(03-03-2024 10:31 AM)OsageJ Wrote:  

(03-02-2024 11:32 PM)theATLDawg Wrote:  Just be thankful u landed where u are and it worked out for you. But we still out recruit you. Generally perform better than you, so stop the illusion that you are in a better position than us. If you were you would start winning.

Hey Dawg how are you? The point is tech could had ULM's spot in the SBC instead of having delusions of grandeur. Y'all were always chasing something instead of wanting to build something. So obviously the admins at ULM were smarter than the ones at tech. Like ULM I think are happy for where they made their bed I hope tech is too because it was the decisions made that landed each school were they are. I think ULM and the SBC made the right choice. Glad they are here.

Hi OSAGE. Yes but that’s what all schools were doing at the time. Trying to move up the conference rung. There is still a perceived conference rung now. With the AAC although I can’t see why. We weren’t the only ones that tried that route. uSM and Tech just were hit with the reality that if u aren’t in a population base, it doesn’t matter how well u perform. If everyone wants to hold that against Tech for a least trying then that is your prerogative. No one foresaw that college football would get destroyed like this. I would love to be playing ASU and UL more but it really doesn’t matter which conference we are in anymore. It’s all just fighting for scraps. Don’t you think a lot of that is happence of circumstance? UL wanted a Cusa bid at the time. If six teams don’t get yanked from Cusa then the other three probably don’t leave. Some people just got lucky that they ended up better off. But no decision making could have ever predicted any of this.

(03-03-2024 10:30 AM)theATLDawg Wrote:  Something has happened to football in Louisiana. You can’t get anyone excited or show up. Lsu is now the only game in town. UL and Tech used to regularly get over 20 k in the stands. I can’t remember the last time either has topped 12. When they play each other it will be full.

I agree. It’s as if the entire state looks at what takes place in BR on Saturdays and says, “this is the only brand of football I want to identify with”…it’s nuts. It’s as if the G5 game is irrelevant to the general public. I’m hoping the new football stadium being erected will generate some excitement. Because we need it.

(03-03-2024 09:42 AM)theATLDawg Wrote:  People in Ruston don’t give two ***** about LaTech. People in Ruston are so small time that the thinking is mind blowing. Right now I don’t think Tech thinks they are better than anyone else. It actually sounds like just the opposite.

Generally speaking you are absolutely correct. Most of the "regular" latech fans and alumni think it's stupid that we aren't in a conference together and/or aren't playing each other every year. But then there are the elitists that control everything.

Personally I think egos should have been laid to rest and Tech at last could have been reunited with its rivals instead of all the hard feelings. Most of those people who made those decisions are ancient. Right now CUSA is where we are at and I think it will be just fine. The opportunity to get into the Belt is gone. I understand the sentiment t to want to teach Tech a lesson but it may have been at the expense of what most true fans really wanted and what may have been best fore the Belt west. But no one would be wise to go to 16 now.

Lefts clarify something:

La Tech likely isn't getting into the SBC. There are tons of reasons why, and 99.9 perecent of them will never be stated to avoid political ramifications. The 0.01 percent that will be stated is that Tech doesn't fit the SBC desired expansion right now of adding a new state to the SBC fold.

There are exceptions of course. There are certain schools in current SBC states that the league would gladly do anything in their power to accept. Tech is not on that list.

(03-03-2024 03:10 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  Lefts clarify something:

La Tech likely isn't getting into the SBC. There are tons of reasons why, and 99.9 perecent of them will never be stated to avoid political ramifications. The 0.01 percent that will be stated is that Tech doesn't fit the SBC desired expansion right now of adding a new state to the SBC fold.

There are exceptions of course. There are certain schools in current SBC states that the league would gladly do anything in their power to accept. Tech is not on that list.

I think I said that. Nobody is going to 16 or should

(03-03-2024 02:32 AM)HarborPointe Wrote:  

(03-03-2024 01:45 AM)Unknownghost Wrote:  Right, in all honesty when media rights run out/teams want out of their respective conferences the SBC will be the only place standing with a solid foundation. We could pick and choose, however the caveat here would be that media rights will probably give us the incentive to be the only mid major league in the southeast.

