MeanGreen61

Here's another Shreveport Times article. Is this writer anti-Tech or just tellin' it like it is ? Lack of fan support hurting Tech programs July 1, 2005 John Douglas recently took out a map of the United States and drew a circle 90 miles out from every BCS school in the nation. He figured that 90 miles was a reasonable traveling distance for a football fan to see a game and return home without having to spend the night. Most of the circles touched, except for a few areas in the Midwest and a glaring area in north Louisiana, east Texas, southern Arkansas and western Mississippi. Guess which school is located right in the center of that latter spot ... Louisiana Tech. "It was an eyeopener," Douglas said. Like many faithful Tech supporters, Douglas wonders why his own fans are largely apathetic and why other football fans in this area don't flock to Louisiana Tech games. "Tech needs more help from its fans. We have something that could be really special if people would just get behind it," Douglas said. "Frustrating is the mildest word you can say about our lack of support." As they begin their fifth season of competition in the WAC, the Bulldogs and the Lady Techsters athletic teams struggle to compete against league schools that have much larger operating budgets than Louisiana Tech. Groups of Tech fans often rail on the Internet about why more money isn't being pumped into this program or that program. But if the money isn't there, you have nothing to pump. Sure, you could drop the engineering program or eliminate the band and give that money to the football team. But we know that isn't going to happen. Simply put, there are only so many ways that an athletic department can generate revenue. Ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, conference revenue sharing, television revenue and private donations are at the forefront. Since most folks don't have thousands of dollars to donate at the drop of a hat, the easiest way for the multitudes to contribute is by purchasing a ticket and putting their fanny in a seat. That isn't happening on a consistent basis for Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs football team drew a season-high 22,467 fans for a home game last season against UL-Lafayette in 30,000-seat Joe Aillet Stadium but could manage just 7,713 folks in Shreveport's Independence Stadium for a WAC "home" game against Tulsa. That ain't gettin' it done, Tech fans, and the appalling turnout prompted Tech officials to eliminate Shreveport as a host site for a game on the 2005 schedule. Athletic Director Jim Oakes is preparing a $2 million annual fund-raising effort that he believes will allow the school to become a consistent winner in the WAC in all sports. At the heart of the proposal and the easiest way for most Tech supporters to help their school achieve its goal is to purchase more season tickets to the sport of their choice. If they can't do at least that much, they shouldn't whine about the football team finishing 6-6, the men's basketball team going 9-9 in the WAC or the Lady Techsters losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. All three of those teams have overall winning records in the WAC during the past four seasons. But if they are expected to move up to another level, then more people need to pay to see them play. Jimmy Watson The Shreveport Times

