MBB: Great South Athletic Conference

[mattgrubb]

Wilburt,
You are bitter.  Have you not learned self control throughout your vast studies.  If there is hate in your heart let it out!!!!!!!!!!!!  We are pointing out the same reasons Fisk did not succeed in the GSAC and wondering how that will translate in a different conference.  By the way, normally i just type fast.  I was a business major not an english major.  Actually, I am a pretty intelligent guy.  I am not a big guy or a quick guy, but I sure used to dominate Fisk.  There is no tangle here.  I have learned to control my emotions like an adult and not make claims that I cannot back up or prove.  And I would certainly never accuse a man of Randy Lambert's reputation of some of the things you have.  Usually, name calling is just a smoke screen to cover real problems that can be addressed and solved. 

Bottom line is this:  If you acted more like me the world would be a better place.  Take this wisdom as you move to www.d2basketball.com.  Now go bother those people because we are above you and will not stoop to your level.
Brent
2001 GSAC Player of the Year

Go Scots

[wilburt]

Doug et al. I rest my case...

Thanks Brent .   When will you ever learn to let it go???  More importantly when will you learn not to dip into an adult's conversation???

You should go to some anger management classes at least, since it appears you rarely attended any of your other classes namely - English (notice the capital "E" Brent you missed that). 

What does wondering about Fisk's success in another conference mean to you?  Why do you care? Unless you have some unresolved anger against Fisk? Clearly you have not let it go Brent...

By the way, I was not calling you a name, Brent.  I was stating a fact. Your reading comprehension has not improved much since last we dialogued and you seem to admit as much!  As a result, that may be why you tend to say some stupid things

[Spencer Beaty]

sounds like they need more sports

Here we go again.  Just maybe your alma mater may need to offer more academic programs to get more non-athletes. Just a thought...

Quote from Spencer Beaty:

How would the jump to D2 affect your other sports? I know you would get better players but all other sports have struggled mightily in D3.

Your question does not make any sense to me. Logically if you get better players (as you state), then how could you struggle in D2? Fisk didn't struggle before in the SIAC and neither is Stillman currently struggling in the SIAC. So what are you really talking about? Please explain...

What I am asking you Wilburt is obviously there are D2 programs that struggle.  Fisk struggled in D3 where other teams succeeded.  Why is it that you will magically have comparatively better D2 athletic than you did in D3.  (I am excluding basketball from this.)

[Spencer Beaty]

Also Maryville College is a great academic institution

[scotswin]

What does wondering about Fisk's success in another conference mean to you?  Why do you care? Unless you have some unresolved anger against Fisk? Clearly you have not let it go Brent...

I think you brought it up...

[Ralph Turner]

...as you move to www.d2basketball.com. 

Go Scots

I just went to www.d2basketball.com.

There was one user and one guest (me) on the forum.

The largest number of users ever as 42 on Jan 1, 2002 at 2:18 a.m!

Wow!  You can 42 Murvul fans ganging up on Coach Haynes or old lion on these boards alone, not to mention the in-game commentary of a Wheaton- Illinois Wesleyan or a Woo-Witt game! 

[scottiedoug]

I still am curious about women's athletics in D2 and the SIAC.  Are the requirements for fielding women's and men's teams similar to those in D3? (Ralph, this may be for you!)  Does being D2 mean you can give (gasp Wilburt!) athletic scholarships?  That might be how you get better players, but it undermines the idea that Fisk is above the jockgrovelling Wilburt seems to think Murvul engages in.

[Ralph Turner]

I don't know the number per sport or any conference restrictions in D2.

I think that D2's must offer 5 and 5 sports.

I did find the by-law that allows Fisk to give as many scholarships as they want.

Academic Scholarships

[Ralph Turner]

I bombed out on searching the NCAA bylaws for athletic scholarship limits and number of required sponsored sports.

[wilburt]

Quote from Mr. Beaty:
What I am asking you Wilburt is obviously there are D2 programs that struggle.  Fisk struggled in D3 where other teams succeeded.  Why is it that you will magically have comparatively better D2 athletic than you did in D3.  (I am excluding basketball from this.)

Why is it that you don't think we will is the better question? Particularly, if we are able to give out D2 scholarships.  Again, your question doesn't make any sense to me unless your underlying premise is that regardless of what $$$$ Fisk puts into its athletic program it will not succeed.   Is that what you all are really thinking? 

And yes, Maryville is a fine academic institution as are the other GSAC schools.

Doug, I think Ralph answered your questions about D2. 

