SWAC Coach Comes to Grips with League's Reality

[TexasTerror]

Nothing we did not know... some of the fans won't believe it, but it is true.

----
Despite the gameday experience, the SWAC still faces other unique challenges in recruiting. The biggest could be the difficulty recruiting at a historically black college or university. Gregory Ruffin, a former recruiting coordinator at Jackson State, remembers it being difficult to do because the available talent pool was limited.


“We (were) recruiting kids that are Division-II football players, because your best black kids and best white kids go to big schools,” said Ruffin, who now coaches at Paine College in Georgia. “Your second-best black kid goes to a junior college or FCS school. Your second-best white kid goes to the Samfords and Jacksonville States. We never got to tap into the other side of it.”



Jackson State featured two standout white players last season, quarterback Clayton Moore and safety Cameron Loeffler, but the Tigers had a predominantly black roster. MVSU recruited players of all races while Morgan was there, but he admitted “we didn’t come into contact with a whole lot of white players.” Hopson said it “wasn’t impossible but wasn’t easy” to recruit white players to an HBCU.


Another issue for the SWAC is that it doesn’t participate in the FCS playoff system. The conference’s emphasis on the Bayou Classic, which annually pits Southern against Grambling State, prevents it from being in the playoffs. That further limits TV exposure and the lack of a postseason hurts in recruiting.


“Why would I go there when I’m playing in the so-called ‘SWAC Bowl?’” said Ruffin, who coached at Jackson State for six seasons under recently fired coach Rick Comegy. “West Alabama has beaten us on kids. West Georgia has beaten us for kids. They’ve beaten us because we can’t play for a national championship. You’ll only get kids that have SWAC ties because of it.”

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014301190041

[kdinva]

Good for Mr. Ruffin to come out publicly about this "issue"......

[bonarae]

xsmhx The SWAC, like the Ivies, are losing more of their luster every time they shut their champion out of the Road to Frisco as they have done this for so many years now. Given their hard hearts towards the playoffs, we are already at a time where FCS football is dominated by newer powers such as North Dakota State, when during the glory days of the Ivies and the SWAC, the Bison were either in the NAIA or in Division II.

[TexasTerror]

xsmhx The SWAC, like the Ivies, are losing more of their luster every time they shut their champion out of the Road to Frisco as they have done this for so many years now. Given their hard hearts towards the playoffs, we are already at a time where FCS football is dominated by newer powers such as North Dakota State, when during the glory days of the Ivies and the SWAC, the Bison were either in the NAIA or in Division II.

Agreed. The SWAC has de-emphasized football in recent years more so than their fans have realized and the product on the field shows it. This past year, the SWAC was 1-18 against non-conference Division I competition (the lone win coming from Prairie View A&M over Stephen F. Austin) and the previous year, they were 2-15. All that per Warren Nolan.

[WestCoastAggie]

Side note:

This is something all HBCU's face which is the uphill battle of recruiting white kids to come and play.


Limiting the talent pool

Despite the gameday experience, the SWAC still faces other unique challenges in recruiting. The biggest could be the difficulty recruiting at a historically black college or university. Gregory Ruffin, a former recruiting coordinator at Jackson State, remembers it being difficult to do because the available talent pool was limited.


“We (were) recruiting kids that are Division-II football players, because your best black kids and best white kids go to big schools,” said Ruffin, who now coaches at Paine College in Georgia. “Your second-best black kid goes to a junior college or FCS school. Your second-best white kid goes to the Samfords and Jacksonville States. We never got to tap into the other side of it.”

[danefan]

You just can't have it both ways.

Either you need to fund the programs or accept national irrelevance outside of your niche fan base (maybe that's enough for you though - the niche fan base).

Miss Valley St couldn't even come up with money to hire the guy they wanted to hire. How do you get so far and not actually have the money to pay the guy what you offer him?

[Wallace]

... accept national irrelevance outside of your niche fan base (maybe that's enough for you though - the niche fan base)...

Good point!

[3rd Coast Tiger]

Miss Valley St couldn't even come up with money to hire the guy they wanted to hire. How do you get so far and not actually have the money to pay the guy what you offer him?


Rick Comegy is staying in Mississippi.
The former Jackson State head coach was named Mississippi Valley State’s head coach in a press conference Tuesday morning in Itta Bena.

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20140121/SPORTS/140121016/Mississippi-Valley-State-hires-Ex-JSU-coach-Comegy

[3rd Coast Tiger]

Which SWAC coach comes to grip with league's reality?

