Villanova looking for new athletic director

[GoldenWarrior11]

Or maybe he was truly the best guy for the job. i'm sure his skills translate beyond dealing with only football.

if you want to see ulterior motives, then the perhaps the question should be why would he apply for the job? did any other candidate have a similar football background? that might be more indicative of villanova's plans.

The best guy for the job, and the guy that got hired, has a wealth of experience, insight and knowledge into football. He comes from one of the top football schools in the country, has recommendations from Pete Carroll, Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Mike Garrett and Pat Haden, and has experience working for the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots. This move absolutely has football implications - to what extent is up for debate. It could mean A.) renovating their 12,500 seat stadium, B.) securing funds and building an on-campus stadium or C.) it could mean pumping even more resources into the program to get into the FBS (and possibly the P5).

Judging this guy's background, I would not be shocked at all if it was option B or C.

[Phillycat]

Or maybe he was truly the best guy for the job. i'm sure his skills translate beyond dealing with only football.

if you want to see ulterior motives, then the perhaps the question should be why would he apply for the job? did any other candidate have a similar football background? that might be more indicative of villanova's plans.

The best guy for the job, and the guy that got hired, has a wealth of experience, insight and knowledge into football. He comes from one of the top football schools in the country, has recommendations from Pete Carroll, Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Mike Garrett and Pat Haden, and has experience working for the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots. This move absolutely has football implications - to what extent is up for debate. It could mean A.) renovating their 12,500 seat stadium, B.) securing funds and building an on-campus stadium or C.) it could mean pumping even more resources into the program to get into the FBS (and possibly the P5).

Judging this guy's background, I would not be shocked at all if it was option B or C.

I'd relax the sky isn't falling yet. His experience in capital projects was the main attraction and his crown acheivement at nova will be getting the new arena done. However, he is very well connected and wouldn't be doing his job if he wasn't keeping up with realignment. It's no secret that Villanova applied to the ACC in 2011 and I wouldn't be surprised if he makes some phone calls in the future but I just don't see an invite ever happening. Some Villanova people think we're more important than we really are and think this is 100% realistic but to me I'd need to see some final fours, a national championship, nicer facilities and a 100% commitment to pour $$ into football before that league would even consider. As far as the stadium goes, something new and bigger will never get built due to limited space and politics. Interesting to note though that Temple will be getting a stadium in the near future and both PPl Park and Linc will be available to rent by the 2020's which would hypothetically give nova two stadium options for smaller and bigger games. Again don't think they're going anywhere but stadium options do exist.

[robinreed]

Having read this thread I believe I concur with both Golden Warrior and Stever that this hire would not have been made unless Villanova had plans to upgrade their football to FBS D-1A status. However putting those plans, whatever their details are, into action is not something that can be done in a year or two.

As to going to the ACC or another P5 conference I expect this is more dream than plan. However it may be possible for nova to upgrade to D-1A for football and join a G5 conference or attempt to conduct an independent program. Both however seem unlikely to be successful financially and both are likely to require access to at least a 30 to 40 K stadium which nova does not currently have.

This makes the hire even more perplexing. He is obviously much more qualified to conduct and build a D-1A football program than a major basketball program which nova already has. Beyond that nova's plans and aspirations appear fuzzy at best.

Perhaps someone here could speculate on how nova could achieve the goal of gaining D-1A membership. As to ACC membership look at the problems Cincinnati and UCONN are having gaining P5 membership. True Cincinnati has had an excellent football team and adequate basketball team for some years and UCONN is the reverse with poor football but exceptional basketball. Yet neither of these schools have come close to P5 membership to my knowledge.

The entire situation at nova is perplexing. Yet one must admit the probability of some significant future changes considering the AD hire.

[Vill]

Perhaps someone here could speculate on how nova could achieve the goal of gaining D-1A membership. As to ACC membership look at the problems Cincinnati and UCONN are having gaining P5 membership. True Cincinnati has had an excellent football team and adequate basketball team for some years and UCONN is the reverse with poor football but exceptional basketball. Yet neither of these schools have come close to P5 membership to my knowledge.

The entire situation at nova is perplexing. Yet one must admit the probability of some significant future changes considering the AD hire.

I cannot speculate nor do I think it is perplexing. Nova football has minimal support and we see what Temple football is at the next level. Why anyone thinks we have FBS plans is beyond me.

[ChestRockwell85]

Everybody, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE remember that Villanova was going to make the jump to play Big East football just a few years ago. They were ready to pull the trigger but a few schools blocked them, than the Big East split, and the rest is history. Villanova decided to put football on the backburner because they would rather be associated with the schools in the Big East than The American, but again, please remember that Villanova had a plan back then, and if the ACC does ever come calling, they will have a plan in place as well.