VMI, Citadel to renew football rivalry

[Brodie07]

School size does not have anything to do with division classifcation. As it was explained to us and our DS, schools petition for the division that best matches with the committment the school, alumni and donors are willing to provide the athletic program. The various divisons have different requriements as to number of IC sports (male and female), scholarship options, facilities etc. In our limited look at schools that varied from D1 to D3each school matched is level of commitment to the right program. We saw several programs that were on a quest to petition to a higher division but none that were looking to drop down.

In a competitive school recruiting market (band, academic, athletic etc) sports serve to draw interest to a school. Like it or not IC athletics aid a school in recruiting more qualified students. For that reason I would not expect that the SMC's would look to drop down a division.

 

[pennak]

Finally heard from DS this morning and he said the bus trip from VMI to the Citadel game was cancelled for "lack of interest." Man, that's kind of sad!

A team with a losing record is in a tough spot, even among the true believers. You got to believe that if their record was 5-1 instead of 1-5, that bus would have been full.

 

[sprog]

A team with a losing record is in a tough spot, even among the true believers. You got to believe that if their record was 5-1 instead of 1-5, that bus would have been full.

Non-permit cadets at VMI, and I assume The Citadel (given the writings of Pat Conroy), are generally not enamored with the exploits of the NCAA teams. I think that might be why there was a lack of interest.

The jocks and the rest of the Corps have a relationship that is unique among colleges. Far from being overly supportive of the VMI teams, there is sometimes open resentment by non-athletes. It isn't justified by any stretch, but things like going to football games are sometimes seen as more of an obligation than anything else (except the Rats tend to enjoy it, as it's better than straining).

I think that alums tend to care about it more than the cadets do. I know that I appreciate the efforts of VMI's teams more as an alumnus who went to a big SEC school for my law degree. The kids at VMI are real students, and despite the moaning by some members of the Corps regarding a missed parade or two, they go through all the same BS as their non-permit colleagues. The football teams at the SEC schools are in a world all of their own. It's the minor leagues for the NFL, and while the university is behind them 100%, I can't accept that they actually represent the student body.

 

[Brodie07]

DS has spoken about the friction that can exist between athletes (or band)and the rest of the corp. I do understand it. as an SA grad I did not enjoy mandatory football games. I don't expect that current students enjoy mandatory games either or having to stand for the entire game like the knobs did for the Parents Weekend game (maybe they have to stand all the time?)

 

[jimzwife]

DS has spoken about the friction that can exist between athletes (or band)and the rest of the corp. I do understand it. as an SA grad I did not enjoy mandatory football games. I don't expect that current students enjoy mandatory games either or having to stand for the entire game like the knobs did for the Parents Weekend game (maybe they have to stand all the time?)

The knobs do stand for all of the games, except when they do pushups at touchdowns. My knob considers the games an obligation rather than enjoyment, as he does the parades. I think that the alumni get more excited about the games, because they don't have to stand in the sun on the visitors' side for three hours!

His roommate is part of the athletic corps. He is a great kid, and they get along beautifully, but my son has learned to accept that he is 100% responsible for things like the condition of the room at inspection, because his roommate is excused from inspections. He is awakened every morning at 5 when his roommate gets up, so that he can leave the barracks before sweep detail. He goes to the locker room and goes back to sleep and my son is just up. The corps have superior workout facilities, a lot more privileges, uninterrupted study every night, and tend to leave campus for little forays without actually signing out.

But, they are often resented and excluded by the rest of the students. My son feels fortunate to know such a nice group of boys and enjoys the time that he spends with them, and he feels for their, "outsider" status. I was surprised at Parents' Weekend to learn that President Rosa had never been anything other than a senior private, not because that's bad but just because he is obviously a born leader, but my son explained that in his opinion it would be nearly impossible for an athlete to rank (President Rosa was the quarterback) because of the demands on their time.

So, like so many things, it's all relative.

 

[honeybadger14]

A team with a losing record is in a tough spot, even among the true believers. You got to believe that if their record was 5-1 instead of 1-5, that bus would have been full.

Heck, I just signed up to go to Charleston, bring home a Citadel hat brass and exuberantly present it to my dad (who will most likely read this and burn me in a response) and exclaim, "Behold, the spoils of war!"

As for having football players in the room, I have one now and I had one last year. It's definitely a hit or miss, especially when some of them embody the oft-derogatory word "permit." The friction here, in my mind, stems from the fact that athletes miss parades, Cadre Training Time during mil duty, Rat Challenge, RDC Road Marches (if their sport was in-season at the time), and last year, ate at a later SRC which was widely viewed to be much more relaxed. I understand that they are still going at hard at practice, but it's still a much different experience IMO.