Delaware State aiming for FBS?

[bandit]

Saw this new article/interview on another board, and thought it was rather interesting. Delaware State has never really struck me as a school capable of making the move to FBS, but I figured folks on this board would know better than I.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070722/SPORTS08/707220389/1002/SPORTS

[813Jag]

I've read a couple of discussions on this topic on here, but right now I don't think there are very many schools ready for a move yet. But it starts with good leadership and this hire could be a good fit for the Hornets.

[Smendy]

Thanks for the link.

It does seem like a longshot, considering you need 30,000 seat stadium and an average of like 18,000, but more power to them if they can pull it off.

[hornetsrhorrible]

i have been away for 2 months on bus. and im glad my first day back to civilization to see a post on my alma mater!
dsu is in no way ready for d1 football. the school has made great strides in academics and athletics but needs to focus on growth within the fbs before looking outward. first off the school is small and unlike "small" miami, it doesnt have a city and region full of stud football players. the other thing is the poor facilities and the city of dover's lack of embracing dsu. the facilties lack size and innovation. the city hasnt a college feel at all, dover afb and the monster mile play more of a cultural roll in dover. id argue that downtown dover is more geared to wesley college than dsu. that being said there are things dover and dsu can do to increase exposure.
1st embrace delaware students and athletes, especially from slower lower
2nd continue to diversify the faculty, student body and football team
3rd encourage dover to grow a "college" feel around the campus
4th schedule more ooc games that bring talented and interesting schools into the stadium therefore gaining more interest from the lower delaware crowd.
5th work to schedule ud, i know the newark crowd doesnt care about dsu but if dsu continues to grow its football program, nothing will get the locals and non alumni in that stadium and interested in bolstering dsu football than playing and being competitive against the hens.

[Mr. C]

i have been away for 2 months on bus. and im glad my first day back to civilization to see a post on my alma mater!
dsu is in no way ready for d1 football. the school has made great strides in academics and athletics but needs to focus on growth within the fbs before looking outward. first off the school is small and unlike "small" miami, it doesnt have a city and region full of stud football players. the other thing is the poor facilities and the city of dover's lack of embracing dsu. the facilties lack size and innovation. the city hasnt a college feel at all, dover afb and the monster mile play more of a cultural roll in dover. id argue that downtown dover is more geared to wesley college than dsu. that being said there are things dover and dsu can do to increase exposure.
1st embrace delaware students and athletes, especially from slower lower
2nd continue to diversify the faculty, student body and football team
3rd encourage dover to grow a "college" feel around the campus
4th schedule more ooc games that bring talented and interesting schools into the stadium therefore gaining more interest from the lower delaware crowd.
5th work to schedule ud, i know the newark crowd doesnt care about dsu but if dsu continues to grow its football program, nothing will get the locals and non alumni in that stadium and interested in bolstering dsu football than playing and being competitive against the hens.
First off, Delaware State is ALREADY D-I football, just like they are D-I in every sport.

Secondly talk about DSU going FBS is absolutely ridiculous. Few schools are less ready that the Hornets for doing that right now. If Florida A&M could pull off a move, why would ANYONE think DSU could make it happen.

Now, the fact that DSU is making strides to be competitive in the MEAC is something to be positive about.

[vmifan]

Thanks for the link.

It does seem like a longshot, considering you need 30,000 seat stadium and an average of like 18,000, but more power to them if they can pull it off.

I believe there no longer is a stadium size requirement. I recall that the school has to give something like over 200 scholarships for all sports and there is an average attendance of I think it was 16,500. I know someone has better, more complete info.

[SU Jag]

When did DSU become some sort of MEAC/HBCU power?xconfusedxconfusedx xconfusedx

[Mr. Tiger]

Delaware State has a nice campus, but DSU's stadium is no bigger than some high school facilities, their attendance figures are low compared to some other FCS schools and what conference would Delaware State join. They are doing some serious dreaming. xlolx

[TheBisonator]

There's no stadium requirement to going FBS in football. There is an unenforced rule that says you need to average at least 15,000 per game, but lots of FBS schools have failed to do that and have not dropped down to FCS. I believe the only other requirement is having 16 total sports (mens and womens).

[YoUDeeMan]

Pipe dream. The state will not fund a DSU move to FBS and DSU does not have the alumni support to raise that kind of money.

