It's obvious, from all the talk about the resurrection of football and basketball at ETSU, that the Bucs will be moving conferences within the next three years. Whether football returns or not (and I think it probably will) I'm not sure we can survive if we stay members of the ASun that long. Maybe we could just pretend we're an "independent" between now and then, ignoring the games in these converted middle school gyms in Jacksonville and other locations.
My guess is that ETSU will drop their coach, Murray Bartow, by then. It will be time to wipe the slate clean. New coaches, ideas and players. It will probably be another six years or so before the bucs can rise back to their pre-ASun prominence. I don't think a lot of people realize how dropping to a lower level conference can demoralize and destroy a program.
Here's my chant. Go Bucs in 2012! That may be the best we can hope for.
Not everyone can play in a glorious converted airplane hanger.
The difference between ETSU and the A-Sun schools, is if we had the Curb Center, or Lipscomb's gym, or G-Webb's place, or any of your facilities, we would have sell-outs every night with a demand for tickets. If the attendance figures at A-Sun schools were even close to ours, both Nashville schools, Mercer, G-Webb, Campbell, Stetson, JU, UNF, and KSU would all average sellouts and then some. JU would have standing room only crowds, and could justify playing in the big arena off campus.
I'm sorry- where was the A-Sun Tournament held last year?
That hangar is considered the premier facility of the conference by the A-Sun officials.
From what I've seen - and I haven't seen every venue in the ASun - ETSU has the best facility. That ain't saying much. The ASun plays in a bunch of high school type gyms.
I don't want to hear about the beautiful 5,000 seat facilities at Belmont and Lipscomb. They're simliar to Freedom Hall, only smaller, where Science Hill High School plays, in Johnson City. I believe it seats 7,000 or so.
Remember in the early 90s when ETSU had the nation's longest home court winning streak. No one complained about the facilities. Friends would go up with me from Knoxville and always come back saying "why can't we have an atmosphere like that at UT?" The dome was rocking in those days. The ASun took the rock out of the dome, for sure.
Apparently you've not been in the Curb Center. I can promise you it's a HELL of alot nicer than Freedom hall. As far as amenities and overrall experience for watching a game, it blows ETSU away.
We got the A-Sun tourney for joining the league, as a way to keep us there for more than a year. I just think that we'll host this year, add football, play one more year there, and leave.
Well lover, we can only hope.
If all these bouters open up their wallets a little bit it can happen.
I'd guess that if every "bouter" in the world donated to ETSU football, it wouldn't add up to a penny.
Speaking of bad basketball coaches, I believe Barry Dowd not only brought our record down to an all-time low, but also got ETSU on probation. I might be dreaming, but I believe we were barred from postseason play after he left for recruiting violations.
I believe you are correct. Somewhere in my memory is that the probation was because someone bought a player a pair of basketball shoes. Again if I remember correctly, same year Memphis fan buys a Memphis player a car. ETSU gets probation, Memphis gets a wink and a nod. I love the NCAA (said sarcastically).
If others have better memories please help me out!
The fact still remains - ETSU could NOT hang with A-Sun teams with a SoCon recruited team. If you want to lose more games in a bigger conference, go right ahead.. just don't expect results for realistically 15-25 years. (If you want to become a powerhouse).
As for the gyms, you're forgetting one key fact -- The size of the student body. Mercer's state of the art gym seats 3100 roughly. That's more seats than undergrad students. It just makes sense.
Now I do agree that a bigger conference would be nice, and of course I wouldn't mind if Mercer stepped up - regardless of their basketball record. However, ETSU did absolutely nothing to prove they should be moving anywhere.
Mercerfan,
ETSU didn't have a SoCon recruited team. It was a well known fact that ETSU's conference affiliation was uncertain for two years before the move to the ASun.
You are proving our points. ETSU went from a AP poll of 25-30, to not being able to compete in the second or third worst basketball conference in the nation. All while the fans were told that ETSU would be upgrading our "flagship" sport.
Can you see the source of frustration for the fans? This isn't about the ASun, the same sentiment would abound if ETSU were in the Big South or frankly it might abound if ETSU were still in the SoCon. This just isn't the picture that was painted for the ETSU fans.
This isn't about the A-Sun at all.
Preach on, Doctor! Mercer understands our plight. Too many of us have explained it to him. It's just a matter of accepting it. We all know that the ASun isn't anywhere near the Southern (or the OVC, or even the Big South for that matter). It is what it is.
We all know that we were promised more. And we weren't. We all know we will continue to fall until we leave this conference. No, Mercer, it's not the conference that's making us fall. That's just a symptom of the disease. Along with accepting a less than mediocre conference, we've accepted a less than mediocre coach, schedule and fan base.
I used to attend ETSU games regularly, although it meant a two-hour drive at best. I used to get groups of UT fans together and we'd fill up a sports bar to watch an ETSU game on tv. I used to go to Johnson City and speak to the students on alumni day. I suspect just the way I've lost all enthusiasm for this team, thousands of others like me have done the same. Meaning we've also lost enthusiasm for our university.
Winning the ASun every year wouldn't do anything to bring it back. Beating a #1 baseball team, even a few times, wouldn't do anything to bring it back. Winning a golf or cross country championship won't bring it back. Basketball has always been our sport.
Yea it has, that became the problem. Mullins and Stanton listened to the basketball coach (and the golf coach), and convinced them that football was a detriment and dropping it was a great idea. We dropped it and DeChellis left for his greener pastures in Pa... I can't wait til their fans get sick of him. Maybe he'll get to read that he's getting dropped in the paper like the students and coaches did on the football team at ETSU.