I like the idea of Fordham, Holy Cross and Yale annually. Agree that we should also target schools in Boston, Philadelphia and DC in most years. And I would love to pick off a "down" St. John's, Rutgers or BC next year. Obviously, a four-for-one tournament, with a couple of Power 5 opponents, works every year.
Lots of wiggle room, of course. But I would like to see Fairfield schedule realistically. We are still young next season so a number of "winnable" games should be the focus. If things go well, we can take a shot at some bigger schools/tougher opponents in 2017/18.
Can't argue with much of what you say here Jennings. And I like the term "realistic" for any given year. We should be pretty good the next 2-3 years and should schedule accordingly yet at the same time be careful not to overdue things by playing too many powers on the road. Nothing like a 2-8 start to kill the enthusiasm of the fans. Now I see that you have speculated on next year already. I do think that you are probably correct on all but the @wagner game, which I believe was part of that "tournament" setup and does not require a return. That would be all right with me, don't think I would love the headache of trying to get to Staten Island anyway. So take away that contest and you would be looking to schedule 5-6 more based on whether we play 30 or 31 games. Only thing I will say is I hope we can keep up a reasonable amount of OOC home games (appreciated that aspect of this past year) with maybe one decent "draw" among the opponents coming in. And in that vein I think I was told quite a while ago that as part of the buyout of Cooley when he left for PC, he might have agreed to bring his team in twice as part of the whole deal. Don't know if that was pure speculation which may not be true, but of course since he left he has come in only once, we went there twice, so maybe this coming year? Now that would be a nice (and fair) test for our young improving team I would think.
I like the idea of Fordham, Holy Cross and Yale annually. Agree that we should also target schools in Boston, Philadelphia and DC in most years. And I would love to pick off a "down" St. John's, Rutgers or BC next year. Obviously, a four-for-one tournament, with a couple of Power 5 opponents, works every year.
Lots of wiggle room, of course. But I would like to see Fairfield schedule realistically. We are still young next season so a number of "winnable" games should be the focus. If things go well, we can take a shot at some bigger schools/tougher opponents in 2017/18.
Can't argue with much of what you say here Jennings. And I like the term "realistic" for any given year. We should be pretty good the next 2-3 years and should schedule accordingly yet at the same time be careful not to overdue things by playing too many powers on the road. Nothing like a 2-8 start to kill the enthusiasm of the fans. Now I see that you have speculated on next year already. I do think that you are probably correct on all but the @wagner game, which I believe was part of that "tournament" setup and does not require a return. That would be all right with me, don't think I would love the headache of trying to get to Staten Island anyway. So take away that contest and you would be looking to schedule 5-6 more based on whether we play 30 or 31 games. Only thing I will say is I hope we can keep up a reasonable amount of OOC home games (appreciated that aspect of this past year) with maybe one decent "draw" among the opponents coming in. And in that vein I think I was told quite a while ago that as part of the buyout of Cooley when he left for PC, he might have agreed to bring his team in twice as part of the whole deal. Don't know if that was pure speculation which may not be true, but of course since he left he has come in only once, we went there twice, so maybe this coming year? Now that would be a nice (and fair) test for our young improving team I would think.
Wagner was not part of the CBE tourney. Columbia, UMES, UNC, and Northwestern were the games this past season from that "tournament".
Post by nashvillestag on Mar 21, 2016 16:26:56 GMT -5
76, you're right, thanks for the correction. I guess maybe it does mean an elongated, traffic tie-up, toll infested trip of aggravation to see the Stags play the Seahawks if indeed it is in the contract to go there this coming year. And early speculation has it that they will be favorites in the NEC. But we owe them one after the result of this past season, right?
Back when we had the Stag 6th Man, and Doc's Roundtables with TOT, we used to have a discussion on who should be on our schedule with Gene Doris and the coaches. At that time, It resulted in us getting series with Fordham and Holy Cross. It also planted a seed in getting the SHU series started, along with setting the ground work for Games with BC, PC and Georgetown. And the fans also let it know that we wanted a UCONN series, but we wanted a game in Bridgeport. There were also other games requested, but did not come to fruition. I will summarize and send the fans preferences to Gene Doris and coaches, if people will reply to this message. This is the time of the season that scheduling contacts are made. Here is my 1st cut in order of priority:
1. Start a series with Fordham and Holy Cross (Jesuit and academic rivals)
2. Continue series with Loyola and SHU (Rivals)
3. Start series with Yale for top team in CT. Could be a double header with Fairfield vs Yale, Quinnipiac vs SHU (BPT - New Haven Classic) . QU and SHU have not played since QU joined the MAAC…. ridiculous.
4. Try to get a 2 for 1 series with Providence, or BC, Georgetown. We have the Sydney and Cooley connection with them
5. UCONN game only if they play once in Bridgeport. Give them the good seats, except for Fairfield Season ticket Holders. If not play UMASS or Rhody or St Joes in a 3 for 2 series
6. Play CAA teams. If we are truly interested in joining the CAA, we have to play a couple games vs CAA teams like ….Drexel, Delaware, Hofstra, Northeastern or Towson.
7. I do not like these pseudo Tourney games vs North Carolina, Duke or Louisville….. or games vs UMES. Getting rid of the CT-6 triple header should give us some more flexibility in dates.
Thats 9 games that should be the main goal. I realize that these are tough games to get, but its a goal to work for. I also like the Bucknell, Columbia, Ivy's.
Joe Stag ,
I vote yes for 1,2,3,6
Next question about scheduling is "Where?" I like WBA but students won't go there. On the other hand a lot of the teams we are looking at wouldn't go to Alumni Hall.
Get to Boston - BU/BC/Northeastern & Philly. Holy Cross & Fordham should always be on the schedule. Get a Big East team too-Providence/St Johns or Seton Hall. We also need to be in a Christmas tournament.
