(08-26-2014 06:41 PM)JHG722 Wrote: So now that we're investing in our football program, you discredit it? Must be nice to have a sweetheart deal with the Stillers and not have to worry about your facilities like we do...
EDIT: UCF and Tulane? UCF's tin can of a stadium was just under $65M in 2014 dollars. Tulane's new stadium is $75M. Our rec center/basketball practice facility alone was $60M.
You obviously have no clue what you're talking about with regard to the PITT/Steelers relationship. Not that I expect that little fact to stop you, but I would be remiss if I failed to educate you on it.
First let me tell you it is nice to have such a close relationship with the Steelers. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a unique relationship and it has long served both parties very well.
However, it is important to note that our "sweetheart deal" didn't just fall out of the sky one day and into our laps. It was forged over decades. It was solidified when, for years, PITT allowed the Steelers to play their home games at PITT Stadium free of charge.
Also, anybody who followed the stadium saga at the end of the last century knows that the Steelers were not getting a new stadium without PITT as a co-tenant. It was DOA and anyone who actually lived through that era will agree with that characterization.
However, when PITT decided to partner with the Steelers, the plan went from renovating Three Rivers Stadium to building a new stadium for both the local major college and professional football team. That is why all of the gates and seat fixtures are permanently adorned with both teams' logos. Again, that is very different than the relationship Temple has with the Philadelphia Eagles. In fact, it is different than every other college team's situation the shares its stadium with an NFL team. We are very proud of that fact. It is so very Pittsburgh.
Also, do you happen to know the name of the practice facility that PITT shares with the Steelers? It is called the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Sports Performance Complex. In other words, I think the relationship is a little bit more symbiotic than you are willing to concede.
That's cool, I don't expect a fair shake from you. Frankly, nor do I care. Mine is just to make the point that we didn't wake up one day and decide to play major college football. It was something that happened over decades and that is why we got the nod over Connecticut for the ACC and why we are not remotely comparable to Temple.
We started playing major college football in the early 20th century and here we are 100 years later and you are predicting that within 10 years, Temple will join us in that pursuit and when you do, look out Loretta. I guess but I must admit that I remain somewhat skeptical as it belies almost every single thing I have seen from your institution in my lifetime.
I certainly wish you no ill will but as far as the ACC is concerned, that's a pipe dream. There is no room for you at the inn now and there most likely never will be. At the very least, you are solidly behind Central Florida, South Florida, Connecticut, Cincinnati, and likely several others as well. If Temple ever gets into the ACC, it will not be the ACC we all currently know and love. Something will have gone terribly, terribly wrong.
I don't mean to be too harsh but you have missed the boat and it is just that simple. At this late stage in the game, your best bet is to focus on helping to make the American a legitimate, hands down No. 6 league in the way the old Big East used to be. That is your best and really your only realistic play at this point.