Tenn State at Samford is on ESPNU now.

[Bulldog87]

Tenn State is leading Samford 21-14 with 3:09 in the 1st half live on ESPNU.

[Bulldog87]

@!-@! at halftime. A special on Prarie View coming up on the halftime show.

[Bulldog87]

@!-@! at halftime. A special on Prarie View coming up on the halftime show. 21-21 at halftime.

[TheRock21]

OMG.....xnonono2x This is what we SoCon brethen have to look forward to next year. I'm really at a loss for words right now, I mean are you serious xchinscratchx

[Maroons]

OMG.....xnonono2x This is what we SoCon brethen have to look forward to next year. I'm really at a loss for words right now, I mean are you serious xchinscratchx

I take it you are of the opinion Costal Carolina should have been invited instead? Or maybe JaxState?

[ButlerGSU]

I take it you are of the opinion Costal Carolina should have been invited instead? Or maybe JaxState?

EVERYONE (well except maybe UTC and Elon) should have wanted Coastal over Samford. This is pathetic. They are going to end up being the little step sibling of the SoCon that everyone resents and despises.

[gophoenix]

EVERYONE (well except maybe UTC and Elon) should have wanted Coastal over Samford. This is pathetic. They are going to end up being the little step sibling of the SoCon that everyone resents and despises.

What the heck does that mean? And besides, talk to FURMAN/WOFFORD/CofC/THE CITADEL, not ELON about CCU not being here.

Take that blame crap and the crack somewhere else.

And I can hear it all now. Some SoCon conspiracy. Private school conspiracy. BLAME YOUR OWN SCHOOLS. SAMFORD was VOTED in unanimously. You can blame GSU as much as anyone else. You also can't blame the commissioner. He makes recommendations voted on by ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS.

So CRY all you want, this is everyone's doing if you don't like it.

And had it been Coastal, there would not be crying from fans about how it is focused in NC/SC and how they never branch out into others states. Some of you people just look for things to complain about.

[asufan87]

So much for the argument that Samford was going to bring the Birmingham market with it. The joint is empty.

I mean this with all seriousness and its not directed soley at Samford. Televising games like this where the place is empty is not a good idea for FCS football. In fact, it's not good for college football at any level. It's a bad commercial. How can anyone expect viewers to be sold on the product when a school's own supporters aren't sold on it.

[gophoenix]

So much for the argument that Samford was going to bring the Birmingham market with it. The joint is empty.

I mean this with all seriousness and its not directed soley at Samford. Televising games like this where the place is empty is not a good idea for FCS football. In fact, it's not good for college football at any level. It's a bad commercial. How can anyone expect viewers to be sold on the product when a school's own supporters aren't sold on it.

TV games are a reason for fans not to come to games, period. Why sit out in the cold, when you can sit at home?

[asufan87]

TV games are a reason for fans not to come to games, period. Why sit out in the cold, when you can sit at home?

I can guarantee you it's much colder in Morgantown WV than it is in Birmingham AL right now. That excuse doesn't fly.

[gophoenix]

I can guarantee you it's much colder in Morgantown WV than it is in Birmingham AL right now. That excuse doesn't fly.

There are a ton of excuses. I am not going to make excuses for them. I can tell you, first hand, that most of the declining numbers in attendance for all sports is due to games being on TV. So, whether it is colder in WV, I don't know and I don't care. But when it is a matter of kids going to bed, kids being cold, school night, work night, stupid to have football on Thursday, and the fact that given any number of circumstances people would rather watch a game at home than go to the stadium, then yes, the reason does fly. And whether the team is having a good season or not. And so many other factors.

Thursday nigth games are dumb. I hate them. And they are a general drag on most (note most) non-BCS schools.

[MR. CHICKEN]

WHO CARES DUH STADIUM IS HALF FULL..............DUH REST O' DUH COUNTRY...&...ALL DUH VISITIN' TEAM FANS.......ARE GLUED....TA DUH BOOB...................xnodx......BRAWK!

PIGGY ON DUH TUBE....MONDAY...THRU...SUNDAE.......xsmileyclapx. ...AWK!

