NCAAbbs

Would your basketball program be any better if they played this season in the SoCon?? Would you want to play baseball in a conference that finished behind the ASun in RPI last year (and the ASun is on track to finish high again)? I just don't get why so many ETSU fans want "out of the ASun as soon as possible because it's not a real conference". Where are you going to go????

Dont know where we are going to go, that is the problem. And yeah the ASUN finished ahead of the SoCOn last year, with a totally different look. This years ASUN looks nothing like last years. The league wants to add D2 schools only it appears, and looks happy to do so. Thats terrible.

I would rather be in the SoCOn with teams that have been in D1 for longer than 10 years, unlike most of the teams in this league.

Let me say something to the A-Sun fan. The A-Sun is a fine conference if you are North Florida, or Stetson, or even Mercer. I applaud these Division II programs who want to get better and try for Division I glory.

I applaud Gulf Coast and USC-Upland and whoever else. We probably are too hard on it.

But you see- it's not the place for us. We're not that. We're ETSU. We have seven NCAA appearances, national rankings, a real tradition and history here. We haven't been in the NAIA in generations.

The A-Sun is a good baseball conference- no question. Perhaps the Bucs baseball program will step up- but do we have the facilities and can we compete with Florida schools?

That's the question.

Surely you understand that we just don't belong here. It's not the conference's fault- it's our incompetent administration.

How would ETSU do in the Southern Conference? Probably better because you could recruit a better class player. Ever since Zakee and Jerald left any recruit coming in knew they'd never get the ball because of Tim Smith and they would be going to a school that was dropping down rather than the traditional A-Sun school, which is on its way up.

We probably are too hard on the A-Sun and it's not the conference's fault. But the only thing we can be here is another Jacksonville- losing and living on our past glory.

Only the Bucs never made it to the NCAA finals . . .

Mercer has never been Division II, and I'm pretty sure Stetson never has either.

Have Mercer and Stetson ever made the NCAA Tournament?

Take the sentence as you must but it wasn't intended to place Mercer into the list of D-II schools trying to improve.

Take a look at MercerFan's sig:

If so, I apologize... but when you list 3 schools and then say "I applaud these schools..." you can see how I could take that as you saying we're moving up from D-II.

This is hardly good smack talk, but it needs to be said.

Really, again, I like mid-major colleges and if you're Gulf Coast University, the A-Sun is the place to be.

It's just it's not very good for ETSU.

Mercer, well, I know it's your home conference and you started it and all, but you tell me- is there ever the desire from the good people in Macon to boost the stature of Mercer athletically?

And can that be done from a conference whose history is one of small college schools getting big and just passing through?

I agree this isn't the perfect place for ETSU, but it's not bad. It's great geographically. I also would love to see your basketball program reach the top 25 -- The point is that ETSU can still improve their programs in the ASun, all they gotta do is win.

Its TERRIBLE geographically. In the Socon only Charleston and Georgia Southern were more than 3 hours away. In the ASUN, only GWU is under a 3 hour trip.

Ok thats true about Socon distances, but I also meant if you moved up to CAA or almost any other conference like that it would be ridiculous travel distances.

Mercer- All you gotta do is win.

All you gotta do is provide an environment for winning.

Let me ask you. Why is it that Mercer has never been the program ETSU has been in hoops?

And I'm not saying that on one particular year Mercer didn't have a better record than ETSU. But unless I"m wrong- Mercer doesn't have a Sweet 16 Appearance, a Top 10 ranking, and seven NCAA appearances in their history.

I'm guessing for the same reason players would go to Georgia over Mercer- it's the conference, stupid.

The impression ETSU makes when it goes to the A-Sun is that it is falling- that it is going from a No. 20 conference- not great but just about every one of the schools in the conference had some moment of glory where they were ranked in the Top 20 and such- to a conference of teams you've never heard of at schools that are just now coming into prominence.

Or let's just say it- No. 20 to No. 30.

That's not a move up.

So ETSU can't win. In the A-Sun there is the impression of a program falling down. Nobody wants to come here.

And, by the time that people will get used to seeing ETSU play Belmont and not Appalachian State, there will be so few fans it won't matter.

