Wednesday, April 13, 2011

CSUN Football Stadium would promote economic development in the valley and community identity

By: Jason Aula

With 4,000 signatures of the associated students submitted to the CSUN student government,  and a student vote projected in May of 2011. The vote will decide whether CSUN students accept or reject a student activity fee of $86 per semester phased in over 5 years. The highest annual increase within the 5 year period is $25 and the lowest increase is $6. With that in mind, usually peoples' next question is where would a football team play?


In 1999 the CSUN Athletic Facilities Siting Advisory Committee recommended the North Campus site as the location for a future new stadium, saying the site provides the best opportunity to minimize any impacts on surrounding property owners. As a concept, the stadium would be built into the hilltop as a bowl. In case you did not know the North Campus Stadium Site still exist off of Lassen and Zelzah.

 But the committee also liked Pierce College as an off-site option, calling its stadium "the most suitable for short-term use because of its availability." In total, the committee reviewed 11 locations-six on campus and five off campus-in coming to its final recommendations.


 A university-commissioned survey of San Fernando Valley residents in April of 1999 found that 68 percent supported construction of an on-campus stadium, provided taxpayer funds are not used. And nearly 88 percent thought it important that any such facility also be available for high school and community events.

Two-thirds of San Fernando Valley-area residents support construction of an 8,500-seat campus football stadium at Cal State Northridge. An on campus football stadium would provide a community center for the Valley and a solid foundation for CSUN's identity, not to mention campus pride and school spirit would go through the roof. Maybe CSUN could try and kick the commuter campus image?

In addition, an on campus football stadium would bring people to campus and allow students to promote their university. An on campus stadium would attract donors and alumni. It's a rallying point and a very important piece to the puzzle!

Bring Back Matador Football, the student group that gathered over 4,000 Associated Students signatures, to trigger a student vote to reinstate football at the Division 1AA Level is currently working to address the issue of where a team would play. Currently two Big West schools participate in Division 1AA Football UC Davis and Cal Poly SLO. Furthermore CSUF is also proposing bringing back football at the Division 1AA level, the vote is projected to take place in September 2011. CSUF has the advantage of having an on campus stadium with over 10,000 seats. Bring Back 49er Football at Long Beach State is gathering signatures for a proposed special election to bring back football in November 2011.

Bring Back Matador Football has created a new piece of legislation that is being circulated in a form of petition titled Matador Pride. Matador Pride addresses the need for an on campus football stadium. Making an investment on an campus stadium would provide a community center for the Valley and a solid foundation for CSUN's identity.

Matador Pride proposes adding a $20 per semester student activity fee for 5 years to be directed to capital improvements on North Campus Stadium. Over 5 years the Matador Pride fund would direct about $7.2 million to capital improvements on the North Campus Stadium site. Matador Pride needs about 4,000 signatures to trigger  a special AS campus wide vote.

Citations
http://articles.latimes.com/1999/apr/21/local/me-29542
http://articles.latimes.com/1998/oct/15/local/me-32664
http://www.csun.edu/northcampus/
http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/progress/louisville/index.html?cid=PS_03_03_06_99_01_03



Monday, April 11, 2011

Bring Back 49er Football Fails by Narrow Margin

Big West Football Reinstatement Status
By Jason Aula

The vote to Bring Back 49er Football was not favorable, 52% of students voted "No" and the additional 48% voted "Yes".  Bring Back 49er Football faced many obstacles including the Daily 49er lack of fair and balanced reporting on the issue over the YEARS. In addition  Associated Students Inc. @ Cal State Long Beach was not helpful collectively. Student government leaders acted like your average self serving lying politicians especially former ASI President Chris Chavez who negated students calls for football.  I was lied to by multiple administrators and given the run around in regards to multiple football issues. Bring Back 49er Football even picked up the nick name: " The Football Tea Party".

Since Bring Back 49er Football began almost 3 years ago in mid April of 2008 during my run for ASI VP there have been so many negative comments and closed minded thinkers. My intentions on starting the campaign to bring back football was to change the culture of our university. President Alexander stated he wanted to make CSULB more of a "traditional college", which impress upon me that if a favorable vote got to his desk it would be enacted, despite non supportive rumors that come out of King Alexanders office.

