Protocol for Practice

[dawg78]

I have never seen a more perfect storm turn out SO perfect! Dooley comes in and excites the fan base, gets the facilities in order, gets us to a bowl game, lays the groundwork for some tremendous improvement across the board. He then leaves and we get what should be a MUCH better coach and all the groundwork is still there and people are excited about it! WOW! Has Tech ever seen such a great outcome in just a few years time???????? I love what he did as AD and think that he did what no other could do in that role at that time. Now, we have the coaches to go with it and I see nothing but Sonny sky ahead!!!!!!!!!!!! And even old Dan is involved and excited!

I am LOVIN IT!

Not to mention, when Dooley signed for such a large contract with Tennessee it opened the eyes of many very good and up coming young coaches, thinking, if I can go to LaTech, make a splash, then I too might hit the lotto. Don't misunderstand me as I want stability in our coaching ranks as much as anyone but I don't think it hurt when Dooley secured his retirement...Personally, I think Dykes is a winner and will do as much good on the field as he does off, Dooley was a great Admin person without a personality. I think Dykes is both...or so I hope. Regardless, at this stage in our growth it will be hard to maintain good young coaches but if they continue to leave for Dooley bucks it will be much easier to obtain them.

[glm47]

I agree..... It took D.R. WAY too long to get in the game, but he did get in it and deserves some credit for doing so.

Bullshit - being 15 years too late doesn't qualify you for credit.

[techfan01]

Bullshit - being 15 years too late doesn't qualify you for credit.

+1

[LookingForResults]

... being 15 years too late doesn't qualify you for credit.

(more like...'nice of you to show up after the boat left the dock!')

[techman05]

Here is a question I have wanted to ask for a long time. If SD had the same policy as DD about closed practices, would any of you be griping about it? So far, it seems that some of you feel that SD's best move as a coach has been allowing all of you back into practice.

I, for one, am at work all day and don't give a darn about practice. So this was never a concern for me under JBIII, DD, or now. I just can't accept that this is actually a point of discussion.

[EE_Dawg]

If I remember correctly, at the Tech and Tails 3 kickoff event they talked about attendance and getting the casual fan in Ruston. They threw some numbers out there that were pretty eye opening. Those of you who were there can correct me if I'm wrong, but they said that the population of Ruston, not including surrounding areas or Tech students, is like around 30k. When you start looking at those who have the money to spend casually like on a football game you take in certain factors. The two that stick out in my mind are young adults who still live at home with no jobs or go off to school but either way don't have any money to spend and the largest number is the elderly who have their every penny budgeted and don't have the extra to spend on tickets to a game. He gave percentages for all the different groups to come up with a figure of actual Ruston people that could afford to attend the games, and the number was like 5k. The reason I mention this is because I don't think even winning consistently will bring in many more "local" casual fans. This is one of the biggest reasons we need to market ALL of North Louisiana. I think winning consistently will bring in more fans, but they're going to have to come from somewhere other than Ruston.

Your figures are a little off, but your point is well taken. It is going to be difficult to get more local casual fans to attend games. As much as it pains me to admit, not everyone in and around Ruston cares about Tech or Tech football and if they do they are probably already coming to the games (especially after the 2008 bowl-winning season). I think if we want to see another increase in attendance next year we will have to win more games and play in the post season.

[mildawg]

If I remember correctly, at the Tech and Tails 3 kickoff event they talked about attendance and getting the casual fan in Ruston. They threw some numbers out there that were pretty eye opening. Those of you who were there can correct me if I'm wrong, but they said that the population of Ruston, not including surrounding areas or Tech students, is like around 30k. When you start looking at those who have the money to spend casually like on a football game you take in certain factors. The two that stick out in my mind are young adults who still live at home with no jobs or go off to school but either way don't have any money to spend and the largest number is the elderly who have their every penny budgeted and don't have the extra to spend on tickets to a game. He gave percentages for all the different groups to come up with a figure of actual Ruston people that could afford to attend the games, and the number was like 5k. The reason I mention this is because I don't think even winning consistently will bring in many more "local" casual fans. This is one of the biggest reasons we need to market ALL of North Louisiana. I think winning consistently will bring in more fans, but they're going to have to come from somewhere other than Ruston.

By local fans, I was talking southern Arkansas, Shreveport, Alexandria, etc. To me, that is "local." Then again, I live in West Virginia, so Alabama is "local" when discussing north Louisiana. I know for a fact there are many more casual fans right there in Lincoln Parish that Tech could draw with a winning product, but that number definitely has a limit. It will take us casting a wide net over the "local" (i.e. ArkLaMiss/Tex) region to attract the fans necessary to fill the stadium on a routine basis.

[champion110]

Bullshit - being 15 years too late doesn't qualify you for credit.

I give credit when it happens. All is not forgotten, but if you don't give credit when it happens, forget having it happen again. It took a long time (MUCH too long), but it did finally happen. I credit Dooley for opening his eyes. Now, we have to keep the ball rolling.

Dykes should be able to keep the ball rolling by winning. BVD needs to keep D.R. in the picture with the infrastucture - facilities, marketing, fan base, LTAC......

[TECH88]

I give credit when it happens. All is not forgotten, but if you don't give credit when it happens, forget having it happen again. It took a long time (MUCH too long), but it did finally happen. I credit Dooley for opening his eyes. Now, we have to keep the ball rolling.

Dykes should be able to keep the ball rolling by winning. BVD needs to keep D.R. in the picture with the infrastucture - facilities, marketing, fan base, LTAC......

Side note: I'm really pleased to see our new AD at every football practice.

[theprofessor]

Here is a question I have wanted to ask for a long time. If SD had the same policy as DD about closed practices, would any of you be griping about it? So far, it seems that some of you feel that SD's best move as a coach has been allowing all of you back into practice.

I, for one, am at work all day and don't give a darn about practice. So this was never a concern for me under JBIII, DD, or now. I just can't accept that this is actually a point of discussion.

i'm not in ruston anymore, unfortunately, but for me it is a big deal. i thought dooley's decision completely showed me that he had no clue about his fan base or his community. ruston is a small, tight-knit community, and this is one of the things you should seek from your local community -- interest, participation, commitment. there's absolutely no reason for tech football to close its practices, especially considering the practice field (i know we're in the stadium for spring training) is wide open on the corner of one of the busiest streets in ruston!

[Dwayne From Minden]

Side note: I'm really pleased to see our new AD at every football practice.

FWIW our old AD was at every football practice also...

And Jim was at most of those I attended -

[SixWings]

FWIW our old AD was at every football practice also...

[Cool Hand Clyde]

Outside of the media, how many people called Dooley and said "I'm coming to watch practice" and were told "no"?

[Dawgpix]

Outside of the media, how many people called Dooley and said "I'm coming to watch practice" and were told "no"?

I'd say very few.

[TECH88]

FWIW our old AD was at every football practice also...

And Jim was at most of those I attended -

Not trying to draw comparisons because there is none, only making an observation.