Scheduling News?

[AppFan11]

Actually Marshall is not booked out that far. They have an opening in 2016, 2017, and 2018. On another item I do see where Troy has a home/home with Boise St in'17 and "18. I would sure like to play them.

[Saint3333]

Great news. We had some scheduling head-scratchers for a while there, but now it seems App is adding the teams that make a ton of sense. I'll score this one a triple instead of a home run only because we have to wait so long; wish this could have filled our open spots a couple years earlier.

Arkon and Wyoming were the only home and homes that weren't exciting to learn about. But even those were better than any home and home we signed at the FCS level not named Montana and JMU.

[AppFan11]

For JT looks like ECU has slots for games available in'17, '18 and '19.

[EastHallApp]

Great news. We had some scheduling head-scratchers for a while there, but now it seems App is adding the teams that make a ton of sense. I'll score this one a triple instead of a home run only because we have to wait so long; wish this could have filled our open spots a couple years earlier.

Arkon and Wyoming were the only home and homes that weren't exciting to learn about. But even those were better than any home and home we signed at the FCS level not named Montana and JMU.

UMass.

[JTApps1]

Actually Marshall is not booked out that far. They have an opening in 2016, 2017, and 2018. On another item I do see where Troy has a home/home with Boise St in'17 and "18. I would sure like to play them.

Something must have changed because Im pretty sure they had some games lined up. Or maybe it was just some of their fans talking.

Ive noticed those ECU openings before. We need to fill those!

[Yosef84]

I'm at N. Myrtle Beach this week on vacation with my family. I talked a couple of times to a guy here at the resort who was wearing a Marshall T-shirt. Yesterday, he came over while we were at the pool and told me that we had just signed the home and home. I was pumped! He seemed genuinely happy to be renewing the rivalry. Of course, I had to logon as soon as I got back to the room and see what was posted here.

Regarding the Wyoming, Akron and UMass deals, I know these aren't "sexy" games, but I'm very happy to see them on our schedule. We owe Wyoming a little something for the egg we layed back in 2004, plus it is a chance for a win against another G5 team/conference....as is the Akron and UMass (well...not sure about the conference affiliation by then). These are very winnable G5 games which is exactly what we need to be getting on our schedule. Wake, Marshall, ODU, Southern Miss, and even Charlotte (hopefully they are more legit by the time we play) all have appeal for either history, name recognition, or location. Great job of scheduling by the athletic department!

[AppFan11]

Yes yosef'84 you are right in the scheduling philosophy that our athletic dept has taken. It was all about scheduling "drivable" games for the fan base as well as scheduling D-1 games (which seems so ancient to say ... now replaced by G5).so yes they have done a very nice job. However, now I want us to schedule the top G5 teams regardless where they are. The reason being I want us to get in the Access Bowl slot ... our new "Championship."

[JTApps1]

I don't understand people complaining about Wyoming, Akron, or even UMass. We don't want to schedule multiple P5 schools a year so that we can always have 6 home games. The only options are work with the G5 teams that will work with you, or schedule FCS teams each year. I don't have an issue with FCS teams, but if we can get a G5 to come to Boone why not sign them? We have a little bit of history with Wyoming and UMass so they aren't that bad. Akron is usually a solid team that should give us an entertaining game to watch.

Fans also have to keep in mind that we had just moved up when we scheduled those 3 series. I think we will continue to get better games as we grow into FBS. Just look at the last 2 H&H's we've signed after just 1 season in FBS. At the end of the day they are all better than what we'd have in the SoCon.

[Saint3333]

Great news. We had some scheduling head-scratchers for a while there, but now it seems App is adding the teams that make a ton of sense. I'll score this one a triple instead of a home run only because we have to wait so long; wish this could have filled our open spots a couple years earlier.

Arkon and Wyoming were the only home and homes that weren't exciting to learn about. But even those were better than any home and home we signed at the FCS level not named Montana and JMU.

UMass.

You mean a program we would have killed to sign a home and home with at the FCS level. That also means a short trip to Boston for fans that travel to games. UMass is a good home and home deal.

[clemmonsapp]

I'm with you '84. I think this year's home schedule is awesome. Perhaps I am the only one, but I am pumped to have Wyoming at home. They are not a national powerhouse - but they are the state school and are very recognizable. The Thursday night games will be wild. Our students will represent at those games. Lest we forget, we also have the top three teams in the conference at the Rock - two who will want revenge for last year and one that we owe a little something to!

I took the bus trip to Marsha when Scott Satterfield ended their winning streak and broke the Herd's heart. If my memory is good (and it is getting weaker) we were the only visitor with a winning record in their newly renovated stadium. There was some real fire in that rivalry.

