KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

..No one cared.

URI lost 17-7.

Not a single post about the game yesterday. We are now 0-5.

You have to wonder if Rhody will win a game this year.

Here is what I think happened to this season. Some brilliant "bean counter" in the AD's office thought it would be wise to reduce the cost of recruiting and recruit locally. They also thought it would engage the R.I. community by having locals playing at their state university. No offense Rhode Islanders, but a number of miscalculations were made. They thought reducing the attention paid to recruiting would not hurt, and that attendance would increase with the locals playing.
.....This business strategy was part of what they thought could be done along with the move to the NEC. That move didn't happen. The truth is, even if we were playing in the NEC, we would be battling Bryant for the cellar, and I am not sure we could beat them either.
.....FCS football, in most schools, is a cash drain. It is a matter of how much can you afford to loose. That is why most CAA schools have built larger endowments. It can offset athletic department expenses. URI's endowment has steadily grown in the last decade, but it is woefull for a state university of this size. A lot of that has to do with the disengaged alumni.
.....The sport is played for pride. Even the most ardent supporters of URI football, are not proud of the product.
.....I have been a supporter of Thor Bjorn. But, he has really dropped the ball on football. Even at the NEC level, you need to recruit. At the CAA level it is vitally important. In my opinion, it was a collossal error to stay in the CAA without the financial backing. Every part of the football program is lagging behind other CAA schools, and probably most NEC as well.....I feel for the student atheletes and supporters of the program.....They deserve more.

Great insight CT.

I don't think funding will ever change for URI football, if anything the program will get less, not more.

If the team goes winless this year that is truly abyssmal. Once you become a perennial doormat it gets ugly for everyone to look at.

GandysFantasy wrote:Great insight CT.

I don't think funding will ever change for URI football, if anything the program will get less, not more.

If the team goes winless this year that is truly abyssmal. Once you become a perennial doormat it gets ugly for everyone to look at.

I agree I dont think football is ever going to be relevant at URI again (at least not for awhile), and I really wouldn't be shocked if they didn't win a game this year. I went to the JMU game and they are truly an awful team... was painful to watch. Very painful...

I'm just happy basketball is on the rise at this point. Taking baby steps for our school to be relevant again hah

Plus Governor Goofy wasn't even there to present the trophy.
Guess football isn't "new normal" enough for him.
Probably too busy worrying about defending that cretin who murdered a father of three, from the death penalty, or officiating a same sex marriage..

Rod, now is there any need to make this political?

I can't stand the creep. Sorry.
I don't remember a Governor not sshowing up for this game.

Politics aside, I don't really care if the governor shows up at this game, a game that only attracted 3300 fans yesterday in Kingston.

Very few care about uri football, a perennial loser......does it really matter if the governor doesn't make an appearance, especially if there is more important agenda items to contend with?

Just my take...

His agenda appeals to a very narrow constituency.
As far as URI football, I think the school should make a decision.
Either make a real effort to put forward a decent program, or disband football completely.
These heavy losses are embarassing, as is the facility.
There are high schools in Texas with better venues.
In fact, Cranston Stadium is better. At least it's concrete, and not metal.

Rod, I agree completely.

Either put together a plan to upgrade the program, or downgrade it. The program has been an outcast for a generation now. Enough already.

I have no problem if you killed e program and pumped more resources into Hurley's Heroes!

Some people hand on to it, for dear life.
I understand some of it, but it's been on life support for so long.
Cure it or kill it!

Absolutely. There has got to be a greater philosophical and financial investment or just forget it.

Agreed. They claim part of the problem this season is that they recruited and gave out scholarships like they were moving down, but they stayed-and are now getting killed.

If you think we have been bad in the A-10 and now CAA, we would have been a complete disgrace (like this season) in the NEC. When recruiting while in the CAA; we at least have that to sell-in the NEC we would have the worst facilities in a crappy conference...nothing to sell a recruit except a free education.

Thorr is a big Joe Trainer fan ... is the coach in trouble?

As bad as Rhody football has been from a W-L perspective, the announcement to drop to the NEC killed the team for this year. Hopefully, the reversal will overcome the lack of commitment that the NEC decision showed and allow them to rebuuld to compete at the CAA level.

as long as we dont recruit rhode island high school players and focus on ny/nj area we can win in the caa. the school has to commit to it though. when is the mytical student athletic center going to be completed? that was suppose to help us facility wise. also why doesnt the school ever ask for money for athletics other than basketball. i have never been asked.

If the administration commits to the conference, dedicates a higher portion of the athletic budget to football, and makes football a bigger fundraising priority, is the football program an asset? Ultimately I still think the facilities would keep it from competing and I don't think you can build a football stadium without a bond issue, which isn't going to happen. So we'll continue to have football just to say we have football.

just slide the stadium into a bond for building upgrades. rhode islanders wont notice.

Why don't you think a bond issue is possible? A sales job needs to be done with the legislature so that it approves a Meade Stadium revenue bond deal which does not involve a vote by the electorate. A project similar to the construction of Ryan. Timing would be a key issue, maybe not today, but in near future.

I think URI could take a page out of Middletown and Salve's book, and get a sort of multi-usage stadium passed. Make it the destination for southern high school sports, kind of like how Cranston Stadium hosts the football games and other events. A couple thousand seats, multi-sport field turf, and offer the facility to the RIIL for things like home playoff games when it would be an advantage for South County teams.

Why would the legislature do it?
And because it's good for URI, the state, football fans or anything like that is not a realistic answer. The general assembly acts for self-serving reasons only. Where's the push coming from and who's career would advance because of it?
Also, the idea that there's a market in this state at this time for good I-AA football is an assumption, what data exists to show that this is a worthwhile investment (not saying our politicians care about that stuff but if they were all miraculously visited by three ghosts last night and woke up today with the best interests of the state in mind, what evidence is there that this is a good investment?).

So fed up with URI football, bring on the hoops !!!