(03-29-2013 03:30 PM)PreseasonChamps Wrote:  I want Bill Meade to talk about ETSU athletics as much as anyone on this board, but until the community shows some excitement, he's just not going to. That's going to take all of us and every other graduate and student in the tri cities.

I agree 100% but sometimes I think the reason football was so easily dismissed is because people like Bill Meade and other tri city media types didn't discuss the real reason for dropping the sport. Be interesting to see if the local communities support football and ETSU now. Im thinking the current ETSU President will make it happen.

(03-29-2013 05:47 PM)Buc66 Wrote:  It's such a pleasure and so encouraging to be reading all the celebrating on here today. We have finally turned the corner from that lost decade of ETSU athletics and are now headed in a positive direction. This is a big day for Buc fans and a significant step for the future of East Tennessee State University under Brian Noland. Now, the next anticipation is the major announcement promissed by Dr Noland that is to be made prior to the Final Four. Wonder what this will include, a coach, a new conference, a football stadium announcement, a combination of these, or something else? I know we'll have to wait and see -- but anything floating around anyone would care to share?

The part of my life that's been spent on this 'project' the last 10 years has been exhausting. And it's a good thing that the promised land is at least in sight, because this took a lot out of me.

I will reiterate that it's my understanding that several coaches have had 'feelers' extended towards them, and maybe even some in-depth discussions. My sense is it won't be Fulmer, but I'm not positive. I think a coaching announcement may come sooner rather than later. I don't necessarily mean within a week, but it won't be a long, drawn-out process. Many of you may not remember that we had a committee that chose bartow. I personally talked to some of the members of that committee afterwards, and one of them in particular became surprisingly defensive about it. I can't remember if this was in bartow's first or (terrible) second year. Yes, mullins (and I suppose paulie) approved it, but it really *was* the committee who made the decision. Sander is NOT going that route.

Congrats, to all my fellow alums. WE HAVE FOOTBALL BACK! Congrats to the students because now you have a real homecoming again. I am so proud of my university! Dr. Noland you are one of a kind! Thank you for your LEADERSHIP, Thank you for your VISION, and thank you for all your work on bringing back football to our university.

(03-29-2013 05:43 PM)Mister Jennings Wrote:  I love the spirit of most of the posts especially Buccaneerlover. Enthusiasm is catchy. It's ETSU's job to make football a happening. I would like to see Noland and Sander themselves post every now and then. Kenny Chesney needs to play halftime of the first game!

It would be great if Kenny would do a concert in the Tri Cities and donate the proceeds to ETSU football.. or he could just give the money to build Chesney Stadium!!!!!!!!!!!!! That would be small change to him...

(03-29-2013 12:23 PM)etsuandpurdue3 Wrote:  I wonder when T-Shirts are going to be made because I want to replace my Undefeated since 2003 shirt.

I wore mine yesterday.

It's great for ETSU football to be back! I'm very excited to attend the first game.

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/a...z2Ox1YGzO4

Football overload on the JC PRess site.

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/a...z2Ox1YGzO4

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/a...z2Ox1YGzO4

(03-29-2013 07:42 PM)bucfan1968 Wrote:  

(03-29-2013 05:43 PM)Mister Jennings Wrote:  I love the spirit of most of the posts especially Buccaneerlover. Enthusiasm is catchy. It's ETSU's job to make football a happening. I would like to see Noland and Sander themselves post every now and then. Kenny Chesney needs to play halftime of the first game!

It would be great if Kenny would do a concert in the Tri Cities and donate the proceeds to ETSU football.. or he could just give the money to build Chesney Stadium!!!!!!!!!!!!! That would be small change to him...

It would be great if he did donate time/money to help it, but there's only one person in the world that the new stadium should be named after, Jerry "Doc" Robertson.

(03-30-2013 12:12 AM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  Football overload on the JC PRess site.

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/a...z2Ox1YGzO4

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/a...z2Ox1YGzO4

A different tone -- optimism of all things coming from the JC Press, from Hodge even. This could become contagious. Reading what the former players are saying, exciting. Reading Paul Hamilton's comments, a class guy. Reading the positive comments from students, encouraging. If they can do it, ODU, then why not us as the line of reasoning goes. We certainly do not have anything as a state regional university to apologize for. In fact, we have much more going on academically than many of our counterparts. We have programs, degrees, colleges, and schools that many of them envy. It's time to celebrate that, to be proud of that, to advertise that, to move into the future with that. ETSU actually has a bold message to proclaim. We need an athletic program that reflects the school's accomplishments and stature, one that helps publicize this. Obviously, Brian Noland gets it and is proactively acting on it. He is a visionary.

(03-29-2013 06:01 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  

(03-29-2013 05:47 PM)Buc66 Wrote:  It's such a pleasure and so encouraging to be reading all the celebrating on here today. We have finally turned the corner from that lost decade of ETSU athletics and are now headed in a positive direction. This is a big day for Buc fans and a significant step for the future of East Tennessee State University under Brian Noland. Now, the next anticipation is the major announcement promissed by Dr Noland that is to be made prior to the Final Four. Wonder what this will include, a coach, a new conference, a football stadium announcement, a combination of these, or something else? I know we'll have to wait and see -- but anything floating around anyone would care to share?

The part of my life that's been spent on this 'project' the last 10 years has been exhausting. And it's a good thing that the promised land is at least in sight, because this took a lot out of me.

I will reiterate that it's my understanding that several coaches have had 'feelers' extended towards them, and maybe even some in-depth discussions. My sense is it won't be Fulmer, but I'm not positive. I think a coaching announcement may come sooner rather than later. I don't necessarily mean within a week, but it won't be a long, drawn-out process. Many of you may not remember that we had a committee that chose bartow. I personally talked to some of the members of that committee afterwards, and one of them in particular became surprisingly defensive about it. I can't remember if this was in bartow's first or (terrible) second year. Yes, mullins (and I suppose paulie) approved it, but it really *was* the committee who made the decision. Sander is NOT going that route.

Assuming this is true, what does it say that Mullins and Stanton weren't competent enough to hire a coach without a committee?

Well, we all know stanton wasn't competent enough, and he knew it. In fact, he liked to have committees study everything he didn't fully understand, especially sports. Remember, he hired two different sets of committees, if I recall correctly, to study "football", before the student vote.
And we also all know that mullins was for the most part paulie's lackey. mullins was probably "competent" enough, under some definitions, but stanton didn't want to give him that much control. It's impossible to say whether the person we would have hired, had mullins been allowed to do it on his own, would have turned out better or worse. Imo, as bad as bartow is, the odds would have been in favor of getting someone who would have been better - but that's purely a statistical guess, obviously.

My assumption was the "committee" was along the same lines of a grand jury. They looked at only what Stanton and Mullins really wanted them to see and rubber stamped what ever decision they were told was right.
If that isn't what happened that only goes to prove how incompentent Mullins really was, hiring a new coach is the AD job, period, giving up that power to a committee says a lot about him.