TT-AM Series

[Mickey]

The DMN recently mentioned that Tech-AM will start playing some games at a neutral site- Dallas. This is how far we have fallen. We don't even exist anymore to the BCS and Big 12. Never in a million years would this have happened if we had been putting COLLEGE teams on the field.

Tech-AM not only want to play in Dallas for the great number of their fans who reside in the area, but also for recruiting purposes. UT-OU already play one game here every year.

This is really an indication of how bad Pye blew it, as it is pretty obvious that the BIG 12 covets the Dallas market. Does Dallas have the larger TV market or Waco? Would a fan from Nebraska rather spend the week- end in Dallas or Waco? On second thought, they would probably spend the weekend in Dallas and drive to the game in Waco. Who in their right mind would want to spend the weekend in Wacko?

We had it and lost it because of Pye's arrogance, and Big Jim has now opened the door for the invasion of more Big 12 games. At least if you are a college football fan, you can find satisfaction in the fact that college football is coming and will be here soon.

[MrMustang1965]

At least if you are a college football fan, you can find satisfaction in the fact that college football is coming and will be here soon.

Hey, Mickey: college football IS already here in Dallas. It's called the SMU Mustangs!!! Be at Ford Stadium on Sept. 3. to watch SMU defeat Baylor (another Big 12 team).

And here's an article from today's Lubbock Avalanche-Journal newspaper that says it would be a BAD IDEA for the Raiders to move the game to the Metroplex.

from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal:

A variety of people have offered a variety of reasons why Texas Tech should or should not agree to move the Tech-Texas A&M football game to the Metroplex, but one point trumps all the rest: It really hurts Tech's chances of winning one of the most important games of the year.

On that basis alone, this is a bad idea. Maybe some people have become spoiled by 12 years without a losing season. That can change in a hurry. (See: Kansas State). Maybe some in the Tech community, after five consecutive home wins against A&M, are complacent enough to voice an anytime/anywhere attitude. Get real.

Sure, over the past 10 years, the Red Raiders are 7-3 in the series. Sounds like a decisive edge, right? But 10 of the last 11 Tech-A&M games went to the fourth quarter with the outcome in doubt. That being the case, it's foolish to voluntarily let go of any advantage - and home field every other year is no small consideration.

Especially when it's Tech's home field.

Have you been to Jones SBC Stadium lately? The place has been rockin' nearly every Tech home game for the past few seasons. Average home attendance last year hit 52,283 - right at capacity, and a record for the third time in five years. So let's get this straight. At a time when Tech is spending - and soliciting - millions to upgrade the stadium, then selling it out ... you want to ship your most colorful, competitive rivalry game six hours east?

Are you serious?

But let's go back for a moment to what's been developing on the field of late.

It's not just that the Aggies haven't won in Lubbock since 1993. Judging by the comments that emanate from College Station each time A&M ventures to Lubbock, it's as if the Aggies, in their heads, turn Jones SBC into a Bermuda Triangle. They don't just dread the trip. They dread it times 10.

Tech had best think long and hard before throwing that psychological edge away. And there are other risks, too. Lubbock merchants don't seem overjoyed at the thought of losing a big revenue weekend. Many of those same folks help out Tech by buying season tickets.

Why do those in favor want to see Tech move the game? For more money, presumably. And for the idea that Tech needs to cater, in a disproportionate way, to the Dallas-Fort Worth alumni base over grads in any other big city. And for some vague notion that moving the game to Dallas will result in more exposure.

OK, let's take those one at a time.

Tech probably could get more revenue from a game played at the Cotton Bowl, or at the proposed new Dallas Cowboys' stadium in Arlington - a $650 million jewel that might be under construction in 2006 and open in 2009.

Again, Tech's not so desperate for revenue that it should jeopardize its team's chances of winning.

Two, with so many games already lined up against SMU and TCU, the Red Raiders will play four times in the Metroplex between 2006 and 2011. That's plenty. And besides: Attendance at Tech games in the Metroplex has been mediocre to lousy. There's no guarantee that a Tech-A&M game in Dallas won't more resemble an Aggies home game than a neutral-site showdown.

As to the idea that moving the game to Dallas will somehow make it a bigger deal and more people will pay attention, don't count on it. The college game, the college atmosphere, easily gets lost in a pro-sports city - all the more so if one team happens to be in a down cycle. Conversely, the television networks will seek out a good game - one that's important to a conference race, one that has atmosphere - wherever it's played. There's nothing that Dallas can offer that's going to beat Jones SBC Stadium or Kyle Field when Tech and A&M get together.

I can't help but feel that a dose of UT-OU envy comes into play here. The Sooners and Longhorns have been playing in the Cotton Bowl for as long as most people can remember, and maybe those behind the Tech/A&M-to-Dallas push think the Raiders deserve the same stage.

Who wants it? Who needs it?

Most seasons, the most exciting game Tech plays all year is the A&M game. It didn't get good just 10 years ago. It's been that way for at least 40.

So let the Aggies keep their home game every two years.

And make sure the Red Raiders keep theirs.

http://www.redraiders.com/stories/06260 ... 5045.shtml

[redraidersweetheart]

I for one really really hope it doesn't move, it wouldn't be half as fun as it is now if it does. This is the third season in a row that this has been discussed and nothing has happened yet.

The thing that makes this game as great as it is year after year is the fact that it travels..and tons of students and alumni travel with it. It wouldn't be the same if it wasn't at Jones SBC or Kyle....

