MWC and recruiting

[fan]

I have actually heard that some of the SMU coaches are privately hoping TCU goes to the MWC. They feel that recruits and their families would prefer to play closer to home instead of traveling to Wyoming and Utah.

[Troup32]

Interesting way to look at it. Not likely, but interesting.

[gostangs]

what do mean not likely? Looks real likely to me. TCU is missing the boat several ways - if there program slips, which it will eventually, (Miami they ain't) - they will not be happy with the travel.(The $200,000 cost fo the differnece in travel is BS - no way could that be true - just count the number of teams, the team members and get out a map - I bet the Delta is closer to a million. There may not be a spot in CUSA when they want to come back.

Recruiting wise the conference is not that much better, they are still not in a BCS conf., and we will have an even bigger edge with recruits at that point.

[NavyCrimson]

i think tcu is more flattered that someone wants them & they're embellishing their importance or stature in the football world...face it - they're a one-trick pony with an easy schedule & a coach as the frontrunner at mississippi state with the exception of baseball which is growing.

i think their ego is getting the best of 'em!

[EastStang]

You know you may have hit on a reason why TCU administrators might think this is a good move. Baseball. They know that when Rice joins the conference, they'll have at least 2 if not 3 programs ahead of them in baseball (Rice, UH, and USM). Their egos are too fragile for that. Add in that we will start getting to play for conference titles in hoops, swimming, golf, tennis, and track. Even though they are pretty good in golf, tennis and track, that prospect may be enough to make them think, perhaps they would be better ruling the roost in the MWC.

[JasonB]

TCU would be making a huge mistake if it left the conference right now. Football-wise, you would have Marshall in the East and TCU in the west, which right away makes it better than the Mountain West. Recruiting for TCU will suffer tremendously with a move to the MWC. So will attendance. It just doesn't make sense.

I think TCU has an ego problem with the fact that several teams left C-USA to join a BCS conference, and they haven't been invited to join one. So they are going to get up and leave. The problem comes when the PAC-10 decides to expand, and the MWC loses their best teams.

The Frogs need to realize that athletic success at the TCUs, SMUs, and Baylors of the world has ALWAYS been cyclical. TCU needs to do what is best for the future, not react to getting excluded from the BCS right now. And if their program starts struggling in the MWC, they will have even worse attendance problems than SMU has right now.

[PonySnob]

If programs like TCU, Baylor and SMU are cyclical , when is SMU going to get on the upward trend? It's been 14 years of nothing but a downward trend on the Hilltop.

[Crong]

I was thinking the same thing. With no wins, it looks like this is the bottom, but you never know.

[gostangs]

this is not the bottom - the bottom is stuck in the WAC playing teams you don't care about - with Cavan driving your program into the ground by not recruiting well. CUSA + two more good recruiting classes equals much better future then we had two years ago - our record this year notwithstanding.

[Southland]

Originally posted by PonySnob:
If programs like TCU, Baylor and SMU are cyclical , when is SMU going to get on the upward trend? It's been 14 years of nothing but a downward trend on the Hilltop.

Actually SMU had an uptick when it joined the WAC, and had a fantastic chance to be a respected mid-major program at the close of the 1990s. Unfortunately, we blew the opportunity on the field.

1996: 5-6, lost 3 games on the last play of the game
1997: 6-5, started 1-4 when coach benched Ramon and Kelsey Adams
1998: 5-7, two overtime losses off blown 4th qtr leads; TCU goes to the Sunbowl by default at 6-5

From there Cavan failed in recruiting, and it has been a steady decline. Note that those years came when the "mighty" MWC schools competed against SMU, and Arkansas was a fixture on the schedule.

SMU had an opportunity, but the sour alumni were too busy complaining to notice. Just as they are now about our CUSA line-up, which will lead to a stronger EBITDA and improved media opportunity than the current WAC provides -- with or without TCU.

[Stallion]

Henceforth 1996-1998 will be referred to as "The Golden Age of Mustang Football" in honor of Southland's research.

[Southland]

Originally posted by Stallion:
Henceforth 1996-1998 will be referred to as "The Golden Age of Mustang Football" in honor of Southland's research.

Thank you for the perfect example of what I'm talking about... all negative, all the time.

Stallion, with you the conclusion was made a long time ago that you've got to be one sad SOB, spending your whole day [deleted] about SMU football, and citing recruiting magazines. Pathetic existence Stallion; truly pathetic.

[GoRedGoBlue]

We got may have gotten lucky from 96-98.

We got on probation in 99,00,01

That probation is killing us in 02,03 (lack of upperclass depth)

[Big Easy Pony]

I would imagine that if you've got a kid in ... east Texas, and he has the choice to go to SMU and play early (if he's really good, maybe to start immediately) and have games in towns like New Orleans and Houston (translation: where the family can drive), or he can sign with TCU, sit for a few years and then invite Mom and Dad to fly to Laramie, Wyo., and Provo, Utah, it should be an easy choice. This conference shakeup just might give our recruiting effort a nice jump-start.

[Johnny Rock]

I did not realize that SMU and TCU recruited many of the same players. In the past, TCU has recruited players that SMU could not due to SMU'S restrictions and admission policies. Cavan even said once that he is not even recruiting many of the players TCU is going after. SMU is its own worst ememy not TCU. Manybe a few more losing seasons will make you people start pointing the finger in the right place.