Ask the AD -- November Edition
12/03/2010 | 12:00:00 | General
Dec. 3, 2010
This is the latest installment of our monthly feature called, "Ask the AD." If you have questions for Saluki Director of Athletics Mario Moccia, feel free to submit them by e-mail.
E-Mail a question to Mario Moccia
With the Salukis already slated to play Northeastern next year in Boston, would it make the trip more fiscally responsible to schedule a second game against another opponent in the area? Perhaps a team such as Providence, UConn or Rhode Island?
That is always something to consider, but we only need one game next year to fill out the schedule and are looking for a home contest, perhaps against Saint Louis University. We want one home game before going on the road to play Northeastern, and unless we can get a home game on November 12/13, we couldn't play an east-coast opponent with proper rest in between games. Another consideration is that lodging, meals and bus transportation on the east coast can be quite pricy. For these reasons, it looks like next year is not the year to do this.
Now that the webcam on the construction phase is no longer operational, have you thought about developing a walking video tour of the three new facilities so that alums and others could view?
This is something that is in the works as we speak. Chris Hagstrom, our new Director of Video Operations, has been quite busy working on football and basketball graphics and in-game production. He has also produced the videos for our new Saluki Experience recruiting website, as well as Saluki Way construction videos and other behind the scenes features that are currently available on our YouTube page. He is working on a facilities tour that will be posted on the web site soon.
Many athletic programs have football schedules posted three, four and five years in advance. Why not let fans and supporters know these dates?
That's a great point and we will post next year's schedule on the site immediately. With the University of South Dakota joining our conference, the schedules for 2012 and beyond won't be completed until the end of February at the earliest. As soon as the league schedules are completed and approved, I'll make sure that they are posted on our web site.
With teams like Villanova, Montana and Appalachian State looking to move up to the FBS, what are the risks of staying where we are at versus moving up?
Before we discuss the question of risk versus benefit, we must first consider if such a move even makes sense. In the cases of Western Kentucky and Villanova (if they make the move), all of their other sports compete in the Sun Belt and Big East conferences, so it's an easier path to transition only one sport (football) to a new league. Regarding the examples of Montana and Appalachian State, one would think that if they haven't made the move yet they probably won't and are comfortable with their niche in college athletics. They have been two of the most consistent FCS programs in the last decade (along with the Salukis) and if they aren't making the leap, you know there are other factors at play. This leads to the risk part of the equation. First, a new conference might want all sports to compete in that conference, which raises travel costs across the board exponentially. In addition, there is the cost of extra coaches in football as well as 22 more full scholarships. So the biggest risk is the financial piece. Now the reward would be the extra notoriety that is received by FBS schools and the "big-time" connotation of competing at that level. I would remind fans that there are several schools in the Mid-American Conference and Sun Belt Conference that have worse attendance than some of our MVFC schools, so applying and being accepted to the FBS level sure isn't a magic bullet to fortune and fame that Boise State has hit upon. Finally, any move must be an institutional decision and would not be made unilaterally by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
I remember going to SIU football games in the late '70s and early '80s and the SIU Skydiving Club would parachute onto the field before every game. One of the jumpers would have an American flag attached to him as he dropped onto the field. It really added to the game day excitement. Would it be possible to contact the SIU Skydiving Club and revive that tradition?
I consulted with Mark Gazdik our Assistant AD for Marketing and Promotions on your question and he told me that we looked into doing this two years ago (using the skydiving club), and again last year (professional skydiver). Risk Management informed us that we could do it if the individuals skydiving have $20 million insurance policies. All of the insurance companies we talked to would not cover that because it is excessive in their eyes. It seems like the insurance hurdle placed in front of us was too big to overcome at that time, but hope we can work with Risk Management to lower their requirements for this to happen in the future. I did watch some fantastic skydivers at our game in Springfield, MO prior to kick off and it was a great patriotic and exciting show.
Have you thought about putting together a charter, or getting the Alumni Association to do it, for players, coaches and fans to the tournment in Mexico next year? By adding a modest surcharge to the fans' reservations, most of the team's cost could be offset, plus the team would have a cheering section. The plane could leave out of Willamson County. Will you consider such an offering?
We haven't gotten that far in the process, but your question prompted me to ask our Executive Associate AD, Mark Scally, what the cost might be. Using the same charter company that we took for our football game to Fargo, N.D. this year, the ballpark cost for a 170-seat plane would be $180,000 or roughly $1,050 per seat. This would be for the flight only and not include hotel, meals, game tickets and ground transportation. I spoke with Michelle Suarez, the Executive Director of the Alumni Association, and she said the Association used to put packages together for such trips in the past, but with the onset of the internet and the ability for people to potentially find a better deal, they have moved away from these offerings. For example, a staff member just went on-line and found a round trip ticket to Cancun for less than $600 for this December. We have never done a trip of this size nor to this destination, and at the present time it is hard to see how we could fill 170 seats at almost double the market price.
