The Dome was empty...again. Where are the fans?

[LAorange44]

It has a huge impact on the amount of incoming students who apply. Obviously, the more students who apply the better it is for the school. More students, possibly more wealthy parents, more research money etc. My daughter has been on the hill for the past 7 years as an undergrad/grad student. She has relayed many times how palpable the buzz is on campus when football and basketball is doing well. How Dino often came into the Schine and got all the kids fired up. She sees very little of this anymore. We were a top ten basketball program for almost 40 years. Only way for a chance to bring that back is to win. Successful athletics are a huge part of the financial and academic picture at Syracuse.

Kids Are Giving Up on Elite Colleges—and Heading South

‘Even if I could’ve gotten into Harvard, I wouldn’t have gone.’

www.thefp.com

Interesting article about highly qualified northeastern students ditching ivies for warmer state schools in the south in part due to sports, among other factors, including costs, politics, weather, etc. Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Miami. Sports are a priority at these institutions and they are attracting highly qualified students because they have the whole package. Publisher seems politically motivated and biased but it’s a data point. I do believe these schools are attracting more students because of good sports. We saw a big bump after 2003

 

[CuseBlood44]

Three years is reasonable for Red. It's obvious it won't work and the fans have spoken. Need someone that can inspire the fanbase again.

He should’ve never been the hire though. Why promote someone who oversaw the downfall of the program, and if you do then why was it red over Gerry who the fans wanted more

 

[CuseBlood44]

Historically the reason for the AD at Syracuse has been to provide cover for the administration and take the bullets for the decisions they crammed down the athletic department’s throat. The ADs role was to take the bullets and keep his pie hole shut about the fact he was getting screwed. That’s why we had the “unique” accounting in the 90s where funds almost all other schools allocated to the AD were going to the general fund, causing Syracuse to fall further and further behind when the spending arms race was in full swing.

The AD is also supposed to handle all the hard questions from the media, because we’ve seen what happens when the media goes around the AD. We get Shaw telling the fans to get a life…not good. I guarantee nobody on the BOT wants to give a presser explaining why they wanted Red so badly right now - they’ll let John handle those questions instead.

This really isn’t that hard to understand - if Wildhack were to get fired, what it communicates to everyone relevant is that the role of AD at Syracuse is to deal with whatever decisions the BOT crams down your throat, deal with the horrible PR mess that is created as a result, and ultimately get fired if the PR is too negative for the school to stomach anymore. Does that sound like a job opportunity a lot of highly qualified upwardly mobile individuals are going to sign up for? (Hint: the answer is no).

Looking at all the empty seats at basketball games, it’s obvious the Red experiment has failed. I have no idea how this entire process played out - but if Wildhack was expressing concerns with the approach to the administration/BOT as we moved on from JB and hired Red - he’s in a FANTASTIC position to say “I told you so” (although it needs to be more diplomatic than that) and start to leverage this trainwreck into more decision-making power than the AD at Syracuse has typically had. It’s realistically the only shot for athletics at Syracuse getting sustainably better. If he gets fired, it means the BOT is on the hunt for another figurehead to raise funds and take the bullets when their imposed decisions fail. I think a lot of people on here would celebrate Wildhack getting fired, oblivious to the fact that effectively dooms Syracuse athletics for generations at minimum, possibly forever.

Accountability is absolutely needed. But accountability without authority - which is what you are advocating for - is catastrophically bad. I’ve seen in the corporate world instances where people leveraged a disaster into more authority for themselves that they should have had in the first place - so I’m hopeful JW can run the same playbook here and help lead Syracuse out of the current mess.

(PS - If Wildhack wasn’t expressing concerns with the process that led to Red - then we’re screwed regardless. I highly doubt that is the case though).

This post deserves way more love. SU isn’t getting an AD much better than Wildhack. We aren’t Texas tech or other big time sports schools that have abundant cash flow and are committed fully to hiring the best possible coaches. I think the universities progressive politics had a large hand in the selection of red over Gmac or over a national search

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Kids Are Giving Up on Elite Colleges—and Heading South

‘Even if I could’ve gotten into Harvard, I wouldn’t have gone.’

www.thefp.com

Interesting article about highly qualified northeastern students ditching ivies for warmer state schools in the south in part due to sports, among other factors, including costs, politics, weather, etc. Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Miami. Sports are a priority at these institutions and they are attracting highly qualified students because they have the whole package. Publisher seems politically motivated and biased but it’s a data point. I do believe these schools are attracting more students because of good sports. We saw a big bump after 2003

We’ve seen many kids from our little town in Vermont heading to USC (the OG one), Bama, and Ole Miss.

