Here is the audio of today's press conference with UM athletic director Blake James, and some of the questions he addressed.

AUDIO: UM ATHLETIC DIRECTOR BLAKE JAMES

Q: How do you see the state of the program and how do you get them up for a bowl game that isn’t considered a major one?



“The reality is different people are going to look at games differently. I think it looks like a great game. Anytime you can go against an SEC opponent and then you add in Steve Spurrier, one of the great coaches in colleges football, and you have the rivalry right there right away knowing you’re going against an SEC opponent, going against Steve Spurrier. I’m confident that Al and our guys will be ready to go, go out there and play a great game in Shreveport. The Independence Bowl is one of the long standing bowls that has been there as far back as I can remember. I think there are a lot of things to look at as a real positive in this opportunity and a lot of things for our guys to get excited about, particularly, as I said, going against an SEC opponent right away.

Q: How about being 6-6 and how you see the state of the program?





“6-6. We’re 6-6 this year. Any time you go into a season you want to win all your games. Reality is that doesn’t always happen. Right now I think there’s one team that’s won all their games in college football. You look at every week as a new season. I know Al will have our guys ready to go for this one. Overall, I think there are some positives; there are some disappointments. I don’t think anyone was happy with the results in any one of the losses. Every game you go into you want to win. At the end of the year, the losses to Virginia and Pittsburgh obviously were disappointing. As disappointing as the loss was to FloridaState I thought there was some progress made in that game. But again, you want to win the games. So anytime you lose it’s disappointing. Six Saturdays this fall we were disappointed in the results and we have to continue to get better. That’s not the University of Miami football program. That’s not our expectations for our program. With that said, I think it’s important we keep things in perspective and recognize everyone is going out there trying to win. On any given Saturday 50 percent of the teams aren’t doing it.”

Q: People say the college football playoff takes the attention off the other 35 bowl games. Your thoughts?





“It’s the first year so it’s hard for me to assess it. It will have to be something we look at as we go through the bowl season this year and in future years. I think it’s something we have to continue to assess as an association in terms of what we do. I think it remains important to all the bowls. I think different programs go to different bowls for different reasons. Some obviously are playing for the championship. Everybody goes for different reasons, getting team better, getting the experience. Our team, going against the SEC, it’s something I know our fans and our guys will be excited for. It will be interesting to see where this goes over the years. Do we stay at four? If we expand what does it mean for the future. I do believe there’s a benefit in the bowl system. We were able to create the format of the championship as it is right and still keep in tact a lot of the bowls that have helped advance college football. I think it’s a wait and see. I say that, at the same time different teams are going to look at their games in different ways and everyone is wanting to win.”

Q: UM isn’t likely to discuss what you receive from bowls, but there was a story last week that said the ACC pool was going to be $90-95 million as opposed to it not even being half that in the past. How much of a boon is that to Miami and why they’re in this conference. How is it nice that all of a sudden these coffers are going to be a lot more filled really quickly?

“It’s a huge win for our institution and for our program. It’s the guarantee of knowing that revenue is going to come every year. So when I’m doing my budget – and I’m doing it right now – I look out for the next 10 years and know what revenues are going to be coming in for the most part through the agreements we have in place. That credit goes to Commissioner Swofford and Michael Strickland, who really did a great job of setting up the league with some attractive bowl opportunities. Again, to have a lot of the teams in the bowl picture this year and to have all of our teams have a spot to go play, to have those expenses incorporated in there and still seeing everyone getting a check that will help the growth of the program it’s important. It’s one of the reasons we’re so excited to be a part of the ACC. Again, credit to Commissioner Swofford and the great job he’s done in really setting up our school to be in this role and have a great experience for our student athletes.”

Q: Do you feel like the Florida State game and the way you played it and ended impacted the performance of the last two games and how disappointed were you in that?





“Al’s probably the best one to answer that question, the guys and the team. From my perspective did it look like maybe there wasn’t the same energy as we had going into that game? Yeah, but as close as I am to the program I don’t know all the ins and outs of everything that’s going on and what happened in a particular play and what coverage were we supposed to be in and who was supposed to pick up which guy and all those things. From a fan perspective looking at it -- did I look at it and say, ‘Yeah, we’re not performing at the same level that we did against FloridaState?’ Without a doubt. But at the same time I don’t want to take away from Virginia and Pittsburgh for doing the job they did. But as I said earlier, I’m disappointed any time we lose. It probably maybe stung a little bit more in those last two just in that I thought we had seen such great progress through the Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, North Carolina game and even into that Florida State game. I felt coming out of there we’d be able to go out and perform at a high level and I didn’t see it from my vantage point in those final two weeks. And I know that’s something Al and the guys will be working on and we need to get that fixed and be ready to go here in a couple of weeks in Shreveport.”



Q: Do you feel any differently about this coaching staff now than you did at this time a year ago?





“No. This time a year ago we were just coming off what was a very interesting season, one in which we had the NCAA sanctions handed down I think probably the sixth or seventh game in. We started out 7-0 and then hit a few bumps down the road there and finished up with the bowl game where we had a disappointing performance against Louisville. So again, right now, we’re not through the season. After I get a chance to look at the entire season, including the bowl game, I can probably answer that question better. We could go out and play an incredibly great game against South Carolina and I’m going to feel one way. And we could go out and not come out on the end we want to and I’m going to feel a different way. I think it’s important to keep it in perspective. So to answer your question I don’t feel any different, but I feel it’s important to evaluate things holistically. After the bowl game is over, I’ll really reflect on the entire season and talk with Al about it. As I’ve said numerous times over the past few weeks, he’s our coach. He’s going to continue to be our coach. With that said he knows we have to get better. I know we have to get better. So I need to talk to him about how we can get better and what I can do to support his efforts to getting better. Because at the end of the day that’s the expectation of the University of Miami football program.”