andone, that has been a problem for as long as I can remember. The stores would rather stock up on orange than Blue and Gold. Sports radio is no better, the local sports talk bleeds orange and rarely talks ETSU even though they are the flagship radio station. It's sad

I wonder if the problem with finding ETSU stuff outside of campus is due to ETSU not giving up the rights for the mascot or the use of their name to sports apparel companies. They do not want any competition on their sportswear line. Besides how much could a large company make off ETSU stuff? Just a thought.

I have a friend in the retail sports apparel business in Des Moines. She carries the "big" schools because they have drawing power. Besides the obvious Iowa and Iowa State stuff she sells a lot of Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and (believe it or not) Tennessee. She said that their stuff sells and that is the bottom line. She does not carry much Drake (in Des Moines) or UNI stuff because of the required number of items she has to order at one time. Many companies have minimum amounts that she has to order and she does not feel the "smaller" schools will sell enough for her to stock them. I tried to argue the "small" school point that if you carry it they will come. She said that if more people would ask for the other schools she would carry them. That is what happened with Ohio State. She did not carry much OSU stuff but so many people asked for it that she stocked up and then sold out of it. That is now a standing order for her.

Multiple sources in the AD have confirmed to me that CUSA visited here, and laughed at us. So thats true.

I never understood why you couldnt find ETSU gear anywhere. I do know that Champs in the Mall has ETSU stuff, but that is about the only place.

A lot there amounts to when you are winning.

When I was a kid and Dan Marino played for Pitt- you could order a Pitt Panthers t-shirt or whatever out of the Sears Catalog. A few years later- after Pitt descended from being a national power to a mediocore program- you couldn't.

I'm sure there is less Clemson, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Nebraska, Arizona State, Washington, et all demand right now, too.

Now, I have been able to find some ETSU stuff around when the Bucs win. The Hometowne Sports shop in Wal-Mart carried a few items- though they were dwarfed by UT and the Titans. It's all about marketing.

ON BUCS TALK ON THE RADIO- The thing is that there IS an audience for it.

Everytime you brought up the "talking point" issue of "Should the Bucs move out of the Dome" you got calls.

When Doug Fritz lost face on his hatchet job of Ed DeChellis- and came off looking like a fool as such- there were tons of calls. I mean all anyone could talk about what "Why aren't the Bucs recruiting Demetrius (or was it Demetric) Stevens (or was it Stephens)" and he never even got a minute in at Appalachian State.

The most horrible thing is that Bill Meade or the local media have no influence over the Vols but they do over the Bucs. A good example of this was his out and out homering for George Pitts to get the Bucs job in 1996.

Of course, it's laughable to suggest that a high school coach should take over a college program (see Gerry Faust, Bob Wade).

It is evidence that the Johnson City community is made up by a bunch of yokels who evidentily do not know how to read or comprehend play-by-play since the coach they did hire turned the team from a last place program to a perennial conference contender.

In fact, ALL of the coaches Keener Frye interviewed took teams to the NCAAs and have gone on to coach in either the SEC, Big 10, or A-10.

But no, that doesn't matter because Brentwood Academy is now winning games!!!!

And the reason why people feel that way is because the local press has an influence over the local teams.

After giving it more thought, the obvious choice for ETSU would have been the Colonial (CAA). It includes: UNC Wilmington, George Mason, Hofstra, Old Dominion, Northeastern, VCU, Towson, Drexel, Delaware, Georgia State, William & Mary and James Madison. Yes, this is the same Colonial Conference that Georgia State (who jumped ship from the ASun last year) went to.

And guess what: the CAA is ranked 11th out of the 31 division 1 baskeball conferences. That's 18 spaces ahead of the ASun. In the new rankings, OVC is 20th and Southern is 21st. The rankings of conferences (as of yesterday) look like this:

