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Post by unalions on Oct 5, 2021 10:53:32 GMT -6
We've complained about the lack of student interest for at least 10-15 years now. And UNA football attendance numbers haved steadily declined in that time period. Other than a handful of folks, I think the "rowdy student section" potential has faded in Florence.
Students are just living in a different age now than when I was in school there three decades ago. I just don't see students (and not just at UNA) now or in the future putting too much emphasis on attending sporting events and being engaged except at the largest of schools. And that's just because of the larger numbers of students. I'd venture to say most students now, even at SEC schools, couldn't care less about attending sporting events.
Which, brings up the elephant in the room. When will sports cease to be the "front porch" of a university? Will these trends cause schools to re-think the ROI of fielding certain teams or sports at all? I remember when NW-Shoals got rid of sports. I was shocked and pretty mad. The NW teams down in Phil Campbell were competitive when I attended there. But, now that they're gone, I don't see that it had much of a negative impact to do so.
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Post by brandon on Oct 5, 2021 11:05:50 GMT -6
We've complained about the lack of student interest for at least 10-15 years now. And UNA football attendance numbers haved steadily declined in that time period. Other than a handful of folks, I think the "rowdy student section" potential has faded in Florence. Students are just living in a different age now than when I was in school there three decades ago. I just don't see students (and not just at UNA) now or in the future putting too much emphasis on attending sporting events and being engaged except at the largest of schools. And that's just because of the larger numbers of students. I'd venture to say most students now, even at SEC schools, couldn't care less about attending sporting events. Which, brings up the elephant in the room. When will sports cease to be the "front porch" of a university? Will these trends cause schools to re-think the ROI of fielding certain teams or sports at all? I remember when NW-Shoals got rid of sports. I was shocked and pretty mad. The NW teams down in Phil Campbell were competitive when I attended there. But, now that they're gone, I don't see that it had much of a negative impact to do so. It's kinda negative, there actually talking about cutting programs now. I don't see NWSCC last too much longer. The state don't want it, they want to pump all their money in Wallace State and Southern Union. As for UNA, the school and the Athletic department need to give the students a legitimate reason to show up. Make it a challenge among frats and sororities... I also think the school needs to do some real, community pep rallies. Make the "fair weather" fans understand how important they are to the program. Create traditions. Shut down Court Street the night before a game and have one big pep rally and have the band there. We need to manufacture a culture and atmosphere that we have been lacking since 97 really. |
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Post by unalions on Oct 5, 2021 13:31:09 GMT -6
We've complained about the lack of student interest for at least 10-15 years now. And UNA football attendance numbers haved steadily declined in that time period. Other than a handful of folks, I think the "rowdy student section" potential has faded in Florence. Students are just living in a different age now than when I was in school there three decades ago. I just don't see students (and not just at UNA) now or in the future putting too much emphasis on attending sporting events and being engaged except at the largest of schools. And that's just because of the larger numbers of students. I'd venture to say most students now, even at SEC schools, couldn't care less about attending sporting events. Which, brings up the elephant in the room. When will sports cease to be the "front porch" of a university? Will these trends cause schools to re-think the ROI of fielding certain teams or sports at all? I remember when NW-Shoals got rid of sports. I was shocked and pretty mad. The NW teams down in Phil Campbell were competitive when I attended there. But, now that they're gone, I don't see that it had much of a negative impact to do so. It's kinda negative, there actually talking about cutting programs now. I don't see NWSCC last too much longer. The state don't want it, they want to pump all their money in Wallace State and Southern Union. As for UNA, the school and the Athletic department need to give the students a legitimate reason to show up. Make it a challenge among frats and sororities... I also think the school needs to do some real, community pep rallies. Make the "fair weather" fans understand how important they are to the program. Create traditions. Shut down Court Street the night before a game and have one big pep rally and have the band there. We need to manufacture a culture and atmosphere that we have been lacking since 97 really. I didn’t realize that about NWSCC. That would be sad to see. I think college attendance numbers will decline over the next few decades. There are so many ways to earn money now that don’t require college degrees. |
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Post by brandon on Oct 5, 2021 19:33:02 GMT -6
It's kinda negative, there actually talking about cutting programs now. I don't see NWSCC last too much longer. The state don't want it, they want to pump all their money in Wallace State and Southern Union. As for UNA, the school and the Athletic department need to give the students a legitimate reason to show up. Make it a challenge among frats and sororities... I also think the school needs to do some real, community pep rallies. Make the "fair weather" fans understand how important they are to the program. Create traditions. Shut down Court Street the night before a game and have one big pep rally and have the band there. We need to manufacture a culture and atmosphere that we have been lacking since 97 really. I didn’t realize that about NWSCC. That would be sad to see. I think college attendance numbers will decline over the next few decades. There are so many ways to earn money now that don’t require college degrees. Everything is backwards now, the jobs that used to be trade jobs or others like Firefighting, police and so on are moving towards having degrees and jobs that used to have to have degrees are now staring to do in house training... Kinda weird... |
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Post by unafied on Oct 6, 2021 6:09:48 GMT -6
I typed out a long rant on higher education in Alabama, but decided just to delete it. I don't want to get political.