[danefan]

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20140121/SPORTS/140121016/Mississippi-Valley-State-hires-Ex-JSU-coach-Comegy

And it was apparently a real stretch getting the money. Glad they got him afterall. Its an issue that no school should have to deal with. Know your budget up front.

[TexasTerror]

Either you need to fund the programs or accept national irrelevance outside of your niche fan base (maybe that's enough for you though - the niche fan base).

Ding, ding, ding! National irrelevance has seen the on the field product drop to a level below that of the non-scholarship Pioneer League.


Miss Valley St couldn't even come up with money to hire the guy they wanted to hire. How do you get so far and not actually have the money to pay the guy what you offer him?

Danefan - Valley may be the lowest-funded Division I school (with football) in the country. While they did get Comegy, he'll be working in night and day conditions versus what he saw at Jackson State and even that's a far cry of a budget from even the middle of the FCS landscape.

[DFW HOYA]

Danefan - Valley may be the lowest-funded Division I school (with football) in the country.

The total MVSU athletic budget is $4,364,818. The football budget is $1,098,231.

[danefan]

The total MVSU athletic budget is $4,364,818. The football budget is $1,098,231.

How in the world do they field enough teams to be DI compliant with a total budget of $4m?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Think about this: Saban's annual salary would fund MVSU's athletics for an entire year. And there would be $3 million left over.

[DFW HOYA]

How in the world do they field enough teams to be DI compliant with a total budget of $4m?

The EADA report provides some clues. For example:

1. The average men's head coach makes $33,291 a year, women's $17,606.
2. There are only four full time coaches (three in football, one men's basketball, one women's basketball)
3. Total recruiting expenses (all sports) is $36,391. That doesn't buy a lot of trips outside Itta Bena.
4. Not all teams field a full roster. The track team has nine men and eight women. Volleyball has just 10.

[Darlinikki150]

xsmhx The SWAC, like the Ivies, are losing more of their luster every time they shut their champion out of the Road to Frisco as they have done this for so many years now. Given their hard hearts towards the playoffs, we are already at a time where FCS football is dominated by newer powers such as North Dakota State, when during the glory days of the Ivies and the SWAC, the Bison were either in the NAIA or in Division II.

Do you think the exposure of NDSU the past couple years has shown the light on playoffs and FCS teams as whole has made the Ivies and SWAC even more irrevelant? Or were they already falling into the pattern without the big media push of the past cpl years?

I have to wonder if it doesn't hurt the SWAC more than the Ivies, since the Ivies are recruiting a different kind of player. Interesting comments none the less.

[Sader87]

The Ivies may be "irrelevant" in the eyes of many hard-core FCS fans but I'm pretty sure more people around the country know about Harvard, Yale, Princeton et. al. than know that NDSU has won 3 FCS titles in a row.

That being said, I wish the Ivy ADs/Prexys would allow the Ivies in the FCS playoffs.

[Robber]

It's a matter of priorities. Jackson State has never really had an administration that placed much emphasis on sports. The athletic department gets no funding from the school. It is self sufficient. No money from student fees and such. Our current president, first non-interim female president, is a sports fan. So now they are breaking the bank to pay the football staff. I can only assume that will lead to more funding elsewhere to provide better facilities. We have increased the support for student athlete studies, and still hopeful of getting a long overdue on-campus stadium. The new football coach has vast experience in the college and NFL. His known hires have lots of college and NFL experience. Maybe the focus is shifting to better operations, better and smarter recruiting, increased funding and a better on-field product. Time will tell.

[superman7515]

Do you think the exposure of NDSU the past couple years has shown the light on playoffs and FCS teams as whole has made the Ivies and SWAC even more irrevelant? Or were they already falling into the pattern without the big media push of the past cpl years?

I have to wonder if it doesn't hurt the SWAC more than the Ivies, since the Ivies are recruiting a different kind of player. Interesting comments none the less.

Okay, really?
http://cdn.cosbysweaters.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/carter.jpg

C'mon man.

The SWAC and Ivy could not care less about the exposure of NDSU, haha. The two conferences play in front of more people, in larger stadiums, have bigger brands, have more historical cache, etc than the vast majority of the other FCS schools will ever have.

[Bisonoline]

Okay, really?
http://cdn.cosbysweaters.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/carter.jpg

C'mon man.

The SWAC and Ivy could not care less about the exposure of NDSU, haha. The two conferences play in front of more people, in larger stadiums, have bigger brands, have more historical cache, etc than the vast majority of the other FCS schools will ever have.

At one time in the past you would be correct. Now they are pretty much an after thought on a national importance factor.

