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Post by unafied on Feb 22, 2018 8:07:30 GMT -6
I have a lot of family connections to Alabama, so I was watching them play Auburn in basketball last night. There is really nothing like a good rivalry game in basketball where the crowd stays in it the entire game. The game last night was certainly that way.
Thinking about our basketball program going forward, I'm extremely excited at the chance to play some, shall we say, "better known" teams. Hopefully we will get our chance to play some SEC teams or mid-majors from our region. I can think of a lot of schools within maybe a 3 hour drive that we could try to regularly schedule. Is it possible we can develop a true, long-lasting rivalry with one? For the past couple of decades we've maybe had that with UAH, but I'm not sure any of the other GSC schools in that time frame felt like anything more than a conference rival. As in, yeah we want to beat them to do well in the conference, we just don't have that desire to really beat them. The UAH rivalry seemed to be lopsided towards one school more often than not.
I was born in the 80s, so I can't speak for much before the '91 championship season. I've heard the "old days" of playing Jacksonville and Troy at Flowers were great games with great atmospheres. Were they, or is this just a case of some folks remembering what they want to (I tend to believe they were great games/atmospheres FWIW)? If we were to routinely schedule JSU and Troy again going forward, can we recapture that magic? Times change and people change, so I just wonder if people would care as much about those games as they did 30+ years ago.
Is it better to look to our new conference to find a rival? Lipscomb has a pretty good program year in and year out. They are close enough that both schools should be able to send fans to away games. I tend to believe that proximity is important. You need to be able to interact with the rival fans in some capacity to really make things heat up. It would be great to challenge Florida Gulf Coast right out of the gate for a conference title, but will we learn to "hate" them?
Obviously a lot of us are dissatisfied with the direction of our men's program. I'm not trying to necessarily bring that up, though you DO have to win against an opponent, maybe sometimes when you aren't supposed to, to really develop a good hatred.
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Rivalries
Feb 22, 2018 9:31:36 GMT -6
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Post by brandon on Feb 22, 2018 9:31:36 GMT -6
JSU, and Troy was our rivalry games in everything. (I'm sorry, I have never considered West Al. a rivalry)
UNA and South Alabama will probably be playing every year in everything but football. (Need to play in football too). That is my lock on a NEW rivalry. After this year we are 1-1 in basketball.
Lipscomb will be our main conference rival just because of only being 2 hours away. Easy drive for most fans on both sides.
Kennesaw State will become a good rival as well, in all sports. Their fans agree as well. Not too long of a road game, around 4 hours? (From Florence) fans from Huntsville and BHam are even quicker. But UNA and KSU have more of a natural rivalry than you may think. We share both conferences, and when football is involved, it can intensify the rivalry in all sports.
As for FGCU, UNA is 2-0 against them. They played in the early 2000's if I'm not mistaken.
I also think UAB could become a good rival. 2 hours away, easy trip.
But JSU will always be our #1 rival. But I think USA will eventually be #1b.
I have a question though, How many UNA "fans" will ware AU or UA gear if UNA played either at home?
Would a home game against either be an actual home game for them? If so, we should all be ashamed.
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Post by tuna85 on Feb 22, 2018 12:10:53 GMT -6
Well, I am a UNA alum and I have a daughter and son-in-law that are also UNA alums. I would wear UNA gear for sure. I have a another daughter that went to Mississippi State. UNA played them in basketball back in 2007. State had a good team back then and we got our clocked cleaned. Listened to that one on the internet but wore my UNA gear. I'll pull for MSU, AU, and UA (in that order) when those teams play anyone else but, if they play UNA...Roar Lions. I did not get my education from these other schools.
The A-Sun has been a pretty good basketball conference and has shown well in the NCAA tournament. While I am a big football fan and looking forward to the FCS, I honestly think our biggest bang for the buck can occur in Basketball. If we can compete in the A-Sun, we can compete with anybody including the SEC, ACC, etc. Getting to the Dance is where the bucks are and beyond that there is probably a better chance for TV exposure. While football is the big dog, from a popularity and attendance standpoint, basketball can ultimately gain UNA more exposure to those who do not know much about UNA. Good rivalries develop from competitive games and we must strive to be competitive. Basketball can not be an "oh by the way, we also have a BB team" sport.