The two primary reasons the referendum failed was the lack of on campus venue and money. If there was an on campus stadium and maybe $500 more to spend  during election week for promotional materials.  Bring Back 49er Football has already composed a new petition that is being circulated to get to get a 2nd vote on the ballot to bring back football this fall. This time the proposal will include proposed bonds to build an on campus stadium after the program has played its first 5 seasons, in the mean time Vets Stadium, the 49er's old home will have to do.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

4,000 Cal State Northridge Students Call for Football

CSUN Football Helmet

By Jason Aula

Cal State Northridge is following in Long Beach State's footsteps in terms of bringing back football. Bring Back Matador Football has collected over 4,000 student signatures http://sundial.csun.edu/2011/03/stud...o-ban-smoking/ which is above the 10% requirement of the student body signatures to put the matter of bringing back Division 1AA football to a binding vote which, is projected to take place in May 2011. CSUN did away with football in 2001, but many students want to see football back in Northridge, 4,000 student signatures speak volume on demand for football in these hard economic times. All signatures were collected during the Spring 2011 semester and are currently being verified.
Bring Back Matador Football is lead by CSUN student Jeffrey Benson. CSULB and CSUF have also been quite influential in assisting CSUN, in fact both CSUN and CSUF are using the “CSULB Model” to get the proposal of bringing back football on the ballot.
At CSULB 2,200 signatures were needed to qualify for the university student government ballot. CSULB used the Georgia State Proposal to implement bringing football at the Division 1AA level http://www.daily49er.com/news/bring-back-49er-football-faces-many-blockers-1.1569503. Football would get $2.7 million in operating expense whereas Big West Rivals UC Davis and Cal Poly SLO that play D1AA football put in only $2.3 million. The March 2011 vote at CSULB failed, with 3,084 students voting 52% No and 48% http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/students/asi/documents/Resultsofthe2011AssociatedStudentsGeneralElection.pdf. The CSULB vote was very promising because the margin of defeat was so little and another petition is currently being circulated to get a new proposal to bring back football on the ballot during November 2011. The major reason for defeat was the lack of an on campus venue to play.
Bringing back football does involve an $86 per semester student activity fee phased in over 5 years; the highest annual increase would be $25. In addition to bringing back football Women’s Crew, Field Hockey, and Lacrosse would also become NCAA sports to offset Title XI issues. There is an on campus stadium site, but a team would most likely play at Pierce College. An on campus stadium could be built for $12-15 million according to estimates for a similar venue at CSULB.
Bring Back Matador Football in collaboration with CSUF and CSULB have been working relentlessly to bring back football democratically. CSUF has about 2,000 of 4,000 signatures to get on the ballot at that university, 1 of 3 universities will bring it back and it will be a domino effect at other universities were movements are starting like UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbra.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Football Programs Across Nation Set To Debut

CSF vs LBSU - THE FIGHT FOR THE VICTORY BELL!!!!
Courtesy of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame

DALLAS - The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) highlighted today that five new college football teams are set to take the field for the first time this season with a dozen more programs set to launch between 2010 and 2013.

"With more than one million high school football participants and only 66,000 playing college football, it makes sense that colleges would want to give high school players more options for playing at the next level," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "We are proud to highlight the college presidents and their trustees who have recognized the educational benefit of our sport. Their foresight will provide more student-athletes the opportunity to continue to learn to be leaders through football."

The 17 colleges set launch football programs will boost the overall ranks of four-year institutions carrying the sport to 742 schools. The current divisional breakdown includes: 120 Division I Football Bowl Subdivision programs; 126 Division I Football Championship Subdivision programs; 149 Division II programs; 238 Division III programs; and 92 NAIA programs.

Nearly 30 schools have added football during the last decade, and it appears to be a trend that will continue into the future as more and more schools capitalize on the sports ability to attract student-athletes, energize campus life, increase a school's media visibility, and boost alumni support. In addition to football's ability to bring in male applicants, the sport also plays a role in attracting students interested in band, cheerleading, sports journalism, sports business, exercise science and other related areas of study.

"It's exciting to see the launch of these programs because they are giving players the choice of playing at different levels in regions of the country where those options did not previously exist," NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. "Football's popularity has never been greater, and the fact that so many schools are embracing it is a testament that more and more college administrators see the value of the sport to a student's overall educational experience."

Programs Launching in 2009
Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Va.): NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Colonial Athletic Association - President John R. Broderick, Athletics Director Jim Jarrett Head Coach Bobby Wilder.
University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, Texas): NCAA Division II, Independent and joining the Lone Star Conference in 2010 - President Louis Agnese, Jr., Athletics Director Mark Papich, Head Coach Mike Santiago
University of New Haven (West Haven, Conn.): NCAA Division II, Northeast-10 Conference - President Steven H. Kaplan, Athletics Director Deborah Chin, Head Coach Peter Rossomando
Anna Maria College (Paxton, Mass.): NCAA Division III, Eastern Collegiate Football Conference - President Jack Calareso, Athletics Director David Shea, Head Coach Marc Klaiman
Castleton State College (Castleton, Vt.): NCAA Division III, Eastern Collegiate Football Conference - President David Wolk, Athletics Director Deanna Tyson, Head Coach Rich Alercio.

