The reason being- who really thinks he is the reason for the demise of ETSU basketball?

Maybe he's a bad coach. Maybe he doesn't know when to come out of the zone. Maybe he is to blame for not telling Smith to look for a three against Cincinnati. Maybe everything he tells the press is lame.

But again, Bartow is a scapegoat- plain and simple.

The ETSU athletic philosophy is one where the tennis team is as important as the basketball team.

Now how can any hoops coach win like that?

Maybe Bartow is the worst coach of all time. But I'm telling you- if you fire him it only buys time for the real problem at the top.

Yes, I can see Mullins hiring another bad coach and maybe that would finally be the nail in his coffin.

But at what price for the delay?

A new coach isn't going to do anything. What's needed is an entirely new athletic direction- the one that asks what you need with a six figure golf coach instead of a football team.

And to be honest, I simply cannot blame any coach for failures under a Mullins regime. To allow David Mullins to hire a second basketball coach is truly the definition of "Shame on Me."

Fred Warren takes care of his own money situation, they don't draw an awful lot from the university funds, as he gets private donations. The guy is kind of a jerk, but you know what, so is Steve Spurrer and you know what the two have in common? They're winners.
I think as a whole we're in agreement that athletics needs a new direction at ETSU, they are unrealistic in thinking that women's tennis is just as important as men's basketball, though I will say that Hugh Hefner could make millions off the women's tennis girls if they were willing.
What ETSU sees Marky is what you hate with a passion, and they try SOOO freaking hard to emulate, minus one small detail... Our athletic dept. has the worst case of UT/SEC ***** Envy in the world. It's worse than Ga. Southern's for UGA, or Mercer's for Ga. Southern, but what our Head Moron In Charge sees is the Vols winning in tennis, golf, volleyball, soccer, track and field, women's basketball, OCCASIONALLY , baseball, swimming and diving is even compeitive, and ETSU can't stand it. So I believe the thought process by the bald guy and Barbie the Wildebeast is UT gets exposure because they win in these other sports, but I can tell you now, I heard it come out of the mouths of people that work in Knoxville, those sports I just mentioned (Women's basketball excluded) know their place, and understand the importance of traditionally what football has done, and now men's basketball, something that unfortunately the old tennis coach and the beastmaster will NEVER understand. And why would they? Dave was never meant to be an A.D., he's a tennis coach, she never should have been an SWA, yet she helped bring in that incredibly talented softball coach, and move us into this conference of pure misery, where we play teams that truly believe that people give a rat's ass about college baseball on a national scale.
It's not just a change that's needed, it's a WHOLESALE change. Bye bye Murry, Dave, Barbie and any other figure head that doesn't want to be there for the six plus Thursday nights/Saturdays that ETSU has football, and doesn't want to understand that when 3000 people show up for MBB and three show up for a volleyball match, that MBB is more important.

VolLover- I gave you that name for a reason- but that last post takes the cake.

Does ETSU envy UT? Yes.

Do they do it in the manner you speak of? NO WAY!

Even David Mullins knows that the smaller sports don't get the exposure of the major ones.

What you have is a tennis coach mentality. It's the mentality that "all sports are equal" and enough pointy headed types will agree the swimmer should be put on an even plane as the basketball player, potential exposure and revenue be damned.

"THEY ALL TRY HARD! YOU CAN'T PUT THE BOYS AHEAD OF THE GIRLS!"

Please.

UT envy is not "They win in track- we must win too!" It's the resignation that "we'll never be as good as they are in football so why even try?"

When there are meetings about wearing UT colors in the dome if you work there, yea that's UT ***** envy.
Dave absolutely has that mentality, and you missed the point of what I'm trying to say about that. They believe it's that important that tennis and volleyball get the same exposure, which is a damn joke, but apparently they don't notice that there is no need for a press row, or some live stats, or thousands of ad dollars coming in for the bucs/Radford volleyball tilt.
All they see, and it could be any school that wins, doesn't have to be UT, plug in Va. Tech ***** envy, or to generalize it, big school envy. They want what athletic programs like Texas, LSU, Southern Cal, Georgia and others have but A: Are too stupid to realize that the above mentioned were built on football and B: Honestly believe that crap about the other sports being equal. Someone should tell them NOT TO DRINK THE BONG WATER!

Any school would have a problem with their employees wearing the apparel of another school on campus grounds. You wouldn't see Bud Ford wearing an ETSU cap in Neyland Stadium- why should some underling in Johnson City wear Vols stuff in Memorial Center?

It's one of those very evident rules in the sports working culture. You don't root in the press box and you don't wear a UNC t-shirt if you're the Duke locker room attendant.

This is why I call you VolLover. You can't see that through your orange glasses.

Don't get mad. Just choose one or the other and move on.

That's great if you're a paid employee Marky, I'm talking about the student athletes. I mean why is it a big deal is athlete A has a friend at another school who gave them a sweatshirt from their school to wear? Doesn't matter what school it is, you're missing my point *******, the two Head Morons In Charge to this day don't see the big picture, and if they would worry LESS about what people wear to class in January and MORE about why our alleged money sport SUCKS, some things might, just might get straightened out.
I mean if you're theory is true, then ANY AND EVERY ETSU EMPLOYEE should adhere to the guidelines. That means no matter what the college, Tusculum, Texas, Washington State, Wake Forest, whatever or even Savannah State, all employees are representative of East Tennessee State University and should not wear or have other apparel or items pertaining to other colleges at all, period. That means from the minimum wage lawn mower of the soccer field we don't have done to Dr. Stanton and every point in between, it's either ETSU or nothing. And Dr. Briley's book? Well that's all well and good but he shouldn't be talking about his Alabama days, he's at ETSU.

Should ETSU athletes be able to wear UT uniforms in games, too?

I actually don't have a problem with this dress code while working out. Kudos to ETSU for this rule.

You're an ETSU athlete- dress like one!

I agree that ETSU employees while at "official" functions or representing the University should not wear apparel from other schools. I also believe students acting in the same capacity should follow the same guidelines.

While working with a student organization a while back, the students decided that they would not wear other logos while representing their school in the community.

You'd be surprised at who notices. Anyone remember the little lady in the Pirate Club who said "why are those girls wearing Appalachian State's colors" (she was referring to the ETSU Dance team).

There is research that shows that student retention correlates to wearing the college or university's logo.

So how do you define "official?" Is official when a professor is teaching a class, proud that his alma mater had just won a big game?
I mean I agree with you totally on the official function thing, if you're a PAID EMPLOYEE of the school, at an official function, fine, absolutely. I take an issue with a state supported public university though telling it's employees/student athletes what they can and can't do on their personal time. Deane Webb tried that here years ago.... He's now at Belmont.
I guess I just don't see any issue in it when there are MUCH BIGGER PROBLEMS within the athletic department, mainly starting with the bald guy and the wooly mammoth at the top.

The problems with ETSU athletics have nothing to do with a dress code.