FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Ralph Turner]

Tu2694

"I laughed and laughed when Ben Ganus had a media event signing for Huntingdon College two years ago, but it's just not funny anymore."

was it a 'MEDIA event' or a signing party... like the one that happens every year at the O-A news... with all the kids pictures in the paper  ?.... from 14 high schools in our general area ...

last wk.... 21 kids  in opelika at tha O-A news office D1=>D-3 + NAIA

last yr ~32 kids, 6 D-3 to 3 different colleges

just curious what u define as a media event ?

I had my Mom take a picture of me with her Kodak Instamatic in our den as I signed my academic scholarship to McMurry.  I got one paragraph on page 9B in the Waco Tribune-Herald! 

Mom was (and is) proud of me.  (And I am proud of my Mom.)   

[AF4]

"I had my Mom take a picture of me with her Kodak Instamatic in our den as I signed my academic scholarship to McMurry.  I got one paragraph on page 9B in the Waco Tribune-Herald!" 


i didn't even get that ... uh in 1971... when i signed to play at austin peay

i played junior high and highschool ball with kids that  went on to play at UGA, Ga Tech, UT (the one in noxville), USC (the one in south carolina), Gardner Webb, delta state.
.. i was the least impressive and got the least aid  (D-2 could give partials then ..and now)... but none of us even got in the paper....i keep up...kinda .. with all of the ones still living... and i think i got at least...as much out of my education as any of the others... maybe

things r different now...  but i would have liked to have gotten in the news paper

keep the faith

[Ron Boerger]

Could Joey Jones be "one and done" at BSC?

http://www.al.com/sports/press-register/index.ssf?/base/sports/1202465734321030.xml&coll=3

He has said that he would never want to go through building a program from scratch again but he is obviously reconsidering that.  At least at D-1, he would have scholarships and more money to work with.  We sure would hate to lose him.

Holey moley.  I have a great deal of respect for Coach Jones but for a D-I school to be offering him a shot at the big seat after one year of D3 experience seems a bit out there.   All the best in any case to Coach Jones; you would hate to see him go to a situation where he would not have much of a chance for success which is kinda how I read the first choice turning USA down.

On another topic, re the signing ceremonies, you can't really blame the schools who want as many kids to have that experience as possible.  And a lot of the local papers don't realize that the kid going to the D3 school is signing a financial aid/scholarship offer that is independent of the kid's choice to play sports.  I cringe every time I see some McKinney kid "signing" with a D3 college in the local paper but they don't want to hear about it (yes. I tried). 

[evacuee]

I'm sorry AF4, I don't know where you're located.  The O-A?  Help me out.  What you're describing doesn't sound too bad. 

When a kid is flanked by his parents and his principal with a background hung behind them that is covered with the school's logo, and the signee is wearing the baseball hat of the school with which he "signed," not to mention the newspaper publishes both the picture and an attached article stating that he signed a football scholarship, I call that a media event.  Given that it was only him, I think that exempts it from party status, plus the only thing he had to sign was the deposit to secure his place, which his parents probably signed in truth.  I suppose there was a made up document there for him. 

[Ralph Turner]

I'm sorry AF4, I don't know where you're located.  The O-A?  Help me out.  What you're describing doesn't sound too bad. 
...

O-A...

The Opelika-Auburn News

[AF4]

Ralph (as usual) nailed it Opelika- Auburn news


TU2695
we must agree to disagree..

last week there were pictures of 21 kids like u describbed in the O-A news
5 were for D-1, 11 were for D-1FCS, 1 was for D-2, and 4 were for D-3

last yr it was like this yr... and the yr before...and...uh

the d-3 and naia (last yr) were treated like the D1, D1fcs, & D-2 kids..all kids from each school signing somthing.... with thier coach and parents flanked on each side... in some cases... (where 5 kids from a particular highschool got an athletic or other aid to play  in college)  .... a bunch of parents in a single picture...with sitting kids flanked by coaches..

so ...a media event... if that is what u consider media event... then it is a media event...i guess it is real real common here in east alabama...and west georgia

... i saw an article in the Montgomery that was real similar... Valley times... i could go on... La Grange ga paper

what they r called here...at least for the ~12 highschools in lee county alabama...is a signing party

i don't no...but i'd bet that is what  ben ganus did... but... i'll ask him to b sure... next time i'm in montgomery...

b good and keep the faith

[evacuee]

You don't have a problem with a kid being reported to everyone that he received a football scholarship when in fact he did not?  I additionally have a real problem with the principal endorsing that.  You know that someone from Gulf Breeze High School actually did get merit scholarship to somewhere that year.  Even if it is a community college, at least that's something.  Deciding to play d3 football gives you nothing but an offseason program and an earlier reporting date. 

