U.Va. fans expressing their disenchantment at the turnstile
EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
Virginia Coach Al Groh gets an earful from fans as he walks off the field after the loss at home Saturday to Duke.
CHARLOTTESVILLE Firing Virginia coach Al Groh at the end of the season would be expensive, but the cost of not doing so could be just as high.
Only 41,713 fans were on hand at Scott Stadium on Saturday to watch the Cavs lose to Duke, the lowest number since the stadium was expanded in 2000.
It seems reasonable to assume that a winning team would have put an additional 10,000 people in the stadium. Such a surge in attendance would have been worth nearly half a million dollars. By contrast, when this season ends Groh has two more years remaining on a contract that pays him $1.7 million annually.
Those financial realities will be discussed at length as the season winds to a close, but for now there’s still a 3-5 football team that is readying itself for a road test against Miami next Saturday at noon.
The players indicated Saturday that they are still behind Groh, but fullback Rashawn Jackson said the team’s primary focus is internal.
“When we’re on the field, we’re not protecting coach Groh back there, we’re protecting Jameel Sewell. We’re not blocking for coach (Dave) Borbely, we’re blocking for Mikell Simpson,“ Jackson said. “We have really good coaches, and I love our coaches, but on the field we have to do things for each other.“
When asked about the crowd, the players’ responses were similar.
“Our house is between the white lines,“ defensive lineman John-Kevin Dolce said. “Whether it’s home or away, we don’t necessarily play for our fans. They don’t sweat with us, they don’t bleed with us, and they don’t cry with us.“
But even if the players say the right things that the lack of crowd size doesn’t bother them there’s no question that a loud, motivated fan base is an asset to a team.
The question is how to bring that fan base back after all, as recently as 2007 Scott Stadium was rocking on football Saturdays. The lone answer is to field a winning team.
“Virginia isn’t USC, Michigan, Tennessee or Virginia Tech,“ Jackson said. “The fans here aren’t as patient. It’s just human nature sometimes when things aren’t going well to, you know, I don’t want to say tuck your tail, but just to turn your back.“
He added that he was more torn up about the fans who stayed and supported the team to the end of the game.
“Those were the guys that made this loss even worse, since they hung in there. I appreciate those fans, and I appreciate their effort,“ he said. “I’m just disappointed we couldn’t help their weekend go a little more smoothly. Hopefully they aren’t getting bugged about it at work on Monday.“
The road from here won’t get any easier for Virginia. The remaining schedule includes games against Miami, Boston College, Clemson and Virginia Tech, all of which have winning records this season.
To become bowl-eligible, the Cavaliers will have to win three of those games.
For now, Groh continues to lead the team, and the players continue to have his back, even as the fan base dwindles.
“We don’t even want to think about that,“ defensive lineman Zane Parr said. “We’re just trying to go out there and play as hard as we can to try to get the win.“
Contact Michael Phillips at (804) 649-6456 or
.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
In response to UVAGrade, the reason that some schools lost money can be summed up in one thing: Title IX. Without it, they would all be in the black. We should really have a Title IX law. To attend a men’s basketball, football or soccer game, you must attend a women’s sporting event. This way the ticket purchasing would even out.
A little more information for those who think Division I sports are self-supporting. Please go to the web site of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics (http://www.knightcommission.org) and read the article titled: “Most University Presidents Agree Current Athletics Spending is Unsustainable”. Then go to the web site of the Chronicle of Higher Education and read the article titled “Presidents Favor Reining in Athletic Costs but Feel Powerless to Effect Change”. Of 302 Division I-A schools, only 25 athletic operations made money (average profit $4 million) while the other 277 all lost money, with an average loss of $10 million. And not all of these schools are raking in money solely from athletic associations. Many of them rely heavily on fees charged to all students to support athletics. The bottom line is that as institutions of higher education attempt to figure out new ways to conduct business as they compete with the University of Phoenix, etc, they need to ask themselves of what value are these enormous sports enterprises?
Hey John-Kevin Dolce, we don’t necessarily cheer for our football team, they don’t go to class with us, they don’t take their tests with us, and they don’t pay tuition with us.
When’s baseball season?
It would be an absolute riot if UVA brought in Bud Foster. VT has milked the Bud is the best D Coordinator for everything it is worth. Then Bud would be going in with this reputation of being an awesome defensive coach and recruiting in an area where he is very familiar to both coaches and players.
Stinespring has my vote too.
Al Groh will not be the coach at Virginia after the first of December.
Who will be coach next year? Who knows.
On behalf of VT, I hereby nominate Bryan Stinespring for the position.
You have to fire the Athletic Administrator who’s so out of touch with reality to #1 keep Groh and #2 pay him that kind of money.
Would you please look at that photo- that man shouting at the Groh and players should be ashamed of himself. Really getting on the coach after the game is definitely going to straighten things up there out. You bet the players are going to say they don’t play for the fans- would you play for that man? Do you really think the players don’t want to win? Take Groh on for his coaching- fine- he is a grown man who is well aware of the nature of his profession. But to complain about the players when they face this type of behavior is ridiculous. How about getting on the folks at UVA who charge the ridiculous prices if that bothers you. To be willing to take on the behavior of fans is in large part why they have to pay coaches so much. The expectations of fans is off the chart at most schools. Even at Richmond we have fans who think that the National Championship is the expectation now and anything less and our team stinks.
Al Groh will not be the coach at Virginia after the first of December.
Who will be coach next year? Who knows. But until then we can watch Mr. Littlepage and his new basketball coach “tear” the ACC up.
bholl -
In 2008, VT’s football team was ranked 15th out of the BCS schools in graduation rates. Virginia was ranked 31. Good try though!
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement