#82. Pretty good when you look down the list and see some of the teams we beat.
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Notre Dame
Texas Tech
Auburn
Wilmington
UGa
California
and...
BRADLEY?!
Fan1.. If you believe ETSU can beat the teams you listed, you are truley fan1.
I don't know who did the rankings, but I need a drink of whatever they had when they put the list together.
No no no. It's how the programs stack up since 84-85, not this year. They came up with a formula and entered the teams information in to it, and came up with this list.
Fan1.. If you believe ETSU can beat the teams you listed, you are truley fan1.
I don't know who did the rankings, but I need a drink of whatever they had when they put the list together.
We all know the home court is a great advantage.. most college teams do not win many games on the road.. in the past couple of years we came very close to getting UT and Auburn ON THEIR COURTS..we blew out UGA on a neutral court..The exception is Vandy from that list ..they pretty much killed us on their floor..I don't remember when we last played any of the other teams listed???
Fan1.. If you believe ETSU can beat the teams you listed, you are truley fan1.
I don't know who did the rankings, but I need a drink of whatever they had when they put the list together.
We all know the home court is a great advantage.. most college teams do not win many games on the road.. in the past couple of years we came very close to getting UT and Auburn ON THEIR COURTS..we blew out UGA on a neutral court..The exception is Vandy from that list ..they pretty much killed us on their floor..I don't remember when we last played any of the other teams listed???
Now I remember, we played Texas Tech in a good game at their place in recent years!!! These rankings are based on several years showing how programs rank.. not this year or last year only..So some of the A Sun teams like Belmont and Lipscomb are not included
I'm not going to beat this horse. I'm just going to say, it shows how far we have fallen.
Proponents of the current staff & administration remind us that ETSU doesn't beat good teams. It was just a fluke for 2 or 3 years in the early 90s. 15 year stats don't lie.
It is amazing to me that even when ESPN publishes a ranking, there are those on here that disceredit, deny, and spin the numbers. No one is saying we could beat the teams ranked ahead of us. A conservative interpretation of this ranking would simply say that ETSU's basketball program has performed in the top 100 over the last 23 + years. One can argue the methodology that ESPN used to arrive at these numbers, but I find it hard to believe that it was calculated in a highly subjective way. I'd bet that the person(s) who performed/published ranking has never even seen an ETSU game.
Come on people, lets at least be reasonable when critiquing the athletic program. The overall ranking of the ASUN is something to be critical of for sure. This ranking is something to be extremely proud of...
Absolutely a great "unbiased" ranking that gives some perspective to just how good a program we have enjoyed over the years. For our "fans" to get on here a poo-poo the ranking just shows how blinded they are with football hate and unwilling to take a clear look at what has been accomplished over the years.
Some may want to point to the 90s as the reason we are ranked so high, but so what! I think there are a lot of teams on the list that would take the ranking we have here. Some of them are mentioned above. I'd also like to point out the teams that got exactly ZERO points (including several SoCon teams and the great Appalachian State).
To Kevster or anyone else, eat the crow and enjoy it. You may want to put down the program today, but even the 24 win season of two years ago and the NIT berth garnered points in this ranking. So apparently ASun wins are still good enough for ESPN. Take up your concerns with the folks from Bristol, Conn.
Otherwise, congrats to the Bucs!
I really don't see anything to be ashamed of here. #82 out of 300+ teams. You can spin this anyway you want but if we were still in the Socon I can almost guarantee our ranking wouldn't be any higher. Only 3 Socon teams beat us (Chattanooga, C of C and Davidson) and those three deserve to be ahead of us when consider the number of winning seasons they have had in 24 years. What hurt us the most in these rankings are those 3 miserable seasons we had in the late 90's (96, 97, 98) and not being in the A-Sun like most people might want to believe. Like Fan said we beat some pretty good teams. Unless I am missing one ETSU beat out every single CAA team except for Old Dominion who was 76 and we even beat Kev's favorite team by almost 20 spots.
BTW I think someone should send this link over to the Bradley fans.
By the way I posted this elsewhere on the main A-Sun board, but to put into perspective just how good the basketball has been at ETSU over the last 25 years, here is a quick list of teams ETSU has beaten since 1984-85:
NC State (3 times), Tennessee (twice), Xavier, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, East Carolina, Virginia Tech, Arizona (in the NCAAs), Mississippi State, Brigham Young, Southern Miss, George Mason, Fresno State and Georgia. Not a bad list.
