We Need to Support Bruce Van De Velde

[BCSDAWG]

Tech was offered the spot on Friday night and didn't return the call.
Saturday morning Tech asked for time to discuss it.
Saturday night Tech asked for a little more time and Indy told Bruce time was up. Ohio was offered.
Tech didn't want a couple hours, they wanted a couple days. In the day it took for the IBowl to move on, Bruce was unable to secure a contract from the Liberty Bowl. That is where he failed.
Now, is there some fault for the IBowl? Of course. Could they have waited? Yes, but they were afraid they'd end up with the last pick in the country and didn't want to take that gamble.
This whole thing reminds me of the TV show Shark Tank. Bruce stood there infront of multiple bowls trying to sell Louisiana Tech. Some bowls were interested more than others. Some bowls made offers but we kept trying to get a little more. And when it came down to the end no one was interested in buying in at all.

...and to avoid "the last pick in the country" they jumped at the chance of grabbing Ohio!!!!??? Great grab IBowl.

[DawgyNWindow]

...and to avoid "the last pick in the country" they jumped at the chance of grabbing Ohio!!!!??? Great grab IBowl.

And ULM.

They went ugly early once the pretty girl waffled.

[HogDawg]

And this isn't worth much, but this was a post on the LSU site:

"I've had multiple dealings with this man (Liberty Bowl rep). Untrustable. Seriously. Snake like. Feel for La Tech in this deal but I could have told you, if he says something, expect the opposite."

Who is the "Liberty Bowl Rep" the poster was referring to? It's time to put some actual NAMES on these faceless people. The only way you will ever get accountability is to apply pressure to specific NAMES involved.

[BCSDAWG]

And ULM.

They went ugly early once the pretty girl waffled.

And down hill from there...

[theprofessor]

...and to avoid "the last pick in the country" they jumped at the chance of grabbing Ohio!!!!??? Great grab IBowl.

I know Ohio is a long way away from Shreveport, La., and the MAC isn't very well thought of down here in the South. However, people who think Ohio and Central Michigan are interchangeable are wrong. Ohio is 75 miles from Columbus, and less than three hours from Cincinnatti. That brings TV sets, which I'm sure ESPN wanted. The I-Bowl, whether we agree or not, didn't needtwo local teams. They have one to help sell tickets, and they have a team from a large TV market. Ohio entered the season as the team tapped by many to win the MAC and go undefeated. It has a huge undergraduate population, which equals a large alumni base. All of these things are considered by bowl officials in why they wanted Ohio over some of the other options. We don't have to like it, but I'm not buying the conspiracy theory that they just wanted to screw Tech. More likely, they weren't willing to bend over backwards for us because of the attitude of our coach and administration.

[TYLERTECHSAS]

I know Ohio is a long way away from Shreveport, La., and the MAC isn't very well thought of down here in the South. However, people who think Ohio and Central Michigan are interchangeable are wrong. Ohio is 75 miles from Columbus, and less than three hours from Cincinnatti. That brings TV sets, which I'm sure ESPN wanted. The I-Bowl, whether we agree or not, didn't needtwo local teams. They have one to help sell tickets, and they have a team from a large TV market. Ohio entered the season as the team tapped by many to win the MAC and go undefeated. It has a huge undergraduate population, which equals a large alumni base. All of these things are considered by bowl officials in why they wanted Ohio over some of the other options. We don't have to like it, but I'm not buying the conspiracy theory that they just wanted to screw Tech. More likely, they weren't willing to bend over backwards for us because of the attitude of our coach and administration.

IMHO, you still don't get the bigger picture nor understand the history of the IBowl and it's committee. Sorry but that's my opinion. And the perception of yours matches not that outside of N.Louisiana but only a few in N.La. Time to move on.

[theprofessor]

IMHO, you still don't get the bigger picture nor understand the history of the IBowl and it's committee. Sorry but that's my opinion. And the perception of yours matches not that outside of N.Louisiana but only a few in N.La. Time to move on.

I am fully informed about the history of Tech and the I-Bowl. That doesn't change the fact that we were part of the I-Bowl's top choice. We chose not to accept.

[LookingForResults]

I know Ohio is a long way away from Shreveport, La., and the MAC isn't very well thought of down here in the South. However, people who think Ohio and Central Michigan are interchangeable are wrong. Ohio is 75 miles from Columbus, and less than three hours from Cincinnatti. That brings TV sets, which I'm sure ESPN wanted. The I-Bowl, whether we agree or not, didn't needtwo local teams. They have one to help sell tickets, and they have a team from a large TV market. Ohio entered the season as the team tapped by many to win the MAC and go undefeated. It has a huge undergraduate population, which equals a large alumni base. All of these things are considered by bowl officials in why they wanted Ohio over some of the other options. We don't have to like it, but I'm not buying the conspiracy theory that they just wanted to screw Tech. More likely, they weren't willing to bend over backwards for us because of the attitude of our coach and administration.

