The Boise State Alumni Association had a party at Pat O'Briens in Memphis yesterday with attendance of over 1,000.
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The Boise State Alumni Association had a party at Pat O'Briens in Memphis yesterday with attendance of over 1,000.
I will say this one more time -
As long as TECH plans on trying to play football games against ANYONE (especially NAME BCS schools) at Independence Stadium during the regular season - they need the I-Bowl to continue to be existence and be successful in thier existence -
Because that BOWL is the reason the stadium is kept in the condition it is in and are responsible for the improvements that have been made to the stadium -
The bowl serves a necessary evil -
''Don't be a bad dagh..."
Another Amen, D.
tm
Louisiana Tech University
Flagship of the University of Louisiana System
If Louisiana Tech's ability to schedule BCS teams in Independence Stadium depends on the I-Bowl committee's success then we are truly in a sorry and hopeless position.
You DON'T get it -Originally Posted by DogsWin
The ability of TECH to continue to play "home" games against BCS schools in Shreveport in a first-rate-well-kept facility IS directly I-Bowl's long-term success...
The maintenance performed on I-Stadium is far more up-to-date than what we do or can afford to do in Ruston - and that is solely because of the I-Bowl -
The I-Bowl goes away and in 10 years the stadium is back in the same delapidated state it was in during the mid 80's early 90's when the I-bowl was struggling to survive from year to year -
''Don't be a bad dagh..."
Dwayne, I don't think YOU get it. You need to make up your mind. After the Tulsa game, guys like you were blasting Shreveport and saying we should NEVER play in Shreveport again. Now you are essentially saying Tech's Div 1A health depends on it.
Which is it? Are you IN or OUT? Personally, I think the failure of the Indy Bowl might be a real wake up call to the entire Shreveport-Bossier business community. They are terrible at supporting ANYTHING. Maybe if Louisiana Tech is the ONLY game in town, they will take Tech more seriously.
Other than "stadium maintenance" for a game that Tech MIGHT play in Shreveport once per year, you haven't made a case for keeping the Indy Bowl at all. If the Indy Bowl can't draw 30K from out of state to help the local economy, and if they can't support their local university (LA Tech) WHEN THEY NEED TO, then the I-Bowl serves NO purpose at all for North Louisiana.
HD
No HD -
I get it - I understand Shreveport and the politics there - and how things are funded and maintained -
And when Jim annouced Tulsa was the Shreveport game, I was one of the first against it - Shreveport games concerning TECH have to be early in the year and against a NAME opponent to be successful -
I have never waivered on that point - you just can't throw a game into Shreveport and expect it to be successful -
You are right about the business community - I think the failure of the bowl management the past two years and the inability to land a corporate sponsor is going to cause a shake up in that area -
However - TECH benefits from a strong I-Bowl and a succesful I-Bowl every time we use that stadium -
You can have your beefs with the selection committee, but overall the Bowl is a GOOD thing for the area I live in -
And BTW in all instances I was the only Tech fan on this board willing to PUBLICALLY take the selection committee to task on radio and in print media (letters to the Times editorial page) in 1997, 1999 and 2001...
And I was taken to task by alot of people involved with the bowl and by alot of people in the Shreveport media - but my beef was with the selection committee not the bowl itself and the good things it does for my community -
''Don't be a bad dagh..."
Dwayne, I agree that you took a hard stance against the Indy "bowl selection committee" back in 1997, 1999 and 2001. If I haven't publically thanked you in the past, then let me do so now. The stand you took was indeed noble and appreciated by Tech fans everywhere.
Having said that, it is also a fact that the good folks of northwest Louisiana have had at least 4 or 5 years to correct these "personnel" problems on the I-Bowl committe, yet, they still haven't done so. Even to this day, the folks in northwest Louisiana have consistently allowed the I-Bowl committee members to "eat their own" and not hold the selection committee members accountable for the terrible decisions they have made. Therefore, it only makes sense that they should be forced to suffer the consequences of the results. And the results this year meant no "title sponsor" for the bowl and an invite issued to lowly Miami of Ohio.
Look around you Dwayne. There's a reason the Indy Bowl doesn't have a title sponsor. Do you ever wonder why?
HD
Dwayne, below is a story that demonstrates the biggest difference between how the Indy Bowl operates and how OTHER bowls operate. This is from the Executive Director of the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Please read his last sentence in paragraph 5 at the bottom of the story. I've highlighted his comments for your benefit.
