(02-05-2018 01:53 AM)forerunner Wrote:  

(02-05-2018 01:35 AM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(02-05-2018 12:42 AM)forerunner Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 11:02 PM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 01:20 PM)Niner National Wrote:  Utsa seems to have a good core of young players. I hope they can keep them together and parlay a good basketball team into a serious discussion for a new arena.

Yep in today's college basketball world they will lose both freshman to bigger name schools especially with a middle school gym they play in....I am shocked they get any recruits with that gym...

Let it go, man. Take your L. You guys are better than us 95% of the time; act like it.

I don't think he meant anything by that. It's basically the same thing most of our fan base has been saying about our arena for at least a couple decades now. Granted, with a better arena, I'm sure the quality of our recruits would step up, and we'd also have more fans willing to go to the games if they had a nicer venue to watch them in. But like I said on RowdyTalk, if we don't have the money to be able to build an arena and keep Henson at the same time, I'd rather we fork out the money to keep Henson right now. Kids with any sense will choose a program for its coach over what kind of gym they'll play in. That's why he's been able to recruit some great young talent the last couple years.

Thank you Volkmar, but I'm quite sure he meant something by it. Their fans have been hurling insults about the Convo (which, yes, is terribly outdated) at a far greater proportion after we handed them a loss. Regardless of whether this individual poster is doing that or not, I don't need you to smooth this one over for us.

I harbor no ill will towards WKU, and in fact a vast majority of the time I am honored to share the conference with them. This is not about that, but rather about how many of their fans won't move on right now.

I heard something about things said on Twitter, if that's what you're talking about, although I didn't see any of it myself. But hell, if losing to us stirs up a hornets' nest, and some have trouble moving beyond it, I'll just sit back with a smile and a drink and watch the show.

Really though, as often as people (others and our own) have talked **** about our arena over the years, we should be immune by now. lol

(02-05-2018 12:42 AM)forerunner Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 11:02 PM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  

(02-04-2018 01:20 PM)Niner National Wrote:  Utsa seems to have a good core of young players. I hope they can keep them together and parlay a good basketball team into a serious discussion for a new arena.

Yep in today's college basketball world they will lose both freshman to bigger name schools especially with a middle school gym they play in....I am shocked they get any recruits with that gym...

Let it go, man. Take your L. You guys are better than us 95% of the time; act like it.

I don't want to get into this argument, but many of the A-10 schools play in gyms that some high schools would be embarrassed by and they manage to recruit kids that kick C-USA's ass every chance they get. And, Charlotte has a decent arena and apparently we cannot recruit anyone that can score, so it is not all about facilities.

I’m not worried about the damn arena. I’ve been to FIU and FAU. They both have small, not much to write home about arenas.

The arena is so far down the list of why a kid picks a school. #1 is the damn coach. I like what I see out of Henson. I complimented UTSA months ago saying I was impressed with their scores against decent comp. Long before you beat UAB like ******* in Birmingham.

Every fan base has some whiny biatches. Don’t worry about them. I think it’ll be harder to keep Henson than build a new arena and that’s no slam on UTSA. It’s just where we all fall in the food chain. He still has to do a little more but if he keeps it up someone will come calling.

Jivvhan Jackson reminded me a little of another Jackson I saw a long time ago. Chris Jackson aka Mahmoud Abdul Raouf. Both smallish guards with great range and great handles. I really liked Wallace too. Out of control at times but he’s jet quick and has a great motor on him.

There are other reasons kids come to a school but mostly because of the coach. When I left the FIU and FAU gyms and stepped out into low 70s temps in the middle of January a couple years ago I thought maybe that could help a kid decide to come there. Lol. But it’s been really cold here lately so maybe I remember that too much.

Congrats on the win. Hell, I remember when we lost down at Texas Pan Am many, many moons ago. That was much worse in my book. Road games are tough, especially in conference. Some of our fans don’t get that.