Programs Launching in 2010- 2013
University of South Alabama (Mobile, Ala.): NCAA Division I - Football Championship Subdivision, Sun Belt Conference (2010 with a full transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision anticipated in 2013): President Gordon Moulton, Athletics Director Joel Erdmann, Head Coach Joey Jones
Georgia State University (Atlanta, Ga.): NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Colonial Athletic Association (2010) - President Mark P. Becker, Athletics Director Cheryl L. Levick, Head Coach Bill Curry
Lamar University (Beaumont, Texas): NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Southland Conference (2010) - President James Simmons, Athletics Director Billy Tubbs, Head Coach Ray Woodard
University of Texas at San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas): NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Southland Conference (2011 as an independent before joining the conference in 2012) - President Ricardo Romo, Athletics Director Lynn Hickey, Head Coach Larry Coker.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.): NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Conference TBD (2013) - Chancellor Philip L. Dubois, Athletics Director Judy Rose, Head Coach TBA
LeMoyne-Owen College (Memphis, Tenn.): NCAA Division II, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (2011) - President Johnnie B. Watson, Athletics Director William Anderson, Head Coach TBA
Pacific University (Forest Grove, Ore.): NCAA Division III, Northwest Conference (2010): President Lesley M. Hallick, Athletics Director Ken Schumann, Head Coach Keith Buckley
Presentation College (Aberdeen, S.D.): NCAA Division III, Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (2011) - President Lorraine Hale, Athletics Director Rick Kline, Head Coach TBA
Stevenson University (Owings Mills, Md.): NCAA Division III, Capital Athletic Conference (Developmental in 2010, NCAA Division III in 2011) - President Kevin J. Manning, Athletics Director Brett Adams, Head Coach TBA
Hendrix College (Conway, Ark.) NCAA Division III, Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (Date TBA) - President J. Timothy Cloyd, Athletics Director Danny Powell, Head Coach TBA
Lindsey Wilson College (Columbia, Ky.): NAIA, Mid-South Conference (2010) - President William T. Luckey Jr., Athletics Director Willis Pooler, Head Coach Chris Oliver
Notre Dame College (South Euclid, Ohio): NAIA, American Mideast Conference (club level in 2009, varsity team in 2010 and recently approved for NCAA Division II status) - President Andrew P. Roth, Athletics Director Susan Hlavacek, Head Coach Adam Howard

The University of South Alabama will field a football scholarship team for the first time since the school opened in 1963, playing a junior varsity schedule in 2009. In 2010 and 2011, the Jaguars will play a Football Championship Subdivision schedule, followed by a Sun Belt schedule in 2012 with postseason eligibility in 2013.

"We know from experience that there are many academically talented students whom we recruit each year who choose other universities because we don't offer these programs," said South Alabama president Gordon Moulton. "For many universities across the nation, NCAA-sanctioned football and a marching band program serve as the centerpiece of student life and campus tradition. They serve as a catalyst for a wide range of student life activities."

More than 2,500 South Alabama students signed a petition in 2007, favoring a $300 increase in the annual student activity fee, which led to a vote by the trustees to launch the team and add a 200-member marching band.

"Having homecoming, parents' weekend and other activities that our university will have on football weekends will be great," said athletics director Joe Gottfried, who helped with the ground work for football and recently retired in August after more than 28 years at the post. "In the past, we tried to do these types of activities around other sports, and it was not the same."

Georgia State, founded in 1913 and situated in downtown Atlanta with 28,000 students, conducted comprehensive research on the benefits of a football team before announcing the launch of a program in April 2008. The school quickly selected Bill Curry to coach the team. Curry, a former All-Pro NFL player who went on to coach at Georgia Tech, Alabama, and Kentucky, has had little trouble recruiting players with the promise of building something great.

"I cannot wait to get onto the field. Football will be a huge success at Georgia State University. That's a promise," said Curry during a press conference when he accepted the job. "There would be no Georgia State football program starting today if the student body did not respond in such a positive way and, frankly, in such an unusual way by supporting the increase in the student athletic fee. That's inspirational to everybody."

