badgerwolf

Well, I read in the local newspaper that Arizona State was forcing some coaches to take a furlough to save on expenses; times are hard in all conferences in this bad economy. Expect more of this in the coming year or two; we are not out of the woods by a long shot !!!

Thought some of you guys might find the out going PAC 10 Commish's position on the time zone factor of interest. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-tom-ha...20.story?page=2 Q. How much has the "time zone factor" hurt the Pac-10 in terms of national perception and your ability to maximize your broadcast package? A: It's a major impediment. I saw it when I lived in Kansas City for 16 years. . . . The news flows from East to West -- it's like pushing boulders up hills to get information to go the other way. It's been helped by cable TV and it's been helped that Fox Sports Net is a Western company . . . but it's still been a struggle every day of the year to try to get the recognition we deserve.

Well, I hope you guys take Ball U out in front of a nice TV audience and then build upon that win . . . Go SBC !!!

As I recall, the SBC went 3 - 0 against the MAC on the football field last season. The MAC is not superior to the SBC in any way other than geographical location and their location sucks . . . LOL !!!

An MT fan asked about UNT Baseball on the NCAAbbs SBC Board; if anyone wants to respond the link follows: http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=344853

The SBC's NCAAbbs Board is getting quite a bit of activity lately; some of you Mean Green fans may want to check it out: http://ncaabbs.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=296

As a comparison, Kansas shut La Tech out winning by 29 to zip; FIU scored 10 on Kansas and lost by 30. Seems FIU fared better against Kansas than did La Tech.

Agree; the MWC is the big dog behind the PAC-10 out here in the West and that will not change. Jeff Siembeda (spelling ??), Executive Director, of the HBowl was on TV in ABQ last week and he clearly stated he wants only REGIONAL teams in the bowl. The PAC-10 does not want the HBowl so that leaves ONLY the MWC. Boise State wants in the MWC so BAD, but this is not their ticket to the MWC !!! BTW, if anyone, would be kind enough to change my username to ManzanoWolf that would be greatly appreciated . . . LOL!!!

If UNT had accepted the WAC offer, that could have been a very expensive venture . . . Saw the following on the CUSA Board: http://sports.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/...mplate=UHsports "Hawaii Athletic Director Jim Donovan says the school's charters to San Jose State and Idaho last season cost $85,000 and $125,000, respectively. The quote for a charter flight to the Fresno State game this year? How about $319,000?" If it will cost Hawaii that much to get to California, how much will it cost to get from Louisiana to Hawaii this year? In the past the other WAC schools have required Hawaii to subsidize their travel expenses as a condition for staying in the WAC; will they consider something similar for their other 'outlier' La Tech, if travel costs become unbearable? I am not sure commercial travel will save that much as the airlines are reducing the number of planes in their fleets while also reducing the number of seats per plane by switching to smaller planes to save fuel. Fewer planes with fewer seats will, in effect, increase demand and, thus, increase commercial fares even more. Saw the following on the Tech Board: Travel costs from 2006-2007: Tech: 1,734,943 (with Hawaii traveling to Tech ???) http://app1.lla.state.la.us/PublicRe...E/000039AE.pdf ULM: 887,153 http://app1.lla.state.la.us/PublicRe...E/000039AA.pdf

Saw this on the Tech Board recently: Travel costs from 2006-2007: Tech: 1,734,943 http://app1.lla.state.la.us/PublicRe...E/000039AE.pdf ULM: 887,153 http://app1.lla.state.la.us/PublicRe...E/000039AA.pdf USM: 1,297,674 http://www2.indystar.com/NCAA_financ...w?school_id=94 I think jet fuel costs coupled with other escalating travel costs will be a deal breaker and soon!!!

The Lobos have home games against both A&M and Arizona; their fans have been looking forward to these games all Summer and it would not be good for Lobo Athletics to sell either of the games. The plan is to bring in higher profile teams, pack the stadium, and expand seating: UNM AD Paul Krebs said on The Mtn. with Tim Everett that after the NM Bowl they are going to reconstruct the south end zone and add more seats bringing the total to around 50,000.

Make that the Lobo Bowl as they have played in all games so far and will do so whenever they are available . . . LOL!!!!

Saw this on the Tech Board and thought it might be of interest to some: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...337/1001/SPORTS Tech's WAC check decreases BY JIMMY WATSON • JIMWATSON@GANNETT.COM • JULY 10, 2008 Not that anyone in the Louisiana Tech athletic department is complaining, but the 2008 disbursement check from the WAC was down compared to last year, despite the league getting a football team in a BCS bowl game for a second consecutive season. Tech's WAC dividend check was for $855,015 and it included $410,555 in BCS monies, down from $1.1 million ($559,222 BCS) in 2007. Tech received $667,000 from the WAC in 2006 without a BCS bowl game. "It certainly helps, but it's not the solution. It won't pay the bills and won't put food on the table," Tech athletic director Derek Dooley said, speaking figuratively. "We're in a different situation from a lot of schools in that we've made a commitment to move our athletic department forward. And we needed that money. "But it wasn't the windfall for us that is was for other schools. We're doing our best to raise all revenue streams." "The decline in revenue was due to Boise and Hawaii not playing in the bowl games in their hometowns. Neither game sold out without them," Benson said. "Expenses were up due to sending Hawaii to the Sugar Bowl and sending Boise to Hawaii. That left each team with a smaller payout. But we did generate more money this year." In addition to the BCS dollars and the WAC tournament payout, Tech's WAC stipend came from the NCAA men's basketball tournament pool and from entry fees paid by Utah State, NMSU and Idaho to join the conference.

The arrogance of Tech is hilarious; a couple posts from the Tech Board: Fan #1: Dooley needs to do some back channel repair damage to end this drama. Maybe he could use the Cajuns athletic director. If this spirals out of control every team in hte Sun Belt may join the ULM boycott. Response from Fan #2: Who else is in the Sun Belt?

It would be the right thing to do, IMHO!!!