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Post by kperk1959 on Feb 22, 2018 22:47:29 GMT -6
I have a lot of family connections to Alabama, so I was watching them play Auburn in basketball last night. There is really nothing like a good rivalry game in basketball where the crowd stays in it the entire game. The game last night was certainly that way. Thinking about our basketball program going forward, I'm extremely excited at the chance to play some, shall we say, "better known" teams. Hopefully we will get our chance to play some SEC teams or mid-majors from our region. I can think of a lot of schools within maybe a 3 hour drive that we could try to regularly schedule. Is it possible we can develop a true, long-lasting rivalry with one? For the past couple of decades we've maybe had that with UAH, but I'm not sure any of the other GSC schools in that time frame felt like anything more than a conference rival. As in, yeah we want to beat them to do well in the conference, we just don't have that desire to really beat them. The UAH rivalry seemed to be lopsided towards one school more often than not. I was born in the 80s, so I can't speak for much before the '91 championship season. I've heard the "old days" of playing Jacksonville and Troy at Flowers were great games with great atmospheres. Were they, or is this just a case of some folks remembering what they want to (I tend to believe they were great games/atmospheres FWIW)? If we were to routinely schedule JSU and Troy again going forward, can we recapture that magic? Times change and people change, so I just wonder if people would care as much about those games as they did 30+ years ago. Is it better to look to our new conference to find a rival? Lipscomb has a pretty good program year in and year out. They are close enough that both schools should be able to send fans to away games. I tend to believe that proximity is important. You need to be able to interact with the rival fans in some capacity to really make things heat up. It would be great to challenge Florida Gulf Coast right out of the gate for a conference title, but will we learn to "hate" them? Obviously a lot of us are dissatisfied with the direction of our men's program. I'm not trying to necessarily bring that up, though you DO have to win against an opponent, maybe sometimes when you aren't supposed to, to really develop a good hatred. From 1974 through 1977, Flowers Hall was packed with 5k+ many times against the likes of Jax State, Toy State, Tennessee State, Nichols State, Southeastern Louisiana, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, San Francisco State, Cal-Riverside, Kentucky State. Hundreds who bought tickets couldn't eve see the court! I used to look down at them back in the corners of the balcony and behind the bleachers where the girls had gymnastics and admire their spirit. Around 4K was the norm. Before the start of the '78 season, the fire marshal stepped in and said that was over. He made UNA put numbers on seats and have clear isles from top to bottom which hadn't existed. We really shoe-horned them in until then. That move hurt attendance and the atmosphere at UNA games never recovered. For the next several years, for Livingston, Delta State and Mississippi College (they had dang good teams in those years), crowds were normally around 3,000 with games against JSU, Troy State drawing near sellout crowds. ESPN hit the Shoals around 1981 or 82 and we began to see a gradual decline in attendance. In 1980 and 1981, I went to the UNA-Vanderbilt games in Nashville. Both games had over 15,000 in attendance. As years went by I noticed Vandy could no longer fill Memorial Gym for anyone but Kentucky (just across the state line and maybe Tennessee)I rarely watch basketball anymore because the quality is pathetic compared to the days of Charles Barkley, Reggie King, Dan Issel, Kevin Grevey, Billy McCaffrey, Jeff Malone, Rick Roby, Jack Givens, Chuck Person, Andrew DeClerq, Mike Miller, Jan van Breda Koff, Corliss Williamson, Rex Chapman, Mike Mitchell, Todd Day, Kenny "Sky"Walker, Tayshaun Prince, Jamal Mashburn, Gerald Wallace, Glen Davis, Mo Williams Shaq, Chris Jackson, Leon Douglas (from Leighton), Stanley Roberts, Scottie Thurman, Scottie Thurman, Dale Ellis, Dominique Wilkens, Pete Maravich, Jeff Turner, Derrick McKey, Bobby Lee Hurt, Johnny Neumann, Bernard King, Ernie Grunfeld, Scottie Thurman, Fast Eddie Johnson, Sam Bowie, Robert Horry, Kyle Macy, Latrell Sprewell, Antonio McDyess, Will Perdue, Buck Johnson, Antoine Walker on the floor. The only two coaches I'm aware of now are Avery Johnson and Bruce Pearl because they are instate. It's a far cry from the days of Adolph Rupp, Wimp Sanderson, Sonny Smith, Hugh Durham, Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino, Dale Brown, Roy Skinner, Norm Sloan, Billy Donovan, Tubby Smith, CM Newton, Nolan Richardson, Ray Mears etc. prowling the sidelines. There were several times during those years that the SEC surpassed the vaunted ACC, Big Ten, Pac Ten and Big East and the GSC was the SEC of D2.
