Bad News for Tech and Good News for the Sunbelt

[Dirtydawg]

I don't think it's a conspiracy theory. Coaches from other conferences have their press conferences recorded and released to the public. I've never read statements like he made. If Fulmer made that kind of statement about the ACC or even the WAC, it would be news and news quick. He said something that no one else has ever said. If it had been said, it would have made the paper no matter which coach said it. I didn't ingnore anything. He made a very rude statement that has never been made by any other coach from any other conference. Papers don't let statements like that slide, no matter who said it. Do you really think that another coach could say something like that and it would be ignored? It was very rude and it was unusual to say the least. ESPN could care less if he insulted the Sunbelt. The only reason it wasn't in more papers more quicky is that it was at an alumni booster and it wasn't widely covered.

First off, it wasn't a press conference. It was an alumni gathering. There's a big difference there. Second, Skip Bertman and the LSU coaches have made similar statements numerous times that have been reported, but no one has blogged or made a big deal about it because quite frankly it is the truth. Sure, some of us and other state schools got pissed, but not anymore so than we normally do. Thirdly, there's no conspiracy theory at all. The anti-Tech/pro-ULM reporting is very obvious and well documented over the past few years right here on the board. I can't speak to what others from all the many schools in football may or may not have said because I don't follow CLOSELY what all they do and say as I'm sure you don't either.

[BlueRaiderFn]

Yeah, when LSU talks trash, people tend to believe them. They have good reasons to make the statements that they may have made. I still think it shows poor character.

[Dirtydawg]

Yeah, when LSU talks trash, people tend to believe them. They have good reasons to make the statements that they may have made. I still think it shows poor character.

I understand your point. I think we are, basically, making two different arguments. Personally, in the wrong setting, I think what Dooley said would be a poor statement to make as well. However, the setting he was in was meant for alumni at Tech, and the purpose of the meeting was to try to get more money from these people. Now these people have looked at ULM at rivals and really have had a "little brother" opinion of them for years, so the statements made in that environment aren't out of line in my opinion because it was meant as a "rallying" cry to fire up his troops to give. Once again, I do agree that at a press conference those aren't statements that should be made.

My point was that it was only made into an issue because of the environment Tech finds itself in with the local media. Not meant as a knock on you, but you, and really the rest of the non-local Sunbelt fans, really have no clue as to what we face with the local media and ULM considering the paper in their market is basically the same one as in ours, or to put more clearly, we share a majority of the same readership. As I have said, this paper caters more to ULM than to Tech, and it has been documented well in the past. Sure they have some decent articles about us on occasion, but, generally, even their most basic informative piece will have at least a sentence or two casting some dispersion on Tech.

I'm really tired of going back and forth with this, so this will be my last post on this. I really do wish you guys well, and as I said, pull for MT as one of my favorites in the Sunbelt. Good luck to you guys this year. Hope you pull some serious upsets.

[CChandler]

So.

About that head to head WAC vs. Sun Belt rundown that was posted on page 2.

Sun Belt doesn't win ANY of those games. And I'm the furthest thing from arrogant.

[Brian96]

What I don't understand is why we are so sensitive about this?

Just my $0.02, but I believe it is because there are still many folks in north Louisiana, including a fairly large number of "Tech fans" who believe that the Sunbelt is a "better fit" for Tech.

I know this is the case for the non-Tech fans, but even the Tech fans who believe this are lsu "flagship-myth" believers who want Tech to "know its place" and keep quite while lsu "leads" the state.

[DallasDog]

LSU does lead the state...................... in student athlete arrests

[Brian96]

Someone may have already mentioned this, the thread is way too long and repetitive for me to read it all, but all the talk of common opponents, and no mention of Hawaii's abysmal performance against UGA on a neutral field, versus Troy's very respectable showing against UGA on UGA's home field.

In all fairness to the Rainbows, that was a UGA home game no matter how you look at it. Also, Hawai'i never really has neutral ground. Pretty much anywhere they play off the islands is going to have more opposing fans than Hawai'i fans. Sucks for them, I guess.

Finally, UGA had nothing to prove when they played Troy, but in New Orleans they arguably did.

