Now is the time for all good Fordham fans ...

[fordhamramfan08]

On what do you base this evaluation of Fr. McShane's outlook?

Just from his speeches on the state of the university, the outlining of his plan of becoming the greatest Catholic school, and just in general his enthusiasm/passion for Fordham. He's done great things for Fordham since he's taken over and you can definitely see the changes first hand. He's not going to do anything that will jeopardize the university, he has a vision. And if and when he deems fit to have the coaching staff removed, he will have it done, if that's what it takes to turn the program around. I follow Fordham pretty closely and the type of stuff Father MacShane says.

[UpstateRam]

Fordhamramfan08, I wish I shared your optimism about the leadership and judgment of Fr. McShane.  I hope that you are right and I am wrong.

[fordhamramfan08]

It's unfair to question his judgment. Over the next five to ten years, you will see him bringing the type of changes Sexton brought to NYU. We're definitely on the right track. Everything has increased across the board since he's taken over - SAT scores, endowment, alumni participation rate. Everything takes time and we only have so many resources. I think he's prioritizing very well with the resources he has. Our application is now up to 25,000. He's definitely doing something right. Fordham is much better academically (in terms of selectivity and quality of student body) today than it was before he took over. In due time, athletics will get there too. Once we are completed with this phase and more money starts coming in, we will eventually get a new sports arena. But obviously it'll take time (probably another 7-10 years). And I'm sure everyone knows about all the constructions that are going on and Fordham's $1.6 billion plan of Lincoln Center. Fordham will be transformed by the time my kids are ready to apply, haha.

[Ram 91]

fordhamramfan08, with regards to athletics that's the same five to ten year plan presented to alumni for the past 20 years.

[fordhamramfan08]

But Fordham is different from 20 years ago. We're financially stronger and only getting more and more stronger. When I came to Fordham, I think the alumni participation rate was an awful 12 or 13%. I think it's 21% now (according to US news), which ranks us 38 in the country. One out of every 5 alumni donates. There is a lot more pride for the school and clearly, it's a result of Father MacShane changing the culture here. We are now raising $70-80 million a year by finding ways to get in touch with more and more alums. They're on the right track. MacShane wants to compete with GT and BC badly enough to improve the athletics over time. Whenever something good happens to the school, he always says "GT did not get U2 to come to their campus, BC was not named the hottest college in the U.S., etc." It's only been what, 6-7 years since he's taken over? It's a great time for Fordham right now. He'll bring the school to new heights.

[RAM71]

Okay, fordhamramfan08, you're putting us on with this stuff about Father "MacShane", aren't you?

[UpstateRam]

I don't know enough about the inner workings of this administration with regard to the other areas under its control, but I have found Fr. McShane to be generally unaware and under-appreciative of the role that a successful athletics program can have in developing the national image of a university.  He seems to think that you get all of the other ducks in a row first, and then upgrade the athletics program afterward.  It isn't a priority with him.  He can't seem to see that a successful, well-run, high-profile athletics program can make many of the other tasks that he has before him easier.  Wouldn't an athletic program along the lines of BC (or even Gonzaga or Xavier or Marquette in basketball) help to increase giving and alumni participation?  Wouldn't it improve the quality of many students' experience of Fordham?  A successful, well-run athletic program is not at odds with a quality educational program, it can actually enhance it and be a driving force in building the university overall.  Case in point:  back in the '30s and '40s, Notre Dame was a school that you went to if you couldn't get into Marquette or Loyola Chicago.  Its academic program at that time was seen as decidedly below those two Jesuit Universities.  It was a fall-back Catholic school in the midwest. Today, a high school student has little chance of getting into ND unless he or she is exceptional and a leader in high school.  ND draws students nationally.  They now have an excellent educational ranking, and that didn't (and probably wouldn't have) happened without the profile and tangible the school got through athletics.  It's not the only way to achieve this status (see U. of Chicago, NYC, etc.) but for Fordham I think that athletics is the most underutilized potential asset the school has to achieve McShane's stated goals.

[Bronx Boy]

Sorry if I made any comments earlier that may have offended or disrespected you.  Wow, so a lot of you are much older than my dad and have been following the program for more than twice as long as I have been on this earth.

I'm past the point of being offended or disrespected, '08, and a lotta folks should get over that too.