I WILL say there's a lot of redundancy at places like NWSCC, at least at the Muscle Shoals campus, especially when a four-year university is practically in the same city. I took some "basics" in Muscle Shoals, and every class I took there was probably offered at UNA. But I was there because a.) I didn't know what I wanted to "do" yet, and b.) it was cheaper than UNA. I DO think kids in that same position would likely be better off at a four-year school, but I also know that education costs are out of control. It would be nice to maybe see schools like NWSCC just merge with the local university and cut down on some of the redundancy, and potentially lower tuition costs for everyone (yeah I'm dreaming). Personally, I would've appreciated having someone at NWSCC that could've talked to me about majors offered at UNA, then guided me towards taking classes I actually needed. I'm sure I took some that were later irrelevant to what I majored in.
Coincidentally, I saw in the TimesDaily that UNA's enrollment grew more over the last year than any other school in Alabama, with a 6.2% increase. We were actually one of only five four-year schools in the state to show an increase in fall enrollment. I can't really believe our athletics had anything to do with it, but it's nice to see. I think we should shoot for an eventual enrollment around 10,000.
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Post by brandon on Oct 6, 2021 7:38:37 GMT -6
I typed out a long rant on higher education in Alabama, but decided just to delete it. I don't want to get political. I WILL say there's a lot of redundancy at places like NWSCC, at least at the Muscle Shoals campus, especially when a four-year university is practically in the same city. I took some "basics" in Muscle Shoals, and every class I took there was probably offered at UNA. But I was there because a.) I didn't know what I wanted to "do" yet, and b.) it was cheaper than UNA. I DO think kids in that same position would likely be better off at a four-year school, but I also know that education costs are out of control. It would be nice to maybe see schools like NWSCC just merge with the local university and cut down on some of the redundancy, and potentially lower tuition costs for everyone (yeah I'm dreaming). Personally, I would've appreciated having someone at NWSCC that could've talked to me about majors offered at UNA, then guided me towards taking classes I actually needed. I'm sure I took some that were later irrelevant to what I majored in. Coincidentally, I saw in the TimesDaily that UNA's enrollment grew more over the last year than any other school in Alabama, with a 6.2% increase. We were actually one of only five four-year schools in the state to show an increase in fall enrollment. I can't really believe our athletics had anything to do with it, but it's nice to see. I think we should shoot for an eventual enrollment around 10,000. That's what the plan is as far as enrollment... Around 10k is a good number. That's why I would like to see dorms built into the stadium. My idea is a horseshoe stadium that holds 15k, set into dorms that surround the stadium in a horseshoe also. Leave the empty endzone side available for an area for standing room with tables so you can sit and eat. That end of the stadium can also eventually become the area of expansion if it is ever needed. The defacto home side will not be dorms, it will be press/luxury box seating. Below the press box will be the Souvenir store and UNA athletic hall of fame. Yes it would cost more to build, but your taking care of more than just a football stadium. I also think there are several residential blocks around campus that can be bought for things like a soccer field, band field and whatever else. I would like to see an indoor practice facility built on the current band field, a regular practice field were the baseball field is and a parking deck on the lot directly under flowers hall... You can get one bid to do it all... Including a new baseba stadium on Cox Creek. Baseball can play at NWSCC baseball field until it's done, it is still there and Muscle Shoals high school uses it if I'm not mistaken. |
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Post by unafied on Oct 6, 2021 8:42:48 GMT -6
