(06-28-2015 06:53 PM)chess Wrote:  

(06-27-2015 09:17 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(06-27-2015 09:08 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(06-27-2015 08:41 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  ECU has a lot going for it right now, if they can keep this going for when the next big realignment occurs then they can be primed for being a top candidate for expansion. That's a big IF though... hardly anything in CFB is dependable (except for Saban being a whiney twat and UofI being afraid to play NIU)

Even NIU I give a better shot at a P5 berth than ECU.

Idk man they have an absurd amount of fan support but we have a better market. They have better facilities (which NIU is admittedly working on but wont be ECU's) and we have a (slightly) better football product

ECU has a better football stadium. ECU's basketball arena is not as nice as NIU's.

What are the priorities for ECU'S facilities?

(06-28-2015 07:28 PM)HuskieAlumnus03 Wrote:  

(06-28-2015 06:53 PM)chess Wrote:  

(06-27-2015 09:17 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(06-27-2015 09:08 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(06-27-2015 08:41 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  ECU has a lot going for it right now, if they can keep this going for when the next big realignment occurs then they can be primed for being a top candidate for expansion. That's a big IF though... hardly anything in CFB is dependable (except for Saban being a whiney twat and UofI being afraid to play NIU)

Even NIU I give a better shot at a P5 berth than ECU.

Idk man they have an absurd amount of fan support but we have a better market. They have better facilities (which NIU is admittedly working on but wont be ECU's) and we have a (slightly) better football product

ECU has a better football stadium. ECU's basketball arena is not as nice as NIU's.

What are the priorities for ECU'S facilities?

Right now, priority number 1 is a facility that relocates football locker rooms, coaches offices, sports med facilities, press facilities (press box), and more premium seating into one "tower" type facility on the south end to replace our current press box. My thought is that it will be along the same lines as NC State's Vaughn Towers (Pic)

We have the go-ahead from the legislature to explore expanding our stadium to 60k, but the landscape around the country with general admission attendance right now gives us no reason to do that. There is a demand for more premium seating, though.

They also appear to have some odd interest in building condos near or on the athletic campus, which may work depending on the price point (the stadium is tucked between the edge of campus and a middle to upper middle class residential neighborhood). That, though, would be a private venture.

(06-28-2015 02:14 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(06-28-2015 02:09 PM)NBPirate Wrote:  

(06-28-2015 12:50 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(06-28-2015 12:35 PM)PiratePanther189 Wrote:  

(06-28-2015 12:13 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  Are ECU's facilities that good?

Do they have an Indoor Practice Facility or weight room as nice as NIU's?

Football stadium is very nice, a diamond in the rough for sure, even though the press box is desperately in need of an upgrade. Basketball arena is terribly mediocre.

No IPF but they did put a million into our outdoor practice fields a few years ago. I would say that a walk through the Murphy Center and our new Basketball facility would impress anyone. They are very, very nice buildings. Olympic Sports Complex is also a new and very nice area as well.

NIU has an IPF.

A 10,000 seat basketball arena that was built in 2002.

Baseball facilities I'm sure ECU is ahead of NIU there but in FB/BB NIU appears to have the edge.

Dude, ECU has way nicer facilities. We're not in Illinois so we don't really need an IPF. Our weight room is one of the nicest in the country.

Does it never rain in your state? Ever? You never have any inclement weather whatsoever? I find that hard to believe... my family has a beach house on the OBX we drive to every year, i know now the carolinas can get.

And it's debatable who has better facilities, especially with the renovations underway

I really don't think that whether or not a school has a football IPF is a good meter of how nice athletic facilities as a whole are. There's quite a few different moving parts that go into evaluating something like that.

Whether it's fair or not, ECU is a school that fans like a lot more than university presidents for conference realignment purposes. Remember that ECU still only received a football-only invite from the Big East even AFTER it lost Rutgers and Louisville even though much-maligned Tulane received a full invite on the same day. It was only after the Catholic 7 broke off to form the new Big East that ECU finally got a full invite. Fans like ECU because they're a consistently solid football program with excellent attendance, which is understandable. However, university presidents simply don't like ANY of ECU's off-the-field metrics that drive conference realignment. The state of North Carolina is arguably already the most oversaturated market in the power conferences. ECU (once again, whether it's fair or not) will never get credit for delivering a broader TV market in the way that flagship or private schools do. Academically, it isn't ranked by the US News, which means that it is below at least #201 among national universities. Even if ECU was #202 (and note that this is the best possible ranking that it could have and it could be lower in reality), that would be 34 spots lower than West Virginia at #168, which is currently the lowest ranked school in all of the power conference. Put all of those metrics together and you have a mix that simply isn't attractive to university presidents.

