LA Tech & Sunbelt

[KSDAWG]

We're concerned about the Sun Belt's perception?!?!?!? Did you see that dismal televised presentation of our university Friday night.

Boy, are we out of touch with reality!!!!!!!!!!

One of the big reasons that I do not visit this board anymore is because the perception that Tech is to good to be in the Sunbelt. LAst I checked nobody drives from Hawaii or Fresno to attend a road game in Ruston. Nobody talks about Tech in Monroe, or Lafayette, or New Orleans, or Dallas, and even Miami. Thats because we don't play those teams. That also affects our recruiting base. Do you realize we would average about aobut 20 to 30K fans a game against ULM, ULL, NorthTexas, Muddle Tenn. Thats fans spending mony on our campus. Not some California guy complainig about how we don't have tofu pizza at the Pizza Inn. Please take into acount that I am a Die Hard. I live in Baton Rouge and get constantly ridiculed by al those LSU, ULL fans. Thats cool but when I turn on the TV and get a ULM game on Cox four out five times on Saturdays I rrealized that we need to stop lining in isolation and play our local rivals. Southern Miss, Central Florida, and UAB made it into the CUSA not by running away from the lesser schools in the region bbut by feasting onthem. I have to argue that being in a conference that has four Bowl bids and usually more NCAA bids is nice but what happened when we were 7-5 last year. WAC put us out on our A!@es with out even looking twice. I am not saying that The Belt is the key to victory but it does look like a stepping block towards CUSA. Look at this Conference titles are Conference Titles, We already have established rivalries with most of the CSUA West and more people in the stands would be more of a benefit than living in a Dying conference wher Boise jumps any minute to the MWC. Thats just my opinion and I hope that red dots will not be to plentiful for ME EXPRESSING AN OPINION. Good day and Go DAWGS.

[louisebfree]

EXCELLENT POST!!!

Today, the WAC has two teams (Boise and Hawaii) in the Top 25, and one going to a BCS bowl that has a minimum payout of $13 MILLION to BSU & the WAC. Fifty years from now, the Sunbelt still will not have achieved as much in one season.

The WAC is NOT the problem. Louisiana Tech's problems are all INTERNAL, and fixable.

HD

And in 50 years, where will we stand?!?!?! I can assure you it will not be in the same conversation with Boise, Fresno and Hawaii, not even with other land grant institutions like NMSU, Idaho and Utah State. The WAC strategic plan, if it means anything, will weed us completely out of the picture long before then, perhaps a lot sooner than any of us would like to admit to.

Boise's bowl bonanza is just another band-aid on a scrape that grows larger by the year. It does nothing to fix the real problems in Ruston -- which I think a lot of us agree with.
While I can buy that the Belt is not ideal, based on where we've been and what we've accomplished, I think it may be very, very reasonable with where I fear we are headed. Actually what I really fear is a fate much worse than the Belt.

Read the WAC strategic plan = that ain't us, folks! Sorry, but facts are facts, and someone smarter than me is going to have to explain how we will meet these expectations. Business as usual in Ruston will likely mean a new conference affiliation, and it won't be by our choosing.

HD, I can agree with the premise that the WAC isn't the problem, but it's not the solution either.

[Brian96]

One of the big reasons that I do not visit this board anymore is because the perception that Tech is to good to be in the Sunbelt. LAst I checked nobody drives from Hawaii or Fresno to attend a road game in Ruston. Nobody talks about Tech in Monroe, or Lafayette, or New Orleans, or Dallas, and even Miami. Thats because we don't play those teams. That also affects our recruiting base. Do you realize we would average about aobut 20 to 30K fans a game against ULM, ULL, NorthTexas, Muddle Tenn. Thats fans spending mony on our campus. Not some California guy complainig about how we don't have tofu pizza at the Pizza Inn. Please take into acount that I am a Die Hard. I live in Baton Rouge and get constantly ridiculed by al those LSU, ULL fans. Thats cool but when I turn on the TV and get a ULM game on Cox four out five times on Saturdays I rrealized that we need to stop lining in isolation and play our local rivals. Southern Miss, Central Florida, and UAB made it into the CUSA not by running away from the lesser schools in the region bbut by feasting onthem. I have to argue that being in a conference that has four Bowl bids and usually more NCAA bids is nice but what happened when we were 7-5 last year. WAC put us out on our A!@es with out even looking twice. I am not saying that The Belt is the key to victory but it does look like a stepping block towards CUSA. Look at this Conference titles are Conference Titles, We already have established rivalries with most of the CSUA West and more people in the stands would be more of a benefit than living in a Dying conference wher Boise jumps any minute to the MWC. Thats just my opinion and I hope that red dots will not be to plentiful for ME EXPRESSING AN OPINION. Good day and Go DAWGS.

