LetsGoToWork

I see what you’re saying but you’re wrong on the record. The only D2 AA school Lipscomb beat in the past two years was Goodpasture. Lipscomb would have played them anyway since they’ve been playing each other for the past 40 plus years. The other wins came from out of conference games. So whether they are AA or AAA the record is the same. Also Lipscomb did play two D2 AAA schools this past season so they didn’t run and hide. One last thing, if you agree the real measuring stick is the number of scholarships given and not school size in D2 then why do you care? It sounds like it was the right thing for those schools and their student athletes. Webb just started a 11 man football program and Lipscomb, at the time of the decision, had no players on athletic scholarships. None of the other programs in the AAA were at that same starting point. When Lipscomb was in D1, they were forced to play 3A football and then eventually 4A football for several years when they were the size of 2AA school. I know other privates were also in that boat. All of that was due to public school pressure within the TSSAA. I guess the robber was just taking back what had been robbed from them originally. On the scholarships......they definitely can report how many scholarships there are as long as schools are willing to play by the rules. As we know, there is a clearing house who determines financial need so that institution could publish the number of individual scholarships granted by school. I think they should simply count the number of individuals on scholarship vs amount of $ given. This way the playing field can be evened out based on the number of scholarship players and not based on dollars given. That eliminates total tuition dollar cost factoring into the equation.

Yes Lipscomb really took care of their own!! Let’s see in football they were 3 - 19 over the past two years. I agree......with this sort of dominance Lipscomb definely should move up and see if they can compete in AAA. Really?? If you call that taking care of their own, then so be it. Your twist on the safety is an interesting one. I guess that one falls to the coaches and staff to have responsibility to monitor their players. To your point, do we really want teams who have many scholarship players playing teams who have none or possibly 1-2? Is that safe? MichaelMeyer, you seem to be upset about how the D2 schools were divided up based on schools manipulating the D2 enrollment numbers. Is that what you think is fair? As I said earlier, it has nothing to do with enrollment size in D2, it’s all about how many players you have on scholarship.

No one was fudging numbers. Come on! Yes I think there were schools limiting enrollment. I see no issue with that. Also there were schools butting right up to the D2 AA max number. That number could have been negotiated within the TSSAA but no one is lying about their enrollment numbers. Those numbers are published every year in several publications.

MM, you’re right! There were schools, private and public, that didn’t want to play schools that were taking a different approach to bringing talent in. It hasn’t been that long ago that East’s coach threatened not to play CPA in basketball and they were even in the same district. When the playing field isn’t even (creative ways of securing talent) why would you choose to go and get your head bashed in and get beat by 60? Conversely, why would the elite athletic schools want to play teams they are going to beat by 60? Lipscomb lived that nightmare for years when they used to play BA and literally get boat raced every year. Lipscomb decided to stop playing them when they learned that BA had a talent acquisition department that supposedly never existed. You can’t blame schools for thinking that way if the TSSAA can’t ensure the playing field will be as even as possible. Personally, I hate that HS sports are where they are but unfortunately the ship has sailed and there ain’t no going back. I think we need two divisions in D2. Since it’s really not enrollment size that truly impacts D2 athletics, it should be based on amount of athletic scholarships given per year. For those who will only provide X scholarships they will play down and those who want Y (virtually unlimited) you play up. Seems pretty simple to me.

These are the same problems that CPA, Ensworth, MBA and BA have been dealing with for years. How is Lipscomb’s situation any different? Lipscomb is simply new to all of this. As I said earlier, I just hope they build it the right way. Only time will telll.

I bet Lipscomb’s school bus driver is excellent at talent acquisition. Ha!! Seriously? Being in the “talent attraction” game is okay per the TSSAA but the “talent acquisition” game is a little different in my book. I simply hope that Lipscomb continues to honor the rules as they always have. Lipscomb has not played in the targeted talent acquisition game like some of the other privates around town. There is a difference.

Guys, I generally agree with what you are saying but I do not agree that the “change” needed is as drastic as being described. The whole idea that the campus must look differently (not exactly sure what that means) feels way to drastic. Lipscomb is simply making some coaching changes with people who better understands today’s coaching landscape, and understands the need for true player development. Lipscomb continued on an old school approach way too long. While it sounded great, i.e. let kids be kids by not working them too hard, allow other life priorities to interfere with off season training or simply don’t have any off season training/development.....it wasn’t working. IF the middle division survives in D2, then I disagree that there needs to be drastic changes regarding adding talent ,etc, etc. Player development at younger ages and great coaching will make up a lot of ground. There are those selling the idea that Lipscomb is void of talent.....don’t buy it. That’s a good way to justify why athletics have declined vs considering maybe the old school approach of their coaching just doesn’t work anymore. IF the middle division doesn’t survive, then Lipscomb won’t be the only school that will need to make drastic changes to compete with schools like BA, Ensworth, MBA and others in the “talent acquisition” game. Who knows what the future holds

I thought that was what they were referring to. The statement of "Coaches and Athletic Programs" confused me as it sounded like there were multiple issues. MM, you and I would have to agree to disagree on this one. There are definitely two sides to this story (regarding the decision and treatment) but it probably needs to be left alone. CBG brings up a good question in his post above. Dig into that question and you'll see there were many more issues than his supporters are aware of or willing to admit. He's a good man...…and I'll leave it at that.

It was bugging me after I posted the above as I knew I missed a school I would consider above average in D2 AA and that was Notre Dame. Sorry Booger. All said, I still contend the overall division is weak.

