Bruce Lussier on the Hot Seat?

[RedRobin]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that 12.5% number includes the lower school. The number for just the high school would be substantially higher. If there are 423 students in the high school, 25% is probably a more accurate number being that the majority of the awards go to high school students.

 

Any idea how many students receive full tuition?

 

The 12.5% number is for the entire school (pre-first through 12th). I have no idea why you believe that the numbers for the high school would be higher - the standards are the same for both schools and though I am not privy to information as to which particular students are on what kind of aid, it has always appeared to me that the percentage is about the same in the lower school as in the high school.

During the current school year, $1.9 million was awarded to a total of 132 students. This is an average award of about $14,000 per student. Tuition in the lower school is about $19,000 per year, tuition in the middle school is about $21,000 per year and tuition in the high school is about $24,000 per year. There are no full tuition awards - everybody pays something to attend the school. Before you start throwing out allegations that these awards are all to athletes, I personally know a family that has four children at the school, all on financial aid and none of whom plays (or is even interested in) a sport.

[DavidSchwetty]

The 12.5% number is for the entire school (pre-first through 12th). I have no idea why you believe that the numbers for the high school would be higher - the standards are the same for both schools and though I am not privy to information as to which particular students are on what kind of aid, it has always appeared to me that the percentage is about the same in the lower school as in the high school.

During the current school year, $1.9 million was awarded to a total of 132 students. This is an average award of about $14,000 per student. Tuition in the lower school is about $19,000 per year, tuition in the middle school is about $21,000 per year and tuition in the high school is about $24,000 per year. There are no full tuition awards - everybody pays something to attend the school. Before you start throwing out allegations that these awards are all to athletes, I personally know a family that has four children at the school, all on financial aid and none of whom plays (or is even interested in) a sport.

 

The percentage is significantly higher than 12.5% in the high school. I'll just leave it at that.

[big red big blue]

BRBB - i hear you but i can also tell you that the number of people receiving aid is 1/2 of the number you suggest - at BA at least- and again i know that for fact. And those getting it far outweigh the football guys getting it. Most the best players on the BA football team do not receive one penny. I actually disagree with much of this thread when it comes to bldg a great pgm based upon being able to pay the best kids. Reputation plays a big big role in attracting kids. We have 7-10 players at our house every wk, some all wkend. If you get them to be really honest with you, they all think they will not only play at a DI school but maybe play pro ball. Parents have kids go to the pgm they think will get them to the next level. yes i' m not naive and know that bucks play a part in some but ensworth for ex is attracting many of the best players these days as folks think that will get their kids into AL, LSU, Fla - you name it. I guess people will argue that behind the scenes there is "rule breaking " going on. Again not naive to think that might not be the case but it is sure easy for folks to make that their 1st argument

well I guess my #'s are too high....but the point is, these schools have in essence a bottomless pit of money to offer as financial aid....that opens the doors to a lot of people that maybe weren't candidates 15-20 years ago when FRHS was an elite program....the money goes to students of all kinds....some play sports, some don't....but the eligible applicant pool is much deeper for these schools than it was 20 years ago. That's a luxury these schools have. And when the TSSAA lifted the quota on the # of financial aid recipients that could play on a particular varsity team, it opened the doors even more.

 

I recall when Kurt Page left FRHS 10 years ago he made several proposals on this subject that he felt FRHS needed to enact in order to stay competitive with the other D2 programs. Much of what he proposed centered on finding ways to make their financial aid awards go farther so that more Catholic families could attend the school....

[DirectorP]

There is more Talent walking the Halls at Ryan than there is on the football field. I wonder why? Parents tell me because of the Coach. That speaks VOLUMES

[mustachiomenace]

well I guess my #'s are too high....but the point is, these schools have in essence a bottomless pit of money to offer as financial aid....that opens the doors to a lot of people that maybe weren't candidates 15-20 years ago when FRHS was an elite program....the money goes to students of all kinds....some play sports, some don't....but the eligible applicant pool is much deeper for these schools than it was 20 years ago. That's a luxury these schools have. And when the TSSAA lifted the quota on the # of financial aid recipients that could play on a particular varsity team, it opened the doors even more.

 

I recall when Kurt Page left FRHS 10 years ago he made several proposals on this subject that he felt FRHS needed to enact in order to stay competitive with the other D2 programs. Much of what he proposed centered on finding ways to make their financial aid awards go farther so that more Catholic families could attend the school....