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Post by unafied on Feb 23, 2018 7:22:55 GMT -6
I have a lot of family connections to Alabama, so I was watching them play Auburn in basketball last night. There is really nothing like a good rivalry game in basketball where the crowd stays in it the entire game. The game last night was certainly that way. Thinking about our basketball program going forward, I'm extremely excited at the chance to play some, shall we say, "better known" teams. Hopefully we will get our chance to play some SEC teams or mid-majors from our region. I can think of a lot of schools within maybe a 3 hour drive that we could try to regularly schedule. Is it possible we can develop a true, long-lasting rivalry with one? For the past couple of decades we've maybe had that with UAH, but I'm not sure any of the other GSC schools in that time frame felt like anything more than a conference rival. As in, yeah we want to beat them to do well in the conference, we just don't have that desire to really beat them. The UAH rivalry seemed to be lopsided towards one school more often than not. I was born in the 80s, so I can't speak for much before the '91 championship season. I've heard the "old days" of playing Jacksonville and Troy at Flowers were great games with great atmospheres. Were they, or is this just a case of some folks remembering what they want to (I tend to believe they were great games/atmospheres FWIW)? If we were to routinely schedule JSU and Troy again going forward, can we recapture that magic? Times change and people change, so I just wonder if people would care as much about those games as they did 30+ years ago. Is it better to look to our new conference to find a rival? Lipscomb has a pretty good program year in and year out. They are close enough that both schools should be able to send fans to away games. I tend to believe that proximity is important. You need to be able to interact with the rival fans in some capacity to really make things heat up. It would be great to challenge Florida Gulf Coast right out of the gate for a conference title, but will we learn to "hate" them? Obviously a lot of us are dissatisfied with the direction of our men's program. I'm not trying to necessarily bring that up, though you DO have to win against an opponent, maybe sometimes when you aren't supposed to, to really develop a good hatred. From 1974 through 1977, Flowers Hall was packed with 5k+ many times against the likes of Jax State, Toy State, Tennessee State, Nichols State, Southeastern Louisiana, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, San Francisco State, Cal-Riverside, Kentucky State. Hundreds who bought tickets couldn't eve see the court! I used to look down at them back in the corners of the balcony and behind the bleachers where the girls had gymnastics and admire their spirit. Around 4K was the norm. Before the start of the '78 season, the fire marshal stepped in and said that was over. He made UNA put numbers on seats and have clear isles from top to bottom which hadn't existed. We really shoe-horned them in until then. That move hurt attendance and the atmosphere at UNA games never recovered. For the next several years, for Livingston, Delta State and Mississippi College (they had dang good teams in those years), crowds were normally around 3,000 with games against JSU, Troy State drawing near sellout crowds. ESPN hit the Shoals around 1981 or 82 and we began to see a gradual decline in attendance. In 1980 and 1981, I went to the UNA-Vanderbilt games in Nashville. Both games had over 15,000 in attendance. As years went by I noticed Vandy could no longer fill Memorial Gym for anyone but Kentucky (just across the state line and maybe Tennessee)I rarely watch basketball anymore because the quality is pathetic compared to the days of Charles Barkley, Reggie King, Dan Issel, Kevin Grevey, Billy McCaffrey, Jeff Malone, Rick Roby, Jack Givens, Chuck Person, Andrew DeClerq, Mike Miller, Jan van Breda Koff, Corliss Williamson, Rex Chapman, Mike Mitchell, Todd Day, Kenny "Sky"Walker, Tayshaun Prince, Jamal Mashburn, Gerald Wallace, Glen Davis, Mo Williams Shaq, Chris Jackson, Leon Douglas (from Leighton), Stanley Roberts, Scottie Thurman, Scottie Thurman, Dale Ellis, Dominique Wilkens, Pete Maravich, Jeff Turner, Derrick McKey, Bobby Lee Hurt, Johnny Neumann, Bernard King, Ernie Grunfeld, Scottie Thurman, Fast Eddie Johnson, Sam Bowie, Robert Horry, Kyle Macy, Latrell Sprewell, Antonio McDyess, Will Perdue, Buck Johnson, Antoine Walker on the floor. The only two coaches I'm aware of now are Avery Johnson and Bruce Pearl because they are instate. It's a far cry from the days of Adolph Rupp, Wimp Sanderson, Sonny Smith, Hugh Durham, Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino, Dale Brown, Roy Skinner, Norm Sloan, Billy Donovan, Tubby Smith, CM Newton, Nolan Richardson, Ray Mears etc. prowling the sidelines. There were several times during those years that the SEC surpassed the vaunted ACC, Big Ten, Pac Ten and Big East and the GSC was the SEC of D2. Kperk, it was probably some of your posts either here or on the D2 boards that I was remembering when I mentioned packed games back in the 70s and 80s. I really hate we haven't seen that in such a long time. The only game I've been able to make it down to Florence for this year was the games against UAH a few weekends ago. And then, because of our daughter we had to leave after the women's game. I'll say