I still wonder why Southern Pigskin doesnt cover Sun Belt football.

The Sun Belt used to have some pretty darn good coaches, but not so much anymore. To me, USA placed all of their eggs in the football basket. As most of you know when we lost John Pelphrey to Arkansas, which didn't work out for JP too well. You really can't blame the guy for trying. South then went out and hired a coach that they fired several years before. The result: South basketball is now irrelevant. Empty seats at The Mitch. Things have gotten so bad they're giving out free hotdogs. A few students show up to get a free meal.

(01-16-2012 11:37 AM)JoeJag Wrote:  The Sun Belt used to have some pretty darn good coaches, but not so much anymore. To me, USA placed all of their eggs in the football basket. As most of you know when we lost John Pelphrey to Arkansas, which didn't work out for JP too well. You really can't blame the guy for trying. South then went out and hired a coach that they fired several years before. The result: South basketball is now irrelevant. Empty seats at The Mitch. Things have gotten so bad they're giving out free hotdogs. A few students show up to get a free meal.

Two things:

1. I think USA was getting rid of the hot dogs on that Thursday game because they were using different hot dogs for the $1 promotion for the Saturday game. "Free" hotdogs were not advertised. I think instead of trashing the hotdogs they cooked them and gave them away. Not bad if you ask me.

2. USA isn't irrelevant in basketball. We sucked last year. I'll give you that. And we started 0-3 in conference this year after a decent OOC showing that have Jag fans unhappy. But we aren't irrelevant. Since John Pelphrey left we've had some victories over ranked teams, got an at large bid in 2008 (albeit with Pelphrey's recruits), and contended for the SB title a couple times. And even with the horrible start we are tied for second in the East. The sky isn't falling!!

And to address the OP, while football is more popular, if we're anything we're currently a baseball conference as that is our best sport.

And to further clarify, back in his first stint at USA Arrow had an assistant forced on him by the micromanaging president and founder of USA, Fred Whiddon. The assistant, the unfortunately named Judas Prada, had been an assistant at Loyola Marymount during their Hank Geathers/Bo Kimble offensively explosive years. Whiddon handed Arrow Prada and told him he had to run the LM offense. Four games in, with a 1-3 record, Whiddon did what he wanted to do originally and canned Arrow and put Prada in charge. His tenure was a disaster.
It's unfair to say that Arrow got fired without putting it in context.

I was thinking Arrow went to Auburn. That must have been Cliff Ellis.

(01-16-2012 05:08 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  I was thinking Arrow went to Auburn. That must have been Cliff Ellis.

You sit are correct. He did go to Auburn.

(01-16-2012 02:04 PM)SkullyMaroo Wrote:  

(01-16-2012 11:37 AM)JoeJag Wrote:  The Sun Belt used to have some pretty darn good coaches, but not so much anymore. To me, USA placed all of their eggs in the football basket. As most of you know when we lost John Pelphrey to Arkansas, which didn't work out for JP too well. You really can't blame the guy for trying. South then went out and hired a coach that they fired several years before. The result: South basketball is now irrelevant. Empty seats at The Mitch. Things have gotten so bad they're giving out free hotdogs. A few students show up to get a free meal.

Two things:

1. I think USA was getting rid of the hot dogs on that Thursday game because they were using different hot dogs for the $1 promotion for the Saturday game. "Free" hotdogs were not advertised. I think instead of trashing the hotdogs they cooked them and gave them away. Not bad if you ask me.

2. USA isn't irrelevant in basketball. We sucked last year. I'll give you that. And we started 0-3 in conference this year after a decent OOC showing that have Jag fans unhappy. But we aren't irrelevant. Since John Pelphrey left we've had some victories over ranked teams, got an at large bid in 2008 (albeit with Pelphrey's recruits), and contended for the SB title a couple times. And even with the horrible start we are tied for second in the East. The sky isn't falling!!

And to address the OP, while football is more popular, if we're anything we're currently a baseball conference as that is our best sport.

But what gets your fan base talking online and in barber shops? Football or Baseball?

(01-15-2012 12:40 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(01-14-2012 11:59 PM)Mean Green Matt Wrote:  

(01-14-2012 11:52 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  Yeah...basketball is dropping in the league. Talent leve lis low, so outside of the Mean Gren Matt's of the world, you arent going to have very many fans of the non football sports.

