(10-12-2023 09:51 AM)EatEmUp11 Wrote: (10-12-2023 12:06 AM)TodgeRodge Wrote: (10-11-2023 11:45 PM)EatEmUp11 Wrote: (10-11-2023 09:49 PM)PojoaquePosse Wrote: I’m gonna back off on the SHSU bashing in the second half. One fan went WAAAAAAY overboard today and I wasn’t gonna let it go. To all the other SHSU fans, you guys are pure class and I’m thrilled you are in CUSA with us.
I don’t think I went overboard. This is an embarrassing loss for the SHSU football program and a game that causes one to question the process and roster building tactics that staff used. Sorry if your feelings were hurt.
I’m not sure I totally disagree with TodgeRodge, despite our friend TOP’s attempts to dismiss them.
Sam is probably going to lag behind for a while.
My comments were not bashing SHSU at all no matter what one person seems to want to indicate
there is a lot more to the SHSU situation than just "being caught off guard"....they basically just ignored all reality including the students voting against the $3 fee increase and just went ahead and moved up with no real plan at all on how to remedy the major issues
and the comments from the administration seem to indicate they are looking at football as a means to play body bag games to fund athletics and that is a horrible idea
I didn’t take offense to it. I’m skeptical of the move.
I think talking about the fee increase is a poor example of Sam’s unpreparedness. Sure, you could say it shows the AD’s inability to communicate with the student body. But that vote came weeks before rumors of FBS were ever publicly mentioned and when D1-A became a reality, the fee was implemented anyways. I think Sam was truly “just caught off guard”, although I prefer to call that not being prepared. Which, quite frankly, is complete bull**** for a school that’s been touting this as goal for nearly two decades. I’m not sure if the “reality” you’re referring to is the poor infrastructure, bad attendance, low budget, facilities management, or what, but yes I would agree that Sam closer resembles a mid tier FCS athletic department than a low tier FBS one. It’ll take us time to catch up, even with lower end G5 schools apparently. Who knows what unintended consequences that might bring.
Sure. There are external factors. But nothing that couldn’t have been passably remedied over the past, I dunno, 15 freakin’ years, to better prepare us for THIS moment.
it was not you I was referring to it was the WKU fan that seemed so upset I appreciate your level headed replies
I can understand your "caught off guard" comment because things did happen extremely fast and CUSA almost fell apart in an instant not only losing more teams than expected to the AAC, but also The Sunbelt moving so fast and so many other teams being willing to immediately move there.....but I think unprepared is more realistic and especially since it was a goal
https://www.itemonline.com/sports/sam_ho...9473b.html
this article lays out a lot of the issues and the attitudes
the comment that the budget is "not that far off" when it needs to go up 25% to get to LaTech is not really accurate....and it misses the fact that Louisiana is a state that in the past has used state dollars to directly built university athletics facilities and in Texas that does not happen
in addition I think the goal for a program moving up should not to move and have a budget at or near the bottom of the division in question or the conference in question
I am not sure what her comment about "more pots to draw from in D1-A" means....I am not sure that advertising or those types of dollars just grow massively because the same university moves up a division
and yes CUSA will pay more, but not a massive amount more or any real budget changer
the glosses over the press box with "we need to do that anyway" and basically "we will get around to it"
SHSU averages 8,000 fans and that was when they were doing very well in D1-AA....and yes the stajium can hold 16,000 if they are maxed out so no real expansion is "needed", but you are recruiting against 12 other D1-A programs in Texas now and that is an issue and there are still the other D1-AA programs in the state
here is the real issue "Being an FBS program will allow schools to schedule additional revenue games, with only one FCS victory counting towards bowl eligibility. The additional revenue generating games against Power 5 schools could help bring financial relief to the program."
so SHSU is going to keep the Stephen F. Austin game at NRG and now they want to play more P5 programs for the "extra revenue"
so the SFA game is not going to be a home game in Huntsville and they are going to look at revenue generating games against P5 teams so that means at BEST a 2-1 series and those do not pay as well as a 1 and done....so SHSU may well be looking at a ULM like situation with 5 home games and some though away games to bring in money.....that is not how to fund a move up if you want to be successful
lastly in that article they talk about adding women's teams just like they did at the start of the article and state specifically that the move will help fund those things
no indoor practice facility in a state where high school programs have them and talk about some "house keeping" (sounds like a clean up and badly needed remodel) for other facilities and a weight room
you are talking probably $30 million on the very cheap side to get a practice facility, weight room, add a couple of sports and renovate some other facilities and that is to get to the very lowest level of D1-A
that is a lot of body bag games and over a decade of CUSA revenues
I have concerns that Keeler is not going to like what his team is being put through and he will take the chance to either accept another HC job or possibly even take a coordinator job at a P5 power and then take another job
I see there is a chance he might not he has been at SHSU 10 years and probably has had the chance jump, but there are coordinators making 2X or more what he makes with his raise and I imagine he had to have some facilities promised to him to stick around to make the jump and those do not seem to be happening
I can't see a guy that is 64 with his record sticking around for a move up on a shoe string budget with facilities issues, 5 home games, body bag money going to other sports and losing like is happening this year......he can take $1.5 million and go coach at plenty of D1-A places now that would kill for 7 or 8 wins and have the budget, fans, and facilities
I have concerns that either he will find things unacceptable and leave or the administration will figure out that losing does not bring in the donor money and they will make a change....but the ability to make a change for the better is not going to be there and things just go bad fast
It is CLEAR he is a hell of a coach, but some things cannot be overcome without some support and I think the university is looking at this move with a "hey why not" and a "well some more income is good especially if we hold the line on expenses" and that is not going to work
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SHSU (0-5) @ New Mexico State (3-3), Wednesday 8pm CT on CBSSN
