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Post by tsucrat on Aug 1, 2023 12:56:01 GMT -5
Something about this is not setting right with me.
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Post by bluetigga on Aug 1, 2023 15:32:57 GMT -5
That is odd!
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Post by funkiejunkie on Aug 1, 2023 16:24:32 GMT -5
This conference is becoming an absolute 💩 show. And yet we remain.
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tsumadness
TSU Alum
NCAA (D1): 93, 94 (D2): 63, 67, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 | CIT: 12, 13, 16 | NAIA Champs: 57, 58, 59
Posts: 5,648
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Post by tsumadness on Aug 2, 2023 4:47:49 GMT -5
Yeah Funkie, this makes no sense to me. How can this cat be loyal and focus on the success of the OVC while being president of another conference. Absurd.
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Post by jafusthinker on Aug 2, 2023 7:52:51 GMT -5
This conference is becoming an absolute 💩 show. And yet we remain. 😂
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Post by funkiejunkie on Aug 2, 2023 9:59:45 GMT -5
This conference is becoming an absolute 💩 show. And yet we remain. 😂 LOL I'm just saying... At least we used to be able to use the "travel" excuse when we were in the same conference as MTSU, Murray, EKU, Jax St., Austin Peay, etc. Now, we're 5:28 away from Gardner-Webb, 8:05 away from Charleston Southern, and 5:03 and 4:35 away respectively from UALR and SIU-E, neither of whom play football. That's not even counting the 6:47 away from Eastern Illinois that we've been travelling for years. Western Illinois will be joining the OVC in 2024, so that's another 6:57 drive. If we have to go that far for games, why not just... Never mind.
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Post by jafusthinker on Aug 3, 2023 9:18:10 GMT -5
LOL I'm just saying... At least we used to be able to use the "travel" excuse when we were in the same conference as MTSU, Murray, EKU, Jax St., Austin Peay, etc. Now, we're 5:28 away from Gardner-Webb, 8:05 away from Charleston Southern, and 5:03 and 4:35 away respectively from UALR and SIU-E, neither of whom play football. That's not even counting the 6:47 away from Eastern Illinois that we've been travelling for years. Western Illinois will be joining the OVC in 2024, so that's another 6:57 drive. If we have to go that far for games, why not just... Never mind. Great point.
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Post by tsundenver on Aug 3, 2023 9:31:49 GMT -5
funkiejunkie Point well taken... But I don't think travel was ever the real reason why we remain in the OVC. It was an excuse given to us on occasion. The pres makes the decision, and I think she has something else in mind or another direction she wants to take TSU. Just my speculation.
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Post by funkiejunkie on Aug 3, 2023 10:27:27 GMT -5
funkiejunkie Point well taken... But I don't think travel was ever the real reason why we remain in the OVC. It was an excuse given to us on occasion. The pres makes the decision, and I think she has something else in mind or another direction she wants to take TSU. Just my speculation. Oh, I agree with you 100%. That was never the reason, simply a convenient excuse to cover the true reason. Unfortunately, some of our alums apparently bought into it, as it is one of the reasons that's been regurgitated in our circles for years. I guess my point is since now that can't be used as the excuse, it's time for someone in administration to have guts enough to address the true reason. I've been reading the TSU/attendance/conference arguments the last several days on Twitter. I refrain from commenting on them because in all honesty, I can't disagree with what most of them are saying about us.
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Post by roknows50 on Aug 4, 2023 8:42:33 GMT -5
The twitter convos about attendance are funny.
Our low attendance is higher than most hbcus in the swac and the meac.
The swac folk really didn't know how to respond to that.
Leadership has been clear that they want to go FBS. I am not sure how that is being lost amongst the hbcu space.
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Post by tsundenver on Aug 4, 2023 8:58:13 GMT -5
The twitter convos about attendance are funny. Our low attendance is higher than most hbcus in the swac and the meac. The swac folk really didn't know how to respond to that. Leadership has been clear that they want to go FBS. I am not sure how that is being lost amongst the hbcu space. I concur. I think the wheels are in motion now that we are planning to add additional sports... Some of the comments on twitter(X) are not worth a response.
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Post by funkiejunkie on Aug 4, 2023 9:16:34 GMT -5
The twitter convos about attendance are funny. Our low attendance is higher than most hbcus in the swac and the meac. The swac folk really didn't know how to respond to that. Leadership has been clear that they want to go FBS. I am not sure how that is being lost amongst the hbcu space. To your first point, our attendance being better than the 2nd tier of the SWAC is true. And it's also true that our biggest attendance draws are HBCUs, that really can't be debated. Many have said, and I strongly agree that regardless of opponent, if TSU plays, we should support. But, that's clearly not where we are. Our fan base, right or wrong, has clearly shown over the last 25 or do years which games they prefer. So at this point, it's simple supply and demand. Second, FBS aspirations are perfectly fine, and I'm on board. We can have those aspirations and simultaneously recognize that we are currently in a dying conference that's now relying on attracting D2 teams to survive, and leave for a better situation. Other programs and conferences who are more aligned with the demographic that we serve have the same aspirations and could also help to boost our attendance even more, thus strengthening the fan base that we need in order to really make the FBS transition a success. That's what's being said, and it is not wrong.