[NDSUstudent]

At one time in the past you would be correct. Now they are pretty much an after thought on a national importance factor.

Sorry to burst your bubble but he is still correct.

[813Jag]

Do you think the exposure of NDSU the past couple years has shown the light on playoffs and FCS teams as whole has made the Ivies and SWAC even more irrevelant? Or were they already falling into the pattern without the big media push of the past cpl years?

I have to wonder if it doesn't hurt the SWAC more than the Ivies, since the Ivies are recruiting a different kind of player. Interesting comments none the less.
I don't think there's much of an impact, I don't know how much recruiting you guys do in the southeast. Every SWAC school is different, recruiting at MVSU isn't the same as at Southern.

[Bisonoline]

Sorry to burst your bubble but he is still correct.

You werent alive when they actually meant something and they were talked about nation wide. Not so much now.

[AshevilleApp2]

At one time in the past you would be correct. Now they are pretty much an after thought on a national importance factor.

I think you missed the point here. On a national importance factor FCS doesn't mean a whole lot. Neither does the Sunbelt or Conference USA for that matter.

[Bisonoline]

I think you missed the point here. On a national importance factor FCS doesn't mean a whole lot. Neither does the Sunbelt or Conference USA for that matter.

Oh I understand where FCS stands and have no illusions.

[NDSUstudent]

I think you missed the point here. On a national importance factor FCS doesn't mean a whole lot. Neither does the Sunbelt or Conference USA for that matter.

^^^^ this.

[bonarae]

Do you think the exposure of NDSU the past couple years has shown the light on playoffs and FCS teams as whole has made the Ivies and SWAC even more irrevelant? Or were they already falling into the pattern without the big media push of the past cpl years?

I have to wonder if it doesn't hurt the SWAC more than the Ivies, since the Ivies are recruiting a different kind of player. Interesting comments none the less.

Unfortunately, yes to both. But both non-playoff participating conferences suffer. xsmhx


The SWAC and Ivy could not care less about the exposure of NDSU, haha. The two conferences play in front of more people, in larger stadiums, have bigger brands, have more historical cache, etc than the vast majority of the other FCS schools will ever have.

How come? Attendance at Harvard Stadium has gone thinner for the past several years now, with a few exceptions.


At one time in the past you would be correct. Now they are pretty much an after thought on a national importance factor.

I agree with this.

[Sader87]

I preface this by saying that I like the FCS-level....pleasantries ended, the level is an after-thought to the vast majority of college football fans in this country.

NDSU, to their credit, sort of live in this "bubble of their own making"....tremendous success, ESPN game-day, 20,000 travelling to the national championship game etc etc etc....but that really can be only duplicated (at best) by only a few other FCS programs.

[superman7515]

At one time in the past you would be correct. Now they are pretty much an after thought on a national importance factor.

I'm pretty sure that "more historical cache" is very much dependent on "one time in the past". You can't seriously claim that NDSU now has more historical relevance than Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc.

[Bisonoline]

I'm pretty sure that "more historical cache" is very much dependent on "one time in the past". You can't seriously claim that NDSU now has more historical relevance than Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc.

Nope. Never said they did. But the fact that that havent been relevant in major college football for some time their history is becoming less relevant over time.

[PAllen]

Nope. Never said they did. But the fact that that havent been relevant in major college football for some time their history is becoming less relevant over time.

Hahaha. This is an FCS board right?

[Bisonoline]

Hahaha. This is an FCS board right?

True. It is. Truth is they arent even relevant in the FCS. Better?

[Sader87]

The FCS-level is a weird sort of "Island of Misfit Toys"....I think it's a good level for Holy Cross because it's still D1 football with a semblance of actual student-athletes still playing for their school. That being said, you have these pockets in the FCS-level like the SWAC and Ivies who couldn't care less about the FCS playoffs and on the other end of the spectrum, you have schools like NDSU and Montana who lack the geography and population to play at the FBS-level.

It's a very hard mix to get everyone on the same page so to speak.

[DFW HOYA]

It's a very hard mix to get everyone on the same page so to speak.

It's hard to get everyone in the Patriot League on the same page, not just the subdivision as a whole.

[major095]

I think many in the swac do care about the playoffs, but it makes no sense for a cash strapped conference or institution to participate in the fcs playoffs. Can someone tell me how much money their institution makes/made off the fcs playoffs? without the potential for a financial windfall how could grambling, southern, or alabama state justify giving up a net of around a million dollars added to their budget to participate in the playoffs where almost no one (if any one...other than the ncaa) makes money?