I worded that poorly...Was mainly about resources for basketball at UTSA and if you have enough resources to keep your coach? If he keeps winning he's going to be gone by next season with those two freshmen UTSA has....Those two are legit players, for CUSA sake, I hope you can keep them, its just the norm nowadays for those type of guys to leave for bigger schools once they make a name for themselves....

Western will be fine.

That trip to El Paso takes a lot out of teams. Ask Reggie Upshaw and JaCorey Williams.

Cannot imagine what the Eastern trips do to UTEP. I know I saw a "defeated" looking Miner team in Murfreesboro about 10 days ago. They lost by 31 and it could have been 50 if Kermit had not called off the dogs.

Fast forward to last weekend, and we were very lucky to escape Charlotte with a "W".

I don't care which conference a team plays in.... it is damn hard to go through a season without a couple of losses that will leave fans & coaches scratching their domes.

(02-05-2018 11:02 AM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  I worded that poorly...Was mainly about resources for basketball at UTSA and if you have enough resources to keep your coach? If he keeps winning he's going to be gone by next season with those two freshmen UTSA has....Those two are legit players, for CUSA sake, I hope you can keep them, its just the norm nowadays for those type of guys to leave for bigger schools once they make a name for themselves....

5 of our top 6 from last year agree with you...

At least 2 graduated first.

(02-05-2018 11:02 AM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  I worded that poorly...Was mainly about resources for basketball at UTSA and if you have enough resources to keep your coach? If he keeps winning he's going to be gone by next season with those two freshmen UTSA has....Those two are legit players, for CUSA sake, I hope you can keep them, its just the norm nowadays for those type of guys to leave for bigger schools once they make a name for themselves....

What you said about Henson is true, which is why I'd rather we fork out the money to try and keep him a little longer, and hold off on a new arena, because I really don't think we can afford both. I haven't liked the Convocation Center since I watched my first game in there in 1984, but I'll tolerate it for a while longer if we can keep him.

With UTSA using a city-owned football stadium, I would think easier to come up with the $$$ for hoops.

How is your baseball stadium ?

(02-05-2018 03:06 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  With UTSA using a city-owned football stadium, I would think easier to come up with the $$$ for hoops.

How is your baseball stadium ?

Our baseball stadium is worse than our basketball arena. Our facilities suck, dude. It's a credit to our coaches that our basketball and baseball teams are even competitive. We were invited to join an FBS conference exactly one year after we got our football program started. Facility-wise, we weren't ready for it yet in anything but football (and there only because we can rent the Alamodome). It was an opportunity that was too good to pass up though, so we went with it. But as a result, while we were already a little behind the Joneses, facility-wise, in FCS, we're WAY behind in FBS, and have been scrambling to play catch-up since.

(02-05-2018 03:15 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(02-05-2018 03:06 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  With UTSA using a city-owned football stadium, I would think easier to come up with the $$$ for hoops.

How is your baseball stadium ?

Our baseball stadium is worse than our basketball arena. Our facilities suck, dude. It's a credit to our coaches that our basketball and baseball teams are even competitive. We were invited to join an FBS conference exactly one year after we got our football program started. Facility-wise, we weren't ready for it yet in anything but football (and there only because we can rent the Alamodome). It was an opportunity that was too good to pass up though, so we went with it. But as a result, while we were already a little behind the Joneses, facility-wise, in FCS, we're WAY behind in FBS, and have been scrambling to play catch-up since.

What has been built since moving up? What is in the works?

(02-05-2018 02:41 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(02-05-2018 11:02 AM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  I worded that poorly...Was mainly about resources for basketball at UTSA and if you have enough resources to keep your coach? If he keeps winning he's going to be gone by next season with those two freshmen UTSA has....Those two are legit players, for CUSA sake, I hope you can keep them, its just the norm nowadays for those type of guys to leave for bigger schools once they make a name for themselves....