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Post by tsundenver on Aug 4, 2023 11:25:10 GMT -5
The twitter convos about attendance are funny. Our low attendance is higher than most hbcus in the swac and the meac. The swac folk really didn't know how to respond to that. Leadership has been clear that they want to go FBS. I am not sure how that is being lost amongst the hbcu space. To your first point, our attendance being better than the 2nd tier of the SWAC is true. And it's also true that our biggest attendance draws are HBCUs, that really can't be debated. Many have said, and I strongly agree that regardless of opponent, if TSU plays, we should support. But, that's clearly not where we are. Our fan base, right or wrong, has clearly shown over the last 25 or do years which games they prefer. So at this point, it's simple supply and demand. Second, FBS aspirations are perfectly fine, and I'm on board. We can have those aspirations and simultaneously recognize that we are currently in a dying conference that's now relying on attracting D2 teams to survive, and leave for a better situation. Other programs and conferences who are more aligned with the demographic that we serve have the same aspirations and could also help to boost our attendance even more, thus strengthening the fan base that we need in order to really make the FBS transition a success. That's what's being said, and it is not wrong. if we can only get those universities on the schedule. If our aspirations align, there should not be a problem scheduling them. Both (ALL) parties could benefit attendance wise. Or maybe they are committed to moving up together as a conference.
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Post by funkiejunkie on Aug 4, 2023 12:51:36 GMT -5
To your first point, our attendance being better than the 2nd tier of the SWAC is true. And it's also true that our biggest attendance draws are HBCUs, that really can't be debated. Many have said, and I strongly agree that regardless of opponent, if TSU plays, we should support. But, that's clearly not where we are. Our fan base, right or wrong, has clearly shown over the last 25 or do years which games they prefer. So at this point, it's simple supply and demand. Second, FBS aspirations are perfectly fine, and I'm on board. We can have those aspirations and simultaneously recognize that we are currently in a dying conference that's now relying on attracting D2 teams to survive, and leave for a better situation. Other programs and conferences who are more aligned with the demographic that we serve have the same aspirations and could also help to boost our attendance even more, thus strengthening the fan base that we need in order to really make the FBS transition a success. That's what's being said, and it is not wrong. if we can only get those universities on the schedule. If our aspirations align, there should not be a problem scheduling them. Both (ALL) parties could benefit attendance wise. Or maybe they are committed to moving up together as a conference. Their objective seems to be moving the entire conference up. I don't realistically believe that all members can, but if 8 can, that's enough to start. I do believe in strength in numbers, which is why if the opportunity presented itself to join them, ESPECIALLY seeing the state of the OVC, I think it's a no-brainer.
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Post by tsusupporter on Aug 7, 2023 16:34:59 GMT -5
LOL I'm just saying... At least we used to be able to use the "travel" excuse when we were in the same conference as MTSU, Murray, EKU, Jax St., Austin Peay, etc. Now, we're 5:28 away from Gardner-Webb, 8:05 away from Charleston Southern, and 5:03 and 4:35 away respectively from UALR and SIU-E, neither of whom play football. That's not even counting the 6:47 away from Eastern Illinois that we've been travelling for years. Western Illinois will be joining the OVC in 2024, so that's another 6:57 drive. If we have to go that far for games, why not just... Never mind.
Because there's still only 3 schools within a 5:30 drive. The rest of "that conference" is 7+ hours away. And those schools won't bring their bands to Nashville, because they will use the "travel excuse".
I agree that TSU needs to get out of the OVC asap. Mikki needs to lay out a comprehensive plan for their exit, instead of throwing out hints. If he wants to go to "that conference", then make plans to do so.
But if he wants to move up, like he said in 2022, alumni and supporters need to see what it will take to get there. We know about the so-called NCAA requirements, but we need to know more about the monetary requirements.
At minimum, TSU needs to be at 18 million in athletic expenses, preferably 20 million. In 2021, they were at 11.2 million.
For a comparison, Austin Peay was at 17.6 million last season. They're preparing to possibly move to FBS via the ASUN/WAC merger.
Here are the top sources both schools got their money from:
Austin Peay (2022) Tennessee State (2021) Difference
Institutional/Govt support 9.7M 7.0M -2.7M Student Fees 3.4M 2.6M -0.8M Media Rights 1.4M 1.0M -0.4M Donar Contributions 1.1M 0.2M -0.8M Competition Guarantees 0.9M 0.3M -0.6M Other 1.1M 0.1M -1.0M
We all know that 2021 was a horrible year from a ticket sales standpoint, with the bad weather severely impacting games. But there are other gaps TSU can shore up. The institutional/government support is the biggest gap. But there are other gaps that TSU can do much better.
If the financial goals of the university were properly laid out, they could lay the foundation to a financially stable athletic program, instead of crying poor all the time.
I need to see the 2022 TSU financial report. Why hasn't that been released yet? It normally comes out at the end of June. It's now going into the 2nd week in August. Has that been released and it just hasn't been posted online yet? Kind of curious why that's not available yet.
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