Becoming the only mid-major league in the Southeast would mean adding somewhere around 20 more members by the time the ACC fallout settled. That’s just not reasonable. Even if you tried it, it would just end up splintering into smaller conferences along geographical, institutional, and competitive lines within a few years.

I just do not get the obsession some on this board have with watering down an ascending product.

The fact of the matter is La Tech, WKU, and heaven knows how many others have been on the table and already made their pitches. If there were compelling reasons to add them, they’d already be here.

Realistically 10. not including ACC (which tbh, there’s no school that would join from the ACC unless there’s no option (which few if any schools would fall in that category) the rest would be left to the wolves

(03-03-2024 09:20 AM)Bigtom12 Wrote:  Ill be straight up i know UL and ULM are totally against it and should let them rot, but i hold to a different look.

At this level fans want see regional rivalries, also at this level Sunbelt has created a bus league.

I mean in the west pretty much every school would be a rival. Since no one likes Tech it would create fan interest and USM, UL, ULM, stAte, USA, maybe TxSt, would instantly add a rival, not to mention they are all about 3 hours away.

I couldnt see it unless we added someone to the east.

Problem is do we trust Tech, and from UL, ULM, stAte no probably not. Problem comes from arrogance, i live in North Louisiana and if you live in Ruston it is very cliquish, and reaps with people who think they are better than everyone else. This goes for LaTech, and Ruston i dont know if it is because it is a small town, i dont know because Jonesboro, LA has a Walmart and so they think they are better than everyone else. I understand if we do not want that in the Sunbelt.

Let me help LaTech fans out yall are not better then ULM, UL, or stAte. At this level we are all grasping for straws.

That sounds more like something LT should have learned a long time ago.

(03-03-2024 07:18 PM)Porcine Wrote:  

(03-03-2024 09:20 AM)Bigtom12 Wrote:  Ill be straight up i know UL and ULM are totally against it and should let them rot, but i hold to a different look.

At this level fans want see regional rivalries, also at this level Sunbelt has created a bus league.

I mean in the west pretty much every school would be a rival. Since no one likes Tech it would create fan interest and USM, UL, ULM, stAte, USA, maybe TxSt, would instantly add a rival, not to mention they are all about 3 hours away.

I couldnt see it unless we added someone to the east.

Problem is do we trust Tech, and from UL, ULM, stAte no probably not. Problem comes from arrogance, i live in North Louisiana and if you live in Ruston it is very cliquish, and reaps with people who think they are better than everyone else. This goes for LaTech, and Ruston i dont know if it is because it is a small town, i dont know because Jonesboro, LA has a Walmart and so they think they are better than everyone else. I understand if we do not want that in the Sunbelt.

Let me help LaTech fans out yall are not better then ULM, UL, or stAte. At this level we are all grasping for straws.

That sounds more like something LT should have learned a long time ago.

Never forget, the USM athletic director was hired for the specific purpose of removing the Eagles from CUSA. He was organizing a regional conference to include a lot of the Sunbelt schools and Tech refused to be included unless ULM was rejected which they were not. Then the shuffle b egan with the other conferences making it unnecessary for USM to continue its efforts as the Sunbelt opening occured.

(03-04-2024 11:06 AM)high flyer Wrote:  

(03-03-2024 07:18 PM)Porcine Wrote:  

(03-03-2024 09:20 AM)Bigtom12 Wrote:  Ill be straight up i know UL and ULM are totally against it and should let them rot, but i hold to a different look.

At this level fans want see regional rivalries, also at this level Sunbelt has created a bus league.

I mean in the west pretty much every school would be a rival. Since no one likes Tech it would create fan interest and USM, UL, ULM, stAte, USA, maybe TxSt, would instantly add a rival, not to mention they are all about 3 hours away.

I couldnt see it unless we added someone to the east.

Problem is do we trust Tech, and from UL, ULM, stAte no probably not. Problem comes from arrogance, i live in North Louisiana and if you live in Ruston it is very cliquish, and reaps with people who think they are better than everyone else. This goes for LaTech, and Ruston i dont know if it is because it is a small town, i dont know because Jonesboro, LA has a Walmart and so they think they are better than everyone else. I understand if we do not want that in the Sunbelt.

Let me help LaTech fans out yall are not better then ULM, UL, or stAte. At this level we are all grasping for straws.

