WT Baseball

[Buffalo/Islander Alum]

WT announced today that Cory Hall will be the Buffs new head coach. He has been at WT as assistant coach for 14 years. He had the opportunity to go to SFA with Matt Vanderburg but decided to stay at WT. I have known him for the entire time has been at WT and am excited that he is staying and will now lead the program.

Good for him and glad he is getting his opportunity to make his own name and stay in the area he is familiar.

Too lazy to research this morning but were there any current Buffs baseball players that jumped into the portal and followed Vanderburg to SFA?

[Buffalo/Islander Alum]

Maybe there are some more candidates. I was told that Wendler was calling some other university athletic directors inquiring about potential prospects. I hope there are some good ones and WT doesn’t get a Wendler/Rikel lackey.

Well it sure as heck isnt going to be someone that gets in front of a microphone ramping up the alumni base to raise 100 million dollars so they can go D1.

Just talking to inside sources and alumni I am growing increasingly concerned that WT is going to wind down to Western Oregon type scholarship numbers or worse (D3).

At some point the old guard is going to pass on and the younger alumni isnt going to remember and/or care about the past/future to give consistent donations to support a D3 cause.

I really really really hope I am wrong.

[oldbuff]

Maybe there are some more candidates. I was told that Wendler was calling some other university athletic directors inquiring about potential prospects. I hope there are some good ones and WT doesn’t get a Wendler/Rikel lackey.

[MooseLodge]

2nd UPDATE: Interviews are continuing tomorrow (Monday).

[MooseLodge]

UPDATE: I noticed that the position is no longer posted, so that would lead me to believe that a hire has been made.

[MooseLodge]

I’m not concerned that Cory was hired. He has earned the opportunity to be WT’s head coach. I am glad that Interim AD Thompson Mayberry, or someone, has the authority to proceed with running WT Athletics. I AM concerned that it has and is taking so long to find and hire a full time AD. The fall season starts in less than 2 months and WT does not yet have a full time AD. Why? No one to whom I’ve talked has a clue.

Dave Campbell says that it is down to finalists, and "Sources give clues to an internal candidate for athletic director at West Texas A&M." I don't subscribe to DC so I can't see behind the paywall. Casey Lish is my guess.

There were a couple of external hot shots that were in the mix who were obvious choices. Given the delay, and the idea that this may go internal, I'm guessing the external candidates couldn't come to terms, or perhaps they didn't like what they saw behind the curtain - future budget cuts, cutting of sports, etc. Or WT may be trying to lowball this deal - I sure hope not. This isn't a job WT can afford to cheap out on.

No way to spin this delay as a positive that I can think of.

[oldbuff]

I’m not concerned that Cory was hired. He has earned the opportunity to be WT’s head coach. I am glad that Interim AD Thompson Mayberry, or someone, has the authority to proceed with running WT Athletics. I AM concerned that it has and is taking so long to find and hire a full time AD. The fall season starts in less than 2 months and WT does not yet have a full time AD. Why? No one to whom I’ve talked has a clue.

[MooseLodge]

WT announced today that Cory Hall will be the Buffs new head coach. He has been at WT as assistant coach for 14 years. He had the opportunity to go to SFA with Matt Vanderburg but decided to stay at WT. I have known him for the entire time has been at WT and am excited that he is staying and will now lead the program.

I am really surprised - maybe concerned - that this hire happened before an AD was hired.

[oldbuff]

WT announced today that Cory Hall will be the Buffs new head coach. He has been at WT as assistant coach for 14 years. He had the opportunity to go to SFA with Matt Vanderburg but decided to stay at WT. I have known him for the entire time has been at WT and am excited that he is staying and will now lead the program.

[Buffalo/Islander Alum]

Angelo State is benefiting from the population boom in the area especially in Midland/Odessa from the oil boom. Kids want to get out of these towns for college and Angelo State is popular place with midland/odessa graduates. WT was making headway in the area with the previous president. WT use to advertise billboards in town but the current WT president is focusing on the panhandle in particular 26 counties. Narrow minded!

Yeah I lived in Amarillo when all the advertisements were around when WT was known more as a regional product and whispers of D1 might be possible.

I live in Montgomery (5A) close to Conroe, Willis, and Magnolia (all now 6A schools).

Most kids around here would go to Sam Houston State if they weren't able to get into Texas A&M, Houston, Rice, etc.

