I can understand why the casual fan might dismiss the A-Sun and the So Con together- because they are both one-bid leagues.

But I expect more out of serious fans.

For those of you that missed the Lipscomb game, you also missed Dave Mullins and the JCP hand in hand at center court in one of the corporate sponsor recognition moments.

Who was he hand in hand with from the JCP?

Some sales and marketing guy.

Still no word whatsoever from the Johnson City Press about the senate resolution for football. No question it would be front page news, and no question they know about it. Seems like they're trying to avoid mentioning it for business reasons. Maybe it's time for BFFF to take out an ad highlighting their reluctance to report key information about a business partner and advertiser.

This happened before about the TBR athletic fees if you remember. Almost 2 months went by with no report in the Johnson City paper that every other school in TN asked for an athletic fee increase without a student vote and they were granted. ETSU had of course maintained for many months that in order to increase athletic fees, TBR required a student vote. It took the BFFF calling out the Press in an ad to get them to report it. When they did, it made the front page suprisingly. Seems to me they have a huge conflict of interest they can't seem to get past.

You may have some validity with the conflict of interest discussion, but I believe the reason you haven't heard anything about this is because-

A- It really is a non-binding piece of legislation. Similar resolutions have been passed by the Washington County and Sullivan County legislatures before and didn't get any media play I'm aware of.

Now, there is the potential for ETSU football to be a political issue. But I think that lies with the BFFF to make it happen by bending the ears of future candidates for Governor.

B- The two Press beat writers aren't big ETSU football guys. That really has more to do with this than David Mullins holding hands with a Press salesman at halftime.

Just noticed today that FINALLY the resolution has been placed on the House Education Committee for 04/02/2008.

Update:

"ETSU is assessing it's athletics future"

Brian Smith interviews stanton again.
More and more talk of committees, panels, studies, and a new one - "think tank"...........where were all these things BEFORE he dropped football?

"We would love to be Davidson; there’s no question," Stanton said.

I thought it was Marquette we were aspiring to be........

As a preface to the above post.............

[I tried to post this last week, but was having log-in problems. Sorry if it's been posted elsewhere - I haven't seen it.] [And I know it probably fits better overall in the "Davidson!" thread, but because of the last paragraph or so, I thought it was a good preface to his stanton interview above.]

It’s Alright Ma, I Don’t Know Anything
Mar 25, 2008

Davidson, Stephen Curry, and all those talking heads

“Learning more and more about less and less and less.” - Chan Marshall

You’d think at some point the national sports media would learn something. Just something. It doesn’t have to be a lesson. That would mean progress. Something would be fine.

Every year, highly paid analysts, self-taught wiz kids, genius bloggers and a gazillion average Joe’s with an Internet connection and a cable subscription spend months obsessing over NCAA basketball Goliaths, while gleefully pointing out “sleepers.” Every year, the know-it-alls blow money and hot air, talking the talk and pointing out just how much they know about everything. They pick everything and everyone apart. Shooting percentages, RPIs, interior defense, mid-majors, low mid-majors, non-conference schedules, “tough” road wins … it never ends. They rank the teams. They rank the players. They hold grudges and triumphantly proclaim favorites. And, every year, someone like Davidson shooting guard Stephen Curry comes around, reminding us all that we really don’t know anything.

I’m not going to lie. I’ve been up on Curry for a while. I followed Davidson’s season with interest. I watched them nearly down North Carolina and Duke. And my interest peaked when John Branch knocked out a solid feature in the New York Times on Curry, the Wildcats, and the kooky town of Davidson, N.C.

And, now, it’s fascinating to watch the experts come around. They point out Curry’s soft touch. His drive and determination and willpower. His NBA-brushed pedigree. He came out of nowhere, they say. Who is Davidson, they ask? How did they do this? How did we miss Curry?

It’s pretty simple. They never looked.