I see where you are coming from, and I agree that we need to be playing more of our regional peers. But, we do not need to move down to the Sunbelt to do this. And this is not about where Tech "deserves" to be. Financially, we are better off in the WAC. Even if we doubled our FB attendance by playing regional opponents as part of a SB conference schedule, that would not compensate for the much-lower conference payouts. So, for the time being, the WAC is a good place for Tech, if only for the extra money.

But we DO need to be playing regional opponents regularly (and not just for our I-AA game). We should drop one of our "money" games and play ULM, ULL, ASU, etc. Then our schedule would be more balanced, with the money and national platform that the BcS opponents offer, the competition and better national television packages that the WAC offers, and the better attendance and regional perception by playing (and beating) regional opponents. However, dropping to a conference with such lower payouts is not worth the trade to get more regional opponents.

Nevertheless, unless there is a significant change in the way our athletic department is run, then you will probably get your wish. We'll rot our way right out of the WAC and will be LUCKY if the Sunbelt will take us back.

[johnnylightnin]

If the belt is going to be such an attendance boost, why is ULL's attendance marginally higher than ours (in a much larger metro area) and ULMs is the same or lower than ours (also in a much larger metro area)? Get real people...if we can sink to mediocrity (or worse, like we are now) in the WAC with the financial advantages it offers, we can do the same in the Belt or the southland. It's a problem with our administration, not our conference.

[dchi72]

With this comment concerning the Motor City Bowl, need we say more?

"Rumor is, Hoffman will do everything in his power to avoid a Sun Belt team, though Hoffman understandably sidestepped the question, saying, ``there are a lot of possibilities still.'' "

[Dirtydawg]

One of the big reasons that I do not visit this board anymore is because the perception that Tech is to good to be in the Sunbelt. LAst I checked nobody drives from Hawaii or Fresno to attend a road game in Ruston. Nobody talks about Tech in Monroe, or Lafayette, or New Orleans, or Dallas, and even Miami. Thats because we don't play those teams. That also affects our recruiting base. Do you realize we would average about aobut 20 to 30K fans a game against ULM, ULL, NorthTexas, Muddle Tenn. Thats fans spending mony on our campus. Not some California guy complainig about how we don't have tofu pizza at the Pizza Inn. Please take into acount that I am a Die Hard. I live in Baton Rouge and get constantly ridiculed by al those LSU, ULL fans. Thats cool but when I turn on the TV and get a ULM game on Cox four out five times on Saturdays I rrealized that we need to stop lining in isolation and play our local rivals. Southern Miss, Central Florida, and UAB made it into the CUSA not by running away from the lesser schools in the region bbut by feasting onthem. I have to argue that being in a conference that has four Bowl bids and usually more NCAA bids is nice but what happened when we were 7-5 last year. WAC put us out on our A!@es with out even looking twice. I am not saying that The Belt is the key to victory but it does look like a stepping block towards CUSA. Look at this Conference titles are Conference Titles, We already have established rivalries with most of the CSUA West and more people in the stands would be more of a benefit than living in a Dying conference wher Boise jumps any minute to the MWC. Thats just my opinion and I hope that red dots will not be to plentiful for ME EXPRESSING AN OPINION. Good day and Go DAWGS.

Too bad you couldn't stay away.

[arkstfan]

With this comment concerning the Motor City Bowl, need we say more?

"Rumor is, Hoffman will do everything in his power to avoid a Sun Belt team, though Hoffman understandably sidestepped the question, saying, ``there are a lot of possibilities still.'' "

That was an article in the Kalamazoo paper. Who is in Kalamazoo? Western Michigan who was seriously looking at being left out of any bowl until Ball State thrashed Kent and Louisville finally work up against Pitt. Carried as much weight as the Ruston paper demanding the I-Bowl pick Tech over Notre Dame or LSU.