Try again in 10-15 years if Sessoms can upgrade the academics and grow/diversify the student population - but he has a lot of opposition from some narrow minded people from the old school. Too many clowns getting in the way.

[HIU 93]

DSU isn't ready. More power to them in their quwst to get there, but they are not there yet.

[89Hen]

No offense to DSU, but in a word... xlolx

[bandit]

Thanks for the responses.

I wonder why DSU aspires to FBS status if they seem so unlikely to attain it? Are they just delusional, or just incredibly optimistic?

I admit to not knowing a great deal about Delaware athletics in general (even though i live in the Mid-Atlantic region), but I always figured Delaware would be FBS long before Delaware State.

[SU Jag]

Are the Hornets and Hens going to get together for a lil "head knocking" anytime soon?

[henfan]

I wonder why DSU aspires to FBS status if they seem so unlikely to attain it? Are they just delusional, or just incredibly optimistic?

Maybe a little of both. Though FBS reclassification is a goal of DSU's CEO, he may not be around long enough to see it to fruition. (None of us might.)

Truthfully, it should be about what's best for DSU institutionally, not just athletically. The school has much bigger fish to fry before they can/should consider relative trivialities like FB reclassification.

[henfan]

Are the Hornets and Hens going to get together for a lil "head knocking" anytime soon?

I think you know the answer without even asking the question.xsmhx xmadx

[NoCoDanny]

What is their enrollment? Like 5K or so?

[Tod]

Just looked it up, Danny:


As of the Fall 2006 there were 3,657 students who come from 38 states and 31 countries.

Also saw this:


The university fields NCAA Division I-AA teams in men and women’s basketball, football, baseball, softball, track and field, tennis, wrestling, volleyball, soccer, equestrian, and bowling.

xrolleyesx

[bandit]

Just looked it up, Danny:



Also saw this:



xrolleyesx


that seems awfully tiny - I would assume that would make them the smallest FBS school if they were ever to try and make the move.

[Franks Tanks]

that seems awfully tiny - I would assume that would make them the smallest FBS school if they were ever to try and make the move.

Tulsa is still smaller--less than 3k, Wake Forest and Rice are of similar size.

[youwouldno]

Delusion.

[Franks Tanks]

Also this whole conversation seems so stupid. Why doesnt Del State maybe win a MEAC title or make the palyoffs before moving up. Nothing irks me more than FCs schools talking about moving up when they are mediocre in FCS. Its one think for App, Montana, YSuU etc to consider but Del State is just a ridicilios pipe dream.

[hornetsrhorrible]

theres a part of me that thinks its a psuedo publicity stunt aimed at attracting better athletes and more of a diversified football demograghic maybe even setting the stage to leave the meac. who knows, what i do know is id like to see them become strong in the fbs

[blukeys]

i have been away for 2 months on bus. and im glad my first day back to civilization to see a post on my alma mater!
dsu is in no way ready for d1 football. the school has made great strides in academics and athletics but needs to focus on growth within the fbs before looking outward. first off the school is small and unlike "small" miami, it doesnt have a city and region full of stud football players. the other thing is the poor facilities and the city of dover's lack of embracing dsu. the facilties lack size and innovation. the city hasnt a college feel at all, dover afb and the monster mile play more of a cultural roll in dover. id argue that downtown dover is more geared to wesley college than dsu. that being said there are things dover and dsu can do to increase exposure.
1st embrace delaware students and athletes, especially from slower lower
2nd continue to diversify the faculty, student body and football team
3rd encourage dover to grow a "college" feel around the campus
4th schedule more ooc games that bring talented and interesting schools into the stadium therefore gaining more interest from the lower delaware crowd.
5th work to schedule ud, i know the newark crowd doesnt care about dsu but if dsu continues to grow its football program, nothing will get the locals and non alumni in that stadium and interested in bolstering dsu football than playing and being competitive against the hens.

First you are correct downtown Dover does embrace Wesley College first. Due in no small part to the fact that Wesley is downtown and DSU is on the Highway. Wesley kids party downtown. DSU kids hit the highway bars IF (and this is a mighty big if) they stay in Dover on the Weekends.

This move is part of a DSU plan to attract more students especially more academically qualified students to the Dover Campus. The President wants to increase the National profile of DSU and he wants to use athletics to accomplish this. Football is the most visible College sport and so this is part of the plan.

