Do you approve of the move to the Patriot League?

[Ferrum Spider]

Imagine us signing a new contract with WM solidifies their commitment to CAA football in the short term. Our only hope is Villanova thinking as small minded as us.

As for how the two conferences are doing this year....Well the CAA is 28-23 in NC play while the Patriot is 12-20. The CAA has 4 teams with 4 wins already while the Patriot has 0. Enjoy our final season in a relevant conference. The nerds have won.

Cant believe some fans are drinking the cool aid on this move.

 

[AnnapSpider]

Richmond acted like a petulant child, who didn't have things go its way. UR effectively decided to take its game and stomp off to another playground. Meanwhile, the other teams in the league have gotten down to work and are headed towards a deep FCS run.

The rest of the CAA had a collective shrug, when Richmond announced its meaningless protest vote.

Big whoop.

They didn’t make the move without money being in the thought process. Yes, we probably lose
money on football, but if we knew the whole story we would see money as a major consideration.

 

[97spiderfan]

They didn’t make the move without money being in the thought process. Yes, we probably lose
money on football, but if we knew the whole story we would see money as a major consideration.

Our most recently released football budget was about $7,300,000, which they said during the press conference they were not reducing to move to Patriot League.

So, if money was an issue as you postulate, than the President flat out lied during the press conference. Also, we could run our entire football program off of about 10 days of interest accrued on our 3.2 billion dollar endowment, so if he did lie to us and it was to save maybe a half million dollars on the football program, than our leadership at UR complete financial morons.

Money is not an issue. As others have said, the ivory tower academics finally got what they wanted for our football program which is to play in a league with like minded academic institutions and they simply waited for the right time to execute.

 

[DTSpider]

The main issue to me is the lack of action taken a decade ago. We had all the momentum in the world coming off the national title in 2008, FCS was getting some attention and TV markets were expanding. The forward thinking institutions saw an opportunity and took advantage. We put the car in park on the highway and let others pass us. And, let’s be honest, for those that care about academic rankings - we’ve underperformed and this is part of it. It’s been unfortunate to watch our leaders squander what those before them built.

 

[AnnapSpider]

Our most recently released football budget was about $7,300,000, which they said during the press conference they were not reducing to move to Patriot League.

So, if money was an issue as you postulate, than the President flat out lied during the press conference. Also, we could run our entire football program off of about 10 days of interest accrued on our 3.2 billion dollar endowment, so if he did lie to us and it was to save maybe a half million dollars on the football program, than our leadership at UR complete financial morons.

Money is not an issue. As others have said, the ivory tower academics finally got what they wanted for our football program which is to play in a league with like minded academic institutions and they simply waited for the right time to execute.

You got my point reversed. I was saying that Richmond wouldn’t be changing conferences if money wasn’t
involved - to the positive. Not the negative.

 

[Anachnid]

When the ADept fails to generate any local interest/buzz/excitement for home games, it is of no consequence which conference we are members.

 

[SpiderRick]

It saddens me our stadium is always empty. Some games there are actually more fans there from our opponent.
APATHY

 

[Gallipoli]

It makes no sense to move to the Patriot League, where costs will not decrease. Also, how would costs, including NIL costs, to increase by staying in the CAA. In fact, expect travel costs to increase in the PL....

Unless this presages a move to D-3....

 

[DTSpider]

It saddens me our stadium is always empty. Some games there are actually more fans there from our opponent.
APATHY

It is not crowded today. A&T brought a decent crowd. We need to clean house.

 

[whampas]

It saddens me our stadium is always empty. Some games there are actually more fans there from our opponent.
APATHY

That's what happens when you don't engage the local community and spend all your time catering to the northeast elite.

 

[wr70beh]

That's what happens when you don't engage the local community and spend all your time catering to the northeast elite.

They’ve been catering to the northeast elite for generations.

 

[PalmTreeSpidUR]

We actually thought there was a better crowd today than there was for Family Weekend.

 

[ur2K]

Not sure what the silver bullet is, but starting games at 2pm at the end of summer in Virginia when the sun is beating on the stadium is pretty miserable. Gladly left at halftime today.

 

[AnnapSpider]

Not sure what the silver bullet is, but starting games at 2pm at the end of summer in Virginia when the sun is beating on the stadium is pretty miserable. Gladly left at halftime today.

Don’t understand that thinking. Why don’t you just wait and come to the second half? Geez

 

[DTSpider]

We just don’t do some of the small stuff. Why not have a local HS marching band? You get HS students and their families. Heck - invite 2 and make it a mini-competition. Give out an award at the end of the year for the best band. That sort of small stuff helps build some attention in the local community.

