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Changing my mind about Buc football
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Tree Street Offline
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Post: #1
Changing my mind about Buc football
When I first visited this discussion board, I was highly skeptical about the movement to restore football at ETSU. Media reports have portrayed football as a million dollar drain on the university budget, and while I thought a football team would be a plus for the school, I regarded it was a luxury that ETSU could not afford.

Then one day someone on this board said that ETSU’s athletic budget was larger than some peer institutions that field football teams. I did some online research and found that schools like Georgia Southern, Western Carolina, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin spend less money on athletics than ETSU, but all of them have football teams. I began to realize not having a football team at ETSU has at least as much to do with institutional priorities than monetary issues.

Is the higher priority for ETSU athletics winning the A-Sun all sports trophy or raising the profile of the institution in the region and beyond? If it’s the former, then ETSU has done an excellent job. If it’s the latter, it seems to me that a football team is a necessity.

I realize that my reasoning is shared by many followers of this board, and that I am not introducing new facts to those who are working hard to restore ETSU football. I simply offer this post to let loyal Buc football supporters know that minds can be changed.
01-08-2013 10:47 PM
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Goldfinger Offline
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RE: Changing my mind about Buc football
You know I don't care anymore but if I did I'd say good for you for not only seeing the light but also being big enough to admit you were wrong. A quality which is lacking in these parts. Well done, sir.
01-09-2013 12:45 AM
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Buc66 Offline
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RE: Changing my mind about Buc football
(01-08-2013 10:47 PM)Tree Street Wrote:  When I first visited this discussion board, I was highly skeptical about the movement to restore football at ETSU. Media reports have portrayed football as a million dollar drain on the university budget, and while I thought a football team would be a plus for the school, I regarded it was a luxury that ETSU could not afford.

Then one day someone on this board said that ETSU’s athletic budget was larger than some peer institutions that field football teams. I did some online research and found that schools like Georgia Southern, Western Carolina, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin spend less money on athletics than ETSU, but all of them have football teams. I began to realize not having a football team at ETSU has at least as much to do with institutional priorities than monetary issues.

Is the higher priority for ETSU athletics winning the A-Sun all sports trophy or raising the profile of the institution in the region and beyond? If it’s the former, then ETSU has done an excellent job. If it’s the latter, it seems to me that a football team is a necessity.

I realize that my reasoning is shared by many followers of this board, and that I am not introducing new facts to those who are working hard to restore ETSU football. I simply offer this post to let loyal Buc football supporters know that minds can be changed.

Thank you. Football was never dropped due to finances. We know it was dropped so the minor sports could get what was being budgeted for football. The "football was losing $1 million a year" line never got around to pointing out that the overall athletic program was "losing" millions more a year. This is a highly subsidized mid-major athletic program, like all of those at this level. Yet, it was always assumed that football was the only "losing" (subsidized) sport in the ETSU athletic department -- that the other sports were paying their own way. The JC Press still promotes this story line to this day and too many "average guys/gals" on the street believe it. Of course football is your most expensive individual sport. How do you spend $12 million a year on athletics? ETSU has been on the minor sports at the expense of the major sports plan for the last decade. Look where it has landed us. The Athletic Task Force picked up on this. It stated that an institution must invest its athletic budget in such a way as to get the best possible return on its investment. That, I believe, put football back on the table.
01-09-2013 07:44 AM
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Mister Jennings Offline
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RE: Changing my mind about Buc football
I've thought for years....still do that football was cancelled from presidential embarrassment. I remember Stanton could not populate his box....Just a handful of. Plus that box offers the worst seats...a long way from the action...but it did offer a benefit...you could see the sideline! Free food, free game, couldn't draw a crowd which I think was a reflection on Stanton more than Buc football.

I suspect that attendance will boom when football comes back. I'm concerned though. Since Noland arrived, basketball attendance is stagnant....which is more a reflection on Murry than the president.
01-09-2013 08:15 AM
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bucfan81 Offline
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RE: Changing my mind about Buc football
It is good to see Buc fans coming together and becoming united. There is one goal and that is a progressive, growing University with an improving athletic department. It starts with football/basketball and then brings all the sports up with it.
01-09-2013 08:32 AM
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One Of The Last Buc Linemen Offline
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RE: Changing my mind about Buc football
(01-09-2013 08:32 AM)bucfan81 Wrote:  It starts with football/basketball and then brings all the sports up with it.

well said. i think we all would be thrilled with a conference softball championship that follows a conference football championship from the previous fall
01-09-2013 03:09 PM
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PittsburghBucs Offline
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RE: Changing my mind about Buc football
Mister- nobody buys tickets to a losing basketball program because the university got a new president.

They just don't.

The athletic mindset of the Mullins administration was to put the non-spectator sports on an even plane as the ones who would draw interest. It could be argued that it was that way even before he got there what with Fred Warren being on of the highest paid golf coaches in the country and getting 10-year contracts.

Frankly, it's going to take a major league effort to get rid of that mindset. The mindset speaks of accepting you'll always be behind the SEC in terms of fan base, so it is best to plan that way. As a result, you never become "The Tri-Cities Team." Instead you become the program that does the best with what it has, and what it has will always put itself in the back of the bus.
01-09-2013 04:22 PM
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72Grad Offline
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RE: Changing my mind about Buc football
(01-09-2013 04:22 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote:  Mister- nobody buys tickets to a losing basketball program because the university got a new president.

They just don't.

The athletic mindset of the Mullins administration was to put the non-spectator sports on an even plane as the ones who would draw interest. It could be argued that it was that way even before he got there what with Fred Warren being on of the highest paid golf coaches in the country and getting 10-year contracts.

Frankly, it's going to take a major league effort to get rid of that mindset. The mindset speaks of accepting you'll always be behind the SEC in terms of fan base, so it is best to plan that way. As a result, you never become "The Tri-Cities Team." Instead you become the program that does the best with what it has, and what it has will always put itself in the back of the bus.

I think the major league effort got underway today.
01-14-2013 03:31 PM
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PittsburghBucs Offline
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RE: Changing my mind about Buc football
I hope so. But the one thing that could kill that effort is "blah" from local media.
01-14-2013 04:10 PM
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etsudolfan Offline
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RE: Changing my mind about Buc football
(01-09-2013 08:15 AM)Mister Jennings Wrote:  I've thought for years....still do that football was cancelled from presidential embarrassment. I remember Stanton could not populate his box....Just a handful of. Plus that box offers the worst seats...a long way from the action...but it did offer a benefit...you could see the sideline! Free food, free game, couldn't draw a crowd which I think was a reflection on Stanton more than Buc football.

I suspect that attendance will boom when football comes back. I'm concerned though. Since Noland arrived, basketball attendance is stagnant....which is more a reflection on Murry than the president.

I was at the game this past Saturday and I thought the attendance was low, however I think that is partly because many of the students aren't back on campus yet. Classes don't start for another 3 days so that is probably a partial reason for recent low attendance. However, I think you have to give the student body something to get excited about. A conference change and announcement of football returning would likely boost attendance, IMO.
01-14-2013 04:46 PM
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