What you said about Henson is true, which is why I'd rather we fork out the money to try and keep him a little longer, and hold off on a new arena, because I really don't think we can afford both. I haven't liked the Convocation Center since I watched my first game in there in 1984, but I'll tolerate it for a while longer if we can keep him.

Have you all ever played a game at the AT&T Center? Is that an option? I realize it’s probably way too big but I would think curtaining off the upper decks would be possible.

(02-03-2018 05:55 PM)MT FAN Wrote:  There goes the at large chance.

Maybe for WKU, but I think you guys still have a shot at one.

(02-05-2018 03:15 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(02-05-2018 03:06 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  With UTSA using a city-owned football stadium, I would think easier to come up with the $$$ for hoops.

How is your baseball stadium ?

Our baseball stadium is worse than our basketball arena. Our facilities suck, dude. It's a credit to our coaches that our basketball and baseball teams are even competitive. We were invited to join an FBS conference exactly one year after we got our football program started. Facility-wise, we weren't ready for it yet in anything but football (and there only because we can rent the Alamodome). It was an opportunity that was too good to pass up though, so we went with it. But as a result, while we were already a little behind the Joneses, facility-wise, in FCS, we're WAY behind in FBS, and have been scrambling to play catch-up since.

I mean this as no disrespect to UTSA, but it's hard to believe that MWC and C-USA were jerking y'all off to get you to join. I don't have any doubt that long term you guys will eventually be something to avoid, but we're talking 20 years away kind of timeframe.

Given your lack of facilities in the major sports it's just hard to believe that anyone in either of these leagues thought you guys would be ready. Renting a dome doesn't count. It's not exactly a well proven model for college football programs. Again, no disrespect intended. I actually feel like you guys are mostly outperforming considering where you are in your growth. I simply feel like y'all needed more time.

Dahbeed is right to an extent. Players gravitate to the coaches, but facilities matter too - quite a bit actually.

(02-05-2018 03:15 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(02-05-2018 03:06 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  With UTSA using a city-owned football stadium, I would think easier to come up with the $$$ for hoops.

How is your baseball stadium ?

Our baseball stadium is worse than our basketball arena. Our facilities suck, dude. It's a credit to our coaches that our basketball and baseball teams are even competitive. We were invited to join an FBS conference exactly one year after we got our football program started. Facility-wise, we weren't ready for it yet in anything but football (and there only because we can rent the Alamodome). It was an opportunity that was too good to pass up though, so we went with it. But as a result, while we were already a little behind the Joneses, facility-wise, in FCS, we're WAY behind in FBS, and have been scrambling to play catch-up since.

Looking at your facilities link on your athletic website and it lists what appears to be an alternate baseball stadium named Wolff Stadium that seats 9700. I remember from this past baseball season where our radio and sports info guys had to sit in the bleachers to broadcast and stat track our game at Roadrunner Field (800 capacity). What's the story as to using Wolff Stadium for conference games similar to how Marshall uses the AAA Power Park in Charleston (?) for CUSA games?

I realize our (USM) basketball facility was in it's prime over 50 years ago so I feel your pain

facilities are important, but St Marys Gaels, one of the better non Power programs' 'gym' could be described as a high school type gym and they manage to be competitive...

(02-05-2018 04:46 PM)SpaceRaider Wrote:  facilities are important, but St Marys Gaels, one of the better non Power programs' 'gym' could be described as a high school type gym and they manage to be competitive...

The key aspect of that picture is all of the butts in the seats. You can overcome poor facilities with great fan support. St. Mary's may have a tiny gym, but I'd bet they produce a great atmosphere when they pack people in.

(02-05-2018 03:43 PM)Ole Blue Wrote:  

(02-05-2018 02:41 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(02-05-2018 11:02 AM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  I worded that poorly...Was mainly about resources for basketball at UTSA and if you have enough resources to keep your coach? If he keeps winning he's going to be gone by next season with those two freshmen UTSA has....Those two are legit players, for CUSA sake, I hope you can keep them, its just the norm nowadays for those type of guys to leave for bigger schools once they make a name for themselves....

