MU PRESS RELEASE Marshall signs 1-1 football series with Liberty
- Thread starter Josh Stowers
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We said the same thing when we signed the deal with Appy. At this point, we'd be 'dogs to ASU.
Couldn't get a better deal financially from another FBS program. No guarantee to Liberty; Herd gets half a mil to go there. Obviously, the Flames are not thinking small and have ambitions (to go along with the Falwell money). Look at the home games they have gotten with power programs. By 2023-24, who knows, their stadium could be expanded to the size of the Joan, if not larger. They are not going to be satisfied with being the best college program in Lynchburg, that's for sure. Meanwhile, MU appears satisfied with being the Cabell County U!!
Don't really think Doc will be around for either of these games. That's another factor to consider. Hamrick? Anyone's guess.
Don't really think Doc will be around for either of these games. That's another factor to consider. Hamrick? Anyone's guess.
How do we get a $500,000 dollar guarantee at Liberty but they do not get a guarantee here! What am I missing here?
that's the incentive for us to do the deal...is it really that hard to figure?
Well 19MU88 if that's the "incentive" to do the deal what does that say about our ability to schedule opponents. We are going to get $500,000 from Liberty in a game close to home but wouldn't you rather see a better known opponent?
Things may change between now and then. However all that is known is Liberty has a boatload of money and aren't afraid to spend it.
Beggars can't be choosers. $500,000 is $500,000 no matter if it's coming from Liberty or a P5 school and for Marshall that's all that matters. I think you're losing sight of the dollar amount in place of the opponent. Hamrick will continue to schedule opponents like that as long as they're willing to pay that kind of money.
Half a million to go on the road where buses can be taken and no payment guarantee for a home game. If this home game is in place of a FCS game then it is an even better deal. We get paid well for both games basically. We don't get that going to any other G5 site.
I would prefer not to play them but I understand it especially if the schedule sets up for 7 home games the one year. Plus a lot can change before his series even starts.
Liberty is going I-A in 19. Liberty has over 21K actual real on-campus students (not counting its Sally Struthers on-line BS of 100K). Liberty is a solid academic school. Liberty is a very high dorm %age school and student life revolves around what goes on on campus. Liberty has H&H with Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, Syracuse, BYU, Army, and ODU. Liberty charges over $22k/year tuition and is reasonabably hard to get into. It has a law school, med school, engineering school, and aeronautics school. Liberty has an endowment of $1.05 BILLION.
I don't see the issue. By the time we play Liberty will be a full I-A (FBS, still hate that stupid name) program, in a neighbor state (bus trip), with fans all over the country. What is the problem?
Other than the fact that the old BYU joke (their fans come into town with a copy of the Ten Commandments and a 10 dollar bill and break neither) applies 100x more to LU, and would make bowls shy away from auto-bid deals with the league, I would not mind seeing them in CUSA. Certainly more "potential" there than the directional Floridas, UNCC, or UAB.
I don't see the issue. By the time we play Liberty will be a full I-A (FBS, still hate that stupid name) program, in a neighbor state (bus trip), with fans all over the country. What is the problem?
Other than the fact that the old BYU joke (their fans come into town with a copy of the Ten Commandments and a 10 dollar bill and break neither) applies 100x more to LU, and would make bowls shy away from auto-bid deals with the league, I would not mind seeing them in CUSA. Certainly more "potential" there than the directional Floridas, UNCC, or UAB.
There's an interesting theory going around in college athletics about the future of G5 football. The concept is that people are more interested in seeing their team play nearby schools than more distant ones. Fans can travel easier, the TV ratings don't drop (and could increase if in non-competitive time slots), some savings for travel, and definitely savings for non-revenue travel. In some cases, sponsorships are easier because regional sponsors benefit. Rivalries can become greater and supporters still are willing to help if you are winning. For example, suppose that the Herd eventually could play an every year schedule among schools like WKU, MTSU, Liberty, JMU, ODU, UNCC, Coastal Carolina, Ohio, Miami, then add in the money games with an NC State, an Indiana, a Pitt, UVA or VT, UK, Duke, UNC, Wake. Top it off with an occasional ECU, or even a Western Carolina, a Morehead, an ETenn, etc. It will not be a question of big time P5 vs G5 any more. The P5 are locking down the space and G5 needs a new model. Streaming video will become the norm, in fact sooner rather than later. Alums have become more regionally diverse in their geography for all schools, so if you think regionally you gain more attention than playing a game at some distant site in ...Texas? The only question that remains is "if G5 schools stage their own playoff, will the P5 schools exclude them from their playoff, and/or exclude them from the payoff?" The Florida schools still have some clout because they are big, growing, and are in fertile recruiting areas. Their drawback is that they have not cracked the fanbase issue...yet.
Based on an inflation rate of 3.00 % the value of $500,000.00 is going to be reduced to $406,545.76 in 7 years.
LOL
If five years from now Marshall finds itself looking up at Charlotte, Old Dominion and Liberty, our best hope for any semblance of national attention lies in dropping to FCS and shifting all of our money into basketball.
Football is by far the most expensive sport, which is why so few schools of Marshall's profile attempt to play in this sandbox. It worked for us for a minute, and that got us hooked, but we are now 15 years separated from our last real national success. (2014 was the product of a weak schedule - each year that goes by under Doc just seems to prove that.)