I typed out a long rant on higher education in Alabama, but decided just to delete it. I don't want to get political. I WILL say there's a lot of redundancy at places like NWSCC, at least at the Muscle Shoals campus, especially when a four-year university is practically in the same city. I took some "basics" in Muscle Shoals, and every class I took there was probably offered at UNA. But I was there because a.) I didn't know what I wanted to "do" yet, and b.) it was cheaper than UNA. I DO think kids in that same position would likely be better off at a four-year school, but I also know that education costs are out of control. It would be nice to maybe see schools like NWSCC just merge with the local university and cut down on some of the redundancy, and potentially lower tuition costs for everyone (yeah I'm dreaming). Personally, I would've appreciated having someone at NWSCC that could've talked to me about majors offered at UNA, then guided me towards taking classes I actually needed. I'm sure I took some that were later irrelevant to what I majored in. Coincidentally, I saw in the TimesDaily that UNA's enrollment grew more over the last year than any other school in Alabama, with a 6.2% increase. We were actually one of only five four-year schools in the state to show an increase in fall enrollment. I can't really believe our athletics had anything to do with it, but it's nice to see. I think we should shoot for an eventual enrollment around 10,000. That's what the plan is as far as enrollment... Around 10k is a good number. That's why I would like to see dorms built into the stadium. My idea is a horseshoe stadium that holds 15k, set into dorms that surround the stadium in a horseshoe also. Leave the empty endzone side available for an area for standing room with tables so you can sit and eat. That end of the stadium can also eventually become the area of expansion if it is ever needed. The defacto home side will not be dorms, it will be press/luxury box seating. Below the press box will be the Souvenir store and UNA athletic hall of fame. Yes it would cost more to build, but your taking care of more than just a football stadium. I also think there are several residential blocks around campus that can be bought for things like a soccer field, band field and whatever else. I would like to see an indoor practice facility built on the current band field, a regular practice field were the baseball field is and a parking deck on the lot directly under flowers hall... You can get one bid to do it all... Including a new baseba stadium on Cox Creek. Baseball can play at NWSCC baseball field until it's done, it is still there and Muscle Shoals high school uses it if I'm not mistaken. I really wish the Mitchell-Hollingsworth facility could be convinced to move. Imagine having all that space for whatever we need. Overflow parking, intramural fields, or actually putting the stadium up there on the hill. Might be neat if it could be built where the open end of the horseshoe is looking back out over campus. Did you or someone else here mention the parking deck on the lot behind Flowers is likely to happen? I like the idea of building the campus "up" and covering surface parking. If you get creative you could even put dorms or classrooms (or anything else, really) on top of that structure. Another thought... if you build the deck back there, it would be nice to connect it directly to the back of Flowers so it would be possible to park your car and not need to walk back outside. Those steps leading up from Circular Road are brutal. I don't know how the back of the building is configured, but I wonder if you could build a new or at least secondary entrance back there, new concessions, restrooms, etc.? |
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Post by rabunlion on Oct 6, 2021 11:11:51 GMT -6
Like others I really worry about the space we have to work with via the current practice field / baseball field etc. Yes it would be awesome to be on our campus but worry especially from both a tailgating experience perspective but more importantly future growth to include other football facilities - indoor practice, weight rooms etc and the constraints on overall size/capacity. Won't be in my lifetime but would hate to constrain future generations if they ever have a desire to compete at a higher level. Yes totally agree with Unafied that the Mitchell-Hollingsworth site would be incredible just can't see why they'd sell or move.
