FB: Middle Atlantic Conference

[wesleydad]

i like muhlenbergs complex, but the visitor side is woefully lacking.  i went to kean this year and they have top notch facilities.  anytime you add good facilities it helps with recruiting.

[Lyco80]

The family and I took a road trip up to Owings Mills Saturday to watch Lycoming spoil a very festive Stevenson homecoming - they have great facilities, fireworks, smoke, dance team, marching band, synthetic field, great stands but a nascent football program.  The score was 48-0 entering the fourth quarter and Coach Clark sent in the remainder of the team - including the Lyco dog - just kidding about that one.  The end result was 48-14.  But you read it here first, Stevenson may end up being a force to be reckoned with sometime in the not-too-distant future as they have a buzz about them that is mesmerizing and could result in some recruiting successes.

As for some other matters, some previous posts alluded to class status regarding enrollment in college and success afterwards.  Let me see if I can help clear some of those misguided assumptions from the table.  Lycoming is a solid school comprised of mostly middle-class students.  As for me, dad was in sales; mom taught phys. ed. part time at a Roman Catholic parochial school - hardly silver spoon stuff.  All three of us got college degrees but not without blood, sweat, and lots of bizarre part-time employment.

As for hard work - let me present my credentials:  since 1986 I have been proudly serving in the United States Navy -  this has given me a wee bit of insight into hard work - and sacrifice.  When you frequently spend nearly a year away from home, either at sea, or overseas in a hostile environment living in a tent, hard work, and sacrifice take on a whole new meaning. 

It is refreshing to see the Warriors on a roll again and I cannot wait for this week's match-up in Annville and trust the Warriors will continue their winning ways.

ATB



 

[bill]

JM

Many times it is not worth the extra money to put in anything but a token set of bleachers for more than 500 fans at this level - at least in this conference. Most teams do not travel well (with fans) regularly.

It's also unfair to place Albright in the discussion with anyone else here regarding the facility. Albright didn't do a good job, per say - the city of Reading did. They forked out approximately $3 million for the field... I'm sure Muhlenberg, FDU, and Wilkes would love that kind of help

[jmcozenlaw]

Lyco - Thank you for your service and that service was never questioned whatsoever. Others serve in different ways through volunteerism, sharing good fortune and taking in foster children. It's not quite as dangerous but it still serves the greater good.

None of the assumptions were misguided in any way, shape or form. It's just your interpretation and you're entitled to it. You kind of started this a bunch of posts ago when you stated something along the lines of not quite understanding why any parent would send their son to any school other than Lycoming. While not "silver spoon", it did sound a bit over the top. Lycoming is an excellent school.......as are hundreds of schools across this country. As your (along with my) humble upbringing can attest to, you get out of life that what you put into it. The name on the piece of paper might open up a door from the jump, but it does very little once you enter the fray. As stated before, I've come across incredibly successful, giving people from schools such as Bloomsburg State, Upsala, Del Val and West Chester. These people beat many Ivy League grads in the game of life and have kicked back and are spending their time (and resources) giving back in their late 40's and early 50's.

Lyco......it's all good. Again, thanks for your service. It is sincerely appreciated.

JMC

[gordonmann]

Wesley Dad:

Thanks for the kind words. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Del Val, Widener or Lyco won the conference. Del Val's final two games are really tough.  The Aggies have to play against the best defense in the conference (other than maybe their own) on the road and then try to slow down Widener who scores points by the truckload.

Should be fun.

[Pat Coleman]

JM

Many times it is not worth the extra money to put in anything but a token set of bleachers for more than 500 fans at this level - at least in this conference. Most teams do not travel well (with fans) regularly.

It's also unfair to place Albright in the discussion with anyone else here regarding the facility. Albright didn't do a good job, per say - the city of Reading did. They forked out approximately $3 million for the field... I'm sure Muhlenberg, FDU, and Wilkes would love that kind of help

Albright had a ton of visitors seating before the stadium refurb, however.

[bill]

Pat

Absolutely! If you remember it was old stadium predating WWII, I believe...

However, it wasn't Albright's stadium before the refurb either!  Albright was allowed to use the field after the high schools - they always came first.
Albright has a great setup - no doubt - but it still isn't theirs....

[Lyco80]

I remember the old stadium - it was a scene out of "Knute Rockne - All American" and any minute you could almost expect to see George Gipp come around the corner - played by Ronald Reagan in the movie.  It was a real throw-back, totally old school.  Have not been to an Albright game since 2005 so I guess it is time to check out what is new.  Still - the older I get, the more I prefer older things - guess that is just the way stuff rolls.

ATB

[Knightstalker]

I remember the old stadium - it was a scene out of "Knute Rockne - All American" and any minute you could almost expect to see George Gipp come around the corner - played by Ronald Reagan in the movie.  It was a real throw-back, totally old school.  Have not been to an Albright game since 2005 so I guess it is time to check out what is new.  Still - the older I get, the more I prefer older things - guess that is just the way stuff rolls.

ATB

Amen to that Chaplain Squid.

[PBR...]

G-Man - Some very interesting buzz is flying under the radar in the Doylestown area. Del Val just received a very highly publicized $30 million gift by a local family and the word is that a future gift/gifts will be topping that amount by quite a bit under the condition that X% goes towards the planning and construction of a comprehensive athletic complex. Word has it that the types of facilities under consideration include Muhlenberg, Albright and Lycoming. My guess is that the name Michener has something to do with the largess. 