Well, I heard the argument about small schools. What about Elon and Wofford. Heck, the SoCon is really the South Carolina private school conference. I used to go to GSU so I know a little about the SoCon. People make fun of the small D2's coming up. Well, KSU has 19,000 students and is the third largest university in the state of Georgia. It's probably the largest in the A-Sun. We beat everybody in the A-Sun this year except FAU. I'm sorry, but the argument is no good. Quality coaches and teams that want to play will win games and attract more players. Yes, the conference has something to add to that, but if you ask a kid who has schollie offers from a D2 or a D1 where do you think he'll go, unless it's Savannah State. Some of you ETSU fans put your school above the other schools in this conference just because of what you did in the past. If you would have won the regular season this year than I would have been more impressed and held your statements as truth, but you didn't. Let your team outplay the rest of this meak conference in all sports and then I will believe all of ya'll's ranting.

Then what the hell is the A-Sun doing ranked No. 30 or whatever?

We at ETSU believe a major part of the demise of our basketball program was when we entered the A-Sun. Who wants to come to a program that is perceived to be on the way down instead of on the way up?

Let me ask you- when did KSU become a Division I sports program?

If it was recently, again, good conference if you're on your way up, pretty bad one if you've just made the athletic decision blunder of the University's history by dropping football and not recognizing the ramifications.

Pitt is correct in his analysis.

Nothing personal against the Asun schools. Many of these schools are trying to move up. Exactly what we should be doing. It is not your fault we dropped football. It was not a hostile takeover of us by the Asun. We don't blame you.

We don't have any vision. We will be playing in the same league as Milligan College at this rate. At least we would save travel money. Honestly Stanton would kill athletics altogether or have us be rivals with King College.

It could be that in 15 years King College is a Division I member... We'll see how their attempt at growing as a school goes.
In three years, the A-Sun wil be different than it is now. I firmly believe that the Boulevard schools will leave and take their rivalry to another conference, I don't think we'll be around though I don't know where we'll end up, and I figure G-Webb will finally get full membership into the Big South.

No kidding. And that's not going to make it any better in basketball.

What the Atlantic Sun should do is focus on baseball and the Florida schools. Which is fine. Create your own niche. Allow the growing teams like Gulf Coast a chance to be able to make this leap.

But where does that leave us?

Big South is interesting. I championed the Big South when we got kicked out of the Southern for the fact that I felt the teams in it were on their way up- even VMI went there to better itself (in theory).

But you would have an old rival with VMI, you would have a natural rival in UNC-A, you would be playing teams close by that recruit here (Winthrop, for instance), and, if you ever wanted to, you could bring back football.

Actually, I don't think they'd have us without the gridiron.

Let me throw in my 2 cents worth...

The ASun is fine for a Division 2 school trying to move up. Kennesaw State is a joke. How many fans do they draw? Did you know the average ASun game draws less than 1,500 fans. The Southern draws about 2,500 and the OVC 3,000. There are Division II conferences that draw better than the ASun. What do you guess the average would be without ETSU's 4,400 per game?

No serious player will come to ETSU now that it's in the ASun. It would be like moving to a Division II conference. My hometown paper doesn't even cover ASun games, though they do cover OVC and Southern Conferences from time to time.

Two words are enought to explain the plight of the ASun: Tim Smith. He wouldn't have even made the all-conference team in the Southern Conference this year. Yet, he was MVP of the ASun. That's just plain sad.

No- Kev- don't call Kennesaw State a joke!

That's our new rival- remember?

This is a huge rebuilding year for the ASun -- We JUST lost 3 of our conference powers, and a 4th is on its way out (all for football reasons I believe) -- but it's going to get better each year from here on out.

You just can't expect a powerful basketball conference overnight after losing 3 members who had solid programs. Give it some time

Also, I'm pretty sure the A-Sun has the most recent NCAA Tournament win (2001), not the SoCon.

Oh, well, most recent tournament win.

The fact that C of C actually left the A-Sun, or whatever it was called then, to go to the SoCon is irrelevant.

I was talking about Georgia State in 01, but yea CofC must have won in the past is what you meant and then left..

And where is Georgia State now?

Bragging about that is like a So Con fan bragging about University of Tennessee football triumphs prior to 1932.

Hey, did you know that West Virginia went to the Final Four in 1959 out of the So Con?

But these are not valid talking points because they were accomplished by former members- just as bragging on Georgia State triumphs are not, either. They are gone and never coming back.

You're better off bragging on ETSU's Sweet 16 berth in '68 or Jacksonville's run in the tourney in '70.

Just got back from Florida.....so....