On a personal note, I am overwhelmed by the sincere interest and concern that a few Maryville alums have shown in the well being of the Fisk athletic program, particularly since we are no longer part of the GSAC.  Shouldn't you all be more concerned with trying to recruit another school to the GSAC before the women's programs lose their automatic bid?

[wilburt]

What does wondering about Fisk's success in another conference mean to you?  Why do you care? Unless you have some unresolved anger against Fisk? Clearly you have not let it go Brent...

I think you brought it up...

No, I think Mr. Beaty and Mr. Watts brought it up when they posed the question.   

[Spencer Beaty]

I guess since every time you try to argue a point with Wilburt he spins it off in the direction where you least expect it GO FISK!

[coachwgh]

The only thing that would make this conversation better is if grubby or wilburt would end a comment with "I spit hot fire!"  

Wilburt, I think that a lot of the interest/concern/questions comes from the fact that Fisk was a charter member of the GSAC and an intense rivalry of MC for many years.  My 2 cents.

Fisk at the D2 level is not a guaranteed chart topper.  All the smart people in D3 understand that scholarships don't solve all your problems!  If I had 6 fulls and competed in the GSAC, it would solve a few, but not in the SIAC.  What you have to understand is that even the fully funded powerhouses aren't just tossing out full scholarships like cheese at the first of the month.  They have to be selective and frugal with their dollars so they can get the most for their money.  If ONLY scholarships was the answer to everyone's athletic issues then why would Fisk beat TN State and Maryville beat Carson Newman and LaGrange beat Berry?  I will compile a short list of things that you must satisfy to get a recruit at any level.

1. Coaching Staff - If the kid doesn't like the head coach and especially the asst coach, he is not coming.
2. Facilities - If you don't have doors on your bathroom stalls and your lights flicker, he is not coming.
3. Academic Environment - If a young man can't get help through professors, coaches, teammates, or coaches, the parents aren't sending him.
4. Teammates - If your current players aren't as committed as the new guy he sees this as one of two ways.  A. These guys are chumps.  I will start as a freshman over these lazy bums.  B. These guys are great.  I can't wait to hit the clubs with these guys.  
5. Playing Time - Every kid wants to play.  If they don't, cut'em.  
6. MONEY - How much is it going to cost.  Even in the SIAC kids are paying money to play.  
7. Campus Life - If the dorm doesn't have air conditioning and people urinate in the hall ways, it will take a lot for momma to drop her baby off in the fall.  If every weekend people pack up and go home because 5 hours in a car is more fun than being on campus for a weekend, it will be hard to keep anybody you get.

Point being: It is rough all over!  

[wilburt]

Coach Haynes:

You bring up some great points, most of them I agree with - particularly the one about it being rough all over!

My point is this, from my vantage point a lot of Fisk alums and a number of Fisk officials feel that the rejoining the SIAC is a better conference fit for the school at this time for a number of reasons.  However, since the SIAC went exclusive D2 in the 1980s or 1990s, in order for Fisk to do that we must become a D2 school.  If we could remain D3 and do that, we probably would.  What's driving this proposal (IMHO) to go D2 is not the desire to  necessarily to win SIAC championships (although that would be nice), nor to put $$$$ into the athletic program because of the complaints from the GSAC ADs and Coaches, but to resume competition with our traditional rivals.

TSU is facing a similar dilemma with the OVC.  TSU alums would rather come out to see TSU play little ole D3 Fisk, and schools like Grambling, Florida A & M, than to see TSU play an OVC rival like Eastern Kentucky in basketball.  Last season nearly, 9,000 people saw the Fisk-TSU game whereas TSU averaged 4,000 or so to their OVC games.   As a result, TSU is exploring joining the MEAC and leaving the OVC.

Stillman, Lincoln and Fisk have had their share of challenging experiences with fellow D3 schools in recent years.  It is no coincidence then that all three schools would try to minimize (or eliminate) these "challenges" and resume competition with their historical rivals, where there has been an element of trust and shared interests for nearly one hundred years!   

[coachwgh]

I agree with HBCU's alligning themselves in conferences.  Some view it as a type of segregation but I can understand the amount heritage involved in many of those schools and the level of rivalry they share.  TSU does need to leave the OVC. 

Bad News: We had a kid de-comitt this weekend.  Good News: We replaced him on Monday.

In reference to announcing recruiting successes on the website...the kid must first sign his acceptance of his financial award letter and then the school can post.  We are going to post all of ours the week after graduation.