That sounds more like something LT should have learned a long time ago.

Never forget, the USM athletic director was hired for the specific purpose of removing the Eagles from CUSA. He was organizing a regional conference to include a lot of the Sunbelt schools and Tech refused to be included unless ULM was rejected which they were not. Then the shuffle b egan with the other conferences making it unnecessary for USM to continue its efforts as the Sunbelt opening occured.

What all schools were supposed to be in this regional conference?

This again... Geez

(03-04-2024 11:35 AM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(03-04-2024 11:06 AM)high flyer Wrote:  

(03-03-2024 07:18 PM)Porcine Wrote:  

(03-03-2024 09:20 AM)Bigtom12 Wrote:  Ill be straight up i know UL and ULM are totally against it and should let them rot, but i hold to a different look.

At this level fans want see regional rivalries, also at this level Sunbelt has created a bus league.

I mean in the west pretty much every school would be a rival. Since no one likes Tech it would create fan interest and USM, UL, ULM, stAte, USA, maybe TxSt, would instantly add a rival, not to mention they are all about 3 hours away.

I couldnt see it unless we added someone to the east.

Problem is do we trust Tech, and from UL, ULM, stAte no probably not. Problem comes from arrogance, i live in North Louisiana and if you live in Ruston it is very cliquish, and reaps with people who think they are better than everyone else. This goes for LaTech, and Ruston i dont know if it is because it is a small town, i dont know because Jonesboro, LA has a Walmart and so they think they are better than everyone else. I understand if we do not want that in the Sunbelt.

Let me help LaTech fans out yall are not better then ULM, UL, or stAte. At this level we are all grasping for straws.

That sounds more like something LT should have learned a long time ago.

Never forget, the USM athletic director was hired for the specific purpose of removing the Eagles from CUSA. He was organizing a regional conference to include a lot of the Sunbelt schools and Tech refused to be included unless ULM was rejected which they were not. Then the shuffle b egan with the other conferences making it unnecessary for USM to continue its efforts as the Sunbelt opening occured.

What all schools were supposed to be in this regional conference?

Southern Miss
Alcorn St.
Mississippi Valley St.
Jackson St.
Delta State
Mississippi College
East Mississippi CC
Mississippi Gulf Coast CC
Northwest Mississippi CC
and Mississippi University for Women were going to start football.

I'll always remember these pearls from when USM was leaving CUSA:

Quote:Frankly I don’t care if you believe this or not, but LA Tech was likely headed to the AAC until the MWC positioned itself for “Texas realignment” causing a scramble amongst ESPN (Not an ESPN conference) and AAC officials.

The AAC’s goal was to create a wall to prevent the MWC from entering the central time zone.

There was never a reason to consider the Sun Belt and it all fell apart rather quickly. I don’t blame Dr. Wood for this one.

Quote:Our goals are bigger than the Sun Belt. While the Sun Belt is better than Conference USA currently it isn’t a great conference. The Sun Belt west is horrendous. LA Tech moving to the Sun Belt would send us on a Southern Miss spiral of apathy (Sorry Golden Eagles but it’s been sad to watch the enthusiasm of your school plummet over the past few years). I’m glad we didn’t get in. We are in a conference and have an opportunity to fix what we can before the next shakeup.

(03-04-2024 12:04 PM)gdunn Wrote:  I'll always remember these pearls from when USM was leaving CUSA:

Quote:Frankly I don’t care if you believe this or not, but LA Tech was likely headed to the AAC until the MWC positioned itself for “Texas realignment” causing a scramble amongst ESPN (Not an ESPN conference) and AAC officials.

The AAC’s goal was to create a wall to prevent the MWC from entering the central time zone.

There was never a reason to consider the Sun Belt and it all fell apart rather quickly. I don’t blame Dr. Wood for this one.

Quote:Our goals are bigger than the Sun Belt. While the Sun Belt is better than Conference USA currently it isn’t a great conference. The Sun Belt west is horrendous. LA Tech moving to the Sun Belt would send us on a Southern Miss spiral of apathy (Sorry Golden Eagles but it’s been sad to watch the enthusiasm of your school plummet over the past few years). I’m glad we didn’t get in. We are in a conference and have an opportunity to fix what we can before the next shakeup.

