Could this hurt our chance to get back into the SoCon if we add football? You know the Big South would take us anyways but I would rather be in the SoCon.

http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/...xml&coll=2

Let us hope not. I would like to get back into the Southern Conference AND get football back. It is the "natural" conference for us and I think would benefit all sports, like basketball, if we got back into it.

81- Your head is in the sand.

The politics that kicked ETSU out of the Southern Conference were largely based on the way David Mullins handled the demise of football. He wasn't a popular man among the conference's tennis circles and that cost him dearly.

The ONLY way back into the So Con is to kick out Mullins- and quite likely Paul Stanton as well.

It is that simple.

Now, if I'm the Southern Conference and I think football first- what do I want to accept back-

Samford- where Bobby Bowden began his career- where Chan Gailey came from- a good Division I-AA program-

Coastal Carolina- an up and coming program with facilities and a fertile recruiting ground already in place.

VMI- A longshot, but there are tons of tradition and The Citadel would push for it. If the Southern Conference wants a Vanderbilt, they'll be in contention to come back.

OR

ETSU- The program that even when they had football- had the lowest winning percentage in the confernece historically.

A program with the athletic director they didn't like- a program that would have no guarantee that it would be any good- and a program that would say "Uh, stadium. Uh, oh well. Yeah. Uh, well, we're trying to raise money to build one- and we can get it done- sure- why, look at our bell tower!"

The conference already has a bell tower at Western Carolina. They don't need another one.

Pittsburgh,
My head is not in the sand. I agree with you. The heads of the average fanare buried deeply in the sand together with the local media, including newpapers and radio which are still making excuses and will not air the problems with the athletic programs.

81- I know this from personal experience.

When you do speak the truth surrounding this program, they play heavy handed and then try to get your media outlet not to send you out to cover them.

And they are not above lying, either.

I agree completely. That has been my experience and our local media are just apologists for the incompetence in the atheltic department. They are still saying that is is all "just bad luck". We just have to read it and wonder.

Do you guys not pay attention to anything at all? Why do you think Dr. Roe wants all those renovations at Memorial Stadium? New concessions, more seating, better bathrooms, new locker rooms, etc... Why? For his health? The city is trying to do what it can for football at ETSU, and if that means turning an old high school field into a college stadium, then so be it.
The Southern Conference WILL TAKE ETSU BACK IF AND WHEN FOOTBALL IS BROUGHT BACK.
How many bad years did they have in the final 10 years? Here are the records from the last 10 years of existence in the program, keeping in mind that most of the time they had 10 less scholarships than everyone else, with a dump of a facility.

1993-5-6
1994-6-5
1995-4-7
1996-10-3 (Playoffs)
1997-7-4
1998-4-7
1999-6-5
2000-6-5
2001-6-5
2002-4-8
2003-5-7

Five losing records, five winning records with a playoff berth on 10 less scholarships, and the last year basically playing with about 40 guys on the team, and most of the players having left, also keeping in mind for two of those years there was major rebuilding going on, and Paul Hamilton couldn't make his damn mind up about a qb in 2002.
Put in the scholarships, and a nice facility. They weren't upper echelon but they weren't bottom feeders in a conference that included Ga. Southern, Furman, Appalchian and for a big part of that Marshall.
If UT-Martin and MTSU can build winners in those rathole towns, ETSU can build one.

The topic of Memorial Stadium is an interesting one- and in City Council meetings there has been talk of what they were going to do with the old barn. For instance- new press boxes and such.

However, I would hope they are not talking about a long term solution here. We are speaking of a 74-year-old stadium. The monuments surrounding it honor the veterans of "The World War."

The renovations I have heard concern a new press box- and I've been to the meetings.

Now, if they want to do locker rooms and such- the old girl needs 'em- but here we have once again the lack of vision by city leaders if what you say is true.

Why put lipstick on a pig if you can build a new stadium? I liked my BMW- but when the engine was going it was time to move on.

An old stadium in a rundown part of town away from campus? Doesn't sound to me like the Southern Conference would be saying "WE GOTTA HAVE THAT!"

Yes, I'll take that instead of a Division I-AA playoff team with new facilities like Coastal.

After all, ETSU before it dropped football had five winning records in five years!

The fact they'll be starting over again and will likely be lucky to beat VMI at the outset is irrelevant, of course.

And you're right- the Southern Conference does want to invite back in a power hungry AD who acted first without consulting us- and then expected us to play along.

The only way to get back into the Southern Conference is to fire Mullins- and only a fool would argue otherwise.

I'm not saying Mullins doesn't need to go, him and Barbie both do to help the longterm growth of the athletic department, and by the way, if the SoCon wasn't interested in ETSU, why have they been jerking Coastal Carolina around FOR OVER TWO YEARS?! We all said that Coastal was already packing its' bags for the Southern Conference when we left, it hasn't happened yet, they haven't been extended a formal invite, nothing.
I'm tallin ya now, we get football back, with or without Mullins, the Southern Conference will want us back in there.

The problem with that being, of course, if Mullins is on board it will be a losing program and ETSU will be faced with the status of being the Cleveland Browns of Division I-AA.