(02-20-2015 08:18 AM)BleedingPurple Wrote: This is the type of thing that has so many conferences scratching their head about LU. It certainly gives the appearance that Liberty would prefer to have the Phoenix University as a peer rather than Appalachian State. We all know it takes a lot of money to run a university, but it cannot be about the money, it has to be about a student's education.
I'll be perfectly honest with you, as much as I wanted to have a home game in the first round of the playoffs, I do not believe JMU acted responsible in bidding over $200k. I only ask for us to be competitive in all that we do, and if that means losing a reasonable bid then so be it. In 2012, we were not responsible when we bid less than $50k. We know how much it cost to put on an event and there is nothing wrong with saying something is too rich for my blood. Certainly, a school stands to make significant gains in exposure by being the host, and I don't mind tossing some money into the bid and considering it marketing.
Its the same as on the gridiron, sure, its fun to win, but for me its about competing and being competitive, that game was set to be just that, whether in Lynchburg or Harrisonburg. What message did this bid send to our young students, "if you have enough money, you can buy anything." You know as well as I, this is far from the truth. I encourage Liberty to resist the temptation of the dollar.
BP, as a LU fan, not affiliated with the university, church or high school, or having never attended any event at LU except athletic events, I also am scratching my head with this one. One would thought that they could have waited for this decision after they got an FBS invite. When former Bob McDonald was hired as a professor, after having felony charges filed against him, and with all his and his wife's baggage, many also wondered what was the wisdom and logic associated with this move.
It's decisions like this, which fortunately have been fewer in the recent past, that creates a situation, to justifiably to poke fun at LU. All any LU fan has to do is go to any board and make a post, and the satirical comments come about the online presence of LU. With administration educators in my family for Radford University, they envy the online presence of LU. It is a very progressive way for higher education, whether it is liked or not, to evolve in the future. The management of online education is another matter.
In the 30+years that I have supported LU athletics, I have forgiven them for the many short sighted blunders on positions on gay rights, 911, Bob McDonald hiring, and Staver as LU Law Dean and more. I've been able to justify the forgiveness by statements and changes made by the university. It's timing mistakes like this that really makes one wonder if LU, at times is it's own worst enemy. Those that drink the LU cool aid will accept without questioning what the school is doing.
Those who support the athletics of the university that don't endorse or participate in the non-athletic activities have to wonder what is going on. We can expect the Phoenix, DeVery, Kaplan jokes to accelerate. In a twist of irony, here's an article listing the 30 best online colleges,
http://www.thebestschools.org/rankings/3...eges-2014/ from a Harvard professor from Texas. Penn State, Florida, Boston College, Drexel and Liberty are listed. Talk about online mismanagement. Go figure.