So... about Portland State....

[EverettGriz]

I would feel bad for PSU and Burton except for the fact that he was the head coach when PSU put a f***ing safety in at wide receiver for the sole reason to do a crack back block on Severin Campbell, not once but twice (I think it was in 2010), which just happened to end Severin's career as a Griz. Burton is a ass.

This happened in Hillsboro stadium when Jeld Wen was being refurbished. I was almost exactly looking down the line of scrimmage when the play occurred. It was a brutal attack. It was literally the dirtiest athletic incident I have ever witnessed.

Was it worse than when your guy purposely tore the Weber star's knee up, ending his career?

That wasn't purposeful and you know it, poorman. It was a chopblock. Illegal yes. Unfortunate yes. But not intentional, and considerably different than putting a guy in to do one job: Knee hunt the best defensive player in the league.

 

[84GRIZ]

I would feel bad for PSU and Burton except for the fact that he was the head coach when PSU put a f***ing safety in at wide receiver for the sole reason to do a crack back block on Severin Campbell, not once but twice (I think it was in 2010), which just happened to end Severin's career as a Griz. Burton is a ass.

This happened in Hillsboro stadium when Jeld Wen was being refurbished. I was almost exactly looking down the line of scrimmage when the play occurred. It was a brutal attack. It was literally the dirtiest athletic incident I have ever witnessed.

Was it worse than when your guy purposely tore the Weber star's knee up, ending his career?

God you are a frickin idiot. The play that the Weber guy got hurt was an interior line play where our guy screwed up the line call and chopped blocked but our guard had already engaged the Weber guy.

There is a big difference between that and the PSU coach putting a defensive guy in for only two plays at wide receiver and on both plays this guy cracks back into the back of the legs on our defensive end who is engaged with the o-tackle or tight end. If I remember right both plays where sweeps to that side of the field so Severin was focused on getting to the edge. What was even worse was it was on the Griz sideline and if I remember right the dumb as official on that side did not even call a penalty.

 

[ilovethecats]

Oh, and David Hersh is a grade A D-bag.

And Burton is a grade F D-bag.

Seriously, a person for whom I have ZERO respect.

me too. i've been beating this drum for a long time. the guy is as classless as it gets. he is a pos and he's not just running that program into the ground on the field. there is no way anyone can convince me that a guy who is so dirty and "win at all costs" (although they never win) ON the field...isn't doing shady crap off the field. how psu has kept this guy around for as long as they have is beyond me. the guy isn't fit to be an assistant at an naia school...let alone a head coach in fcs.

 

[statler & waldorf]

With the money issue especially, where is the NCAA? You think they'd be sticking their nose into this mess. Or, do they have to wait for some feminazi faculty has an issue with the program?

 

[PDXGrizzly]

I've been living in Portland for a while and am doing some post-bach work at PSU. If we thought Engstrom was bad, the prez at PSU makes him look like the second coming. The only thing that comes out of his office is negativity and finger pointing. He has created an environment at PSU that is every department for it self and admin vs faculty. There is so much conflict here simply because there is no leadership and no respect coming from the big office.

As for Sports Marketing, this so called director is ripping off the college. No ads, publicity, or anything. No posters even! His company is charging $880,000 and has done f-all. It's embarrassing how much of a walk he has taken the college on. No pre-season hype, so ads, nothing. PSU is being out marketed by any one of the local high school teams and has LESS coverage in the Oregonian that any of the local high schools. Contrast that with George Fox University (a teeny little college outside of Portland) who just restarted their program and they look even worse. There is zero support for PSU because nobody cares. Not the faculty (they are busy fighting other programs for funding), not the presidents office, and not the student body (if the admin and faculty can't be bothered to show pride, then why should the students?). To top it all off, there are programs around the state that have pride and are religiously followed, by the PSU student body.

