shaft

The loss of SDSU-UNLV basket ball rivalry? That's what's wrong with college sports? College football is built on rivalries first, then conferences. All the people whining about conference realignment should remember being in a difference conference doesn't preclude a team's ability to schedule their main rival. Just a few of the end of the year non-conference mega rivalry games: Florida-Florida State South Carolina-Clemson Georgia-Georgia Tech So for anybody crying over the loss of Texas-Texas A&M, remember these teams could still play each other, but they have chosen not to. Is that the fault of realignment or just some stubborn AD/Presidents.

Yes, UNT would be better off even in a "depleted" CUSA. 1. The CUSA's annual payout is higher than the SBC. 2. CUSA has more bowl tie-ins than the SBC. 3. CUSA is a step up in competition and should help recruiting and attendance. 4. Conference games against teams like Tulsa and Rice would free our OOC schedule. 5. We get to go to New Orleans for football and basketball.

Is "your up" code for I'm changing the topic? K-State has more to complain about than OSU. And the BCS rankings have nothing to do with wky getting left out.

Is "your up" code for I'm changing the topic? K-State has more to complain about than OSU. And the BCS rankings have nothing to do with wky getting left out.

Or Man up and don't post gossip

This is one time when "win more" isn't the answers. As Boise & K-State found out bowls are more interested in your fan base than your record. Collin Cowhead said it pretty clearly today; Bowl are about selling hotel rooms and bar tabs.

I'm tired of whiny threads about what "I heard some girl say after class."

Yawn. There were 72 eligible teams for 70 slots. The SBC's own bowls didn't want WKY so why complain about a California based bowl selecting a 6 win, PAC-12 South division champ, UCLA? Also as a team that has received a bowl waiver, we really can't complain about UCLA getting one.

I don't see what everyone is complaining about. Conditions were great up in the club level.

No that's not true; attendance does not create wins. The NCAA sets the rules for how attendance is counted. They require scans at the game, but also allow season ticket sales as part of official attendance. The same rule applies to every D1 school.

So we averaged 18.8k per game, not too shabby.

And that was counting the band

But thanks to free tickets some of us went through the turnstiles three times.

Official attendance 15,962

Anyone else notice despite all the realignment talk the Big East hasn't expanded? So of course the MWC and CUSA say they are moving forward with the merger, but we all know that hinges on the BE. No conference is ever going to come out and say they are waiting on another conference. Big East is waiting on West Virgina lawsuit, BYU, BSU, AFC, and Navy.

Has anyone received the follow up information on free tickets?

Isn't 17k good for a WAC game?

When we win on Saturday.... We will be 5-7, Have gone from the bottom of FBS to the middle of the much improved Sun Belt, And ready to make it to a bowl in 2012.

I was at the Navy/SMU game. The Ponies got owned by a team that never completed a pass. I think UL-L could handle that.

1. We didn't start out every season 0-6. I remember a certain win over Baylor that was a big deal. 2. If that was true, wouldn't basketball have had a better turn out. Quit blaming the Belt. While teams like MTSU might not be the biggest draw, we've played these teams long enough to create familiarity with the fan base. The reality is we need payday games to pay the bills for the entire athletic program.

There is some bad assumptions going on about the payday/bodybag games. 1. It assumes the big loss is what keeps fans away. 2. It assumes home attendance revenue can off set those games. We get payouts in the $700,000 range for games with Bama and LSU. Adding 7,000 fans to at $10 revenue per fan is only $70k x 5 home games, you only get halfway there. The truth is football has to pay its own bills and then some for the rest of the athletic program. People don't stay home because we lost to a ranked team at their house. Let's also stop pretending there is this vast supply of regional rivals looking to sign home-at-home games.

Are talking about the same SMU that lost to Navy at home and Navy never threw the ball?

I'm glad the blame the Belt thread has devolved into the need to join some new super regional conference and blaming body bag games. None of that is real. The reality, is the Belt has been good for us. Its given us a D1 home, and place to grow our entire athletic program. Hopefully we can out grow the Belt, but the truth is were not there yet.

Let's talk about those groups. fat & lazy - Wonder why tailgating sucks this season, because we're spread out across four different area and you can't pull up and party out of your car. Parking in a remote location by yourself is lame. If you say you like tailgating alone at Fouts compared to last season, your lying to yourself. Cheap - Is this team worth paying $20 for parking and then having to hike to the stadium Aged - Another group that would probably like to be able park closer to the stadium. They might even pay to do, but what choice do they have if they didn't get parking pass at the start of the season. Child dragging - I bring my kid to the games and there are a lot less stroller this year than last year. It's not a lot of fun to haul junior from Fouts along a narrow winding sidewalk by the Myerson, across the bridge, and then through the windy hills to get to the stadium. So instead of just labeling folks "bad" fans, maybe we can address these issues. Winning makes the difference between "casual" fans attending the game, but these structural obstacles are keeping us from developing "core" fans.

For all the complaints about attendance and tailgating is our problem the location of the stadium? Is the off campus nature of the stadium that's keeping the students away? I hate the remote layout of the parking lots and sprawled tailgating.