fallen apart. It seems like there's more arguing and bickering than ever. It isn't even worth reading anymore... wish that the rest of our posters would come over here. VCU fans are lucky, they get to just bounce and don't have to deal with the likes of these people. Sure we're "in" that conference next season but good grief, that board is nothing but somewhere for those with obvious shortcomings to use in making themselves feel good. It isn't even worth reading, pretty much at all. Other than for the comedy of course.

That's pretty much what I concluded the day our move was announced.

I really wish we could make the move immediately for all sports, but football. I really do not like the lame-duck situation, but I also understand that this is a situation that must be handled properly and that we have four sports that will need homes outside of C-USA. Hopefully we hear of some progress in the next month on what will be their future homes.

I usually troll the JMU board once a day to get a laugh. You can't believe the self-delusion and rationalization going on over there. In the latest thread alone, I "learned" that JMU has been: 1) told by the Big 10 that they were a potential candidate back in 2002, 2) they received not one, but two FBS invitations, but rejected them because they felt an ACC or Big East invitation would be coming in the near future, 3) the ONLY reason ODU was promoted ahead of them was because of our market. Basketball success, facilities and fan support had nothing to do with it, and 4) the Duke FB coach told one of their fans that JMU was a "sleeping giant" and being watched by the ACC.

I almost blew soda out my nose reading that drivel! LOL. It's really sad to watch these folks self destruct. BTW...has anyone heard from Dolly? That crazy b.... Swore up and down that our CUSA invitation was something we made up. I think she's on suicide watch!

Finally, I'm a little surprised at the anti-ODU focus on the Zone. Boy...we really ticked them off. I think they feel jilted.

(06-04-2012 10:27 PM)Maryland Monarch Wrote:  I usually troll the JMU board once a day to get a laugh. You can't believe the self-delusion and rationalization going on over there. In the latest thread alone, I "learned" that JMU has been: 1) told by the Big 10 that they were a potential candidate back in 2002, 2) they received not one, but two FBS invitations, but rejected them because they felt an ACC or Big East invitation would be coming in the near future, 3) the ONLY reason ODU was promoted ahead of them was because of our market. Basketball success, facilities and fan support had nothing to do with it, and 4) the Duke FB coach told one of their fans that JMU was a "sleeping giant" and being watched by the ACC.

I almost blew soda out my nose reading that drivel! LOL. It's really sad to watch these folks self destruct. BTW...has anyone heard from Dolly? That crazy b.... Swore up and down that our CUSA invitation was something we made up. I think she's on suicide watch!

Finally, I'm a little surprised at the anti-ODU focus on the Zone. Boy...we really ticked them off. I think they feel jilted.

They (JMU) and others on the 'Zone have been angry since we got football.

We were not humble. We started with a certain amount of swagger. We did not kneel at the feet of those who perceived themselves as CAA football royalty.

Early on I mentioned that our men's basketball program had alot to do with our invitation, and you would have thought I had uttered blasphemy.
I am not sure whether they are in denial, or really think men's bball is of little or no consequence.