The WAC and $$$$. Glad we stayed put. NT's WAC invite mentioned in article. Tech hits crossroads Fund raising key as school's fifth year in WAC begins July 1, 2005 Tech's WAC football record: 18-14 Tech's WAC baseball record: 36-83 Tech men's basketball WAC record: 40-32 Just four years ago, Louisiana Tech fans were almost giddy anticipating the school's affiliation with the Western Athletic Conference, a move many believed would elevate the Ruston school above the remaining mid-level Division I schools in Louisiana. As Tech prepares to kick off its fifth season in the WAC, much of the luster of WAC membership has worn off, although many fans, school officials and coaches believe the school is better off now than it was in 2001. That's despite the changes over the past year, which include having SMU, Rice, Tulsa and UTEP, Tech's closest rivals in the league, depart for Conference USA. Today, the WAC will welcome the giddiness of fans from Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State as replacements. "I think WAC membership has mostly been good, based on where we were before we joined," Shreveporter John Douglas said. "The competition in men's basketball and football has been a definite improvement. WAC men's basketball is substantially higher than the Sun Belt and it remains so, despite the recent shake up." In order to move Tech's athletic programs to a higher level of success, Tech Athletic Director Jim Oakes has announced a fund-raising campaign designed to raise $2 million per year. Brochures detailing the campaign, including how the money will be spent, will be mailed to 10,000 Tech alumni in the next couple of weeks. "It's important to let people know what our plans are with clear objectives," Oakes said. "We've come a long way, doubling our athletic budget in the past 10 years, but to continue advancing, we have to keep the money coming in." WAC membership has provided numerous dividends for the Tech athletic teams and the school with increased television exposure in football and more revenue sharing than it received prior to joining the league on July 1, 2001. During the past football season, 11 of Tech's 12 games were televised in some fashion and for three consecutive seasons at least one game has received national exposure on either ESPN or ESPN2. Although details haven't been finalized, another game is scheduled to be broadcast nationally in 2005. Tech recently received its revenue sharing check for 2004-05 from the WAC and it was for approximately $992,000, according to Oakes. The figure was higher than normal, since the four departing WAC schools did not receive a full share. WAC Commissioner Karl Benson said that Tech has been "a loyal, supportive member of the WAC," and that the football team, Bulldogs basketball team and the Lady Techsters appearing in the postseason over the last four years shows what Tech has brought to the WAC table. "As far as I'm concerned, Tech has a spot at the table as long as they see the WAC as an advantage," Benson said. "If there comes a time when they see themselves aligned with the C-USA members, then I would understand. I'm glad they're currently under the WAC umbrella." Benson said that both before and after the C-USA issue fell through, Tech President Dan Reneau and Oakes have been solid in their support of the WAC. "Both of them have been as strong an advocate of the WAC as anyone and both have provided key leadership roles," Benson said. "They've also been willing to do some innovative things, like playing a Labor Day football game last season. That was good for Tech and good for the WAC." Tech athletic officials made an ill-fated attempt to join C-USA last year and the rejection left them in a league with their closest partner some 900 miles away. Travel was already more expensive for Tech in the WAC than in the Sun Belt, but now travel costs are expected to increase in the 2005-06 fiscal year, which begins today. The Tech football team spent $547,190 on all travel last year, including flights to Miami and Tennessee, along with a bus trip to Auburn. They will fly to Kansas and Florida this year, but the third road trip has been changed to a home game against the University of North Texas. Bus trips to Rice and SMU last season will be replaced with flights to Moscow, Idaho, and Ogden, Utah. The Bulldogs football and men's basketball teams benefited the most by joining the WAC, elevating the schedule and helping coaches Jack Bicknell and Keith Richard respectively attract recruits that wouldn't visit the school before. "Initially, I didn't see the talent level shoot up, but I'm sure that we've signed some guys who might have gone elsewhere without WAC membership," said former Caddo Parish School Board President and Tech fan Mark Milam. "I still think of the Terry Bradshaw, Denny Duron eras in terms of talent. "But playing football in the WAC was a definite step up, so it might have camouflaged the increase in talent level. The quality of athletes was already there in the WAC before we got there." Richard's basketball teams haven't been able to match the 14-4, third-place team that he had during his initial WAC campaign but they're 40-32 in league play over the four seasons, the fourth-best mark in the league. "The quality of this league from top to bottom has been outstanding and I personally like the quality, even though it can add to a coach's loss column," Richard said. "We've been getting WAC-level players but what we've discovered is that we have to get top tier WAC-level players to win this league. "We have been competitive in the WAC, but what we're trying to do right now is to take it up another notch "» to go win this league. And therein lies the challenge of the league." The Tech football team won the league in 2001 with a 7-1 WAC mark, but went 3-5 in 2002 and 2003. The Bulldogs rebounded last season with a 5-3 mark, making Bicknell 18-14 in the league in four seasons. Even before the new schools were added to the WAC, the extensive travel to league games was enough to drive Hall of Fame coach Leon Barmore into retirement from the Lady Techsters. Richard doesn't see extremely long road trips as a problem, however, "Travel is tough, no doubt, but these kids are young, and I think travel is made out to be more than it is," Richard said. "We've done very well on the road in this league." Benson admits that the WAC is "geographically challenged" with Hawaii about 2,000 miles away from its nearest WAC neighbor. "I don't see the travel as a detriment," Benson said. "If you have to get on a plane, it doesn't matter much if you fly 400 or 900 miles." Benson also added that there are no current plans to add a Central Time Zone member as a travel partner for Tech. North Texas declined an invitation to join the league last year. The Lady Techsters' program is the only one of the big three that didn't benefit from the move to the WAC. Even though the team has been the most consistent winner of Tech athletic programs, the Techsters have shown signs of decline over the past two years. They narrowly made the NCAA Tournament for the 24th consecutive time this season after losing to Rice in the WAC Tournament finals. "I think that the Lady Techsters have been on a downward spiral ever since they joined the WAC because it confined them on their recruiting," said Mickey Murphy of Ruston. "I wouldn't mind them being an independent again, because I believe that's the only way they'll get back on top." Jimmy Watson The Shreveport Times