this, the women's game had a pretty darn good environment. Maybe 1500-2000 there? That's a good attendance for a lot of D1 women's games. I heard the men's game had even more people come in. So, I think there is some passion for basketball still left. I feel like there are several reasons we don't see capacity crowds anymore. Our performance of late (the men at least) is obviously the biggest reason. Like it or not more people like a winner. You mentioned ESPN, and I think that has definitely hurt with people who are just too lazy to go to the game, or at least find it hard to drag a family of 4+ when they can just sit in their own recliner in front of their own TV. That hasn't affected UNA as much, of course, but it's led to a decline in attendance in all sports. And you mention the lack of talent. I think the talent is still out there, but maybe they are gravitating to other sports, football the biggest since I think the South is even more football-crazed now than in the past. Another problem is the lack of high school coaches teaching good fundamentals, and the better coaches (and players) now moving towards organizations outside of the high school structure (AAU). Finally I think that culture plays a part in basketball players not developing like they used to. Before video games and the internet, a bored kid might go out and shoot some hoops. That probably doesn't happen nearly as much anymore. This especially hurts kids in the South. If you're out of school in the summer, and it's 90+ degrees outside, what would you rather do: go outside and play basketball, or stay inside on your XBox? For the majority of them I think we know the answer. And I'm only 35, so I'm not trying to go all "get off my lawn here", but I was a kid at the beginning of the video game/internet era and think it definitely has made an impact. I think UNA basketball needs to do three things going forward to get fans back, and this doesn't even include winning games (which is obvious): 1. Market the sport better 2. Keep ticket prices/season ticket packages affordable 3. Schedule as many bigger name regional opponents as possible On #3, I've heard it personally from plenty of people. Fans grew tired of seeing us play teams with nicknames like the "Wonderboys" from Podunk, Arkansas. That problem should correct itself going forward. The other two are up to the University itself.
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Post by kperk1959 on Feb 23, 2018 18:33:11 GMT -6
That's gonna hard to do in a conference like the Big South unless we can drum up a lot of interesting out of conference games. To the casual fan, Campbell, Monmouth, Gardner-Webb will seem like a step back.
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Post by tuna85 on Feb 23, 2018 19:33:55 GMT -6
It's gonna be confusing for a bit, having two conferences. Basketball will be in the A-Sun which has been competitive last few years. Basketball or football, A-Sun or Big South; ways need to be found to increase the knowledge of our fan base on the team's we will be playing against year in and year out.
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Rivalries
Feb 23, 2018 20:01:21 GMT -6
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Post by brandon on Feb 23, 2018 20:01:21 GMT -6
It's gonna be confusing for a bit, having two conferences. Basketball will be in the A-Sun which has been competitive last few years. Basketball or football, A-Sun or Big South; ways need to be found to increase the knowledge of our fan base on the team's we will be playing against year in and year out. I guess it's easy for me, I try to keep up with FCS and "Mid Major" programs. I enjoy it better for some reason. Like I said before, I think the A-Sun is the best fit all around for UNA, for various reasons. Outside of JSU, I saw nothing appealing with the OVC. And the SoCon has gotten a stuck up attitude of late. I the the A-Sun would be even better if it were to somehow get JSU and maybe Austin Peay in as well.
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Post by tuna85 on Feb 24, 2018 8:35:12 GMT -6
OVC may have been advantageous due to proximity of teams. They had their chance at UNA few years ago, did not take it, their loss. I like the A-Sun. They look to be a pretty scrappy particularly in the sports of baseball and basketball. If I could snap my fingers the A-Sun and Big South would merge. This would seem to create a stronger overall conference. This from s team retention standpoint and administration standpoint. That being said, I like where we are. I think we all have pride in UNA and we are a respected brand. In many ways our brand will be impacted how well our conference(s) is/are viewed. A conference working together towards a common goal of excellence lifts everyone...yes an example would be the SEC. A conference where where it's every man for himself is weak and the strengths of a strong team don't rub off on the other teams. Well I'm rambling. While I know this is our transition year, I wish the A-Sun and Big South were being more proactive in educating our fan base about their teams and conference. I'm doing my part by use of the internet and trying to catch some of the teams on tv. I think they could do their part by working with our athletic department to get mailing lists of students and alumni and then sending out info on for example the Big South Network, how to access games, etc.. Maybe they are working along these lines and I'm just not aware.
