Task Force may bring back ETSU football(link)

[catamount man]

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=SPORTS&ID=57064

At least Paul Stanton is now looking at football again as a viable option. Good luck to the Bucs. WCU-ETSU had some good games over the years!

GO CATAMOUNTS!!!

[TexasTerror]

ETSU needs football back...

A-Sun is not the place to be. ETSU can do better. As the article says, find a "more sexy" and "geographic-friendly" locale for their athletic program...

[Mr. C]

The quickest way to bring football back at ETSU is to get an outdoor stadium (blow up the Mini Dome, please. Bad for hoops, worse for football) and fire Paul Stanton. He is the fool who undercut the program to the point that they almost had to kill it. Everyone in the SoCon would probably love to have the Bucs back.

[MplsBison]

Any possibility of joining MTSU in the Sun Belt? Or are they aiming for I-AA?

[Saint3333]

ETSU coming back as 1-Axlolx .

[rokamortis]

I haven't followed this very closely but had always thought that the reason why ETSU dropped football was to save money. But an article in the Johnson City Press last night indicated that ETSU has kept just about the same budget for athletics but they have fully funded all of their existing programs. Previously none of the programs were fully funded. I find it an interesting strategy, but one that may work. Dump the most expensive program, but the one that could force people to action if they want to keep it around.

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=SPORTS&ID=57045

[MplsBison]

ETSU coming back as 1-Axlolx .

I guess it depends on the size of the stadium they plan to build.

[GaSouthern]

The quickest way to bring football back at ETSU is to get an outdoor stadium (blow up the Mini Dome, please. Bad for hoops, worse for football) and fire Paul Stanton. He is the fool who undercut the program to the point that they almost had to kill it. Everyone in the SoCon would probably love to have the Bucs back.
quote from the article...

"There is talk of an outdoor football stadium, perhaps near the Appalachian Fair grounds in Gray. "

[Sly Fox]

An ETSU return to football would certainly be welcomed in the Big South.

:D

[TexasTerror]

Another article about ESTU and football...

http://www.greene.xtn.net/index.php?table=news&template=news.view.subscriber&newsid=131723

[OL FU]

From the first linked article.


Many believe ETSU’s move to the Atlantic Sun Conference, triggered by its dropping football, has all but ensured, even expedited, football’s return. The Atlantic Sun has lost Central Florida, Troy University, Florida Atlantic and Georgia State in the last couple of years while adding North Florida, Kennesaw State, USC Upstate and Florida Gulf Coast (all schools previously at the Divsion II level).

Is that Southern Cal - Shasta?:D
I hate to admit this but I did not know that USC - Spartanburg fielded sports teams:confused: :o

[NoCoDanny]

Any pictures of this "mini dome" or whatever it was called floating around? All you ever hear is how bad it was.

[UAalum72]

http://www.etsu.edu/tours/history/newimages/8.jpg
http://www.etsu.edu/tours/history/newimages/16.jpg

[Mr. C]

Any pictures of this "mini dome" or whatever it was called floating around? All you ever hear is how bad it was.
You almost have to watch a game in this monstrosity to fully experience how bad it is. I once had to sit through a power failure there, which left us in the top of the press box in pitch darkness.

[thirdgendin]

Any pictures of this "mini dome" or whatever it was called floating around? All you ever hear is how bad it was.

I believe it is identical to the one at Idaho State.

[OL FU]

You miss any action close to the side lines you are sitting on. and it is very painful to watch players run into the walls

[Mr. C]

The higher up you go, the more you seem to lose. The press box has probably the worst seats in the house, though the front row seats are pretty bad too. Just an awful, awful place. About the only its good for is indoor track and tennis.

[GeauxColonels]

Looks like it was an outdoor stadium that just had a roof put on it!? What was the reasoning for a domed facility in the first place?

[Mr. C]

No, they actually built this place from scratch like that.

[WUTNDITWAA]

Looks like it was an outdoor stadium that just had a roof put on it!? What was the reasoning for a domed facility in the first place?

It was the 1970s. If you can explain the Mini Dome you can explain leisure suits, long sideburns and the Pinto.

It can get pretty cold and rainy in Johnson City in late November. Thank goodness the folks at ASU didn't look at the Mini Dome and think it was a good idea.

[catamount man]

It was the 1970s. If you can explain the Mini Dome you can explain leisure suits, long sideburns and the Pinto.

It can get pretty cold and rainy in Johnson City in late November. Thank goodness the folks at ASU didn't look at the Mini Dome and think it was a good idea.

No doubt! God forbid WCU and ASU get something like that. I like our mid-November Jug Battle VERY nippy!:thumbsup:

GO CATAMOUNTS!!!

[MplsBison]

What if they just tore the roof off?

