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Poor Portland State

Ut-Grizfan said:
Unpopular opinion perhaps, but maybe PSU should consider dropping Football entirely (as D2 travel would be worse). They have 0 fan support, 0 facilities, 0 school support etc. I don't like any school losing the sport but maybe this would be a mercy, I know they and EWU have been struggling but at least the Eagles have a history of being good at times.
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At EWU we at least had a fair-weather region that would go out and attend games when we were doing well. Even as abysmal as we are now, fan support is still much better than it was in the early 2000's. For what it's worth, Portland State has had 9 winning seasons (assuming AI can be trusted; I'm too drunk to verify) in the nearly 30 years they've been in FCS. It's actually kind of a shame, since Portland is a big area and would add a lot to the Big Sky if they can get support behind the team. But they also have to compete against Daddy Warbucks trying to fund Oregon to a national championship which has gotta be a killer.
 
Copper Griz said:
Put Bobby Hauck in as head coach and tell me the results are any different. They wouldn’t be. Recruiting there is impossible. No fans, no stadium, no culture, no NIL money. Nope. It isn’t a coaching problem. It just isn’t.
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Yea that's why Tim Walsh did so bad there. But your correct that Hauck wouldn't be successful there
 
Bottom line, the University doesn't really care. They want to spend as little money supporting football as possible while maintain Division 1 status. Without playing two FBS payout games per year, PSU football doesn't exist.
 
Barney deserves better.
If I were him, I'd leave for a power 5 coordinator or position coach just get rid of the PSU stench.

I'm sure, he wishes he was coaching somewhere like Montana.
 
mtgrizrule said:
Barney deserves better.
If I were him, I'd leave for a power 5 coordinator or position coach just get rid of the PSU stench.

I'm sure, he wishes he was coaching somewhere like Montana.
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Could be his next rehab job if they ever fire him. If EWU couldn’t get rid of Best then I don’t see PSU ever getting rid of Barney. It will happen eventually for one reason or another.
 
HelenaHandBasket said:
EWU could have gotten rid of Best, they chose to keep him.
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We can't afford a buyout. I can't remember the details, but our last AD just before she retired gave Best a new contract, and some clause that granted him an automatic one-year extension each year that wasn't really publicly announced. That was nixed when our new AD came in a couple years ago so it's either this year (hopefully!) or next year that his contract is up for renewal.

This apparently wasn't common knowledge when it was assumed last year would be the renewal year. I don't see our AD renewing him. Our AD is most definitely using the EWU job as a steppingstone to leading a major program and shoring up the football program would have to be a major part in getting him to a bigger program.
 
brewskis said:
I'm excited to one day play in a different conference as these guys.
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footballdood said:
We can't afford a buyout. I can't remember the details, but our last AD just before she retired gave Best a new contract, and some clause that granted him an automatic one-year extension each year that wasn't really publicly announced. That was nixed when our new AD came in a couple years ago so it's either this year (hopefully!) or next year that his contract is up for renewal.

This apparently wasn't common knowledge when it was assumed last year would be the renewal year. I don't see our AD renewing him. Our AD is most definitely using the EWU job as a steppingstone to leading a major program and shoring up the football program would have to be a major part in getting him to a bigger program.
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Dood -- and I know this is going to come off as if I'm a total DB, but I really don't intend it that way --, is there any discussion about Eastern dropping football and focusing on basketball? Truly I see this as the path to athletic success for both psu and Eastern. I get that Eastern has to compete for eyes with Gonzaga (no small feat). But I honestly think both Portland State and Eastern could become regional (and here I want to say "powers", but that's clearly not possible with the Zags 20 miles away) mainstays in basketball if they focused all of their resources there. And psu, I think they could be a really, really good DI BB program if they stopped pretending and dropped football.
 
Best's current contract runs through 2027 season. No matter how you spin it, EWU has a choice, good or bad, on whether to continue employment.
 