CONFERENCE CENTRAL MEAN SIMPLE AVERAGE TEAMS

1 BIG EAST = 83.45 83.55 ( 2) 16
2 BIG TEN = 83.45 83.09 ( 3) 11
3 ATLANTIC COAST = 82.96 83.70 ( 1) 12
4 SOUTHEASTERN = 82.52 82.45 ( 4) 12
5 BIG 12 = 80.93 81.22 ( 5) 12
6 MISSOURI VALLEY = 80.14 79.63 ( 7) 10
7 PACIFIC-10 = 80.13 80.11 ( 6) 10
8 MOUNTAIN WEST = 77.25 76.83 ( 8) 9
9 ATLANTIC 10 = 76.66 76.12 ( 9) 14
10 WESTERN ATHLETIC = 75.89 75.33 ( 10) 9
11 COLONIAL = 74.74 74.43 ( 12) 12
12 WEST COAST = 74.22 75.09 ( 11) 8
13 MID-AMERICAN = 73.77 73.35 ( 13) 12
14 HORIZON = 73.09 73.14 ( 15) 9
15 METRO ATLANTIC = 73.00 73.24 ( 14) 10
16 BIG SKY = 71.90 72.13 ( 17) 8
17 CONFERENCE USA = 71.59 73.00 ( 16) 12
18 SUN BELT = 71.45 71.92 ( 18) 11
19 BIG WEST = 71.09 70.88 ( 19) 8
20 OHIO VALLEY = 69.78 69.28 ( 20) 11
21 SOUTHERN = 69.18 68.91 ( 21) 11
22 SOUTHLAND = 69.05 68.68 ( 22) 11
23 BIG SOUTH = 68.68 68.59 ( 23) 9
24 MID-CONTINENT = 67.94 68.00 ( 24) 9
25 PATRIOT = 67.44 67.99 ( 25) 8
26 IVY LEAGUE = 67.09 67.58 ( 26) 8
27 NORTHEAST = 66.97 66.91 ( 27) 11
28 AMERICA EAST = 66.89 66.88 ( 28) 9
29 ATLANTIC SUN = 64.00 63.65 ( 29) 11
30 INDEPENDENTS = 63.80 63.33 ( 30) 10
31 MID-EASTERN = 63.14 62.87 ( 31) 11
32 SOUTHWESTERN = 62.10 61.94 ( 32) 10

It's also interesting to note that the average attendance at an ASun bball game last year was just over 1,500. The Southern averaged 2,500 and the OVC averaged 3,000. Also, three Division II conferences average higher attendance than the ASun. And my favorite ASun statistic: Florida Atlantic's average basketball attendance in 2005 was 522. I couldn't compare FAU with North Florida since NF was in Division II last year and their statistics aren't mentioned on the NCAA's site.

Screw that- let's get into the Missouri Valley Conference!

Who's in that thing, anyway?

I had theorized the CAA would be a good fit for the Bucs when they were shopping for conferences. I liked the idea of expanding our horizons and road trips to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

One school I think might make the jump- and they aren't going to add football (I dont' think) but they might make the jump- is College of Charleston. They already participate in the conference in some non-revenue sports (or maybe it is sport).

It kills a rivalry with The Citadel- but I'd imagine people in Charleston who are interested in mid-majors follow the Bulldogs in football and the Cougars in basketball (and hopefully the Stingrays in hockey). The Bulldogs just aren't competitive on the hardwood and never have been.

You could keep the game and play it out-of-conference if you wanted to.

Of course, the CAA vision and the Stanton-Mullins vision are two different things.

Pitt,

I think your last statement says it all, "the CAA vision and the Stanton-Mullins vision are two different things." I believe the _______ vision and the Stanton-Mullins vision are two different things (fill in the blank with almost any and every athletic conference).

"I think your best bet is to get football back and the sooner the better"

Careful now.. you'll get heckled...

Another post mentioned the CAA... we had a very healthly discussion when all of this started to transpire on campus and the CAA was mentioned. I know that ETSU doesn't have the 'academics' for the CAA's core membership... and the kicker now... FOOTBALL sponsorship is the reality, just as is the OVC, SoCon, and Big South.

The average basketball budget in the Big East is $6-10 million... so I'm guessing that ain't happening.

I'm putting together the newest numbers from the budget reports and ya'll are going to CRAP.... would love to see some expressions when this new data hits.

Kev- that's a great point about "I really thought we'd go to C-USA" but it also shows the cockeyed optimism that makes people satisfied with mediocrity around JC.

If I'm C-USA- and I'm kicking out Army for not being competitive enough in football- what do I want with ETSU?

Here's how you get into C-USA if you are ETSU-

A- You get rid of Stanton, Mullins, and Fred Warren.

B- You scrap everything and you say you're going to embark on a fundraising campaign to build a football stadium and revive the program. Don't worry about the sightlines in Memorial Center for basketball- if you get in the Top 20 they will come (I hope).