The reality is that the apathetic athletics environment on campus, led by the president of the university and his sports marketing director is going to result in the complete destruction of PSU athletics. There has been some conjecture that the admin is setting the football team up so they can remove it entirely. It's sad. There is so much potential here, but people without vision and any sort if motivation besides self aggrandizement are going to kill this program.

 

[Grisly Fan]

PSU athletics competes with "big time" sports like the Trailblazers, UO, OSU, Timbers, and Thorns. No amount of marketing is going to change that. They would be better off dropping football and join the WCC. Their costs would drop enormously and they'd get better community support. They are swimming against a very strong current by trying to be a BSC school.

 

[grizindabox]

PSU athletics competes with "big time" sports like the Trailblazers, UO, OSU, Timbers, and Thorns. No amount of marketing is going to change that. They would be better off dropping football and join the WCC. Their costs would drop enormously and they'd get better community support. They are swimming against a very strong current by trying to be a BSC school.

WCC would never take them.

 

[WaGriz4life]

What a mess this is. Feel bad for Burton and his team and coaching staff. This marketing guy sounds like a snake oil salesman.

Yup. Never thought I'd say I felt bad for the PSU coaching staff but holy shit that Hersch guy sounds like a complete asshole.

Hersh pointed to Burton's win percentage, also suggested that it was "embarrassing" that the football program could be so hamstrung by being short $20,000. He said it suggests the football budget might have been "mismanaged."

Talk about misdirection. He owes the football program $20,000 but all he wants to do is direct attention away from that and towards other things. I like Burton's response to that.

Said Burton: "I'm an accountant by training. My first job out of college was Deloitte and Touche in Seattle. My job was to perform audits.

"That $20,000? Guess what? That's how we paid for kids to eat. It was absolutely important to give them a stable place the night before the game. And over the course of a season, the cost is $20,000. We're not lining our pockets. We're not ordering things. We're on our own. We've done everything we can, and our kids are OK about it. They're not worried that we aren't eating steak and lobster. We'll bust our butts. And you know why?

"Because we love this place."

Sounds to me like Herscheis flailing around wildly for excuses for why he doesn't want to pay the $20,000. He wanted control of the golf tournament to turn it into something bigger, so he "bought" it for $20,000 then didn't even hold it... Wow.

I would feel bad for PSU and Burton except for the fact that he was the head coach when PSU put a f***ing safety in at wide receiver for the sole reason to do a crack back block on Severin Campbell, not once but twice (I think it was in 2010), which just happened to end Severin's career as a Griz. Burton is a ass.

That was Justin Lilley. He converted from defense to offense during the 2010 season (his freshman season) and finished the rest of his career on the offensive side of the ball. So to say that Burton put a safety in to crack block wasn't the case.

Oh, and David Hersh is a grade A D-bag.

He did it 5 times before he broke Severin's Patela. That was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen on a football field. Your sideline was jumping up and cheering every time he went low on Severin. That kid did not play one snap, not one f****** snap on offense before that game. He never played another snap on offense that game after Severin got carted off. Burton is a piece of shit and is an embarrassment to college football.

 

[PDXGrizzly]

PSU athletics competes with "big time" sports like the Trailblazers, UO, OSU, Timbers, and Thorns. No amount of marketing is going to change that. They would be better off dropping football and join the WCC. Their costs would drop enormously and they'd get better community support. They are swimming against a very strong current by trying to be a BSC school.

The Blazers, timbers, and thorns don't really take market share from the football program. U of O and OSU do. However we have seen other FCS colleges (and even the smaller colleges in the Portland area) have decent followings even when they have been in direct competition with larger FBS schools (McNeese State, Appalachan, YSU, JMU, GSU, UMass when they were FCS, Texas State, Northern Iowa, the list goes on). It is not an excuse for incompetence and outright apathy. The unfortunate truth is that the culture perpetuated by the administration mitigates any potential for pride by the alumni base and the student body.

 

[EverettGriz]

Commuter schools will never have strong football programs.

