NT80

Can't we make the Dance Team a varsity sport? Seriously, this is a major problem for NT, which I believe also has a slightly majority female campus. I think Title IX has to be proportional to enrollment too.

I'll let you know for sure after next season, but if I had to choose today....

That was certainly depressing.

I've heard from more than one say we could have stayed in 1-A, like La Tech and other smaller schools that never dropped down, but the administration muffed it. We were using Texas Stadium as a designated home field and I'm not sure there was an attendance requirement back then. Regardless, we dropped down, and have been paying the price ever since. We were on the level of Cincy, Memphis, Tulsa, Louisville, and USM before the drop to 1-AA.

Exactly; and great recruiter in the SEC is different than recruiting to the SBC. I'd put more stock in head coaching background, which he has none.

The football stats don't lie...we have seen the enemy, and it is us.

Yes, I heard 77 also, but still well below the 85 allowed. Only losing 10 seniors will help. If a player left and is eligible to come back, say like a Byerly, does that count against the signing limit of 25?

For myself, I watched NT when we were on the brink of joining the Southwest Conference (mid-late 70's), then to be demoted to 1-AA was a major setback in the early 80's. And it was simply because paperwork didn't get filed in time to the NCAA (yes, we met the qualifications for 1-A but the AD back then, Andy Everest?, misplaced the forms to keep us in 1-A). 1-AA was/is a glorified D-II league; the players, rosters, stadiums, and fan support were all smaller. Media bypassed us except when we played the 1-A schools or made the top of the 1-AA polls or playoffs. Outside of Montana (stuck in 1-AA because of Montana St.) and maybe Ga. Southern, the best 1-AA schools like Boise and Marshall all wanted to go 1-A. Go see a SFA or Sam Houston game sometime, not bad football but you'll see a big difference in quality and game atmosphere from a USM or Memphis type program. NT used to be in a conference with the Tulsas, Cincys, Louisvilles, and Memphis's (early 70's) and we're still trying to recover back to that level from our drop to 1-AA.

Here are some interesting quotes from San Diego State's new AD when he fired their coach this week: In a highly anticipated move, San Diego State fired Head Coach Tom Craft, on the heels of a 5-7 season. First-year SDSU Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel said a nationwide search for a successor would begin immediately. "There were a couple of things I thought the program lacked," Schemmel said. "First of all, and probably most important, (it lacked) a positive energy that the community could get excited about. Tom and I talked about that at great length. I think a change can bring some of that positive energy and excitement back to San Diego and the Southern California area. "Secondly, I certainly sensed a lack of confidence in the program – where it was going, where it was headed, whether we could take that next step. Clearly, we need that confidence to take the next step. I firmly believe that this program could be a Top 10 program, and I'm more convinced of that today than when I first got here."

The schools may have to bid ($) for the game, or it may be based on attendance. I know App St. has had 20K+ crowds this season.

The color is not right on the flying worm helmets, and some of the others are a little off in accuracy, but it's interesting to see all the throwbacks from other schools.... NT throwback mini helmets

December 09, 2005 NMSU drops opening '06 game against ASU in favor of creampuff Seeking to open next season with a easier slate, the winless New Mexico State on Thursday informed Arizona State of its decision to drop out of the opening game of the 2006 season. The move will cost the Aggies $300k if a suitable Division I-A opponent cannot be found. Instead of the opening the 2006 season against the Sun Devils, NMSU will face off againist a Division I-AA or Division II opponent in hopes of ending the teams losinig streak. More from the Arizona Republic "Our philosophy of scheduling has changed. For many years we played one to three money games (against teams in Bowl Championship Series conferences). It's tough to grow our program by doing that, and we put ourselves in tough situations over the years. We're playing in a tougher league (Western Athletic Conference), and we have to schedule smarter." WAC officials will assist New Mexico State in finding another opponent for ASU. "We have a responsibility to make it work for ASU," Johnson said. "We've found ourselves in this position a few times. It's just one of those things. We have to do what's best for New Mexico State." ............................................................. La Tech also just announced dropping their game next season against Penn State.

