Tarleton to WAC

[gruesome]

Is there a plan to upgrade all of your facilities? Football has been updated, but Tarleton will have to build a brand new basketball arena, could probably get by with the volleyball arena, but if they upgrade basketball could move VB over there. Baseball and softball facilities are terrible. Don't know about soccer but you probably don't have to have much for that. Again how much money is A&M willing to dump into Tarleton just to have the D1 title.

What's wrong with Cecil Ballow?

[Techster88]

Enrollment increased from 13,011 to 13,122 from 2017 to 2018. Couldn't find 2019 numbers, but I'm sure they're out there. Granted, the purported 5-8% increase in previous years has helped boost that overall number, I've heard from several sources that enrollment for 2019 is down. Additionally, with student loans becoming an increasing burden, I think we'll see enrollment numbers flatten or decline over the next decade.

I think TSU is skating on thin ice with regards to the student population growing and supporting a D1 athletic budget. The travel alone in the WAC will cost millions and I don't think the media money (as many have already mentioned) will be anything close to supporting those increased travel costs and expenses.

In the end, it's a D1 move for D1's sake. Lonn is now officially a D1 athletic director and will be forever enshrined as the AD that brought TSU out of D2 and into D1. How that fares for the university long term is anyone's guess.

Valid points. I wouldn't worry to much about the enrollment at Tarleton not continuing to grow in the short term and the long term. They have done an excellent job of positioning themselves for the future.

What you could argue is the timing or the Conference. No, doubt it was just a matter of time with the growth that Tarleton would be moving up to D1. As I stated earlier the WAC somehow got one of the up and coming execs from the Mountain West to switch teams. I'm sure there are a lot of wheels turning at this time and we don't know what will happen. One thing is for definite sure Tarleton DID NOT spend their fortune on their football program to stop sponsoring it. Regardless of what division or conference or lack thereof, they will continue playing through transition and long after that.

Father Time will be the judge of this hasty move IMO.

BTW, the clock now starts on WT and East Texas (TAMUC).

[gruesome]

Valid points. I wouldn't worry to much about the enrollment at Tarleton not continuing to grow in the short term and the long term. They have done an excellent job of positioning themselves for the future.

What you could argue is the timing or the Conference. No, doubt it was just a matter of time with the growth that Tarleton would be moving up to D1. As I stated earlier the WAC somehow got one of the up and coming execs from the Mountain West to switch teams. I'm sure there are a lot of wheels turning at this time and we don't know what will happen. One thing is for definite sure Tarleton DID NOT spend their fortune on their football program to stop sponsoring it. Regardless of what division or conference or lack thereof, they will continue playing through transition and long after that.

Father Time will be the judge of this hasty move IMO.

BTW, the clock now starts on WT and East Texas (TAMUC).

It was definitely not a matter of if but when. The town hall meeting on YouTube from earlier today was enlightening. The points I took away from it were that Tarleton has received an invitation but has not accepted it yet as the media has reported. Additionally, it seems that the student fee increase will have a great deal on if that invitation is accepted. Finally, Hurley talked about the WAC currently forming its football conference with the names of the schools to be released at a later date.

[Vulpes88]

It may depend a great deal on whether or not this athletic fee passes. This town hall meeting is very interesting and enlightening with regards to what's actually going on behind the scenes. The fee increase would bring the athletic fee revenue to close to $5.5 million based on my math previously in this thread.

Social media and the media at large has taken this story and run with it more than I thought. Mainly media... Social media does what social media does.

What is going on behind the scenes? Not in Stephenville so I'm well out of the loop. Will the WAC have FCS football and any ideas which schools?

[TexanFan]

[ASURAM2010]

What's wrong with Cecil Ballow?

Compare it to ASU, WT, St. Mary's, heck even St. Ed's and then tell me. I mean I can't compare it to anything in the WAC but it holds about 100 people, bathrooms are 300 yards away from the field. Nothing "wrong" per se but just not a nice facility.

[gruesome]

Compare it to ASU, WT, St. Mary's, heck even St. Ed's and then tell me. I mean I can't compare it to anything in the WAC but it holds about 100 people, bathrooms are 300 yards away from the field. Nothing "wrong" per se but just not a nice facility.

I was kidding. But your point validates everything about the upgrades needed for D1 at Tarleton.

[WT_ALUM08]

Compare it to ASU, WT, St. Mary's, heck even St. Ed's and then tell me. I mean I can't compare it to anything in the WAC but it holds about 100 people, bathrooms are 300 yards away from the field. Nothing "wrong" per se but just not a nice facility.

Agreed. The stands, amenities, turf, etc., is a dump.

[gruesome]

What is going on behind the scenes? Not in Stephenville so I'm well out of the loop. Will the WAC have FCS football and any ideas which schools?

