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  • TAMUC Facilities

    I have been reading the thread about Commerce Football and wanted to share some thoughts on the facilities and to say, I get it. People are frustrated with the situation but also wanted to shed some light that has not really been reported.

    When it comes to "The Hawk" (or Memorial Stadium), I agree that it is frustrating to see a Championship program have to patch up things here and there. That being said, I remember when I got to campus in 2005 as a sophomore. One sided, cinder track, the inside of the stadium looked like a mental patients waiting room. Grass facility with a chain link fece and a scoreboard that has not been replaced in years. A decade later, there have been massive improvements. New surface, new video board, the addition of the 3,500 east side seats. New Track and surface (three times done over) An additional press box and so on. And now the new football facility will really add a shine to it.

    That being said, I agree that we need to do something about the steps and the seating as a whole.

    We need a new Press box, a new base concrete, and a lot of other cosmetic things, but What the AD McMurray has done has been great in improving the place as much as he can. Remember, we are on a budget. I remember them saying that we would be demolishing the west side and completely rebuilding it (which is what I would want to do) but the new locker room is just phase one of a 3 phase plan. When they named the Field Ernest Hawkins Field one thing the Administration said is that they were going to be adding and renovating a lot of things at the stadium. So far, that has happened.

    Also, we keep being told that we are getting a new Basketball facility and the field house will be gone, but we have been told that for almost 7 years now and not even a shovel has been lifted. that being said, one thing I have noticed about Tim McMurray is that he never shows all his cards when he has something planned. He waits until the deal is done and its a sure thing before he talks. I also appreciate that he makes Lemonade out of the Lemons he has been left with because the Athletic Department was in dire straights before he and Ryan Ivey got there.

    To add a note to that, if you want to blame someone for the state of some of the facilities, blame previous administrations for their total lack of attention and the acceptance of the status quo. We could (and should) have taken care of these things a LONG TIME ago but the AD's that were here and the Presidents that were with them are the complicit ones in leaving the mess we have to clean up, or putting lipstick on pigs.

    That being said, I appreciate all that Tim and his administration have done, and we owe a lot to the Dearly Departed Dr. Dan Jones, who started the ball rolling on getting our facilities in the right direction.

    I know I rub WT for fun, but i Saw pictures of your new stadium. You guys are a model on how to keep your school looking nice and sharp for potential recruits and students. Props to the Buffs. (Just need to learn to keep good coaches around)

    Anyway, just my two pennies worth of thoughts.

  • #2
    TAMUC Facilities

    The frustration for lack of progress on facilities is shared. And when you see all the good stuff being talked on here around WTAM and Tarleton, it gets you even more upset especially when you see the decision makers and others from the school you have an association with seem to have a ho-hum approach to it.

    TAMUK has a new AD and President with less than a year on the job although the AD is getting close to his one year anniversary. My hope is one day is to go to the school web page or this forum to see an announcement facility upgrades are on the way and datelines established for when they will start and be completed. There is supposed to be a capital campaign underway, but no where in the public domain does it specify some of the money earmarked will go to athletic facilities. The A&M budget has $10 million noted, but it hasn't officially been appropriated and it's more of a wishlist item vs real cash hitting a construction account o. From my perspective, I'm seeing the same lack of focus from the new guys as I saw from the old guys when it comes to upgrading our athletic facilities. They need to understand that it's always been hard to recruit to Kingsville in the first place because it's hours away from the major recruiting grounds like Houston, East Texas and the DFW areas. What helped us back in our glory days is the fact we got NFL scouts attention and we won year in and year out. The landscape has changed where kids want bling and when the majority of high schools have better stadiums, locker rooms, training facilities, etc. and you don't keep up with the Tarleton's, WTAM's etc to compete for those recruits, you are going to take on water and in the long term it's going to be a harder haul for the program to retain a winning tradition or even be competitive for that matter.

    And it's just not football that needs a massive update. Our basketball facility could use a massive update if not a replacement and our baseball stadium could use some enhancements like their own locker room facility and indoor batting cages along with some cosmetic items with the stadium itself.

    At least in Commerce you have your recent national title and successful winning seasons to keep you all going. Plus you have done some work like you noted on top of the new locker room which makes it look more like your administration is being proactive instead of reactive or not active (like ours). The only changes that have been done to football stadium in the last 50 years is replacing the track and putting in new turf along with restrooms which are a mile away from the grandstands and new ticket booths. And really that was done more to attract the NCAA outdoor track championships than enhance the football experience. In the last few years, we've had a fan fall through the bleachers 12 rows up on the west grandstand and the school was lucky it wasn't a larger number. Back in June a severe thunderstorm did us a favor and got rid of the wooden press box on the west side which resembled a deer blind. We were lucky that storm didn't hit a week earlier when the facility had the national track meet going on.
    Last edited by LSC Fan; 08-18-2019, 03:16 PM.