I know it's been discussed countless times and even though it's prone to flooding (a lot) being at Shoalsfest this weekend I can only imagine what type of UNA football experience could be created at McFarland. So much space and having the River / O'Neal etc as a backdrop in some capacity....wow!...maybe down the road at of course a much different scale even create something like at Neyland (Vol Navy) or Seattle (Univ of Washington sailgating) or even what Baylor has recently done at their new stadium with boats. I recognize unfortunately the city has never really been all that supportive even though UNA is the largest employer and thus provider of tax revenue and in addition generates all kinds of money spent by students, parents, employees and their families and alumni in support of local restaurants, bars and hotels throughout the year. I know there will be a lot of disagreement with this thought but I can dream just like I can dream our football team would be 5-0 right now...
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Post by tuna85 on Oct 6, 2021 15:29:49 GMT -6
10K enrollment is a good number, short term. With the growth in North Alabama (particularly in Madison and Limestone counties), I would set my gaze on 12,500 to 15,000. Strong emphasis should be placed on recruiting students in the North Alabama counties. In Madison County, we seem to do well with the county schools. City Schools (James Clemens, Bob Jones, Grissom, Huntsville)...not so much. This needs to change.
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Post by unafied on Oct 7, 2021 6:36:00 GMT -6
Like others I really worry about the space we have to work with via the current practice field / baseball field etc. Yes it would be awesome to be on our campus but worry especially from both a tailgating experience perspective but more importantly future growth to include other football facilities - indoor practice, weight rooms etc and the constraints on overall size/capacity. Won't be in my lifetime but would hate to constrain future generations if they ever have a desire to compete at a higher level. Yes totally agree with Unafied that the Mitchell-Hollingsworth site would be incredible just can't see why they'd sell or move. I know it's been discussed countless times and even though it's prone to flooding (a lot) being at Shoalsfest this weekend I can only imagine what type of UNA football experience could be created at McFarland. So much space and having the River / O'Neal etc as a backdrop in some capacity....wow!...maybe down the road at of course a much different scale even create something like at Neyland (Vol Navy) or Seattle (Univ of Washington sailgating) or even what Baylor has recently done at their new stadium with boats. I recognize unfortunately the city has never really been all that supportive even though UNA is the largest employer and thus provider of tax revenue and in addition generates all kinds of money spent by students, parents, employees and their families and alumni in support of local restaurants, bars and hotels throughout the year. I know there will be a lot of disagreement with this thought but I can dream just like I can dream our football team would be 5-0 right now... No disagreement from me, I'd love to see something like that. There are ways to build in a flood plain, but I'm guessing the costs would be too high. It's a shame. The Shoals area could do so much more with the river. |
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Post by unafied on Oct 7, 2021 6:41:38 GMT -6
10K enrollment is a good number, short term. With the growth in North Alabama (particularly in Madison and Limestone counties), I would set my gaze on 12,500 to 15,000. Strong emphasis should be placed on recruiting students in the North Alabama counties. In Madison County, we seem to do well with the county schools. City Schools (James Clemens, Bob Jones, Grissom, Huntsville)...not so much. This needs to change. Absolutely. Do you feel like we promote ourselves enough in Huntsville? The way it and even Athens and Decatur are growing, we should be able to pull tons of students from there. And maybe we do. I'm just a dummy on the internet, what do I know. I've said it before and will say it again, we need to play games in a variety of sports in Huntsville from time to time. Alabama does it in basketball, why shouldn't we? I think it's a great promotional tool. When it comes to recruiting (not just athletes but all students), I'm all for being creative. We have a lot of competition. |
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Post by unaman on Oct 7, 2021 7:19:20 GMT -6
