FCS Jacksonville University Discontinuing Football...

[huskymedic]

Whole bunch of available transfers...

Jacksonville University Discontinues Football - Jacksonville University

The University is offering full tuition scholarships to every football student-athlete who chooses to stay at Jacksonville University until graduation. The University

judolphins.com

>>After conducting a data-driven analysis, the University announced it will no longer play football and will discontinue its Division I program, effective immediately. The University has participated in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League since 1998.<<

>>"We took a comprehensive approach, examining how we invest across the entire department," said Ricker-Gilbert. "All options were on the table through this process and we made a commitment to hold off on any premature conclusions until we had a complete picture. Ultimately, one option stood out as the best path forward for Jacksonville Athletics as a whole. When you consider all that we commit to coaching, recruiting, advising, facilities, conditioning, nutrition, and academic counseling, it's clear the resources required to support our football program outweigh the benefits to the overall Athletics Department and the University."<<

 

[huskymedic]

 

[CCSUblue]

Jordan Todman was on that coaching staff. Hope he can get on somewhere else and continue his coaching career.

 

[huskymedic]

Jordan Todman was on that coaching staff. Hope he can get on somewhere else and continue his coaching career.

Yup...

Ian Shields	Head Coach
Tom Simi	Associate HC / OL
Alan Darlin	DC / LBs
Trent Steelman	OC /QBs / B-Backs
Steven Sylvester	RBs / STC
Jake Copeland	Safeties / Recruiting Coordinator
Wade Green	DL
Tony Carter	CBs
Denard Robinston	Offensive Analyst / ST
Jordan Todman	Defensive Analyst / ST
Rylan Wells	Graduate Assistant (WRs)
Griffin Garland	Graduate Assistant (OLBs)
Lofi Tamasese	Graduate Assistant (OL)
Andrew Bates	Head S&C

 

[CCSUblue]

Is that the Denard Robinson that never tied his shoes?

 

[Hogoff]

Is that the Denard Robinson that never tied his shoes?

Yes. It appears so.

 

[ktuck911]

Let the poaching begin...

Very young team too (just checked the roster)... Tough break for that program. a few those kids will probably still be able to play out the college careers elsewhere...

 

[noeynox]

FCS non scholarship? Leave no stone unturned i guess.

 

[CCSUblue]

They were 9-2 just a few seasons ago. Had some really good seasons.

 

[businesslawyer]

Is that the Denard Robinson that never tied his shoes?

The Denard Robinson who ran for like 190 yards against us in the first damn half? Man, I never needed to see that name again.

 

[GridironGR8]

21st Century Program. JU started playing football in 1998. A former "basketball school," Jacksonville was runner-up to John Wooden's UCLA team in the 1970 NCAA Tourney.

 

[businesslawyer]

21st Century Program. JU started playing football in 1998. A former "basketball school," Jacksonville was runner-up to John Wooden's UCLA team in the 1970 NCAA Tourney.

Artis Gilmore and reckless Rex Morgan.

 

[Wildgopher]

21st Century Program. JU started playing football in 1998. A former "basketball school," Jacksonville was runner-up to John Wooden's UCLA team in the 1970 NCAA Tourney.

I loved that team. Gilmore had quite the fro!

 

[CTMike]

I suppose we know where our OL isn’t transferring to...

 

[ktuck911]

The Denard Robinson who ran for like 190 yards against us in the first damn half? Man, I never needed to see that name again.

a potential coach to poach....

 

[Purple Stein]

They were 9-2 just a few seasons ago. Had some really good seasons.

At least I won't get them confused with Jacksonville State anymore.

 

[gioff2323]

A bad fcs team. Hard pass

 

[Jax Husky]

This is smart. They play almost all road games, and their home games are played in front of about 900 people in a stadium that makes Trinity's look like the Big House

 

[gioff2323]

For those advocating triple option, Jax ran it this year.

 

[DoctorWho85]

Jordan Todman was on that coaching staff. Hope he can get on somewhere else and continue his coaching career.

Bring him back home

 

[DoctorWho85]

For those advocating triple option, Jax ran it this year.

Don't get them started

 

[Redding Husky]

FCS non scholarship? Leave no stone unturned i guess.

Non-scholarship and FCS. My son considered going to Valparaiso in that conference, but he wanted a chance at a football scholarship so we had to look elsewhere.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

FCS football is a moneyloser. JU is doing a smart move...

 

[gioff2323]

FCS football is a moneyloser. JU is doing a smart move...

scary that it has come to this. This is going to end with the snake eating itself - only time before this happens to G5s.

 

[BlueDogs]

scary that it has come to this. This is going to end with the snake eating itself - only time before this happens to G5s.

Probably correct. The NCAA allowed itself to be bullied into moving away from seeking open, competitive parity in exchange for more $$ from the P5. I don’t see any solution, but it’s effects are slowly being felt with a continuing decline in attendance and viewership. What will be left as a viewer base are P5 alumni and media deals are going to start collapsing with the same 10 teams vying for a national title. It is unsustainable, uninteresting. The only counterforce I see at work is the portal is creating an aftermarket for banked P5 talent that is fueling G5 schools. The AAC (smart programs) are taking advantage of that.

 

[BlueDogs]

Bring him back home

To the “les miserables”

 

[ZooCougar]

I wonder what sort of ripple effects we will see outside of Jacksonville State’s concentric circles.

 

[ktuck911]

Anybody think Shields might be an option to take over the reigns of our offense as a TRUE OC? If not Rossomando,
Check out his resume. Looks like it kinda makes sense too:

Ian Shields - Head Coach - Football Coaches - Jacksonville University

Ian Shields enters his third season at the helm of the Jacksonville University football team in 2018.Tabbed as just the third head football coach in JU history in

judolphins.com

 

[kingdobbs]

scary that it has come to this. This is going to end with the snake eating itself - only time before this happens to G5s.

This is far from a new or notable trend in FCS football. There’s been a pretty steady trend line in the ending of football programs in what we would call Division I nowadays for basically decades.

In a nutshell, football is increasingly no longer the default “flagship sport” (ie the sport that drives the largest or most significant portion of its alumni, student, local and regional fan interest and financial support, and/or for which the school and its support base perceive the most prestige comes from) at many otherwise athletically-committed institutions. This starts to become the case essentially post WWII for a number of reasons: the NFL picking up steam, television as an important medium for exposure (which is a prime factor behind the beginning of a football arms race that continues to this day), basketball increasing in popularity, the Ivy League decision to go without scholarships (and thus making it more palatable for schools to also exit the burgeoning football arms race), and probably a few others.

It’s probably true that the arms race will start claiming some G5 casualties (other than Idaho dropping back to FCS) over the coming decades. But this is not some sudden thing that a lower tier FCS program (and a relatively young one at that) at a private school is pulling the plug on a football team that just isn’t capturing enough local interest to justify itself even at a non-scholarship level. That’s basically the story of BU and Evansville in 1997, or Hofstra and Northeastern in 2009. Or UVM, Wichita State, Xavier, St John’s, Providence, Seton Hall, Marquette, Denver, etc in decades prior.