As to your points of 1 thru 5.

1. While I know that the top of the administration wants to attract locals, the long term faculty and staff have no desire to see more locals and act accordingly. For the record I have 27 credit hours of Graduate Course work at DSU.

2. Again the top administration is working to these goals but many on the DSU campus are opposed to diversity. They see this as a betrayal of the HBCU mission.

3. Dover doesn't need to grow a college feel around the campus. DSU does. Wesley doesn't seem to have a problem developing a college feel.

4. I think Al Lavan has really been working on this. DSU has been scheduling quality OOC games including JMU and SIU. Winning consistently will put fannies in the seats.

5. Out of control of DSU. They have done their best work on things they can control.

One of my biggest gripes from posters in Delaware who support DSU is the comment that "downstate football fans need to support DSU" Well what's wrong with New Castle County fans supporting DSU? The stadium is minutes away from the 2 North-South Highways in Delaware and is no more than one hour drive time from anywhere in Delaware. Why is it the sole reponsibility of one third of the State's population to support DSU While the other two third's of the state attends UD games?

I have been lucky enough to see games at DSU during the Purzycki/ Collick eras. I did get to see John Taylor in person. DSU is in a tough competitive market (5 colleges offering courses within 3 miles of DSU in a town of 35,000) As I have said before I believe they can be the niche for offering a reasonalby priced quality education for most Delaware residents. The current President sees athletics as a way for attracting quality students. I wish him the best in this endeavor.

[blukeys]

theres a part of me that thinks its a psuedo publicity stunt aimed at attracting better athletes and more of a diversified football demograghic maybe even setting the stage to leave the meac. who knows, what i do know is id like to see them become strong in the fbs

I do think the current administration is considering leaving the MEAC as a means of upgrading the competition level.

As an aside, While I am a UD grad, I do take courses at DSU and have friends in the faculty and administration. Would you considerchanging your username. DSU is not horrible.

[bandit]

bluekeys, what are your thoughts about the FBS talk from the administration? Do you think they honestly believe its feasible, or is there some other motive?

[hornetsrhorrible]

As an aside, While I am a UD grad, I do take courses at DSU and have friends in the faculty and administration. Would you considerchanging your username. DSU is not horrible.

i did graduate from dsu and my user name is a tongue and cheek way to make light of a term i heard numerous times growing up just south of dover. i am a proud hornet and i believe ive earned the right to express sarcasim about my alma mater, therefore, i wont change my user name.

[YoUDeeMan]

Are the Hornets and Hens going to get together for a lil "head knocking" anytime soon?


We'll play them in the first round of the 2007 playoffs - at Delaware, of course. :D

[aceinthehole]

I do think the current administration is considering leaving the MEAC as a means of upgrading the competition level.

As an aside, While I am a UD grad, I do take courses at DSU and have friends in the faculty and administration. Would you considerchanging your username. DSU is not horrible.

Do you think DSU still has any interest in the NEC?

At one point they wanted to move FB to another conference and the rest of their sports to the NEC. With the increasing quality of NEC football and a possible AQ, do you think this is a viable all-sports option for the Hornets?

I'm not sure the NEC is much of a "step up" competatively from the MEAC in any sport, but I would think a NYC-centered league could help DSU in recruiting and diversity.

[Cobblestone]

The DSU band is certainly FBS material! As for football I think they have a way to go, but if Buffalo can do it, I see no reeason why DSU can't eventually make the move.

[andy7171]

The DSU band is certainly FBS material!
You got that right! xthumbsupx

As for Del State moving up to FBS, without a conference to move in to or a respectable fan base I just don't see it happening.
IF they were to leave the MEAC, I would target the Big South over the NEC.

[BearsCountry]

How about the America East for Delaware State? They would make a nice travel partnet for UMBC.

[hens21a]

Do you think DSU still has any interest in the NEC?

At one point they wanted to move FB to another conference and the rest of their sports to the NEC. With the increasing quality of NEC football and a possible AQ, do you think this is a viable all-sports option for the Hornets?

I'm not sure the NEC is much of a "step up" competatively from the MEAC in any sport, but I would think a NYC-centered league could help DSU in recruiting and diversity.