10K enrollment is a good number, short term. With the growth in North Alabama (particularly in Madison and Limestone counties), I would set my gaze on 12,500 to 15,000. Strong emphasis should be placed on recruiting students in the North Alabama counties. In Madison County, we seem to do well with the county schools. City Schools (James Clemens, Bob Jones, Grissom, Huntsville)...not so much. This needs to change. Absolutely. Do you feel like we promote ourselves enough in Huntsville? The way it and even Athens and Decatur are growing, we should be able to pull tons of students from there. And maybe we do. I'm just a dummy on the internet, what do I know. I've said it before and will say it again, we need to play games in a variety of sports in Huntsville from time to time. Alabama does it in basketball, why shouldn't we? I think it's a great promotional tool. When it comes to recruiting (not just athletes but all students), I'm all for being creative. We have a lot of competition. I feel like we do an OK job at recruiting and advertising in Huntsville/Madison. The "better off" families will always send their kids to the Alabama's and Auburn's, as IMO, they look down on UNA and feel that they will get a better education and different opportunities at Alabama/Auburn (note I said different not necessarily better). Plus for the most part, the big schools in Madison have similar athletic/campus atmosphere to UNA already. Some of Huntsville city schools have high school sororities. Also, they may feel they want to go to a bigger city/atmosphere and Florence would be downsizing. We do advertise in the new Trash Panda stadium with having our UNA sign on top of each dugout. I would love to see UNA get to 15k, but I agree that 12k would be the ultimate goal. Apartments/dorms would need to be built. I really wish they would tear down Rice/Rivers instead of renovating them. That's a good amount of space for a nice dining hall/rec center. On the topic of McFarland, I bet UNA has looked at it before, but the city probably doesn't want to give that land up to put a stadium. Also as noted, I'm sure the cost to bring it up out of Flood Zone is outrageous. |
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Post by unafied on Oct 7, 2021 7:50:57 GMT -6
Absolutely. Do you feel like we promote ourselves enough in Huntsville? The way it and even Athens and Decatur are growing, we should be able to pull tons of students from there. And maybe we do. I'm just a dummy on the internet, what do I know. I've said it before and will say it again, we need to play games in a variety of sports in Huntsville from time to time. Alabama does it in basketball, why shouldn't we? I think it's a great promotional tool. When it comes to recruiting (not just athletes but all students), I'm all for being creative. We have a lot of competition. I feel like we do an OK job at recruiting and advertising in Huntsville/Madison. The "better off" families will always send their kids to the Alabama's and Auburn's, as IMO, they look down on UNA and feel that they will get a better education and different opportunities at Alabama/Auburn (note I said different not necessarily better). Plus for the most part, the big schools in Madison have similar athletic/campus atmosphere to UNA already. Some of Huntsville city schools have high school sororities. Also, they may feel they want to go to a bigger city/atmosphere and Florence would be downsizing. We do advertise in the new Trash Panda stadium with having our UNA sign on top of each dugout. I would love to see UNA get to 15k, but I agree that 12k would be the ultimate goal. Apartments/dorms would need to be built. I really wish they would tear down Rice/Rivers instead of renovating them. That's a good amount of space for a nice dining hall/rec center. On the topic of McFarland, I bet UNA has looked at it before, but the city probably doesn't want to give that land up to put a stadium. Also as noted, I'm sure the cost to bring it up out of Flood Zone is outrageous. I didn't know we had the advertising in the Trash Panda stadium. That's great. Agree with you on the "stigma". I guess it is what it is. The bigger the Huntsville metro grows, there will still be a decent percentage of families that do think we are a good fit. Just have to reach them and convince them. Rice and Rivers were horrible 20 years ago when I first started at UNA. I can't imagine living there now. If they renovate them, hopefully it's a full gutting and rebuild of the inside. |
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Post by unafan on Oct 7, 2021 9:39:52 GMT -6
What do people think about the old ECM property ? It is just sitting there as a greenspace now. There is relatively good access in and out of the area and a lot of space. It is also close to downtown and campus.
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Post by brandon on Oct 7, 2021 11:11:12 GMT -6
What do people think about the old ECM property ? It is just sitting there as a greenspace now. There is relatively good access in and out of the area and a lot of space. It is also close to downtown and campus. To my knowledge, UNA wanted to do that, but the people who live around it don't want the stadium build there. They say it will lower their property value. |
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