Quote from: MiacMan on March 13, 2018, 08:48:22 PM

Quote from: MUC57 on March 13, 2018, 05:26:58 PM

MiacMan

Oops, I forgot. In some circles it's "SJ2" and not "SJU". A thousand pardons! ☠ 🏈 ☠

I wish either UST or SJ2 would schedule a home and home with  Mount. It's too bad the price is too high to pay if you lose,  even a close game.

I don't think it needs to be a high price, hell even a loss to a top team should be worth more than a win against an also-ran, as long as the score wasn't out of hand. If the fear is you will lose a Conference game or two in addition then so what you were likely not going to have the talent to go very far in the Playoffs anyway. Too many AQ's watering down the field and it just keeps getting worse as more conferences expand.

Quote from: sjujohnnie on December 16, 2017, 01:12:17 PM
Does anyone have any insight as to the direction St John's is moving in? They've now qualified for the playoffs each of the last four years, three of which they exited in the second round. Do you think they'll get back to a point as a program where they'll make it to the semi-finals regularly & compete for a national championship? If so, how many years off is that from happening? How do programs, Mount Union being a prime example, dominate year-in & year-out? How much of that is coaching? Do they have access to a recruiting base with that many better athletes? Is it player development? Appreciate any honest insight!

Agreed I believe the days where SJU receives the benefit of the doubt are over. The unwillingness to play competitive non-conference opponents and a failure to move past the second round in recent history has caught up with them in the eye of the committee. It appears obvious that the bar has been set at qualifying for the playoffs, which is great for fringe programs but not those who consider themselves DIII's elite.
By not scheduling a quality non-conference opponent it sends a message that a lack of confidence in its ability to win the MIAC exists. The recipe back to the promise land is to instill confidence throughout the program, that is accomplished by defeating quality opponents not bludgeoning baby seals. If a loss to a quality opponent and failure to win the MIAC eliminates you from the postseason is that a bad thing? To me playing competitive games versus worthy opponents is what it is going to take to reinstall the confidence within the program. We all go to work each day, and in doing so our employer must have the confidence that our performance will lead to the success of the enterprise, if it doesn't then we can expect changes to be made. I don't see why a similar expectation would not exist within a paid staff.
Can the Johnnies return to glory sure, they still have a very strong brand, but we all know the definition of insanity.