I do agree that the lack of participation as well as their limited ability to recruit majority (white) students diminishes their capacity for success. effectively their recruiting base is limited to about 12% of the population of the country.

[GAD]

The swac is irelevant when it comes to the national title tourny because we choose not to be in it. But what FCS conference is a better draw? What conference creates more national interest (meaning we can move games to the mid-west or west coast and actual draw a crowd) most of the teams in FCS most people have never even heard of.

btw sader87 Southern University has been traveling with 20K+ since the 80's

[danefan]

The swac is irelevant when it comes to the national title tourny because we choose not to be in it. But what FCS conference is a better draw? What conference creates more national interest (meaning we can move games to the mid-west or west coast and actual draw a crowd) most of the teams in FCS most people have never even heard of.

btw sader87 Southern University has been traveling with 20K+ since the 80's

Like I said before - the SWAC has a niche market. Its not nationally relevant outside the niche market. That may be OK for SWAC fans and Admins. That market may be big enough for them. That is never going to draw top quality FCS talent consistently. Which may also be OK with SWAC fans and Admins. The only people interested in SWAC football are SWAC alumni and their legacy.

The same analysis applies to the Ivy league for football purposes. Most people don't care about Harvard football. Sure more people know Harvard than probably any other FCS school, but its not because of their football program anymore. The only people interested in Ivy football are Ivy alumni and their Patriot League opponents for that week.

There's nothing wrong that.

I personally believe, however, that FCS would be better and the SWAC and Ivy Football leagues would be better if that approach changed. Integrate into "mainstream" FCS society and your niche market will remain, yet you'll gain a more national fan base and recruiting base.

[Darlinikki150]

I'm pretty sure that "more historical cache" is very much dependent on "one time in the past". You can't seriously claim that NDSU now has more historical relevance than Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc.

I guess I was just strictly speaking of football. It is stupid to think that NDSU has more exposure than Yale, Harvard etc because strictly speaking they are an academic school, they aren't necessarily known for being football schools anymore. NDSU is Leon more a football school, like Duke is basketball school. The Ivies are known for academics and yes have great history. But are they missing out on being relevant in football again because they do not participate in the playoffs, that's kinda what I was asking. But if the Ivies have no interest is being known for or talked about football, than the point is moot.

[Sader87]

The swac is irelevant when it comes to the national title tourny because we choose not to be in it. But what FCS conference is a better draw? What conference creates more national interest (meaning we can move games to the mid-west or west coast and actual draw a crowd) most of the teams in FCS most people have never even heard of.

btw sader87 Southern University has been traveling with 20K+ since the 80's

Mea culpa GAD....I know the SWAC draws well but I was talking more about schools that are eligible to travel to Frisco for the FCS Championship. I'm sure many of those SWAC fans would go to be sure. As it stands now, I think you can name the schools that could send 15-20K to Frisco probably on one hand: NDSU, Montana, Montana St?, Delaware?, JMU?

[GAD]

Mea culpa GAD....I know the SWAC draws well but I was talking more about schools that are eligible to travel to Frisco for the FCS Championship. I'm sure many of those SWAC fans would go to be sure. As it stands now, I think you can name the schools that could send 15-20K to Frisco probably on one hand: NDSU, Montana, Montana St?, Delaware?, JMU?
You could add McNeese and FAMU to that list

[813Jag]

As usual I only speak for my school, I think the rise of Southeastern as a football program has had more impact on Southern recruiting in our local area than any other FCS school. Giving local kids another option along with some bad classes and bad seasons hurt the Jags. As far as relevance nationally, most FCS schools aren't even relevant in FCS world (outside of AGS and CS)

[TexasTerror]

The swac is irelevant when it comes to the national title tourny because we choose not to be in it. But what FCS conference is a better draw? What conference creates more national interest (meaning we can move games to the mid-west or west coast and actual draw a crowd) most of the teams in FCS most people have never even heard of.

btw sader87 Southern University has been traveling with 20K+ since the 80's

As far as "on-campus" games, I have proven before that other conferences outdraw the SWAC. Their league attendance at the end of the year is bolstered by neutral site games created for their niche audience.

Southern has not been traveling with 20k. That's just not reflective in the attendance at games outside of Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Jackson. Am I correct?

[Robber]

As far as "on-campus" games, I have proven before that other conferences outdraw the SWAC. Their league attendance at the end of the year is bolstered by neutral site games created for their niche audience.