They are trying to move up not drop back further down. xlolx The football league was pretty tough for one year: Monmouth, Albany and Stony Brook looked real good but going from the MEAC to NEC is going backwards. Especially when you take into account that Albany and Stony Brook are out of that conference as soon as the CAA gets ODU (2011) and GMU and Georgia State shortly after. UMass, UNH, Villanova, Maine and Rhode Island will have to part ways with the CAA and chances are Monmouth, Albany and Stony Brook will be joining them in a new conference. You can also throw Central Connecticut State into that mix.

[GannonFan]

How about the America East for Delaware State? They would make a nice travel partnet for UMBC.

Does anyone even use travel partners anymore? People always bring up that topic but do schools even use the idea anymore?

[aceinthehole]

They are trying to move up not drop back further down. xlolx The football league was pretty tough for one year: Monmouth, Albany and Stony Brook looked real good but going from the MEAC to NEC is going backwards. Especially when you take into account that Albany and Stony Brook are out of that conference as soon as the CAA gets ODU (2011) and GMU and Georgia State shortly after. UMass, UNH, Villanova, Maine and Rhode Island will have to part ways with the CAA and chances are Monmouth, Albany and Stony Brook will be joining them in a new conference. You can also throw Central Connecticut State into that mix.

As I said, I don't think the NEC its a step up in football, but DSU has publically indicated an interest with the NEC in the past, so I don't think its out of the realm of possibilities. Furthermore, for sports like hoops, soccer, baseball, and the like, the NEC is as good or better than the MEAC. As I aslo pointed out the biggest advantage for DSU would be increased name recognition and recruiting opportunities in the Metro NYC area.

Second, Stony Brook is already out of the NEC. And while I also agree (and hope) ODU football in 2011 will force the New England CAA football affilliates to start a new conference with UA, CCSU, SBU, and possibly Monmouth - that is by no means a guarantee.

[aceinthehole]

Does anyone even use travel partners anymore? People always bring up that topic but do schools even use the idea anymore?


Yes, Ivy league hoops and their Fri/Sat league schedule. I don't know if it applies to other sports too.

Dartmouth/Harvard
Brown/Yale
Cornell/Columbia
Penn/Princeton

[BearsCountry]

Does anyone even use travel partners anymore? People always bring up that topic but do schools even use the idea anymore?

I know the MVC, Summit, and CUSA use them in some sports.

[SU Jag]

First you are correct downtown Dover does embrace Wesley College first. Due in no small part to the fact that Wesley is downtown and DSU is on the Highway. Wesley kids party downtown. DSU kids hit the highway bars IF (and this is a mighty big if) they stay in Dover on the Weekends.

This move is part of a DSU plan to attract more students especially more academically qualified students to the Dover Campus. The President wants to increase the National profile of DSU and he wants to use athletics to accomplish this. Football is the most visible College sport and so this is part of the plan.

As to your points of 1 thru 5.

1. While I know that the top of the administration wants to attract locals, the long term faculty and staff have no desire to see more locals and act accordingly. For the record I have 27 credit hours of Graduate Course work at DSU.

2. Again the top administration is working to these goals but many on the DSU campus are opposed to diversity. They see this as a betrayal of the HBCU mission.3. Dover doesn't need to grow a college feel around the campus. DSU does. Wesley doesn't seem to have a problem developing a college feel.

4. I think Al Lavan has really been working on this. DSU has been scheduling quality OOC games including JMU and SIU. Winning consistently will put fannies in the seats.

5. Out of control of DSU. They have done their best work on things they can control.

One of my biggest gripes from posters in Delaware who support DSU is the comment that "downstate football fans need to support DSU" Well what's wrong with New Castle County fans supporting DSU? The stadium is minutes away from the 2 North-South Highways in Delaware and is no more than one hour drive time from anywhere in Delaware. Why is it the sole reponsibility of one third of the State's population to support DSU While the other two third's of the state attends UD games?

I have been lucky enough to see games at DSU during the Purzycki/ Collick eras. I did get to see John Taylor in person. DSU is in a tough competitive market (5 colleges offering courses within 3 miles of DSU in a town of 35,000) As I have said before I believe they can be the niche for offering a reasonalby priced quality education for most Delaware residents. The current President sees athletics as a way for attracting quality students. I wish him the best in this endeavor.


How is diversity a betrayal of HBCUs?xconfusedx xsmhx