PSU should drop FB altogether and concentrate on basketball. Go independent until you can build the program, then beg the WAC to take you.

 

[FormerSwoop]

Commuter schools will never have strong football programs.

PSU should drop FB altogether and concentrate on basketball. Go independent until you can build the program, then beg the WAC to take you.

EWU is a commuter school. In recent years it has begun to shift, but it is definitely a commuter school.

 

[PDXGrizzly]

A strong PSU is a huge asset for the Big Sky. However, problems like this can have a stigma that rubs off on other schools in the conference.

 

[EverettGriz]

Commuter schools will never have strong football programs.

PSU should drop FB altogether and concentrate on basketball. Go independent until you can build the program, then beg the WAC to take you.

EWU is a commuter school. In recent years it has begun to shift, but it is definitely a commuter school.

Yes, but not like PSU.

 

[LDopaPDX]

Commuter schools will never have strong football programs.

PSU should drop FB altogether and concentrate on basketball. Go independent until you can build the program, then beg the WAC to take you.

EWU is a commuter school. In recent years it has begun to shift, but it is definitely a commuter school.

Yes, but not like PSU.

Nothing like PSU. Over 80% of Eastern's population lives on campus or in Cheney.

The funny thing is that Portland State was one of the best supported D-II teams during their time at that level. They used to routinely draw 12,000 to play the likes of mighty Texas A&I.

 

[FormerSwoop]

Commuter schools will never have strong football programs.

PSU should drop FB altogether and concentrate on basketball. Go independent until you can build the program, then beg the WAC to take you.

EWU is a commuter school. In recent years it has begun to shift, but it is definitely a commuter school.

Yes, but not like PSU.

Nothing like PSU. Over 80% of Eastern's population lives on campus or in Cheney.

The funny thing is that Portland State was one of the best supported D-II teams during their time at that level. They used to routinely draw 12,000 to play the likes of mighty Texas A&I.

Where did you get that number from?

 

[grizindabox]

EWU is a commuter school. In recent years it has begun to shift, but it is definitely a commuter school.

Yes, but not like PSU.

Nothing like PSU. Over 80% of Eastern's population lives on campus or in Cheney.

The funny thing is that Portland State was one of the best supported D-II teams during their time at that level. They used to routinely draw 12,000 to play the likes of mighty Texas A&I.

Where did you get that number from?

Do you put 'Former Swoop" on your resume?

 

[FormerSwoop]

Of course.

 

[NewPapaBear]

PSU drew nearly 20,000 for their home playoff games during the Pokey Allen era of Division II domination. The Vikings were a perenial D2 power mid 80's thru early 90's. We set playoff attendance records during that time & it was awesome!

I know because i PLAYED for him during those years (god rest him). The program has often struggled with only short period of sustainable success. Don Read struggled to win in Portland. However, the Pokey Allen years was easily the most successful

Head football coaches[edit]
See List of Portland State Vikings head football coaches
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1947 – 1954 Joe Holland 8 20–42–3 .331
1955 – 1956 Ralph Davis 2 4–11–1 .281
1957 – 1958 Les Leggatt 2 6–11–0 .353
1959 – 1961 Hugh Smithwick 3 6–17–2 .280
1962 – 1962 Tom DeSylvia 1 4–4–0 .500
1963 – 1967 Jerry Lyons 5 21–24–1 .467
1968 – 1971 Don Read* 4 20–19 .513
1972 – 1974 Ron Stratten 3 9–24–0 .273
1975 – 1980 Mouse Davis 6 42–24–0 .636
1981 – 1985 Don Read* 5 19–33–1 .365
1986 – 1992 Pokey Allen 7 63–26–2 .703
1993 – 2006 Tim Walsh 14 90–68–0 .570
2007 – 2009 Jerry Glanville 3 9–24–0 .273
2010 – present Nigel Burton 3 12–21–0 .364

Totals: 13 coaches 64 seasons 324–349–10 .481
* Read's combined statistics: 9 seasons, with a record of 39–52–1 (.429).

