Joey Jones Show Recap 2008-11-12
This week Matthew and I decided not to try to go to Wings for an in-person viewing of the show but rather I stayed home and listened on the radio. So come to find out why Coach Jones wasn’t on last week was because he and his staff was in Kentucky taking a chance to observe their staff go about their daily routine. I guess seeing how an SEC coaching staff goes about its day is something that could help a new program get started.
President Gordon Moulton was the special guest on the show this week and together they talked about several things which I will get into during the course of this article. The first thing mentioned was that less than a year ago (December will be one year) since the football program was approved at USA and look how far we have come. We have a little over 100 players and about 800 signed up online for the marching band. This has all been accomplished in the last 11 months. Currently, USA is on track to be the fastest program to go from inception to Division I play in NCAA history (at least since they started keeping track of this stat).
President Moulton made light that this could mean a few rough years to begin with but ultimately if so both he and coach Jones believe this is best for our program. But those tough years could be offset by the teams we play. Getting into matchups with teams like Tennessee, whom we have a date with in 2013, could help the program along both financially and personel wise.
Coach Jones made light that practice has been going well and the team and staff have been working hard to keep their competitive fire going even though they are not taking the field against opponents this year. Its easier to keep that fire going when you work all week implementing a game plan to pit against a team on Saturday. But it takes some special players and staff to keep up that kind of will all semester without any opponents.
The BCS was mentioned during the show by the host Lee Shirvanian. President Moulton said that up until now that his talks with other university presidents did not include football because we did not have that program. But university presidents take issue with a playoff system because it would be that much more time out of the classroom for the players. When you get eight teams playing a playoff you end up extending the already long season by another three games. Coach Jones supported the idea of the ‘plus one’ scenerio put forth not long ago but it could easily be extended to a four team playoff where #4 vs #1 and #3 vs #2 would then pit the winners against each other. But then again it would be easier to extend that playoff to add more teams like the fear by president Moulton.
Lee Shirvanian brought up an interesting point likening college football to NFL football if a playoff was instituted. The draw of college football is how meaningful each and every game is during the course of a season. Many teams cannot afford a single loss or else you are out of the running. If a playoff system was added then the passion around each and every game could lessen and you would result with the NFL where as long as you make the playoffs you can slack off some during the season. In three or four years down the road USA will have to work hard not to lose a game in the Sun Belt Conference because that one loss could be the difference between winning the conference championship or not.
It took South Florida nine years to go from program inception to being ranking in the top 25 last year. Their plan was a 6 year plan to go from inception to playing in Division I football which is currently the fastest program to begin Division I football. USA is currently on pace to beat that with an ambitious plan to be in Division I football in four years. Obviously it would be great to be ahead of their schedule in being ranked in the top 25 as well.
The talk then drifted to recruiting and facilities. The foundation is being set now for the new fieldhouse for the football team and it will look stellar. Over a thousand beds have been added on campus through the building of the student apartments in The Grove. Coupled with the new Student Rec Center currently under construction, our facilities will be on par or better than any in the conference which will pay dividends in recruiting.
In addition to the field house being under construction, the practice fields are under construction. The grass field is almost finished and the artificial turf field is well under way, coach Jones said.
As for our stadium, they are working or have already worked out a 5-year contract with Ladd-Peebles Stadium to be the home of the USA Jaguars. While eventually alumni and supporters will want an on campus stadium, it will have to be funded privately through the community and the school.
Coach Jones is working to finalize the football uniform colors and design. He told everyone listening that he carried a preliminary design to Moultons office this week. The marching band is also working to finalize their uniform and both will look excellent when they take to the field for the first time in 2009.
They then turned to the economy and how it may affect college sports in the near future. It is quite obvious that the economy is not as strong as it has been recently but it has not taken a toll on college sports yet. But the possible affect is not known yet. President Moulton said that the program with staff and all scholarships will cost about $5 Million per year. Which in the scheme of things, is not bad. As we get further into the program and into Division I football, those costs will rise. But “not a single nickle” has come from the academic side. All of the money thus far has come from supporters and from student fees. This was done so that the program could operate normally and not in a deficit during its first few years.
Another guest to make an appearance on the show was Travis Toth, who is the new marketing director at USA. He has been working with on campus organizations to help promote athletics more. Just for Monday nights exhibition match the Mitchell Center drew just under 3,000 people with 706 students in attendance. Basketball will have some concerts on the steps of the Mitchell Center this season. Baseball will also have concerts before or after a number of their games.
Mr. Toth then turned to tickets sales. Next season there is going to be a guaranteed 6 game home schedule with a possible 7th game in the works by coach Jones. Season tickets for the football games is only $75 and will go on sale to the general public next week. He also informed us that less than 150 season tickets are still available for the lower level of the Mitchell Center this season. Plus for a 16 games at home and the low price of $50 per season ticket (for upper level seating) the value is phenomenal.
Finally Coach Jones said he may miss an episode of the show in December due to a recruiting trip to Texas. But he is working on something special for national signing day so stay tuned for this and more.
Go Jags!
Comments
One Response to “Joey Jones Show Recap 2008-11-12”
GREAT recap – thanks a lot! Please keep this going. As someone who is never able to listen to the CJJ show, I really appreciate these recaps, especially so in depth.
Also, I think we, the student body, alumni, and all Jaguar supporters are going to be much more pleased with the marketing department’s work from here on out.
GO JAGS!! AND BLEED IT RED!!