UTEP says switch a windfall Darren Hunt El Paso Times Goodbye, Western Athletic Conferen¢e. Hello, Conference U$A. UTEP's official move into C-USA today is one of dollars ... and cents, Miner officials say. School officials estimate the switch will bring approximately two to three times more annual league revenues into the athletic department than it received in the final few years of WAC affiliation, allowing the rising program to continue to grow. "The projected revenue for next year in C-USA is around $1.2 million, which is considerably higher than the WAC," UTEP athletic director Bob Stull said Thursday, giving the school reason to celebrate changes on what he called "an important day in our history" during a press conference at the Larry K. Durham Sports Center. "What's great is every year revenues are expected to escalate." Stull said C-USA revenue projections call for an increase to as much as an estimated $1.9 million per school in 2010. The final few years of UTEP's 37-year membership in the WAC yielded no more than $650,000 in revenue distribution per school, he said. "And expenses as a member of the WAC were about $400,000 per year," Stull added, "meaning we were making about $250,000 a year from the league when it was all said and done." With a smaller membership fee in C-USA ($250,000 to $280,000) and larger revenues on the way, UTEP could double or even triple its annual league revenue as a member of C-USA in coming years, making the move a no-brainer despite a $2 million buy-in fee. "We've paid about half that already," Stull said. "They'll deduct the second million from our revenues over the next five years ($200,000 per year)." UTEP, which made the decision to leave the WAC for C-USA 14 months ago, joins fellow WAC schools SMU, Tulsa and Rice in making the move. The rest of the 12-team league includes C-USA holdovers Memphis, Tulane, Houston, Southern Mississippi, UAB and East Carolina, along with new additions Central Florida of the Atlantic 10 and Marshall from the Mid-American Conference. How can C-USA -- which lost nine schools to other conferences Thursday, including some of its top basketball entities -- pay its new 12-school lineup so much more than the WAC? "We were fortunate through our realignment to ensure a relatively healthy financial future for the conference," C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky explained, "through a combination of TV revenue and NCAA tournament money." C-USA's new television deal with ESPN and CSTV, the first non-exclusive agreement of its kind for ESPN, is worth approximately $11.3 million to the league and much, much more in terms of exposure (10 regular season football games and at least six regular season men's basketball games on ESPN or ESPN2). The UTEP football team is scheduled to appear on national TV in its first six games, an amount of exposure in 2005 that Stull said exceeds the total national attention the program has received the past three decades. Banowsky said the conference has also compiled 44 NCAA tournament units, thanks largely to Final Four runs by departing C-USA members Marquette and Louisville in recent years. Over the next six years that'll mean about $40 million to C-USA. "That's six to seven million dollars a year retained by the conference," said Banowsky, who has devised a simpler approach to revenue sharing in the new C-USA. "We used to have a fairly complicated and uneven revenue sharing model in this league. But the new model is a relatively equal revenue sharing approach." Stull also pointed out the opportunity for additional sources of revenue in C-USA, including $100,000 for making the NCAA tournament, $100,000 compensation for playing on non-traditional football nights (UTEP plays on Friday twice this season) and a 15-percent share of the gate for whoever plays host to the C-USA championship game (division winner with highest BCS ranking hosts). Despite the loss of some of the league's biggest bread winners, Banowsky is confident C-USA Lite, which some are calling it, will work and be quite fulfilling. "In the past we had a huge gap between our institutions -- we had really diverse membership, which required diverse revenue sharing," Banowsky said. "But now our members are very compatible -- we've narrowed the ratio of athletic budgets in the conference from 5-to-1 in the past to 2-to-1 ($14 to $28 million). "The bottom line is we are a lot more similar as a group of universities and that enables us to work together a lot more easily. And a league is only as good as it is as a whole. One member doesn't make a league and two members don't make a league. In our case, 12 make it a league and we think all 12 have great potential. The strength of this league is really the quality and depth of the institutions. It's 12 universities pulling very hard on the rope together -- instead of just one or two -- to grow this conference into something special." UTEP fifth-year women's basketball coach Keitha Green sees that potential from C-USA. "In the meetings with them that we've had down in Florida, everybody I've talked to has been so impressed," Green said Thursday. "They definitely have an idea of the drive and direction they want all the schools to go." UTEP football coach Mike Price said the additional revenue in C-USA will have a huge impact on the school's future. "It's going to mean a lot to all of our programs," said Price, who would like to use some of that addition money for a much-needed team meeting room and to pay for summer school. UTEP second-year men's basketball coach Doc Sadler called the new C-USA "an unbelievable basketball league" Thursday. Miner fans will have to make a slight switch from Thursday-Saturday WAC scheduling to Wednesday-Saturday, but Sadler said it will be worth it in the end. "They're going to get a chance to see some great players come through here," Sadler said. "Memphis had one of the top five recruiting classes in the country this year. Whoever comes out to the Haskins Center will see some quality teams." UTEP Alumni Association Chapter Development Coordinator Margie Brickey said while the program's decision to move East hurts its Northern California alumni chapter, it will help grow Miner alumni bases in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and elsewhere in the East. "We're busy crunching the numbers of our alumni in all the (C-USA school) areas," Brickey said. "It'll hurt us in California, so we'll have to find alternatives. But I know of a guy in North Carolina that's all excited about the move and we've also got some people in New Orleans." Fans here in El Paso will also have the opportunity to get to know UTEP's new league opponents thanks to the deal with CSTV, which will air hundreds of league games in coming years. Time Warner Cable spokesperson Caroline Garland said an agreement to add CSTV to a local cable standard tier package is already in the works. "We actually already have a corporate level agreement," she said. "We're just looking at channel placement at this point." What C-USA adds up to for UTEP, in terms of additional exposure in places the school hasn't competed and more revenue to continue to grow its programs, is almost a perfect fit. "From my perspective, they're a wonderful fit for the new C-USA," Banowsky said of UTEP. "They're part of the University of Texas system and they have great tradition, which is something that's important for us. El Paso also has somewhat of a unique cultural heritage, which really contributes to the overall blend of this conference." Darren Hunt may be reached at dhunt@elpasotimes.com; 546-6168

