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(03-26-2018 07:48 PM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  What school in this league really prioritizes basketball?

Appearantly UTA.

I guess so. Good luck to UTA. Improving on Cross’s level of success won t be easy

(03-26-2018 07:48 PM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  What school in this league really prioritizes basketball?

UTA and Little Rock.

Maybe GSU?

These ADs seeing Loyola win and then firing entire staffs need to be fired themselves. What an absolute copulating joke. Quit firing coaches just becuase you lost to Appalachian State in orangey round ball.

(03-26-2018 04:49 PM)giantbenmav Wrote:  From the AD office. Pretty generic email, with one interesting detail:
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This decision was not made lightly, especially considering the recent competitive success of the team. Unfortunately, the expectations of the program from the head coach and University administration are not in alignment.
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We all knew next year would be a rebuilding year ... maybe the admin wasn't ok with that?

Of course, with the entire staff let go ... something worse is on the table ... very unlikely given the reputation Cross and his staff have built up ...


Sad, Sad day for UTA athletics

(03-26-2018 07:14 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  https://mobile.twitter.com/edwardegrosfo...67041?s=21

This reeks of a political firing, like Mario Cristobal at FIU.

If it is, the AD will eventually hang himself.

If it isn't, then I hope for UTA's sake they've got someone really good lined up for the job.

(03-26-2018 07:48 PM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  What school in this league really prioritizes basketball?

Schools without Football Programs. . . . . I'm guessing . .

This feels like when ECU fired Ruffin McNeill. Alum, well respected, fired in search of a higher ceiling but found the floor instead. That AD was just paid a lot of money to go away.

Tcu fan here, and this decision is totally stupid! The AD needs to be gone. Unless there are other circumstances, this is just an AD with an oversized ego!

(03-26-2018 08:19 PM)_x_ Wrote:  

(03-26-2018 07:48 PM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  What school in this league really prioritizes basketball?

UTA and Little Rock.

Maybe GSU?

Read somewhere Little Rock had the highest operating budget for men’s basketball in the Sun Belt last year.

I don’t agree with it, but I see where the AD is coming from. I was severely disappointed in this year. Preseason favs, with the best PG in the conference and returning PotY. Six other seniors were there too. We beat Louisiana, and lost to App and CCU. I can count on one hand the times we played a full 40 minutes of basketball.

Yea, we are a one-bid league, but UTA should have gotten in on its merits last year. We were head and shoulders above the rest of the SBC and we choked when it mattered. This year, we had five guys playing basketball, not one team and some of that (not all) does rest on the team.

Ironically, it was Texas State that started this mess. Just another way the cats get one last laugh at our expense.

The AD at Arlington needs to have a brain scan. What is he thinking! I can tell you right now most of the schools in the country would love to have Cross. I wish we had known about this in Little Rock before we started our search. Really a head scratcher.

Keep the coach and fire the AD.

(03-27-2018 06:17 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  The AD at Arlington needs to have a brain scan. What is he thinking! I can tell you right now most of the schools in the country would love to have Cross. I wish we had known about this in Little Rock before we started our search. Really a head scratcher.

Keep the coach and fire the AD.

Let's see where he lands. I don't think he is now the hot property you think he is. That said, I hope he gets a good job. He is marketable.

(03-26-2018 07:40 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  

(03-26-2018 07:34 PM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  Sometimes these type decisions result in a realization that finding someone who can do better isn’t t as easy as some think

Yeah, just look at "The Withers experiment" in San Marcos . .. . .

Tad different. One is taking a team that is winning and making them better. The other is taking a long time loser and trying to make them relevant.

UTA finally got it what it wanted in national news ... to bad everyone is laughing

It is a bold move, but the odds of finding a program builder who will stay is SSSSSOOOOO low, especially since the odds of the budget rising are just as low ...

I figured Cross earned another run with this "next" generation, if in 3 years they are still middling then you make the tough call ... but man, they better have one hell of a candidate to replace him ...

The President and AD are acting like they built the new arena and went through the tough times ... they inherited it from the men who did the work ... to summarily dismiss a good, honest, loyal coach is just a terrible decision in my mind ...

(03-27-2018 08:37 AM)slycat Wrote:  

(03-26-2018 07:40 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  

(03-26-2018 07:34 PM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  Sometimes these type decisions result in a realization that finding someone who can do better isn’t t as easy as some think

Yeah, just look at "The Withers experiment" in San Marcos . .. . .

Tad different. One is taking a team that is winning and making them better. The other is taking a long time loser and trying to make them relevant.

I have to say I was very surprised by the UTA decision. I also was surprised when Texas St kept Withers after last season. AD's make strange choices sometimes that leave all of us scratching our heads.

The AD said an NCAA berth in either of the last two years would have made a difference.

So, you can win 27 games and a conference title, but have one bad day in March and you get fired.

How classy.

Simply solidifies my belief the AQ should go to the regular season champion.

(03-27-2018 09:07 AM)BirdofParadise Wrote:  The AD said an NCAA berth in either of the last two years would have made a difference.

So, you can win 27 games and a conference title, but have one bad day in March and you get fired.

How classy.

Simply solidifies my belief the AQ should go to the regular season champion.

Coach Cross was a favorite of mine but put yourself in the AD's shoes. uta without the burden of a football program to support has not even been the powerhouse in any sport of one of lowest rated conferences in most sports. Baker has been patient with several of the sports that have seemed to be just marking time but he has started replacing coaches and staff beginning with the womens sports and I would imagine that the baseball staff is next in his crosshairs.

Having digested the news for almost a day, I can now say I support the decision.

The last two years are key. We were by far the best team in the conference last year and choked when it counted. We had a very talented team this season, and strangely under performed; they didn't play as a team with fire in the belly. Made a little noise in the conference tournament, but, again, choked when it counted. Very disappointing season. We have a pattern, and this is on the coach. We also know Cross departs with a depleted roster and would have to begin a new cycle, and otherwise see what Cross comes up with three or four years from now.

If we do nothing, we are saying this is good enough.

We can all be proud of Coach Cross and what he has done; however, it is best to not be sentimental or attach oneself to a particular person or personality.

This is a business, and it is all also a roll of the dice with coaching changes. So, yes, lets give it a roll. Let's bring in somebody blood thirsty and who actually has post-season experience. I'm excited about a new coach, and I think he will bring new energy and excitement.