Maybe it's a regional thing.  I noticed that Huntingdon does way more in the way of media relations for football than most d3 programs.  Certainly more than my alma mater anyway.  They have an extensive game day program as well as "Hawk Talk."

[AF4]

"You don't have a problem with a kid being reported to everyone that he received a football scholarship when in fact he did not?  "

TU2698

it is not reported falsely around here.......... but at least here in east al..and it appears in west ga... it is not represented as a athletic scholarship... it is ...for D-3... represented as agreeing to play... but any scholarship money they get also reported.....as to the type... not in the same article...but when they r about to graduate

at the boys highschool graduation (occasionally we call him son) the principal made great pains to point out (as did the news paper) he was going to college on an academic scholarship...as D-3 does not give athletic  scholarships... but he had agreed to play football...i was much prouder of the academic stuff than him ever playing football

as is the case in our local papers... the amt of the scholarship is reported (a bragging point for the local highschools.... per haps crass....but hay...we r in alabama)... it was neat in that the amts that were rept for the 3 D-3 schools were higher than many of the D-2 or NAIA schools...although ... none of the D-3 ' were athletic

at least in the local papers... i think someone would have to b just gloss over the articles to not notice the difference....

last yr..in the O-A news (opelika auburn) it had the kids who were invited walk ons at troy and auburn ..also...
again last yr... pictures of the kids going to Huntingdon and Miss Col and Faulkner (naia) were included

but .. we can agree to disagree... or it is very possible that we r speaking of 2 different thangs...

b good & keep the faith 

[oldmoose]

A Joey Jones update:

http://www.al.com/sports/press-register/index.ssf?/base/sports/120282396873540.xml&coll=3

It sounds like Mickey Matthews has the better credentials but Jones is the homeboy.  I'm pulling for Matthews 'cause I don't want to lose Jones after just one season.

[AF4]

joey jones would b an excellent coach at ANY level

keep the faith

[oldmoose]

joey jones would b an excellent coach at ANY level

keep the faith

I certainly agree, and I have never held any illusions that Joey Jones would stay at BSC for a long time.  I would like for him to at least stay long enough to see his first freshman class all the way through school.  I feel that way because there are so many freshmen and, selfishly, because my son is one of them.

[Tex]

I certainly agree, and I have never held any illusions that Joey Jones would stay at BSC for a long time.  I would like for him to at least stay long enough to see his first freshman class all the way through school.  I feel that way because there are so many freshmen and, selfishly, because my son is one of them.

Agreed.  That would be a "nice" scenario for the current players.  I guess the reality of college football at any level is that you just have to pick the school because you like the school.  No guarantees to any player, any level, that their coach will be there the entire time.

On the flip side, as a parent, you get comfortable with the coach that your son is to play for.  We parents evaluate the man who will be sheparding our sons for 4 years.  That was a really big concern for my wife and I.  And in our case, it doesn't appear Coach Mohr will be going anywhere any time soon, but hey... you never know how these things are going to work out. 

[cush]

I'm surprised s.alabama doesn't hire jeff bower, he would seem like a perfect fit for them. As for BSC, guess they could go after Jeff Rutledge or maybe they should call jeff bower. Than again, maybe the big name types don't work at the D3 level.

[frank_ezelle]

Some big name types work at the D3 level--at least I hope that Millsaps keeps Mike DuBose for a while after the success of his first two years.

I'd be surprised to see Jeff Bower jump back into coaching right away, but I'm sure some school will give him good money when he is ready to get back on the sidelines.  I always thought Bower and his team were overachievers at Southern Miss--apparently some of the higher ups at the school and among the alums thought different.

[evacuee]

I seem to find a different crusade every few months.  Well, it's that time of year again, and it happens to have been triggered by signing day. 

I found out today that one of my students has a cousin who is on a full ride at Millsaps on the strength of a very high ACT score.  This young scholar also plays football for the Majors.  Yet the scholar's mother contends to my student that her son is on an academic and athletic scholarship.  Clearly, she doesn't know what she's talking about, but it indicated something to me:  part of the reason that all this "signing" press is so out of control is because the parents are as likely to believe it as their eighteen year old sons. 

I have to give credit where credit is due.  If the coaches know they can sell their programs by telling these naive people that they are getting football scholarships, they know how to recruit.  If the money is already set aside for him, why not tell the kid that it's for football?  To be clear, I am not singling out anyone, as this apparently takes place everywhere.  See my post above. 

I just think it's really sad when coaches assume that some of these young men and their families can't be proud of being non-scholarship athletes.