Originally Posted by
jycww
We ended up going last night, hoping to see people we knew from when we attended. That didn't happen, but I would say that they had around 150+ at the Dallas event (I am terrible at estimating, so could have been a bit more). Event was at the Whiskey Cake in Irving and it could have been a bit bigger in truth due to the turnout. While we didn't know anyone, they did call out Matt Stover (20+ years in NFL) at the event so that was cool.
The coaches and administration walked in just about the time it was to start. Representing Tech was Dr Henderson, Ivey (AD), Cumbie (FB), Hester (MBB), Stoehr (WBB), Burroughs (Baseball) and McCray (Volleyball). So quite a few of the coaches attended the event. Although some said hi as they arrived and walked past the tables, they pretty quickly ended up in different parts of the area, congregating to those that they seemed to know. For sure, there was little to no "working the room". Hester stayed in the back with about 4-5 people that he seemed to know for the event. Stoehr and Burroughs seemed to stay together most of the time, engaging with a few people that came up to them. For me, I expected more interaction, but this may have been a chance for them to catch up with old acquaintances. Cumbie's parents were there (driving in from Ft Worth), and he spent a good deal of time initially with them.
As the evening started, Cumbie got up to speak. He spoke for no more than 5 minutes and really didn't cover anything of significance with the FB team. He mentioned that the players were in conditioning at this time, and spoke of the 2 football camps currently underway (one last week and one up coming). He did mention Nicholls St as the first game, but that's about it. I think I expected more from him. Next was Dr Henderson and this was the first time I had heard him speak. He greeted everyone to the event, spoke about the video board that is at Tech and also mentioned both current and upcoming construction at the University. He was very engaging and I thought it went well. He worked the room when he arrived and through the entire event so was very impressed. Next, Ivey spoke for a short time. First time I had heard him and he was pretty good. He asked 3 things of those in attendance: To be present at the sporting events, to give $$ when able, and to represent Tech by wearing Tech merch letting people see and hear more about Tech. Not sure what I really expected, but his 5 min talk was good. All in all, I would say the speakers talked for about 15 minutes or so (give or take).
As Ivey walked past as he finished, I was able to stop him and ask a question about CUSA. I asked if he thought CUSA was viable and how he saw Tech fitting in going forward. While I didn't expect a newsflash answer, I did feel his answer was interesting. He said "CUSA is the right answer for La Tech today. We will have to see if it is for tomorrow". He mentioned the ever changing landscape in college athletics and stated that this is something he continues to monitor on a daily basis. I guess you can read into that whatever you want.
I was disappointed that the other coaches did not talk. As I said, none seemed to work the room as I had expected. They said hello as they entered together (apparently traveling to Dallas together), but beyond that, I didn't notice that much interaction. They seemed to speak to those they were familiar with, although did see a couple of people walk up to Stoehr and Burroughs. I found the most engaging coach was McCray, who went to multiple tables, saying hello and engaging with many.
Another disappointment was that there was zero merch (caps, shirts, etc.) for sale. In a previous event a few years ago in Houston, they had setup a table and sold quite a bit of stuff. This would have been a perfect opportunity for those in Dallas to buy a bit (certainly not available in Dallas), but because there was nothing for sale, it didn't happen. I felt this was a missed opportunity. Only Tech stuff to grab at the event was a few koozies with Tech logo on it. I had just expected more.
All in all, it was enjoyable, but definitely wished I could have heard the other coaches speak.