Agree with Ghost. Also feel this CT thing is nonsense. Yale had a great year but there is no glory in beating any CT team but UCONN.
Lets get some exposure in Philly/Delaware/Balt-DC and Mass as the MAAC gets no exposure in these markets. Plus Holy Cross, Fordham, BU, Providence, Army, are naturals for us.
Sacred Heart game has lost its steam and we are forcing this rivalry. There is NOTHING in common between Fairfield and SHU and we do get a big crowd because there are two local schools. Play the game but it is not my favorite game. We have enough dog schools in the MAAC that we have to play.
My favorite regular OOC rivals would be: -- Jesuit Connection: Fordham, Holy Cross, BC, St Joes, Xavier, Gonzaga -- Philly school be it St Joes, Drexel, LaSalle, Nova -- NE/Mass Connection: BU/BC/Northeastern, Providence -- Balt/DC: Loyola/Towson/Delaware -- NYC: Rutgers, Hofstra, St Johns
Obviously can't play them all but we should have a game every year with Fordham, Holy Cross, Loyola and a Philly team.
Be careful what you wish for here. Monmouth played 13 of their first 14 games on the road or neutral (Orlando) sites. They knew they would be good but couldn't get anyone of note to come to their place. Obviously they were good enough to compete exceptionally well against this competition and get a lot of national publicity. But given the fact that even with the success on the road (or neutral court) against high profile competition it still wasn't worth an at large berth in the tournament, was it totally worthwhile to their hardcore fans who might have wanted to be at as many games possible just as we do as Stag fans? I give King Rice credit for accepting this challenge and perhaps helping his team prepare for the league season. But a similar schedule for Fairfield would not only be dangerous (long losing streak possible) but would kind of take away the first third of the season as far as relating to the fans I would think.
Last Edit: Mar 21, 2016 16:52:08 GMT -5 by nashvillestag
Post by sunshinestag on Mar 21, 2016 23:33:22 GMT -5
I am going be totally parochial here and ask for a home and home series with FGCU. Many reasons for this move. It gives the Stags exposure in a state with lots of talent that fits with our program. It gives the team a chance to play a quality mid-major who has been to the Big Dance twice in the past 3 years. Loyola and Iona have had games with the Eagles in the recent past. Fr. JVA has family in this area. Quite frankly, while everyone is clamoring to play BC, there is a line of schools in front of Fairfield who want to play them now while the program is in a shambles. They can have their pick of OCC schools to play and we are not on that short list. They are a HOCKEY school for the foreseeable future,i.e., until they realize they cannot compete in the ACC in football or basketball.
Georgetown is another team that has no interest in playing us. Providence, St. Joes, Fordham, etc - no shot. We do have chance at playing some of the mid-majors who are in the middle of some program building of note. We should be looking to play the top teams in the Ivy League, the Patriot League and the Horizon League for real competitive games. I liked going to UNC to the Stags play but it was a paid scrimmage. Same if we played Duke, Kansas, Michigan St. and so forth. Scrap the lower tier teams from the low-major conferences. Time to be competitive and win games in season, win a MAAC championship and then go giant hunting in the tournament. If nothing else, this year's tourney play is showing the gap is closing between the haves and have nots in college basketball.
I am going be totally parochial here and ask for a home and home series with FGCU. Many reasons for this move. It gives the Stags exposure in a state with lots of talent that fits with our program. It gives the team a chance to play a quality mid-major who has been to the Big Dance twice in the past 3 years. Loyola and Iona have had games with the Eagles in the recent past. Fr. JVA has family in this area. Quite frankly, while everyone is clamoring to play BC, there is a line of schools in front of Fairfield who want to play them now while the program is in a shambles. They can have their pick of OCC schools to play and we are not on that short list. They are a HOCKEY school for the foreseeable future,i.e., until they realize they cannot compete in the ACC in football or basketball.
Georgetown is another team that has no interest in playing us. Providence, St. Joes, Fordham, etc - no shot. We do have chance at playing some of the mid-majors who are in the middle of some program building of note. We should be looking to play the top teams in the Ivy League, the Patriot League and the Horizon League for real competitive games. I liked going to UNC to the Stags play but it was a paid scrimmage. Same if we played Duke, Kansas, Michigan St. and so forth. Scrap the lower tier teams from the low-major conferences. Time to be competitive and win games in season, win a MAAC championship and then go giant hunting in the tournament. If nothing else, this year's tourney play is showing the gap is closing between the haves and have nots in college basketball.
Again, the key is "balance" based upon the team's potential. Should we continue to play a paid "scrimmage" every year (Carolina, Duke, etc.). Absolutely. If nothing else it helps with recruiting, not to mention the financial situation, and quite frankly almost every lower level program around the country participates in this type of game at least once a year. Maximum two of these, no more I agree. Other end we need a couple of easier matches that we should win, preferably at home. This year UMES and Dartmouth might have been in this category (although NOTHING was guaranteed "easy" as we started last fall). Then in the middle like you say, this past year examples being Columbia, Bucknell, etc. As far as your suggestion to do a home and home with FGCU, I personally love that idea. Would like a second game in Florida if we came down there however. Finally though, I don't agree with you at all that there is no shot with matching up with Fordham, St. Joes and Providence. Friars, there possibly may already be an arrangement. Hawks, we did defeat them last time we played, and our team should certainly be competitive with them the next 2-3 years I would think. Rams, historical connection, they are lower level A-10, and BTW we also beat them last time we played, so I would think (especially with the Gene Doris connection) we might indeed be playing them soon. And although Georgetown might be more far fetched, there is the connection between Sydney and JT3, so I could see that happening. Would have to include at least one home game (2 for 1) or I don't think it would happen however.