Do you live in an alternate reality? Forbes took all contributors with him, the rest scattered specifically because he was gone. Ofc those players were still on the roster “the day Forbes left” because it was… the day Forbes left. Within a couple weeks it was empty, specifically because he either took them, or because so many contributors left that the remaining talent saw the writing on the wall.
[/quote]

No, I actually live in reality. Forbes took Williamson and Johnson, and Hodges chose to transfer to Butler. GOOD, MONSANTO, L BREWER, PATTERSON, WEBER, T BREWER, ADHEKE, CORLEY, and P SMITH were all on the roster working out all summer under Shay. I hardly call that catastrophic......GOOD, MONSANTO, AND BREWER were ALL SOCON players. Good decided to step away in the Fall after classes had started at ETSU.

No, I actually live in reality. Forbes took Williamson and Johnson, and Hodges chose to transfer to Butler. GOOD, MONSANTO, L BREWER, PATTERSON, WEBER, T BREWER, ADHEKE, CORLEY, and P SMITH were all on the roster working out all summer under Shay. I hardly call that catastrophic......GOOD, MONSANTO, AND BREWER were ALL SOCON players. Good decided to step away in the Fall after classes had started at ETSU.
[/quote]

I forgot another All SoCon player who was recruited and on the roster when Forbes left, DAVID SLOAN....

If the fans and businesses do not support the NIL, ETSU will not be competing for Chsmpionships.ETSU has already lost football players because of no NIL money to offer players.

If the fans and businesses don't support the NIL, game over. ETSU will fall further behind.

There are opening in CUSA. IMO, ETSU should do everything in their power to move to FBS.

Oh man, I can’t wait for the first Johnson City Honda, Johnson City commercial! “Real players stand tall under pressure [the national anthem plays, the flag waves proudly]. When I need a vehicle that won’t stop, I choose Johnson City, Honda, JOHNSON CITY!”

(02-16-2023 10:42 PM)Buc76 Wrote:  If the fans and businesses do not support the NIL, ETSU will not be competing for Chsmpionships.ETSU has already lost football players because of no NIL money to offer players.

If the fans and businesses don't support the NIL, game over. ETSU will fall further behind.

There are opening in CUSA. IMO, ETSU should do everything in their power to move to FBS.

This NIL thing — it can be used up front in recruiting? How does this work? Businesses and individual fans can now recruit with NIL offers? How does the school’s athletic department, specifically coaches, fit into this? A kid can solicit NIL bids from various business supporters and fan supporters of schools? Has this opened up agents getting involved for a cut of the action? Who visits the kid and family during recruiting — the coach, the business, the fan, or all the above?

Of its peer institutions with relation to athletic budgets - who would ETSU be falling further behind - specifically, in the SoCon? Probably not that absurd - when will college athletes stop being required to enroll as degree seeking students and simply play under the name of the institution while wearing the names of their NIL sponsors on their uniforms — even hanging around those places during the week to ‘earn’ their NIL pay?

(02-17-2023 03:54 PM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(02-16-2023 10:42 PM)Buc76 Wrote:  If the fans and businesses do not support the NIL, ETSU will not be competing for Chsmpionships.ETSU has already lost football players because of no NIL money to offer players.

If the fans and businesses don't support the NIL, game over. ETSU will fall further behind.

There are opening in CUSA. IMO, ETSU should do everything in their power to move to FBS.

This NIL thing — it can be used up front in recruiting? How does this work? Businesses and individual fans can now recruit with NIL offers? How does the school’s athletic department, specifically coaches, fit into this? A kid can solicit NIL bids from various business supporters and fan supporters of schools? Has this opened up agents getting involved for a cut of the action? Who visits the kid and family during recruiting — the coach, the business, the fan, or all the above?

Of its peer institutions with relation to athletic budgets - who would ETSU be falling further behind - specifically, in the SoCon? Probably not that absurd - when will college athletes stop being required to enroll as degree seeking students and simply play under the name of the institution while wearing the names of their NIL sponsors on their uniforms — even hanging around those places during the week to ‘earn’ their NIL pay?

These are questions every school is trying to figure out right now. There are many mid-major schools in exactly the same boat. We are not alone in this and I do not believe we are at the bottom. There has to be some type of system eventually that controls college sports so that all the 350 or so division 1 schools can continue to compete.

