Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008
Sorry about the technical issues, our host changed their mysql servers without notifying me and they had some extended downtime. Everything should be back to normal now.
As an aside, BooneEagle posted an interesting look at UNCC’s times with their football study over at TSC, it’s a pretty interesting read. The amount of people who pledged who had not been donors before was 67% while only 4% of those who had given $25,000 or more were donating again.
Anyway, definitely interesting if I didn’t say that before :P
Friday, May 16th, 2008
The Notice of Intent to Award went out yesterday for our feasibility study, it went to Rosser International in the amount of $169,500. Three other firms who have done multiple feasibility studies in the past were disqualified apparently for “Failure to meet the requirements.” I’m sure there’s a small story here with what caused so many disqualifications.
Does this mean we had a winner by default? Please tell me that’s not the case … paying twice the price previously discussed due to multiple disqualifications just sounds crazy to me. I’m hopeful that the technicality was done as a means of selecting the highest bid, but you would think the points scale voting system that they had was plenty strong enough to let them win legitimately.
I mean no disrespect to Rosser … it looks like they’re a solid engineering firm with plenty of resources having done work on Turner Field, Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville, and other big places.
It sounds like we’re set to hear some news on this front now at least.
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Here we are again, dealing with the issues of the coaching turnovers of the past few years. The NCAA released its APR report yesterday and we lost 3.51 scholarships in football (for a total of 59.49) and .33 in golf (for a total of 4.17).
An APR of 925 projects to an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of approximately 60 percent. I believe that the ‘acceptable level’ for football is supposed to be 905 over the 4 year average, but that may have changed.
Here’s a chart I compiled from a variety of sources that show how a few of our men’s sports have done.
| |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
APR |
| Football |
871 |
911 |
944 |
905 |
| Basketball |
911 |
820 |
942 |
897 |
| Golf |
917 |
861 |
875 |
913 |
| Baseball |
912 |
938 |
964 |
914 |
| Soccer |
964 |
880 |
932 |
911 |
The academic years that are involved are from 2003 - 2007. The players in classes recruited by Sewak and Van Gorder that were coming in to the program have since left without a degree at a higher rate than is considered acceptable.
Our men’s basketball program sported a failing grade again (despite the big gain), posting an 897 out of 1000 with 925 being the cutoff, but we were granted a pass because of demonstrated academic improvement from the previous year.
The good news is that while we lost 3.51 football scholarships, that’s up from the 6 we lost last year. If we keep up the two year average since Sewak however, we should be rid of these penalties in the next couple of years.
Source: NCAA’s APR Report on Georgia Southern University
Monday, April 28th, 2008
Sorry guys, I was down in Orlando for a week and the bill came due and I didn’t get the message on my Treo. The site should be back to normal now hopefully. If you see anything that’s broken, let me know!
While I’m here, how about a huge congrats to Jayson Foster for his signing on with the Dolphins. He will definitely be challenged to play for Parcells, but his work ethic is well within reach of what’s expected from him. Here’s to expecting that this isn’t the last time we hear Foster’s name in regards to the NFL :)
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
Some said it would never happen, some said that Georgia Southern had no reason to be surveying the state landscape for I-AA or even I-A competitors, but yesterday proved that at least one university in the state of Georgia will be playing football at a stronger level of competition in the coming decade *with* Regents approval.
It’s coming and my hopes (and beliefs) are that our leaders are well prepared to break our way into the "Big Four" research universities in the state. Most don’t realize that the deck is stacked against Statesboro and leadership is the key to keeping your university "in the mix" if we want to break through the glass ceiling that we’ve slowly been banging on with a hammer for 25 years.
Keep your eyes peeled for more developments around the state and in the Boro.
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008
Just a heads up, I’ve had three people inform me that a decision on the feasibility study vendor is supposed to be made soon (if it hasn’t already been made). Supposedly it is down to the final three with the final name to be announced soon. The firms named that I have heard so far were Carr Sports Associates, NACDA (more info), and C.H. Johnson Consulting. I don’t know if they’re the final three or just three of the firms bidding, sorry.
