ELynah Forum

With a rare opportunity to catch our team on television out-of-area, I thought some Cornell fans might be organizing game watches with their local alumni association chapters. If so, please post yours here so alums in your area will know! Here's what the Charlotte chapter will be up to:

The Cornell Alumni Association of Charlotte will be meeting at Angry Ales (also check out their Facebook). Their address is:

Angry Ales
1518 Montford Drive
Charlotte, NC 28209

Game is Friday, February 21st, 2014 at 7pm. Opponent is Quinnipiac.

Hope to see some of you there!

Great news! Also, a rare opportunity for alumni association chapters around the country to get together for a hockey game watch. If nobody objects, I think I'll start a separate thread for people to post any details on game watches in their area. My chapter (Charlotte) will be meeting at Angry Ales, 1518 Montford Drive, Charlotte, NC, 28209.

So it's finally happened... Cornell's new football coach graduated after I did. I'm officially old. Does this mean I have to stop being optimistic at the start of each season, and just assume we'll lose every game by 40? I've heard such good things about being a curmudgeon. :-)

Ugh. Field looks awful. I get that other sports use Schoellkopf, but clean it up when you're actually on national TV. All those extra lines make us look lke a glorified high school.

Quote from: Scersk '97Strongly, strongly disagree.

The scoreboard, as currently controlled, detracts from the gameday experience by presenting a loud, annoying sideshow of crap, including the "kiss cam," Clarkson-style clapping hands, and everything else that makes me puke.  If they could keep it to replays and information on the players, I'd have no problem with it.

And commercials?  Fuck me.  I was more than pleased when a commercial came on while I was making my way through the "Motto Cheer."  To my mind, a perfect example of how overzealous use (or uses) of the scoreboard make it tougher to be an involved, spirited fan.

I obviously disagree, but I respect any opinion that believes "it should be about the game." However, we had a great crowd (although half of it leaving at halftime during an entertaining game was... curious). I do think that everyone in attendance, including those less "die hard" than you and me, had a wonderful time, and the scoreboard is partially to thank for that. I think a lot of those people will come back for a non-Homecoming game this season, and that makes me happy. The players deserve a crowd.

To your point though, they did use the scoreboard to flash "player cards" with student-athlete pictures and pertinent info. I think we can both agree that this, at least, is an appropriate use of the technology.

Yes, there were a few ads. Both Ciao Pizza & Pasta (with which I wasn't familiar) & Time Warner got text ads at the bottom of the scoreboard throughout the game. They also played one actual commercial a couple times during breaks in the action. I'm totally blanking on the product, but it's an ad you would have seen on TV. Overall, nothing too annoying.

They're still working out the kinks. For example, I don't think they know how a "kiss cam" is supposed to work, but they'll get there. Standard graphics like the clapping Mickey Mouse hands, crazy dancing bobble head characters, and the "noise meter" were all present.

It really does add to the gameday experience though. I was surprised how much it enhanced my enjoyment of the game (although winning obviously helps).

Has anyone heard anything about the spring game yet? I'm assuming Coach Austin intends to continue the tradition of the Red-White game, but I feel like we should have heard something about it by now. The game, if it's going to be played, should be played in the next 2-4 weeks, correct? In past years they even had a draft in which the players picked the teams. A fun way to (unofficially) kick off the football season! Tailgating preparations need to be made if the game is happening... Come to think of it, I really haven't heard anything about the program since the big announcement and subsequent press conference touting Coach Austin's hiring. No recruiting news, practice reports, etc. The official site is noticeably update free. You would think they would want to capitalize on the initial buzz about the coaching change, as I'm sure I'm not the only one that was excited about a new start for the program. I'm assuming we still intend to field a team this season?

Quote from: Jim Hyla

Quote from: CornellChris

Quote from: Rita

Quote from: ugarteWhat is the TV situation for Friday night? *sigh*

ESPNU-HD! (::banana:: ::banana::::banana:: for billhoward ;-))

See this USCHO article.  TV and intertube information at the end.

Am I misreading, or would there not be significant overlap between the Cornell & Wisconsin games (both of which are spoken for by ESPNU)?

FWIW, ESPNU's schedule is now showing our game as being played at 3:30pm Eastern.

Yeah that schedule was "updated Aug 11 2009". I'd go by your tickets.:-}

So how will they be handling the television broadcast then? Both Cornell & Wisconsin are scheduled for ESPNU Friday night, with the CU game starting at 6:30pm Eastern, and the Wiscy game 8:00pm Central. Do you think they'll decide the overlap portion on a region by region basis, go with the closer game, or none of the above?

EDIT: Ignore what I just wrote. My inability to convert correctly between time zones (a thorn in my side for most of my life) strikes again! I was converting 8pm Central to be 7pm Eastern, instead of the correct 9pm. With that in mind, the overlap between the two games will not be significant (if present at all).

