(10-13-2021 01:31 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(10-13-2021 12:42 PM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

(10-13-2021 11:41 AM)esayem Wrote:  

(10-13-2021 10:19 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(10-13-2021 10:12 AM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  Rice has always been in a good position to rejoin a better conference. If only it ever really put into its athletics and kept at it as such, their current situation would be much different. Maybe even in a major conference by now. But, they don’t, so, now they’re not.

I mean, we know they’ve been active. Approaching the MWC, approaching the Big XII (maybe more than once)…AAC in its current state is going to be status quo, imo, or, just a shell of what it used to experience in CUSA back in 2010-13. Nothing against the AAC, either, but…if Rice doesn’t get a new home out of this? Fallen waaay back.

I get the impression, too, that they look to Tulane and SMU, when they should look at TCU and Baylor. Or, stop looking with disgust what Houston has been doing. Spend and win to get in.

When you have both Buffalo and Stony Brook spending money to win? I could see both of them leaping in front of Rice for the AAC.

Stony Brook!?!?

They’re in the best media market in the country and nobody knows who they are!

Yeah. That Seawolves 2020 campaign kinda stalled out. They tried to pull a Colorado State and have funds reallocated to expand the stadium (which still wouldn’t meet AAC standards), but got nixed by the governor.

They are well behind Buffalo, who has its own issues. Now, I like Buffalo over Rice for the AAC because they are a more consistent football and basketball program than Rice, but, those “value-add’s” aren’t how these decisions are made. And, again, Buffalo has its own issues, including venue problems of its own.

If you’ve ever actually ever been to Rice stadium you’d know Rice has venue issues as well. You literally pee against a painted wall that drains into a trough. The bones are good—great sight lines and view of the surrounding area---but it’s seriously in need of updating. I mean—the old splinter filled wood benches are long gone—but there is still a lot left to do. For example---the restrooms on the second level don’t even work.

I’ve heard that even the more recent updates didn’t address all of the stadium’s woes. Never been there, but would like to go just because of its history. I suspect that the historical component puts a school like that in a bind. It garners respect, but it’s not fan-friendly anymore with its infrastructure. Like, I couldn’t imagine ripping it down to rebuild, but a face-lift to its inner guts is cost-prohibitive, as well.

Tudor Fieldhouse doesn’t look like much fun. Reminds me of a less open/more dark Tom Gola Arena (where La Salle plays).