Any Meaning To 'Nova Hire?

[Always Learning]

They got themselves a new AD whose entire resume is football oriented.

NFL four years with Pete Carroll at New England and Southern Cal, and there had a title unknown to me called "Chief of Intervention."

My question is, and knowing that for several years the movers and shakers at Villanova have been pushing for an expanded and upgrade of their football program to FBS level, is this a major step in that direction?

Would this possibly move Villanova to leaving the BE for a football conference?

Anyone hear anything from our 'Nova brethren?

[DC Muskie]

Never say never...

Except here. It's never going to happen. It's more reasonable to expect that UConn drops D1 football and returns to the BE.

If there were actual mover and shakers at Nova who wanted this to happen, it would have happened. It didn't, so it won't.

[Milhouse]

Seeing as how BC and ND are the only catholic D1 FBS programs I just can't see this happening at a small private school. The amount of time and $$ it would take to do this would be astronomical. Not to mention the conference situation. No P5 would take them with a start up Football program no matter how good Basketball is (case and point UConn).

[ArizonaXUGrad]

I believe the NCAA requires all FBS teams to have a stadium with at least 30k capacity. I also believe 'Nova's is only around 20k. They would have some work to do stadium wise alone. I think you also have to average 15k per game in attendance for 3 past years to qualify as well.

[drudy23]

As long as Xavier doesn't follow suit...I don't care what they do.

[Always Learning]

Seeing as how BC and ND are the only catholic D1 FBS programs I just can't see this happening at a small private school. The amount of time and $$ it would take to do this would be astronomical. Not to mention the conference situation. No P5 would take them with a start up Football program no matter how good Basketball is (case and point UConn).

I don't see size of a school having anything to do with this.

"Time and money" to Villanona are just small obstacles easily overcome. Expansion by 10,000 seats is peanuts, besides there is Penn, Temple and NFL stadium available while they build what the want. I don't believe the NCAA requires the stadium to be on campus, (see USC, Tulane).

The ACC is at 15 schools (14 for football) and 'Nova would give them them 10 million TV sets in a Philly, DC, Baltimore market, as well as Philly being the anchor to0 their desire to be in the TV market.

Don't get me wrong, I am NOT saying this will happen. Just asking in the light of the AD hire with a 100% football resume.

Strange hire!

Oh, and Drudy, there is no way, Xavier would ever move in that direction. Perhaps at D-2 or 3, but never a fullo scale FBS program. That cost to start up would be astronomical ...

[waggy]

Why would Nova be a better option than Temple if the ACC wanted a program from the Philly market?

[X-band '01]

Temple already plays at Lincoln Financial Field with the Eagles; the only realistic option Villanova would have would be to play at Penn's stadium. The stadium where the Philadelphia Union play is too small for FBS standards.

But to your last point, teams aren't allowed to play a lower division in football (aka the Dayton rule). However, D-II and D-III schools can play up in Division I for Olympic sports (i.e. Dallas Baptist for baseball in the MVC).

[GoMuskies]

Why would Nova be a better option than Temple if the ACC wanted a program from the Philly market?

Temple in the ACC?!? Nein.

[waggy]

Temple in the ACC?!? Nein.

Huh?

I guess if had any chance of happening it already would have, but still why Nova over them? Temple has a better program.

[novachap]

Huh?

I guess if had any chance of happening it already would have, but still why Nova over them? Temple has a better program.

Hi folks, can't wait for hoops seaon, but in the meantime this news keeps us somewhat busy! Two schools of thought on this. 1. The new AD has great fundraising and facilities growth experience. School line is that is his focus. We desperately need a new arena on campus (according to virtually all alumni) and we are hopeful he can navvigate that. 2. Moving up in football is a thorny issue. Many want it for prestige, change of conf, etc. However, i dont think it could draw the needed fans. Attendance for football has always been soft. Temple is lucky to get 15k at a game. Philly is a pro football town. However, i do disagree fundamentally with Ever implying temple is better at anything than nova. Big 5 bias, but their football is not good (we actually are dead even with them life time) and we own college hoops there. If the ACC ever wants the phila mkt they will go to nova just like the original big east did. Either way, i think it is unlikely. My $.02

[LA Muskie]

I don't see size of a school having anything to do with this.

