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Post by phoenixfc on Jun 20, 2014 12:19:19 GMT -5
White may have hired Hamilton, but I heard "thru the grapevine" that his arm was twisted by Lambert to do so...could be erroneous information, of course, but word had it that the decision was not White's. Regardless...if Hamilton had not been so determined to play his son, which showed horrible judgement on his part, maybe he would not have been so bad. It seemed to become a contest for him to prove to the fans/alumni that he was coach and would play who he wanted to play...and I think he really became so focused on that, that he failed at all other aspects of the job.
As for Matheny - I agree he is an asset to Elon. Last season was disappointing, but that sometimes happens when expectations are too great beforehand - when players believe the hype, maybe it gets too much into their heads. He has brought in superb young men as well as athletes.
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Post by elon78 on Jun 21, 2014 9:21:22 GMT -5
Matheny has done a wonderful job at Elon.....yes last year did not meet expectations but when lately have we been in a position to have those expectations. He has brought the program to a new level and will do fine in the CAA. As for Blank....he will never have the personality and people skills of White but he does seem to be competent administrator and his hiring record is no better or worse than others.....there are always hits and misses and every AD has those (even the great ones). He did whiff on the biggest hire he has had so far (football) and hopefully his second football hire will turn out better. I have hope. The rest of the athletic dept has done well and will be competitive in the CAA. It will be interesting to see how football goes this year with Rich at the helm. Go Phoenix.
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Post by elonpride on Jun 23, 2014 16:08:36 GMT -5
Man, I haven't posted here for a while. Glad to see there is discussion.
Most folks in the CAA have been very welcoming. As to the question at hand, I personally like the move to the CAA....Though I'm going to miss the school being affiliated with Furman, Davidson, App (yes I said App) and GSU (good luck to GSU and APP on their move up BTW). I do, though, share fc4life's opinion about it possibly being a disaster in the short term. I just don't see us winning too many games in the interim. But in my opinion, that's ok. The CAA is a step up in several categories at the moment, and improved competition, with an improved staff, will work out in the long term.
And for those that say the jury is still out on Matheny, I beg to differ. This year was disappointing as others stated, but think of where the program was when he arrived. The expectations have certainly increased. This recruiting class coming in also looks great. There are probably a couple guys in there who will contribute immediately, and I look forward to seeing them progress in Matheny's system.
Glad to see something conversation about the subject, and I look forward to reading the board again.
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Post by whoanellie on Jun 24, 2014 11:54:01 GMT -5
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Post by phoenix2008 on Jun 25, 2014 15:20:22 GMT -5
Anyone think Elon could make some type of splash in CAA Football this season,(I'm talking winning 4 or more games in conference)? Here are 5 reasons I think we might be able to make some noise: 1. Last year we were a pathetic 2-10, BUT we lost some very tight ball games (only 5 points total to #12 Wofford and #23 Samford - both games we SHOULD have won - only watch this replay of the Wofford game if you want to feel sick to your stomach: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRvQiFTRNRY&list=PLQH-nThKaTB1LPKn2zqaupaLK9Ukphv5l&index=7) We also lost to Western in overtime (granted it was Western), but if we win two of those three then we are sitting at a somewhat respectable 4-8 - if we win all three then we are 5-7 and feeling perhaps optimistic about this young team that is returning most of it's core group heading into the CAA 2. Again, last year we were a pathetic 2-10, does anyone really think a big bad CAA program is going to be worried about facing the new guy on the block with that type of record on our backs? Should help us sneak up on a team or two and maybe steal a couple wins. 3. How many games were lost from the sideline last year? I know one for sure (Wofford) 4 straight runs up the middle at 1st and goal from the 5 cost us the win. Skrosky will not be as conservative a play caller as Swepson. Also we can't forget how many games we were winning or tied at halftime last year and then put up ZERO second half points. That is attributed to in-game adjustments, period. The talent on the field didn't change, the other coaches made adjustments and Swepson didn't, results spoke for themselves. 4. The above second half meltdowns might also point to depth issues, Swepson recruited depth and size last season, will that start to pay off this year? I hope so. 5. We have an experienced QB in Mike Quinn, picked as a pre-season watch list honoree(http://caafootball.wordpress.com/2014/06/11/five-caafb-signal-callers-picked-on-preseason-watch-list/) A nice honor, but what is more important is Mike (if he is our starter), takes care of the ball and should keep our defense out of short field situations. He is also an accurate passer. Agree? Disagree? Someone say something to fill this void until football starts! Go Phoenix!
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Post by whoanellie on Jun 25, 2014 17:47:18 GMT -5
I want to start a new thread that shows our position strength and experience per position groups with-in our recruiting classes the last 4 years. give me some time as it seems the roster has stabilized ...but if your ready go for it I'll respond
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Post by fc4life on Jun 25, 2014 19:23:31 GMT -5
We will be lucky to win four games overall. I am thinking 2-10 on the year.
I love the hire. however, we are not going to be good.
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Post by whoanellie on Jun 25, 2014 20:52:54 GMT -5
We will be lucky to win four games overall. I am thinking 2-10 on the year. I love the hire. however, we are not going to be good. Let's be real We are an underdog in almost every game. I for one believe We should use that as motivation no doubt We have players with experience in key positions but not We have a lot of untested talent which is the big "X" factor let's stay and keep positive.
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Post by elon14 on Jun 26, 2014 10:33:25 GMT -5
As a recent graduate (as the user name suggests) I can say that the students and players love Matheny. I hope that he'll be sticking around for a while. The change in the program from my freshman year to now has been amazing. I'm sure our record will take a hit this year, but I think he is building a program (and not just a team, but the support for a team) that can be competitive for years to come.
In terms of the CAA move, I initially was very skeptical, but now think that I like the move. From a student's perspective, a minority even really understood what the change meant for the school. Living in the mid-Atlantic area, this should enable me to go to more road games than if we were playing farther South - guess that was the administration's goal.
I personally think the biggest impact will not initially come just from an athletics standpoint. If the Alumni office can leverage these new games into events - i.e. alumni group outings before games in DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, New York - you can build a bigger and better alumni network. People like sports, they like booze, and they miss Elon. Of course this will allow for networking, new contacts, more donations, etc., but also should grow support for the athletics program. People should be more than willing to take one or two days a year to go to a tailgate/dinner and a game, so we could be able to grow a nice sized Elon fan base in the footprint of the CAA pretty quickly.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2014 16:16:55 GMT -5
I personally think the biggest impact will not initially come just from an athletics standpoint. If the Alumni office can leverage these new games into events - i.e. alumni group outings before games in DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, New York - you can build a bigger and better alumni network. People like sports, they like booze, and they miss Elon. Of course this will allow for networking, new contacts, more donations, etc., but also should grow support for the athletics program. People should be more than willing to take one or two days a year to go to a tailgate/dinner and a game, so we could be able to grow a nice sized Elon fan base in the footprint of the CAA pretty quickly. This.
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Post by whoanellie on Jun 26, 2014 18:24:05 GMT -5
Of course this has been the model of Elon's Alumni Engagement for years. Now the second and third generations of Fighting Christian Alums in former far-away places. Playing ACC & SEC school's also gets Elon to organize Phoenix Club Outings. The sad truth is so so many Elon Phans just do not get it. They take the great winning years for granted and totally tune out losing periods. We Elon Phans need to be known as taking a following to events. Win/Lose they are fun.
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Post by whoanellie on Jun 30, 2014 13:40:02 GMT -5
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