Leatherneck Nation

If we are going to drop to D2, I would just recommend cutting sports in their entirety. Nobody really cares about D2 sports. I know everyone has a few exceptions to that rule and can point out certain schools that are somewhat of an outlier at the D2 level for certain sports, but outside of those communities nobody has generally ever even heard of their school. Not that WIU is a general household name, but at least we have a chance to make some noise in a few sports being at the D1 level.

In addition, do we think any of the athletes we currently have would still be able to be recruited by WIU as a D2 institution? Any of the real talent we have will end up at the D1 level. I would guess we would struggle even more at all of the sports at the D2 level compared to where we are now.

Plus, there have been numerous criticisms of several coaches over the years, what kind of coaches do we think we could attract if we are only paying them about 1/3 of what our current coaches make which is generally coaching salary scale from D1 to D2.

wiu712 wrote: ↑Tue May 22, 2018 11:35 pm Western was "NCAA Colllege Division" until 1973.

In 1973, the College Division split in two when the NCAA began using numeric designations for its competitions. The College Division members who wanted to offer athletic scholarships or compete against those who did became Division II. Those who chose not to offer athletic scholarships became Division III.

Western became NCAA Division II in 1973 and remained at that level until 1981.

I went to a D2 school that did NOT offer scholarships, so not all D2 school do, though they can, whereas D3 CANNOT offer athletic scholarships. My alma mater has since moved to D1, but only after denied appeals by the NCAA to not offer athletic scholarships, resulting in considerable consternation before making the move. The student athletes remained the same, the coaches remained the same, and the fans remained the same.

Regarding how many of our current players would stick with us at D2, you might be able to answer that question by looking at how many schools other than Western even put an offer on their kitchen table. I will throw out a guess here that it is over 80% if you look at all of our sports. We are not getting a lot of speed, quickness, explosiveness for our major sports from what I can tell. When was the last time we had a kickoff returned for TD, typically a good indication if you have a guy with true D1 speed? I just looked. You have to go back to 2011 (Larry Patterson).

As for coaches, I will say this. I dont have the statistics but I would bet my last bottom dollar you will find less turnover at the lower levels and more coaches who are well-settled in their home and family lives, not looking to move up every couple years. I assume they do it for a love of the game and desire to see their kids succeed on the field, true educators if you will.

Well, that is my last post today. Got to go watch some A-10 baseball up the road. Usually do the SEC tournanment in Birmingham, but trying to save a few bucks this year.

1) Division 1 FCS schools are not mandated to give full scholarships to Football players. Only FBS.
2) WIU does give COA, just not full.
3) If you WIU goes D2, I would guess they would lose a large percent of their players; especially the Underclassman.
4) A move to D2 is not needed. An actual creative marketing plan by the Athletic Dept is desperately needed.

GV Dad wrote: ↑Wed May 23, 2018 4:34 pm 1) Division 1 FCS schools are not mandated to give full scholarships to Football players. Only FBS.
2) WIU does give COA, just not full.
3) If you WIU goes D2, I would guess they would lose a large percent of their players; especially the Underclassman.
4) A move to D2 is not needed. An actual creative marketing plan by the Athletic Dept is desperately needed.

1. Yup. FCS is allowed to split scholarships between players. Specifically 63 full scholarships, divided among no more than 85 players.
2. I wasn't aware of that, thanks for the clarification
4. Agreed...I believe that we can sustain DI...we just have to be smart about it.

GV Dad, have no fear! Things pertaining to the westside are moving forward! And WIU is not going D2! jc

Neckfansince71 wrote: ↑Wed May 23, 2018 6:39 pmWIU is not going D2!

But a new university president may have different ideas.

One thing that we know for sure is that the rapidly decreasing enrollment will have an impact on the Athletics budget.

An incoming freshman will pay $18.07 per credit hour in Athletics Fees. A full-time student will be paying approx $542 per year. Fewer students means less money coming in from athletic fees.

Which is why "an actual creative marketing plan by the Athletic Dept is desperately needed." jc

Neckfansince71 wrote: ↑Thu May 24, 2018 10:53 am Which is why "an actual creative marketing plan by the Athletic Dept is desperately needed." jc

At some point we have got to shake off the fear and negativism and approach the situation at WIU in a positive manner! jc

Neckfansince71 wrote: ↑Thu May 24, 2018 11:03 am At some point we have got to shake off the fear and negativism and approach the situation at WIU in a positive manner! jc

Which would happen much faster if the administration would quit burying its head in the sand and hiding the issues, but rather confronted them head on and told us and showed us what they were doing.