(02-16-2023 04:45 PM)Buc76 Wrote:  The problems facing the ETSU Athlectic dept are the same problems facing nearly all FCS programs, money. The SoCon, Big South the OVC, even the CAA all are losing or have lost most of their best teams. This has made it even harder to get TV exposure, recruit players, attract fans and business
support. FCS as we knew it 2 years ago is dying. FCS is now a feeder program for FBS. If an FCS player developes into a possible FBS player, they are hitting the portal. You have FCS players quitting in mid season to avoid injuries.They are preparing to enter the portal.

ETSU is recruiting the leftovers in the portal or a high school kid. FCS is not going back to the good old days, it's going to get worse unless the powers to be change the portal rules and put a stop to all this NIL money.

You can complain about coaches, schedules and recuiting but ETSU gets to choose from what's left after all the FBS schools take what they want.

The portal and NIL are big concerns. Hard for programs like ETSU to come out ahead consistently with those factors.

If Josh Taylor had not have broken his wrist, our record would be a lot different right now. Injuries have been a significant part of this year’s disappointing record. You don’t go and fire a coach with all that going on, especially when he’s trying to build depth after what happened the year before.

The other thing that some of you don’t realize is, these coaches negotiate their contract terms before coming. I’m sure you know that, but the previous posts would suggest otherwise. If you want the best candidates, you’ve got to offer the longer buy outs and higher salaries. You’re competing against other schools for these people, and the best ones want a guarantee that you won’t fire them after year 2 because some knuckleheads on Twitter tell you too. And I would say Oliver, and others they talked to, wanted a bigger buy out term than usual because of the mess ETSU was in when the search happened. It’s simple economics. You don’t leave a higher paying P5 assistant job without making ETSU put some skin in the game.

(02-17-2023 03:54 PM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(02-16-2023 10:42 PM)Buc76 Wrote:  If the fans and businesses do not support the NIL, ETSU will not be competing for Chsmpionships.ETSU has already lost football players because of no NIL money to offer players.

If the fans and businesses don't support the NIL, game over. ETSU will fall further behind.

There are opening in CUSA. IMO, ETSU should do everything in their power to move to FBS.

This NIL thing — it can be used up front in recruiting? How does this work? Businesses and individual fans can now recruit with NIL offers? How does the school’s athletic department, specifically coaches, fit into this? A kid can solicit NIL bids from various business supporters and fan supporters of schools? Has this opened up agents getting involved for a cut of the action? Who visits the kid and family during recruiting — the coach, the business, the fan, or all the above?

Of its peer institutions with relation to athletic budgets - who would ETSU be falling further behind - specifically, in the SoCon? Probably not that absurd - when will college athletes stop being required to enroll as degree seeking students and simply play under the name of the institution while wearing the names of their NIL sponsors on their uniforms — even hanging around those places during the week to ‘earn’ their NIL pay?

I think you nailed it - who, in the SOCON is any threat to us in an NIL-verse? We have a litany of small private schools with minimal alumni bases, and whose tuition costs a small fortune in and of itself to cover. We have 2 public schools who are, in their current incarnation, irrelevant in terms of fan and community support - Western and G. So, ETSU and Chatt should be titans as compared to the league in NIL money, sponsorship, and general hype. We should be that meme of King Kong and Godzilla fighting, the socon is the puny city they crush on the way.

(02-18-2023 08:17 AM)ThreedomHall Wrote:  

(02-17-2023 03:54 PM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(02-16-2023 10:42 PM)Buc76 Wrote:  If the fans and businesses do not support the NIL, ETSU will not be competing for Chsmpionships.ETSU has already lost football players because of no NIL money to offer players.

If the fans and businesses don't support the NIL, game over. ETSU will fall further behind.

There are opening in CUSA. IMO, ETSU should do everything in their power to move to FBS.

This NIL thing — it can be used up front in recruiting? How does this work? Businesses and individual fans can now recruit with NIL offers? How does the school’s athletic department, specifically coaches, fit into this? A kid can solicit NIL bids from various business supporters and fan supporters of schools? Has this opened up agents getting involved for a cut of the action? Who visits the kid and family during recruiting — the coach, the business, the fan, or all the above?

Of its peer institutions with relation to athletic budgets - who would ETSU be falling further behind - specifically, in the SoCon? Probably not that absurd - when will college athletes stop being required to enroll as degree seeking students and simply play under the name of the institution while wearing the names of their NIL sponsors on their uniforms — even hanging around those places during the week to ‘earn’ their NIL pay?

