ETSU is hosting the conference tennis championships. They held the awards banquet in one of the basketball courts in the dome. This tells other conferences how cheap and small thinking ETSU really is. Time for an entire new athletics administration and coaching staff.

Something nobody but I think of-

The Atlantic Sun has got to realize ETSU is the key for them to remain solvent. Even if ETSU were to leave at a time where they could keep their automatic NCAA men's basketball bid, the fact is if ETSU were to leave the conference becomes so bad that I have to wonder if it can survive.

Therefore, if I'm the A-Sun, I'm doing everything I can to keep the schools I have.

There are lots of ways to do that- give ETSU preferential treatment to host conference tournaments and urge the CSS to put the Bucs on TV more, for instance. Personally I think the A-Sun should consider adding non-scholarship football.

And I'm pretty sure that ETSU is going to be receptive to that. The current culture at ETSU is one where, caliber of opponents be damned, they don't just disagree but become ENRAGED if you dare believe that things have never been better than they currently are athletically. Remember, 2007 was, by their own statements, the greatest year in the history of ETSU athletics, caliber of opponents or lack of true greatness be damned.

It was better to go to the NIT in men's basketball and win the medicore conference in some other sport without a fan base than it was to win the Grantland Rice Bowl in 1969 or be nationally ranked in men's basketball in the '90s.

Consider that, and consider if they would truly rather play in a mid-major league like the SoCon or the CAA (which is realistically as far as ETSU could possibly advance), or if they would rather go to the NCAAs once every 2.5 years or so out of the A-Sun, take their beating or maybe win a play-in game and make some of the more easily satisfied fans happy, and then go home?

The current culture of athletics would indicate ETSU would rather be the big fish in the small pond and sprinkle it with NIT and CIT bids.

In his interview, one thing I felt Noland revealed was that geographical college rivalries were being phased out. Certainly if he's from West Virginia, he's overseen the Mountaineers lose games with Pitt, Virginia Tech, and just about everyone else you can name with their move to the Big 12.

That doesn't sound like a guy representing a school pursuing conferences that would give them geographic rivals. That sounds like a guy who is touting a defense to stay in the A-Sun.

I am a big Mullins critic, but this particular criticism is stupid. Everyone including myself fusses about his preferential treatment of small sports, not caring about the larger ones. Here he saves money and has a banquet in an area that is completely fine for such an event, and we are critical of him for being cheap? If he were to spend a ton of money to have this elsewhere, we could be critical of him for spending too much money on tennis. Lets be consistent.

you do not understand. the large banquet room in the Culp is free (you just have to schedule it). he had it in a gym...come on...seriously...big time athletic department? Do you know of any AD who appreciates his conference and wants to better himself and better his department that would allow a Conference Championship banquet to be held in an aux. gym? if the Culp banquet room is booked how about the CPA, Millenium Center, Culp auditorium, or somewhere else on campus.

99- You may have a point, but your example is just a small one in the long list of gaffes made by Mullins & Co.

true. it is just the latest. it is up to the board to report all examples - not just continually say how bad the conference is and how bad ETSU needs football. everyone knows that!