Now that Sam Houston is full blown D1 then all the academic and athletic students check them out more closely and consider it.

[Buffalo/Islander Alum]

Carthel said and did what he had to do politically to try to salvage a relationship with McBroom, his new boss. Vanderburg leaving WT isn't indicative of a problem at WT (though I'm not saying there aren't any). It's a D1 offer and McBroom knows him well.

Like almost everyone else outside of the DFW metroplex corridor, WT has a declining enrollment, less students to tax, which means less money. SFA is no panacea: Their undergrad enrollment has dropped almost 15 percent in the last 5 years - a much higher percentage than WT. Currently at 9,800. So they are having their own issues.

As long as their enrollment holds steady to minimally declining over the next decade, WT will still be at the top of the food chain in the D2 world in terms of $$. All state school athletic budgets are going to rise and fall with the tide of enrollment. Just the way it is.

I am plenty impressed with Angelo State's enrollment trend. Someone in San Angelo is doing something very right.

Yep addressed that on a previous post. Now that loyalty appears to be out the window its time to get paid and test out those coaching abilities in D1.

[Buffalo/Islander Alum]

It's up now. https://gobuffsgo.com/news/2024/6/20...-f-austin.aspx

I'm wondering if there is really an effort to find a new AD. Look how quickly UTPB filled their position, and it appears they did very well.

The irony for me is looks like all the WT affiliated people are going to SFA so we can vicariously through SFA and say we are D1! (sarcasm).

[Rockofwesties]

Carthel said and did what he had to do politically to try to salvage a relationship with McBroom, his new boss. Vanderburg leaving WT isn't indicative of a problem at WT (though I'm not saying there aren't any). It's a D1 offer and McBroom knows him well.

Like almost everyone else outside of the DFW metroplex corridor, WT has a declining enrollment, less students to tax, which means less money. SFA is no panacea: Their undergrad enrollment has dropped almost 15 percent in the last 5 years - a much higher percentage than WT. Currently at 9,800. So they are having their own issues.

As long as their enrollment holds steady to minimally declining over the next decade, WT will still be at the top of the food chain in the D2 world in terms of $$. All state school athletic budgets are going to rise and fall with the tide of enrollment. Just the way it is.

I am plenty impressed with Angelo State's enrollment trend. Someone in San Angelo is doing something very right.

Angelo State is benefiting from the population boom in the area especially in Midland/Odessa from the oil boom. Kids want to get out of these towns for college and Angelo State is popular place with midland/odessa graduates. WT was making headway in the area with the previous president. WT use to advertise billboards in town but the current WT president is focusing on the panhandle in particular 26 counties. Narrow minded!

[WT_TKW]

So it starts. Guess McBroom definitely wasn't the problem now that Carthel has given him the thumbs up and Vanderburg is going to join him there.

Looks like the budget cuts are affecting the person updating to gobuffsgo.com page since there is no mention of him leaving but see the press release on the SFA athletics page.

It's up now. https://gobuffsgo.com/news/2024/6/20...-f-austin.aspx

I'm wondering if there is really an effort to find a new AD. Look how quickly UTPB filled their position, and it appears they did very well.

[MooseLodge]

So it starts. Guess McBroom definitely wasn't the problem now that Carthel has given him the thumbs up and Vanderburg is going to join him there.

Looks like the budget cuts are affecting the person updating to gobuffsgo.com page since there is no mention of him leaving but see the press release on the SFA athletics page.

Carthel said and did what he had to do politically to try to salvage a relationship with McBroom, his new boss. Vanderburg leaving WT isn't indicative of a problem at WT (though I'm not saying there aren't any). It's a D1 offer and McBroom knows him well.

Like almost everyone else outside of the DFW metroplex corridor, WT has a declining enrollment, less students to tax, which means less money. SFA is no panacea: Their undergrad enrollment has dropped almost 15 percent in the last 5 years - a much higher percentage than WT. Currently at 9,800. So they are having their own issues.

As long as their enrollment holds steady to minimally declining over the next decade, WT will still be at the top of the food chain in the D2 world in terms of $$. All state school athletic budgets are going to rise and fall with the tide of enrollment. Just the way it is.

I am plenty impressed with Angelo State's enrollment trend. Someone in San Angelo is doing something very right.