Brad Edwards says "Never say never" to football at Mason

[Son-of-a-Gunston]

Mr. Edwards was interviewed on Fox 5 Sports Extra that aired tonight. He mentioned that Football at Mason is a "never say never" proposition. He also stated that if it does happen it won't be overnight. He said, "You want to put your teams in a position to win, but you can't go from 0 to 100." Brad made it clear that having a football team at "100" is the only way to have a self-sustaining team financially. Anything less than "100" is enormously costly over both short and long terms.

IMO, Mr. Edwards diplomatically said football, at least at a nationally competitive level, isn't going to happen anytime soon. Sorry football lovers.

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[A.-Siegfried]

Pretty much what everyone logically has been saying for quite some time now.

It has to be even more than self-sustaining. It has to MAKE money to be worth the initial cost. And the initial cost is huge.

 

[GMUgemini]

Mr. Edwards was interviewed on Fox 5 Sports Extra that aired tonight. He mentioned that Football at Mason is a "never say never" proposition. He also stated that if it does happen it won't be overnight. He said, "You want to put your teams in a position to win, but you can't go from 0 to 100." Brad made it clear that having a football team at "100" is the only way to have a self-sustaining team financially. Anything less than "100" is enormously costly over both short and long terms.

IMO, Mr. Edwards diplomatically said football, at least at a nationally competitive level, isn't going to happen anytime soon. Sorry football lovers.

​

We missed our window...the time to have started football was when ODU or Charlotte or GSU started. With our market, we could have made the jump into a 1A conference just as quickly. But this also would have required Mason to become football first. Our best case scenario would have been CUSA and CUSA basketball is not exactly anything to write home about.

 

[GSII]

IMO, Mr. Edwards diplomatically said football, at least at a nationally competitive level, isn't going to happen anytime soon. Sorry football lovers.
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That's one way of looking at it. But to me, he is also talking to people with money and saying Mason is open to the idea if you write the checks. I like this guy, he touches everyone, which I'm sure Pikkap gets excited for when its his turn. LOL.

 

[mkaufman1]

I'm glad Edwards is open to the idea, but I also hope he knows to get a lot of the other things in the best position first before taking on a massive project.

 

[GMURaider]

I am firmly opposed to football at Mason.

The more cost effective path would be trying to get to the consistent winner level vcu, Gonzaga, UNLV and Memphis have. Those 4 consistently make NCAA tournaments.

 

[GSII]

Memphis has football. We are an even bigger market than they are. Big time football is possible, if the money is there.

 

[phoenix-arizona]

Crushed and buried in the newspapers by Redskins' coverage.

 

[GMUgemini]

Memphis has football. We are an even bigger market than they are. Big time football is possible, if the money is there.

So does UNLV.

 

[Walter]

Memphis has Fred Smith and UNLV has "resort industry" money. We have neither.

 

[GMUgemini]

Memphis has Fred Smith and UNLV has "resort industry" money. We have neither.

The real answer is Memphis started football in 1912 and UNLV in 1968 when the economics looked a lot different than they do today.

But to think Northern Virginia isn't awash in money that could be leveraged is erroneous.

Of course you've also got a deeply ingrained NIMBY culture there too and a lack of real community identity as obstacles too.

 

[Pablo]

The real answer is Memphis started football in 1912 and UNLV in 1968 when the economics looked a lot different than they do today.

The University of Memphis opened in September 1912 as the West Tennessee State Normal School with 200 students.

I wonder what would happen if a donor (or donors) offered to pay 50% of the cost of a football stadium for Mason?

 

[GMUgemini]

The University of Memphis opened in September 1912 as the West Tennessee State Normal School with 200 students.

I wonder what would happen if a donor (or donors) offered to pay 50% of the cost of a football stadium for Mason?

West Tennessee State Teacher's College (now the University of Memphis) first fielded a football team in 1912. The team was coached by Clyde Wilson.

I would say Mason would be quite amenable to the idea, although are we talking about a 15,000 to 20,000 seat stadium? I think that would be a viable place to start.

 

[GSII]

West Tennessee State Teacher's College (now the University of Memphis) first fielded a football team in 1912. The team was coached by Clyde Wilson.

I would say Mason would be quite amenable to the idea, although are we talking about a 15,000 to 20,000 seat stadium? I think that would be a viable place to start.

I don't think they are going to shoot for that. 50k seat stadium in a bcs conf is more like it. Ya know, something they know will never happen.

 

[Pablo]

I would propose building a football stadium with an initial capacity of about 8,500 seats, which is expandable to about 40,000 seats. And, establish the program as non-scholarship in the Pioneer Football League with A10 members Davidson & Dayton. As the program grows, expand the stadium and move up in conference affiliation.

But, the question is, would the administration proceed if a donor (or donors) offered to pay at least 50% of the initial cost of the stadium?

 

[GMURaider]

Move up to WHAT?! Conference USA? You think people in this area will care about games versus Tulsa or UAB?!

I would propose building a football stadium with an initial capacity of about 8,500 seats, which is expandable to about 40,000 seats. And, establish the program as non-scholarship in the Pioneer Football League with A10 members Davidson & Dayton. As the program grows, expand the stadium and move up in conference affiliation.

But, the question is, would the administration proceed if a donor (or donors) offered to pay at least 50% of the initial cost of the stadium?

 

[EXpatriot13]

I can't wait for Edwards to fix our current athletic dept, especially the men's bball program. Enhancing that product to it's fullest potential. I'm just as big of a football fan as the next guy with a pair of balls...I'll revisit this topic in 10+ years when it could possibly matter/be beneficial.

 

[Pablo]

Move up to WHAT?! Conference USA? You think people in this area will care about games versus Tulsa or UAB?!

To be precise, Tulsa is now a member of the AAC.

 

[GMUgemini]

Move up to WHAT?! Conference USA? You think people in this area will care about games versus Tulsa or UAB?!

You never know what opportunities will open up. At some point I've got to imagine UConn will be moving out of the AAC, which wouldn't be a bad conference to be in (Temple, Memphis, and Cincy are all still stuck there with very little chance of getting out near-term). I'm sure ODU and UMass are both already trying to figure out how to get an invite.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

First things first - get urgent housekeeping issues done first:

1.) New Basketball coach
2.) Increase fundraising hit the wealth of NOVA corporations up
3.) Build new baseball stadium and complex
4.) Complete all field house and soccer stadium renovations/expansion
5.) Reinvigorate the Patriot Platoon - funding base
6.) Increase alumni fundraising and student fundraising to the Patriot Club
7.) Obtain illicit pictures of key Richmond politicians and issue blackmail
8.) Build basketball practice facility
9.) Double the number of endowed athletic scholarships
10.) Then start strategically developing a plan for football when 1-9 are done.