Originally Posted by
nthedawghouse
TM05 touched a nerve with his post about starting new traditions annually. That brings me to my Tech Pet Peeve. Most of the posts on this thread are really Tech FOOTBALL Pet Peeves, and I agree with most of them. But my real TECH Pet Peeve is that our Athletics Department is led by a group of people who are in way over their head and don't even know it, AND that Dr. LG, a very smart man that I have a lot of respect for, continues to let that happen.
TM05, we have new traditions every year because no one in administration even knows that we spent years establishing our official colors and had a "TECH FANS WEAR BLUE" campaign. Why do we even have a thread about what color the T on the helmet should be? One year, I counted six colors of basketball uniforms, including black, gray, and pink! We signed a contract with Adidas, and they could not even supply our "official" red color. Our marketing scheme is "hey, that's cool! Lets do it for tomorrow's home game!" The AD panders to a select few who have big bucks, and I am very thankful for them and their generosity. Without them, the new stadium additions and many other athletic realities would not be possible. But there are lots of people who have $100 or $1000 to give and are not only ignored, but told their participation is not appreciated. Evidence? Sure! being notified the day before a game that no cars in the tailgate area 10 hours before kickoff (that lasted until TBC got there to get to their tailgate spot). Preventing students from tailgating in the park. Holding decades long ticket holders hostage for their seats in lieu of LTAC memberships, which, contrary to popular belief are rarely if ever used for student athletes. Almost all of LTAC goes for salary for coaches and the AD's discretionary budget. I'm not complaining about raising money for competitive coaches salaries. I get that. What I am complaining about is saying that it goes for "student athletes" and implying that it is for scholarships. Call it what it is and quit thinking we are too stupid to recognize the difference. Other schools offer incentives to come early and participate. Free parking until 3 hours before game time, tailgate themes, electricity availability, ticket packages to entice a casual/potential fan. Not us, instead we have hundreds of empty parking places in case every suite holder, DAC seat holder, and big LTAC donor arrives individually.
I could go on, but probably serve no useful purpose. I do like, acknowledge. and appreciate our stadium additions. I also like that acknowledgement and appreciation to go both ways. Just a fan, giving when I can, buying seats every year, traveling long distances to get to games. That doesn't seem important to this administration.