Tough times for Cornell athletics

[Trotsky]

I'm assuming the administration is concerned with success in wrestling, hockey and lacrosse on a consistent basis; anything else is a bonus.

The olds (I mean people 20+ years older than I -- the ancients) still care about football to a degree that most of us would find astounding.  I assume the administration cares about money, and there still seems to be money to be shaken from football alumni and elderly fans.  Winning would open that vein.

[KeithK]

Many would care about football if we were any good. We have had 1 winning season (6-4 record) in the last 14 years. Why excuse all the losing?  Is there any accountability for performance?   Why not do what's necessary to have a successful football program?

Why the heck can't Andy go out and sign a few big name free agents and turn the team around?  Wait, you can't do that?  Damn.

Even if it were a priority there's no magic formula for doing what's necesaary to win.

[CAS]

Agree Trotsky re fundraising.  Annual football giving, even with the current state of the program, is a big multiple of what's raised for hockey.

[underskill]

Agree Trotsky re fundraising.  Annual football giving, even with the current state of the program, is a big multiple of what's raised for hockey.

isn't that a function of numbers? i.e. a football alumni list is inherently much larger than a hockey list given the size of rosters.

[BearLover]

I'm assuming the administration is concerned with success in wrestling, hockey and lacrosse on a consistent basis; anything else is a bonus.

Definitely not true.  Football raises the most money and is historically (where "history" is defined as going back a loooong time) our most important sport.

[underskill]

I'm assuming the administration is concerned with success in wrestling, hockey and lacrosse on a consistent basis; anything else is a bonus.

Definitely not true.  Football raises the most money and is historically (where "history" is defined as going back a loooong time) our most important sport.

if it raises the most money, then I doubt they have an incentive to invest much more in the program as is, I don't think being an Ivy League contender in football is really going to lead to a huge increase in funds, and certainly not exposure given that it's D2 and no playoffs.  It's not like basketball where the school gets to appear on CBS for making the tourney

[Chris '03]

I'm assuming the administration is concerned with success in wrestling, hockey and lacrosse on a consistent basis; anything else is a bonus.

Definitely not true.  Football raises the most money and is historically (where "history" is defined as going back a loooong time) our most important sport.

if it raises the most money, then I doubt they have an incentive to invest much more in the program as is, I don't think being an Ivy League contender in football is really going to lead to a huge increase in funds, and certainly not exposure given that it's D2 and no playoffs.  It's not like basketball where the school gets to appear on CBS for making the tourney

Please, that's playoff ineligible Division I Football Championship Subdivision.

[Trotsky]

I'm assuming the administration is concerned with success in wrestling, hockey and lacrosse on a consistent basis; anything else is a bonus.

Definitely not true.  Football raises the most money and is historically (where "history" is defined as going back a loooong time) our most important sport.

if it raises the most money, then I doubt they have an incentive to invest much more in the program as is, I don't think being an Ivy League contender in football is really going to lead to a huge increase in funds, and certainly not exposure given that it's D2 and no playoffs.  It's not like basketball where the school gets to appear on CBS for making the tourney

Please, that's playoff ineligible Division I Football Championship Subdivision.

We'll always have that 1939 Lambert Trophy.

[RichH]

I'm assuming the administration is concerned with success in wrestling, hockey and lacrosse on a consistent basis; anything else is a bonus.

Definitely not true.  Football raises the most money and is historically (where "history" is defined as going back a loooong time) our most important sport.

if it raises the most money, then I doubt they have an incentive to invest much more in the program as is, I don't think being an Ivy League contender in football is really going to lead to a huge increase in funds, and certainly not exposure given that it's D2 and no playoffs.  It's not like basketball where the school gets to appear on CBS for making the tourney

Please, that's playoff ineligible Division I Football Championship Subdivision.

We'll always have that 1939 Lambert Trophy.

And the 5 fake NCAA trophies somebody mocked up for the HOF room in Friends Hall.

One thing I just learned: "Cornell president Edmund Ezra Day turned down a Rose Bowl bid, citing the players' need to catch up on their studies."

[billhoward]

I'm assuming the administration is concerned with success in wrestling, hockey and lacrosse on a consistent basis; anything else is a bonus.

The olds (I mean people 20+ years older than I -- the ancients) still care about football to a degree that most of us would find astounding.  I assume the administration cares about money, and there still seems to be money to be shaken from football alumni and elderly fans.  Winning would open that vein.

Back in the day, Cornell football was big to the alumni but also the students and to the media. It helped that the Ivy League was real D1. When Ed Marinaro broke the NCAA rushing record, it was on the front page of the NY Times and on the cover of Sports Illustrated. At at one point Dartmouth (under Blackman) got the Indians (now Green) up to 14th in the polls. Even now, football provides a fabric for fall activities by students and alumni five times each fall. Homecoming has become a big event again, as Cornell Alumni Affairs welcomes all but really pushes to get the first ten classes out to come back. Which draws old alumni who like to be around younger alumnni. The only thing old alumni don't like is seeing drunken sorority women toss their liquid breakfast in front of Schoellkopf; I remember a classmate tut-tutting and saying, "Our sorority was never like that." Memory is selective.

Today, even if we had a fabulous football team, there still would not be 15,000-20,000 in the stands each game. That has changed. Actually, in the seventies, the old fans thought seventies football stucked because in the 1950s we beat Michigan. Is it possible in 2035, alumni will recall 2010-15 as the good old days. (Uh, probably not.) Maybe Columbia will be replaced on our schedule with Technion. In hockey, the fans could throw gefilte fish.

[George64]

Professor MH Abrams dead at 102.  According to the Sun article, he never missed a home football game during his nearly 70 years at Cornell.  The man was a glutton for punishment.  NY Times obit.

[upprdeck]

It would a nice thing for the SuN to get an explanation on why the Ivy still does not let the fball teams go to the ncaa when all the other sports can now.. low level football or not having something to play for would probably help all the ivy teams recruit and play at a better level and increase attendance.

[Trotsky]

Even now, football provides a fabric for fall activities by students and alumni five times each fall.

No.

Unless things have dramatically changed since I was a student, 97% of the students could not care less.  The bandies had to be there and the frats did their cute frat stuff, but otherwise nobody gave a shit.  Hockey was unique in that interesting students actually cared.  Jock rituals like Homecoming have not involved students since sometime in the mid 60s -- since then they have been the type of thing that student government types think is important, but everyone else ignores, or at most regards as laughable.

[Towerroad]

Even now, football provides a fabric for fall activities by students and alumni five times each fall.

No.

Unless things have dramatically changed since I was a student, 97% of the students could not care less.  The bandies had to be there and the frats did their cute frat stuff, but otherwise nobody gave a shit.  Hockey was unique in that interesting students actually cared.  Jock rituals like Homecoming have not involved students since sometime in the mid 60s -- since then they have been the type of thing that student government types think is important, but everyone else ignores, or at most regards as laughable.

Agreed.

[Ken711]

It would a nice thing for the SuN to get an explanation on why the Ivy still does not let the fball teams go to the ncaa when all the other sports can now.. low level football or not having something to play for would probably help all the ivy teams recruit and play at a better level and increase attendance.

That has been discussed numerous times here. http://www.voy.com/152805/

The Ivy Presidents won't change this policy...ever.  Still the basic argument of the thread is if we are fielding sport teams like football, why can't we build a competitive program?