It's still Tusculum... Oh and by the way, we laid an egg in the A-Sun championship, and we're certainly glad you got to see it on tv. Hopefully ya'll were watching with the rest of the KSU team, where you'll be, yet again this season. Maybe one day you'll get to play in the conference tournament, but I guess an owl can dream.

kr983 Wrote:its pre-season... warm up

I honestly hope we find 30 million dollars laying around and get out of the conference with a football team before we can contend for a championship.

Even if you get a football team....no other conference is just going to snap you up...Who do you people think you are?

Goldfinger Wrote:Even if you get a football team....no other conference is just going to snap you up...Who do you people think you are?

Not sure.. but I know we aren't a program on the decline who just lost our football team *oops*

Football will return to ETSU


Basketball wise....We'll be better this year then we were last year.

If a program in decline is winning the mens and womens all sports trophys then so be it.

Wait just a second. Kennessaw has a point.

We ARE on the DECLINE.

We're still the best athletic program, by far, in the ASun. And probably will be for a long time. That is, until we get out.

Let's compare apples to apples. Let's say Kentucky drops football and joins the Sun Belt. They would dominate the Sun Belt for a few years, especially in basketball. Most other sports, too. They might not win baseball every year.

So, is Kentucky on the decline when they do that? YES

Is Kentucky the top program in this hypothetical Sun Belt? YES

I know. We've argued this point before. But it is fun to get Kennessaw heated.

Goldfinger Wrote:Football will return to ETSU


Basketball wise....We'll be better this year then we were last year.

ehh i disagree with that. i think you guys will be slightly worse, then last year..but the following year i think you guys will have got the team chemistry down with the new guys and be a better team then the 06-07 squad.

kevster Wrote:Wait just a second. Kennessaw has a point.

We ARE on the DECLINE.

We're still the best athletic program, by far, in the ASun. And probably will be for a long time. That is, until we get out.

Let's compare apples to apples. Let's say Kentucky drops football and joins the Sun Belt. They would dominate the Sun Belt for a few years, especially in basketball. Most other sports, too. They might not win baseball every year.

So, is Kentucky on the decline when they do that? YES

Is Kentucky the top program in this hypothetical Sun Belt? YES

I know. We've argued this point before. But it is fun to get Kennessaw heated.

I actually agree with this statement in principle. ETSU was a very solid midmajor in a solid midmajor conference and they have dropped football and joined a lesser conference. They have regressed in the past 4 years but are still winning since the Asun is a lesser conference in a period of transition.

I think it is a valid point. I dont think the Asun will always be like this, but at this point in time that is a pretty good assessment.

Kev,

I don't think there is any question that not having football hurts ETSU as an institution and athletic program. Having said that, we are not in a state of decline as everyone on this sight is quick to suggest. I believe we have declined as far as we are going to. Rock bottom is the the Atlantic Sun.

However, Kevstar, I bring joyous tidings. We can still have good basketball teams in this god awful infestation that is the Atlantic Sun. We seem to be holding steady in the recruiting phase. Last year was an average talent team for us. I believe this year we will be better. Time will tell.

It's not going to be a Mister year. It's not going to be a Wadood team. It's not even going to be the troy lee Micheal era. But I foresee a good team and a good year in spite of being a member of the NCAA's toilet bowl.

Valid point, Gold. But I'm not in complete agreement.

If you take the years those three were on the team, that accounts for 12 of the past 26 years. So, it sounds like we have dropped a bit.

Plus, the longer we stay in this conference, the harder it's going to be to recruit good talent.

Tell me the final results of our last two seasons aren't below what we've come accustomed to.

Kev,

I missed much of the Dechellis era, b/c I was off at school, but I was there for the very beginning of it as well as the very end of it.

I can tell you this, what we have right now is not as good as what Dechellis left us with, but it is a hell of a lot better than what he started out with.

And that's not a knock on Leforce in anyway, whom I always felt got a raw deal from the fans.

Kev,

Another thing that must be accounted for a proper perspective is that the three eras (troy lee Micheal, mister, wadood) had lots of space in between them. That's not to say we didn't have some damn good teams between those eras, for we did. But we had some lemons too.

From our NAIA days through the OVC and all the way up to the Southern Conference, we've always been a program that would have a few great years followed by an absolute lemon. Then some good years until a great one returned. That's just ETSU basketball. I think the team we had last year was just an average team. It's hard to say at this point that we are declining because we just haven't spent enough years in the A-sun.

I wont say that your concern isn't somewhat valid. My biggest fear was that we wouldn't be able to recruit in the A-sun. But at least so far that has not been the case. Will it remain? We'll just have to let history play itself out.

But just as there were glory years in the old conferences that go above and beyond what most mid-major schools could ever dream...don't forget that there were absolutely gut cringing years as well.

Yes, there were def some bad years in there. Dowd was probably the low point of the program.

Check this out (I don't know the answer to this question): How does our present home schedule compare to our schedule 5 years ago? 10 years ago? 15 years ago? 20 years ago?

It would be interesting to compare our out-of-conference home schedule. Obviously, our in-conference schedule has seen a significan drop.

Well I'm not sure any schedule could compare to the Mister days. Or even the teams slightly after that.

5 years ago...I remember UNC Wilmington coming to the dome, for Wadood and Fields senior year. But I can't remember much more than that. Prior to that, during the dechellis years....I really don't know. And I was like five during troy lee Micheal.

Obviously Fresno came during out last year in the Southern.


But like I said, if you're going to use big teams coming in as the standard....then I don't think any era competes with the Mister (and slightly after) era.

Here's some teams I remember playing at ETSU during Troy Lee's years (I was in high school - used to go to the games):

South Carolina

Georgia Tech

It's been a long time. Pitt should come up with an answer.

Pitt has quite the historical knowledge. I was like five years or six years old during that era...I can't tell you who we played. I just remember losing the championship game to UTC. I remember UTC had Willie White and Gerald Wilkins. And I don't really remember the game...I just remember my father always talking about it.

Everything in the last 10-15 posts is correct. ETSU is in control of the A-Sun for the last couple of years. My argument, is that you guys (KSU, ETSU) are A-Sun rookies. We had a very solid league just a couple years before you entered. You're basing your image of the A-Sun on only the present day.

Now, there's no guarantee that A-Sun will get better (I think it will), but its not going to get worse. After KSU/UNF break the probation period we will see a large RPI burst. Then when FGCU/Upstate break through we should see another.

ETSU will be the hypothetical UCF of the A-Sun. Kennesaw could morph into a Troy type school (solid baseball & basketball). Etc. Etc.

You're correct Mercer, my perspective is the past two years, simply b/c I'm not sure you can compare the modern A-sun to the historic A-sun.


Here's a surprise for you all...I believe the A-sun does improve when KSU gets off of probation. But I don't see it going up to the level of the Southern Conference.