"Time and money" to Villanona are just small obstacles easily overcome. Expansion by 10,000 seats is peanuts, besides there is Penn, Temple and NFL stadium available while they build what the want. I don't believe the NCAA requires the stadium to be on campus, (see USC, Tulane).

The ACC is at 15 schools (14 for football) and 'Nova would give them them 10 million TV sets in a Philly, DC, Baltimore market, as well as Philly being the anchor to0 their desire to be in the TV market.

Don't get me wrong, I am NOT saying this will happen. Just asking in the light of the AD hire with a 100% football resume.

Strange hire!

Oh, and Drudy, there is no way, Xavier would ever move in that direction. Perhaps at D-2 or 3, but never a fullo scale FBS program. That cost to start up would be astronomical ...
I don't know much about the rest of this. But I know that the Coliseum is practically (if not technically) on USC's campus.

[xubrew]

Mark Jackson's main focus at USC was development, as I understand it. I think hiring him means they want to amp up their fundraising. I don't think it means they want to reclassify to the FBS.

[casualfan]

The NCAA absolutely does not require a football stadium to be on campus.

[JTG]

Mark Jackson's main focus at USC was development, as I understand it. I think hiring him means they want to amp up their fundraising. I don't think it means they want to reclassify to the FBS.

Probably the Villanova folks looked at Cintas and thought, Why the hell are we paying exorbitant off campus rent, when these guys have an on campus palace with luxury boxes, and they get to keep their income. When it comes to arenas, Xavier is #1 in the Big East. And probably makes more money than any other school in the BE from basketball. Well, maybe Creighton makes more, but it's not their arena.

[xubrew]

Probably the Villanova folks looked at Cintas and thought, Why the hell are we paying exorbitant off campus rent, when these guys have an on campus palace with luxury boxes, and they get to keep their income. When it comes to arenas, Xavier is #1 in the Big East. And probably makes more money than any other school in the BE from basketball. Well, maybe Creighton makes more, but it's not their arena.

I never thought of that before, but you're probably right. Xavier probably makes the most revenue. When I'm not feeling so lazy I'm going to go look that up!!

Nova plays most of their games on campus at the Pavilion, but I think it only seats about 7000. I'm going to go look that up too, when I'm not feeling so lazy.

[X-band '01]

La Salle is also going to be hosting the East Regional at the Wells Fargo Center this year; Villanova can only play up to 3 games there if they are eligible to potentially play at home in the Sweet 16 this season.

As to their arena, the capacity is 6,500 per their Wikipedia page.

[xubrew]

The Pavilion is cool because it appears as though the locker rooms are actually under the stands. So, when Nova comes out onto the floor, they actually come out through the crowd. I've always thought that was cool.

[Caveat]

Hi folks, can't wait for hoops seaon, but in the meantime this news keeps us somewhat busy! Two schools of thought on this. 1. The new AD has great fundraising and facilities growth experience. School line is that is his focus. We desperately need a new arena on campus (according to virtually all alumni) and we are hopeful he can navvigate that. 2. Moving up in football is a thorny issue. Many want it for prestige, change of conf, etc. However, i dont think it could draw the needed fans. Attendance for football has always been soft. Temple is lucky to get 15k at a game. Philly is a pro football town. However, i do disagree fundamentally with Ever implying temple is better at anything than nova. Big 5 bias, but their football is not good (we actually are dead even with them life time) and we own college hoops there. If the ACC ever wants the phila mkt they will go to nova just like the original big east did. Either way, i think it is unlikely. My $.02

Unlikely is being generous.

It'd be monumentally stupid to add football as D-1A scholarship sport for ANY school right now. The money is all flowing up and that's unlikely to change, ever.

