Strategic plan for Davidson athletics

A place to discuss topics which impact all of Davidson's sports
SandyCarnegie
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Post by SandyCarnegie » Fri Jan 06, 2017 11:01 am

I believe it is quite obvious over the last couple of decades and borne out by Bill's figures, that there is not much interest in the Admin, AD's office or trustees in athletics. There has been a lot of talk from these areas that is just talk. Point to one positive financial commitment that has been made to athletics for inducing better players to come to DC (before you get up in arms, I believe you should always strive to get better players, it is not a slam but a philosophy).
When discussing this triumvirate we are talking about intelligent, well informed people so if improvements have not been made, then it seems these folks have made that decision.
I have making noise about improving athletics for 4 decades, so far the pudding hasn't proved anything.

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stevelee
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Post by stevelee » Fri Jan 06, 2017 12:27 pm

I'm not intending to disagree necessarily with any of the above, and I certainly would like our programs to have more support. But I want to suggest that more scholarships would not necessarily be the magical answer.

The women's basketball program has 13 scholarships, and yet we don't seem to be very competitive in or out of conference. Perhaps there are other sports where 13 scholarships would make all the difference. I don't know. Also, I've not heard anyone suggest that the team would be more competitive with 15 scholarships instead of 13.
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SandyCarnegie
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Post by SandyCarnegie » Fri Jan 06, 2017 1:04 pm

Stevelee I agree that just throwing money at a program is not the answer. I believe attitude and support are the issues. I am probably tainted but I saw my Dad go toe to toe with folks to get things done for the programs. He didn't think about whether or not his job was at stake. For him, the athletes were at stake and he wasn't going quietly. I think DC athletics misses his leadership.

Bill Cobb
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Post by Bill Cobb » Fri Jan 06, 2017 1:31 pm

The women's basketball program has 13 scholarships, and yet we don't seem to be very competitive in or out of conference. Perhaps there are other sports where 13 scholarships would make all the difference. I don't know. Also, I've not heard anyone suggest that the team would be more competitive with 15 scholarships instead of 13.
At least our basketball teams are on a level playing field with regards to our competition. Therefore if we don't succeed the results (or lack of in the women's case) pretty much entirely fall on the coaching staff. At least they have a chance to win.

Our other teams realistically don't have a shot. Which is not what we were told when we joined the A-10. Again, the question remains: Where are those promised schollies?
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jamesdhogan
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Post by jamesdhogan » Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:10 pm

Bill Cobb wrote:
Again, the question remains: Where are those promised schollies?
Are you asking the college or the donors who presumably will give those scholarships?
The artist formerly known as Freehold.

TiredCat88
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Post by TiredCat88 » Fri Jan 06, 2017 3:03 pm

jamesdhogan wrote:
Bill Cobb wrote:
Again, the question remains: Where are those promised schollies?
Are you asking the college or the donors who presumably will give those scholarships?
I think he's asking about the "promise" our President and AD made to our athletes and respective community when they sat at the press conference announcing our entrance to the A10 that we would diligently bring our sports up to par with our new A10 counterparts.

We have conveniently went down in scholarships for almost all of our sports since that time.

SandyCarnegie
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Post by SandyCarnegie » Fri Jan 06, 2017 3:32 pm

I have just had an epiphany! I am insane! I continually expect the college to support athletics and they never do. Doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different results.

wildforthecats
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Re: needs

Post by wildforthecats » Fri Jan 06, 2017 4:14 pm

SandyCarnegie wrote:I have just had an epiphany! I am insane! I continually expect the college to support athletics and they never do. Doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different results.
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citycat
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Post by citycat » Fri Jan 06, 2017 8:53 pm

I have heard there is a campaign to raise money for scholarships. I've received no emails or letters about this, but I've heard others mention it.

Steve, You're opening a can of worms by pointing out we have 13 scholarships in women's basketball. With 13 scholarships, we should have a winning team. Why don't we?

WildCock
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Post by WildCock » Fri Jan 06, 2017 10:13 pm

Beating my own dead horse here. A10 baseball is much less demanding than SoCon baseball. We have been competitive in the A10 with our current, nearly nonexistent, level of support. With increased support, we could dominate A10 baseball. Our geographic location allows us to mount a high-quality non-conference schedule, full of ACC, SoCon, and SEC teams. No offense to football, but we could become a very good baseball program for much less than it would take to achieve mediocrity in football.
College baseball is generating more media coverage than ever before. Plus, the presence of the minor leagues means that college baseball players are people who want to be students, not just athletes doing what they have to do to gain professional careers.
Baseball is a natural fit for Davidson.
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Post by Bill Cobb » Sat Jan 07, 2017 7:31 am

What Wildcock said.
We could be a regional power in baseball with some support (which was promised and has yet to be delivered).
Davidson has approx 2.5 scholarships. The A-10 average is about 9.5 scholarships.
Can you imagine how good we would be with 9.5 schollies?
People would come. People would most definitely come.
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stevelee
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Post by stevelee » Sat Jan 07, 2017 10:16 am

citycat wrote:I have heard there is a campaign to raise money for scholarships. I've received no emails or letters about this, but I've heard others mention it.

Steve, You're opening a can of worms by pointing out we have 13 scholarships in women's basketball. With 13 scholarships, we should have a winning team. Why don't we?
And that wasn't the can of worms I wanted to open in this thread. It would be appropriate to address that issue in the women's basketball section, as sometimes happens. I just didn't think of a way of saying, "Please ignore what I am saying, and look at the point I'm trying to make."

I agree with those who believe that baseball would be a completely different story. When I first thought of what it would be like, outside of men's basketball, for Davidson sports in the A10, I immediately thought of baseball. I recalled seeing in person games in which Davidson beat A10 teams, and I knew that the SoCon was a strong baseball conference.

If we use a triage-like approach, asking where would a few more scholarships make the biggest difference, then baseball looks like a good choice. I think I have expressed something like that on this board more than once, perhaps not directly enough. In the "You can't do everything, but you can do something" frame of mind, I think baseball is where we should start.

I don't even much like baseball. The short version is that I attended way too many games (Legion, semi-pro) in Shelby growing up and that it was a game I was incredibly bad at playing. I never learned the strategic subtleties, and so miss a lot when watching.

But I have invested time and energy and a small amount of money so far in promoting Davidson's baseball team, and I attend a lot more games than all but the hard-core fans and family members. I enjoy pulling for Davidson, and I can follow the game if I sit next to Sink or somebody who will explain it to me. If somebody will start a baseball scholarship fund, I will contribute to it and encourage others to do likewise. But in the meantime, I will continue to join the herd of those waiting for somebody to do something.
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catnhat
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Post by catnhat » Sat Jan 07, 2017 11:29 am

There is a Will DuBose scholarship fund for baseball. Some former players started it to honor Will after he'd worked with baseball for a long time. Will started at DC either my sophomore or junior year ('81-'82 or '82-'83) and is still going strong.

TiredCat88
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Post by TiredCat88 » Sat Jan 07, 2017 1:48 pm

Will's scholarship is certainly something we should all thing about contributing to, however, this is about the lack of commitment by the institution to raise endowed funds for athletics in a big way. It started years ago, and the lack of commitment continues today.

MrMac
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Re: needs

Post by MrMac » Sat Jan 07, 2017 10:00 pm

SandyCarnegie wrote:I have just had an epiphany! I am insane! I continually expect the college to support athletics and they never do. Doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different results.
Appropriate, since yesterday was Epiphany Day.

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