Home and Home Set with UCONN

[bluehens2005]

NOT ashamed of our fcs history at all.

Just seen too many fans use an "FCS past" as a "slight" or "put-down".

This change will be a fresh start for UD. Enjoy it! Embrace it!

Talking about leaving CUSA--way too premature IMO.

Rumors flying that W Kentucky is headed to the MAC as the 14th team

Talking about leaving CUSA--way too premature IMO.

This change will be a fresh start for WKU, Enjoy it! Embrace it!

Darn WKU was one of the programs I was looking forward to playing, that would even out the conference by subtraction, but not a great thing! Was really hoping for an Eastern School, too bad about UMASS. Any reason the MAC wanted them and not us? Honest question as some have said that CUSA was our only option!

[Caribbean Hen]

This is also another potential twist, and why we could not get certain schools to come here even on two for one because their conference won’t even allow it.

Why does it feel like G5 (whatever that is) is being treated like the old 1-AA ?

Just look at your new back to the Future Conference … that’s probably a big part of it

Louisiana Tech
Jacksonville St
Sam Houston St
Liberty
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee State
Florida International

FCS/1AA super conference

Hopefully we get rescued from the lifeboat quickly and get into something else like east coast conference many on here have alluded to……. And dominate it

Yes, can you imagine if we stayed in CAA/ FCS? Treated like Div. 2
This regional east coast conference dream persists. The only remaining true regional FBS conference is the MAC.

I actually can. Imagine we were eligible for the playoffs in 2024

I had no problem hanging out with the unwashed masses of FCS for a few more years

Ryan Carty got us into the playoffs twice and I wanted to see if he could get the team up to a JMU like level, maybe 3 more years of continued improvement might have done it. Carty talked about championships! What’s he going to talk about now? (I would hope some DL) And if we were JMU good, that would have given us a chance to knock off the real powers of FCS. We had a ways to go yet but one more championship was my dream.

I also realized it was time to go and the move had to be made, I figured Delaware would be in FCS for several more years. I was obviously wrong about that. The move seemed rushed to me but I guess it was an offer that couldn’t be refused.

We have a few on here that act like dissenting views have to be erased, eradicated, crushed and tossed down the basement and removed from history …. Dead and buried….reminds me of Vladimir Putin type tactics

[Bluewyn Gold]

I'm not sure how you'd call an obvious decision more than 20 years in the making "rushed", but I understand how it could seem that way if you choose to narrow your perspective to the last year or two or weren't aware of what was happening behind the scenes. UD has been speaking with CUSA about possible membership since at least 2010, if earlier media reports were accurate.

Assanis & Rewak obviously didn't think continuing to wait for just the right opportunity to reclassify could continue to be a viable approach, especially with attendance and interest in UD athletics declining so badly. I think critics of the move underestimate how dire the situation with the Coastal and FCS had become for UD.

It's not that the offer was any better from CUSA was any better than it would have been 10 years ago. In fact, reclassification came with a $5M price tag. As you suggested: "the move had to be made". All of the signs were clear as day to anyone paying attention.

[jd of de]

The FBS outreach began under EZ, as did the upgrades we were going to need to make a move. Full funding of scholarships, conversion of the field house and the beer garden, etc. His road block was Harker, who wanted to stay aligned with UNH, URI and W&M.

Things got more serious when the BOT leadership changed, Assanis was hired and Chrissi. The athletic department staffed up to move up, salaries began to be more competitive, the Whitney and everything that has been happening the past 8 years was building to this move.

It was the where that was not known until recently Hardly a knee jerk reaction.

[Cluck U]

Ahhhh…a Z-Daddy reference…the clown who fired Keeler and then did his exhausting 5-minute search for a replacement that brought us the first of the disastrous Brocco twins.

Helluva thing…to start us looking toward our road to FBS by first trashing our football program and dragging us into the Lost Decade of Delaware Football.

Good times, good times.

Say, did anyone bother to check if the search firm that landed us Z-Daddy had a money back guarantee?

[Caribbean Hen]

I'm not sure how you'd call an obvious decision more than 20 years in the making "rushed", but I understand how it could seem that way if you choose to narrow your perspective to the last year or two or weren't aware of what was happening behind the scenes. UD has been speaking with CUSA about possible membership since at least 2010, if earlier media reports were accurate.

