Division 2

Athletics Department, Facilities, etc.
WIU2DC
Posts: 695
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2015 3:31 pm

sealhall74 wrote:
WIU2DC wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:37 pm
sealhall74 wrote:
Little chance that there will be any excitement facing current teams in the Summit League. I see a lot more potential excitement surrounding a "336 Showdown" with the Hawks.

Again, this is all selfishly but I don’t even know who the Hawks are. Locally, it will help out but you’ll also have alumni not too thrilled to fly back to Illinois to watch D2 football. I’d rather be in the best conference in FCS, trying to build a program to be even more competitive than the NDSU of D2. But, do we really think with our facilities we’d get high caliber player to play in Macomb in D2 football? I think our facilities are only okay because we play competing FCS football. We get talented players in Macomb because of the conference we play in. If we went to the Ohio Valley or another FCS conference wed lose our great recruits. Honestly, I’m trying to catch up on our other sports so my opinions are all based in football.


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I agree with you on football. IMO, it is the only sport where we have a chance to be competitive in year in and year out. By competitive, I mean fiish top 3 or 4 in conference.
Yep! If the state ever gets their crap together we may actually get some funding. But, it’s Illinois ha.


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leatherneckcountry
Posts: 2312
Joined: Mon May 09, 2016 4:55 pm

How many GLVC schools are State Schools how many years would it take for WIU to qualify for post season tournaments at the D2 level Do we even know that the GLVC would want us.
wiu712
Posts: 6864
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 2:05 pm

WIU2DC wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:37 pmI don’t even know who the Hawks are.
The Hawks are from Quincy University--a member of the GLVC.




leatherneckcountry wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:47 pmHow many GLVC schools are State Schools ?? Do we even know that the GLVC would want us ??
The GLVC just lost a member as UW-Parkside is moving to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. That leaves the GLVC with 14 members.

There are 5 state universities in the GLVC:
UIS
Missouri S&T
UMSL
Southern Indiana
Truman State

Six GLVC teams play football. Those six are joined by two affiliate members in football to make 8 teams.

The 2 affiliate members are:
Lincoln University: a state university in Jefferson City, MO.
Southwest Baptist: Bolivar, MO.

GLVC teams playing football:
Truman State
Quincy University
U-Indy
McKendree
Missouri S&T
William Jewell
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sealhall74
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Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:18 pm
Location: Wherever, Windblows

wiu712 wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 6:25 pm
WIU2DC wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:37 pmI don’t even know who the Hawks are.
The Hawks are from Quincy University--a member of the GLVC.




leatherneckcountry wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:47 pmHow many GLVC schools are State Schools ?? Do we even know that the GLVC would want us ??
The GLVC just lost a member as UW-Parkside is moving to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. That leaves the GLVC with 14 members.

There are 5 state universities in the GLVC:
UIS
Missouri S&T
UMSL
Southern Indiana
Truman State

Six GLVC teams play football. Those six are joined by two affiliate members in football to make 8 teams.

The 2 affiliate members are:
Lincoln University: a state university in Jefferson City, MO.
Southwest Baptist: Bolivar, MO.

GLVC teams playing football:
Truman State
Quincy University
U-Indy
McKendree
Missouri S&T
William Jewell
Rockhurst University near Kansas City is also a member and also called the Hawks.
Embrace the pace of the race.
wiu51
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 9:31 am

I would attend fewer athletic events if we were D2 as compared to now being D1.
huskie
Posts: 203
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 9:42 pm

I wouldn't attend games anymore.
wiu712
Posts: 6864
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 2:05 pm

wiu51 wrote: Tue May 22, 2018 7:38 amI would attend fewer athletic events if we were D2 as compared to now being D1.
huskie wrote: Tue May 22, 2018 7:43 amI wouldn't attend games anymore.
I don't understand that thinking. Some of Western's largest football crowds came during the 1970's.

Western football was in the "NCAA College Division" 1942-1972. Western was NCAA Division 2 1973-1980. Western football moved to 1-AA in 1981.
Last edited by wiu712 on Tue May 22, 2018 9:13 am, edited 2 times in total.
LocalYokelFan
Posts: 129
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2014 9:23 am

huskie wrote: Tue May 22, 2018 7:43 am I wouldn't attend games anymore.
I get that, but the problem is not enough "yous" attend NOW. Even when teams are good here, attendance is at best mediocre, and most of the time it's just flat out abysmal. We hear often from those in the athletics department about "Leatherneck Strong", "Tradition of Tough", and all the other buzz words that point to the grit and resourcefulness of WIU athletics - and I agree with all of it - WIU athletics does a ton with very little. The thing that will make the difference between D1 and D2 though is butts in seats and $$ in athletic coffers. Don't blame the State - the State shouldn't owe athletics a dime. I get it matters to a point (enrollment, student attendance) but the bottom line is there isn't enough $$ generated from attendees and donors.

I'd like the Trustees or the Athletic Department to lay out some #s for us. What revenue figures do we have to hit over the next 3-5 years to make us a viable and sustainable D1 program? Put it out for the fanbase and alumni to decide. Either we hit those #s (gameday revenue, LNC membership, etc) or we don't and I absolutely think they should put an "or else" out there with it. "Or else WIU athletics will be transitioning to D2 athletics."
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sealhall74
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Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:18 pm
Location: Wherever, Windblows

The absolute most shocking thing I have witnessed on campus during the last decade was seeing WIU and EIU go at in hoops in a totally freaking dead Western Hall with a few hundred fans sitting on their hands for the entire game. Yes, it was in December and maybe during dead week but that game would draw 6-7K when I was student and WIU and EIU were both D2 and in the same conference. Students would be standing in line before the game so they could get a good seat. My attendance and online viewership would not change if we were at the D2 level. I would still show up for those big important games and watch most of the others on the net.

For sports like swimming , track and field, tennis, and maybe even soccer as we seem to have fallen a bit there, we can't even compete at the team level in this conference. Sure, you might have a good athlete or two every now and then who gets some attention but that and a buck will get you a Big Gulp at 7-11.

At the top of desire list for me is simply having all of our athletes feel like they can compete for conference and national championships each and every year.
Embrace the pace of the race.
wiu712
Posts: 6864
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 2:05 pm

sealhall74 wrote: Tue May 22, 2018 9:13 amThe absolute most shocking thing I have witnessed on campus during the last decade was seeing WIU and EIU go at in hoops in a totally freaking dead Western Hall with a few hundred fans sitting on their hands for the entire game.
Last season's game with EIU was on November 15. The crowd was 645 at Western Hall.

I can remember people being lined-up down University Drive waiting to get into Western Hall for a game with Eastern.

Our football attendance was not very good in 2017. The attendance for the 4 home games was 5,631 (Homecoming), 3,217 (Family Weekend), 2,247, and 2,812.

The projected freshman enrollment for the fall is 815. It was 1,206 last year.
Last edited by wiu712 on Tue May 22, 2018 11:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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