[arkstfan]

If the belt is going to be such an attendance boost, why is ULL's attendance marginally higher than ours (in a much larger metro area) and ULMs is the same or lower than ours (also in a much larger metro area)? Get real people...if we can sink to mediocrity (or worse, like we are now) in the WAC with the financial advantages it offers, we can do the same in the Belt or the southland. It's a problem with our administration, not our conference.

The Tech of old to an outsider appears gone. The mind-set that Tech was bulldogs who would latch on to an opponent and stay there until knocked silly or victorious looks gone. The impression (strongly reinforced by ESPN2 the other night) is of ticks. Grabbing hold of the fat cow and feasting while creating little notice. It's the mindset found at Vandy or Baylor.

I see plenty of talk about WAC money, but Tech's participation in the BCS share was showing up and losing to Boise. How many of the WAC's basketball units came from Tech's NCAA appearances? How many of the TV dollars are because of Fresno, Boise, and Hawaii and how many for the smaller market teams with less success?

Honestly how great is the WAC money when about 15% of your entire athletic budget comes from football and basketball game guarantees? What is the state of the program when roughly a quarter of the budget comes game guarantees and conference distribution and the program's budget is Sun Belt sized? In the Belt depending on the program game guarantees account for any where from 5% to slightly over 10% of the athletic budgets and the conference distribution is negligible.

Tech in the Sun Belt would be interesting, but without a mind-set of self-generating income from ticket sales, donations and sponsorships Tech would never survive the move.

[Dirtydawg]

The Tech of old to an outsider appears gone. The mind-set that Tech was bulldogs who would latch on to an opponent and stay there until knocked silly or victorious looks gone. The impression (strongly reinforced by ESPN2 the other night) is of ticks. Grabbing hold of the fat cow and feasting while creating little notice. It's the mindset found at Vandy or Baylor.

I see plenty of talk about WAC money, but Tech's participation in the BCS share was showing up and losing to Boise. How many of the WAC's basketball units came from Tech's NCAA appearances? How many of the TV dollars are because of Fresno, Boise, and Hawaii and how many for the smaller market teams with less success?

Honestly how great is the WAC money when about 15% of your entire athletic budget comes from football and basketball game guarantees? What is the state of the program when roughly a quarter of the budget comes game guarantees and conference distribution and the program's budget is Sun Belt sized? In the Belt depending on the program game guarantees account for any where from 5% to slightly over 10% of the athletic budgets and the conference distribution is negligible.

Tech in the Sun Belt would be interesting, but without a mind-set of self-generating income from ticket sales, donations and sponsorships Tech would never survive the move.

Good questions. How much has Ark. St. brought in to the Sunbelt?

[johnnylightnin]

The Tech of old to an outsider appears gone. The mind-set that Tech was bulldogs who would latch on to an opponent and stay there until knocked silly or victorious looks gone. The impression (strongly reinforced by ESPN2 the other night) is of ticks. Grabbing hold of the fat cow and feasting while creating little notice. It's the mindset found at Vandy or Baylor.

I see plenty of talk about WAC money, but Tech's participation in the BCS share was showing up and losing to Boise. How many of the WAC's basketball units came from Tech's NCAA appearances? How many of the TV dollars are because of Fresno, Boise, and Hawaii and how many for the smaller market teams with less success?

Honestly how great is the WAC money when about 15% of your entire athletic budget comes from football and basketball game guarantees? What is the state of the program when roughly a quarter of the budget comes game guarantees and conference distribution and the program's budget is Sun Belt sized? In the Belt depending on the program game guarantees account for any where from 5% to slightly over 10% of the athletic budgets and the conference distribution is negligible.

Tech in the Sun Belt would be interesting, but without a mind-set of self-generating income from ticket sales, donations and sponsorships Tech would never survive the move.

What does that have to do with what I've posted. The posters here know full well the parasitic nature of our administration. My question to you is, how would a move to the sunbelt improve any of our problems? Even if you consider it a wash with respect to conference revenue v/s travel costs (which doesn't exactly make sense when you compare our budget to the budgets of the LA schools in the Belt), we're left in the same predicament. Our administration has adopted a leechesque philosophy. I'm not proud of it, but I can't deny it. All that said, I don't think a move to the sunblet alleviates any of our problems. Oakes decided we could slide into a CUSA spot and he's now gonna have to clean up the mess he has made. Hopefully the President will realize what a joke he is and can him. An AD with vision will get this team into a better conference fit...I don't mean sunbelt. Despite your posts on the ULM board, Tech does have potential. Once our internal problems are corrected, we'll be fine.