What you said about Henson is true, which is why I'd rather we fork out the money to try and keep him a little longer, and hold off on a new arena, because I really don't think we can afford both. I haven't liked the Convocation Center since I watched my first game in there in 1984, but I'll tolerate it for a while longer if we can keep him.

Have you all ever played a game at the AT&T Center? Is that an option? I realize it’s probably way too big but I would think curtaining off the upper decks would be possible.

We haven't, and I don't believe it's an option. If there had been more interest in basketball during our history, I think that a new arena likely would've been built already. Basketball has unfortunately just never really been very popular at our school.

Any gym, arena, etc. looks bad 1/2 empty or more. Diddle looks horrible when there’s 3,000 there. I’m sure UTSA’s gym could get rockin pretty good with butts in he seats. From what I saw Saturday, people are missing out on a good young team that’s fun to watch. Nice team down there.

(02-05-2018 05:02 PM)Hilltopper413 Wrote:  

(02-05-2018 04:46 PM)SpaceRaider Wrote:  facilities are important, but St Marys Gaels, one of the better non Power programs' 'gym' could be described as a high school type gym and they manage to be competitive...

The key aspect of that picture is all of the butts in the seats. You can overcome poor facilities with great fan support. St. Mary's may have a tiny gym, but I'd bet they produce a great atmosphere when they pack people in.

+1. Tudor Fieldhouse only seats 5200 or so but it’s incredibly loud when it’s full. If the locker room is nice and the AV equipment is updated an arena doesn’t have to seat 10k+ to be great for college basketball.

Gonzaga seats 6k.

(02-05-2018 03:23 PM)ODUDrunkard13 Wrote:  

(02-05-2018 03:15 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(02-05-2018 03:06 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  With UTSA using a city-owned football stadium, I would think easier to come up with the $$$ for hoops.

How is your baseball stadium ?

Our baseball stadium is worse than our basketball arena. Our facilities suck, dude. It's a credit to our coaches that our basketball and baseball teams are even competitive. We were invited to join an FBS conference exactly one year after we got our football program started. Facility-wise, we weren't ready for it yet in anything but football (and there only because we can rent the Alamodome). It was an opportunity that was too good to pass up though, so we went with it. But as a result, while we were already a little behind the Joneses, facility-wise, in FCS, we're WAY behind in FBS, and have been scrambling to play catch-up since.

What has been built since moving up? What is in the works?

Hope I won't miss anything, but here's what I know... We've built the Park West Athletic Complex since moving up, which currently includes a state-of-the-art track for track-and-field events, and a soccer field for women's soccer. We built a weight training facility for our athletes and upgraded our football practice fields. We've also developed our baseball field a little more during that time, as well as the softball field. It's just that with baseball and softball, it was things like upgrading the fences, scoreboard, batting cages, etc. Nothing really has been done about our ridiculously small bleacher seating, pathetic dugout, and some other things we need a lot of work on. We also made cosmetic changes in the aforementioned Convocation Center, such as a new scoreboard, video board, new court, paint job on the walls, etc.

The bulk of our athletic money has gone toward football (coaches, uniforms, etc.) and Park West. Outside of athletics, we've been putting a lot of funds toward our academics programs in trying to attain Tier One status.

I'm not entirely sure what's in the works. Our new AD said that facilities will be a priority, and it seems our school has gone back and forth about the Park West complex, as the original vision was for that to hold all our athletics facilities in one place, including a new basketball arena, new baseball stadium, and eventually, a football stadium. I don't know what the status of that is at the current time though. Some others will be able to provide more information than I can, although I do also believe there are plans to further develop our weight training facility.

Your question didn't get lost in the shuffle. I just wasn't able to address it until now, and wanted to save yours for last because I knew it would entail a longer response.