Jon Gilbert Interview

This is a true story.

It's rare that your personal life ties at the guest booking at times over the weekend. Based on the Big Ten news last week, my girlfriend asked me hey is the East Carolina Marshall game on still for August 29 and I genuinely didn't know the answer, so I thought I know someone who might have some insight on that. How about we get in touch with the director of athletics with these Carolina John Gilbert who is kind enough to join us here before we get into this a couple of housekeeping notes to get to very quickly before we get to a broader discussion on what's going on in college sports… Not these out real quick. How confident are you that football is good to be played at Marshall's going to be a daddy Ficklin Stadium on August 29 to face your pirate. I would read probably confident. Obviously, I think the next two weeks. What were were going to know the fate of of college sports in general you seen a couple other leagues that have pushed the spring. I think we'll know in two weeks time for sure. Obviously Marshall is a part of the group 5 as East Carolina is you have a game set for September 12 at South Carolina where a lot of people are believing that it's trending for, especially the power five conferences to play only conference schedules. What's the latest you can tell us about your discussions with Ray Tanner in that game on the 12th in Columbia. What will not talk multiple times per week.

Talk to you know as early as last week. You know, all indications were going to play the game where we had no discussions about what it would look like it became played and so unless were told otherwise over the make, you were still planning on playing a 12 game season as scheduled. That now again I really think the next two weeks, both from an institutional I think you'll see schools are starting to. You know what their fall is going to look like.

Obviously, I think all the conferences in the next two weeks will decide what their fault would be enjoined by East Carolina Dir. of Athletics John Gilbert here on sports and triad when the Big Ten news came out last week, I immediately thought about you guys and app state which is set the play at Wisconsin or was it the play at Wisconsin before the news and has a game at Wake Forest. Even when I think about the knee see you. I think of places that have their athletic identity based in football and playing power five schools. If that ultimately doesn't happen. John how big of a toll does not have on the group of five altogether will certainly part of the financial makeup of the group 5 is the play guarantee your work by what we've been fortunate over the next couple of years, you know, I don't think we have a guarantee game until 23 will we go to Michigan I think are important know, like a look at this year going to South Carolina is really important for you because we need them to come to daddy Ficklin. The following year so you know were not necessarily missing out on a guarantee that game doesn't get played but we are. I would say concerned about making sure that they would return the following you mentioned the leagues that are moving to spring specific to East Carolina. I'm sticking about claims in athletics last week or maybe two weeks ago putting out a survey to fans which one of the questions included in it which I prefer a fall schedule with no fans or a spring schedule with strictly talking about the economics, not what you would prefer, because obviously you'd love to have football in the regular cycle but just from an economic perspective from a place like ECU where football is so important. What would be more beneficial.

A fall schedule out fans or a spring schedule with what will work for school like ECU playing without fans is more of a financial here in that you know we would play the game.

No fans. We still have all the expense of putting a game on traveling to a game all the ancillary calls with playing both home and the roof on the road without the revenue.

If you don't play the games at all.

Certainly you have the revenue that is good, but you also you don't have all the expense from it.

So your bottom line is actually better for a school like us in that case, does that mean the idea spring football isn't that scary to you will like I'm not an advocate for spring ball and I think that you know for a couple reasons. Number one I don't know on spring football is you know what will the TV networks to do with spring football and all the other inventory that they have value with the same. You know, because obviously that's another big funding keys for all the conferences and their TV contract to the next component is the you know we do approximately 225 to 230 fans all year athletic events primarily at night and also on the weekends.

If you believe everything the same and you try to convince at all in the spring. It it really is very difficult to do and then third which is probably the most important component of all this is do worry about the safety and well-being of our student athletes. If we tried to play a full spring schedule. You know then you have the summer and then we come back in the fall play another fall schedule that that's that's a lot of football in a very short window and I'm not sure that that's good for the game either. Also, let's not forget who's to say that we are in a situation we have a virus or kidney vaccine for the virus. By the time you get the January and February not begin to try that would be at that point John Gilbert with the seer ECU director of athletics, so I know you said the next two weeks or to be very telling, but behind the scenes in conversation you're having with Mike used in the football staff and other fall sports. Is there a hard eight. If were just keeping it with football that you believe is out there where a decision has to be made if you know what I look at we go in late July we go into our 20 hour week because we play weeks zero, I would say the end of July to August 1 is really art dropdead date you know working I need to know one where the other at that point and so that's really kind of where I have my calendar circle. John, I just appreciate you spending some time with this.

It's very illuminating. It's good to hear someone like you who has as much knowledge as you do and as much insight and gives us a much better sense to realistically set our expectations for where things might be, and where we might be headed. Thanks for doing well happy to come aboard and want everyone to continue to wear their math to make sure we get back to normal as quickly as possible while set. Thanks, John. All right, thank you