And make a note that three of those wins (Tech, Fres. State and Georgia) have come in the last 6 or 7 years.
Sure, there are better teams RIGHT now (Tennessee comes to mind), but over a consistent 25 years the Bucs haven't been bad at all.
We should be proud of this ranking. To beat UT and Vandy given their resources and local sports population bases.
Anyone who feels like mixing it up, go to the Bradley fans board. They are pretty civil, but call that ranking bogus.
http://bradleyfans.com
The banners will be unfolded for this one!!
Sure, there are better teams RIGHT now (Tennessee comes to mind), but over a consistent 25 years the Bucs haven't been bad at all.
Precisely.
Only ETSU fans would rejoice that 81 teams have been better than they have been during the past 25 years.
EIGHTY-ONE!!!!
Not even the field of 65!
Really? I guess thats why Bradley fans are kind of happy to be 101st.
Hey Pitt, weren't you the one on here a while back promoting ETSU's total of seven NCAA trips as better than 70 percent of the team's in the country? I would say that leave 30 percent of the teams out there ranked higher than us -- but you were proud of that.
We've agreed in the past that aiming high is always the way to go, but you have to agree that put in some perspective this ESPN ranking is a good thing for ETSU athletics. And the Bucs ranked about where they did in those numbers you had promoted.
Only ETSU fans would rejoice that 81 teams have been better than they have been during the past 25 years.
EIGHTY-ONE!!!!
Not even the field of 65!
Where did you go to college, Pitts????????
To Kevster or anyone else, eat the crow and enjoy it. You may want to put down the program today, but even the 24 win season of two years ago and the NIT berth garnered points in this ranking. So apparently ASun wins are still good enough for ESPN. Take up your concerns with the folks from Bristol, Conn.
Otherwise, congrats to the Bucs!
I don't know why I'd eat crow. I was saying that the Bucs have had a good team over the past two decades. I only pointed out how much better our rankings were in the 80s, 90s and early 00s than they have been the past 3 or 4 years.
I accept your apology, 02.
No apology here. Are you wearing orange today, Benedict? Just checking.
No apology here. Are you wearing orange today, Benedict? Just checking.
Actually, yellow and blue. But I did have lunch with dept. head at UT today. I got together with the head of the same dept. at ETSU about 3 weeks ago. Oh, even was at a lunch with Stanton that week. Was all I could do to hold my tongue. However, his right hand man told me how much he missed the "good old days" of basketball at ETSU.
It kills you that I've found an athletic program to follow, doesn't it? I also like Appy State and Western KY, two programs ETSU would be wise to emulate. Apparently football hasn't caused either of them (which have grown to much larger institutions that ETSU over the past 15 years) financial difficulties.
So, do you have any plans for the next three months?
68- ETSU.
Why the hell else would I be on here?
02- I did reveal that ETSU had been to the NCAAs more than about 2/3 currently in Division I.
However, let's put that into context.
To me, that shows me that ETSU can make it IF they put their resources into an effort to become a major men's basketball player.
I don't know if they'll ever be able to be North Carolina, but I think ETSU could strive to be the sort of program that can advance to a conference that gets at-large bids and is nationally ranked if the right plan was implemented.
That's the message seven NCAAs send.
What ETSU wants to do with this say "WHOO-HOO! WE'RE NO. 82! WE'RE NO. 82! WE'RE NO. 82!"
Look how good we are! We're No. 82! We're doing such a great job!
Why, we're better than Vandy! We're better than UT- TENNESSEE- THE STANDARD IN WHICH ALL TEAMS EVERYWHERE ARE JUDGED BY- AND WE'RE BETTER THAN THEY ARE!
Insert MotherDucker moan here in the voice of any administration member you choose.
ETSU has gone so far as to PUT THIS RANKING ON THEIR WEBSITE AND, EVIDENTLY, ISSUE THE RELEASE TO THE LOCAL MEDIA TO CROW ON BEING NO. 82!!!!
The other teams ETSU was tied with, Kent State, Ball State, and South Alabama, have not done so. Evidently, despite the fact KSU could use as much pub as ETSU does in the shadow of Cleveland, they do not think being No. 82 is so great, especially only a few seasons removed from the Elite Eight.
For the ETSU administration to brag on being No. 82 speaks of their desperation, or at the very least of being resigned to a mid-major status.
