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TexasTerror
November 7th, 2006, 10:42 AM
Funny memories indeed. Western Kentucky obviously has the stronger I-AA background than then-Southwest Texas, but it goes to show you how confused administrators can be about I-A moves. Luckily, the folks in San Marcos saw the ills of their ways and stayed in I-AA. There's always the "move" that Florida A&M made recently too... :)


From an old Sports Network column...


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In a seemingly ongoing effort to elevate its football program from I-AA to I-A AND create a public relations nightmare, officials from Southwest Texas State had plenty to say last week, with typically little of it making sense. A series of articles in the Daily University Star, SWT's student paper, printed negative comments about the Southland Football League attributed to school administrators, and later detailed severe contradictions in plans for stadium expansion.

Athletic Director Greg LaFleur, who was hired in July and is a veteran of exactly one Southland Football League contest, was quoted as saying, "This school deserves to be known for its athletic program because the school is better than people perceive it to be. This [misconception] is because of our conference." Ah, yes, the league brings down SWT down. That would be SWT, which has a league record of 32-58-1 (.357), no conference titles, and no playoff appearances since joining the conference in 1987.

Not content to bust only on Southland athletics, SWT Vice President for Student Affairs James Studer offered the following, "[Those schools] are smaller and generally the academics are not the same as SWT's. We're not the institution we were 10, 15, or 20 years ago. We're a much better school. The kind of academic program we have is much more broad based. Generally, you're known by the company you keep." I see, so what you're saying is that schools like McNeese State and Northwestern State don't scream out "Ivy League," but teams from the Sun Belt (which is the only I-A league with football standards low enough to want the Bobcats) like Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee State, and North Texas have long been heralded as bastions of quality academics. Please.

Days later, no one in the SWT administration could figure out if 15,000 seats were going to be tacked onto Bobcat Stadium in conjunction with the I-A move. LaFleur told the University Star, "The Stadium must have 30,000 seats. It's required. We would have to expand the stadium." Jim Wacker, the special assistant to the president for athletic projects and brains behind the I-A move, told the paper the stadium would not be expanded unless there was a need. SWT president Jerome Supple chimed in, saying "We could go out and build a 30,000 seat stadium. Now, what we would do is build it cheaply. At least initially, the expanded seats would be the bleacher type." And finally, Studer said there were no plans to expand the stadium and that he had no expectation SWT could achieve 17,000 in actual attendance to begin with. In that case, how very prudent to go forward with a move to I-A.

Of course, all of this sniping at the SFL and stadium talk might be worth it if anybody outside of a few well-placed administrators within the Southwest Texas hierarchy even wanted I-A football. The SWT Faculty Senate voiced its opposition to the move in February 2000, citing "the negative message it sends regarding the relative importance of academics" and calling the proposed move "but another example of the university exalting form over substance and seeking quick and easy, yet ultimately meaningless fixes to better position us to run with the big dogs." A staff editorial from the University Star echoed the faculty's position, citing a probable tuition hike and an adverse effect on academic programs as reasons for student opposition. Worst of all, SWT clearly lacks the necessary fan base of 17,000 to support such a move. The school is averaging 12,417 tickets sold for home games this season, while the actual attendance fell at least 2,000 beneath that number for last week's McNeese State game. Anybody looking for a case study in misplaced motives for a move to I-A and the poorest execution of such a move better hop the next train for San Marcos, Texas.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/misc/moss_archive/3rdandlong_101701.htm