The suggested timeline for seeing the final report seems to fluctuate between Fall ‘08 and on the 1 year anniversary of the study announcement. Hopefully if it takes that long, we’re celebrating the national title when we see the results :)
I’m also completely apologetic for the lack of coverage lately … one I’ve been swamped at life, but two it’s always the slow season right now :P
I should have done better with basketball coverage for sure! :) Feel free to kick me if you can find me.
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
In a long awaited move, Georgia Southern University has put up the first step in seeking to compete at the FBS / I-A level for the year 2011. The state of Georgia purchasing office posted this Bid Notice on Thursday. Here are the relevant dates:
Feb 14th: RFP posted.
Feb 20th: Deadline for vendor questions.
Feb 22nd: Answers to questions will be posted.
Mar 5th: Vendor conference will be held at the Hanner Athletic Complex at 1pm
March 18th: Proposals due.
April 8th: Contractor begins work.
The summary text of the bid reads:
Georgia Southern University is considering the advancement of its football program from NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to NCAA Division I Football Bowl Championship (FBS) beginning with the 2011 season. To determine the feasibility of this reclassification, the President, Director of Athletics and the University’s constituents require certain facts that present a complete and valid framework for the official decision of the University. To reach this critical decision in a deliberate manner and take appropriate action, the University desires to contract with a consulting firm to conduct this feasibility study. The RFP consists of the following documents. Please be sure that you have opened and reviewed all documents to ensure responsiveness to the needs of the Department.
There will be 3 deliverables, the Feasibility Study (Phase I), the Market Assessment (Phase II) and the Strategic Plan (Phase III).
The full text of the document can be found archived here at SouthernFACTS.org in PDF format. The most relevant piece of the document is on page 9 where it describes the 3 phases of the proposal.
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
Former Georgia Southern coach Jack Stallings is on the 2008 ballot to select inductees into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.
The ballot to select this year’s inductees features 54 players and 19 coaches. Ballot-eligible coaches must have achieved 300 wins or won at least 65 percent of their games.
Coach Stallings retired in May of 1999 after 24 years with the Eagles listed as the winningest active NCAA baseball coach in America with 1258 wins (not sure why but research differs, most say that 858 of them were with the Eagles).
In 1990, Coach Stallings lead the Eagles to the College World Series in Omaha.
To this day he’s still revered as the greatest baseball coach to grace the baseball fields in Statesboro and his number has been retired alongside MLB-star Todd Greene. He and his wife Norma live near Statesboro where she raises and shows Arabian horses. They have been married for 49 years and have three sons.
For more picture memories of past GSU baseball seasons, you can always head over to http://www.georgiasouthernbaseball.com
The 2008 inductees will be honored on July 4 as part of the College Baseball Foundation’s annual celebration of both the past and present of college baseball from July 2 through July 4 in Lubbock, Texas.
Good luck Coach Stallings!
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008
The 2008 Legends of Georgia Southern Football Golf Outing to benefit the Erk Russell Football Endowment is scheduled for Friday, April 18, 2008 at Cobblestone Golf Course in Acworth, Georgia.
The Captain’s Choice format will tee off with a shotgun start at 9:00 a.m. The entry fee is $125.00 per player and all skill levels are welcomed. Hole sponsorship opportunities are also available.
This event is being organized and held by former Eagle football players in support of the Erk Russell Football Endowment at Georgia Southern University. All proceeds and contributions are going towards the EFAA’s goal of raising $50,000 for the Endowment.
The registration form as well as additional information and contact personnel is listed via this link.
How about teeing up one more time for Erk!
Friday, December 14th, 2007
Man, what a career for Georgia Southern’s human highlight reel, Jayson Foster. He capped it off last night with winning the Walter Payton Award, the top honor for any FCS football player and in receiving the award he joins a great class of names, many of which are starting in the NFL this Sunday.
The coverage has been amazing and broad-based and Jayson deserves every accolade that he has received. (I’m running out of text to link to awards!)
Coach Chris Hatcher, who coached NFL great Daunte Culpepper and #1 pick Tim Couch stated, “Jayson is probably the best football player I’ve ever seen with the ball in his hands.”
Talk about a ringing endorsement. Thank you for wearing the blue & white Jayson! We’ll miss you!
Retire #4!