Example- Princeton has listed the fact they're No. 40 on their website, but as of this writing St. John's is not crowing on being No. 33 or whatever they are.
ETSU is now bragging on being No. 82 and having their softball stadium being built on time. The fact this actually looks like an accomplishment speaks of needing to blow the whole department up and starting over, because everyone else is laughing at them.
This is a happy-sad ranking in my opinion. I am very happy that we ranked as high as we did and it clearly generates some pride. The sad part is reflecting on Joe's following comment...
"Much of ETSU’s scoring came back in what the program’s fans call the “good old days,” when crowds filled Memorial Center."
Frankly, I am surprised the Pirate Club allowed that to be printed.
Chatt is WAY ahead of etsu and they've still got football.
The ETSU spindoctors.....trying to relate the past to now.
ETSU athletics are nowhere near what they were four years ago, let alone what they were in the 90's and early 2000's.
The "Glory Days" have been wiped out by mini minds and mini sports.
Chatt is WAY ahead of etsu and they've still got football.
UTC is also in/closer to larger population bases and they are funded through the UT system not the TBR, (i.e., they have more money and access to money). I would bet their football program loses large sums of money that the UT system funds.
That's fine, but I'm sure the athletic department as a whole loses money, as they do at most Tennessee colleges and universities.
I think it was reported that only 19 college football programs made money last year. Maybe that's a bit off, but it's not as if 190 programs made money. I doubt Appalachian State makes money.
We've often wondered why ETSU was kicked out of the So Con (or took themselves out when it was apparent they would be kicked out) when the So Con welcomed back Davidson.
I think the reasons are plentiful- for one thing Davidson football was a drag on the conference whereas ETSU football- though not championship caliber- was at least competitive. The 2002 Bucs even began the season ranked eighth in Division I-AA.
For another, Davidson did bring back football on a non-scholarship level.
But the main thing, and I think even moreso than the decision to kick out VMI a few years earlier, was that the So Con wanted to send the message to Chattanooga "Now don't you get any ideas!"
"UTC is also in/closer to larger population bases and they are funded through the UT system not the TBR, (i.e., they have more money and access to money). I would bet their football program loses large sums of money that the UT system funds. "
WTF does being associated with the UT system have to do with the price of tea in Chattanooga Athletics?? Both systems are still under the THEC system and no state funds can be directed toward athletics. I'd think before I'd type if you want to worry about the UT tag on a program, they butter their bread just like any other athletic program at this level.
If etsu had done their damn job 15 years ago and kept some continunity in the way athletics should be viewed on your campus, etsu wouldn't be in this mess, so to be "peachy" with this crap of a "countdown" and think that anyone thinks that etsu is the same NOW as it was FIVE years ago is insane. Riding on the "past" is all that etsu has right now, it's literally the only thing keeping to doors open in that pathetic excuse of a program.
I wish folks would stop pining over what Les and Eddie did and look across the mountain at the record season ticket sales of the three time defending national champs... but OMG, we wouldn't want to be the model that actually elevated our regional University, would we!?? ohhh... I forgot, we are the model of WHATNOTTODO.
"UTC is also in/closer to larger population bases and they are funded through the UT system not the TBR, (i.e., they have more money and access to money). I would bet their football program loses large sums of money that the UT system funds. "
WTF does being associated with the UT system have to do with the price of tea in Chattanooga Athletics?? Both systems are still under the THEC system and no state funds can be directed toward athletics. I'd think before I'd type if you want to worry about the UT tag on a program, they butter their bread just like any other athletic program at this level.
If etsu had done their damn job 15 years ago and kept some continunity in the way athletics should be viewed on your campus, etsu wouldn't be in this mess, so to be "peachy" with this crap of a "countdown" and think that anyone thinks that etsu is the same NOW as it was FIVE years ago is insane. Riding on the "past" is all that etsu has right now, it's literally the only thing keeping to doors open in that pathetic excuse of a program.
I wish folks would stop pining over what Les and Eddie did and look across the mountain at the record season ticket sales of the three time defending national champs... but OMG, we wouldn't want to be the model that actually elevated our regional University, would we!?? ohhh... I forgot, we are the model of WHATNOTTODO.
Have not been on in a while.......where to start?
