Entering offseason workouts as the owner of the longest losing streak in the nation, Duke's football team decided to bring in some people who have seen it all before-and even some who remember the glory days.
More than 200 Duke Football alumni attended the first Duke Football Summit last Saturday, which coincided with the team's annual banquet. The summit, which was held at the Washington Duke Inn, consisted of presentations from President Richard Brodhead, Director of Athletics Joe Alleva and head coach Ted Roof, among others.
The group of alumni represented seven decades of the program's history.
"It's the old saying, 'Actions speak louder than words,'" said Billy Granville, a linebacker on Duke's last bowl team in the 1994 season. "When you see 200 men who come back, and have invested their time and their resources to come back here for two days, that's evidence of commitment."
The presentations and discussions covered all aspects of the program's operation-from game preparation and practices to recruiting and finances. While no formal actions were decided upon, a number of suggestions were offered, including the need for facility upgrades.
The coaches even asked the alumni to help in the recruiting process by alerting the Duke staff to potential prospects in their home locales.
"I believe we entered unchartered territory in the world of college athletics this weekend," Alleva said. "I have never heard of a school hosting a group of former players this large in any sport for the purpose of discussing details about the program. Hearing the feedback and thoughts from the former players regarding Duke football tells me this was an excellent idea and that there is a great deal of alumni support for the program."
The summit came on the heels of the program's fourth winless record in 11 seasons. During the year, several alumni, calling themselves Concerned Duke Footballers, started a website to voice their concern over the program's performance.
Alumni who attended the summit said that while there was some airing of frustrations over the team's struggles in this and recent years, the event was primarily constructive.
"Coach Roof did a great job of outlining what all of his plans are," former New York Giants and Duke quarterback Dave Brown said. "A lot of us came in skeptical, and I think a lot of us walked out much more optimistic than we had come in."
While many of the alumni said Roof has fairly widespread support among them, they noted the need for a vastly improved performance next year. The Blue Devils came close to capturing a win on at least three occasions this season, but they also lost six games by 21 points or more.
In addition, Duke's average home attendance was less than 20,000 for the second straight year-a mark that was one of the worst in Division I-A.
Several alumni, however, acknowledged that the program's issues go far beyond any one coach and need to be addressed from the top of the University.
"If you had the medical school or the law school performing to the level which Duke [football] has for the period of time for which it has-the last 30 years there has two or three winning seasons-it would be unacceptable," said Tim Curran, a defensive lineman from 1989-1991. "The University would never allow that. The trustees would never allow that to go on. It's been allowed to go on in football. So it's not to say they haven't had the support, but I don't know if they have been proactive in seeking out changes."
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