  Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 89 Registered: 11-2006 |
Anyone have a feeling that if Wayne wanted to go D-1 in hoops would they be able to find a conference to join? Would the Mid-Continent fold and a new midwest conference with Oakland, WSU, IUPUI, Valpo, W. IL, IPFW, etc. be created??? (note: the current Mid-Continent has schools scattered all over the country from MI, IL, OK, UT, etc. - bad for travel). Would Oakland try to block WSU??? | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 436 Registered: 01-2006 |
What about the Horizon League? Would there be a conflict of interests considering that UofD just a couple miles up the road is already in that conference? | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 90 Registered: 11-2006 |
Good ? I ASSUME that UofD-Mercy would NOT be happy if WSU went d-1 but that is only a guess on my part. If I were the WSU president or AD, I'd want to be 95% sure that I had a d-1 conference interested in taking my team BEFORE going through the process of transitioning to D-1. Being an independent in hoops or FB is a near death sentence. Need the 'right' conference. | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 437 Registered: 01-2006 |
"Being an independent in hoops or FB is a near death sentence." Singed, Notre Dame & Navy Both of these schools thrive in football being independent. Notre Dame makes it into the BCS with 2 losses and Navy gets to schedule however they want. Granted it is not as easy now as it was back in the day when these schools built their tradition, but it's still stupid to call it a "death sentence". | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 253 Registered: 10-2006 |
WSU is def. too close to UDM to be in the Horizon League. The closest school to UDM in the Horizon League currently is I think Cleveland State. Also WSU and UDM shouldn't be competing for B ballers, esp. with the lack of talent UDM has this season. | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 91 Registered: 11-2006 |
I feel that I shouldn't have added the phrase about independents in FB. It isn't relevant here. No way is WSU interested in I-A FB. As far as hoops is concerned, ND, Army and Navy are NOT independents in hoops. [ND is in the Big East and Army and Navy are members of the Patriot League.] Actually Army and Navy don't fit well into ANY FB conference because their annual game conflicts with most conference championships (same weekend) and their game is actually AFTER the MAC championship. I agree another d-I hoop team in SE Michigan would make recruiting tougher but that shouldn't stop WSU from going d-I if they wish. (Message edited by emu_steve on January 17, 2007) | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 104 Registered: 10-2006 |
The discussion whether or not WSU hoops should make the jump to D-I is moot. They have already declared hockey as their D-I sport. Each school is allowed one and only one D-I sport if the school itself is not D-I. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 262 Registered: 10-2006 |
WSU has a hockey team??!!?? Interesting, are they any good? Where is there arena? Or is the reason I haven't heard of WSU hockey because these are just future plans? | ||
Susanarosa Member Username: Susanarosa Post Number: 1308 Registered: 11-2003 |
http://wsuathletics.cstv.com/s ports/m-hockey/wyst-m-hockey-b ody.html They have a women's team too... | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 4285 Registered: 11-2004 |
WSU's hockey prgoram's been up and running for years! They've skated out of City Arena as well as the State Fairgrounds. It's actually VERY competitive hockey... both guys' & gals' hockey. | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 439 Registered: 01-2006 |
WSU's D1 hockey team is about 7 years old now. I was recruited by Coach Wilkinson in 2002. I have to admit that they present about as good of a product as one could expect considering the lack of support that the program receives. They played the last few years at Compuware Arena, but now play where they started...at the Fairgrounds. Back in 2002 they told me that there was a very early plan for an on-campus multi-sport facility. I'm not sure how that every played out, but we know there is for sure no rink at this point. | ||
Wsukid Member Username: Wsukid Post Number: 158 Registered: 06-2004 |
WSU hockey has been pretty good for a couple years. Its had some down seasons for the past 2-3 years. This year they beat a good Western Mich team and in the past they beat MSU at Munn which is not an easy thing to do. Plus they always have a tough schedule with playing MSU, UM, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Anyway I go up to MSU when they play each other and I have not been to the fairgrounds to see them play. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 780 Registered: 04-2006 |
Isn't WSU D-I in fencing too??? | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 4297 Registered: 11-2004 |
The sheer fact that WSU has a D1 women's hockey program and places like MSU and Michigan don't have one says a lot about the seriousness of their program. It's also IMO, a huge indictment of how pathetic those individual programs are for supporting women's sports too. | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 440 Registered: 01-2006 |