[champion110]

The Tech of old to an outsider appears gone. The mind-set that Tech was bulldogs who would latch on to an opponent and stay there until knocked silly or victorious looks gone. The impression (strongly reinforced by ESPN2 the other night) is of ticks. Grabbing hold of the fat cow and feasting while creating little notice. It's the mindset found at Vandy or Baylor.

I see plenty of talk about WAC money, but Tech's participation in the BCS share was showing up and losing to Boise. How many of the WAC's basketball units came from Tech's NCAA appearances? How many of the TV dollars are because of Fresno, Boise, and Hawaii and how many for the smaller market teams with less success?

Honestly how great is the WAC money when about 15% of your entire athletic budget comes from football and basketball game guarantees? What is the state of the program when roughly a quarter of the budget comes game guarantees and conference distribution and the program's budget is Sun Belt sized? In the Belt depending on the program game guarantees account for any where from 5% to slightly over 10% of the athletic budgets and the conference distribution is negligible.

Tech in the Sun Belt would be interesting, but without a mind-set of self-generating income from ticket sales, donations and sponsorships Tech would never survive the move.

Please keep posting. We are down right now, but we don't like outsiders coming on OUR board and bashing us. You are a freakin belch team. I don't see Arkansas State having much to brag about.

However, I want you to keep posting, because nothing will get the DAWG fans together quicker than someone from the outside talking about us. We may be negative toward each other, but when someone from outside the family starts bashing, we will come together.

Some of your posts in the past have not been bad. You, obviously, have a wish for us to be in the Sun Belt, though, which is a BAD move for us. You are just a tad bit biased, since you are sitting in the worst conference in the country. I am sure you would love it if we joined up.

The problem that people overlook on here sometimes is that our recruiting would take a hit, as well. We may have stunk it up on the field this year, but we haven't in years past. We have brought plenty to the WAC and have finished at the top once and the upper half usually.

Hopefully, some big changes will come after this last game. The Sun Belt will NOT be one of them, though.

[DocMarvin362]

TECH & Sun Belt ~ a few words that should never be used in the same sentence EVER AGAIN!

[TYLERTECHSAS]

The Tech of old to an outsider appears gone. The mind-set that Tech was bulldogs who would latch on to an opponent and stay there until knocked silly or victorious looks gone. The impression (strongly reinforced by ESPN2 the other night) is of ticks. Grabbing hold of the fat cow and feasting while creating little notice. It's the mindset found at Vandy or Baylor.

I see plenty of talk about WAC money, but Tech's participation in the BCS share was showing up and losing to Boise. How many of the WAC's basketball units came from Tech's NCAA appearances? How many of the TV dollars are because of Fresno, Boise, and Hawaii and how many for the smaller market teams with less success?

Honestly how great is the WAC money when about 15% of your entire athletic budget comes from football and basketball game guarantees? What is the state of the program when roughly a quarter of the budget comes game guarantees and conference distribution and the program's budget is Sun Belt sized? In the Belt depending on the program game guarantees account for any where from 5% to slightly over 10% of the athletic budgets and the conference distribution is negligible.

Tech in the Sun Belt would be interesting, but without a mind-set of self-generating income from ticket sales, donations and sponsorships Tech would never survive the move.

Hit the road. Do you guys still have an athletic program? Seriously, I have not heard any noise from your school (Where is it again?) in probably 10 years. Are you still the Indians or something?

[champion110]

Hit the road. Do you guys still have an athletic program? Seriously, I have not heard any noise from your school (Where is it again?) in probably 10 years. Are you still the Indians or something?

Maybe they are the "Warhawks North" now? Their location is somewhere between ulm's south stadium and ulm's other home stadium in Little Rock.

[dawgtired]

We were sure Jack was going to be fired (twice at least)... We were sure we were getting a Jumbotron... We were sure we were going to CUSA... there are others I am intentionally leaving out. Now, we're sure we'll never go Sunbelt.

My point is that we should never say never. Our sure bets don't have a good track record. The Sunbelt is a very real possibility. Heck, under Reneau and Oakes, Division III seems possible. Think of all the money we'd save on scholarships.