[EastStang]

Dallas isn't even 1/2 way between the two schools. Ft. Worth is closer to that, but why in the world would Tech fans want to drive 8 hours to see a "home" game against the Aggies. I agree with the posts above, the Raiders would be crazy to take the bait. I guarantee a "neutral" site game in Dallas would have at least 50% Aggie fans which would blow the Raiders home advantage out the window. Also, the Raiders have not played particularly well in Dallas when they played us.

[redraidersweetheart]

There would be Tech fans there..probably more than you think.

[NavyCrimson]

MIckey states: "This is really an indication of how bad Pye blew it, as it is pretty obvious that the BIG 12 covets the Dallas market."

however, the biggest screw-up of total incompetence is that the board allowed it to happen

[couch 'em]

There would be Tech fans there..probably more than you think.

Including a significant portion of the SMU student body. I guarentee that if this game goes head to head with an SMU game, 80% of the football game attending students will NOT be watching the ponies.

[Caballo]

"As to the idea that moving the game to Dallas will somehow make it a bigger deal and more people will pay attention, don't count on it. The college game, the college atmosphere, easily gets lost in a pro-sports city - all the more so if one team happens to be in a down cycle. "




Do you get the feeling that they are talking about us?

[DomerPony]

Ken Pye was a man of integrity. He lived his life within the law. Many of us who were fortunate enough to learn from him at the School of Law (as it was known before Dedman) honor his memory.

Who blew it? The bag men, bribers, fast car dealers, cheaters, scoundrels, players on the take and other bad guys at SMU in the early 1980's. Their actions continue to degrade the reputation of a great University.

Pye was the sheriff who rid the town of outlaws and cleansed the splatter of blood and horse manure from the diplomas on our walls.

[MrMustang1965]

Ken Pye was a man of integrity. He lived his life within the law. Many of us who were fortunate enough to learn from him at the School of Law (as it was known before Dedman) honor his memory.

Who blew it? The bag men, bribers, fast car dealers, cheaters, scoundrels, players on the take and other bad guys at SMU in the early 1980's. Their actions continue to degrade the reputation of a great University.

Pye was the sheriff who rid the town of outlaws and cleansed the splatter of blood and horse manure from the diplomas on our walls.

[EastStang]

I have no doubt about Ken Pye's ethics or morality. I have no problem with cleaning up problems in sports and recruiting. But some of his policies put us at a huge competitive disadvantage. But why for example hamstring coaches with academic restrictions that no other Division 1 team had to live with (not contacting a recruit until they scored a qualifying SAT score). Why get rid of the physical education major so that athletes could get a degree in something that was meaningful to them and permit junior college kids who had made collegiate progress to attend SMU? Why not admit partial qualifiers as Miami, Tulane and yes, even Duke allow? President Pye was naive and idealistic not mean spirited. But his legacy of 17 years of losing in our major sports of football and basketball, clearly show that the rest of the NCAA was unwilling to follow his lead. As a result, he did nothing more than extend our death penalty sentence far longer than it had to be, and quite frankly made the NCAA far more hesitant to seriously punish wrongdoers who deserve that punishment.

[Dooby]

Ken Pye was a man of integrity. He lived his life within the law. Many of us who were fortunate enough to learn from him at the School of Law (as it was known before Dedman) honor his memory.

Who blew it? The bag men, bribers, fast car dealers, cheaters, scoundrels, players on the take and other bad guys at SMU in the early 1980's. Their actions continue to degrade the reputation of a great University.

Pye was the sheriff who rid the town of outlaws and cleansed the splatter of blood and horse manure from the diplomas on our walls.

It is possible to be both a good person and a smart person and make mistakes.

I take it at face value that Pye wanted a football program run "the right way." A fair question is whether he was qualified to know what that was. The man had no experience with college athletics and changes were made to the university and the athletic department without consultation from anyone with such experience. I think it appropriate to look at the changes he made and the record since and ask if this is the best way to go about it. Many other schools graduate their athletes at a better rate than we do and at the same time have greater success on the field.

And your hyperbole is a little excessive. He wasn't a sheriff; these people were barred from being involved by the NCAA. Pye picked up the shattered pieces after the battle and put them back together into what he wanted. That certainly doesn't make one a cowboy. There was noone left to shoot back at Pye.

[jtstang]

Who blew it? The bag men, bribers, fast car dealers, cheaters, scoundrels, players on the take and other bad guys at SMU in the early 1980's. Their actions continue to degrade the reputation of a great University.

Well, you certainly have a point there.

However, Pye's pendulum swung too far in the opposite direction and he actually ended up hurting the university he was trying to help. Dooby's right--his heart may have been in the right place, but his mind had no idea where that was.

[Bergermeister]

Doubt you will be able to resurrect any semblance of compassion for Mr. Pye. He shoulda stayed in the classroom. What difference does it make, anyway. This tired line of bull is like beatin' farts out of a dead mule. I mean, what's the point? Let Texas Tech and Texas A&M play in Dallas every week. They will make a recruiting haul, draw more fans and get the headlines. No surprise there. As for me, I'll be at Ford Stadium or SMU's opponent's stadium (if it is close) and backing the 'stangs. That's about all I have control over. (sorry about that preposition)

[DixieTech]

I'm a Tech alum and I despise the idea. It would be a quick sellout, but to deprive each campus of this matcup would be heresy. College games should be played at colleges. If you've never been to one of these games, the atmosphere is crazy, totally crazy, and that needs to stay in Lubbock and college station.