[RealityCheck]

Someone may have already mentioned this, the thread is way too long and repetitive for me to read it all, but all the talk of common opponents, and no mention of Hawaii's abysmal performance against UGA on a neutral field, versus Troy's very respectable showing against UGA on UGA's home field.

Hawai'i's showing wasn't anything to write home about, but you are probably giving Troy more credit than it deserves. All things most certainly were not equal given the scheduling involved...Georgia caught Troy with 7 days to prepare and as a sandwich game after Florida and before Auburn. You cannot compare the players' attention and coaches' preparation with one week between two of its biggest $EC rivals to having full attention of players and coaches for a full month leading up to a major bowl game.

[RhinoDawg]

I think at ULL and ULM they didn't appreciate it and it was a slap in the face to every Sunbelt school. What if an AD for a school in Conf USA or the MAC said that they play in a "MORE" elite coneference than La Tech? How would you guys feel?

I would feel hilarious because that statement would obviously be a big joke.

[RealityCheck]

I would feel hilarious because that statement would obviously be a big joke.

Exactly...the truth struck a nerve, while if the CUSA statement had been made it would have been laughed off immediately. Plus the Sun Belt people have taken much of what was said out of proper context to fit their vision of the world.

How quickly the Sun Belters forget that we are only seven years away from when the NCAA had to use the ultimate bowl exception to allow 5-6 North Texas to play in a bowl. No other conference has needed that exception this decade...or ever. The WAC champion that year was...that's right...Louisiana Tech.

[Bigdog13]

Exactly...the truth struck a nerve, while if the CUSA statement had been made it would have been laughed off immediately. Plus the Sun Belt people have taken much of what was said out of proper context to fit their vision of the world.

How quickly the Sun Belters forget that we are only seven years away from when the NCAA had to use the ultimate bowl exception to allow 5-6 North Texas to play in a bowl. No other conference has needed that exception this decade...or ever. The WAC champion that year was...that's right...Louisiana Tech.

I think that is the key. Like I said in an earlier post, I visited that board for the first time and I am still in shock. I mean we are public enemy number one over there. The fact that they don't like us didn't shock me at all. The fact that they expend so much energy and waste so much time consuming themselves with what we are doing and what we think about them is what shocked me. Anything we say or do is immediately spun into as negative a light as possible. I don't know whether to laugh at them or pity them.

[johnnylightnin]

I find it funny that while "Mr. Civility" was over here lecturing us on being classy, he was also on the beltboard calling us "A Holes"...

http://www.beltboard.com/forum/board...r&descasc=DESC

Don't be fooled...BRF is no different than DeepGreen, ManzonoWolf, and all the other belters who pretend to be civil here while they run us down elsewhere.

[stAte]

I find it funny that while "Mr. Civility" was over here lecturing us on being classy, he was also on the beltboard calling us "A Holes"...

http://www.beltboard.com/forum/board...r&descasc=DESC

Don't be fooled...BRF is no different than DeepGreen, ManzonoWolf, and all the other belters who pretend to be civil here while they run us down elsewhere.

You guys are nuts. There were several people in these threads acting like aholes.

[johnnylightnin]

You guys are nuts. There were several people in these threads acting like aholes.

...and they weren't lecturing anyone on being "classy".

[GatorDawg]

I think you can come back when a belt team defeats two BCS teams ranked in the top ten in one season, contributing to a 13-0 record and a BCS bowl victory.

Fresno has defeated more BCS teams than the entire sunbelt I believe, though I'd have to look it up.

Currently the WAC and MWC are above the rest of the non-AQ conferences. The CUSA has a lot of firepower but the belt gained some ground on them last year. In my opinion, the recent improvement of the belt put them over the MAC.

Currently the WAC is unarguably the better conf compared to the belt and there's not much to say about that, other than belt fans don't pay much attention to west coast teams.

WAC vs BCS
Tech- 16 wins
Fresno- 25 wins
Boise- 5 wins
Hawaii- 29 wins
Idaho- 34 (yes 34, they are 34 and 231 against the Pac 10).
New Mexico State- 14 wins
Nevada- 9 wins
San Jose- 49 wins
Utah State- 18 wins
Total- 199 wins against BCS schools

Sun Belt v BCS
Total- 64 wins against BCS schools
32 alone by UNT
I even added WKU's 16 for the Belt.