Additionally, more majors might include nursing (growing regional Doylestown Hospital is right up the road) and engineering.......to go along with their newer majors in education and criminal justice and their long standing ag, science (pre-med and pre-vet) and business majors.

University status is just a couple of years away and the school has a ton of land to develop in the future......without taking away from the ag programs (we all have to eat don't we:) Could prove very interesting for those kids who want to escape the city, but stay a short train ride (the campus has it's own Septa station) away from the bright lights.

pbr will swing in from left field here...yes Michener grew up in Dtown and graduated high school w/ pbr's grandfather. But would be very surprised if the Michener estate/endowment money would be going to the school. The beautiful museum in Doylestown named after him as well as other art's programs would most likely be the beneficiary of the endowment including Swarthmore college. There are however several successful older dvc alumni who might be making the school a large contribution at some point. Yes the school could really use a top notch athletic complex. Been of pbr's  wish list project for the school for years now. They are one of the larger acreage campuses in the state. A number of long range plans are being looked at currently for future land use at the school. There are a lot of exciting ideas/plans being tossed around so the future is indeed bright at the school. Now back to price/yield calc's... big/busy week coming up for eco numbers 

[jmcozenlaw]

PBR - I was an undergrad at Swarthmore and have kind of "adopted" Del Val given that I live in Doylestown. I've also been involved in some official and unofficial conversations about fundraising in general.......and a top notch athletic complex specifically. The school will be adding more popular majors, is probably two years away from University status and some (a small "some") of the Michener largesse is rumored (from Swarthmore sources) to be heading to a school in Doylestown.......and I'm not thinking C.B. West:)

A chunk of the money is there already......it's the political tightrope Dr. Brosnan must walk given the needs supporting the application for University status. I've seen architectural rederings of a few options (dating back to the tail end of the G.A. Mangus era) and they are all gorgeous. You're also correct about the acreage on the campus. The school turned down numerous significant offers over the years from developers and could have printed money but the long range plan always won out and now the leaders at the school have the experience, contacts and momentum. Stay tuned as some interesting information may come out right around the holiday season.

One last thing I'm hearing.........there is an offer on the table once University status is a done deal which would make the Glassboro St-to-Rowan name change look rather small. I guessed Michener, Silverman and Perdue (interesting huh? but apparently it's a bigger name.

[PBR...]

PBR - I was an undergrad at Swarthmore and have kind of "adopted" Del Val given that I live in Doylestown. I've also been involved in some official and unofficial conversations about fundraising in general.......and a top notch athletic complex specifically. The school will be adding more popular majors, is probably two years away from University status and some (a small "some") of the Michener largesse is rumored (from Swarthmore sources) to be heading to a school in Doylestown.......and I'm not thinking C.B. West:)

A chunk of the money is there already......it's the political tightrope Dr. Brosnan must walk given the needs supporting the application for University status. I've seen architectural rederings of a few options (dating back to the tail end of the G.A. Mangus era) and they are all gorgeous. You're also correct about the acreage on the campus. The school turned down numerous significant offers over the years from developers and could have printed money but the long range plan always won out and now the leaders at the school have the experience, contacts and momentum. Stay tuned as some interesting information may come out right around the holiday season.

One last thing I'm hearing.........there is an offer on the table once University status is a done deal which would make the Glassboro St-to-Rowan name change look rather small. I guessed Michener, Silverman and Perdue (interesting huh? but apparently it's a bigger name.

Exactly...it's an pretty exciting time for the school right now. There are a number of very successful alumni who are looking to contribute large amounts of money at some point to the school. Some of the names you have listed could be potential donors as well as other I really don't want to put names out in public yet. The future is indeed very bright. We have some good leaders now at the school and pbr is very glad they never sold off the chunks of land for the quick $$$. A new state of the art athletic complex is long overdue. Including refurbing of the football stadium. Mainly the visitors stands and restrooms/locker rooms. BTW since PBR came out of hibernation , nice to see DVC hired a rock solid choice to head their storied wrestling program. Thanks Coach Cantrell for your service to our country and welcome as the new DVC head coach of wrestling team. http://athletics.delval.edu/news/2011/10/10/WRES_11cantrell.aspx

[kate]

We need no further proof to the genius of the Delaware Valley College administrators over the years than the fact that they resisted the offers of developers, even during those very lean years suffered by many colleges and universities.  I, for one, COULD NOT be HAPPIER that they had the foresight to do this!!! 

[albrightsid]

Some facts about Albright's Shirk Stadium:

- Originally dedicated in 1925, Albright College had full ownership of the complex since 1929 when Albright merged with Schuylkill College.
- Over the years several high schools including Governor Mifflin and Reading High would use the field for games, and would pay a rental fee.
- In 2005, a major renovation of the facility was conducted- a $6.5 million project that including a $2 million donation from Reading (the rest came from Albright). Both institutions felt a partnership was the best option, allowing the Reading football team and all of Albright's field sports to enjoy a higher-quality facility without the costs associated with building two separate stadiums.
- Of course Reading H.S. now uses the facility for all home football games and no longer pays any fee after their contribution to the project, but Albright has still retained control of the property and all other scheduling decisions.

- Jimmy McCumber, Albright Sports Information Director

[bill]

Thanks for the update. 

I got most of my facts about the stadium from Reading newspapers like this:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=20000526&id=i_ohAAAAIBAJ&sjid=X6MFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1181,5639505

It's amazing what a private/public partnership can accomplish....