Monroe News Star article. http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../506300336/1006 Ready to contend? Preseason magazines take note of ULM's progress in Sun Belt By Paul J. Letlow pletlow@thenewsstar.com Louisiana-Monroe wide receiver Drouzon Quillen has been catching up on his reading this summer. Like most college football fans, Quillen is intrigued with the preseason predictions aimed at his team in the various preview magazines that are now out on the bookracks. "I try to take a look at all of them," said Quillen, who caught 44 passes and seven touchdowns last year. "Coach printed them out for me and was showing me what they're saying about us. I've been taking a good look at them." There is no consensus on ULM among five of the prominent magazines — Athlon, Lindy's, Sporting News, Street & Smith's and Phil Steele's. The Indians, who were 5-6 overall and 4-3 in the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, are picked anywhere from second to fifth in the previews. Average them all together and ULM ranks fourth in the eight-team league. "In recent years, we didn't prove to people that we're capable of being first and second," ULM punter Joel Stelly said. "But I know the way our team is now. As hard as they're working, I know we're going to show everyone at the end of the season where we should be." Although he's interested in the positive press, Quillen doesn't necessarily take any of it to heart. "That's just magazines," Quillen said. "It's good they're showing us respect. But it's good that some of them didn't. It just makes us hungrier." Defensive end Brandon Guillory, one of the brightest returning stars in the Sun Belt, said that his teammates are working hard this summer with a championship in mind. Just two years ago, the Indians were 1-11. "The big thing I recognize out of this team is a lot of commitment," Guillory said. "I also see a lot of young guys on this team stepping up and showing that they're ready to play a role." EXPERIENCE COUNTS Street & Smith's offers the highest prediction for the Indians, projecting ULM second behind North Texas. The magazine notes that ULM has 19 returning starters back, which should make a difference in league play. "The Indians' claim to such a lofty position in the Sun Belt is determined by one factor, but a factor that gives them a rare edge over the remainder of the league — experience," Street & Smith's offered. In Phil Steele's College Football Preview, the Indians are ranked third behind Middle Tennessee and North Texas. Phil Steele's pointed to a Sun Belt schedule that gives ULM home games against Arkansas State, Troy, Florida International and Louisiana-Lafayette. ULM plays league games at Florida Atlantic, North Texas and Middle Tennessee. "The schedule maker was kind to ULM as they get four home games in league play and that has me calling for an upper-half finish this season," the Phil Steele preview predicted. In Lindy's, Coach Charlie Weatherbie is given credit for his track record of success at Utah State and Navy. Weatherbie led both schools to bowl games and is trying to help the Indians reach the New Orleans Bowl. "Weatherbie has a track record of turning programs around and appears to be on the right track at ULM," Lindy's noted. "A winning season and upper-echelon finish in the Sun Belt is definitely a possibility." Athlon and The Sporting News weren't as generous in their predictions, with both magazines ranking ULM fifth. Athlon hedges its bet by touting the talents of ULM quarterback Steven Jyles, who is back for his fourth year as a starter. Jyles is not only the No. 2 returning passer in the Sun Belt, but also the No. 3 returning rusher after gaining 587 yards on the ground. "ULM's Indians improved from 1-11 to 5-6 last year under coach Charlie Weatherbie and won five of their last seven after a rough start," Athlon recalled. "Quarterback Steven Jyles alone will make ULM dangerous." The Sporting News projects that ULM has the experienced offense to make vast improvements after averaging just 19.2 points in 2004. "The Indians will score points in bunches, but their inexperienced defense could surrender just as many," The Sporting News predicted. "The Indians will have to show they can win on the road if they want to contend for the Sun Belt title." FAMILIAR FACES With a roster full of recognizable names, the experienced Indians could be a well-decorated team individually. Guillory is a consensus preseason All-Sun Belt selection, appearing as a first-teamer in all five magazines. Guillory, a speed rush specialist who made 5½ sacks last year, is also named the league's "Most Underrated" player by The Sporting News. Fellow defensive lineman Marbrae Wilson was a first-team pick by Lindy's. Jyles and Middle Tennessee's accurate quarterback Clint Marks are touted as the top signal-callers in the Sun Belt. Jyles is a first-team pick by The Sporting News, Street & Smith's and Phil Steele's. Lindy's credits Jyles with having the strongest arm while Street & Smith's calls the senior the best under pressure and the best passing quarterback. Quillen, the Sun Belt's No. 2 returning receiver, is a first-team pick by Lindys, The Sporting News and Phil Steele's. The 6-6 junior is called the league's most dangerous deep threat by Lindy's and the fastest receiver by Street & Smith's. Lindy's rates Quillen as the Sun Belt's No. 10 NFL talent. Stelly was almost a consensus pick after averaging 45.1 yards per punt last season. Phil Steele's rated the senior punter as a third-team selection. Stelly is also ranked as the No. 8 NFL talent in the league by Lindy's. AROUND THE LEAGUE The Sun Belt will have a new look this year as it adds Florida Atlantic and Florida International. In a regional realignment, Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State departed to play in the Western Athletic Conference. But to win the Sun Belt championship, someone will have to knock off North Texas. The Mean Green have won the first four Sun Belt titles since the league's beginning in 2001. North Texas is the pick of every magazine except Phil Steele's, which predicts that Middle Tennessee State will end the dynasty in Denton. ULM in 2001 is the only Sun Belt team with a win over the Mean Green in that span. In what could be one of the league's big games this year, ULM plays at North Texas on Oct. 29. ULM had a three-game winning streak heading into Denton last year before the Mean Green routed the Indians 45-30. "We're ready for them," Guillory said. "We're focused. We've got a lot on our chests and we've got a lot to prove against them. "There's just one word for what happened to us last year — cracked. We just cracked." Originally published June 30, 2005