The University of Michigan and MSU both provide quality support for their womens' sports programs, IMO. MSU's women's basketball facilities rival anything in the country--not to mention the quality of play and you just have to look at the success of UM softball to see that they get necessary support to maintain a quality program. If I recall correctly, I believe WSU had to add another women's sport to comply with Title IX when they added the men's program. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 263 Registered: 10-2006 |
Interesting, why don't they publicize the hockey team more then? | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 93 Registered: 11-2006 |
Dds: Could WSU move their FB program from d-II to I-AA (like some schools out east)? These schools are I-AA in "name only". It is a fig leaf to let those Big East schools be d-I in hoops, etc. - FB funding is more like D-II. I need to pull out the South End article (think it was another thread) about hoped for plans for a hoop and hockey arena. Here is the link by WSUkid from the other thread: http://www.southend.wayne.edu/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2109 It would be amazing if Waynbe built TWO arena - one for hoops and the other for hockey. Matthaei according to the article seats 2K. That would suffice as Wayne transition to D-I. Matthaei would be used for intramurals. (Message edited by emu_steve on January 18, 2007) | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 105 Registered: 10-2006 |
There is no distinction between D-I or D-IAA. If there is a "one" in the title anywhere, it's considered "Division One". If they want to have D-I (or D-IAA, etc) for more than one sport, the school must convert it's complete college program to D-I status. I'm not sure how to make it any more clear. Pictures, next, maybe? | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 94 Registered: 11-2006 |
I was confused. What I was getting at was Wayne joining a conference like Mid-Continent which does NOT have FB. If that would happen, then were would Wayne's FB team go? As you indicate, they could NOT remain D-II in FB with their other sports D-I. The FB program would have to move up to D-I or be dropped. I hope I have this right now. | ||
Pinewood73 Member Username: Pinewood73 Post Number: 9 Registered: 07-2006 |
If I'm not mistaken, I think WSU may be the largest university in the US that is not D1 I think they haven't been D1 was because WSU has been essentially a "commuter" school. That kind of limits them to athletes in state, which basically means they would get the scraps that couldn't get scholarships to UM, MSU, Western, Central, or Eastern. I think more student housing in Downtown would help WSU. It would be nice to see them play football in Ford Field. | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 441 Registered: 01-2006 |
I think it is safe to say that Michigan has a fairly well rounded list of Division 1 athletic programs. Western, Central and UM are competitive in football (still waiting for my Spartans to catch up  ). MSU is holding down the fort in basketball and every other D1 basketball school in the state (OU, EMU, WMU, CMU, UofD has made the tournament since UM last did it). And dont forget the 7 D1 hockey teams (UM, MSU, WMU, NMU, LSSU, WSU, FSU) which have all made the tournament at least once since the mid 90's. Now that I think about it I dont think WMU has been there since 1992, but I could be wrong. (Message edited by DetroitSTAR on January 18, 2007) | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 95 Registered: 11-2006 |
I'd like to suggest the Gateway Conference for FB if WSU moves up to say Mid-Continent for hoops. Gateway is largely a mid-west FB conference for schools in other basketball conferences. Gateway has mostly Mo. Valley Conference schools + Youngstown State (Horizon in hoops) + W. KY (Sun Belt in hoops) + W. IL as well . It is a very tough conference. Wayne would need to get much better. Wayne should be able to marshall the financial resources to do higher caliber inter-collegiate sports. http://www.usatoday.com/sports /sagarin/fbc06.htm (Message edited by emu_steve on January 19, 2007) | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 285 Registered: 10-2006 |
Some schools just choose to focus more on academics than athletics. As Pinewood73 suggested, "If I'm not mistaken, I think WSU may be the largest university in the US that is not D1." It wouldn't be surprising if that were true. | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 100 Registered: 11-2006 |
BTW, I did a little checking on the WSU athletic website. They spent 1.1M in '06 on new FieldTurf for their FB stadium and resurface the track which surrounds the FB field. While I don't want to read too much into it, installing FieldTurf does show a commitment to FB. EMU installed it last year; Ball State (also of the MAC) will install it this year. FieldTurf is considered 'state of the art' for FB stadia. That is considered a major expenditure. I believe the Wayne AD, Rob Fournier, who is the former AD at Akron and was the acting commish of the MAC (the job that Rick Chryst got) was brought to Wayne to 'grow the program' and not simply let it 'be what it is." | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 303 Registered: 10-2006 |
Sounds like a good move then on the part of WSU. Akron has some of the best athletic facilities of any university. For example, their indoor track bldg is huge and draws events from lots of big name schools. | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 102 Registered: 11-2006 |