 

[Cusefan78]

This is a really good point, if we were as poor as some claimed you likely don't do a 150M+ renovation. Attendance definitely wasn't being limited by the setup of the dome.

The dome remodel was done on the cheap. They did what they had to do and barely anything else. Colleges are spending big money while Syracuse like always is penny pinching while growing their endowment.

 

[Brooky03]

The dome remodel was done on the cheap. They did what they had to do and barely anything else. Colleges are spending big money while Syracuse like always is penny pinching while growing their endowment.

They built an entirely new roof…

 

[Blanko97]

The dome remodel was done on the cheap. They did what they had to do and barely anything else. Colleges are spending big money while Syracuse like always is penny pinching while growing their endowment.

But why do anything at all? And they’re certainly not penny pinching while they purchase half the hill

 

[cusefan88]

The dome remodel was done on the cheap. They did what they had to do and barely anything else. Colleges are spending big money while Syracuse like always is penny pinching while growing their endowment.

It was over $150m what are you smoking. It was not cheap. What did they NOT do that you wanted?

 

[RedtheGOB]

But why do anything at all? And they’re certainly not penny pinching while they purchase half the hill

ROI on real estate and upping tuition 10% is a sure thing for making money for SU.

Now look at the SEC, in my opinion firstly they say what do I need to to do win games and keep my fanbase happy. In many cases the entire state is the fanbase not just alums, and those fans vote for who is going to fix their football program or basketball program just as much as anything else political. If the school loses, heads roll and quickly regardless of $'s. I think some SEC and and BIG schools you would almost say they are gambling sometimes instead of running a sports program.

For SU ROI on paying more for the sports programs is not a sure thing. So they are investing for sure but yea it's just different. Yes they want to win and they're willing to spend, but that's every program. imo we are slower and more methodical.

 

[Blanko97]

ROI on real estate and upping tuition 10% is a sure thing for making money for SU.

Now look at the SEC, in my opinion firstly they say what do I need to to do win games and keep my fanbase happy. In many cases the entire state is the fanbase not just alums, and those fans vote for who is going to fix their football program or basketball program just as much as anything else political. If the school loses, heads roll and quickly regardless of $'s. I think some SEC and and BIG schools you would almost say they are gambling sometimes instead of running a sports program.

For SU ROI on paying more for the sports programs is not a sure thing. So they are investing for sure but yea it's just different. Yes they want to win and they're willing to spend, but that's every program. imo we are slower and more methodical.

Theres chasing a potential ROI and then there’s saddling yourself with guaranteed losses. Refusal to invest in your breakeven sports to the detriment of your own budget sounds like a far more sure thing than any cash flow you might see from the comstock and euclid real estate

 

[FrancoPizza]

They built an entirely new roof…

It was either that or turn off the lights in the dome. You must think we're pretty naive to peddle that narrative.

 

[orange79]

It was over $150m what are you smoking. It was not cheap. What did they NOT do that you wanted?

Actual roller coaster on the roof.

 

[Blanko97]

It was over $150m what are you smoking. It was not cheap. What did they NOT do that you wanted?

retractable roof

 

[DoctahLexus]

This post deserves way more love. SU isn’t getting an AD much better than Wildhack. We aren’t Texas tech or other big time sports schools that have abundant cash flow and are committed fully to hiring the best possible coaches. I think the universities progressive politics had a large hand in the selection of red over Gmac or over a national search

Who ever heard of hiring a black person in the game of basketball for other reasons than diversity points? This board is freaking broken. Yeah they would have totally done a national search if Red wasn't black. Great freaking point. Jesus christ.

 

[cusefan88]

retractable roof

I know you're joking but on a serious sidenote those are some of the stupidest additions to stadiums and completely unnecessary additive cost.

 

[CuseCactus]

You couldn’t pay me to go to a hoops game in the Dome at this point. I can think of 100 things more enjoyable. Big empty morgue. Not acceptable.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

FT shooting is bad enough. You really want the roof open during games?

 

[Cusefan78]

It was over $150m what are you smoking. It was not cheap. What did they NOT do that you wanted?

They HAD to do a roof. The rest isjust lipstick

 

[sufan59]

They HAD to do a roof. The rest isjust lipstick

One of the only college stadiums with 100% seats.