That is pure speculation that is not supported by the facts as they are currently known.

[champion110]

I know Ohio is a long way away from Shreveport, La., and the MAC isn't very well thought of down here in the South. However, people who think Ohio and Central Michigan are interchangeable are wrong. Ohio is 75 miles from Columbus, and less than three hours from Cincinnatti. That brings TV sets, which I'm sure ESPN wanted. The I-Bowl, whether we agree or not, didn't needtwo local teams. They have one to help sell tickets, and they have a team from a large TV market. Ohio entered the season as the team tapped by many to win the MAC and go undefeated. It has a huge undergraduate population, which equals a large alumni base. All of these things are considered by bowl officials in why they wanted Ohio over some of the other options. We don't have to like it, but I'm not buying the conspiracy theory that they just wanted to screw Tech. More likely, they weren't willing to bend over backwards for us because of the attitude of our coach and administration.

Man, you so called journalists stick toghether......... While everyone else debates your post with sucess, I will just add:


The tv audience will absolutely murder the I-Bowl. If you think the people in those markets care about Ohio, you do not know what you are talking about. 3 hours away and 75 miles and they do not even come close to having those markets either......

[johnnylightnin]

Ohio vs. CMU is moot because if Tech wasn't available, ISU would've been. The iBowls deadline was personal, not business.

[HogDawg]

After reading this thread, it's obvious to me that a lot of LA Tech fans don't understand that BVD does NOT make these decisions in a vacuum by himself. These "Bowl" decisions are ALWAYS handled by committee. Sure, Bruce is the mouthpiece for the athletic department, but you're kidding yourself if you think a whole lot of other people --including some of our best financial supporters-- weren't involved with this "bowl acceptance" process. Bruce does not have the authority to makes these decisions by himself.

So, if you want to hold BVD accountable for not accepting the I-Bowl bid, at least be honest about it and hold the other committee members accountable as well. This would include --but not necessarily be limited to-- Steve Davison, James Davison, Dr. Reneau, and possibly a handful of others, including at least ONE (1) individual who routinely posts on this board. :icon_wink: In short, many of our greatest and best supporters SCREWED this up, not just Bruce by by himself.

I'm not throwing these people under the bus because I know they mean more to LA Tech's long term success than some lousy I-Bowl against NLU in Shreveport. Much more. They made their decisions last week in the face of the "Perfect Storm". The combination of LA Tech finishing out its' last year in a conference (the WAC) with absolutely NO Leverage and the UNEXPECTED rise of NIU to a BCS bowl was not foreseen by anyone. Now I know many of you think you're smarter than the Davison's, and smarter than Dr Reneau --and of course you ALL think you're smarter than BVD-- but at some point LA Tech needs to put this behind us and MOVE ON.

Fact is, the 2012 season is OVER. We finished 9-3. That's not bad. We're fortunate that we've got time to hire a new Head football coach, and it's my understanding that we have a pool of outstanding candidates from which to choose a new leader. It's time to hire up, and recruit, recruit, recruit. Get on board.



HD

[johnnylightnin]

So if we think Bruce should be fired, we should also call for the termination of folks who don't work for Tech?

Interesting approach.

[tenacious_dog]

HD, that is a great post!

[HogDawg]

Ohio is 75 miles from Columbus, and less than three hours from Cincinnatti. That brings TV sets, which I'm sure ESPN wanted.

Champ110 is right. That is funny. First of all, nobody in Columbus --the HOME TOWN of Ohio State University-- cares about Ohio University. Secondly, Cincinnati --the home of the Univ of Cincinnati football and basketball, and Xavier basketball-- is a world away from Ohio U.

In short, Ohio will have have about as much success drawing these TV markets as NIU had drawing the Chicago TV market to our 2008 Indy-Bowl matchup. The impact will be inconsequential.

[HogDawg]

So if we think Bruce should be fired, we should also call for the termination of folks who don't work for Tech?

Interesting approach.

What I'm saying is, if you are gonna act like a big shot and hate on Bruce (for this decision), at least be man enough to openly hate on the Davisons and our other supporters who were obviously instrumental in the decision making process WITH Bruce. Are you man enough?

I didn't think so. :icon_wink:



HD