GAWD forbid

Gettin' older so I don't make it up for all games. Drive the 400 plus miles from Corpus Christi. Come in on Friday & return home on Sunday (Couple of nites in the La Quinta on Ft Worth Drive). The home games I attend are like an away game for others I do buy season tickets & when I can't be there, still make sure that someone is in the seats

Geeze. NT & the Muts TIED for the regular season championship, our girls won the conference tournament and advanced to the NCAAs. Seems like they consider a tie as their win ??? Here's a post from the Muts board. From: KSRaider 11:18 am To: ALL (1 of 2) 32509.1 I would like to remind this board that the MT women's soccer team will be defending their conference championship this Fall. Let's not overlook them during football season! The Raiders have 11 returning players (including 3 key players from Franklin High) and a number of talented newcomers. The squad is very international in character with players from USA, Canada, Wales, Scotland, England, Australia and Norway! We will need to find additional scoring having lost a good bit of offensive punch from last year's squad, but the outstanding defense may be even stronger. Soccer has an exhibition game against Carson Newman on August 21, followed by an evening game in Nashville against Lip Scum on August 26 (full schedule on goblueraiders.com). Let's get behind our ladies again this year and help them drive for a repeat and an NCAA bid!

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stori...ry3.html?page=1 UT athletic budget leaps by 57% Jonathan Kealing Austin Business Journal Staff There's an arms race in the Big 12 athletic conference, but it's not just a battle among elite teams for conference championships. Once again, the University of Texas' athletic budget is projected to be the largest in the Big 12 Conference. Including the $13 million spent to run the Erwin Center, UT's athletic budget for 2005-06 will be $82 million. In fact, Texas' athletic budget has grown 57 percent over the past six years and shows no signs of slowing down. College and university teams throughout the conference -- and the country -- are spending more money as well. One source of growth for Texas has been revenue from the Big 12. The conference recently announced it would distribute a record amount of revenue to each of its members in 2005-06. Each school will receive $8.8 million, an increase from last year and a far cry from the $4 million distributed when the conference was formed less than 10 years ago. The money primarily comes from television contracts for Big 12 football and basketball championships. That distribution represents only a small chunk of Texas' budget, however. Where, then, does most of the money come from? Two words: Longhorn football. "In most general terms, 75 to 80 percent of our revenues are tied to our football program," says Ed Goble, associate athletic director for business. Football ticket sales alone are projected to account for more than $19 million in revenue for the athletic department in 2005-06. In addition to the price of admission, $280 for a season ticket, fans make donations to the athletic department to qualify for certain games or to sit in certain areas. Other revenue streams tied to football include a large portion of the newly renegotiated multimedia rights deal worth $5.5 million and a portion of the $600,000 merchandising agreement with Nike Inc. Revenue for multimedia rights is projected to rise more than $2 million in 2005-06, reflecting changes to UT's deal with Host Communications Inc. Host produces, among other things, UT coaches' shows, Longhorn radio programs and corporate marketing. In its seventh year, the Nike contract -- which doesn't include the value of free gear for UT athletes -- is another example of potential growth. The UT contract was signed for seven years at the current rate, with a two-year option that features some increases, Goble says. However, the Nike deal with UT pales in comparison to some sporting goods contracts signed by other universities. Big 12 opponent the University of Kansas signed an 8-year, $26.7 million contract with Nike rival Adidas while another conference foe, the University of Nebraska, signed an 8-year, $22.7 million contract with Adidas. UT "is pretty consistent with most of our peer schools," Goble says. Ohio State University, which operates one of the highest-spending athletic programs in the country, is budgeting about $92 million next year for sports -- about $19 million more than it spent just four years ago. The University of Oklahoma, which projects a budget of about $62 million for 2005-06, has boosted its budget by more than $10 million over the past five years. Oklahoma has the second largest sports budget in the Big 12. Kevin Wieberg, commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, says the conference constantly examines differences in spending among its members. Wieberg points to the "middle group" of institutions, rather than the highest- and lowest-spending programs. "If you have a vibrant and growing middle grouping, I think that reflects well," Wieberg says. The sharp jump in college sports spending elicits some concern about blurring the lines between amateur athletics and revenue-driven professional sports. The National Collegiate Athletic Association recently convened a panel of university leaders to study the future of college athletics. Peter Likins, president of the University of Arizona, chairs the committee. He says one of the concerns is that athletic expenditures and revenue are climbing four times faster than the same figures for academic departments at NCAA-member colleges and universities. "We don't have a financial crisis," Likins says, "but we do have evidence of stress and trend lines that worry us." jkealing@bizjournals.com (512) 494-2545

