8-11 PM practice rained out

[good_ken]

So from what I have read: most division 1 colleges and just about every high school has an indoor practice facility; however until this last year the Dallas Cowboys did not.

That tells me thta an indoor practice facility is a luxury, and a luxury that we cannot afford (righ now).

[NTEagle08]

heck, the school district that I went to, Cypress Fairbanks, is oozing with money and not one of the high schools in the district have a indoor practice facility. This coming from the same school district that's building the most expensive high school stadium in the state.

But I have to agree that it is pretty rediculous that some school districts have indoor practice facilites, and some districts are scraping to get by. But that's a whole other discussion.

As for us, this isn't something we really need right now, since there are so many other things higher up on the list. I don't even think a non-BCS team in Texas has one.

The way I see it, we play in an outdoor stadium.  We ought to be used to the elements if we are going to have to play in them.  An indoor practice facility may not prepare us for realistic playing conditions.

←

You would be amazed at what some of these indoor practice facilities can do. According to my friend who goes to OU, theirs can similate any weather condition, granted I'm sure that it cost them a pretty penny to build it.

[Eagle91Gator95]

Being a DI program and not to have better facilities than even ONE high school in the area is a shame.  Not blamming anyone,  just pointing out the need.

←

My other alma mater doesn't have one, and they seem to be doing OK without it. Seriously, it is nowhere near the top of the priority scale. Once the new stadium is built, and that new turf in Fouts needs a home, I say go for it!

[MeanGreenBuzz]

Can alumni and current student donate to a fund for paying coaches salaries? or is there some NCAA rule against it?

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

So from what I have read: most division 1 colleges and just about every high school has an indoor practice facility; however until this last year the Dallas Cowboys did not.

That tells me thta an indoor practice facility is a luxury, and a luxury that we cannot afford (righ now).

←

---You are probably right about I-A colleges.. but those facilities were mostly built with alum donations not tax money unless they are using them for many other purposes and I don't any problem with that. I don't know where you are reading but a HS with indoor practice facilities are rather unusual, maybe not in your neighborhood, but most places they are.

---Next time you support more tax cuts (especially state ones) what you are supporting is less money available to public schools and colleges. The last Texas session in 2003 cut university funding by $700,000,000 so universities were forced to increase tuition to MAINTAIN their condition. Colleges are having to get more agressive in seeking donations now to offset those reductions. The problem now is there is talk by those in Washington to eliminate donations (also mortgage interest) deductions which will reduce the incentive to make donations to education (and athletics). Please think when you vote what the eventual outcome means. God know what those loons will do this time..... all Perry wants to do is cut more taxes, not help education. Only one state collects less taxes per capita than us now.

Edited August 12, 2005 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[MeanGreenBuzz]

You know if they put all the Lottery money towards schools, like they said they would when we voted to allow the state lottery, school funding wouldn't be an issue.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

You know if they put all the Lottery money towards schools, like they said they would when we voted to allow the state lottery, school funding wouldn't be an issue.

←

----Lottery income goes into the "general fund" and education expensives are paid from this fund ... as is prisons, highways etc. Techically they are correct Lottery money does go to education but education spending has not increased like the expensive of prisons etc. If what I read a few days ago is true Texas has more people in prisons than Vermont and Alaska has people. That is the problem with being a border state and the drug traffic..... that problem also costs us and education a lot of money. The prison population is many times what it was 30 years ago. The state only has so much money available... the US government is different (they control the mint) and has overspent 19 of the last 25 years with six (6) balanced budgets ( actually surpluses) during the 90's.

Edited August 12, 2005 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[GreenBat]

You know if they put all the Lottery money towards schools, like they said they would when we voted to allow the state lottery, school funding wouldn't be an issue.

←

Let me get this straight, a politician told a lie. Say it ain't so. The world is going to stop turning.

[EagleD]

The leg never wanted our eduational system to be dependant on the lottery. I concur.

[pollock]

Only one state collects less taxes per capita than us now.

←

That's also why 121 is about to become a toll road, as has been proposed with several other roads in the metroplex.

It pretty much takes the same amount of money to run this state, one way or the other..... You can either choose to pay it as a tax or get nickel-and-dimed to death on toll roads, beer tax, cigarette tax, etc.

Regarding the indoor facility, I agree that it would be nice to have but it's further down the list.

[Eagle-96]

Wow, the Texas legislature hijacked a Mean Green football thread.

[EagleD]

I'm really not trying to be political here, but if they gave NT the money spent on the last special session, we'e have that indoor stadium now.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

I'm really not trying to be political here, but if they gave NT the money spent on the last special session, we'e have that indoor stadium now.

←

---The legislature passed a budget which included education in the regular session.... but Perry vetoed it and starting calling special sessions... expensive. Blame him.