The stands don't look too bad.

All chair backs, right?

[WUTNDITWAA]

What if they just tore the roof off?

The stands don't look too bad.

All chair backs, right?

That still doesn't solve the problem where the seats are too close to the field. I don't know who designed that place but I hope they were run out of business right after they finished it.

[WUTNDITWAA]

No doubt! God forbid WCU and ASU get something like that. I like our mid-November Jug Battle VERY nippy!:thumbsup:

GO CATAMOUNTS!!!

Catman, I have a hard enough time with artificial turf. At least the new stuff looks real.


Yippee!!! Post 421.:hurray:

[MplsBison]

That still doesn't solve the problem where the seats are too close to the field. I don't know who designed that place but I hope they were run out of business right after they finished it.

Then peel away the first 5 or 10 rows.

It could still be pretty nice with some new artificial turf and a new video board.


http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/9216/etsu4qq.png

[WUTNDITWAA]

Then peel away the first 5 or 10 rows.

It could still be pretty nice with some new artificial turf and a new video board.


http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/9216/etsu4qq.png

By the time you go to all of that trouble I think it would be less expensive to throw up a new outdoor stadium. Watch a game in there for five minutes (build a time machine first), and you'll agree nothing can be done to save it.

[MplsBison]

You're saying it's less expensive to build a new 15k (?) stadium from scratch than to tear down a roof, put new turf if, tear out the first 10 rows from both sides, and install a new scoreboard?

[UAalum72]

You're saying it's less expensive to build a new 15k (?) stadium from scratch than to tear down a roof, put new turf if, tear out the first 10 rows from both sides, and install a new scoreboard?
Consider that if they tear down the roof, they'll probably also have to build a new basketball arena/indoor events center. And labor costs (and time) for taking apart the roof while leaving the seats underneath would be a killer - better to just dynamite it and start from scratch.

[OL FU]

What if they just tore the roof off?

The stands don't look too bad.

All chair backs, right?

Beats me. Ask some of the Big South Schools:rolleyes: :D

[OL FU]

Does anybody know if they still play basketball in the Dome?

[UAalum72]

http://www.etsubucs.com/info/facilities/memorial.asp

for the last 22 years, although the setup doesn't look especially good for basketball either
http://www.etsubucs.com/info/facilities/basketballsetup.asp

[SoCon48]

The quickest way to bring football back at ETSU is to get an outdoor stadium (blow up the Mini Dome, please. Bad for hoops, worse for football) and fire Paul Stanton. He is the fool who undercut the program to the point that they almost had to kill it. Everyone in the SoCon would probably love to have the Bucs back.

I think you have forgotten that the SoCon really isn't that smart.:eyebrow:

[SoCon48]

You're saying it's less expensive to build a new 15k (?) stadium from scratch than to tear down a roof, put new turf if, tear out the first 10 rows from both sides, and install a new scoreboard?

Have you questioned whether the existing seating is made for outdoor use???

[MplsBison]

Hmm...plastic...

[gophoenix]

You almost have to watch a game in this monstrosity to fully experience how bad it is.

I didn't fully understand the minidome from my father (who went to ETSU) until I saw a game there. It's more humid than sitting in a swamp. You can't see the team from the sidelines from most places in the building. The fans where more UTK orange than any other color. There were bigger cheers announcing the UTK score than when ETSU scored. And the slope of the roof makes it hard for real punting and place kicking.


Everyone in the SoCon would probably love to have the Bucs back.

I don't know, if you read some of the articles after they announced that football was leaving, you saw some very upset SoCon and member officials about the way they handled the situation. Personally, I wouldn't mind having them back, but I'm not so sure Furman, GSU, The Citadel and a few others feel that same way about it. The conference isn't dumb, it's our University Presidents who are in real control.

[walliver]

Everyone in the SoCon would probably love to have the Bucs back.

It has been widely reported, although never stated officially, that ETSU was the primary mover for kicking VMI out for wanting to pull their football team out of the SoCon (for a limited period). When ETSU turned around and dropped football, but wanted to stay in the SoCon, it pissed off a lot of people. I think ETSU may have burned a lot of bridges when they left. Johnson City obviously is close to Boone, and a reasonable distance to Chattanooga and Cullowhee; so ASU,WCU, and Chat may have some incentive to bring them back, but I'm not sure about the rest of the conference.

The second point is that there is no guarantee that playing outdoors will bring in more paying fans, I suspect it will, but I wonder if ETSU is willing to take the financial risk of building a 15,000 seat stadium and only have 5,000 show up for most games

[SoCon48]

Hmm...plastic...

Ummm. Plastic framework? Seriously doubt it.
Plastic seats? There's a hell of a diff between outdoor grades and indoor.