 

Father Ryan has the kids needed to succeed in DII in their feeder schools but they are unwilling to provide the right amount of financial aid to those kids. Also they don’t try hard enough to keep those kids in a catholic school. Bruce Lussier has never gone out to the feeder schools and tried to get those kids to come to Father Ryan. He just hopes that they show up to Father Ryan in August. And the fact of the matter is that they don’t show up to Father Ryan anymore in August because they ended up going to BA, Ensworth, or MBA. Or like DirectorP said they just don't want to play football for Lussier.

Edited October 9, 2012 by mustachiomenace

[big red big blue]

It's sad to hear, because Ryan football used to really be important here....The Catholic community rallied around FRHS football; you'd see hundreds of kids over at the K of C fields on a Saturday playing in the parochial leagues, and everyone would be wearing Ryan gear, talking about the Ryan game from the night before. The MBA-Ryan game was the biggest event in town.....

 

Personally I think Ryan lost something when it left Elliston Place. It was much more a part of Nashville back then, with St. Cecilia, Overbrook, Christ the King, St. Bernards, and St. Henry's all nearby...with its biggest rival right down the road...obviously the school/campus are much nicer now, so maybe it doesn't matter. But it all started to feel different when Ryan moved to its new campus.....JMO....

[oldbigredman]

I think I actually posted my question under the wrong topic - my question is with the few people I know at Ryan it seems like everyone wants a coaching change. If the administration follows suit, who can Ryan get that can bring back the enthusiasm and hard nose football Ryan used to be known for?

[ccdad]

This is a wish. There may be kids that don't want to play for Bruce but the reality is that there aren't many "difference makers" roaming the hallways of Ryan that aren't currently playing.

 

 

There is more Talent walking the Halls at Ryan than there is on the football field. I wonder why? Parents tell me because of the Coach. That speaks VOLUMES

[shakinthefat]

Artificial turf, new weight room, state of the art athletic facilities, nice stadiums, reputation of a winning program with winning coaches, need based aid.

For a family with a kid who is looking at private DII schools these are the attributes they will look at. (Might need to add Jumbo Tron to that list now.)

Ryan does offers most of these things. (most not all)

IMO when Ryan moved and had to play at West middle, Bellevue middle or the Nashville Sounds field, this caused kids to look elsewhere. Who wants to play off campus or play on campus on a Sat during the day due to lighting restrictions at Ryan. "Friday Night Lights".

So now it's been a couple of years since the move and games are now played on campus on Friday night, maybe kids are now starting to look at attending and playing at Ryan. But.....the program has now got a losing reputation and kids are turning away still.

9, 10 and 11 yr old kids these days do not want to play for a team with a mediocre reputation. There are other options and that is why you see the disparity. IMO

[nashwrestling]

Being the fervent Ryan supporter that I am...I can give some insight on the buzz surrounding the program at the moment. For the most part, folks love Bruce. The ones seeing over the situation are put in a difficult situation deciding his fate considering the great guy that Lussier is...WITH THAT BEING SAID, losing to PJPII is never acceptable and definiely puts him on the hot seat. Honestly, before last week before the PJP game, I thought he would certainly be the coach next year despite the disappointing season so far...Now after having lost to PJP, I speculate he will have to rally the troops and somehow make some sort of a run in the playoffs. I hope he does, because Bruce is a great guy. Best of luck, Coach!

 

GO IRISH!!!!

Edited October 10, 2012 by nashwrestling

[DirectorP]

Keep Dreaming NashWrestling, Because a good head coach knows both sides of the football. 3 Offensive coordinators in his 7 years and the Offense still has not produced a thing.

[KWoodroof]

Artificial turf, new weight room, state of the art athletic facilities, nice stadiums, reputation of a winning program with winning coaches, need based aid.

For a family with a kid who is looking at private DII schools these are the attributes they will look at. (Might need to add Jumbo Tron to that list now.)

Ryan does offers most of these things. (most not all)

IMO when Ryan moved and had to play at West middle, Bellevue middle or the Nashville Sounds field, this caused kids to look elsewhere. Who wants to play off campus or play on campus on a Sat during the day due to lighting restrictions at Ryan. "Friday Night Lights".

So now it's been a couple of years since the move and games are now played on campus on Friday night, maybe kids are now starting to look at attending and playing at Ryan. But.....the program has now got a losing reputation and kids are turning away still.

9, 10 and 11 yr old kids these days do not want to play for a team with a mediocre reputation. There are other options and that is why you see the disparity. IMO

Ryan had never had a home game at all until they played CBHS on a Saturday afternoon a few years ago. In their glory years, they played at West, and for a few seasons at Vanderbilt. Their gym was called the "Crackerbox" because it was so small. Their baseball games were played at Centennial Park. Facilities (or lack thereof) had no impact on their athletic accomplishments.