It's a dumpster fire now & i don't see how football survives without institutional financial support. Unfortunately, as an alum who lives in Portland i can football program is on life support & it doesn't look good for a recovery!

I know this David Hersh was a move of desperation. His sports marketing approach is outdated out of touch and uninspiring. He has NO business interfering in the alum community because he has to no history of previous involvement. The biggest mistake was during the Tim Walsh era when many of the POKEY guys were alienated from the program.

Pokey obviously casts a HUGE shadow & PSU Fottball is still in the cold!

 

[griz4life]

PSU is very much like most of the teams in the Big Sky that have been added without objection from Montana.
You dance with the girl you brought.

 

[Grizbeer]

Sold 813 tickets for their game against Cal Poly last week:
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2014/10/canzano_guess_which_local_coll.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Weekly report that goes from Portland State to the City of Portland on the use of Providence Park reveals that the Vikings sold only 809 tickets to last Saturday's home game.

Sales from the Northern Arizona loss netted only $15,000 in revenue, per the report, for a game with an announced crowd of 4,083.

I've long been on record that the PSU program hasn't been properly marketed. The "win a free car" and "earn a turkey" promotions have a minor-league baseball feel. On Saturday, the Vikings had Takeru Kobayashi, a world-champion competitive eater, scarf down two cheese pizzas in just two minutes.

This is amateur hour at its finest.

Oregon has done a terrific job marketing itself as cutting-edge and innovative. Oregon State is busy connecting with its core values. But PSU is just fumbling along, rudderless right now. Athletic director Torre Chisholm resigned effective Oct. 1 after trying, with futility, to get some traction on campus.

David Hersh, who has a lucrative agreement with Portland State tied to ticket sales and marketing, is absolutely the wrong guy for this program. He came to PSU with the blessing of well-intentioned boosters, and not Chisholm. That's obvious. But what Portland State needs is a shrewd leader in the athletic department who can market the programs and connect deeply with football fans and citizens.

I wonder, too, on a more fundamental level, if Portland State even knows what it is. It has a huge alumni base, and fails on so many levels to connect with those former students. Those who work on campus present stories of a fractured campus, and the recent call from university administration for the football program to be self sufficient has further fostered an, "It's everyone for themselves!!" mentality.

Football, self sufficient?

Sure.

Not a problem given that it plays a handful of payday games, getting its teeth kicked in for a $500,000 check. But if football decides to keep that revenue instead of depositing it into the athletic department account, where does that leave the rest of the campus? Also, the university president isn't just asking football to carry its own water, he's placed that pressure campus-wide.... the costs are being passed on, around campus... so guess what happens when the catering department is hired to cater an event on campus?

PSU is gouging itself.

Now, 809 tickets sold? Yikes.

The Vikings are 2-5 overall. They've lost two straight. They're not drawing, even when giving away two-year leases for cars. Hersh and his "C-Level Marketing" are sure to blame football coach Nigel Burton for his failure to sell tickets. And as much as a winning program would help sell tickets, I think the entire philosophy is flawed.

Portland State's alumni base: 156,000 and growing, 65 percent of which reside in the Portland metropolitan area.

(Vote on why you think PSU isn't selling tickets.)

PSU needs to get onto inviting all of its tens of thousands of alumni to buy back into the campus that educated them. It needs to foster a sense of pride on the Park Blocks. It needs to do better, sure, in winning more football games, but it also has to stop acting like it's a minor-league baseball operation.

Hersh longs for the Pokey Allen days. He wants a coaching personality that can throw meteors in people's yards and help generate excitement. But I'd ask then, what would PSU need a marketing company for if the coach was doing the work?

Just get back to being a place people want to be involved with. Use smart, targeted, marketing. Reach out to your large alumni base. Create a sense of pride. Because the current model is a disaster.

809 people are apparently on board, anyway.

--- @JohnCanzanoBFT