The on-the-field metrics are irrelevant for ECU. It's the off-the-field metrics that are keeping them out of any power conferences. They're kind of like Boise State in the sense that power programs are willing to play ECU in football since they do draw good attendance, but they don't actually ever want to be in a conference with them.

Would not surprise me to see NIU join ECU in the AAC at some point. Would be a more realistic destination for NIU than the Big 12.

I've heard the women at ECU are "morally casual". Anybody confirm this?

(06-30-2015 03:39 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Whether it's fair or not, ECU is a school that fans like a lot more than university presidents for conference realignment purposes. Remember that ECU still only received a football-only invite from the Big East even AFTER it lost Rutgers and Louisville even though much-maligned Tulane received a full invite on the same day. It was only after the Catholic 7 broke off to form the new Big East that ECU finally got a full invite. Fans like ECU because they're a consistently solid football program with excellent attendance, which is understandable. However, university presidents simply don't like ANY of ECU's off-the-field metrics that drive conference realignment. The state of North Carolina is arguably already the most oversaturated market in the power conferences. ECU (once again, whether it's fair or not) will never get credit for delivering a broader TV market in the way that flagship or private schools do. Academically, it isn't ranked by the US News, which means that it is below at least #201 among national universities. Even if ECU was #202 (and note that this is the best possible ranking that it could have and it could be lower in reality), that would be 34 spots lower than West Virginia at #168, which is currently the lowest ranked school in all of the power conference. Put all of those metrics together and you have a mix that simply isn't attractive to university presidents.

The on-the-field metrics are irrelevant for ECU. It's the off-the-field metrics that are keeping them out of any power conferences. They're kind of like Boise State in the sense that power programs are willing to play ECU in football since they do draw good attendance, but they don't actually ever want to be in a conference with them.

I don't think the on the field metrics are irrelevant, because honestly on the field metrics wise we are probably right where we should be. Despite all the big talk and boasting about ECU football we've produced 1 10 win season since 1991 and haven't finished a season ranked since 1995. The only schools that moved from G5 leagues to current P5 leagues are Utah and TCU. ECU doesn't have close to the success on the field as those 2 did. If ECU could go on a run like those 2 did for 5 to 10 years then it might make a difference, but until that happens ECU can't really complain that it's "better" than who it resides with because other than fan base size there's no metric that shows that. 10 years ago it would have been silly talk to mention TCU ever being in the B12, but thru a combination of them going out and dominating and getting some breaks it happened. ECU will have to do the same and then hope the dominos fall right at the right time, but on the field has been a big issue for ECU. The last 2 years of the Skip era and the last 2 seasons under Ruff there were opportunities to make real national noise and start making headway and in all those years the teams gagged and squandered the chance. Stop doing that and then maybe there's a real gripe about ECU's position.

Well, despite the detractors in this thread, I'm a big fan of ECU. I look at ECU as an aspirational program that, if my school stays on its current path and grows the alumni base, where we can be one day given the time.

(06-30-2015 03:39 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Whether it's fair or not, ECU is a school that fans like a lot more than university presidents for conference realignment purposes. Remember that ECU still only received a football-only invite from the Big East even AFTER it lost Rutgers and Louisville even though much-maligned Tulane received a full invite on the same day. It was only after the Catholic 7 broke off to form the new Big East that ECU finally got a full invite. Fans like ECU because they're a consistently solid football program with excellent attendance, which is understandable. However, university presidents simply don't like ANY of ECU's off-the-field metrics that drive conference realignment. The state of North Carolina is arguably already the most oversaturated market in the power conferences. ECU (once again, whether it's fair or not) will never get credit for delivering a broader TV market in the way that flagship or private schools do. Academically, it isn't ranked by the US News, which means that it is below at least #201 among national universities. Even if ECU was #202 (and note that this is the best possible ranking that it could have and it could be lower in reality), that would be 34 spots lower than West Virginia at #168, which is currently the lowest ranked school in all of the power conference. Put all of those metrics together and you have a mix that simply isn't attractive to university presidents.