A Mean Green win will put Deep Green's buddy, HogDawg, into a deep funk

Opponent Tech projected at 5-6, 4-4 in conference. Tech projected to win over Mean Green. http://www.collegefootballnews.com/wac/200...WAC_Preview.htm

Updated map with conference member names.

Up-to-date Conference "footprint" map. Makes WAC look even more like the World Athletic Conference

1. Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. 2. One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor..... 3. Atheism is a non-prophet organization. 4. If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes? 5. The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live. 6. I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose. 7. What if there were no hypothetical questions? 8. If a deaf person swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap? 9. If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation? 10. Is there another word for synonym? 11. Where do Forest Rangers go to "get away from it all?" 12. What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant? 13. If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages? 14. Would a fly without wings be called a walk? 15. Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them? 16. If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked? 17. Can vegetarians eat animal crackers? 18. If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent? 19. Why do they put Braille on the drive-through bank machines? 20. How do they get deer to cross the road only at those yellow road signs? 21. What was the best thing before sliced bread? 22. One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people. 23. Does the Little Mermaid wear an algebra? 25. How is it possible to have a civil war? 26. If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown, too? 27. If you ate both pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry? 28. If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done? 29. Whose cruel idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have "S" in it? 30. Why are hemorrhoids called "hemorrhoids" instead of "asteroids"? 31. Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot at them? 32. Why is there an expiration date on sour cream? 33. If you spin an oriental man in a circle three times does he become disoriented? 34. Can an atheist get insurance against acts of God?

DNJ article from the MUTS board. I know we've lost coaches, but it seems like the MUTS really loses more. Guess it's the $$$$ http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A.../506150314/1006 MTSU strength coach Rogers resigns By ADAM SPARKS sparks@dnj.com MTSU football strength coach Robb Rogers has resigned to accept a position at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. Rogers, a former National Strength Coach of the Year, has been with the Blue Raiders for the last six years and served alongside MTSU head coach Andy McCollum for 11 of the last 12 years, including a five-year stint while both were at Baylor. "There's a lot of wins in this move for me because it's an opportunity I've been working toward for a very long time," Rogers said. "The only negative of it is that I have to leave here. "Andy has always been a super guy, and I can honestly say that I have met the best group of people and had the best neighbors here than anywhere I've ever lived. And that's not just talk because I'm leaving. That's the way we feel. You couldn't ask for a better place to live than Murfreesboro." Rogers will not officially leave MTSU until June 30. "We're losing a great strength, but even more importantly, it's a huge loss for the university," McCollum said. "Robb has got knowledge in a lot of areas. He's always been loyal, and he's been a close friend. "Financially, he just had to do what's best for his family. Now, we'll be looking to fill that position, but he leaves some hard shoes to fill." Rogers' new position will also be in the training and conditioning field. He will develop training programs for both common and professional athletes. St. Vincent's is in a steady rise to become the premier training facility of the upper Midwest, similar to the southeastern status of the Velocity Sports Performance facility in Atlanta where some

By all means. Just point & click

Stadium fundraiser idea. Buy Tech for what they ARE worth, and sell them for what they THINK they are worth!

Big oops !How many of PMG's polls have you participated in ?Inquiring minds want to know

Wv'e got the evil eye on the MUTS They won't beat us until.........