The Panthers will play in the Colonial Athletic Association with the Georgia Dome as its base for home games. The team is practicing this fall with a squad of 70 players, including 30 scholarship student- athletes. The school hopes that a football program will help change its reputation as a commuter-based institution to a university with a more vibrant campus life.

In Texas, football captures the limelight like few other activities, yet few options have existed in south Texas to play college football. San Antonio, the seventh largest city in the country, lacks a professional or college team aside from the NCAA Division III program at Trinity University. College administrators recognized the void, and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and the University of Incarnate Word are in different stages of launching programs.

"We're adding this program to have an impact on, not only the city of San Antonio, but the south part of Texas and eventually the entire state and southwestern part of the United States," said UTSA Athletics Director Lynn Hickey at a press conference announcing the launch. "We're in a city where we really need to enhance the idea of going to college and finishing high school. If we can put a product in the Alamodome that kids in this community can come and watch and be a part of, that may give them the idea that it's cool to go to college."

UTSA has hired former University of Miami (Fla.) head coach Larry Coker, who led the Hurricanes to the 2001 BCS National Championship. The Roadrunners will compete in the Southland Conference of the Football Championship Subdivision after a year as an independent in 2010. UTSA will play its home games at the Alamodome with plans eventually to play in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Filling a different void in south Texas, the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is playing at the NCAA Division II level. The Cardinals played their first game in history this past weekend, stunning Mexico's Monterrey Tech, 42-39. The game attracted a standing-room-only crowd of 6,235 fans to the newly built Benson Stadium, named for team benefactor and New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson. A private Catholic university with an enrollment of 6,703 students, UIW offers an alternative to the larger public school program being launched across town at UTSA.

"This is the first game in the 128-year history of the university, and the level of interest and enthusiasm has been off the charts," said Vincent Rodriguez, assistant to the president for communications at UIW. "Our team allows local players to play at the scholarship level and stay near their hometown. Launching a football program has other ancillary effects. For example, we've added a band, which will help our music department grow."

Lamar University, located 80 miles east of Houston with 11,000 students, recently announced its plans to resume a football program. Lamar will play in the Southland Conference in 2011 after an exhibition season in 2010. The sport's return came after 79 percent of the student body voted to raise fees by approximately $105 a year per student and approval from the Texas State University System Board of Regents.

"Lamar's football coaches are building a competitive program from the ground up. We're also building up a marching band and spirit team, all in preparation for gridiron excitement in the new Provost Umphrey Stadium," said Lamar University President James Simmons. "All across the campus, excitement is building for the return of football."

Lamar has started a $29 million project to renovate its stadium and the surrounding areas, and the school will join UTSA in the Southland Conference, one of the most competitive FCS Conferences in the nation.

"From a conference perspective, football sponsorship solidifies membership, and sets the tone and future direction of a league," wrote Southland Conference Commissioner Tom Burnett in an email. "The Southland Conference only had six institutions sponsoring football in 2003, which was not only creating problems in scheduling, but could have placed the conference's future viability at risk. The recent additions of Southeastern Louisiana and Central Arkansas have helped stabilize our membership, and the additions of Lamar and UTSA will only cement our future course as a top-level Division I FCS conference."

Old Dominion University will play its first home game in more than 60 years against Chowan University (N.C.) Sept. 5. The anticipation on campus is palpable with more than 1,200 students lining up to get the best seats. Students pitched dozens of tents outside the ticket office and endured 20 hours in the rain during an all-night vigil to get the best seats. Head coach Bobby Wilder and his staff delivered boxes of donuts to those in line at 7:30 a.m.

"It was inspiring," said Wilder in a story on the school's web site. "The first thing I did was come back and tell our players about it this morning. I drove past there last night and they were already having a good time and the place was packed. Then when I drove past this morning at 6 a.m. and it looked the same to me as it did last night. They were all out there having a great time."

"Football has most assuredly brought a new level of excitement to Old Dominion," wrote Old Dominion president John R. Broderick in an email. "At a time when we are becoming an increasingly residential campus, with new residence halls, a state- of-the-art student recreation center and a growing University Village development, the addition of football now just makes sense. It's something that our students and alumni, as well as faculty and staff members and area residents, have been looking forward to for years."

"Football coming to ODU has filled a void we need for a fall spectator sport which would bring together our alumni, students, friends, and fans in the Hampton Roads area like only that sport can do," said Old Dominion athletics director Jim Jarrett. "We are already sold out in season ticket sales, and the students have picked up all of their tickets. This is a tremendous situation for us."
Boise State will have some new company in the blue turf category, as the University of New Haven Chargers marks the return of its program on a state-of-the-art blue and yellow Sprinturf field at the newly named Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium.