Football is by far the most expensive sport, which is why so few schools of Marshall's profile attempt to play in this sandbox. It worked for us for a minute, and that got us hooked, but we are now 15 years separated from our last real national success. (2014 was the product of a weak schedule - each year that goes by under Doc just seems to prove that.)
I like DD and b'ball but why would we put all the cash into a sport that hasn't been dancing in 30 years and only 2 NIT appearances in that same time frame?
Marshall needs to focus on increasing enrollment and improving their academic reputation. The addition of the PT and Pharmacy schools will help; as will the growth of the Engineering school. Jmo
People complained when we signed I-aa. Now we sign 1-a opponent who is paying us 500 for no guarantee return game and people still complaining?
It seems to me our challenge is this BB. We seem to have a hard time scheduling the low level P5 schools h/h like Purdue.I know we have Pitt and NC State but you start beating those guys and it gets hard to get them to play you. I am not crazy about the idea of playing an Ohio State or Alabama on the road for a money game. I get your point about playing a name opp. I just think we are at our ceiling as things now stand. I guess I hope we can be a winner year in and out and occasionally play on the big stage and hopefully beat a name program. I would love nothing more than to be a Clemson/Fl State type school but it seems it is not in the cards. Just my view from where I sit in the heart of MAC country.
Not sure what others schools you listed contracted but the Duke agreement is a 2 for 1. Durham- Lynchburg-Durham.
Because we signed a home-and-home with an FCS school, where the payout is great, but the wins mean nothing, the loses would be devastating, and it's a road trip to a dry campus in the middle of nowhere.
We're saying we're too good to play a one-and-done in Morgantown, but we're scheduling FCS teams home-and-home (when our conference slate is already made up mostly of FCS teams). At some point we need to STFU about WVU and admit we're the ones who are scared.
Based on some of the comments, is the Herd in jeopardy of losing the title, "The Notre Dame of the G5" to Liberty U.?
- Did you read the press release? Liberty is going I-A (FBS in the modern language) for 19. It will have been I-A (FBS) for 5 years before we play them.
- Lynchburg has a population of 75,000. It is within 150 miles of WAY more people than Huntington is. The Roanoke-Lynchburg is 440K, or DMA # 67; Huntington-Charleston is 431K, #70, almost exactly the same size. The econmony in that area is far more successful and diverse.
- WTF brought up WVU?
Liberty will be a FBS team by that time. Why else do you think UVA, Va Tech, and others are playing them in 1-1's as well?
I believe the deals that UVa and VPI have with Liberty are 4 home/2 away, not 1-1 deals. Duke, Syracuse, and Wake Forest have all signed 2-1 deals with them as well. I don't think any P5 school will sign a 1-1 deal with Liberty any time soon (or in my lifetime).
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You are correct. I was meaning to say that all those teams are playing games at Liberty.
originally, it meant mighty hunter/warrior ....it has come to mean socially inadequate in modern use.
A) Two games against nameless opponent, $500,000 payout, free home game
B) Road game against P5 powerhouse ($1 mil payout or more), I-AA home game (theoretical $500,000 payout)
I would choose Option B 100% of the time.
B) Road game against P5 powerhouse ($1 mil payout or more), I-AA home game (theoretical $500,000 payout)
I would choose Option B 100% of the time.
There was another thread where people were complaining about WVU's offer to host a one-and-done. I was just saying I'd rather playing WVU in Morgantown than play another damn FCS-turned-FBS program, when we're already in a conference full of them.
Can you please list the "powerhouse" teams willing to pay Marshall $1 million or more fro a no return game?
Even if you can:
Option B: MU loses to some P5 school. All hope of cracking the G5 wild card slot is lost, players potentially hurt. Plays some I-AA/FBS cupcake, wins 60-7, total irrelevancy in terms of standings, rankings, reputation. Gets $1M out of which are expenses, travel, and whatever MU has to pay the I-AA/FCS team ($100K seem fair?).
Option A: MU beats Liberty and pockets $500K for a bus trip. Potential to go undefeated maintined. Next year, MU beats Liberty again at home, selling far more tickets, far more legitimate chance of being on TV, far more interest than a I-AA, pocketing all that extra revenue. Game will be a 7th home game, increasing our revenue greatly. Financially even if not ahead, less injury chances, playing teams on our own level.
A
Ohio State paid us that seven years ago. That's a common payout amount for one-and-dones with large P5s. Hell, WVU paid Bowling Green that much for a game six years ago.
The point of contention here amounts to a difference in opinion. It was a bit excessive back when we used to play two major P5s a year on one-and-dones, but eliminating them totally from the mix has got me a little bored, that's all. Scheduling home-and-homes with upstart FCS schools is like extending the conference schedule. Marshall strikes me as content to stay low, and only look at bottom-feeder P5s with terrible home atmospheres (Pitt, anybody?). Not exactly getting to see a game in the Horseshoe.
But again, that's just how I feel. If you or a majority of Marshall fans digs this direction, MU will be fine and it won't matter if maybe I spend the first couple weeks of Fall clearing brush at my house instead of watching Marshall anoint the next up-and-comer as our equal (or better).
I guess what I'm saying is I'm having trouble staying invested, and I know other folks who feel the same.
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