We have a decent number of basketball fans. We'll have a small group of baseball fans, but football is the sport around here.

Thanks for the shout out. I freakin love Sun Belt Soccer!

Yeah...I couldnt resist. You are like the patron saint of non football fans on here.

I'm very honored to have earned such a label. By the way, did you know indoor track season has started?

I always come back to the same word.

Relevance.

I know from past history that Arkansas State, Louisiana, Western Kentucky, and UALR are capable of drawing very well in basketball IF THE PROGRAM IS RELEVANT.

To be relevant in basketball you need to be capable of beating someone the casual fan has heard of (ie. a great football school that sucks in basketball) or be able to upset a ranked team every now again. You have to legitimately be a team that is in the hunt for at-large in the NCAA or NIT, not the auto-bids that come from winning regular season or winning the league tournament.

Right now, MTSU is the only school laying a claim to relevance in basketball. I've been to two ASU basketball games this year (SEMO and Seattle). I had to be in Jonesboro on Saturday and went home before the games started because I really wasn't interested even though it was UALR.

In football relevance is actually easier to achieve. Beat anyone from the rich six (soon rich five) and people take notice. Beat a regional team from CUSA or MWC and people notice. The bowls are so long after the regular season and with no playoff while waiting for the title game, a minor bowl generates more interest than the NIT. Two or three Little Rock TV stations went to Mobile for live reports. Short of going to the NCAA Tournament the only comporable exposure in basketball to the minor bowls is make the NIT finals and I'm not sure that the NIT gets you to that level.

Right now when you look around the conference there are things going on that attract attention.

Arkansas State just hired the most high profile assistant in college football as head coach. Media folks were impressed that 8,000 to 10,000 (press box estimate) traveled the 8+ hours.

Louisiana topped a great season with a big bowl event that drew a huge crowd. Got Hud locked up with a gaudy contract.

FIU has back-to-back bowls, Mario was a finalist for a high level job.

WKU finally put together a good year. Willie could have had the Memphis job from what I had heard.

UNT showed signs of being a good program again. Mac is well respected in media circles. The new stadium was a hit.

FAU made a hire that was well-received, likewise moved into a new stadium.

Troy, everyone thinks this year was a hiccup.

USA has done everything right in the transition.

ULM and MT are the only ones without a storyline compelling to outsiders right now.

There is no comporable storyline in basketball other than MT.

(01-17-2012 12:44 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  I always come back to the same word.

Relevance...

.....

...ULM and MT are the only ones without a storyline compelling to outsiders right now.

There is no comparable storyline in basketball other than MT.

Well, at least we have that...

I would trade our sh*tty year in football for what is happening right now for our hoops team.

We needed this men's hoops season-- BAD. Not because the football season went awry, but because our men's hoops had lost relevance over the years, being that it's been since 1989 since we were in the Big Dance.

(01-17-2012 12:44 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  There is no comporable storyline in basketball other than MT.

Give us one more year.

(01-18-2012 11:20 AM)CAJUNNATION Wrote:  

(01-17-2012 12:44 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  There is no comporable storyline in basketball other than MT.

Give us one more year.

Sounds like MT fans for the first 5 or 6 years of Kermit's tenure.

(01-14-2012 09:06 PM)WinstonTheWolf Wrote:  I thought it was just stAte's board that was at the lowest bb to fb posts ever - but it looks like this board is the same.

Even from posters from MT and FAU whose BB teams have been much more successful than their football teams - I don't see much activity here, relative to football season.


Is the Sun Belt officially a Football League?

btw . . . go MT . . . win 'em all except the championship game in Hot Springs and let's get two in the tourney this year!

Yep, if the ball you are playing with is round, then the sport you are playing ain't that important.......... unless you are a girl.

Our HS FB coach, a former Little All-American at ASU, told us that, so it must have been true.

That was long, long ago, but even when it was good, it actually was only fair at best.

(01-20-2012 02:12 PM)JoeJag Wrote:  That was long, long ago, but even when it was good, it actually was only fair at best.

Pretty sure back in the 80's the Belt was a four bid league a few times.