"Everybody is so excited. The buzz around our campus is just fantastic. The students are excited, the faculty and staff, and the entire community too. And we had a major contribution from a donor for the new Sprinturf Field," said New Haven Athletics Director Deborah Chin. "We seat about 3,500, and there is no doubt that we'll sell out our first two games... an nice outgrowth of the football program is that we have our own little marching band with 40 people."
Without a conference to call home, the school had dropped football in 2003 because playing NCAA Division II Football as an independent had become cost prohibitive with travel to the four corners of the country to acquire opponents. The school found a new home in the Northeast 10 Conference with its opponents in much closer proximity.

"The worst professional experience I ever endured in my life was telling those young men that we were going to drop football in 2003," said Chin. "They were crying and saying what I am going to do, and that is something that I never wanted to endure again... We have always had football. Homecoming was always centered around football. When you have it and then you don't have it... that was devastating to our student body and alumni. Homecoming around soccer is not the same when you have had football."

The Chargers open the 2009 season September 5 at Lincoln University (Pa.).
"The return of Charger football is a great source of pride among our students, faculty, staff, alumni and community fans," wrote University of New Haven president Steve Kaplan in an email. "It will provide the University of New Haven with yet another opportunity to enhance its national reputation by showcasing our outstanding student-athletes competing in one of the top Division II conferences in the country."

Anna Maria College, formerly an all women's Catholic College outside of Worcester, Mass., started varsity sports programs in the mid-1970s but never had football. With a current enrollment of 1,400 students, the school will field its first football team this fall, and the impending kickoff has generated tremendous buzz with hundreds of people standing to just watch the team practice. Anna Maria President Jack Calareso knows the benefits of football, having previously added teams at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa, and Ohio Dominican College in Columbus, Ohio.

"I have done it before, and I believe it an important strategy for small schools like Anna Maria," said Calareso. "Adding athletics programs in general is important to enhance the experience for all students, and it's great for our alumni and our community... For a small college, this has been a topic that has garnered a lot of attention, and it certainly helped with enrollment, helping us to recruit both athletes and non- athletes alike."

Castleton State and Anna Maria, both competing in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference, are scheduled to play each other during the first game of the season September 5. The paring produces the unique situation of having two brand new programs going head-to-head in their first game ever.

While Anna Maria faces a multitude of options for the attention of football fans in Eastern Massachusetts from the NFL's New England Patriots to the ACC's Boston College Eagles, Castleton State confronts much less competition, becoming just the third college in Vermont to field a football team. And while Anna Maria's practices may have attracted hundreds of spectators, Castleton State has produced thousands with 1,200 people turning out to watch an unadvertised green and white scrimmage. Additionally, the Castleton Spartans have sold out their 1,600 stadium capacity for their first two games, expecting a crowd of 4,000 to 5,000 spectators, including the governor, for the Sept. 5 Anna Maria game.

"They can have more fans. We just want to score more points," quipped Calareso.
Besides Alaska, Vermont was the only state without a football program at a public college, and the other two football-playing colleges, Norwich University and Middlebury College, either required an interest in the military or a steep financial commitment. The school administrators wanted to give young student-athletes an option to stay in state and playing football.

"Close investigation of seven competitive football programs with whom we would compete indicates that the sport would clearly provide revenue enhancements for the college," wrote Castleton State College President Dave Wolk in an email. "Aside from the enrollment and financial enhancements provided by football, competitor colleges all report the positive impact of football on campus life...

There is a certain intangible campus spirit that football sometimes brings to a campus."
Also in the unique situation of having two brand new programs going head-to-head in their first game will be Lindsey Wilson College and Notre Dame College who will face each other on Sept. 4, 2010. Notre Dame, which first admitted men in 2001, will break new ground becoming the only scholarship football team in the metropolitan Cleveland, Ohio, area, while Lindsey Wilson will be competing again in the sport after a nearly 75 year absence.

"It's been pretty dramatic," said Lindsey Wilson College President William T. Luckey, Jr. "We have had 66 kids enroll to play football and our new student enrollment went from 485 last year to 675 this year. Some are players, some band members, cheerleaders, some are girlfriends. We are also starting wrestling which is part of the number too. It's not just the players who you bring, but there is a residual boost that you don't plan for... but it's all been very, very positive... You can't attribute causality, but also can't ignore that it's happened."

Fordham University also recently announced that it will begin awarding football scholarships beginning in the fall of 2010 for the first time since 1954.