Spending 1.1M to enhance their FB stadium and maybe a hoop arena (see the enumeration of an athletic arena in the Capital Campaign list of projects) really suggests where Wayne wants to go. The following is from the Wayne's Capital Campaign: "The capital campaign will help meet Wayne State University’s major needs for new construction, including new homes for the School of Business and the Honors College, an athletics arena, an Engineering Development Center, a Performing Arts Building and a Computer Science and Informational Technology Building, among others. Funds raised also will be used to improve existing structures and upgrade classroom, laboratory and office spaces." Wayne lists that they have raised 337M of their goal of 500M. Maybe we need to see what happens as Wayne gets closer to their 500M goal. | ||
Jiminnm Member Username: Jiminnm Post Number: 1163 Registered: 02-2005 |
The NCAA has strict criteria for placement in an athletic division. I don't think that Wayne currently meets the required criteria to be Division 1 (especially football) and maybe not division 2. They would likely have to spend too money to advance to a higher level. The criteria are stated here: http://www.a2zcolleges.com/spo rts/basketball/div11.html | ||
Pinewood73 Member Username: Pinewood73 Post Number: 10 Registered: 07-2006 |
I'm thinking that spending 1.1 M means that although WSU considers football important, they aren't necessarily moving to D1 anytime soon. If they were moving to D1, wouldn't it make more sense to just play home games at Ford Field rather than building another downtown stadium? I believe that a D1 stadium has to be at least 30,000 seats. | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 444 Registered: 01-2006 |
I believe the requirement is not in what the stadium holds, but in the average attendance. It must average something like at least 15,000/game over a 3 year period. I remember hearing that CMU was in jeopardy of falling to this policy...that is until Brian Kelly came into Mt. Pleasant and got things on the right track. Though I know they are content being the big fish in a small pond, GVSU is in a much better position to make the jump before Wayne State. You need to prove competitive in the majority of sports--not just football/basketball before you can consider a move like this. GVSU has sent every single sport to NCAA playoff competition since 2000. That is outstanding regardless of the school or the division. | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 103 Registered: 11-2006 |
I don't know what the requirements are for I-AA which is where schools like Youngstown State, etc. are? (e.g., Gateway Conference). BTW, I-AA is one of the NCAA divisions which has a playoff (along with d-II - Grand Valley State U. and d-III). MAC is a I-A conference and those teams must average 15K attendance. No way does Wayne aspire to the same level as the MAC. I-A FB is very expensive | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 445 Registered: 01-2006 |
Sorry for the confusion steve, I thought you were referring to 1-A. | ||
Umstucoach Member Username: Umstucoach Post Number: 120 Registered: 04-2006 |
GVSU doesn't really want to move up to D-I, they are happy and content at the D-1 level. The school to look to for the move up is Oakland U. They did the transition fairly recently and while they do not have a football team. They did a major revamping of their facilities. It helped get them national exposure in the NCAA basketball tourny, clarifying where they are (not California)and that they are a D-1 school. Wayne State has some outstanding programs, but are relatively unknown outside of Michigan. At a basic level it opens ones eyes to the University for better or for worse. | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 104 Registered: 11-2006 |
Agree about GVSU and Oakland. GVSU is a perfect fit in D-II. I'd think Oakland would like to be in the Horizon. This link has a list of all of the I-AA FB conferences and teams (note: I realize that the NCAA started using a different nomenclature after the '06 season for I-A and I-AA - only problem no one is using the NCAA's nomenclature). http://www.i-aa.org/section_fr ont.asp?arttypeid=566 Gateway is a very tough Midwestern conference. Pioneer is a weaker conference. Travel would be an issue. | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 105 Registered: 11-2006 |
Today's Detnews indicates UofDetroit-Mercy is considering things to get people back on campus and I-AA FB (this would be non-scholarship variety) is one idea being mulled about. UofD dropped FB in '64. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20070124/S PORTS02/701240344/1004/SPORTS | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 111 Registered: 11-2006 |
This is one of those "take it for what it is worth" and consider the source, Internet poster: http://www.d2football.com/boar d/index.php?showtopic=5247&hl= Wayne This poster says that the WSU head FB coach said Wayne would be moving up to d-I most like Gateway or Ohio Valley Conf. That statement should be taken more as a goal - not a statement of fact. Hoops and the rest of the sports would go to ??? Some posters on that board think WSU FB is really on the upswing after being almost comatose as recent as a few years ago. (Message edited by emu_steve on January 26, 2007) |
