I'll give a prime example. I live in the DC metro area and during basketball season the Washington Post puts Maryland and Georgetown on the front page of the sports section for every game. Back when George Mason had their big run there were tons of articles, human interest stories, etc. Now, not so much and they are buried on page 3, 4, or 5. They get as much coverage as Howard, Navy, and American.

The media follows winners and teams that draw. Even though Georgetown has struggled the articles just changed to discuss how bad they are, but the coverage is still there.

(07-13-2017 10:40 AM)billymac Wrote:  No, NJ, actually, it's more about today's media landscape. Newspapers are shrinking every day, trying to cover more things, with fewer people and resources. Choices have to be made on who/what to cover, based on what the media outlets think the public want to see/read and will be willing to pay for.

In our state, UVA and Tech get the across the state coverage (with ODU beginning to make some small inroads during the fall) and the localities add a couple regular local teams (for Richmond it is UR, VCU and High School sports) and every one else just fights for the leftover scraps. In Hampton Roads, we are probably on the pecking list (along with Hampton, CNU and high schools), but the DP just has a very tight budget and doesn't give the in-depth coverage of years gone by. Heck, Dave Teel is getting close to being a one man show (along with Dave Johnson). So, UVA, Tech and the ACC get the majority of the ink there, because the numbers must say that is what sells papers and we get left over basic coverage.

What would make the difference in coverage, is, probably, (and very simply put) more success. If the football team makes a run to the FCS Championship, we would be featured more. If the basketball team ever breaks through it's current limitations, it too would receive more than "stringer" coverage.

That is one reason, I feel, the adjustment of Athletic Department resources, or at least, the consideration of a readjustment by the new AD, early on in her administration, is so vitally important. A school funding the most number of sports programs possible is just, frankly, a thing of the past, a throw back to the 1960's - 1990's era, when it was prestigious to show how well rounded your program was.

Now, only P-5 schools, who have more money than they can spend and have to throw it somewhere, Ivy League schools, with endowments so big they have to throw the money somewhere, and D-III schools, who use having an Archery Team or Equestrian Team, or any of the other 25 of their teams, as a recruiting tool to get students to their institution, should even be considering having more than 20 sports programs. It's no longer economically feasible to do this and, as we can attest from our situation, a detraction from realizing certain goals for the more prominent programs, like Men's and Women's Basketball, which might be more successful in spreading the William & Mary brand.

I would like to see an overview of how we have done things for so long (the William & Mary Way) and see if an overhaul is now appropriate for the Way. Should we downsize, a bit (20 sports teams would still be a lot of teams) and refocus our somewhat limited resources into better avenues of distribution.

Hopefully, the new AD will also get good advice on how to use the current (newspaper/TV) and future media sources (internet/social media) more efficiently, to get W&M increased public awareness and news coverage.


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(Okay, so two rants in one week. I'm done. Nothing else to say (probably said nothing of great import, anyway)... I'm gonna go see the eclipse... Peace - Out.)

Has anyone heard anything out of the AD's Office, changes, hires, etc.? Has seemed very quiet so far.

Maybe Ms Huge is looking for something big??? Like an overhaul of the ticket office staff? Incidentally, Spencer's name tag is still on the door to his office and he is working in happy valley.