Future of YSU sports

[guinpen]

From YSU internal communications on budget cuts posted this morning... This paragraph highlighted the budget  cuts in athletics:

YSU announces budget reductions

Youngstown State University announced today that there will be significant operational budget cuts and the elimination of 22 coaching and administrative positions in Intercollegiate Athletics, resulting in an overall expense reduction of nearly $2 million.

That is a hit, saving grace will be if everyone else has to do the same, it should not be a dis-advantage.

One side affect of all this cutback in people whether public or private is that if things get done without them, were they really needed?

Glad to see YSU stepping up and addressing the issue.

[guinpen]

Let's put a few things into perspective.

1. YSU and the OVC is going back too far now. Just too many years to talk real rivals. Our bigger concern is to embed rivalry thinking into our incoming classes. When I took my daughter on her first tour of OSU. In one day, my daughter was responding "..IO" to every "OH..." she heard. It starts right from the very beginning and we need to do the same.
2. Tressel moved us out of the OVC for very specific reasons.
- The NCAA allowed independents to participate in the play-off and GA Southern did well as an independent and were offered admission to the SoCon. That sets the stage to put YSU in the play-off every year that we can manage 7-wins with schedules that are much easier than the OVC. 
- 7 wins was NEVER going to win the OVC. We were seldom, if ever, going to win the OVC and it was a 1-deep conference for the play-off.

Taking these two things into account, why not go independent? Honestly, even if we won the OVC, I doubt we could have advanced and won a title. It was a good move to go independent.

The MVFC and NDSU. NDSU is only going to be beaten regularly when other MVFC teams play the same style of ball and/or make a conscience effort to focus on them. Now when a team is in a conference that goes 3-4 deep in the post-season, why would you bother with any kind of focus on NDSU? You may beat NDSU, even on a regular basis, but you will probably lose to other teams that have offensive speed and a mobile QB. So what good is defeating NDSU and not making the play-off, or losing in the early rounds? Besides if NDSU goes to the post-season, the MVFC still puts another 2-3 teams in the post season. That is more than the OVC.

Interesting post,

Do you know right off how many OVC teams usually made the play-offs?

How tough would it be to make a relevant schedule as an independant?

What is more important to YSU and it's fans? Coming in top two of the OVC, making the play-offs and maybe lose in the first round, or playing in the MVAC being a better team for it but maybe not making the playoffs? At this point I think our fans would just like to make the playoffs.

As always the trick is to make the playoffs as you are peaking.

[ytownchief22]

The OVC is not happening people lol.

[Double ET]

YSU sports - $ 2 Millions in Budget cuts
From today Vindy/ Tribune:

https://www.tribtoday.com/sports/local-sports/2020/05/ysu-cuts-2-million-from-athletic-budget/

[Double ET]

Article from today’s Vindy/Tribune on budget cuts on YSU sports:

https://www.tribtoday.com/sports/local-sports/2020/05/ysu-cuts-2-million-from-athletic-budget/

[YSUGO]

Looks like the football coaching staff was reduced by 4 coaches .

[YSUGO]

We had to refund 3 million in student fees due to the university being closed.  The athletic dept was supported with student fee money without we cannot sustain  D1 full sports slate of teams?  Is D2 on the the radar screen the next few years.  I think it should be.  I love our sports but we cannot compete without solid funding. 

[ytownchief22]

We had to refund 3 million in student fees due to the university being closed.  The athletic dept was supported with student fee money without we cannot sustain  D1 full sports slate of teams?  Is D2 on the the radar screen the next few years.  I think it should be.  I love our sports but we cannot compete without solid funding.

No

[Wick250]

Keep everything in perspective.  All athletic programs below the big time level are struggling with finances.  Everybody will be cutting staff.  Right now I am pleased that we have retained every one of our sports.  We definitely will not miss any fired administrators, and we might just discover that we had more assistant coaches than we really needed.

[goodnews]

Are they moving forward on the new turf?

[ytownchief22]

Are they moving forward on the new turf?

It's been delayed. They still hope to have it done by the start of football season.

[ytownchief22]

Good chance Robert Morris joins the horizon league soon.

[guinpen]

Good chance Robert Morris joins the horizon league soon.

WHY

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/06/04/rmu-potentially-joining-horizon-league/

https://bustingbrackets.com/2020/06/04/horizon-league-basketball-how-robert-morris-addition-would-impact-the-conference/

https://triblive.com/sports/robert-morris-reportedly-mulling-move-out-of-northeast-conference/

[4lessgovt]

https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/college/2020/05/23/briggs-why-toledo-and-bg-football-dropping-to-fcs-is-absolute-non-starter/stories/20200523086.  His argument seems purely emotional.

[Wick250]

https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/college/2020/05/23/briggs-why-toledo-and-bg-football-dropping-to-fcs-is-absolute-non-starter/stories/20200523086.  His argument seems purely emotional.

It is interesting that anybody at Toledo would even be talking about this.  Toledo is the only MAC school in Ohio that has the community support and tradition to remain viable in FBS.  I also found it fascinating that this Toledo writer has the same low opinion about Akron and Kent State football as many of us.  And this is the first MAC person that I have encountered that admits that playing for a national championship is more interesting than some meaningless, obscure bowl game.

This article does suffer from some shoddy research.  To "prove" that there would not be substantial cost-saving if the MAC dropped to FCS, he cites James Madison.  JMU is hardly a representative FCS school.  They have the largest budget in FCS by far, mostly by imposing an extraordinarily high athletic fee on all of their students.  In fact, MAC schools would save many millions by reducing scholarships.  Of course, "our fans would not like it. We would lose prestige. We belong in Division I (ignorant that FCS is Division I.)" The most pathetic thing of all is that MAC people believe that football fans across this country actually consider their league "big time" simply because of a NCAA classification on a piece of paper.