The Robert Morris Rivals site indicates they have a future (not 2014) football game with YSU.
Surprised to see they have a home game in 2014 with Eastern Kentucky in their 3,000 seat stadium.
http://robertmorris.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1219&CID=1586355As John Banaszak moves into the head coaching job at Robert Morris in the wake of Joe Walton's retirement, ColonialsCorner caught up with him to talk about the dawn of a new era. This is the final part of a three-part series. You can read part one here and see what Banaszak's mindset is as he moves into the job. Part two focused on Banaszak's changes to the program , including a new offense.
Even after March 19, 2013 came and went, John Banaszak couldn't get the sights he saw that night out of his mind.
Not only did the Robert Morris football coach have a front row seat for the basketball team's upset of Kentucky, but he came away thrilled at the sight of the sea of red in the stands, a packed house full of vocal, crazed Robert Morris students.
That sea of red never really reached the shores of Joe Walton Stadium the next fall, and Banaszak is out to do something about it.
"We've got to have a sea of red in these stands. To be honest, I was very disappointed with our fan support this past season," Banaszak said. "That's not going to happen again. These students on this campus are looking for things to do. Come and see us play. Come and enjoy that college football atmosphere. We're not going to be on ESPN Game Day, but we can make that special."
Among his other tasks now that's he head coach, Banaszak's added the challenge of engaging the students and getting them to fill the stands for every home game. Part of the challenge is fighting the remnants of Robert Morris' commuter school base, which has long been a challenge for the school's athletic department. But Banaszak also knows that part of it is his football team holding up its end of the bargain.
"We win the conference championship and go to the NCAA playoffs in 2010, we graduate 26 kids, and we go to 2-9. That stinks," Banaszak said. "Never going to be 2-9 again. We improved to 4-7, that stinks. That's not good enough. But we're still able to have great recruiting classes those two years. 5-6 with an opportunity to win the conference is an improvement, but it's still not where we need to be."
Banaszak's hopeful that a model built on recruiting quality players, letting them grow for a couple years, and then step into major roles as juniors and seniors will turn Robert Morris into a perennial contender. Smart scheduling will also play a factor, and he's going to continue to push for night games - which have traditionally sold out - when they're feasible.
"I think it has to be sprinkled in, only because of our conference. It's not really fair to have a Central Connecticut come in and play at night and they have to travel back," Banaszak said. "We've tried to implement a conference rule that when you go east to west or west to east, that you start those games at noon so you give them some travel time. But if St. Francis and Duquesne come here, we'll play them at night. We like those night games."
Banaszak also likes tough competition. Robert Morris will host Eastern Kentucky, which is exploring a move to the FBS level, on Thursday, August 28 to open the 2014 season. Robert Morris also has road games against Lafayette and North Dakota next year, plus future games against Youngstown State and South Dakota State.
Beyond that, Banaszak is also hoping to put together the program's first game against an FBS school. Wagner's played Syracuse and Florida Atlantic, while Duquesne will play Buffalo next year. Banaszak wants a piece of that pie.
"I would play a MAC school in a heartbeat," Banaszak said. He paused and laughed, "Maybe not Northern Illinois, though. They're pretty freakin' good."
"For us to take a trip to Kent State, for us to take a trip to Eastern Michigan, that's no different than going to Connecticut. Get into the BCS schools? Absolutely. I'd be crazy to pass that up," Banaszak continued. "Our recruiting philosophy includes that. That's quite a challenge for us. We're in the search of kids that have been offered by MAC schools. Those are the kids I want to compete against, those MAC schools. If I can steal 8-to-10 of those kids a year, that believe they should be playing at the BCS level, then I think I can compete when we do get that opportunity."
The number of FCS wins over FBS programs has increased in recent years, and that provides additional motivation for schools like Robert Morris, who now qualify as bowl counters.
"Youngstown State beat Pitt two years ago. I'll go to Pitt tomorrow and play them for $500,000," Banaszak said. "I'd be crazy not to. What that could do for us as a program?"
FBS opponents or not, the tougher schedule and push for increased support are part of Banaszak's plan to make Robert Morris a perennial contender in the Northeast Conference and potentially a significant pest throughout the FCS. Time will tell if it's possible, but Banaszak believes it is.
"There wouldn't be anything greater than winning a national championship for little old Robert Morris University. Who would ever believe that? Who would ever think that would be possible?" Banaszak said. "But I can tell you that I think it's a worthy goal. I think we can do that. If I didn't believe that, I shouldn't be sitting here."