I’m pretty sure both those comments are from me. I still stand by the top quote. Whether we were ever getting into the AAC or not (This point I think we all know the answer to that question) is not relevant. Our administration believed we were in play and had reason to believe we were in.They either weren’t talking to the right people, got bad information or things changed quickly. The goal for the admin was the AAC. Was it a good decision? Probably not. But the landscape of college football has shifted drastically in the two years since these conversations happened.

As for the second post, at that time it was still applicable. The Sun Belt would have created an apathetic mindset amongst our boosters. We did have massive financial issues hamstringing us that needed to be fixed. The only thing that has changed is the realization those issues will never be fixed. The result of that is another realization that the dream a lot of Tech fans have had about chasing a Tulane is dead. We are no longer able to punch above our weight class. We prided ourselves on doing more with less resources but that isn’t achievable in this environment. The program is a shell of itself with an incompetent coach at the wheel.

The new president came in and pushed our AD along, so clearly he wasn’t impressed with his handling of some of these issues. We’ll have a new coach next season, but with limited resources the expectations should be very low.

You aren’t going to see a lot of barking from Tech fans because the reality of the college athletics in 2024 has hit us square in the jaw. We have an FCS budget at the FBS level. Money is pretty much all that matters and we don’t have it nor do we have a pathways to generating more of it.

(03-04-2024 11:53 AM)Troy_Fan_15 Wrote:  

(03-04-2024 11:35 AM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(03-04-2024 11:06 AM)high flyer Wrote:  Never forget, the USM athletic director was hired for the specific purpose of removing the Eagles from CUSA. He was organizing a regional conference to include a lot of the Sunbelt schools and Tech refused to be included unless ULM was rejected which they were not. Then the shuffle b egan with the other conferences making it unnecessary for USM to continue its efforts as the Sunbelt opening occured.

What all schools were supposed to be in this regional conference?

Southern Miss
Alcorn St.
Mississippi Valley St.
Jackson St.
Delta State
Mississippi College
East Mississippi CC
Mississippi Gulf Coast CC
Northwest Mississippi CC
and Mississippi University for Women were going to start football.

That was a real thing, actually. I heard the same rumblings. The Tech-ULM part is new to me, but there were indeed conversations about creating a new Gulf South oriented conference. I don’t know how serious it got if at all, but there were AAC schools in the initial loop who were not unreceptive to the concept.

(03-04-2024 12:25 PM)RustonBulldog Wrote:  

(03-04-2024 12:04 PM)gdunn Wrote:  I'll always remember these pearls from when USM was leaving CUSA:

Quote:Frankly I don’t care if you believe this or not, but LA Tech was likely headed to the AAC until the MWC positioned itself for “Texas realignment” causing a scramble amongst ESPN (Not an ESPN conference) and AAC officials.

The AAC’s goal was to create a wall to prevent the MWC from entering the central time zone.

There was never a reason to consider the Sun Belt and it all fell apart rather quickly. I don’t blame Dr. Wood for this one.

Quote:Our goals are bigger than the Sun Belt. While the Sun Belt is better than Conference USA currently it isn’t a great conference. The Sun Belt west is horrendous. LA Tech moving to the Sun Belt would send us on a Southern Miss spiral of apathy (Sorry Golden Eagles but it’s been sad to watch the enthusiasm of your school plummet over the past few years). I’m glad we didn’t get in. We are in a conference and have an opportunity to fix what we can before the next shakeup.

I’m pretty sure both those comments are from me. I still stand by the top quote. Whether we were ever getting into the AAC or not (This point I think we all know the answer to that question) is not relevant. Our administration believed we were in play and had reason to believe we were in.They either weren’t talking to the right people, got bad information or things changed quickly. The goal for the admin was the AAC. Was it a good decision? Probably not. But the landscape of college football has shifted drastically in the two years since these conversations happened.

As for the second post, at that time it was still applicable. The Sun Belt would have created an apathetic mindset amongst our boosters. We did have massive financial issues hamstringing us that needed to be fixed. The only thing that has changed is the realization those issues will never be fixed. The result of that is another realization that the dream a lot of Tech fans have had about chasing a Tulane is dead. We are no longer able to punch above our weight class. We prided ourselves on doing more with less resources but that isn’t achievable in this environment. The program is a shell of itself with an incompetent coach at the wheel.