Vulpes, I recommend you watch the town hall meeting on YouTube or at least play it in the background while you're doing something else. I gleaned a lot of information from it that isn't being reported in the media. wisdomgymrat has been adamant that the Southland Conference is going down and that the likes of WT, Sam Houston, SFA, UTRGV (adding football), Northern Colorado, and New Mexico State will receive invites to the new WAC FCS conference. (See page 1 of this thread.) Dr. Hurley also mentioned in the town hall that the WAC is actively starting an FCS football conference.

To put it in perspective, Dixie State's feasibility study mentioned that it should not join the WAC without football, so it stands to reason that their joining the conference was with a guarantee that FCS football would be brought on as a conference-sponsored sport.

As far as behind the scenes, your guess is as good as mine, but wisdomgymrat seems to be our most reliable source for insider information.

[Herb Street]

I am worried about WT. I dont see a move to D1 unless Sharp and his cronies put some immense pressure on WT and force them. McBroom has never seemed interested in even entertaining the idea. So I think it will take the Mothership demanding it for that to be a consideration. 8 football schools is going to make scheduling a nightmare to find 4 OOC games in the LSC dang near impossible. Is it time to consider a move to the RMAC? WT fits the footprint of the RMAC and would replace Dixie State leaving. Would give the athletic program stability. RMAC is fully scholarship funded now. Yes we lose some of our natural rivals, but gain complete security and still have some relatively close opponents. Could schedule ENMU every year as our 1 OOC game.

I can just see a day where WNMU shuts down their football program. When that happens, the LSC football wise is one step away from being the GNAC. And if UTPB and UT Tyler follow the paths of their family brethren, they wont be D2 forever.

1. Why would "Sharp and his cronies" put any sort of pressure on WT to force them to move to D1? Based on what logic?
2. To what D1 conference would you propose that WT move?
3. From a state away, the LSC appears on more solid ground than it has in a long time. Even if the LSC dropped down to 5 or 6 football-playing schools, finding out-of-conference games isn't any big deal. Schools from the RMAC and MIAA would be delighted to schedule a home-and-home I would think. And if you have to travel to CA or WA or back east for a game, so be it. Better one or two plane trips for your football team than dozens of trips for in-conference games for your entire athletic program from now on.

[WT_ALUM08]

1. Why would "Sharp and his cronies" put any sort of pressure on WT to force them to move to D1? Based on what logic?
2. To what D1 conference would you propose that WT move?
3. From a state away, the LSC appears on more solid ground than it has in a long time. Even if the LSC dropped down to 5 or 6 football-playing schools, finding out-of-conference games isn't any big deal. Schools from the RMAC and MIAA would be delighted to schedule a home-and-home I would think. And if you have to travel to CA or WA or back east for a game, so be it. Better one or two plane trips for your football team than dozens of trips for in-conference games for your entire athletic program from now on.

1. If their plan is to keep up with UT schools on the national stage and they think they only way to do that is to move their programs up I could see where that pressure would start to take place. Arrogance and pride makes people in high positions do funny and illogical things.
2. I'm not proposing they move to any D1 conference. Where in my post did I say that? I brought up the RMAC as a possible solution but never proposed that I thought we should go up.
3. RMAC has only allowed 1 OOC game. With Dixie State leaving Im assuming that will open up 2 which will give LSC more flexibility. GNAC opens up the possibility of a scheduling alliance, but that depends on how long the GNAC survives.

[Herb Street]

1. If their plan is to keep up with UT schools on the national stage and they think they only way to do that is to move their programs up I could see where that pressure would start to take place. Arrogance and pride makes people in high positions do funny and illogical things.
2. I'm not proposing they move to any D1 conference. Where in my post did I say that? I brought up the RMAC as a possible solution but never proposed that I thought we should go up.
3. RMAC has only allowed 1 OOC game. With Dixie State leaving Im assuming that will open up 2 which will give LSC more flexibility. GNAC opens up the possibility of a scheduling alliance, but that depends on how long the GNAC survives.

I gotcha. I thought you were proposing WT move up. I would like it if they had a viable option but I don't think they do.

[Herb Street]

if anyone thinks moving to the WAC is the oasis in the desert, read on.

https://info.umkc.edu/unews/costly-w...-umkcs-budget/

https://www.kcur.org/post/umkc-s-mov...udget#stream/0

[ASURAM2010]

Am I the only one thinking that the LSC is going to add the GNAC as football only members for next year? I mean there are only 4 teams, so that would but our football playing schools at 12. That's 11 D2 games every year. Sounds like it makes too much sense to actually happen.

[Herb Street]

Welcome to the big time, Tarleton State!