To further the dialogue.....we may be able to play football this season, but maybe not in places with heavy virus presence. Stanford would not be a place I'd want to send the team. Not sure on whether we want Stoney Brook coming for a visit on Halloween.

That could open a couple of dates to play some teams closer to home.

(04-06-2020 07:45 AM)Tribe32 Wrote:  To further the dialogue.....we may be able to play football this season, but maybe not in places with heavy virus presence. Stanford would not be a place I'd want to send the team. Not sure on whether we want Stoney Brook coming for a visit on Halloween.

That could open a couple of dates to play some teams closer to home.

I would think it would be more of a logistical nightmare to selectively schedule games rather than all or nothing. I think a normal football season is unlikely, and there's probably a better chance of no football season in 2020.

I'm pretty sure the money is going to get in the way this time. Cutting spring sports didn't hit the big boy's wallets. Sure, we missed the basketball tournament, but big time college football is another animal. I imagine they will try to start the season whenever they can even if it is abbreviated. I expect the season to be shifted out quarter by quarter as this evolves.

(04-06-2020 10:46 AM)Tribe32 Wrote:  I'm pretty sure the money is going to get in the way this time. Cutting spring sports didn't hit the big boy's wallets. Sure, we missed the basketball tournament, but big time college football is another animal. I imagine they will try to start the season whenever they can even if it is abbreviated. I expect the season to be shifted out quarter by quarter as this evolves.

It wouldn't surprise me to see football and basketball become spring sports for next year. To paraphrase Tribal, that's a long ways away and a lot of things can change, but there's some major changes that aren't yet on the horizon in order to have any sports as scheduled in 2020.

(04-06-2020 11:36 AM)TribeInTheBurg Wrote:  

(04-06-2020 10:46 AM)Tribe32 Wrote:  I'm pretty sure the money is going to get in the way this time. Cutting spring sports didn't hit the big boy's wallets. Sure, we missed the basketball tournament, but big time college football is another animal. I imagine they will try to start the season whenever they can even if it is abbreviated. I expect the season to be shifted out quarter by quarter as this evolves.

It wouldn't surprise me to see football and basketball become spring sports for next year. To paraphrase Tribal, that's a long ways away and a lot of things can change, but there's some major changes that aren't yet on the horizon in order to have any sports as scheduled in 2020.

I could easily see that happening. It may make sense to start hoops earlier (January) so they don't end at the same time.

XFL announces all operations have been “shut down”. No announcement on a possible return.

(04-05-2020 03:02 PM)Tribal Wrote:  "We" went from back online by Easter to nothing til 2021. How about we just relax and see how it works out. To quote a great W&M philosopher, "All this speculation on something which we know nothing about."

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

Google “college athletic budgets” and click on “news” for some bracing speculation.

From David Teel's column in the Times-Dispatch:

https://www.richmond.com/sports/plus/tee...b4cab.html

"...here at Tech, we have one sport that generates revenue. We have one sport [men’s basketball] that breaks even. And we have 20 that operate off what football generates. So football’s important for football’s sake, and for the entire student-athlete experience in every sport, football is critical.”

The Hokies’ 80-page financial filing to the NCAA for 2019 tells the story. Football netted $18.1 million and accounted for 84.4% of ticket revenue and 75% of media rights fees. Men’s basketball netted $2.1 million, and the remaining 20 sports combined to lose $17.4 million.

That’s why Power Five schools will move heaven and earth to play the upcoming football season, even if it means delaying until January or beyond.

# # #


and that is why Mid-Majors will have to seriously look at cutting fringe sports (like ODU and wrestling). At William & Mary, it will involve the potential loss/reduction of student fees, alumni giving, plus the reduction of NCAA B-ball check (through the CAA) and whatever little bonus football would provide (if our season is cancelled or shortened). It ain't gonna be pretty...

(04-10-2020 03:35 PM)billymac Wrote:  From David Teel's column in the Times-Dispatch:

https://www.richmond.com/sports/plus/tee...b4cab.html

"...here at Tech, we have one sport that generates revenue. We have one sport [men’s basketball] that breaks even. And we have 20 that operate off what football generates. So football’s important for football’s sake, and for the entire student-athlete experience in every sport, football is critical.”

The Hokies’ 80-page financial filing to the NCAA for 2019 tells the story. Football netted $18.1 million and accounted for 84.4% of ticket revenue and 75% of media rights fees. Men’s basketball netted $2.1 million, and the remaining 20 sports combined to lose $17.4 million.

