Rumor is heating up that Sully will take the Texas Baseball Head Coaching job... If Foley doesn't double his salary & promise a majorly upgraded stadium, or even a new stadium, we probably will lose him. Have heard from many people here in Gainesville that Sully has been unhappy w/ a stadium that ranks towards the bottom of the SEC, & fan support that is truly embarrassing a lot of the time... Truly hope Foley does the right thing...& Gator Nation needs to realize Football isn't the only sport in the world... It will always be the most popular & biggest $ maker, but Gators come on!!! Sully is one of the top 5 College Baseball Coaches in the Country... Pay him, build/upgrade the stadium, & the fans will notice the commitment & show up...
Sully leaving for Texas?
- Thread starter ecrgator
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I thought the crowds looked a little better this year, the games that I watched. They have been embarrassing at times in the past. A new stadium might help some. If people aren't turning out for a consistent top-5 team and a roster filled with high school all-americas and future pros, I'm not sure that the stadium is going to make the difference.
A covered stadium would go a long way to attracting fans to a game. Watching a day game during the latter part of a season can be brutal.
We can't get into bidding wars or the facilities arms race for non revenue sports when we are still behind on the facilities for the big 2. If Sully walks, so be it. Keep investing in your cash cow.
The O'Dome was long overdue for the total gutting & upgrading currently underway... I only wish it was done before Billy left...he certainly deserved it. It would be a tragedy if they don't name the basketball court 'Billy D Court' or 'Billy Donovan Court', & have him come to the game for the unveiling.
Foley has stated repeatedly that The Swamp will not add additional seating... I'm sure there's always upgrades being done to offices, suites, concourses, bathrooms, etc.... I think the 1 thing that would make The Swamp complete is to replace the scoreboard above the Sunshine Seats w/ one the size of our other scoreboard...that would be nice for fans sitting on the opposite end of the stadium.
We are the Flagship University of the State of Florida... We are the only SEC school in Florida... We are a prosperous Institution... We have the $$$ to keep Sully & majorly upgrade 'The Mac'... There is NO reason that our Baseball & Softball Stadiums are ranked towards the bottom of the SEC...& so was the O'Dome until the recent restoration/renovation/complete upgrade currently underway.
I really like Foley in ALOT of aspects...but I think he's just now realizing that recruiting is so tight nationwide, the 'Arms Race' is a necessary part of the recruiting process these days... Spend that $$$ Foley!!!
Foley has stated repeatedly that The Swamp will not add additional seating... I'm sure there's always upgrades being done to offices, suites, concourses, bathrooms, etc.... I think the 1 thing that would make The Swamp complete is to replace the scoreboard above the Sunshine Seats w/ one the size of our other scoreboard...that would be nice for fans sitting on the opposite end of the stadium.
We are the Flagship University of the State of Florida... We are the only SEC school in Florida... We are a prosperous Institution... We have the $$$ to keep Sully & majorly upgrade 'The Mac'... There is NO reason that our Baseball & Softball Stadiums are ranked towards the bottom of the SEC...& so was the O'Dome until the recent restoration/renovation/complete upgrade currently underway.
I really like Foley in ALOT of aspects...but I think he's just now realizing that recruiting is so tight nationwide, the 'Arms Race' is a necessary part of the recruiting process these days... Spend that $$$ Foley!!!
The University of Florida is, I believe, the ONLY athletic program to finish in the Top 10 for the best overall athletic program every year that the award has been given out. And we are one of only a handful of universities whose athletic departments operates at a significant profit every year. There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn't have top notch facilities for all of our sports. Those who say we should place all of out emphasis and money into football and to a lesser extent basketball and just give the other programs the leftovers are missing the point of what Jeremy Foley and the athletic department have been stressing for 25 years or more. The athletes in the non-revenue producing sports work just as hard as those in football and basketball and they bring a lot of prestige and notoriety to the university with their excellent achievements. That football is the king mentality was probably a contributing factor to Donovan leaving and I'd hate to lose Sully and maybe eventually Tim Walton for not giving them the respect and upgrades to facilities they have earned and deserve for their recruits and players.
I live in Gainesville and listen to the local sports talk radio pretty much every day. I have heard more than one radio host state that Foley has told them there will never be a baseball stadium cover as long as Foley remains AD. For some reason he does not want one. He is a huge Red Sox fan and my guess is that it has something to do with that. Fenway has very few covered seats.
15th last year in average attendance. I think we will improve some when this years final numbers are released. However, no reason we can't be top 10 most years.
We were 15th nationally in attendance last year? That's better than I would have thought. I don't know how authoritative this is, but it says the baseball team operated at a $2 million loss. If we're 15th nationally in attendance, but losing $2 million, I can understand not blowing a bunch of money on a new stadium. Stadium upgrades and improvements to other baseball facilities (weightroom, batting cages, training facilities, etc...) might make more sense. But 100 % Sullivan should be the highest paid baseball coach in the SEC, even nationally, if that's what it takes to keep him, and if we are serious about continuing to win like this. It's not like we'd have to pay him $4-$5 million a year. Manieri, at LSU, has the highest base, I believe, at $750k, + bonuses to $1.1 m.
We probably can't compete with UT as far as tradition and facilities, so if that's what Sully wants, godspeed to him. But if we get beat on salary, I'll be disappointed.
No doubt we need to upgrade the facility. It's not horrible, but has fallen behind some of the others. Yep, average attendance per game we were 15th and in overall attendance we were 10th I believe. JF said after Odome the softball field was next then I believe baseball.