Sure we need some bigger names coming to Boone, but other than Howard every team on our schedule is a bigger game than Eloan.

[roachgone]

Really don't think a home and home with ECU is possible until we can have at least 30,000 actual seats and be able to cram 38,000 to 40,000 inside on the banks etc. That is my dream game in Boone but WF and Marshall ain't bad and those are gonna be fun times. Can't imagine anyone still wishing we were still FCS. We are finally becoming what we could have done 20 years ago. Glad I'm getting to see it!

[ASUMountaineer]

So, if all things remain equal, we'll host The Thundering Turd and The Stink in 2021. Forget "Rivalry Saturday" this will be "Rivalry Season."

[EastHallApp]

Great news. We had some scheduling head-scratchers for a while there, but now it seems App is adding the teams that make a ton of sense. I'll score this one a triple instead of a home run only because we have to wait so long; wish this could have filled our open spots a couple years earlier.

Arkon and Wyoming were the only home and homes that weren't exciting to learn about. But even those were better than any home and home we signed at the FCS level not named Montana and JMU.

UMass.

You mean a program we would have killed to sign a home and home with at the FCS level. That also means a short trip to Boston for fans that travel to games. UMass is a good home and home deal.

In FCS they were a national power. In FBS they are one of the worst programs in the country - so bad they can't even find a conference who will have them - in an area we don't recruit. And even if you do fly to the game, it's still a 2-hour drive from Boston.

If that excites you, great. I'm just glad we're adding some teams now that check a box other than "they're better than most FCS teams."

[EastHallApp]

I don't understand people complaining about Wyoming, Akron, or even UMass. We don't want to schedule multiple P5 schools a year so that we can always have 6 home games. The only options are work with the G5 teams that will work with you, or schedule FCS teams each year. I don't have an issue with FCS teams, but if we can get a G5 to come to Boone why not sign them? We have a little bit of history with Wyoming and UMass so they aren't that bad. Akron is usually a solid team that should give us an entertaining game to watch.

Fans also have to keep in mind that we had just moved up when we scheduled those 3 series. I think we will continue to get better games as we grow into FBS. Just look at the last 2 H&H's we've signed after just 1 season in FBS. At the end of the day they are all better than what we'd have in the SoCon.

You are right in your second paragraph, and that's actually the point I was making - that scheduling is improving markedly with the last few announcements.

Wyoming, UMass and Akron bring very little to the table in terms of recruiting exposure, TV appeal, driveability, program recognition, etc. If others find those games to be exciting matchups, that's fine. But there's little question that home-and-homes with Marshall, Wake and Charlotte (though I know some would disagree on the latter) are much more appealing for various reasons.

[bigdaddyg]

I know this topic has been talked about (quite a bit) but what would it reasonably cost to get seating up to 35K? I have been to several games where the announced seating was over 30K and for the life of me I could not figure out where the added 8-9k of butts were sitting. At any rate, IMO in order to get an ECU to play a home and home we would almost have to get seating to at least 35K. They would easily bring 10-15K in fans to Boone. That being said, Alabama did play in Wallace Wade a few years ago so I guess anything could happen.

[BUTCH1991]

I'm with you '84. I think this year's home schedule is awesome. Perhaps I am the only one, but I am pumped to have Wyoming at home. They are not a national powerhouse - but they are the state school and are very recognizable. The Thursday night games will be wild. Our students will represent at those games. Lest we forget, we also have the top three teams in the conference at the Rock - two who will want revenge for last year and one that we owe a little something to!

I'm with you. Looking forward to the Wyoming game.

[Herd 90]

Very pleased to see ASU move to the Sunbelt and even more pleased to see us play again!

[Herd 90]

Definitely pumped about ASU and MU playing on the gridiron again! ASU is my favorite school in NC. Congrats on the move up!

[Saint3333]

Great news. We had some scheduling head-scratchers for a while there, but now it seems App is adding the teams that make a ton of sense. I'll score this one a triple instead of a home run only because we have to wait so long; wish this could have filled our open spots a couple years earlier.

Arkon and Wyoming were the only home and homes that weren't exciting to learn about. But even those were better than any home and home we signed at the FCS level not named Montana and JMU.

UMass.

You mean a program we would have killed to sign a home and home with at the FCS level. That also means a short trip to Boston for fans that travel to games. UMass is a good home and home deal.

In FCS they were a national power. In FBS they are one of the worst programs in the country - so bad they can't even find a conference who will have them - in an area we don't recruit. And even if you do fly to the game, it's still a 2-hour drive from Boston.

If that excites you, great. I'm just glad we're adding some teams now that check a box other than "they're better than most FCS teams."

So much bitterness.

[EastHallApp]

So much bitterness.

Bitterness over what? Think you might be misinterpreting something here.