---In 2003 Perry called all those sessions to redistrict the state and increase his party's power.... besides the opposition l party losing in the deal, there now are almost no representatives that represent rural Texas anymore.

Meanwhile colleges and public schools are getting their budgets trimmed.

[Mad Hatter]

---In 2003 Perry called all those sessions to redistrict the state and increase his party's power.... besides the opposition l party losing in the deal, there now are almost no representatives that represent rural Texas anymore.

If only everyone had agreed to stay in the state to do their jobs there wouldn't have been a need for those special sessions.

People in rural Texas still have representatives.

This is gonna get locked down so fast.

[UNTLifer]

An indoor practice facility is a luxury. We are not at the point of constructing luxuries when we need to address necessities such as a new stadium, assistant coaches salaries, etc...

[pollock]

Wow, the Texas legislature hijacked a Mean Green football thread.

←

Pretty soon I'm gonna have to flee to New Mexico.

[Mad Hatter]

I would think that the next big project for athletics would be the stadium. We can worry about the indoor practice facility when we're selling out home games vs UT and OU etc....

[H-towngreen]

So I hear that the 8-11 practice got rained out

[UNTLifer]

You would be amazed at what some of these indoor practice facilities can do. According to my friend who goes to OU, theirs can similate any weather condition, granted I'm sure that it cost them a pretty penny to build it.

←

That's what a ridiculous $60 to $70 million athletic budget and the guaranteed BCS payout. When 50% of the schools get 90% of the revenue, something is wrong. They have to spend all that money on something.

[NT80]

Jun. 28, 2005 - A&M to build indoor practice facility

A&M plans to build indoor practice facility -- and Franchione will help pay for it Aggies coach to make $1 million gift to A&M to help build new football facility By Olin Buchanan AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Saturday, June 25, 2005

Texas A&M officials are expected to announce today plans to construct an indoor practice facility for football, and Coach Dennis Franchione -- who said A&M would be the final stop in his coaching career when he accepted the position three years ago -- is making a $1 million gift toward its construction.

Franchione's nomadic track record as a coach -- seven head coaching jobs in 22 years -- might have caused some to be skeptical about his future plans. But he said that his $1 million gift to help build the facility should end any doubts.

"Does that sound like anybody that intends to leave?" said Franchione, who also is having a new home built in the exclusive Miramont Country Club development in Bryan.

Texas A&M Athletic Director Bill Byrne, with Franchione in Colorado for a meeting with the 12th Man Foundation advisory board, said Franchione's gift to the university puts the coach in select company.

"When I learned of this gift, two names jumped to mind: Joe Paterno and Bear Bryant," said Byrne, who will tell 12th Man Foundation members today about the plans to build the facility.

"As far as I know, they're the only two other coaches to make a major gift back to their universities to help their own programs and respective institutions," Byrne said. "That's rarified company, and Dennis Franchione belongs in that group."

Paterno funded a library at Penn State University and Bryant started a scholarship fund for the children of former Alabama football players.

Three years ago, the University of Texas constructed its $4 million, 69,750-square foot practice bubble for the Longhorns' football team to practice indoors. Located on the northwest corner of Interstate 35 and 26th Street, Texas' facility helps the Longhorns escape the heat of August two-a-days and other extreme weather conditions, and its 55-foot ceiling is tall enough for kickers and punters to work out.

Texas' facility took approximately six months to build.

Though there has been speculation that A&M would follow Texas' suit -- even perhaps with an indoor facility that could be big enough to house two football fields and an indoor track -- the size and expense of the indoor facility has not yet been determined.

A&M, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Colorado are the only Big 12 Conference schools that don't have an indoor football practice facility.

A&M's new facility is expected to be built in an area on campus that is now a parking lot, just north of the current football practice fields.

Franchione, who led A&M to a 7-5 record and a Cotton Bowl appearance last season, earns $2 million annually on a contract that extends through 2012.

[NT80]

OU indoor football practice facility

[stebo]

Have you guys seen the Idaho indoor practice stadium? Really awesome! It is so great that they put up bleachers and play games there. Sometimes they can get like 10K people to show up. They also play their basketball games in there... crazy enough... they just set up these dividers like churches use to turn it into a basketball court when the season rolls around.

Seriously folks, we have much bigger problems than that of not having a freakin' indoor practice facility. Bear Bryant and Gene Stallings drove their Junction Boys out to the hottest spot that they could find, with no AC and no women around and gave them a cup of water every hour to keep them alive. Football is becoming too much about tea and crumpets. I cannot believe that my old high school has a freaking indoor practice facility now. They suck, they have always sucked, and they always will suck - despite being "close" to Southlake (I went to Northwest in Justin). When I was a senior we went to the playoffs for the first time in 50 some-odd years under coach Ronnie Gage, who bolted to Lewisville for more money. We got bitch slapped in the first round. The next year we made it back only to be bitch slapped once again. We haven't been back since.