"Momentous may be understating it, in fact. This is a sea change for Fordham athletics: these scholarships will allow more students to participate in Fordham football, and will make the team much more competitive both in Patriot League and non-league games," said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University.

Currently a member of the Patriot League in football, the move will help Fordham compete at the highest level in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision and aid the Rams in enhancing their non-conference schedule. Fordham will offer 60 scholarships, allowing the Rams to schedule NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools, including already scheduled games with Connecticut, Navy and Army.

Citation
(http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/2009-08-31/football-programs-across-nation-set-debut)



Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Big West Football?


By Jason Aula

I think it maybe time for the talks to begin about Big West Conference Football. With CSUF and CSUN following CSULB’s model to reinstate football, votes are anticipated for CSUF and CSUN during the Spring 2011 semester. CSUN will be voting in April  2011. If these efforts to reinstate football programs are successful, what division would we these schools play in?
CSULB, CSUN, and CSUF are all attempting to reinstate football programs at the Division 1AA level. Currently Cal Poly Slo and UC Davis play Division 1AA level Football. Both Slo and Davis are Big West members with the Universities that may reinstate football. Travel costs for away games would decrease considerably making having football more affordable for all.
Efforts have begun to reinstate football at UCSB, a Big West Conference member. UCSB happens to have a 17,000 seat on campus stadium, which makes bringing up reinstatement that much easier.  UCR efforts are currently in the works.  With the Sacramento Kings packing up to move to Anaheim, which is very close to the Riverside area. The King proving there is demand for a pro team in the Riverside and OC areas. Why would’nt there be demand for College football in the 909 /951 areas?
Now that Bring Back 49er Football has shared the blue print on bringing back a college football team. Bring Back 49er Football welcomes anyone wishing to reinstate football to PERFECT our effort! Our effort was based upon a shared report from CSUF Bring Back Titan Football. The report was the plan Georgia State implemented when bringing back football recently.
Bring Back 49er Football will be glad to advise anyone wishing to reinstate football! Let the talks on Big West Football Begin!
Go Beach!
Bring Back 49er Football

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Help Increase CSULB Prestige and School Spirit!

49er Football Helmet
CSU Long Beach, a proud institution with a leading school of Arts, state of the art computer science and engineering facilities, is one of the fastest growing colleges in the CSU system.

Unfortunately, one thing is missing-- a football team.
Yes, we have Basketball, Volleyball, Baseball, etc.. but a football team would add so much to the school:

1) Increase school spirit via huge games that almost everyone would enjoy

2) Increase the amount of revenue the school takes in through ticket sales

3) Give the students and the community at large a fun, all-American activity that the whole family can enjoy -- as well as college students!

4) Increase school recognition and prestige.

There are both social and economic benefits to CSULB and the LA/OC area to have a football team. Having a team would also, increase CSULB's association with the city of Long Beach. In addition having football would increase campus pride to new levels!

Just imagine how much fun it would be to hang out with your friends before the game, enjoying some food and drinks before heading over to the game. Cheering when CSULB scores a touchdown, the tense silence at the one field goal that could make all the difference, the shouts of ecstasy when CSULB makes the surprise interception and touchdown, and the victory celebration after wards.

Can you imagine it? I can, so lets make it a reality!

Vote Yes March 21-24th during ASI Elections

Go Beach!

Friday, March 4, 2011

UCSB Launches Bring Back Guacho Football!!!!

This week Bring Back 49er Football discovered that efforts to reinstate football at UCSB has begun. Bring Back Guacho Football and the other leadership at CSULB, CSUN, and CSUF have been working to help get things going at UCSB.





UCSB needs 50% of the number of the number of students that voted in AS Elections last year. Last Spring about 8,000 students voted, which means Bring Back Guacho Football needs about 4,000 signatures.


UCSB's prospect are quite promising considering they still have an on campus stadium. The stadium was built in 1966 and is named after Theodore "Spud" Harder, a former coach of the Gauchos' football team. It hosted Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers who trained there ahead of the 1967 Super Bowl I. The UC-Santa Barbara football team played their home games at Harder Stadium until football was cut after the 1972 season due to budget cuts. UCSB brought football back as a non-scholarship sport in 1983 and by 1987 was playing a full Division II and III schedule. In 1992, the NCAA ruled that Division I schools must play at the Division I level in all sports; UCSB and a few other schools attempted to form a non-scholarship Division I-AAA level, but the effort failed and UCSB eventually dropped football. The stadium has a capacity of 17,000 people, and currently is the largest stadium on California's Central Coast, although when Alex G. Spanos Stadium which is currently used by California Polytechnic State University is fully renovated in the summer of 2010 it will lose that title. Along with the UCSB Events Center, it is one of the more well-attended athletic venues in the Central Coast.(1)

With UC Riverside, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara starting movements similar to CSULB, CSUF, and CSUN increase the odds of football reinstatement at all universities. CSUF has 1100 of 3500 signatures needed for referendum after 4 days worth of signature gathering!

