FB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[RFB]

I guess this is good news.  However, as a former player, I am not jumping up and down.  It never should have come to this and for a program with a tradition, this headline is an embarrassment. 
http://www.oxyathletics.com/sports/fball/2018-19/releases/20180423t6wika

Great job by the alumni for stepping up, but the fact remains that football at Oxy will be held hostage by this joke of a President. And they siphoned off 25% to put towards other sports? Was that part of the fundraising agreement? Maybe I'm misinformed, but I thought this effort was to save and build a healthy future for the football program.

[Oxy1995]

I guess this is good news.  However, as a former player, I am not jumping up and down.  It never should have come to this and for a program with a tradition, this headline is an embarrassment. 
http://www.oxyathletics.com/sports/fball/2018-19/releases/20180423t6wika

Great job by the alumni for stepping up, but the fact remains that football at Oxy will be held hostage by this joke of a President. And they siphoned off 25% to put towards other sports? Was that part of the fundraising agreement? Maybe I'm misinformed, but I thought this effort was to save and build a healthy future for the football program.

You are not mistaken.  A portion of the money will go towards "athletic department expenses". 
If the people who attempted to kill the program are still in charge, how can anything improve?

[doolittledog]

This quote... While recruitment and fundraising results are justifiably cause for celebration, "At the same time, we can't lose sight of the significant challenges that still exist," Veitch cautioned. "The national conversation about the future of football shows no sign of abating."

The number of scholar-athletes who can meet Oxy's rigorous academic standards has always been limited, and the indications of decline in participation in youth programs suggest that pool could become even more limited over time, Veitch said. "I've made it clear that the College has not and will not sacrifice safety or academic or student conduct standards to field a sufficient roster size. For all of these reasons, we will continue to monitor and revisit the viability of the football program as circumstances require."

I read that as "you won this round, but we'll keep looking to find ways to kill the program" 

[RFB]

This quote... While recruitment and fundraising results are justifiably cause for celebration, "At the same time, we can't lose sight of the significant challenges that still exist," Veitch cautioned. "The national conversation about the future of football shows no sign of abating."

The number of scholar-athletes who can meet Oxy's rigorous academic standards has always been limited, and the indications of decline in participation in youth programs suggest that pool could become even more limited over time, Veitch said. "I've made it clear that the College has not and will not sacrifice safety or academic or student conduct standards to field a sufficient roster size. For all of these reasons, we will continue to monitor and revisit the viability of the football program as circumstances require."

I read that as "you won this round, but we'll keep looking to find ways to kill the program"

Agreed. The language is right there, and does not bode well for the future of the program.

[RFB]

I guess this is good news.  However, as a former player, I am not jumping up and down.  It never should have come to this and for a program with a tradition, this headline is an embarrassment. 
http://www.oxyathletics.com/sports/fball/2018-19/releases/20180423t6wika

Great job by the alumni for stepping up, but the fact remains that football at Oxy will be held hostage by this joke of a President. And they siphoned off 25% to put towards other sports? Was that part of the fundraising agreement? Maybe I'm misinformed, but I thought this effort was to save and build a healthy future for the football program.

You are not mistaken.  A portion of the money will go towards "athletic department expenses". 
If the people who attempted to kill the program are still in charge, how can anything improve?

It can't and it won't. Sucks to see a proud program with so much history on the brink of collapse.

[olddog]

Oxy donors, good money chasing bad...put them out of their misery

[Gray Fox]

I wonder how many on these boards actually played college sports.  But we are still fans that support our teams and schools.
Getting funding only from football alums etc. cuts off a broader range of support  from all supporters.

[MUC57]

Really happy to see Occidental will be playing football this season. It would be sad to see a long and storied tradition at a great school come to an end. Credit is deserved to everyone involved in this 🌕happening. Best of luck on the season. Hope you stay injury free and build a foundation for the years ahead. This old Purple Raider will be rooting for you from afar. Go get 'em Tigers! 🏈

[wildcat11]

I guess this is good news.  However, as a former player, I am not jumping up and down.  It never should have come to this and for a program with a tradition, this headline is an embarrassment. 
http://www.oxyathletics.com/sports/fball/2018-19/releases/20180423t6wika

Great job by the alumni for stepping up, but the fact remains that football at Oxy will be held hostage by this joke of a President. And they siphoned off 25% to put towards other sports? Was that part of the fundraising agreement? Maybe I'm misinformed, but I thought this effort was to save and build a healthy future for the football program.

You are not mistaken.  A portion of the money will go towards "athletic department expenses". 
If the people who attempted to kill the program are still in charge, how can anything improve?

It can't and it won't. Sucks to see a proud program with so much history on the brink of collapse.

The funds raised by football alumni include an additional 25 percent for the greatest needs of Oxy athletics, which will be devoted to women's athletics as part of a broader fundraising effort that will begin next fall.

So the program that Oxy is willing to put down, is needed to raise money for "the greatest needs of Oxy athletics"?

I thought the greatest need for Oxy athletics was the program YOU WERE ABOUT TO KILL!

What a dog and pony show. E'ffing joke.

Props to the alumni who stepped up to save their football team and are willing to swallow cow pucks to help fund this poisonous administration.

[MiacMan]

The Oxy situation looks all to familiar to me. We went through this at Macalester back in 2002/3 and I was quite close to the situation. To be honest this does not look good for Oxy Football (especially with the current administration) They really need to rally a heavy hitter or two to get on board and discuss the bigger picture with the powers that be. Example: Macalester determined that they needed football more than most schools not because of the donors but because of the "conservative male voice/opinion" desired in the classroom for robust discussion. Schools like Oxy and Mac generally do not attract that type of student. In Oxy's case it seems times have changed from 15yrs ago. I am not so sure that the conservative (male or female) voice is valued in higher education in general, let alone at places like Mac and Oxy. It seems now that higher education would rather just silence all conservative thinking. Don't know what else to tell you Oxy. Good luck I will sure be rooting for you!

[MUC57]

wildcat11 and MiacMan
 
You guys certainly know more about the Oxy situation than I do. I probably shouldn't have jumped in on the conversation. But I was happy to see they will have football, at least in 2018! I would be happy to see any school maintain their football program. Of course, there are exceptions.
Knowing little, I still wish them well. A lot of lives are impacted by what happens. We can hope for the best. Go Tigers! Or as I have been known to say, Go Everyone!  ☠🏈

[Gray Fox]

The Oxy situation looks all to familiar to me. We went through this at Macalester back in 2002/3 and I was quite close to the situation. To be honest this does not look good for Oxy Football (especially with the current administration) They really need to rally a heavy hitter or two to get on board and discuss the bigger picture with the powers that be. Example: Macalester determined that they needed football more than most schools not because of the donors but because of the "conservative male voice/opinion" desired in the classroom for robust discussion. Schools like Oxy and Mac generally do not attract that type of student. In Oxy's case it seems times have changed from 15yrs ago. I am not so sure that the conservative (male or female) voice is valued in higher education in general, let alone at places like Mac and Oxy. It seems now that higher education would rather just silence all conservative thinking. Don't know what else to tell you Oxy. Good luck I will sure be rooting for you!

Interesting.  Two of the schools the president likes are Middlebury and Macalaster.   Maybe he needs to talk to them instead of the AD.
Or even CMS or Pomona.

[MiacMan]

The Oxy situation looks all to familiar to me. We went through this at Macalester back in 2002/3 and I was quite close to the situation. To be honest this does not look good for Oxy Football (especially with the current administration) They really need to rally a heavy hitter or two to get on board and discuss the bigger picture with the powers that be. Example: Macalester determined that they needed football more than most schools not because of the donors but because of the "conservative male voice/opinion" desired in the classroom for robust discussion. Schools like Oxy and Mac generally do not attract that type of student. In Oxy's case it seems times have changed from 15yrs ago. I am not so sure that the conservative (male or female) voice is valued in higher education in general, let alone at places like Mac and Oxy. It seems now that higher education would rather just silence all conservative thinking. Don't know what else to tell you Oxy. Good luck I will sure be rooting for you!

Upon further thought, recalling the events at Macalester, in the end what saved the program was the students. At schools like Mac and Oxy (actually most schools of higher education) right or wrong the students have the loudest voice. The hierarchy goes 1) Faculty, 2) Students, however, the faculty will typically back/support the students. Based on my experience, a couple of things need to happen for Oxy to save football. 1) For this season, they need to survive. Over the summer they will probably need to recruit current students (preferably athletes/former athletes from other sports, but take anybody, bodies are what they need to survive this year) 2) Just as important, they need to rally student support and student attendance at the games. Students at these liberal arts schools are always looking for a cause to rally around and protest against the establishment (administration) this is no different to them. Football is not getting the support it needs. 3) Somewhere along the line they need the President to publicly back/support the decision to keep the program going unconditionally and indefinitely (even if it's not true). This is the only way they will get any recruits to commit to Oxy (next year). Also, for next year, assuming they survive this season, they need something to really sell, like a game in Europe (paid for by the school/alumni donations). Maybe even several cool trips for games, Something nobody else in the area can offer. Anyway, having been here before, these are my "short term" suggestions for Oxy.

[OxyBob]

I guess this is good news.  However, as a former player, I am not jumping up and down.  It never should have come to this and for a program with a tradition, this headline is an embarrassment. 
http://www.oxyathletics.com/sports/fball/2018-19/releases/20180423t6wika

From Occidental Magazine, Winter 2018:

From the time Rob Cushman was announced as the Tigers' new coach on August 1 to opening kickoff 38 days later, the squad dipped in size from 56 to 47 players—20 of them freshmen.

From the Oxy press release:

Between returning players and first-year recruits, Cushman expects to have a roster of somewhere between 55 and 58 players.

What's changed? Between attrition and injuries, isn't Cushman going to be right back where he was last season?

OxyBob

[Pat Coleman]

He talks about it on our podcast, actually. Cushman starts at about the 44:00 mark.

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2018/04/20/atn-podcast-194-beating-the-odds/