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Rivalries
Feb 24, 2018 10:19:27 GMT -6
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Post by brandon on Feb 24, 2018 10:19:27 GMT -6
OVC may have been advantageous due to proximity of teams. They had their chance at UNA few years ago, did not take it, their loss. I like the A-Sun. They look to be a pretty scrappy particularly in the sports of baseball and basketball. If I could snap my fingers the A-Sun and Big South would merge. This would seem to create a stronger overall conference. This from s team retention standpoint and administration standpoint. That being said, I like where we are. I think we all have pride in UNA and we are a respected brand. In many ways our brand will be impacted how well our conference(s) is/are viewed. A conference working together towards a common goal of excellence lifts everyone...yes an example would be the SEC. A conference where where it's every man for himself is weak and the strengths of a strong team don't rub off on the other teams. Well I'm rambling. While I know this is our transition year, I wish the A-Sun and Big South were being more proactive in educating our fan base about their teams and conference. I'm doing my part by use of the internet and trying to catch some of the teams on tv. I think they could do their part by working with our athletic department to get mailing lists of students and alumni and then sending out info on for example the Big South Network, how to access games, etc.. Maybe they are working along these lines and I'm just not aware. Those are some good ideas. I think our local (Huntsville) news can do UNA a favor and give some extra love on game coverage. Channel 31 used to televise a number of UNA games a year. Wish they could do it again, for several reasons. 1- recruiting, the more high school athletes and their families see UNA on TV, the better the chances of them wanting to come to UNA, and their families wanting to attend games. 2- not everyone can make every game. Example, firefighters have to work 24 hour shifts, while, in Florence, running anywhere from 12-30 calls a day in a 24 hour shift don't lend much time to see ALL the game, at least the opportunity is there. 3- if people see us playing the Gardner Web, Charleston Southern, Cambpell, and Stetsons, FGCU, and Lipscomb, it will peak their interests in the schools UNA play. I don't really like the merger idea, the Big South is primarily private schools, the A-Sun is primarily public, with a few private. And another problem is, the A-Sun has 8 but wants 10 members. The Big South has 12. A 20-24 member league would drastically cut down on the amount of conference money received by each school, in our case, more than half. I think a stable 8-10 member league is ideal for a non "P-5" league that does not receive bowl tie in money or huge tv contracts. Realistically, the A-Sun has the potential to earn more money per school than the Sun Belt or C-USA. That's why I would rather stay put, with football in the Big South, or any other Conference as an associate member. Football in the FCS bring in very little to no money from the NCAA. Even if we wanted to eventually go FBS, I would want the other sports to stay in the A-Sun.
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Post by unafied on Feb 24, 2018 11:26:39 GMT -6
My only gripe with the ASUN/Big South is that they aren’t really “name” schools, or at least ones that people around north Alabama know much about. At least in the OVC or SoCon you have some names like Tennessee Tech, UT-Martin, Austin Peay, Chattanooga, Samford, etc. Would more casual fans be likely to come to a game against one of those schools than a game against Monmouth or North Florida? I don’t know. Maybe? We need to capture some new fans to grow as a program, so it’s at least an issue to watch.
I do think overall our programs outside of football may be a better fit and/or can at least compete quicker against our ASUN competition. If playing the Florida schools can help out with recruiting there, that’s a positive. Nobody wants to go to Eastern Illinois or even anywhere in Kentucky in the winter time (at least NJIT is sort of in New York).
Another football note though, I do appreciate that we will only have, what... 5, maybe now 6 Big South Conference games (if you count the addition of Hampton)? That leaves room for a lot of flexibility for regional out of conference matchups.