From the MUTS board. Student news article New players could take MT football to next level Sports Commentary By Jonathan Hutton Published: Wednesday, June 29, 2005 Article Tools: Page 1 of 1 Head coach Andy McCollum has recruited some good athletes to mix well with the team. Fans will not be disappointed. This year's recruiting class will play a major role in the success or failure of this season. If recruits can come in, play their positions well and make a positive impact on the team, then Middle Tennessee will be the Sun Belt Conference champion. Has a good ring to it, doesn't it? The talk of the recruiting class has been defensive lineman Brandon Perry. On paper, and on the field, you can see why. He was ranked the 23rd best defensive tackle in the nation by Rivals.com and received offers from Florida, Auburn, Nebraska and Florida State. Obviously, he made the right choice in choosing MT. I can't wait to see him on the line next to Jeff Littlejohn, Raymond Chaney and Devarick Scandrett, to name a few. Among the plethora of linebackers is junior transfer Chance Dunleavy. It is easy to imagine him playing the Mike position and instantly becoming a crowd favorite. This guy is a headhunter. To put it simply, he is another Dennis Burke. North Texas running backs beware. On the subject of running backs - be on the lookout for two freshmen who will be competing for playing time. The running back spot this fall will be similar to the quarterback competition last summer - wide open. Alton Sanders and Alex Suber are two highly talented athletes who will have their names in the pot for the position. Sanders rushed for 2100 yards and 29 touchdowns in his senior year of high school, and Suber ran for 1600 with 16 TDs, missing three games due to back problems. Suber is reminiscent of Warrick Dunn with his stature and speed. If you want to be impressed, get on goblueraiders.com and look at his recruiting video. An instant playmaker. Jay Robinson will be making catches this year at receiver. After looking at his size and watching his film, he may remind you a lot of Tyrone Calico. Robinson is 6-feet-4-inches, 200 pounds and runs a 4.49 40-yard dash. As a senior at MT, Calico was 6-feet-4-inches, 220 pounds and ran a 4.34 40-yard dash at his NFL combine. Robinson will be a good target with his size going up against the cornerbacks in the SBC. We'll soon be hearing, "That's another Blue Raider first down!" at MT home games. There isn't enough space to list all of the players who will help MT win an outright SBC championship. Everyone will contribute: the players, coaches, administration and the fans. This will be the year. The schedule is in our favor, players are where they need to be and fans are beginning to only wear orange on days that they go hunting. It's time to paint this town royal blue. u Jonathan Hutton is a junior mass communication major and can be reached via e-mail at jdh3x@mtsu.edu