KSU a joke huh? Well this joke of a school beat you once this year. And I guarantee as we move further along in Div 1 we will beat you a lot more. I can sit here and whine like some of you ETSU fans about why KSU couldn't hold out on top till the end but if you're smart and honest you can probably figure that one out. Ya'll act like ETSU is some holier than thou school. Give me an F'n break. We can all talk about past accomplishments. KSU won a freakin Div 2 national championship, the only NCAA bball championship in the state of Georgia. But guess what, this is now. Do something now and I'll firmly agree with you. But for right now it looks like Belmont and Lipscomb own the jocks we( the other conference teams) should be sniffin.

See, when you say "A joke school beat you this year" it does nothing for us. We're not offended.

We know that ETSU sucks. And to be honest, it's not so much that we blame the A-Sun as it is that we blame our current administration.

Once we get rid of them, yeah, we'll probably get excited about this and that.

But as far as outrage goes- it speaks volumes when ETSU fans are talking about firing Murry Bartow after a 15-13 A-Sun season and not a 7-19 So Con year.

7-19 in the So Con is considered superior to 15-13 in the A-Sun.

Yes KSU did beat ETSU once this year but ETSU also drubbed KSU by 37 points!

The A-Sun is garbage baseball excluded. Pure and simple. Nice new empty gyms to play in sure, but that's all. It's garbage.

Where, exactly, are those new stadiums in the ASun? Every game I saw on tv looked like it was played in a church or middle school gym (no offense meant to churches or middle schools).

The saddest had to be Jacksonville. Why don't they just give up? And North Florida. My goodness.

And ETSU can't beat the teams in the league

Mercer, Lipscomp, Belmont and Kennesaw State all play in new gyms. Campbell will have a new gym in two-three years

you ETSU people really crack me up. you are so full of yourselves

I saw the "dream" stadium that Campbell "hopes" to build on the Campbell website. Wow, all of 3,000 seats! In this area, most high school gyms hold more than that.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. We're impressed with small new arenas at schools. A 3,000 seat arena is not big enough for a Division 1 school.

Again, according to NCAA stats, some Division II conferences outdraw ASun. That says a lot.

Once again. We don't want to be here. We've got nothing against the ASun. Our administration is trying to get rid of athletics (at least football & basketball) and the move to the ASun was the first step toward that end.

It drives us crazy!

You really have no clue. Why bulid a 5,000 seat area when 3,000 is all you need? Who cares if you want to be here or not, you act like you are better than the rest of the league and you are not.

Not better. Just in the wrong league. We're not blaming the league. This is what should be a division II conference pretending to be a division I conference.

Dont get the wrong idea. We're in here with you. No better than anyone else in the leage. We just want out!

You're right. You don't need a 5,000 seat arena. Florida Southern, Carson Newman, TX-AM Commerce. These are all division II schools with arenas about that size. That's where they belong.

No one blames these schools for wanting to be division I. ETSU wants to be UT. Georgia State wants to be Georgia. We've seen Marshall overtake WVU as an equal (at least to the people in West Virginia). We've seen Virginia Tech catch up with Virginia. These are all our old rivals. Not Tusculum, not Elon, not Carson Newman, not Savannah State, not West Georgia.

The Bucs stop here.

Although I understand the Cleveland Stadium problem of building an arena too big, I would think that with the opportunities a 5000 seat arena allows you'd want to do that over 3000.

3000 is a gym. With 5000 you can bring in concerts, ice shows, hockey, all sorts of things.

An oversized arena sucks as a home court advantage if you don't have enough students and fans to fill it. 2500 fans in a 6000 seat arena seems empty and quiet. If Durham had a 20,000 seat arena, would Duke ever play a game there? No. Home court advantage is all that matters. Who cares about ice shows?

Ice Shows are vastly superior to A-Sun basketball.

Yea, and Porter Gym helped us go 23-6 in 2002-03. Every game was sold out, made a huge difference

Actually, ETSU has had a wonderful record at Memorial Center- even in the games where there were 9,000 empty seats.

The team's the thing!

Yes, in '92, ETSU had the nation's longest homecourt win streak. They average about 8,400 fans in a 12,000 seat arena. Didn't have to be full. Just had to have a good team.

I watched them beat NC state in the best live game I've ever seen. That was the first of two (or was it three?) in a row for the bucs over NC state.

Chattanooga was always the biggest crowd. Though you'd draw well for NC State or Michigan State, the place would fill for Chattanooga. Oh, for the days! And who could forgot the "home court" crowds at UT. I drove up from Florida to watch ETSU beat UT in their first meeting at Thompson Bowling. Saw them beat them the following year, as well. The stadium was blue for both games.

Are the good times really over for good?

Who is anyone in the A-sun to lecture ETSU on empty seats?