[X-band '01]

There are a couple of additions this year - Charlotte will become a full C-USA member this year, and both East Tennessee State and Kennesaw State will make their respective debuts at the FCS level.

Other than that, that's it (unless you count UAB coming back in 2017 for that season in C-USA).

[DC Muskie]

The Pavilion is not bad. I watched us get waxed there in our first BE game at Nova.

[xubrew]

Unlikely is being generous.

It'd be monumentally stupid to add football as D-1A scholarship sport for ANY school right now. The money is all flowing up and that's unlikely to change, ever.

I kinda disagree. I think now is the time to make the jump before it's too late.

If you're at the FCS level and are already funding 52 scholarships, jumping to 85 and getting about a $1 million a year in playoff revenue to cover that isn't the stupidest idea in the world. I think that's what a lot of schools are looking to do, and are doing. If the playoff eventually expands, which I think is more likely than not, then the annual revenue sharing will exceed $1 million a year per FBS school. It may actually double. Eventually, they're going to find ways to make it harder to reclassify just as they did in basketball when schools were making the jump to chase the money, so if you're thinking about doing it, then now is definitely the time.

[paulxu]

We had football when I went to X.

[Emp]

We had football when I went to X.

And it was great at ol' Chorcoran Stadium, even played Nova back in the day, but.......it was hemmorrhaging cash at a time Xavier was really struggling with new construction for the Boomers. As a percentage of athletic expenses, totally unsustainable then, and now.

[xu82]

We had football when I went to X.

I saw We Are Marshall. I tried not to feel shame, but....

[xubrew]

We had football when I went to X.

I wish we still did. I do think football rounds out an athletic program, and it is the only event of its kind. Even at the FCS non-scholarship level or the div3 level, it's the only event that gets students and alumni outside on a nice day, and with tailgating it serves as a festival/homecoming every game. Butler has it. Georgetown has it. Nova has it, albeit at a higher level than we'd be able to compete at. Even at the non-scholarship level, you could fill the schedule out against other teams who are in the same situation, including some of the Ivy's.

[Xaveriana]

Do it right or don't do it. See Xavier Basketball. :-)

[xudash]

Do it right or don't do it. See Xavier Basketball. :-)

It depends upon how you define "doing it right."

If you mean going full throttle towards the D1A level, I believe we all know we can't get there. As was noted here already, Xavier gets to continue playing on television in football whenever WE ARE MARSHALL is aired.

If you're after fall weekends with a winning program, tailgate parties and 10k attendance numbers, I certainly wouldn't be against building towards that, so long as we can afford to do that, which is to suggest that we only pursue football like that as long as we don't hurt the crown jewel of basketball AND the other existing strong programs we're building now - - soccer, golf, tennis, swimming, etc.

Is that feasible? Probably only if someone who really cares about it comes along to fund it on a sustainable basis.

I'm assuming that the pipeline looks something like the following:

1. New student rec center; should be on the radar soon enough, and it will make a statement.

2. Endowment growth; already in motion, but it will be a point of emphasis.

3. Frankly, on the athletic front, in addition to the CC improvements, eventually look for Schmidt/O'Conner to be addressed.

I would think that you'll at some point see something announced where those facilities across Victory Parkway will be addressed to take care of the needs of some of the other existing sports.

[DC Muskie]

I think this used to be a subject matter I used to get pretty fired up about. Just imagine a football game at Xavier where the night game was against Bob Huggins Mountaineers! My head would have exploded.

Now I'm just old. If we had football and played in the Patriot league that would be cool. But we are too far away for that. We'd be stuck playing Dayton and Butler and (faaarrrttt) excuse me, whatever other Midwest schools. I'm a huge snob now.

How much would you say it would cost to build a program from scratch? To play in the shitty Pioneer league?

$50? $300?

If we were to play in the Patriot League, I bet it would cost about $10Million. Is it worth $10M to have around 3,000 people show up 5 times a year?

Maybe it would be a good idea in the Pioneer league. $50 to get in, 3K at the gate. Not a bad investment.