I worked for 12 years at ETSU and for many of those handled money. It doesn't matter if THEC says that no state funds will be used for athletics, the money for the programs must come from somewhere. Most if not all programs (departments) are under funded at ETSU. When we would meet with the same departments at meetings where other universities would attend; after we discussed what funding we had to work with they always looked at our feet to see if we had shoes. When you do not have a stable source of yearly funding you have to take make up for the lack of money from other sources.
The Univ. of Memphis (another TBR school) is in a similar situation in terms of state funding. Their football program has two things going for it: 1. The program is located in a metropolitan area of 1 million. 2. A good basketball program. The U of M's football team averages just under 30K per game (for the liberty bowl that is just under half full). The Memphis football program lost around 2 million last year I think? Traditionally the basketball program makes up the difference, I don't think they made as much last year, don't know why? But the point is the money has to come from somewhere.
When you have to use money from donations for day to day operations you are not only breaking a fundimental rule of finance, but jumping in with both feet in a type of ponzi scheme that is hard to sustain. The UT system has traditionally received much more dollars in state funding (per student) over the years than the TBR, I'm assuming that UTC would benefit from that? If UTC has access to more state funding than ETSU they would be better able to sustain programs of all types not just athletics. The amount of dollars is finite, I think the state funds less than 50% of the cost of a student now, and to make up the difference you have to use outside sources and that is where the competition begins. Do we shut down a department or two to make up the 1 - 2 million dollars football puts us in the hole? You still have to find the other 50% of the cost of educating your regular students. So the THEC only protects less than 50% of the cost of education, where is the other 50% going to come from? I would like to know if UTC has access to donations to the larger UT system, I would bet that they do.
How this fits together is hard to describe in print and I'm sure my failure as a writer doesn't help. If we were talking face to face I would draw you a picture.
Interesting NET Tiger, so what's the story with MTSU, TTU and TSU football? How are they able to keep their programs afloat?
02- I did reveal that ETSU had been to the NCAAs more than about 2/3 currently in Division I.
However, let's put that into context.
To me, that shows me that ETSU can make it IF they put their resources into an effort to become a major men's basketball player.
I don't know if they'll ever be able to be North Carolina, but I think ETSU could strive to be the sort of program that can advance to a conference that gets at-large bids and is nationally ranked if the right plan was implemented.
That's the message seven NCAAs send.
What ETSU wants to do with this say "WHOO-HOO! WE'RE NO. 82! WE'RE NO. 82! WE'RE NO. 82!"
Look how good we are! We're No. 82! We're doing such a great job!
Why, we're better than Vandy! We're better than UT- TENNESSEE- THE STANDARD IN WHICH ALL TEAMS EVERYWHERE ARE JUDGED BY- AND WE'RE BETTER THAN THEY ARE!
Insert MotherDucker moan here in the voice of any administration member you choose.
ETSU has gone so far as to PUT THIS RANKING ON THEIR WEBSITE AND, EVIDENTLY, ISSUE THE RELEASE TO THE LOCAL MEDIA TO CROW ON BEING NO. 82!!!!
The other teams ETSU was tied with, Kent State, Ball State, and South Alabama, have not done so. Evidently, despite the fact KSU could use as much pub as ETSU does in the shadow of Cleveland, they do not think being No. 82 is so great, especially only a few seasons removed from the Elite Eight.
For the ETSU administration to brag on being No. 82 speaks of their desperation, or at the very least of being resigned to a mid-major status.
Example- Princeton has listed the fact they're No. 40 on their website, but as of this writing St. John's is not crowing on being No. 33 or whatever they are.
ETSU is now bragging on being No. 82 and having their softball stadium being built on time. The fact this actually looks like an accomplishment speaks of needing to blow the whole department up and starting over, because everyone else is laughing at them.
You might want to clarify your use of the initials "KSU". Everyone in college athletics immediately thinks of Kennesaw State University when they see those initials...not Kent State, or even Kansas State.
Next time make sure you clarify so no one is confused. 
Thanks, KB. I was confused.
But even more so by the YELLOW letters. I had to get my spectrometer out to read your note.
Tiger, let me fill you in - UTK does not "share" their donations with the other schools in the UT system. UTC does not have access to the goldmine up at Neyland stadium, trust me. You might have a small point that with UTC being in Chattanooga, they have access to a larger city that's willing to partner with them in building facilities like the Roundhouse and Finley (?), but other than that, UTC gets nothing more than the "UT" part from UT. If you've got facts showing otherwise, ante up, but from all the research I've done in the past few years, I've seen nothing suggesting otherwise.