How does a team go 20-0 in conference play and roll of 22 straight wins heading into The Dance, and still not get attention? How does Curry shoot 48.8 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from behind the 3-point line, and drop at least 20 points 23 times before the tourney, and not get noticed?

Because no one’s watching.

Well, I mean, some people are. Davidson fans knew. Hardcore mid-major devotees knew. But while the rest of the sports-media world spent the entire NCAA men’s basketball season kneeling before the Hansbrough-Beasley-Mayo-Love-Singler-Rose shrine, and eating everything on the Calipari-Pearl platter, other less-fortunate souls had to actually go out and play (or watch) basketball.

Moreover, all the talk about an East Coast bias in the media or whatever the latest gripe/fad is pales in comparison to what happens every year as kids like Curry and teams like Davidson fight the good fight. They play good, honest, real ball. They do it for the right reasons. And it takes a “miraculous” run to even show up on the national radar.

--

And … in the “can’t help but point it out” department, I wonder what ETSU’s current athletic administration thinks of Davidson’s current run in the tournament.

Davidson is doing what ETSU should be doing right now. But the Bucs aren’t. The Bucs’ season is done, with nothing but a fourth-place showing in the lowly A-Sun to show for it. Meanwhile, Davidson is new news and commanding national attention.

Not that long ago, ETSU held its own with Davidson. The two were Southern Conference foes, with wins and losses going both ways.

Now? The Wildcats are front-page worthy, while the Bucs couldn’t buy a ticket to The Dance.

What’s wrong with this picture?

A lot.
Add your comment...


Posted by Brian T. Smith
College Sports

What if..........

ETSU had still been in the SoCon this year..........

How bad, considering ETSU's woeful attempts to guard against the 3-ball, would it have been? I'm guessing something like 128-71, Davidson, with Curry going for 67 or so........
And yes, I'm kidding.......maybe........
Actually it's not hard at all to imagine him hanging a 50+ pt. game on ETSU.

Yes and I've been saying the same thing for years.

It would be nice if Smith would come up with his own opinions instead of stealing mine.

I think everyone in the athletic department now is lucky they are not in the SoCon! The basketball team would have really been embarassed by Davidson and others. Just think that 5 years ago ETSU dominated the leaque in basketball. Of course now they are winning the right way.

I love how we were aspiring to be on the level of a Marquette, and now we are aspiring to be like a team in our old league. Awesome!

bucfan81 Wrote:The basketball team would have really been embarassed by Davidson and others.

What????. I am not taking anything away from Davidson, but you take Davidson out of the SoCon and it is simply not a good basketball conference. In fact, you take Curry out of the equation, and Davidson is just a decent team. Davidson may have very well beaten the hell out of us this year (just like they did rest of the SoCon). But I think we would have faired well with the rest of those teams.

The 2007 team won 24 games and barely beat Chattanooga- at home.

And the Mocs were a middle-of-the-road team in the So Con.

They split with the So Con this season. Don't even touch head-to-head records between the two conferences.

I guess the resolution is no longer news worthy. However on 4/14/08, it passed the House with a vote of 97-0, and was sent to the Governor for his signature on 4/15/08.

See this link,


http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/bills...er=SJR0659

It isn't news worthy because it really doesn't mean anything. It doesn't have any teeth to it. Who wouldn't have voted yes on this.... and it's an election year. What about a resolution extending their "full and wholehearted support" for lowering gas prices, taxes, or proclaiming PittsburghBucs as the life of this board?

It may be non-binding but I am glad to see it. It has got to have an effect in forcing Dr. Stanton to see what a mistake he made. I think the vote is a positive thing.

What we need to do is have a BINDING resolution making me King.

You're right, technically, it doesn't have any "teeth." What it does however, is show Stanton that the people who determine his funding each year do not support what he has done and would like it fixed. Now, will other areas start to show their teeth because of the resolution? Maybe, but it definitely gives the movement more traction instead of allowing it to fizzle.