Assanis & Rewak obviously didn't think continuing to wait for just the right opportunity to reclassify could continue to be a viable approach, especially with attendance and interest in UD athletics declining so badly. I think critics of the move underestimate how dire the situation with the Coastal and FCS had become for UD.

It's not that the offer was any better from CUSA was any better than it would have been 10 years ago. In fact, reclassification came with a $5M price tag. As you suggested: "the move had to be made". All of the signs were clear as day to anyone paying attention.

Well I’ll compare it to like a kid on glorious summer vacation, you know somewhere in the back of your mind that Labor Day weekend is approaching way to fast but it’s only August 1st, you still have lots of time before that school bell rings, only this year Mom starts hinting early it’s time to go to the Blue hen mall for back to school shopping… C’mon mom isn’t to early for that…. No I’m sorry little Johnny, you’re changing schools and it starts tomorrow… time for bed…

[Udforever1]

Ahhhh…a Z-Daddy reference…the clown who fired Keeler and then did his exhausting 5-minute search for a replacement that brought us the first of the disastrous Brocco twins.

Helluva thing…to start us looking toward our road to FBS by first trashing our football program and dragging us into the Lost Decade of Delaware Football.

Good times, good times.

Say, did anyone bother to check if the search firm that landed us Z-Daddy had a money back guarantee?

Ziady flat out sucked and had the personality of a pillow. If I had to list a top 10 moments in UD history, him resigning would be one. So glad we upgraded at the AD position.

[jd of de]

Ahhhh…a Z-Daddy reference…the clown who fired Keeler and then did his exhausting 5-minute search for a replacement that brought us the first of the disastrous Brocco twins.

Helluva thing…to start us looking toward our road to FBS by first trashing our football program and dragging us into the Lost Decade of Delaware Football.

Good times, good times.

Say, did anyone bother to check if the search firm that landed us Z-Daddy had a money back guarantee?

Ziady flat out sucked and had the personality of a pillow. If I had to list a top 10 moments in UD history, him resigning would be one. So glad we upgraded at the AD position.

Yeah we got a huge upgrade at all three important positions; BOT Prez, UD Prez and AD. It must sux to thank EZ every time you have a beer in the stadium The board was NOT happy when they learn that fall that we had a beer garden that EZ had snuck by them

And two people are responsible for Keelers firing; KC himself and Harker. EZ just delivered the telegram.

[Udforever1]

Ahhhh…a Z-Daddy reference…the clown who fired Keeler and then did his exhausting 5-minute search for a replacement that brought us the first of the disastrous Brocco twins.

Helluva thing…to start us looking toward our road to FBS by first trashing our football program and dragging us into the Lost Decade of Delaware Football.

Good times, good times.

Say, did anyone bother to check if the search firm that landed us Z-Daddy had a money back guarantee?

Ziady flat out sucked and had the personality of a pillow. If I had to list a top 10 moments in UD history, him resigning would be one. So glad we upgraded at the AD position.

Yeah we got a huge upgrade at all three important positions; BOT Prez, UD Prez and AD. It must sux to thank EZ every time you have a beer in the stadium The board was NOT happy when they learn that fall that we had a beer garden that EZ had snuck by him.

And two people are responsible for Keelers firing; KC himself and Harker. EZ just delivered the telegram.

If Ziady’s main accomplishment is helping to get a beer garden, then that’s all that needs to be said.

I wasn’t a huge Monte fan, but there has always been a small amount of sympathy on my end for having to deal with him.

But I do agree that the BOT changing helped a ton.

[jd of de]

Ziady flat out sucked and had the personality of a pillow. If I had to list a top 10 moments in UD history, him resigning would be one. So glad we upgraded at the AD position.

Yeah we got a huge upgrade at all three important positions; BOT Prez, UD Prez and AD. It must sux to thank EZ every time you have a beer in the stadium The board was NOT happy when they learn that fall that we had a beer garden that EZ had snuck by him.

And two people are responsible for Keelers firing; KC himself and Harker. EZ just delivered the telegram.