I'm not sure I buy the "It's easier for Chattanooga to draw" theory.
Chattanooga might be bigger, but by how much? So the Tri-Cities are spread out- this is actually one of the things that makes me like the area (okay, yes, I mentioned a positive about the area. Now let's never speak of that again).
I look at this metro area with tremendous growth opportunities. But you could DOUBLE the size of the population here and you still wouldn't have to build development on the farms in Gray. That's something not too many metro areas will have.
Point is, Chattanooga is something like the 90th largest media market and the Tri is 100 (give or take). That's not that big of a discrepancy.
How much more does Chattanooga draw, anyway? I remember ETSU drawing bigger crowds for football in the 90s than what was at Chamberlain Field.
Jacksonville is a huge town in terms of land area. How does that figure into a potential attendance draw for the Dolphins?
If you can get 150,000 people to go to a NASCAR race in Bristol, there is a way to get 10,000 for basketball game in Johnson City- the density of the population be damned.
Yeah but people arent coming from Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin to go to ETSU basketball games.
And we aren't talking about drawing 150,000 for ETSU basketball games, either.
I think the stat is that 70 percent of the crowd at Bristol comes from more than 100 miles away.
Now, that means that 50,000 people come from the area where ETSU can draw from.
A NASCAR fan and a basketball fan are two different animals, but doesn't it stand to reason that if 45,000 people will come to the NASCAR race then 10,000 to an ETSU game isn't such an unreasonable goal?
If anyone wants to look up attendance figures, ETSU actually has drawn 8-11k several times even as far back as Sonny and the OVC. The adminisration didn't kept the ball rolling, as they let the program drop to the bottom several times.
With the current facility seating capacity reduced and the A-Suck conference providing most of the games, ETSU wouldn't see 5-6k fans on a regular basis for at least 8-10 years, if then.
Of course Paulie talks of a 6k arena. Shows what he thinks of our basketball program, poor.
Ten, I agree wholeheartedly.
The thing is for a new administration to come in and change the mindset.
A 6k facility is all you'll need for the A-Sun. A 10,000 seat capacity is what you will need if you desire to be a real player in hoops.
Not to mention the other activities a new arena would deliver.
Well that is just a silly agrument trying to use NASCAR numbers to say ETSU should draw a bigger crowd. It like comparing Watermelons to grapes. NASCAR is an event a twice a year thing that people plan for. Basketball games are happening 1-2 a week at a particular school and every night of the week somewhere during the season. Plus inside that 100 mile radius you are saying ETSU should draw from contains other DIV I universities such as UT, Appy St and UNC-Asheville plus the 100 miles of ETSU would overlap the 100 mile radius of at least a couple of dozen more, not mention DIV II, NAIA and yes High Schools. Plus I sure as hell am not going to drive 3-4 hours round trip on a regular basis to see a basketball game.Yes ETSU should draw more but not because NASCAR can draw a 150,000 to Bristol, it is in no way a valid point supporting your position
In many ways UTC is in worse shape than ETSU.
They are a step-child to UTK, & UTK controls the air they breathe.
Chattanooga is also much more of a die-hard SEC town than Johnson City.
Football attendance for UTC is pitiful. ETSU only had to contend with UTK & VA Tech. UTC is within 150 miles of UTK, UGA, GA Tech & Vandy (well 3 out of 4 ain't bad). There are also a number of Auburn & Alabama alumni in the area (& they may well be within 150 miles as well). A tradition in the Chattanooga area is that for the UT-Alabama game & also more recently the UT-Georgia game, the traveling band stops in at a park downtown for a pep rally at Friday lunch. I don't recollect seeing such an event for UTC.
The Chattanooga basketball attendance is helped because they have produced more consistent winners than ETSU. In years where they have been down (like recently), they have struggled with attendance as well.
Faculty members down here point to ETSU as being a "step up" because the dropped football.
If they only knew!
On the plus side for Chattanooga, there's a lot more money down here to go around, and donors aren't shy about giving to UTC & their SEC school of choice.
As long as the Division I-AA Championship Game is in Chattanooga, I can't see the Mocs dropping football. Too nice of a yard.
Rod- I believe I stated that NASCAR and basketball fans are different animals.
But let's cut to the chase. Are you saying consistent attendances of 10,000 fans aren't a reasonable goal for ETSU?
I mean, what else do we have around here?