The blue print has been presented who else is going to use it? Good luck to everyone!

1. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harder_Stadium)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

March Madness: CSULB, CSUF, and CSUN are attempting to Reinstate Div. 1AA Football by Student Votes

By Jason Aula

March Madness in so cal has a little different meaning this year. Three southern California CSUs are attempting to reinstate Div. 1AA football programs.

CSULB, will be voting from March 21-24 on reinstating football. Bring Back 49er Football is a student organization committed to promoting the reinstatement of football at CSULB. Bring Back 49er Football collected the required signatures to put the matter of football to a vote.

Bring Back Matador Football began gathering signatures at the beginning of February and has obtained over 2000 of the 3500 signatures needed to set a student vote. Bring Back Matador Football is using the CSULB model for bringing back football. Bring Back Matador Football Projects a Spring 2011 vote to reinstate football.

Bring Back Titan Football is unique because that organization is composed of football alumni and students. Efforts to gather signatures began on 2/28/2011 and should commence no later then mid April 2011. CSUF, also has an on campus stadium, which increases the odds of reinstatement happening.

CSULB, CSUN, and CSUF all play Big West Conference sports for the most part. Cal Poly SLO and UC Davis are Big West conference schools in almost every sport except football. The three schools attempting to reinstate football should begin the talks of the possibility of the Big West conference supporting football. If these local schools all play div 1aa football why not?

 One of the biggest football expenses is travel costs. Big West Football could become a reality and urge schools such as UC Irvine and Pacific to reinstate suspended football programs in the future. Southern California is a great place to recruit football players and even with big schools like USC, UCLA, and SDSU these three state schools could still recruit.

CSULB Contact: Jason Aula jasonaula@gmail.com 818 602 6815
www.bringback49erfootball.weebly.com

CSUN Contact: Jeff Benson okam118@yahoo.com 818 631 8761

CSUF Contact: Danny Pasquil d.pasquil@yahoo.com 626 482 6835
www.bringbacktitanfootball.com 

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Bring Back Titan Football's Signature Gathering Drive Starts with a Touchdown

On Monday 2/28/2011 Bring Back Titan Football Signature Gathering launched. Bring Back Titan Football began before Bring Back 49er Football in the Fall of 2008. Bring Back 49er Football was very lucky to get the petition template and reinstatement proposal from the leadership of Bring Back Titan Football. Without the blueprint Bring Back Titan Football shared with Aula in the fall of 2008 CSULB would not be voting on bringing back football this March. Bring Back 49er Football President Jason Aula has helped launch signature gathering efforts at CSUF and CSUN. Aula is using the exact same approach at both universities as the one he implemented at CSULB. Aula went on to state that he felt CSUF has the best chance to reinstate football of the 3 Cal State movements." CSUF has a new 10,000 seat stadium on campus CSULB and CSUN do not, not having an on campus stadium effects the odds of reinstatement in a bad way."

On a good note for CSUN still does have the stadium site available where the full 10,00 seat stadium stood until 2001, Long Beach State has Veterans Stadium on the Long Beach City College campus. The Div. 1AA team played there until the 1991 season. Veterans Stadium maybe old, but the LBCC College Republicans are currently gathering signatures for the Veterans Stadium Beautification Act. The Veterans Stadium Beautification Act would create a temporary student activity fee of $5 per semester for a 5 year period. This would allow capital improvements to be done to help Veterans Stadium become a revenue source, not a financial liability.




CSUF is set to have all signatures gathered and submitted by mid April at the latest. The vote could be set for the Spring or Fall semester, it depends on how quickly the signatures are verified. At CSULB it took 3-4 weeks for the Dean of Students to verify the signatures.


CSUN has 2,121 of 3,500 signatures needed to set a vote at Cal State Northridge. CSUN anticipated completing signature gathering efforst by the 3rd or 4th week of March. A vote to reinstate football will likely take place during spring 2011.


CSUF should have 2,000 or more signatures by the end of March. Hopefully the efforts at all 3 Socal Cal States will awaken more people to join the efforts. Maybe we can talk about the Big West having football because Cal Poly and Davis have Div. 1AA football. Both CSUF and CSUN are using the same proposal submitted to CSULB ASI and Administration. Both CSUF and CSUN would both reinstate football at the Div. 1AA level according to proposals.