Jim Donovan
Executive Director
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
================================================== =============
"Ft. Worth Bowl -- 1.57 rating; 1,465,558 Households
Las Vegas Bowl -- 1.90 rating; 1,733,354 Households
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl -- 2.25 rating; 1,982,837 Households This means that more than 5 million people watched the 2004 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl -- which is great for our title sponsor and other sponsors, for the State of Hawaii and for the UH football program -- and the UAB football program."
================================================== =============
"Also, as you may already know, the tickets distributed for the game was 39,966 (unaudited) and the actual "butts in the seats" attendance was 38,322."
================================================== =============
"1) The players from both teams has a GREAT time through bowl week and they played a great game -- after all the number one reason for having post-season NCAA events is to provide the student-athletes with an exceptional experience. (By the way, the UAB head coach, Watson Brown said no player from his squad had ever been to Hawaii before -- and that this trip would be a life-long memory for all);"
================================================== ==============
"5) Lastly, if South Carolina and Clemson had not taken themselves out of consideration for a post-season bowl game this year, it is highly likely that all available bowl slots would have been taken before UH played the Michigan State game. That means in all likelihood, even though UH would have become bowl eligible, they probably wouldn't have had a bowl to play in if the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl didn't exist... I can honestly say this last point is why I became Executive Director and so many sponsors and business executives support the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. We just don't want the Warriors to be ever "left out" of post-season again like they were in 2001."
So there you have it, Dwayne. That's a bowl with the RIGHT attitude towards their own. And I'm sure the H-Bowl officials feel the same way about Boise State. And the Ft Worth Bowl towards TCU. And until the Indy Bowl adopts the same posture towards Louisiana Tech, they don't deserve the support of LA Tech fans.
Any questions?
HD
Are there any members of the I-Bowl committee that have long term connections to north La. I know that fan in La. is from Arkansas and we heard his position on Tech being in the I-Bowl back in 2001. Where is Krupica from? It sounds to me like the I-Bowl committee is made up of members on ego trips. when fan was on the board we used to hear about him going out and scouting games and hobnobbing with AD's at the big schools. This guy was on one big ego trip and I bet the rest of the committee is just like him.
Go back and read my post...a bunch of self-important people with little ideas!
I'm an asshole! What's your excuse?
Excellent stuff, HD. Thanks for digging that up.
Clearly other bowl committees "get it" when it comes to supporting the local Div. 1-A program. They realize that they need those butts in their bowl game's seats to keep the bowl alive.
Dwayne's concerns center on the stadium being properly maintained. Okay, fine. But, without a bowl game, will the city of S'port allow the stadium to simply rot? Well, maybe so. Given S'port's track record, that would not surprise me. So, how much difference i.e. measured in $$bucks$$ will it make to the maintenance of the stadium w/o a bowl game?
Next question, would it be possible for area schools, both college and high schools, to work together to make up that difference in $$bucks$$?
With attendance of barely 30K and no sponsor, surely the I Bowl lost money this year. So, it won't be contributing much of anything to the stadium upkeep this year. Someone is gonna fork over some dollars, that's for sure.
It is a shame that Tech is too stupid to take advantage of opportunities. We don't do much, if anything, with corporate sponsorships now. So, I know a change will have to occur in our administration before a real solution will exist. But, anyone can see the possibilites. For instance, Tech vs. Miami or Tech vs. Kansas State in S'port should NOT just be another regular season game, but instead, an invent. Such as the:
[insert corporate sponsor here] Red River Classic: Louisiana Tech vs. Kansas State.
And should include other events, a 5K race, a golf/tennis tourney, a big dinner with interesting guest speakers (Terry Bradshaw?) all with other sponsors and all designed to raise $$bucks$$. Some of which can go to stadium maintenance.
If need be, involve another school, like NSU or Grambling. Make it a double-header! Grambling vs. someone at 2PM, Tech vs. big name opponent at 7PM.
There are ways to make this happen.
Don, I-Bowl Executive Director Glen Krupica is originally from Illinois. He's a 1982 graduate of Northern Illinois and a 1984 graduate of Ohio State. Prior to Shreveport he was at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA as Assistant AD for Fund Raising.
Missy Setters, Asst. Exec. Director played for LSU's golf team and her husband played for LSU's football team. We all remember her visits to BB&B in 1999.
There are no I-Bowl committee members with ties to Louisiana Tech University.
http://www.independencebowl.org/Contact%20Us.html
Missy Setters visited BBB back in 99? What kind of things did she say?
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