Quote from: Rita

Quote from: ugarteWhat is the TV situation for Friday night? *sigh*

ESPNU-HD! (::banana:: ::banana::::banana:: for billhoward ;-))

See this USCHO article.  TV and intertube information at the end.

Am I misreading, or would there not be significant overlap between the Cornell & Wisconsin games (both of which are spoken for by ESPNU)?

FWIW, ESPNU's schedule is now showing our game as being played at 3:30pm Eastern.

Quote from: dbilmesLauren's on the right track here. We should just drop football. It's got to be costing much more money than it's bringing in, even if we don't give athletic scholarships. Most of the students could care less (with the exception of the players, of course). Based on decades of mediocrity, it's hard to see the program being turned around in a short time span. Yes, I know the basketball team did that, but you don't need to find as many good players as you do to turn a football program around. There would certainly be a huge outcry from some alumni, but I'd rather see the resources we waste on football being used somewhere else, such as being used to improve sports that we can be competitive in. And yes, we have other sports teams which have also done poorly for a long time (i.e. men's soccer). But they don't cost as much money as the football program. We can always schedule Homecoming Weekend for a big field hockey game instead of a football game!

I'm almost hesitant to respond to this, because I'm wary of unduly lending credence to what I think is an absurd idea. Cornell will never end football in our lifetime, so it's silly to discuss. Then again, message boards seemingly exist so that we can engage in silly "what if" games, so...

I loathe the attitude presented in the above post. First of all, it runs counter to the entire mission of Cornell University: "I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study." That includes football. Cornell's head coach is a teacher and that field is a classroom. If some high-achieving 18 year old wants to master engineering, business management, and football, he should be able to do all three at Cornell. Prominent schools like Syracuse don't even offer baseball or hockey. Cornell offers pretty much everything because that's our chosen mission. Heck, we even have a sprint football team.

Second, I'm suspicious of how much money we're really "losing" on football. As you said, we're obviously not out any scholarship money. Further, although attendance is not where it should be, it's not like the stands are empty. People are coming (and paying) to see these kids in numbers far greater than most other CU teams. It could (and should) be MORE people, but I went to two games last year and the stands were hardlly empty.

I also imagine football receives more directed donations than any other sport outside hockey, so money is definitely coming in. Besides, it's not like we're spending a fortune on travel expenses. The team only leaves campus 5 times a year. As such, I refuse to believe the football program is bleeding money unless I see hard numbers to the contrary.

Third, the recent history of college football is littered with examples of upstart coaches coming to mediocre/atrocious programs and turning them around in a relatively short period of time. Cornell is one good coaching hire away from being competitive at the FCS level. To give up and say "it can't be done," is absurd because history teaches us that it clearly CAN be done. If small schools in obscure states with a fraction of our funding can find somebody to make them relevant, so can we. Noel just needs to make the right choice. It wasn't that long ago that the idea of ANYONE ever winning at Rutgers seemed laughable.

Fourth, Cornell has won NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS in football. I don't care how many decades ago they were, they still happened. Ivy League schools, more than any other, should appreciate the importance of respecting and honoring our history. Giving up and disbanding a once proud program does not honor that history. Rehabilitating the program and putting in the time, energy, and resources necessary to re-establish it DOES.

Most importantly, I would rather not have the dubious distinction of being the ONLY Ivy not to offer football. I'm sure that would look great to prospective students.

Quote from: ugarte

Quote from: RitaYou can cross Pasqualoni off the list. He has been hired as the D-Line coach by the Dallas Cowboys.

The only list of Cornell coaching candidates that Pasqualoni was on was this thread.

To be fair, I never suggested he was a candidate. I only asked what people thought about the idea of him coaching Cornell. At this point I'm hoping for Penn State's Ron Vanderlinden (who is a candidate).

I actually kind of liked it. :-P

I would be happy with Austin, but I like the idea of Vanderlinden as well. Several of my Penn State alum friends would be crestfallen if he were to leave. He's the heart & soul of "Linebacker U." I would be less enthusiastic with a Shea hire. I'm actually of the mind that an older coach is the way to go. However, I feel like we can do better should we go that route.

Former Syracuse University head coach Paul Pasqualoni just got canned by the Dolphins. He was their defensive coordinator. With the Cornell head coaching job still vacant, anyone think this is an option worth pursuing? or are we better off going with a younger "up and coming" type candidate?

In related news, FootballCoachScoop.com is reporting that we interviewed Terry Shea, former Rutgers HC. So we at least know that Noel has shown interest in ONE former Big East head coach. Perhaps Walt Harris will be next.

Quote from: phillysportsfanI am heading up to Syracuse for the game and wanted to know if anybody knew any good cheap places to eat in Syracuse?

You can't get any cheaper than FREE... Cornell Alumni Association of Central New York will be doing a pre-game event at Faegan's (734 S Crouse Ave). Free appetizers, but cash bar. Should be a nice turnout of Big Red fans. Starts at 5pm.