That's essentially what you do.

But the fact of the matter is that they would rather have a decent golf program- not even a National Championship one but a decent golf program- than win in visable sports.

You can buy ETSU merch at Finish Line in the JC Mall, and ironically enough you can get some really nice ETSU polos at Hound Dogs, yes, Hound Dogs.
The shirts at Finish Line are only about 10 dollars or so, and are actually really nice for t's.
I find it funny Pitt that you mention schools like Clemson and Nebraska not selling merchandise because they are losing... That's almost as good as saying the South Carolina fans wouldn't go to football games when they were losing week in week out a few years back.
Now, onto the conference thing. Everyone keeps complaining, but Fan1 is right, we didn't have the facilities, and were laughed at by C-USA, as any league should have. Now that we're building the facilities to try and compete, everyone is STILL COMPLAINING. Which is it guys? Do you want the upgrades done necessary to leave the A-Sun or is everyone content to just sit and ***** and complain about how bad it is...
Same applies to football, if it bothers you THAT MUCH, then why don't we see letters to the editor in the paper EVERY DAY about what a joke it is not having a team? Why hasn't the Football Foundation raised the ridiculous figure that Dr. Stanton threw out there because he was talking out of his arse???

Okay, Lover, when was the last time you saw someone wearing a Nebraska shirt?

Seriously. I remember in the mid-90s there was a guy driving around JC with a Nebraska flag on his car.

Is he still around? I'll bet not.

And, though I doubt you're implying this, I have never said that USC fans would stop going to games. Tennessee fans would stop going to football games before the Gamecock people would.

However, in the Clemson case, show me the Clemson Orange Soda cans or the people getting orange Clemson Tigers braces. I'm sure you will see someone wearing orange in Greenville, but to the same degree as 1981?

Of course not.

It hasn't been that way in South Carolina in a long, long time.

Quit making excuses for mediocrity and ACCEPT it.

That's the first step in finding a cure. If "We would have beaten GW with Ben Rhoda" and NOT beating GW under any circumstance is not good enough for you, then you are not BuccaneerLover, you are BuccaneerShill, and I don't want you calling yourself a fan.

Because you won't be. You'll be a pscyophant.

ATLANTA, Ga., (February 15, 2006) - The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) is pleased to announce its top-selling CLC member institutions and manufacturers for the second quarter of the 2005-2006 fiscal year. These rankings represent royalties reported October 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005 on collegiate merchandise sold.

Top-50 Universities
(1.) The University of Michigan (2.) The University of Texas at Austin (3.) University of Georgia (4.) University of Notre Dame (5.) University of North Carolina (6.) University of Tennessee Knoxville (7.) The University of Oklahoma (8.) University of Florida (9.) The University of Alabama (10.) Florida State University (11.) Auburn University (12.) The Pennsylvania State University (13.) Louisiana State University (14.) University of Miami (15.) University of Kentucky (16.) University of Wisconsin (17.) University of Nebraska (18.) University of Illinois (19.) University of Arkansas Fayetteville (20.) University of South Carolina (21.) Oklahoma State University (22.) Clemson University (23.) University of Maryland (24.) University of Kansas (25.) Purdue University (26.) The University of Arizona (27.) The University of Virginia (28.) Texas Tech University (29.) Kansas State University (30.) Duke University (31.) University of Missouri (32.) University of Louisville (33.) University of Pittsburgh (34.) University of Washington (35.) Washington State University (36.) Syracuse University (37.) Georgia Institute of Technology (38.) University of Mississippi (39.) University of Colorado (40.) University of Connecticut (41.) Stanford University (42.) University of Cincinnati (43.) U.S. Military Academy (44.) Oregon State University (45.) University of Utah (46.) Marshall University (47.) The University of Montana (48.) Boise State University (49.) U.S. Air Force Academy (50.) Brigham Young University

And this proves what? I'm right?

Nebraska No. 17? What do you think they'd be in 1995? No. 1 or 2?

Penn State No. 12? Even after a single good year?

In 1994 they are top ten easy.

UT is No. 6? What are they in 1998?

Georgia Tech is- what- 37? I remember after they won the National Championship in 1990 all these people wearing Georgia Tech gear in support.

Clemson is not even a Top 20?

That doesn't happen in 1981.