AH HAVEN'T MISSED UH HOME GAME....EVERY SINCE.....GETTIN' MAH SEASON TIX IN 1986....LOTTA DEM GAMES..WERE TELEVISED..TOO!........xnodx....BAWK!

[JaxSinfonian]

EVERYONE (well except maybe UTC and Elon) should have wanted Coastal over Samford. This is pathetic. They are going to end up being the little step sibling of the SoCon that everyone resents and despises.

I could have warned you about this. Actually, I suppose I did. I should have charged the SoCon a consulting fee for what I've posted on this forum about adding Samford. I guess they'd still have ignored the advice, though.


So much for the argument that Samford was going to bring the Birmingham market with it. The joint is empty.

Warned you on this too. I don't know why ESPNU chose to televise this game rather than last week's visit by the Gamecocks. (As for "brining the market," four out of five JSU home games this season have been available on cable in Birmingham. This is the only game on TV from Samford.) There was a great crowd of Jax State fans there; I would like to have seen more from Samford, though. It's a good thing they've got that hefty endowment, so they won't really miss the gate they got with the JSU game every other year.

On the bright side, it is a nice stadium, if a bit small and frequently under-filled. The university did well to lure Pat Sullivan, away from UAB no less. We'll see if they give him the tools to compete in the new league.

This is what the SoCon wanted. I hope you folks enjoy it.

[BigApp]

I take it you are of the opinion Costal Carolina should have been invited instead? Or maybe JaxState?

I'm of the opinion (then and now) that we should have added NO one.

[ButlerGSU]

I'm of the opinion (then and now) that we should have added NO one.

The SoCon needed another football playing member but it should have been a school with a little more developed football program. If we wanted the AL market then Jacksonville State would have been a perfect fit and only strengthened the conference instead of weakening it.

[Syntax Error]

Tivoed it, going to watch it later tonight.

[sugrad04]

While I was very dissapointed and surprised by last night's bad turnout, I wasn't surprised. As a graduate, I can tell you that on Thursday night's nobody is even thinking about going to a football game, especially at 5 p.m., in the cold, against another medicore team.
I just have to make a 5 points.
1. The birmingham market will always be an alabama/auburn market, because it's 45 mins from tuscaLOOSER and about 2 hrs from Auburn. On that same note, Birmingham is a very charming,friendly city with some of the greatest resteraunts you can eat at. I promise that many of you will enjoy during your road trips. (Be sure to stop by Dreamland BBQ). When I was at Samford (only four years ago) Thursday night was the night to head downtown to party at the clubs at Five Points.Having said that, our A.D. should have done a better job getting those kids to fill the stands for our second ESPNU game of the year (first one was at Ga tech).
2.I can totally understand why you SoCon fans watched that and felt sick to your stomach, but I can promise you that this program IS headed in the right direction and we're finally recruiting solid athletes.(See Jonathan Lowery's catch.
3.You have to remember that this is literally one of the youngest teams in 1-AA, with 55 freshman and only a baker's dozen seniors.
4. While football is king, we have a very well-rounded athletic dept. Our basketball team is rebuilding but playing in a brand new arena this season, We usually have a very competitive squad and we've knocked off Alabama before. We were in the top four of the conference during the past two seasons, including a runner-up spot in 06.
Our baseball team is also solid. I realize that many of you dismiss info like that, but it is an important factor and we bring a nice balance of great academics and good athletics. Overall, in our four years in OVC play, we won 11 team conference titles, had nine coaches named league Coach of the Year and had eight student-athletes named Player of the Year or Athlete of the Year.
5. We will give your academics reputation another boost. After 17 years as one of the top schools in the regional category, we were reclassifed in the U.S. News' top tier. We finished 118 of all universities (which breaks down to the top 3 to 5% in the US), ahead of several SEC schools, as well as a few in the PAC 10 and Big 12. We're also in great financial shape and we're in the top 5% for overall endowment.
All this to say, Samford is a good all-around package. Over time, you will realize that we are a worthy addition. We'll just have to take our initial lumps.

[AppMan]

TV games are a reason for fans not to come to games, period. Why sit out in the cold, when you can sit at home?

Know what you mean. The last time an ASU home game was televised only 28,202 showed up. :>)