Southern has not been traveling with 20k. That's just not reflective in the attendance at games outside of Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Jackson. Am I correct?
You really go out of your way to attempt to discredit all things SWAC. Most SWAC classic matchups involve the same two teams playing in-state at the same location yearly. If your on-campus stadium is not suitable to handle the crowd, why not move the game to a larger venue. These games are garnering upwards of 40,000 more fans than can be had on-campus, and you try to paint that as a negative towards to attendance. Maybe your school would be wise to make more money playing bigger games at a more suitable and mutually agreeable site. As for JSU, if we had a homecoming game, we would have been top 5 in attendance, as well. I expected this past homecoming to approach 40,000 fans. We'll never know now.

[Bisonoline]

You really go out of your way to attempt to discredit all things SWAC. Most SWAC classic matchups involve the same two teams playing in-state at the same location yearly. If your on-campus stadium is not suitable to handle the crowd, why not move the game to a larger venue. These games are garnering upwards of 40,000 more fans than can be had on-campus, and you try to paint that as a negative towards to attendance. Maybe your school would be wise to make more money playing bigger games at a more suitable and mutually agreeable site. As for JSU, if we had a homecoming game, we would have been top 5 in attendance, as well. I expected this past homecoming to approach 40,000 fans. We'll never know now.

You dont have homecoming? Why?

[813Jag]

You dont have homecoming? Why?
They didn't have homecoming due to the Grambling boycott.

[NoCoDanny]

I don't understand the original post how does this somehow revolve around ND State?

[GAD]

As far as "on-campus" games, I have proven before that other conferences outdraw the SWAC. Their league attendance at the end of the year is bolstered by neutral site games created for their niche audience.

Southern has not been traveling with 20k. That's just not reflective in the attendance at games outside of Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Jackson. Am I correct?
I never said on campus I said "The SWAC is the best draw in FCS"
NO! "The SWAC Bowl" had 38k+ over 20k where Jags, our next game vs ULL we will most likely travel with 20k again

[JSUBison]

I don't understand the original post how does this somehow revolve around ND State?

The same way someone could start a thread titled "Top 10 Valparaiso RB's of all time" and it turn into a NDSU thread 9 posts down.

[Bisonoline]

I don't understand the original post how does this somehow revolve around ND State?

Whos been talking about NDSU?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

James Franklin will earn $4.3 million a year - with a $100,000 annual raise - according to StateCollege.com (http://www.statecollege.com/news/columns/penn-state-football-breaking-down-franklins-contract,1445464/). Franklin will garner a $1.2 million base salary, $2.2 million for radio/TV, $500,000 from Nike and an annual $300,000 retention bonus. The paper notes that, because of Bill O'Brien's buyout, the Houston Texans are essentially paying Franklin's salary through March 2015.

In other words, Franklin's base annual salary would fund MVSU's entire athletic program.

[Wallace]

You dont have homecoming? Why?

oh frickin' gawd... is bisonoline an FCS fan who follows the sport?



Jackson State holds homecoming without Grambling - USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/swac/2013/10/19/jackson-state-homecoming-grambling-revolt-protest-forfeit/3058499/)

Jackson State says it will sue Grambling - USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/swac/2013/10/23/jackson-state-to-sue-file-suit-against-grambling-after-forfeit-player-revolt/3168459/)

Jackson State to sue Grambling over canceled homecoming game ... (http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/24123045/jackson-state-to-sue-grambling-over-canceled-homecoming-game)

Jackson State To Sue Grambling For Boycotting Its Homecoming ... (http://deadspin.com/jackson-state-to-sue-grambling-for-boycotting-its-homec-1450820103)

Amid protests, Grambling State against Jackson State is canceled ... (http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/jackson-st-game-grambling-st-cancelled-article-1.1490100)

Jackson State to sue Grambling over homecoming game | SI Wire (http://tracking.si.com/2013/10/22/jackson-state-to-sue-grambling-over-homecoming-game/)

Jackson State suing Grambling State over boycotted football game ... (http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/10/23/4947342/grambling-state-football-boycott-jackson-state)

Grambling State Football Players Refuse To Play JSU Homecoming ... (http://newsone.com/2742721/grambling-state-boycotts-jackson-state-homecoming/)

Grambling State players refuse to board bus to Mississippi, Jackson ... (http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/10/grambling_state_player_boycott.html)

Grambling University football game vs. Jackson State cancelled ... (http://www.nola.com/bayouclassic/index.ssf/2013/10/grambling_university_football_1.html)
some extra reading...

[MplsBison]

In other words, Franklin's base annual salary would fund MVSU's entire athletic program.

I agree with your point that MVSU's athletic budget is not compliant with competitive Division I levels.