I'm in one of two boats when it comes to Duquesne football.  They either need to go all in i.e. give 63 scholarships, move to Highmark/upgrade Rooney big time and try for the colonial.  OR....

Go the way of Dayton and remove Schollies altogether.  

It would be nice to see the program find a suitable venue that would allow for upgrades to the program; but I don’t see it becoming a money-making proposition.  Pitt can’t draw flies unless they play Notre Dame, WVU, or Penn State; so what would make Duquesne football a “draw” even if it upgraded to a higher level of competition.  Would Highmark even fit that profile from a capacity standpoint?  It seats 3500 for soccer with another 500 standing room only tickets available.

Levon1975 thanks for posting and I
don't  believe that Duquesne football will become a bigger draw than Pitt who has trouble as you accurately point out.  I just wanted to point out the revenue generator that 1 game with an FBS school is.  Non of athletic programs are money makers but one football game with an FBS school brings in more revenue than anything else and our AD and administration understands that. Pretty sure an NCAA hoops appearance would bring in an extra 250,000 and a win approximately 500,000(×2) from what I saw online. My overall point is that athletics at Duquesne overall benefits and I am just advocating more schollies for Coach Schmitt and you will really see the program flourish IMHO.  Appreciate all your posts guys on football thanks!

Wondering if anyone here knows if there has ever been consideration of an athletic campus outside of town. It's a model I've encountered at a number of schools that are landlocked where space is identified away from the main campus for various fields and courts and built up over time. For Duquesne, it would make sense to leave basketball and volleyball in town at the new place but soccer, tennis, lacrosse and eventually football could have a small complex elsewhere. Naturally, there are some logistics in dealing with transport but other schools figure this out. 

levon1975 wrote:

Judge,
No doubt that the "buy game" money is a significant source of revenue for Athletics, and with multiple "buy games" on future schedules they can plan for that added revenue.  My comments weren't critical of the "buy games" as a source of revenue, but, related to whether football has room to grow beyond its present position, and the limitations for growth based on the lack of a venue.  Highmark Stadium would be a logical option except for the ties to  UPMC; how would that impact a relationship with a facility named for Highmark? Personally, I'd much rather see Duquesne aligned with Highmark than UPMC, especially with the new Osteopathic Medicine School on the horizon; but at this point that seems doubtful. 

 
That may be the reason… I’m so tired of the cut throat competition between Highmark and UPMC.  I saw a briefing about the new medical school and it seems that it will not place interns at Highmark but everywhere else.  This is UNHEALTHY for Pittsburgh

Last edited by coffee (9/11/2021 7:39 am)