 

[ur2K]

Don’t understand that thinking. Why don’t you just wait and come to the second half? Geez

Geez, thanks for setting me straight. Will do that next time, thanks!

 

[Ferrum Spider]

Try a Thursday night game....no TV besides streaming and the game would be over in under 3 hours. Should try it for the first game of the season.

 

[AnnapSpider]

We just don’t do some of the small stuff. Why not have a local HS marching band? You get HS students and their families. Heck - invite 2 and make it a mini-competition. Give out an award at the end of the year for the best band. That sort of small stuff helps build some attention in the local community.

Today we played a member of the HBCU, and we claim diversity is so important, so,
why didn’t we market the game more in the African American areas of Richmond.
Do we really have a marketing arm for our football program? I can think of some
high school kids that could do a better job.

 

[Wood Hall]

They’ve been catering to the northeast elite for generations.

You are right, our university was so much better when we were lily-white, catering to the Virginia elite and a true representative of American society.

 

[whampas]

Nvm

 

[SpiderGuy]

It is not crowded today. A&T brought a decent crowd. We need to clean house.

I was on 40 yard line and bunch of their fans next few rows below us. The last several years attendance seems to have declined. The powers to be can’t actually think that attendance will pick up next year with “new Patriot League rivalries”.

 

[whampas]

Interesting read:

https://augustafreepress.com/news/that-loss-at-louisiana-monroe-was-costly-for-jmu-literally-costly/

 

[urfan1]

Interesting read:

https://augustafreepress.com/news/that-loss-at-louisiana-monroe-was-costly-for-jmu-literally-costly/

Thanks for link, really tells a story.

 

[Ferrum Spider]

https://augustafreepress.com/news/that-loss-at-louisiana-monroe-was-costly-for-jmu-literally-costly/

Cry me a river. Life isn't fair? JMU dropped a ton of men's and women's sports and charged insane student activity fees to make the jump, still cant generate a profit because you don't have TV money and you have the nerve to complain? How about you ask all those scholarship dukes that didn't play football if life is fair?

In FBS you're just paying more to lose more, get over it or don't join. Got lucky to beat GW, even luckier that UNC quit after a getting a bye week to prepare for them and their luck finally ran out against a team that would struggle in the CAA. JMU is the middle child always starving for their parents attention. Eff em!

 

[whampas]

Thanks for link, really tells a story.

Sure does. Practically have to go undefeated to have a chance to financially break even. Anything other than P4 is a hole that you poor money into and it's going to get worse. I, for one, don't want to chase after JMU.

 

[Ferrum Spider]

CAA
32-25 non-conference record
4 ranked teams
3rd in the Sagarin ratings
10 top 200 teams in the Sagarin ratings

Patriot
12-21 overall non-conference record
ONE team with a winning record. Mighty non scholarship Georgetown holding it down with a 4-2 record
0 ranked teams
2 teams in the top 200 in the Sagarin ratings.

Unbelievable our administration thought this was a good idea.

 

[SFspidur]

Preseason favorite Lafayette is really crapping the bed. And while you'd think preseason #2 Holy Cross sneaking by preseason #3 Fordham would be a reasonable outcome, Fordham is now 0–7 on the season.

As frustrated as we are with what the CAA has become (and is continuing to become with UD heading out the door), this move to the Patriot really only seems to stand a chance of panning out if W&M and 'Nova follow. 'Nova has more flexibility with football-only, but W&M moving all sports out of the CAA seems like a higher bar.

We've heard talk of the Patriot stepping up commitments recently, but even in good years they might have one decent (not at-large worthy) team, and this year they apparently have none. Show me the "money".

 

[spiderjpo]

Many supported this move and talked themselves into thinking this conference change needed to take place. The data does not lie. The Patriot League is weak and we will be a big fish in a small pond. Many knock the CAA additions but the quality of individual talent and commitment to winning football is much better in the CAA. The only way this changes is if Villanova and WM join the Patriot to help elevate the conference profile nationally.

 

[AnnapSpider]

Many supported this move and talked themselves into thinking this conference change needed to take place. The data does not lie. The Patriot League is weak and we will be a big fish in a small pond. Many knock the CAA additions but the quality of individual talent and commitment to winning football is much better in the CAA. The only way this changes is if Villanova and WM join the Patriot to help elevate the conference profile nationally.

If there is a fall off on our recruiting that will be telltale evidence a mistake was made. We often recruit
players that W & M and Villanova recruit, and many of the southern CAA teams. If we start losing those
recruits, we really f——d up.