Three of the first four games have been on the road which to me is always fun, especially the non-conference games. It really provides an interesting take on how other schools do it around the country. All three games that have been played away from West Long Branch have been these non-conference games. I have Monmouth blue in my blood as a former player for the team, a former student broadcaster, two-time professional broadcaster for the team, graduate of the university two times over ('96 & '04), and current faculty member in the communication department. With that all out of the way, I am probably gonna write something now that most of you know if you have ever been to a game at Kessler Field, we (and I say we with a great deal of pride) need to update our football facility.
Each of the three places the team has played at this season have provided a little bit of insight into what Monmouth could be and I hope at some point will be. I thought Colgate was nice. It had a decent size stadium, nice scoreboard, and a smaller but tight-knit college atmosphere. Coastal Carolina was even better with a larger stadium, a press box to die for (loved the pulled pork before the game), pretty decent fan support, and an attitude of looking to the future.
Coach Callahan saved the best game for last this season in terms of the non-conference schedule playing at ODU. A brand new program with a 20 thousand person stadium that was a perfect blend of concrete from the 1930's and a suite section that would rival anything any other FCS and a lot of FBS schools would have. I was so impressed with the way the school and the surrounding community have embraced having college football in the Tidewater area. The university has made it very fan friendly with tailgating areas in every parking area, inside concessions that had anything you could want, and did I mention the suite level?
The key question of course for Hawk fans is what can be done to make Kessler a better place to watch a football game and Monmouth more of a draw for alums and surrounding area football fans. So I went ahead and complied a little list;
1 - Reconfigure the stands .. At this point of the program's history (17 years), there has to be stands on more than only one side of the field. I don't think either end zone needs to have stands but there has to stands on the other sideline. If this got done, it would make sense to move the home sideline to where the new stands are and you can leave the old bleachers for the visitors/students. Coastal Carolina had their student section right behind the Hawks bench and I can't imagine that would be a whole lot of fun.
2 - Add some suites .. This one might be tough and it doesn't have to anything crazy but even a few boxes to watch the game in would add so much atmosphere. I loved how ODU had theirs set-up in the end zone area and I think there would be enough room to build something in front where the MAC is and it would also create a tunnel effect for MU players to run out from if their locker room stayed where it us currently set. If that plan wouldn't work maybe put some in the new stands.
3 - New scoreboard .. Doesn't have to be anything overbearing or gaudy but something with a video board for replays/advertisements/etc would be great. Easy to read numbers that stand out a little more than what is there now.
4 - New press box .. Sorry but I couldn't help putting something in there for members of the media that would look nice in the new stands and give everyone a little more room and privacy up there.
5 - More student involvement .. This has been a problem for MU in all sports but it shouldn't be with the enrollment as big as it is and a large enough alumni base. Not sure exactly how it would work but reward students somehow for attending athletic events on the campus (not just for football but all sports).
6 - Lights for Saturday night football .. This one is easy to jazz up excitement at MU for both the school and the football program. The Shore Conference plays great football in Monmouth & Ocean counties and you would have to think that if given an option to watch football at a higher level both players and football fans would jump at the chance. Saturday nights would be great at 6pm as there are very few high school games that take place at this time. West Long Branch might cause some problems here but it would be worth a shot.
This is certainly no knock on anything or anyone involved with the school and the athletic department as I think our facilities are very good and athletes are taken good care of on campus but I think most, if not all, of these things are very doable and important for the continued growth of the program. None of it will be cheap to build (nothing is in today's world) but can you picture this state of the art football stadium to match the MAC. It would be some sight and something you would think student-athletes would jump at the chance to play in West Long Branch.
Makes me think of Field of Dreams; if you build it, they will come.
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