The on-the-field metrics are irrelevant for ECU. It's the off-the-field metrics that are keeping them out of any power conferences. They're kind of like Boise State in the sense that power programs are willing to play ECU in football since they do draw good attendance, but they don't actually ever want to be in a conference with them.

Fwiw we were #181 like a year ago. #101 public school. We will be back.

(06-30-2015 03:48 PM)Okielite Wrote:  Would not surprise me to see NIU join ECU in the AAC at some point. Would be a more realistic destination for NIU than the Big 12.

I've heard the women at ECU are "morally casual". Anybody confirm this?

Good grief, Okielite. You certainly do not represent the state of Oklahoma well.

ECU is a teacher's school. So, there are many women who attend the school.

Let's be clear- If Oklahoma and Texas bolt the Big XII, OSU is no better off than ECU. Small market states are what they are- small markets.

Haha watch it, Okielite.... a lot of us are MARRIED to ECU girls or have DAUGHTERS that go there.

So no, they're all nuns.

To Frank's point, money talks, and I think there is a point where the on-the-field stuff (mainly $) matters more than the off-the-field stuff. In 1995, could you picture Louisville being part of the ACC twenty years down the road? When we were in C-USA 1.0, ECU was seen as much more of a traditional school while Louisville and Cincinnati were seen as commuter schools. Academically, they've laid a blueprint that we'd be wise to follow.

My personal opinion is that - since we'll probably never have a basketball cash cow like Louisville did - the point where ECU can move to a power conference is if/when we reach 80,000 fans. At that level of support, our football team is too big to be ignored. We've got a long way to go and it will probably never happen, but that's when I think people overlook the negatives. Now if we can somehow turn our basketball program into something like VCU has, then that number probably drops to 65,000... something much more realistic if we put together a string of seasons like Boise State or Cincinnati has done.

ECU is a very unique school because of the pride it's graduates have. At many schools like ECU, the students would pull for the local flagship school rather than their alma mater. Find me one other school that is outside of the Power 5 that draws over 80% of what the top P5 school in their state draws. You probably won't be able to. We're one of a kind.

(07-01-2015 11:12 AM)chess Wrote:  

(06-30-2015 03:48 PM)Okielite Wrote:  Would not surprise me to see NIU join ECU in the AAC at some point. Would be a more realistic destination for NIU than the Big 12.

I've heard the women at ECU are "morally casual". Anybody confirm this?

Good grief, Okielite. You certainly do not represent the state of Oklahoma well.

ECU is a teacher's school. So, there are many women who attend the school.

Let's be clear- If Oklahoma and Texas bolt the Big XII, OSU is no better off than ECU. Small market states are what they are- small markets.

Another personal insult. Gotta love this board. Where the butthurt flows like wine from fans of g-5 schools.

So me saying the NIU would be a more realistic option for the AAC than the Big 12 and suddenly "I don't represent Oklahoma well" and "OSU is no better off then ECU in realignment without OU".

Hard to have any conversation when they all lead back to personal/school/conference insults that have nothing to do with the topic being discussed.

Always goes like this.
Me- I"m not sure NUI, ECU,(insert any name g-5) is a good fit in the Big 12 becasue of these good reasons reasons. Then facts are presented such as attendance, budget, history, tv ratings."
You- "You are a moron, OSU is worthless, and the Big 12 is never getting in the playoff and going to collapse tomorrow. bla bla bla"

But I know you desperately wish you could be in a p-5 conference with OSU and that you are really just saying that negative stuff becasue you are sensitive and fragile and can't stand anyone who points out good reasons why your school is not a good fit for a power conference.

And yes I have heard that the women at ECU are pretty slutty and hot, much like FAU.

It's not worth getting upset over. Whatever is going to happen will happen no matter what you do. No point in getting all fired up and insulting people for something like this. Facts are facts. Just accept who you are. I would totally love to go to a game at ECU to enjoy the atmosphere. But all around they are not a good fit for the Big 12 for various good reasons.