who gets it.
This item originally appeared in the April 21, 2005 issue of The Tech Talk.
The baseball team beat then-No. 11 Rice on April 8 and swept Fresno State last weekend.
Ryan Hamilton has a 21-game hitting streak.
The softball team broke Tech's single season team home run record this season.
Ashley Cameron tied Tech's single season individual home run record.
Amber Miles and Brittany Stanley are both in the top five for career stolen bases in Techster history.
And none of these stat lines are being promoted by the athletic department.
This is history happening right in front of us, and nobody is aware of it, unless you read a post-game write-up.
The only place reliable on campus to find out what each sports team is doing each week is the gray box underneath this column. But traditional spring sports aren't the only ones subjected to under-promotion.
Bone Bowl III was held Saturday, and I saw nothing on campus advertising it.
Even during football season, the only advertising I see is painted on the bookstore window and maybe a paper sign outside the Student Center, but none of these are done by the athletic department.
The only thing I have seen on campus advertising a sporting event with any consistency is a small sign in the Quadrangle that said "Volleyball Today 2:00."
Football does receive publicity around campus, but it's from various student organizations promoting what they are doing at the game.
Small student organizations with far less money promote their events more than the athletic department does.
And it's not because the athletics promote themselves through winning.
Lady Techster basketball, by far the most successful Tech athletic program, lost more times this season than in the four years I've been a student here.
They've made the NCAA Tournament every year, won the national championship three times and even they get little-to-no publicity from the athletic department, despite a coaching search that drew "national attention," according to university officials.
It's almost like you go to the TAC every Thursday and Saturday (game days) and hope they're playing.
The Student Government Association implemented the Spirit of '88 Rewards Program to increase attendance, but, while the program is a great start, there hasn't been a card-stamper at many home baseball games. And if you don't know when a game is, how can you know when and where to go?
The athletic department occasionally sends out e-mails to promote the games and tell of special promotions, but many students don't use their Tech e-mail account often.
There are good promotions at Tech sporting events that you don't know about until you go.
The Quiznos Cup handed out coupons for free subs at a baseball game.
The Baseball Belles sell tickets to a 50/50 raffle, and the winner not only gets a cash prize but a free pizza.
And the Citgo Halftime Shootout had students, even those with no basketball skill, practicing the four shots in the intramural center hoping they could have their own shining moment.
But none of these promotions are made known to students unless they attend the games and view them first-hand.
And there isn't much to do in Ruston on Friday nights. So a well-promoted baseball game could be just the ticket (which Tech students get in for free anyway).
Just like the column in this space a week ago said, athletic programs on this campus (whether club sports or university-sponsored) don't get the love they deserve.
Brian Tynes is a senior journalism major from Brandon, Miss., and serves as news editor for The Tech Talk. E-mail comments to bnt004@latech.edu.
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Originally Posted by Cool Hand Clyde