I think you nailed it - who, in the SOCON is any threat to us in an NIL-verse? We have a litany of small private schools with minimal alumni bases, and whose tuition costs a small fortune in and of itself to cover. We have 2 public schools who are, in their current incarnation, irrelevant in terms of fan and community support - Western and G. So, ETSU and Chatt should be titans as compared to the league in NIL money, sponsorship, and general hype. We should be that meme of King Kong and Godzilla fighting, the socon is the puny city they crush on the way.

Money - money - money —- always the bottom line. If schools must add this NIL thing on top of athletic fund raising —not to mention student fees that mid-majors survive on — then obviously location, alumni support, community involvement, business perception of using the school for marketing, and a list of other factors, many not uncovered yet, will play into this. As for the SoCon - yes, ETSU and UTC should be the top two in the SoCon. If this is the new model for college athletics (The Portal & NIL), then college athletics is obviously in unknown territory of unforeseen consequences. It seems that idiots at the top are now in charge and the schools down the line - especially the mid-majors - are the pawns.

(02-18-2023 11:39 AM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(02-18-2023 08:17 AM)ThreedomHall Wrote:  

(02-17-2023 03:54 PM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(02-16-2023 10:42 PM)Buc76 Wrote:  If the fans and businesses do not support the NIL, ETSU will not be competing for Chsmpionships.ETSU has already lost football players because of no NIL money to offer players.

If the fans and businesses don't support the NIL, game over. ETSU will fall further behind.

There are opening in CUSA. IMO, ETSU should do everything in their power to move to FBS.

This NIL thing — it can be used up front in recruiting? How does this work? Businesses and individual fans can now recruit with NIL offers? How does the school’s athletic department, specifically coaches, fit into this? A kid can solicit NIL bids from various business supporters and fan supporters of schools? Has this opened up agents getting involved for a cut of the action? Who visits the kid and family during recruiting — the coach, the business, the fan, or all the above?

Of its peer institutions with relation to athletic budgets - who would ETSU be falling further behind - specifically, in the SoCon? Probably not that absurd - when will college athletes stop being required to enroll as degree seeking students and simply play under the name of the institution while wearing the names of their NIL sponsors on their uniforms — even hanging around those places during the week to ‘earn’ their NIL pay?

I think you nailed it - who, in the SOCON is any threat to us in an NIL-verse? We have a litany of small private schools with minimal alumni bases, and whose tuition costs a small fortune in and of itself to cover. We have 2 public schools who are, in their current incarnation, irrelevant in terms of fan and community support - Western and G. So, ETSU and Chatt should be titans as compared to the league in NIL money, sponsorship, and general hype. We should be that meme of King Kong and Godzilla fighting, the socon is the puny city they crush on the way.

Money - money - money —- always the bottom line. If schools must add this NIL thing on top of athletic fund raising —not to mention student fees that mid-majors survive on — then obviously location, alumni support, community involvement, business perception of using the school for marketing, and a list of other factors, many not uncovered yet, will play into this. As for the SoCon - yes, ETSU and UTC should be the top two in the SoCon. If this is the new model for college athletics (The Portal & NIL), then college athletics is obviously in unknown territory of unforeseen consequences. It seems that idiots at the top are now in charge and the schools down the line - especially the mid-majors - are the pawns.

Yes I think most schools are like us and are trying to make some sense of it and find a way to go forward. Nothing has been totally settled yet. The advantage that schools like ETSU have is in the numbers. While these schools do not have the money but they do have the numbers. There are scores of universities in the same area as the Bucs. Just talk to each other and figure out how all the similar institutions can move forward together.

It's not apparent to me why ETSU can't compete with other Southern Conference schools or most mid-majors in the NIL world. Sure, against the UTs, ETSU can't compete, but other mid-majors?

(02-19-2023 07:45 AM)frankenheimer Wrote:  It's not apparent to me why ETSU can't compete with other Southern Conference schools or most mid-majors in the NIL world. Sure, against the UTs, ETSU can't compete, but other mid-majors?

An old guy like me — a challenge to keep up with this NIL and Portal world. But, do understand why it reached this place — the multi-million contracts of these Power Five coaches and the enormous athletic budgets at these places — all concentrated in too few hands. It will be interesting to see the big boys bidding for recruits - now that’s where some serious coins could be on the table with agents negotiating deals. As for ETSU and mid-majors, perhaps an education and graduating with degrees could gain traction again for athletes interested in such things. Nobody can ever take away one’s degree - the money, could all be gone quickly with a few trips to Vegas.,