The new president came in and pushed our AD along, so clearly he wasn’t impressed with his handling of some of these issues. We’ll have a new coach next season, but with limited resources the expectations should be very low.

You aren’t going to see a lot of barking from Tech fans because the reality of the college athletics in 2024 has hit us square in the jaw. We have an FCS budget at the FBS level. Money is pretty much all that matters and we don’t have it nor do we have a pathways to generating more of it.

Yep it came from you. It always stuck in my head. The second quote was found later in that thread.

Apparent at this point is that the language used and the attitudes of old are a thing of the past. Lessons learned.

Programs now clearly see the value of aligning the best in a regional format driving rivalries driving fan interest to lift programs.

3 Sun Belt programs make the 2023 top 10 in increasing fan interest. Any reasonable person could look at this list and see what's driving fan interest in most of the top 10.

What is it about the three Sun Belt teams that can be replicated to make the list?




Regardless off any conference or market if your not growing your dying.

(03-04-2024 03:37 PM)Oldyeller Wrote:  Apparent at this point is that the language used and the attitudes of old are a thing of the past. Lessons learned.

Programs now clearly see the value of aligning the best in a regional format driving rivalries driving fan interest to lift programs.

3 Sun Belt programs make the 2023 top 10 in increasing fan interest. Any reasonable person could look at this list and see what's driving fan interest in most of the top 10.

What is it about the three Sun Belt teams that can be replicated to make the list?




Regardless off any conference or market if your not growing your dying.

Well, for Texas St, the increased attendance was likely because it was their best start ever. Ended up having their best season since moving up. Easy to replicate it. Just have your best season ever.

(03-04-2024 03:52 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(03-04-2024 03:37 PM)Oldyeller Wrote:  Apparent at this point is that the language used and the attitudes of old are a thing of the past. Lessons learned.

Programs now clearly see the value of aligning the best in a regional format driving rivalries driving fan interest to lift programs.

3 Sun Belt programs make the 2023 top 10 in increasing fan interest. Any reasonable person could look at this list and see what's driving fan interest in most of the top 10.

What is it about the three Sun Belt teams that can be replicated to make the list?




Regardless off any conference or market if your not growing your dying.

Well, for Texas St, the increased attendance was likely because it was their best start ever. Ended up having their best season since moving up. Easy to replicate it. Just have your best season ever.

Same could be said for a few more. Top 10 only and the average is over 5 years.

(03-04-2024 11:06 AM)high flyer Wrote:  

(03-03-2024 07:18 PM)Porcine Wrote:  

(03-03-2024 09:20 AM)Bigtom12 Wrote:  Ill be straight up i know UL and ULM are totally against it and should let them rot, but i hold to a different look.

At this level fans want see regional rivalries, also at this level Sunbelt has created a bus league.

I mean in the west pretty much every school would be a rival. Since no one likes Tech it would create fan interest and USM, UL, ULM, stAte, USA, maybe TxSt, would instantly add a rival, not to mention they are all about 3 hours away.

I couldnt see it unless we added someone to the east.

Problem is do we trust Tech, and from UL, ULM, stAte no probably not. Problem comes from arrogance, i live in North Louisiana and if you live in Ruston it is very cliquish, and reaps with people who think they are better than everyone else. This goes for LaTech, and Ruston i dont know if it is because it is a small town, i dont know because Jonesboro, LA has a Walmart and so they think they are better than everyone else. I understand if we do not want that in the Sunbelt.

Let me help LaTech fans out yall are not better then ULM, UL, or stAte. At this level we are all grasping for straws.

That sounds more like something LT should have learned a long time ago.

Never forget, the USM athletic director was hired for the specific purpose of removing the Eagles from CUSA. He was organizing a regional conference to include a lot of the Sunbelt schools and Tech refused to be included unless ULM was rejected which they were not. Then the shuffle b egan with the other conferences making it unnecessary for USM to continue its efforts as the Sunbelt opening occured.

He was "organizing"? No, he was throwing stuff at a wall and trying to make it stick after failing to get us included in the AAC. THAT was what he was hired to do.