Sorry I meant Dej08? Spelled your screen name wrong

With time things always change. I didn’t think CPA could ever beat Lipscomb during the Coach McAdamss/Coach Matthews era.......both teams got new head coaches, one school took an aggressive approach to adding talent and the tide changed immediately. The next few years should be interesting to watch. Looking at the D2 AA division, it would be healthy for Lipscomb to become competitive again as the division is so weak outside of CPA, Lausanne, BGA, and FRA. Winning state championships in this division just isn’t that difficult as there were only two teams that could’ve won it this year.....CPA and Lausanne. Being able to predict the D2 AA division state champion before the season begins is boring. It would be great if there were 4 or more teams each year that could truly contend for the championship.

DJ08?

Curious on the statement you guys made re. “I’d be leery of accepting a job at Lipscomb after the way they have treated some coaches and athletic programs”. What are u guys referring to specifically?

Yes I admitted there is risk in hiring him, but there would be risk in any hire. Even proven coaches go to other programs and dont work out i.e. Potter at BA. No guarantees! Not confused. Your last paragraph summed up what I was arguing which is...... AS OF TODAY, this isn’t a bad decision by the administration. This is a great decision based on the information and facts. A little unfair to the administration to throw them under the bus re. their past decision making and not acknowledge the decision they made today to hire Dilfer is a great decision today. It will be proven in later years whether it was or was not a good decision but the decision made AS OF TODAY, is a great one. Only those administrations/organizations who have a crystal ball make great hiring decisions 100% of the time. It’s easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize while you have the luxury of watching it all unfold and then at some point in the future point fingers at bad decision making when THiS decision, as of today, is the right decision and I doubt anyone, including you, would’ve walked away from hiring Dilfer. Yes this decision won the press conference, but it wasn’t based on that. It was based on a Christian man who grew up as the son of a HS football coach and played at the highest level of his sport and the belief is that he can coach HS football players. He has been around some of the greatest coaches in football so I would assume he has learned a few coaching tips along the way. Also, I would say being a career QB gives him a leg up on most pros who want to coach. His football IQ is built on extensive offensive knowledge with a great understanding of defenses. Most head coaches in HS specialize on one side of the ball or the other. Not both. None of the above guarantees success, but I wouldn’t bet against him being successful and I would bet you wouldn’t either.

Agree. Not sure that’s a great comparison as HS football is not as difficult as the NBA to win consistently but I get your point. I never said he wouldn’t fail. I’m just saying that it’s crazy to say he’s not a good hire today based on his football knowledge and experience. Can you imagine the response if word got out that Lipscomb had a chance to hire him and didn’t? Today he’s a great hire, but in time we’ll have 20/20 vision and know whether he was a good hire or not. There’s just NO argument to say he is a bad hire today.

Last State Championship Lipscomb won was 3A. They eventually were moved up to 4A and competed well prior to the last couple of years. The great Chinese philosopher Confucius say.........Get facts straight before you make comment.

So what I understand you are saying is that this was a bad decision by the administration to hire Dilfer. Is that correct? So the only hire you would make is someone who has HS Head coaching experience? Really?? I think this hire is a great coaching hire decision! Is there risk? YES. Are there questions whether Dilfer can translate his football knowledge to 15-17 year olds and get them to perform? Yes! Do you walk away from hiring a guy like this when the opportunity presents itself? NO!! Dilfer may be great or he may fail, but no coach they would hire is a 100% fail proof. Why not take a chance on someone with a resume this strong? BTW, news flash......Bowers and Martin were both 1st year coaches at one point, and someone had to “take a chance” on these guys. I’m sure there were people like you saying, what are they doing, he’s never been a head coach before. I think it’s crazy and foolish to forecast “failure” for a guy that comes into this with an extreme amount of football knowledge as compared to most first year HS football coaches.

Not sure what was discussed in Sept as I just joined the discussion. Yes Mostly b-ball, but a few of those guys who came to play b-ball played football too. The only reason I commented on your financial aid budget comment during D1 days is that it wasn’t pertinent to the discussion unless there was some connection to student athletes. Maybe I missed something in translation. I just don’t buy that CPA isn’t in the arms race. I do think there is an argument that can be made that football program had nothing to do with the questionable maneuvers but overall it was supported by the athletic department and leadership. I just think that continues to speaks volumes. Good luck Friday night.

I agree it’s tough to read uninformed comments but I have real issues with your comments above. Not sure how long you’ve been around CPA but there was a time athletes magically showed up at their school while living hours away from the school during the D1 “no financial aid” days. Your comment above that CPA had a very small financial aid budget previously in D1 is funny as it was and still is against TSSAA rules to offer ANY financial aid to a student who plays a sport in the D1 division. In D1, if any student is receiving financial aid, that student is not eligible to play sports. I would agree that CPA hasn’t had an influx of athletes recently but there is no way they can claim they’re not part of or never have been part of the arms race as some of the questionable actions in the past have helped the overall athletic program to gain momentum I agree that Coach Martin is doing a great job working with his players and is building men of character. Great coach!

There is a lot of confusion regarding “financial aid”, “recruiting”, and “scholarships” in the D1 and D2 classifications. To be clear, it has always been and still is a rule that D1 and D2 schools cannot “recruit” athletes. Both classifications of schools cannot actively reach out (recruit) to a player or their family at anytime. Both classifications CAN actively engage with a student athlete once the student or family member initiates the contact with the school. Secondly, both classifications can provide Financial Aid to their students, but ONLY D2 schools can offer financial aid and allow that particular student to play sports. Thirdly, all financial aid applications must go thru an independent clearinghouse that determines the amount of financial aid each family qualifies for based on financial need, and they set the maximum dollars that can be offered as aid. Fourth, the school then determines how much aid they are willing to provide up to the amount the clearinghouse approved. In most cases, there is still a portion of the tuition that the student’s family is responsible to pay. Assuming all of these athletes go to school for free is inaccurate I’m not saying that all schools play by the rules, I’m just saying that’s the playing field.