That’s why Power Five schools will move heaven and earth to play the upcoming football season, even if it means delaying until January or beyond.

# # #


and that is why Mid-Majors will have to seriously look at cutting fringe sports (like ODU and wrestling). At William & Mary, it will involve the potential loss/reduction of student fees, alumni giving, plus the reduction of NCAA B-ball check (through the CAA) and whatever little bonus football would provide (if our season is cancelled or shortened). It ain't gonna be pretty...

This environment can be characterized as challenging, but also as liberating. College ADs will never have a better opportunity to demonstrate value added. They will never have better cover to make controversial decisions (they may have been contemplating anyway). That said, if many of them aren't already lobbying the NCAA to relax/change regulations that inhibit reorganization of conferences, one has to wonder if they're in the wrong line of work.

The data needed to make tough decisions will emerge. Athletic departments will learn how donations and ticket sales compare to previous years. Admissions offices will have more visibility into enrollment numbers. Hopefully someone has the job of keeping the pulse of competitors and how they're faring.

The justification for asking donors and students to subsidize expensive conference geographic footprints was flimsy pre-pandemic. Many of these footprints are unsustainable going forward. One suspects change would generate fan interest (and maybe even donations) in what is apt to be a dead period. Asking for help in flying the football team to Durham, New Hampshire, and Orono, Maine, in the years ahead may be a tougher sell when there are plenty of competitive options closer to Williamsburg.

Good article in the Washington Post about how big time football programs may have to cut other sports just to pick up for the lack of football revenue. They discussed Iowa and Iowa State.

Welcome to our world.

Universities planning for potential closure all of next year
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/us/univer...index.html

Nice piece featuring President Rowe. Some nice shots of the campus. If you need a 3 minute break, here you go.

https://www.wm.edu/about/administration/...=text_link

Cincinnati just dropped men's soccer, effective immediately

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

G5 schools asking for rule changes from NCAA to survive. Hopefully they say no and this leads to the long-anticipated massive realignment

https://www.espn.com/college-football/st...quirements

(04-15-2020 06:59 AM)nogretheogre Wrote:  G5 schools asking for rule changes from NCAA to survive. Hopefully they say no and this leads to the long-anticipated massive realignment

https://www.espn.com/college-football/st...quirements

Do you really think the NCAA won't grant the wishes of the G5/P5 schools that keep the money machine rolling?

Though I suppose the request is by fringe FBS programs and not the real earners, so perhaps there is a chance.

We do sponsor a lot of sports, and I wouldn't be shocked if a few get cut (I'd have to think golf is near the top of any chopping block, no revenue, low number of athletes, relatively expensive). But, that doesn't mean people can't play a sport in college, you can easily make cut varsity sports into club sports. And while they might not have the same "official-ness" of a varsity sport, club sports still offer pretty solid competition.

I played a club sport for 5 years (undergrad+masters) at the College. We still had coaches, 2-3 practices a week, and generally 3-4 tournaments in the fall, and 5-6 in the spring. Club sports have a governing body, conferences, leagues, nationals, etc, and definitely cost the college a lot less to run.

(04-15-2020 07:53 AM)mrjoolius Wrote:  

(04-15-2020 06:59 AM)nogretheogre Wrote:  G5 schools asking for rule changes from NCAA to survive. Hopefully they say no and this leads to the long-anticipated massive realignment

https://www.espn.com/college-football/st...quirements

Do you really think the NCAA won't grant the wishes of the G5/P5 schools that keep the money machine rolling?

Though I suppose the request is by fringe FBS programs and not the real earners, so perhaps there is a chance.

P5 has the power and they may want this to be their excuse to truly split off...so they advise the NCAA to say no. If G5 has more financial struggles, doesnt that make the P5 even more powerful?

Dan Wolken tweeted:
College Football Playoff committee tells Mike Pence students need to return to campus before season starts.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nc...140521002/

Pretty bad time to be in CUSA. Tell me again how it's fiscally responsible for ODU to fly to El Paso to play 3 baseball games over a weekend then play in Dallas, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, etc. All flights and just stupid.



Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

One of the underlying worries all college football programs have is that, even with the resumption of football and with the strong possibility that the virus will still be taking lives and getting people ill, many older (50+) season ticket holders that currently support the bulk of season ticket sales, will not want to risk crowds in a stadium or arena and opt out of buying. For example---and it's true
for every college---many of our W&M season ticket holders are over 50.