By: Jeff Benson
3/1/2011

Saturday, February 26, 2011

LBSU Athletic Director Vic Cegles Proposes $20 million renovation of Blair Field and Negates CSULB Students Call for Football

:Jenna Skarzenski | Daily 49er
By Jason Aula

LBSU Athletic Director Vic Cegles has made a few comments in the Daily 49er and Press Telegram over the past few weeks that seem to use ad hominem arguments to avoid actually addressing Bring Back 49er Football's proposal (http://bringback49erfootball.weebly.com/proposal.html).

In Monday's Long Beach Press-Telegram, he reaffirmed his stance by saying, "It's very, very, very, very unrealistic."- 2/16/2011 Daily 49er

Vic Cegles, athletic director at the university, said there are numerous challenges to overcome to set up a football team, including having a stadium, coaches, scholarships, an academic support system, while also providing equal resources for women's sports. "It's very, very, very, very unrealistic," Cegles added.-Press Telegram -2/14/2011
Proposed Renovation of Blair Field

Mr. Cegles, it is very very very unrealistic to renovate Blair Field (http://www.daily49er.com/sports/blair-field-renovation-closer-to-20-million-1.2461648) with the projected costs reaching almost $20 million, when a 10,000 seat on campus stadium could be built with less then that amount (http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Fall99/v7n20/football.html). Bring Back 49er Football estimates that for about $15 million an on campus 10,000 seat stadium could be built. Having a football team will increase alumni donations making it easier to finance future capital improvements. Bring Back 49er Football has over 2,300 students requesting football, not a $20 million renovation project of an off campus baseball field (Did I mention the stadium will be ON CAMPUS). There is no proven demand for this renovation, why not redirect the funds to an on campus 10,000 seat stadium? A 10,000 seat on campus stadium would better suit students desires and calls. Having an on campus stadium would not only be limited to the use of the student body, but it would also serve as a revenue source through public rentals. I say spend the $20 million on a stadium, there are more ways to profit from an on campus stadium which would benefit far more people then a renovation of the off campus facility: Blair Field.

It is unethical as a person and administrator, that you mislead the student body in regards to the Bring Back 49er Football Proposal(http://bringback49erfootball.weebly.com/media-coverage.html) The fact of the matter is, that the Proposal addresses and funds coaches, scholarships, and academic support. In addition Bring Back 49er Football's proposal includes equal funding for women's sports with the additions of NCAA Crew, Field Hockey, and Lacrosse.

Veterans Stadium Press Box
Mr. Cegles misleads students and onlookers with with his inaccurate comments that discredit Bring Back 49er Football's Proposal, not allowing the media to accurately present the facts of a referendum is quite unfair. The student activity fee would be phased in over 5 years meaning an annual semester increase would not exceed $25 (Phase in Fee Formula Year 1: $25, Y2: $25+$17= 42, Y3: $25+$17+$25= 67, Y4 $25+$17+$25+$13=80 Y5 80+$6 total 5 year phased increase =$86). The Bring Back 49er Football Proposal was modeled off Georgia State's study to reinstate football. Georgia State reinstated football at the Division 1AA level and has similar enrollment and tuition cost in comparison to CSULB. Georgia State, is a state college like CSULB.

Cegles also argues that a football team would have no place to play. The 49ers have their old home they left back in 1991. Veterans Memorial Stadium is still located in Long Beach minutes away from CSULB. Veterans Stadium could use a face lift, but she still holds over 10,000 people. Long Beach Poly High and Los Alamitos High sellout football games at Veterans Stadium on a regular basis, why can't Long Beach State?

Bring Back 49er Football Campaign Blog/Website

George Allen @ Press Conference
Bring Back 49er Football Long Beach has worked to get the issue of reinstating football to a vote. Now it is time to educate the student body, media, and citizens of Long Beach about how CSULB bring back football can benefit the University and City hand in hand.

This blog will be the media source for news and updates from Bring Back 49er Football and related issues. There should be at least, one post everyday from today until the end of March.

Bring Back 49er Football Website: www.bringback49erfootball.weebly.com

Bring Back 49er Football Blog: www.bringback49erfootball.blogspot.com

Bring Back 49er Football is committed to getting out the vote for football. The Vote will take place between March 21-24, and will be held online.

With the Student Excellence Fee being imposed on students makes bringing back football even more of a challenge.

T-Shirts will be coming very soon, any type of volunteer help would be kindly appreciated.

Go Beach!