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/200...hopscotch_x.htm Conference shakeup continues as schools seek right fit By Steve Wieberg, USA TODAY Change happens. Bob Lilly is enough of a realist to accept that. But there's still a bit of the romantic in the 65-year-old Football Hall of Famer, who as a kid in Texas used to tune into Southwest Conference broadcasts and drink in the colorful calls of radio legend Kern Tipps — to whom a fumble wasn't simply a fumble but a "malfunction at the junction." Lilly recalls watching some games wide-eyed from the stands with his dad. Later he would star in them as an All-America tackle and future No. 1 draft pick at Texas Christian. "We had a big rivalry at the time with SMU ... and a pretty good rivalry with Rice, which during my era was a pretty good football team," he says. "Those were the good old days, in my opinion." They're all gone now. The inimitable Tipps. The SWC. The rivalries — or at least the intraconference intensity that fed them. TCU hasn't shared a league address with Southern Methodist or Rice in five years. The Horned Frogs haven't been able to work up a healthy competitive hate for anybody of late, calling four different conferences home in the past decade. Things were beginning to heat up with Louisville and Southern Mississippi in Conference USA, but Louisville bolted for the Big East and TCU is bound for the Mountain West. Those are two of almost two dozen moves that become official Friday. They cap a dizzying round of conference hopping that has seen nearly one in five schools in the NCAA's top football-playing Division I-A change addresses in the last two years. It isn't merely realignment. It's a recasting. The basketball-rich Atlantic Coast, which started it all by plucking Miami (Fla.) and Virginia Tech from the Big East two summers ago, now is a 12-team force in football, too. Miami, Tech and newly arriving Boston College were ranked at the end of last season, along with Florida State and Virginia. The Big East took such a football hit that its automatic berth in the Bowl Championship Series might be shaky, but behold the power surge there in hoops. A league that already owns three of the last seven national championships brought in four new members — Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul and Marquette, in addition to South Florida — that account for 100 NCAA tournament appearances, 19 Final Four berths and five national titles. Conference USA might take some time to sort out. Nine schools, including TCU, are going. Six, including SMU and Rice, are coming. Feelings were hurt, names were called and lawsuits were filed when the shakeout began. "At times, in different venues, it's been very difficult ... for me and also very difficult for our players and for our coaches," says Boston College athletics director Gene DeFelippo, looking back on the Eagles' final year in an affronted Big East. "I think time has passed now. People are getting on with their lives and rebuilding conferences ... or building conferences, whatever." Pacific-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen, whose league hasn't changed in nearly 30 years, suggests, "We need to step back and take a broader view and realize that these things do happen. It's kind of like we in California know that those earthquake plates are building up pressure and sooner or later, boom, something's going to snap. In college conferences, you've got different pressures building. "It's pretty predictable that 10 years from now there'll be still more (movement)." Geographically, a lot of what has happened makes sense. Boston College, a charter member of the Big East, is raising eyebrows in becoming the northernmost member of the ACC by more than 400 miles. It's 700 miles from North Carolina's Tobacco Road, the ACC epicenter. But Virginia Tech fits nicely, and Miami looks more natural in a Southern-leaning league. The Western Athletic still is stretching to include Louisiana Tech. But in losing Rice, SMU, Texas-El Paso and Tulsa and picking up Idaho, Utah State and New Mexico State, it has shored up its Mountain and Pacific time zone identity. Seeking a bigger challenge Competitively, after going 30-8 and winning three championships in five years, Louisville had its sights set higher in football than Conference USA. So the Cardinals left for the Big East, which has automatic entry in the BCS for at least three more years. TCU likewise sees more BCS possibilities in the Mountain West, where Utah ran the table last season and was able to break into the BCS' big-money bowl lineup. The league is hopeful of an automatic berth down the road. "Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to put yourself in the best situation," says Gary Patterson, heading into his sixth season as TCU football coach. "You have to look at our ultimate goal, and that was to give us the best opportunity to win — sometime and someday — a national championship. We felt like the Mountain West move was one that could do that because of the BCS." The Southwest Conference, where the Horned Frogs won seven football titles and played in one Orange, two Sugar and six Cotton bowls, fell apart in 1995. The Frogs landed in the WAC, which split in half. They transferred to C-USA in 2001, but now it's being made over. A Mountain West invitation in January 2004 was too good to pass up. "Change is inevitable," says TCU athletics director Danny Morrison, who moved into the job just two weeks ago. "I happen to come from the Southern Conference (where he was commissioner for four years). It was founded in 1921 — it's the fourth- or fifth-oldest conference in America — and the Southeastern Conference split away in 1932. The ACC split away in 1953. So it's not like this (kind of) change hasn't occurred in history. "It's a natural evolution. I think things will settle again and there'll be some stability. I really do think stability's important." The Pac-10's Hansen, however, isn't alone in predicting further change. Later if not sooner. Speculation persists about Baylor's future in the Big 12 and Arkansas' possible interest in moving there from the SEC. The Big 12 has had "general discussions ... on the changing landscape of conferences and its potential impact," Commissioner Kevin Weiberg says, "but there is no active plan or discussion regarding changing our own membership structure." The Big Ten still is sitting on an odd number — 11 — which may not change unless the league finally can talk Notre Dame out of its football independence. That's an apparent non-issue until 2010, through which Notre Dame's $9 million-a-year contract with NBC has been extended. What's the next move? Will the Pac-10, static since Arizona and Arizona State joined in 1978, be obliged to follow the SEC, Big 12 and ACC and expand from 10 schools to 12? Even if it were, Hansen says, his league sees few if any attainable schools that come with a requisitely large TV market. Most down-the-road suspicion involves the Big East, now a 16-member conference housing I-A and lower-division football schools and those that don't play football at all. "Sixteen is kind of unwieldy," former conference commissioner and College Football Association executive director Chuck Neinas says. "It's also, in this day and age, difficult to mix and match." The 16 are contractually committed to the Big East and one another for five years, starting this year. But few will be surprised if Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Connecticut, Rutgers, Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida eventually peel off to form their own I-A conference. A question, too, is whether the next dominoes can be tipped with more sensitivity and decorum. The verbal and legal brawl between the ACC and Big East still reverberates, and not only through athletics offices. "We've created a lot of anger and anguish among institutions. A lot of friendships have been damaged if not lost," Hansen says. "College athletics and even higher education have been criticized — sometimes justly, sometimes maybe not so — for the process. "It's a pretty ugly public process."

Ya gotta remember, Tech is just.....oh well....Tech. If they fell in a big pile of fresh manure, somehow they'd claim they were just closely examining & testing a grade of fertilizer

A very important "name" in UNT's football history is: Coach Odus Mitchell 1946-1966, winningest coach in NT history (122-85-9), broke the color barrier in 1956 leading the way for black players to be able to participate in Texas college football.

Here's a thread off the MWC board discussing season ticket prices. As one poster says "Nebraska tickets between the 40's on the press box side are only $210 if you can get 'um. Of course there's also a $25,000 donation". http://www.mwcboard.com/www/forums/index.p...p?showtopic=671

Sure, you bet... the WAC is a really stable conference http://mb8.scout.com/fsanjosestatefrm13.sh...picID=119.topic