Well, we've had Vanderbilt and Oregon State at Fouts, but they signed the contract before they knew what Fouts was. I heard Okie State balked at playing at Fouts, can't blame them. We need a new, modern, fan-friendly stadium ASAP, just so we can play some of these better programs at home.

A QB won last year, it's time for a RB this year.

So, the HP fans that can't see the game should blame it on the fact their team can't play on natural grass. Other states would just laugh.

Politician seeks change to stadium choice After HP fans left out of tiny title-game venue, Branch plans hearings 10:37 PM CST on Friday, December 9, 2005 By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News AUSTIN – Just when fans thought the dustup over today's Highland Park-Marshall state high school football championship couldn't get any messier: Here come the politicians. After being slammed with phone calls and e-mails from brokenhearted Highland Park fans, state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, said Friday that he would hold public hearings on the "broken system" that allowed the Marshall coach to pick a tiny stadium that holds a fraction of the fans who would pay to see the game. It's especially trouble, he said, "in a state that's famous for its 'Friday Night Lights' " and struggling to find money for its public schools. "It's outrageous that a state final game is being played in a stadium so small that it denies access to thousands of fans, families and friends," said Mr. Branch, who leads a House subcommittee charged with finding revenue sources for schools and whose district includes Highland Park High School. His counterpart in Marshall, GOP Rep. Bryan Hughes, doesn't agree, saying the system is fair because it doesn't force rural schools to travel for every championship. Mr. Hughes, incidentally, has a ticket to today's game. Mr. Branch won't attend. Highland Park hasn't won a championship in 48 years, and the school wanted to play at Texas Stadium but lost a coin toss to Marshall, which chose Rose Stadium in Tyler, closer to home. It accommodates 14,000 fans at most. Each school sold all of its 5,500 tickets in a couple of days – leaving an estimated 20,000 or more fans without tickets. Some wound up paying scalpers hundreds of dollars. Others paid Marshall residents to buy up some of that town's allotment – prompting a Marshall newspaper columnist to declare that a Scots fan would have to "pry my cold, dead fingers from the stub" before he would let it go to someone other than a "red-blooded Marshall Maverick." Dallas resident Greg McCoy, a Scots football player in the 1970s, sent a friend to stand in line at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, and still didn't get a ticket because the booster club had sold them all the night before. He'll have to settle for a watch party at his house. "I was denied," he said with a chuckle. "What I would do is designate a stadium in August and let the teams shoot for a trip to that city. You're losing a lot of revenue the way they're doing it now." Mr. Branch said he would make a recommendation for changes to the full House education committee next summer. One idea, he said, is for the University Interscholastic League to limit coaches' choices to major stadiums – such as the Astrodome, Texas Stadium or the Alamodome. UIL officials won't comment on pending legislation, but they noted that schools had resisted changes in the past. Mr. Branch said the time has come for changes. "This is a big deal," he said. "My phone has been ringing off the wall. This makes school finance look like a minor issue." ............................................................................ Sidenote: normally, Baylor's stadium in Waco could have been used for this game and the Southlake game, but the President and troops had it already reserved for an event. Why not College Station and Kyle field?

That decision to kill the last 1:37 took the life out of the crowd and told the team the coach had no confidence in their ability. Bonehead call. Aside from that, the TxSt crowd was loud; and I'd like to have that UNI soph QB, very accurate and smart decisions.

30K ? You obviously are watching the wrong game. Texas State's stadium only seats ~14,000 (my high shcool's stadium is larger). We had 19,000+ show up to see a 2-6 home team in October. Think TSU could do that? Were you at the NMSU game a couple years ago at Fouts to clinch the Conference title? That was atmosphere! NEVER back to 1-AA!

Ah, a glimmer of hope, thanks.

Well, with our conference's OOC record, it's hard to argue with him. We need wins over WAC, MAC and CUSA schools to at least show we're their equal. Until then, we are who we beat.

Fouts needs major electrical, plumbing, and concrete work (54 years old). The land at Fouts is needed for the core campus. A new soccer facility has just been finished (former Liberty Christian football stadium).

No, I meant odd to not had a formal meeting since before the first SBC Championship (2001), if that's what the article meant. I thought most coaches were annually evaluated?