Truth be told, I helped Jimmy Naismith tack those peach baskets on the walls of that tired old gym back there in Springfield, Mass.  The Rose Hill Gym wouldn't be built for years yet.

Here's an old photo of Jimmy seekin' divine guidance as he invents da game of b - ball:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_iFfp72NwyPc/SS1-W5NpUnI/AAAAAAAAFJk/722tsEEXvjw/s640/Naismith.jpg
Interesting guy, that Jimmy.  He was an Army chaplin, a medical doctor, and, a college perfessor.   

I should keep my mouth shut more often in the future, since I obviously don't know anything compared to you guys.  Much respect to you guys for sticking it out for that long and still supporting the program !

Whoa, ..... steady there, young grasshopper.

Don't keep yer mouth shut.  You've got lots to say (a failing of youth, I'm afraid), but, some of it's pretty good, ..... so say whutya gotta say !

[SIram]

It's unfair to question his judgment. Over the next five to ten years, you will see him bringing the type of changes Sexton brought to NYU. We're definitely on the right track. Everything has increased across the board since he's taken over - SAT scores, endowment, alumni participation rate. Everything takes time and we only have so many resources. I think he's prioritizing very well with the resources he has. Our application is now up to 25,000. He's definitely doing something right. Fordham is much better academically (in terms of selectivity and quality of student body) today than it was before he took over. In due time, athletics will get there too. Once we are completed with this phase and more money starts coming in, we will eventually get a new sports arena. But obviously it'll take time (probably another 7-10 years). And I'm sure everyone knows about all the constructions that are going on and Fordham's $1.6 billion plan of Lincoln Center. Fordham will be transformed by the time my kids are ready to apply, haha.

I think it fair to mention the improvements you cite started during Fr. O'Hare's term as President.  Fr McShane was able to enter office with the school having momentum and the opportunity to build on it.  I think we need more time to truly judge his ability to deliver on his ambitious promises.  Until and unless he understands the benefits of atheltics and addresses our shortcomings I do not think he can ever be called a great President

[An Old Coach]

I couldn't disagree more.  If McShane completes this ambitious campaign and ultimately goes over goal as I'm sure we will, breaks ground on the tremendous Lincoln Center transformation, continues to grow our academic visibility and rebuild the endowment and does all this through a crippling recession, he will go down as a great president if we never win another game.

[RC74]

Sure, OC, but that's big 2-letter word you wrote: IF.  I think it is fair to say that it is unclear (at best) whether the accomplishments of the last 4 or 5 years are due to McShane or were things already under way. The biggest enouragement i have lately is that he seems to have turned down the "pre-eminent" rhetoric a bit. So far, all I've seen him do is lead the cheers; and that ain't doing the real work.

[SIram]

I couldn't disagree more.  If McShane completes this ambitious campaign and ultimately goes over goal as I'm sure we will, breaks ground on the tremendous Lincoln Center transformation, continues to grow our academic visibility and rebuild the endowment and does all this through a crippling recession, he will go down as a great president if we never win another game.

I don't agree. If he completes the LC build out and I am not sure that multi year plan can be completed within his tenure as President there will still be a huge hole where he ignored Athletics.   The effects of the recession are hurting the effort to increase the endowment but you will have to asses how he did before the recession hit and then afterwards, not just the term of the recession. I fully understand the mission of Fordham is education but to ignored the effect of the entire educational experience which includes student life and athletics is a critical failing. 

[fordhamramfan08]

We raised a record $72 million last year. Recession or not, fund-raising has increased over each of the year he's been president, and it will continue to do so, as we tap into more alumni. Father MacShane was the first to recognize that we cannot continue with mediocrity. No offense to the alumni of 6-10 years ago, but Fordham used to be a safety school. Last I checked, their ranking has gone from #84 to #61 over the past 5 years, and those things do not happen by chance. There are criteria (selectivity/grades, alumni participation, financial resources, faculty resources, etc.)  used in calculating the rankings. We are hiring better faculty, getting better students, and the overall image of the school has improved. All of these changes have occurred under Father MacShane because he had a goal from the beginning and he knows how school rankings work. He did whatever he had to that would translate into increased rankings. Improvement of athletics does not directly translate into increased college rankings although I'm not denying it leads to more exposure. But Fordham is using other means to getting the name across and has increased its marketing efforts and 25,000 applications is a very big thing for a school of Fordham's size. Compare that to NYU's 36,000 applications. When you take into account NYU's size and reputation all across the world, Fordham's numbers are very impressive. I think the school has enough exposure as it is. We have more than tripled the applications. Those thing just don't happen by chance.

