Enter your ETSU excuses below. I will give a couple of examples...

1. I would support ETSU basketball if they recruited local high schools more.
2. I didn't go to ETSU football games because of the dome.

Accusing sportswriters of things he didn't do is right up on the top of the list.

3) If they would only recruit local boys then football would be sold out...

I will add denials I am tired of hearing as well...

1) UT is to blame for our lack of fan support
2) We dropped football to save money
3) We can't hurt the other sports to bring back football.
4) Giving is better than ever
5) I am not going to put it on the backs of the students/We had to have a student vote
6) We didn't have a place to play the US Olympic softball team

It's not an excuse but I hate hearing "Winning the right way" because I just absolutely disagree with the approach of letting your non-revenue sports dictate your athletic program.

I have always heard the local boy excuse. I wonder what that crowd thinks of the tennis teams.

Here's what ETSU HAS to do.

Historically, ETSU HAS recruited local athletes. The football team, at the end, was half made up of locals. Same with the baseball team.

Why not promote that a bit more? Why not write a release with "ETSU begins baseball season with 10 local players" or whatever?

Fact is, ETSU's baseball team isn't drawing all that well even with all those local players. ETSU isn't winning much with all those local players.

You know, JUST ONCE I would like to hear an excuse like you get in other places, one that has validity.

Like-

A- They gave Chip Kessler a dirty deal and then insulted my intelligence by replacing him with a stooge.

B- I'm not going until they fire _________.

C- I quit rooting for them after they fired classy Alan LeForce/let Ken Campbell go to Walters State/let Mike Ayers go to Wofford/etc.

D- If Tim Smith is what they are giving me to root for, then you can have him.

E- No football- No ME!

F- What the he11 is the Atlantic Sun? Call me when they move back to the Southern.

Those would be halfway legitimate excuses. If Tennessee dropped out of the SEC to go to Conference USA and tried to tell us that they wanted to build up the rivalry with Memphis, nobody would buy it and they'd be tearing down the upper deck of Neyland Stadium.

But you never hear those excuses.

1. ETSU is a commuter school, nobody would care.

2. I might get laid off if ETSU brings back football. (Professors)

3. ETSU can't compete with other schools, so why bother?

4. We don't have the resources to do football.