EverettGriz said:


Dood -- and I know this is going to come off as if I'm a total DB, but I really don't intend it that way --, is there any discussion about Eastern dropping football and focusing on basketball? Truly I see this as the path to athletic success for both psu and Eastern. I get that Eastern has to compete for eyes with Gonzaga (no small feat). But I honestly think both Portland State and Eastern could become regional (and here I want to say "powers", but that's clearly not possible with the Zags 20 miles away) mainstays in basketball if they focused all of their resources there. And psu, I think they could be a really, really good DI BB program if they stopped pretending and dropped football.
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No worries and a totally valid question. Those discussions happened a few years ago, with a token BOR or whatever it's called meeting to say nope, they want to stay FCS. Despite being in the dumps for the last few years average attendance and overall regional support is still better than it was in the early 2000's. And when EWU does win, they'll have sell-out crowds even against non-Montana teams like Idaho State and Northern Arizona.

So thankfully the powers that be have had a taste of winning and seeing what it does. We did get a new university president that also seems to be in support of athletics. A far cry from the previous president, who was just atrocious all the way around, who also hired Hickey (the previous AD). But, in her defense, I will say on paper our last AD hire seemed like a home run and I was pretty stoked at her credentials. The new AD apparently has increased revenue by ~50% in the last couple years so take that for what you will.

EWU probably could be a dominant basketball program without football, but for this EWU alum, I'd rather keep football even if it means a middling basketball program.
 
Skookum-Jim said:
Yea that's why Tim Walsh did so bad there. But your correct that Hauck wouldn't be successful there
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Well 1992-2006 was a completely different era and I think that is a poor comparison. Especially when you have NIL money now in the mix. No stadium (other than a 20 minute or longer drive away), no recruiting budget, no campus life and no fan base. Sorry, that program is simply dead. You could take Portland State and Northern Colorado and combine the two. You still have a sub 500 program. I don’t see any way you turn the corner with those two. Given the economic problems facing educational institutions, I predict multiple FCS schools will drop certain sports in the next five years. They won’t be able to afford them. PSU is one that should strongly consider a different route.
 
Copper Griz said:
Well 1992-2006 was a completely different era and I think that is a poor comparison. Especially when you have NIL money now in the mix. No stadium (other than a 20 minute or longer drive away), no recruiting budget, no campus life and no fan base. Sorry, that program is simply dead. You could take Portland State and Northern Colorado and combine the two. You still have a sub 500 program. I don’t see any way you turn the corner with those two. Given the economic problems facing educational institutions, I predict multiple FCS schools will drop certain sports in the next five years. They won’t be able to afford them. PSU is one that should strongly consider a different route.
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I’m both a UM and PSU alum. Grew up going to Oregon State and Portland State games (I know, glutton for punishment). When PSU could play in their traditional spot downtown and were decent, they had mid tier big sky attendance. For big games, it was raucous. The 1999 game against Montana was a crazy crowd. But that was Tim Walsh’s team.

The death knell of PSU football, really, was Providence Park kicking PSU out and the college being unwilling to partner with Lincoln high school to make a joint use stadium. Historically, PSU was a mid level team attendance-wise, with 7k to 8k in attendance regularly. But that changed to 4k-3k when they had to move to Hillsboro. With the attendance decline coupled with no resources and dwindling student/staff support, I see no reason for the team to continue existing. Getting to Hillsboro from campus by public bus is an hour and a half time investment. Students won’t go. At Providence, it was a chill walk.

Unless Phil Knight suddenly wants to prop up PSU, then the merciful thing to do would be to pull the plug. Barney is a good dude and his situation sucks. It’s been 10 years of “A Weekend at Bernie’s” over here in Portland. But Bernie is starting to stink and it’s high time PSU addressed it.
 
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UC San Diego is jumping to the WCC, and rumors are that UC Irvine will follow them. BTW, understanding the old Big West balance between UC and CS schools, once Davis announced their departure and Sac announced their arrival, that balance is gone, outta here, Casper, and it’s probably no big surprise the more capable UC schools are leaving (or so).

Since the Big West already took in Utah Valley (and Denver is a rumored add, go figure), this may be the opportunity for Portland State to land with schools with more appropriate budgets.
 
Biggest question of this week for PSU, is this the third straight shutout, or do they finally get some points on the board? Winning is out of the question.

Sad, sad situation. I have said since they moved to Hillsboro Stadium it is just a matter of time for this program, and I think that EWU situation where they (were at least) talked about dumping athletic programs all together. I can't imagine a university existing like that, just make it a community college in that case because you will cut the heart and soul out of it. Not just with these schools, I am saying anywhere.
 
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