Stop. You may be the only person to defend Ziady. If Ziady’s main accomplishment is helping to get a beer garden, then that’s all that needs to be said.

Nope. I the only one will to say what really happened. He got more wrong than right. You guys just can’t admit the few things he got right. In my world facts matter. Here not so much.

[Udforever1]

Yeah we got a huge upgrade at all three important positions; BOT Prez, UD Prez and AD. It must sux to thank EZ every time you have a beer in the stadium The board was NOT happy when they learn that fall that we had a beer garden that EZ had snuck by him.

And two people are responsible for Keelers firing; KC himself and Harker. EZ just delivered the telegram.

Stop. You may be the only person to defend Ziady. If Ziady’s main accomplishment is helping to get a beer garden, then that’s all that needs to be said.

Nope. I the only one will to say what really happened. He got more wrong than right. You guys just can’t admit the few things he got right. In my world facts matter. Here not so much.

You’re not the only “insider” here, JD. I’ll just leave it at that.

[Bluewyn Gold]

Hard to blame Ziady for everything that went sideways during the Harker years. Let's not go overboard in the other direction, however; he proved NOT to be a very effective AD by any reasonable measure. Not everybody can be; no harm in that. It's a very challenging job.

Historically, the ADs at UD have not had as much influence DIRECTING athletics as you'd typically see at a BCS school. They were largely ADMINISTRATORS of the AD, with the Student Life and Athletics Committee actually providing the direction. This covers the tenure of Nelson and Edgar, for sure. During Bernard's and Ziady's tenure, there seems to have been a swing more towards the CEO having more influence than the trustees. That definitely seems to be the case now.

I'd appreciate the insights of others who might now be closer to the program.

[Caribbean Hen]

Ahhhh…a Z-Daddy reference…the clown who fired Keeler and then did his exhausting 5-minute search for a replacement that brought us the first of the disastrous Brocco twins.

Helluva thing…to start us looking toward our road to FBS by first trashing our football program and dragging us into the Lost Decade of Delaware Football.

Good times, good times.

Say, did anyone bother to check if the search firm that landed us Z-Daddy had a money back guarantee?

Ziady flat out sucked and had the personality of a pillow. If I had to list a top 10 moments in UD history, him resigning would be one. So glad we upgraded at the AD position.

He really did stink and I could smell him from the Caribbean

My question was always who was responsible for hiring this guy

[Udforever1]

Hard to blame Ziady for everything that went sideways during the Harker years. Historically, the ADs at UD have not had as much influence DIRECTING athletics as you'd typically see at a BCS school. They were largely ADMINISTRATORS of the AD, with the Student Life and Athletics Committee actually providing the direction. This covers the tenure of Nelson and Edgar, for sure. During Bernard's and Ziady's tenure, there seems to have been a swing more towards the CEO having more influence than the trustees. That definitely seems to be the case now.

I'd appreciate the insights of others who might now be closer to the program.

The good news is that everything and everyone is aligned now for athletic success. While Tenn Hen may think the quote started with him, Assanis was actually the one who said that athletics are the front porch to a University.

I don’t blame Ziady for everything. Harker much worse. But Ziady didn’t help.

[Hens79]

Hard to blame Ziady for everything that went sideways during the Harker years. Historically, the ADs at UD have not had as much influence DIRECTING athletics as you'd typically see at a BCS school. They were largely ADMINISTRATORS of the AD, with the Student Life and Athletics Committee actually providing the direction. This covers the tenure of Nelson and Edgar, for sure. During Bernard's and Ziady's tenure, there seems to have been a swing more towards the CEO having more influence than the trustees. That definitely seems to be the case now.

I'd appreciate the insights of others who might now be closer to the program.

The good news is that everything and everyone is aligned now for athletic success. While Tenn Hen may think the quote started with him, Assanis was actually the one who said that athletics are the front porch to a University.

I don’t blame Ziady for everything. Harker much worse. But Ziady didn’t help.

Yep. But hope UD doesn’t stumble now with crying poor.

And I don’t blame EZ for everything either. But he was a stiff and an order taker with no vision just like EJ.

And is someone really going back and trying to justify perhaps the worst firing in UD history?