The rest of this post deals with all of the political talk in the discussion so if you want to just skip ahead to the next post then now would be the time to do it. I brought up my old district so I will stick with them as an example... the district now has more money than it knows what to do with. This is why - we gave all of those businesses in the Alliance area (including the racetrack and the airport) a 7 year tax abatement. This was back when it was really NOT that standard of a thing to do and most of the parents were fighting with each other about the whole thing - whether or not we should let a billionaire company like the Perot Group get 7 years of tax free life just to choose our area to build on. And when I say that they got a tax abatement, I mean - free and clear for 7 years - not one penny to the schools. Now the argument was that they even during those 7 years, they would attract more people to the district (after all, people had to build and then work at these new businesses).. and I can tell you this - back then, Roanoke had a DQ, one stop light, my parent's car wash and three gas stations. That was IT.

Now they are rolling in the money. They have so muh money that they do not know what to do with it. So they build things like indoor practice facilities because what else are they gonna spend it on? If they don't spend it then it goes back to the state. They are paying their teachers the highest wage in the area now (even passed up Keller), they have new books in every locker, the portable buildings that I used to take my classes in are now offices for the maintenance people and coaches... and they have a football stadium/facilities that make them look like a pretty solid JUCO - but it wasn't always that great out there. And eventually they will become dependant on their new money and overspend. Right now they are just in a honeymoon period with it.

As for Robin Hood - I dunno. There should be a compromise on that. Along with all those bells and whistles comes a big ole tax bill. My parents still live out in Trophy Club but are talking about moving because their property taxes are so high now - and they have no need for the growing school district and its amenities that it offers most of the families that live out there. My brother and I have been out of school for awhile now and they are still helping to educate other's kids - but there needs to be a limit. So while I think that they would have disagreed with Robin Hood at one point (because we would have wanted every penny to stay in our district) - if it could offer them some tax relief so that they were not forced to move while in retirement then they might be for it. The problem with the Robin Hood program was that it didn't give any tax cuts to the higher income families/districts, it only benefitted the lower income districts. There has to be a way to do both in order for it to be fair. If 10% of my tax money is going to help out some kids in Eagle Pass - then I should be getting some sort of tax break from the state - a deduction of some kind - just as if I were to donate that money to the school directly. The old Robin Hood plan did not do that and that is why it is gone. It was way too one sided.

Finally, the lottery thing STILL pisses me off. They sold Texas the lottery on the education platform and the reports that I have seen have shown that less then half of 1% of the lottery profits ever make it into the school system.

**I am not going to proof-read this long ass post so if I spelled anything wrong, I apologize - I was just typing fast and was trying to get it all out before my girlfriend gets home from work, lol.

[Baby Arm!]

Greenville High School's facility

Mckinney North

Coppell

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

-----{ Now they are rolling in the money. They have so muh money that they do not know what to do with it. So they build things like indoor practice facilities because what else are they gonna spend it on? }----

---Again this is the reason that ROBIN HOOD exists. There are districts that are taxing to the maximum rate but have such a low tax base that don't have money to replace school-buildings that are falling down. That idea may not be done correctly but something is needed to help those areas.

---If the school districts mentioned and shown above have that much money surplus they should cut taxes, --each Independent School District sets their own rates, especially if the taxes are that high. They apparently have so much surplus cash that they are not passing bonds to build these things and are just using available cash. The individual school boards are responsible then, not the state.

Edited August 12, 2005 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[stebo]

-----{  Now they are rolling in the money. They have so muh money that they do not know what to do with it. So they build things like indoor practice facilities because what else are they gonna spend it on?  }----

---Again this is the reason that  ROBIN HOOD exists.  There are districts that are taxing to the maximum rate but have such a low tax base that don't have money to replace school-buildings that are falling down.  That idea may not be done correctly but something is needed to help those areas.

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I agree completely - just tweak the old system used (like I mentioned) so that if your particular property taxes are pulled out of yor system - say 10% of them - then you get a 5% tax break so that the home owner/business owner sees some reward in it as well. That would still be a net gain of 5% to send off to other schoosl and when you take all the high income areas and apply that method then you build up wuite a bit of money. I also think that people should have the ability to opt in and out of it (expecially if they do not have children in the system) so that they are not doing it by force but voluntarily. I think more people would buy into it if they could get a tax break by doing it voluntarily. Finally, while I agree that we should never want our education system to be "dependant" on the lottery - I think that all teachers should be paid the same, regardless of the district or population base and the lottery could have accomplished this one step. But that is a whole different discussion.