[xubrew]

I think this used to be a subject matter I used to get pretty fired up about. Just imagine a football game at Xavier where the night game was against Bob Huggins Mountaineers! My head would have exploded.

Now I'm just old. If we had football and played in the Patriot league that would be cool. But we are too far away for that. We'd be stuck playing Dayton and Butler and (faaarrrttt) excuse me, whatever other Midwest schools. I'm a huge snob now.

How much would you say it would cost to build a program from scratch? To play in the shitty Pioneer league?

$50? $300?

If we were to play in the Patriot League, I bet it would cost about $10Million. Is it worth $10M to have around 3,000 people show up 5 times a year?

Maybe it would be a good idea in the Pioneer league. $50 to get in, 3K at the gate. Not a bad investment.

TEN MILLION??!!

Most of the schools in the Patriot League's entire athletic budgets are less than $5 million

There are programs at the FBS level that don't spend $10 million on football. If you're at the FCS non-scholarship level, you're basically operating as a div3 program. The last time I looked at the budgets, they were between $100k and $200k. Mount Saint Joe's has football. Thomas More has football. It can be done without breaking the bank.

I only looked up one school. Holy Cross's FB budget is about $330k. Since these guys aren't on scholarship, the total tuition of about five of the players should cover that, which arguably makes it worth it for the school.

[Masterofreality]

The Pavilion is not bad. I watched us get waxed there in our first BE game at Nova.

Agree to an extent, but for a "big time" program, it is not very impressive. They could do a major interior renovation and make it much better than a bunch of roll out stands.

[JTG]

I think this used to be a subject matter I used to get pretty fired up about. Just imagine a football game at Xavier where the night game was against Bob Huggins Mountaineers! My head would have exploded.

Now I'm just old. If we had football and played in the Patriot league that would be cool. But we are too far away for that. We'd be stuck playing Dayton and Butler and (faaarrrttt) excuse me, whatever other Midwest schools. I'm a huge snob now.

How much would you say it would cost to build a program from scratch? To play in the shitty Pioneer league?

$50? $300?

If we were to play in the Patriot League, I bet it would cost about $10Million. Is it worth $10M to have around 3,000 people show up 5 times a year?

Maybe it would be a good idea in the Pioneer league. $50 to get in, 3K at the gate. Not a bad investment.

No way in Hell would it cost $10 million. I'm in Indy and I bet Butler doesn't spend $1 million on football, and they rarely get 2000 to show up. I don't know if Butler spends $1mil on basketball.

[DoubleD86]

TEN MILLION??!!

Most of the schools in the Patriot League's entire athletic budgets are less than $5 million

There are programs at the FBS level that don't spend $10 million on football. If you're at the FCS non-scholarship level, you're basically operating as a div3 program. The last time I looked at the budgets, they were between $100k and $200k. Mount Saint Joe's has football. Thomas More has football. It can be done without breaking the bank.

I only looked up one school. Holy Cross's FB budget is about $330k. Since these guys aren't on scholarship, the total tuition of about five of the players should cover that, which arguably makes it worth it for the school.

I'd be in favor of Xavier starting football if it was non-scholarship FCS. It is a fun addition to a college lifestyle. I went to a D3 school for undergrad and while only one game per year actually mattered to anyone on campus, it was still a lot of fun to have the tailgate Saturday morning and go to the game to watch and cheer. Granted I was part of the 5% of students who cared, but it still gave you something to do and offered a chance for Alumni to stay engaged on campus.

[xubrew]

No way in Hell would it cost $10 million. I'm in Indy and I bet Butler doesn't spend $1 million on football, and they rarely get 2000 to show up. I don't know if Butler spends $1mil on basketball.

I just looked it up and Butler actually spends a lot more on football than I thought. It's $875k. I thought most of the Pioneer League schools were in the $200k range, so that's actually quite a bit more. Their operating expenses are only about $300k, so I don't know where the other expenses are coming from. I can't imagine they'd be paying their coaches that much. I mean, it's the freakin Pioneer League.

They spend just over $4 million on basketball and generate just over $5 million in revenue.