Conference USA Championship

[Woodlands Dawg]

Just literally got back from the UH versus USM game and was truly feeling the pain of Tech Athletics. We could have taken either one of these teams if we were to have made it into the conference. UH is a suitcase college but yet has a jumbotron. What is the deal with this? How can we not afford to obtain one of these. A "jumbotron fund" is needed.

I've heard in the past that the reasons we were unable to make it into Conference USA was because of facilities and the fact that we don't travel well. Is this true? Any other Techies at this game?

[PawDawg]

Just literally got back from the UH versus USM game and was truly feeling the pain of Tech Athletics. We could have taken either one of these teams if we were to have made it into the conference. UH is a suitcase college but yet has a jumbotron. What is the deal with this? How can we not afford to obtain one of these. A "jumbotron fund" is needed.

I've heard in the past that the reasons we were unable to make it into Conference USA was because of facilities and the fact that we don't travel well. Is this true? Any other Techies at this game?

Obviously Houston has more student fees than we do. That seems to be the secret to success in 1A according to Joakes.

Interesting that you mentioned our facilities as our holdback to CUSA membership. This is the one excuse that you will never hear from the spinsters at Tech, but it's the only one that makes sense when you compare our qualifications to UTEP's qualifications. UTEP also had us in home attendance for Football and Basketball, but home attendance has never been a CUSA qualification. Market size? Nope. Sheveport alone is bigger. Commitment to winning? Possibly, but then we have WBB to offset that problem .

Also, I've heard the "Tech doesn't travel well" thing before. I have no idea where this comes from. We obviously travel better than any of the most recent teams taken by CUSA. Unfortunately, thanks to Joakes and JB3 this asset for Tech is about to dwindle. You will see the evidence of that when the ticket sales to next year's lsu game are announced.

[champion110]

Market size and facilities. That is the reason.

We travel extremely well. That was stated one time on the CUSA board, but was never true.

[PawDawg]

Market size and facilities. That is the reason.

We travel extremely well. That was stated one time on the CUSA board, but was never true.

You've been spun to. Explain the market size thing.

[johnnylightnin]

UTEP also had us in home attendance for Football and Basketball, but home attendance has never been a CUSA qualification.

I didn't figure their attendance was higher than ours in football when they were selected...they were having a nasty string of seasons like...well, like the one we're having right now. That's amazing that they had better football attendance. Yet another example of poor administrative leadership. The good thing is, that our avg. football attendance has gone up since then...wait, no it hasn't!!!!

When will we learn?

[champion110]

You've been spun to. Explain the market size thing.

That is the excuse. I don't buy it. We have a decent market when you look at "area". I am just stating that CUSA has always invited large media markets.

The real reason? Facilities and committment to the growth of our athletics.

[PawDawg]

That is the excuse. I don't buy it. We have a decent market when you look at "area". I am just stating that CUSA has always invited large media markets.

The real reason? Facilities and committment to the growth of our athletics.

Okay. Sorry for thinking you were buying in to that one. As I've said before, CUSA was just being nice when they told us that market size was one of the things UTEP had over us. Had CUSA been more honest, I think this joakes thing may have come to a head three years ago.

This blunder by joakes still causes me to lose sleep. Since losing the eastern WAC teams he had led us to believe that we would be the next selection. Many, like me, refused to see the big picture, which was that CUSA wanted to see commitment. Just imagine how unimpressed they must have been when we (joakes and DR) were giving the sales pitch. What many folks didn't understand was that the sales pitch should have been being made from the time we found out Tusa, Rice, and SMU were gone. There should NEVER have been a reason for CUSA to look elsewhere for a new member.

We continue to be uncommitted while joakes spins away.

[johnnylightnin]

I hope y'all realize that the Houston team who won was beaten this year by our very own ULL Ragin' Chiles.

[Brian96]

I hope y'all realize that the Houston team who won was beaten this year by our very own ULL Ragin' Chiles.

Who, in turn, were pounced by ULM at home.

[HogDawg]

Market size and facilities. That is the reason.

We travel extremely well. That was stated one time on the CUSA board, but was never true.

Here's the real reason UTEP was chosen over Louisiana Tech:

AVERAGE FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE
# 47 UTEP = 44,640
# 110 Louisiana Tech = 15,461


http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache...s&ct=clnk&cd=3

HD

[cmendawg]

Come on, now. There's no question that Houston has an advantage over us. Simply, they are a former major college player (Southwest conference). In that position, they were able to cultivate enough fan support to survive given their location and current conference affiliation. They don't have the budget to compete with the best from the old southwest, but they are in a favorable position in a lesser conference.

That's not an excuse - it's a fact. If we look at things from, say 1992, they have simply been dealt a better hand. Not to mention, when we are holding the nuts, we fold 'em. We're not helping ourselves like we need to be, and if we were, we could certainly catch a school like Houston, but they are absolutely in a better position and/or capitalizing on that position more effectively.

You've been spun to. Explain the market size thing.

[johnnylightnin]

I thought Mad was talking about UTEP.

[PawDawg]

I was.

HD, I stated that UTEP had us in FB and BB attendance, but that attendance had never been a consideration for CUSA prior to that. I say again, it was what the CUSA officials were shown and not shown by Joakes. We needed a salesman giving our pitch, not a political hack.

[Bull619]

I talked to a friend recently, who has a contact in Memphis. He askted this person why Tech wasn't picked in the last group for CUSA. He was told market. He told him if Tech was in S'port, we would have been in. He stated then we would have had a larger media share and the opportunity for more people in the seats. I don't know how reliable his Memphis contact is, but this didn't come from our administration.

[PawDawg]

I talked to a friend recently, who has a contact in Memphis. He askted this person why Tech wasn't picked in the last group for CUSA. He was told market. He told him if Tech was in S'port, we would have been in. He stated then we would have had a larger media share and the opportunity for more people in the seats. I don't know how reliable his Memphis contact is, but this didn't come from our administration.

Yes this is one excuse that we've heard directly from CUSA (market size). With a good AD, who actually believed in marketing, we would have had been marketing Sheveport for the past 12 years. We would have also been marketing in Monroe/ElDorado. If done properly the results would have been evident by the growth in fan base, ticket sales, and facility improvements when CUSA came by to take a look see. With this as evidence, Joakes is able to tell CUSA, "Look, we are 60 miles from Sheveport, and 30 miles from Monroe, but we've used that to our advantage. See what all we've been able to do."

I say again, CUSA was not impressed with what they saw in Ruston.

Joakes to CUSA official: "Watch your step there buddy! We've been meaning to get that fixed."