Interesting article about SJSU football

[NT80]

Posted on Mon, Feb. 20, 2006

Setting the stage for a turnaround in SJSU football

UNIVERSITY SEEMS INTENT ON BUILDING A WINNING TEAM

Mercury News Editorial

The current motto on the San Jose State University athletic Web site proclaims: ``It's a new day in San Jose.''

At long last there may be a truly new day for the Spartans and their fans, who have endured nine losing football seasons in the past 10 years while compiling a dismal 38-77 record.

San Jose State University President Don Kassing said Thursday that Spartan Shops will no longer control Spartan Stadium and that the athletic department will oversee the facility. That is welcome news. The move opens the door not only to needed improvements in the university's athletic department, but also to future cooperative ventures between the university and the city of San Jose.

Kassing's commitment to building a competitive Division I athletic program is becoming increasingly obvious. Since he became interim president of the university in 2004 and then president in May, he has:

• Hired a new athletic director, Tom Bowen, with a proven track record in fundraising.

• Hired a football coach, Dick Tomey, with a proven track record in turning programs around.

• Given control of Spartan Stadium to the athletic department, meaning it will receive the revenues generated from parking, concessions and marketing efforts, which could prove to be lucrative if the team becomes more successful and draws larger crowds.

• Proclaimed Louisville and Cincinnati as role models of regional universities with successful Division I athletic programs that he wants the university to emulate.

Now that Kassing has made the commitment, it's put-up-or-shut-up time for the football program, which is running out of excuses for five consecutive losing seasons and lackluster attendance for decades. For years, many have questioned -- with good reason -- whether the university should even continue to play at the Division I level. Last year the team averaged just over 12,000 fans per game, putting it near the bottom for average attendance by any of the 123 Division I universities.

Kassing's move to put the stadium under control of the athletic department also opens the door to the possibility of any number of options concerning development of the university's athletic facilities and its south campus. Spartan Shops, a non-profit auxiliary corporation formed by SJSU, runs the food service and bookstore operations on campus. San Jose State has been the only school in its conference that did not have its athletic department controlling its stadium. Bowen argues that diminishes the game-day experience for most fans and hinders fundraising.

Kassing said he also is encouraging the city to ``think big'' about working with the university to create a more vibrant campus and downtown connection. He wants to continue to significantly increase the percentage of students living on campus -- eventually to 6,000, or 20 percent of the university's students -- which will create an obvious need for additional facilities.

He has also said he would be receptive to looking at new proposals to help bring a Major League Soccer franchise back to San Jose. An upgraded Spartan Stadium could be the only way to make professional soccer work in the South Bay.

A more vibrant campus with an array of activities, including a winning football team? Those are difficult challenges that will require deft maneuvering in the years to come. The Spartans have one additional reason for hope -- CollegeFootballNews.com recently named Tomey's recruiting class of 2006 the best of any school in the Western Athletic Conference, including Fresno State. Time will prove whether it's a new day, indeed, at San Jose State University.

[UNTLifer]

Wonder if Don Kassing would be interested in the position Pohl is vacating?

[DallasGreen]

Wonder if Don Kassing would be interested in the position Pohl is vacating?

←

Definitely NOT the type President that would meet with LJ's approval- can you say bueracrat without thinking of LJ?

[GreenBat]

Definitely NOT the type President that would meet with LJ's approval- can you say bueracrat without thinking of LJ?

←

When I think of LJ, bureaucrat is not the first thing that comes to my mind.