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    • #3
      Re: TAMUC Facilities

      I really feel for you guys at TAMUK. Your administration just seems obstinate about everything. When Colby found out we had throwback ET jerseys, he and Ryan contacted A&I about doing a throwback game. They got a flat hell no from TAMUK about doing an A&I/ET throwback game. They want to distance themselves from A&I as much as possible and I think that is a mistake.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: TAMUC Facilities

        Originally posted by TheLionWire View Post
        I really feel for you guys at TAMUK. Your administration just seems obstinate about everything. When Colby found out we had throwback ET jerseys, he and Ryan contacted A&I about doing a throwback game. They got a flat hell no from TAMUK about doing an A&I/ET throwback game. They want to distance themselves from A&I as much as possible and I think that is a mistake.
        Scott Gines is gone. That was the biggest impediment.
        Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?"

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: TAMUC Facilities

          Originally posted by TheLionWire View Post
          I really feel for you guys at TAMUK. Your administration just seems obstinate about everything. When Colby found out we had throwback ET jerseys, he and Ryan contacted A&I about doing a throwback game. They got a flat hell no from TAMUK about doing an A&I/ET throwback game. They want to distance themselves from A&I as much as possible and I think that is a mistake.
          I wouldn't go that far as the previous President accomplished much on his watch on the academic side of the coin as far as increased enrollment, new construction and renovation of academic facilities, and new degree offerings. And the old AD who Javsfan noted above I guess can get credit for some of the non football sports such as baseball, softball, T&F and beach volleyball making national championship runs during the past few years. But some of that was at the expense of football such as getting the student body to vote for an athletic fee increase and not finding a way to fund some football improvements with the bulk going to facilities which are primary used for women's sports. Or even using it to get improvements to the basketball facility (or even a new one) which would have checked the box for Title IX purposes and satisfied the need for something new for the men's sports offerings too.

          Regarding the throwback thing. I don't recall when this was purposed.. But if it occurred when the "A&I until I die" group was pushing the legislature to change the name back, it was probably pitty ass blowback from Gines in an effort not to give them fuel for the fire as they were actually getting some members of the legislature to hear them out for the first time since the actual name change. On a related note, these same guys are now pushing for TAMUK to go Div 1/SLC so we can reap the benefits. Ah, if they think things are going to be candy, unicorns and roses overnight thanks to all that cash they are claiming ACU, Nichols, et.al are enjoying, they have another thing coming. I wish they would put as much energy in to fixing our current state of affairs and drop the A&I name change thing once and for all and now their new found desire for us "to move up." Uggh!

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: TAMUC Facilities

            Originally posted by LSC Fan View Post
            I wouldn't go that far as the previous President accomplished much on his watch on the academic side of the coin as far as increased enrollment, new construction and renovation of academic facilities, and new degree offerings. And the old AD who Javsfan noted above I guess can get credit for some of the non football sports such as baseball, softball, T&F and beach volleyball making national championship runs during the past few years. But some of that was at the expense of football such as getting the student body to vote for an athletic fee increase and not finding a way to fund some football improvements with the bulk going to facilities which are primary used for women's sports. Or even using it to get improvements to the basketball facility (or even a new one) which would have checked the box for Title IX purposes and satisfied the need for something new for the men's sports offerings too.

            Regarding the throwback thing. I don't recall when this was purposed.. But if it occurred when the "A&I until I die" group was pushing the legislature to change the name back, it was probably pitty ass blowback from Gines in an effort not to give them fuel for the fire as they were actually getting some members of the legislature to hear them out for the first time since the actual name change. On a related note, these same guys are now pushing for TAMUK to go Div 1/SLC so we can reap the benefits. Ah, if they think things are going to be candy, unicorns and roses overnight thanks to all that cash they are claiming ACU, Nichols, et.al are enjoying, they have another thing coming. I wish they would put as much energy in to fixing our current state of affairs and drop the A&I name change thing once and for all and now their new found desire for us "to move up." Uggh!

            Someone on this board proposed the throwback uniform idea and offered to pay for it. Gines refused to consider the idea.
            Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?"

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