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Rivalries
Feb 24, 2018 12:13:03 GMT -6
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Post by tuna85 on Feb 24, 2018 12:13:03 GMT -6
OVC may have been advantageous due to proximity of teams. They had their chance at UNA few years ago, did not take it, their loss. I like the A-Sun. They look to be a pretty scrappy particularly in the sports of baseball and basketball. If I could snap my fingers the A-Sun and Big South would merge. This would seem to create a stronger overall conference. This from s team retention standpoint and administration standpoint. That being said, I like where we are. I think we all have pride in UNA and we are a respected brand. In many ways our brand will be impacted how well our conference(s) is/are viewed. A conference working together towards a common goal of excellence lifts everyone...yes an example would be the SEC. A conference where where it's every man for himself is weak and the strengths of a strong team don't rub off on the other teams. Well I'm rambling. While I know this is our transition year, I wish the A-Sun and Big South were being more proactive in educating our fan base about their teams and conference. I'm doing my part by use of the internet and trying to catch some of the teams on tv. I think they could do their part by working with our athletic department to get mailing lists of students and alumni and then sending out info on for example the Big South Network, how to access games, etc.. Maybe they are working along these lines and I'm just not aware. Those are some good ideas. I think our local (Huntsville) news can do UNA a favor and give some extra love on game coverage. Channel 31 used to televise a number of UNA games a year. Wish they could do it again, for several reasons. 1- recruiting, the more high school athletes and their families see UNA on TV, the better the chances of them wanting to come to UNA, and their families wanting to attend games. 2- not everyone can make every game. Example, firefighters have to work 24 hour shifts, while, in Florence, running anywhere from 12-30 calls a day in a 24 hour shift don't lend much time to see ALL the game, at least the opportunity is there. 3- if people see us playing the Gardner Web, Charleston Southern, Cambpell, and Stetsons, FGCU, and Lipscomb, it will peak their interests in the schools UNA play. I don't really like the merger idea, the Big South is primarily private schools, the A-Sun is primarily public, with a few private. And another problem is, the A-Sun has 8 but wants 10 members. The Big South has 12. A 20-24 member league would drastically cut down on the amount of conference money received by each school, in our case, more than half. I think a stable 8-10 member league is ideal for a non "P-5" league that does not receive bowl tie in money or huge tv contracts. Realistically, the A-Sun has the potential to earn more money per school than the Sun Belt or C-USA. That's why I would rather stay put, with football in the Big South, or any other Conference as an associate member. Football in the FCS bring in very little to no money from the NCAA. Even if we wanted to eventually go FBS, I would want the other sports to stay in the A-Sun. Excellent point on the conference size. I'm with you on the earning potential of the A-Sun. As time has gone by, and I have tried to familiarize with new conferences and teams, I feel better about the path we are on. A-Sun and basketball:strong. A-Sun and baseball: strong. Big South and football: getting there (two teams in the playoffs this past year) lots of potential.
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Rivalries
Feb 24, 2018 12:18:39 GMT -6
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Post by tuna85 on Feb 24, 2018 12:18:39 GMT -6
Those are some good ideas. I think our local (Huntsville) news can do UNA a favor and give some extra love on game coverage. Channel 31 used to televise a number of UNA games a year. Wish they could do it again, for several reasons. 1- recruiting, the more high school athletes and their families see UNA on TV, the better the chances of them wanting to come to UNA, and their families wanting to attend games. 2- not everyone can make every game. Example, firefighters have to work 24 hour shifts, while, in Florence, running anywhere from 12-30 calls a day in a 24 hour shift don't lend much time to see ALL the game, at least the opportunity is there. 3- if people see us playing the Gardner Web, Charleston Southern, Cambpell, and Stetsons, FGCU, and Lipscomb, it will peak their interests in the schools UNA play. I don't really like the merger idea, the Big South is primarily private schools, the A-Sun is primarily public, with a few private. And another problem is, the A-Sun has 8 but wants 10 members. The Big South has 12. A 20-24 member league would drastically cut down on the amount of conference money received by each school, in our case, more than half. I think a stable 8-10 member league is ideal for a non "P-5" league that does not receive bowl tie in money or huge tv contracts. Realistically, the A-Sun has the potential to earn more money per school than the Sun Belt or C-USA. That's why I would rather stay put, with football in the Big South, or any other Conference as an associate member. Football in the FCS bring in very little to no money from the NCAA. Even if we wanted to eventually go FBS, I would want the other sports to stay in the A-Sun. Excellent point on the conference size. I'm with you on the earning potential of the A-Sun. As time has gone by, and I have tried to familiarize with new conferences and teams, I feel better about the path we are on. A-Sun and basketball:strong. A-Sun and baseball: strong. Big South and football: getting there (two teams in the playoffs this past year) lots of potential. We have an excellent School of Business and MBA program. Reckon we need to take advantage of their skills to market our school and conferences.
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