[fordham77]

I don't know enough about the inner workings of this administration with regard to the other areas under its control, but I have found Fr. McShane to be generally unaware and under-appreciative of the role that a successful athletics program can have in developing the national image of a university.  He seems to think that you get all of the other ducks in a row first, and then upgrade the athletics program afterward.  It isn't a priority with him.  He can't seem to see that a successful, well-run, high-profile athletics program can make many of the other tasks that he has before him easier.  Wouldn't an athletic program along the lines of BC (or even Gonzaga or Xavier or Marquette in basketball) help to increase giving and alumni participation?  Wouldn't it improve the quality of many students' experience of Fordham?  A successful, well-run athletic program is not at odds with a quality educational program, it can actually enhance it and be a driving force in building the university overall.  Case in point:  back in the '30s and '40s, Notre Dame was a school that you went to if you couldn't get into Marquette or Loyola Chicago.  Its academic program at that time was seen as decidedly below those two Jesuit Universities.  It was a fall-back Catholic school in the midwest. Today, a high school student has little chance of getting into ND unless he or she is exceptional and a leader in high school.  ND draws students nationally.  They now have an excellent educational ranking, and that didn't (and probably wouldn't have) happened without the profile and tangible the school got through athletics.  It's not the only way to achieve this status (see U. of Chicago, NYC, etc.) but for Fordham I think that athletics is the most underutilized potential asset the school has to achieve McShane's stated goals.

Couldn't agree more.  Just got back from visiting my son at BC and attending the BC-North Carolina game.  Everything . . . I repeat EVERYTHING . . .about the BC experience for the students, parents and alumni is in a galaxy far, far away from Fordham's wildest dreams.  Athletic performance, facilities, administration, game day atmosphere/execution/staffing . . . not to mention academics/reputation are SO far advanced over FU. 

We are the Coney Island Sick-Clones to their Yankees.

[Ram69]

....Improvement of athletics does not directly translate into increased college rankings although I'm not denying it leads to more exposure....

You’re right that improvement of athletics doesn’t directly translate into higher college rankings.  Indeed the rating schemes for U.S. News & World Report, Princeton Review etc. don’t give any points for whether a school’s teams win or lose—or whether the school has teams at all.  But the “EXPOSURE” that you mention can often be critical in expanding an institution’s applicant pool, leading indirectly to greater selectivity, more geographic reach and diversity, and higher SAT scores.

Established and well-endowed institutions like Harvard, Yale, the University of Chicago, and NYU may do quite well without taking sports as seriously as they did in years past.  But, aspiring schools like Fordham aren’t at that level yet.  Beyond the role that they play in student recruitment, successful athletic programs also tend to foster alumni interest and giving—helping to increase endowments, enhance an institution’s ability to develop programs, and encouraging “old school ties” that can lead to better opportunities for networking and placement of students and young alums.  And, last but not least, the enthusiasm generated by first-rate sports can enrich the campus experience and overall quality of life for students.

A first-rate athletic program cannot, by itself, turn an institution around.  Some of our neighboring Catholic schools (which will remain nameless) show that.  But the point is that if an institution already has high-quality academics, innovative programs, a nice campus, a good location, an excellent library and other resources, livable dorms, pleasant campus life etc.--all of which Fordham has--then an excellent sports program can be a real asset to institutional advancement.

Schools like Notre Dame, Duke, Georgetown, Boston College, Stanford, and Villanova all have used first-rate athletic programs to enhance their overall institutional quality—while Fordham just let things slide in this area.  I don’t think anyone on this board doubts that Father McShane has great plans for Fordham, and that he has achieved some outstanding success so far.  Yet he overlooks inept performance in the Athletic Department that he would never tolerate in any academic department or school within the university, and he seems not to understand that a mediocre, small-time sports program is undercutting our overall  momentum and our reputation as a national university that seeks excellence in everything that it undertakes.