Ask the AD...excellent

Just got done listening to the Ask the AD episode. It is now recorded with Dave Horger and this particular episode is very compelling.

We are in tough times, and I commend Greg Christopher for doing this. He is matter of fact, rational, and I believe honest. I would recommend any Falcon fan take a listen to this audio. As fans, we can't expect the institution to live in the past. We have to adjust to the reality of today and the coming years in Ohio.

He alludes to one of my favorite sayings.....sometimes you have to choose the best of all bad options. No one ever guaranteed you that all your choices would be good.

That said, here are some of the highlights.

First, budget issues are affecting all sports. For example, football scheduling is a popular topic. We have not been playing guarantee games (where we go to, for example, Oklahoma, for a big pot of money), which is better for the team and opens up a chance for six home games. Under the new reality, we may not see six home games beyond this season. We will probably have to begin getting guarantee games again, and, our other non-conference games will be increasingly by bus.

Same for basketball. More guarantee games, fewer home games, fewer airplanes.

He also dispelled a few myths:

The "extra" money from Building Dreams is earmarked and cannot be applied to hockey.
"Treading water" until the economy improves is not an option because our budget is driven by enrollment, and the population trend in Ohio shows that we are entering a trough in student enrollment.

Also, we are considering "tiering" where you technically have 18 sports, but only 6 (for example) are truly designed to be competitive D1 sports.

On non-budget issues, he had some interesting things to say as well.

The first is about football scheduling and that 5:30 game that has the nation clenching its jaw. Essentially, ESPN names that time. I have been critical of our ESPN package in the past because we are increasingly shown on the low-exposure networks (and exposure was supposed to be the goal) and exposure hasn't made football better and it hurts our relationship with our home fans.

One thing, though, is that the ESPN package now brings revenue. Before, we were essentially producing TV shows for ESPN for free. Now, at least, for our 5:30 start, there is a revenue stream, and we need that pretty badly (see above).

Next, related to Boise State, he went through the whole convulted story of how that ended up being scheduled. The real nugget though was that Christopher said that Coach Clawson feels we are best equipped to play Boise this season because the classes coming behind this year's seniors are pretty thin. We have had some problems with those classes in terms of retention. Anyway, I will try to take a look at that in the future and see where that might be coming from, but it is pretty interesting and revealing to have it stated in a public forum. No one looks forward to struggling for two seasons.

Again, listen on your own. You may not like what he has done, but I do believe that the leadership is being transparent and honest in discussing what are very trying times for everyone, including our athletic program.