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Post by marchingband1969 on Apr 26, 2016 8:48:55 GMT -5
I guess it got "too ghetto" at UNCG when the fight at their campus party broke out a few weeks ago..... I guess it got "too ghetto" at UNC when many black student athletes used the African-American major to scam their way through college..... If you don't want to go to A&T or any other HBCU.....fine. But leave the "too ghetto" talk out of the equation. We got brothas/sistas out here who are "too white" (ie. disillusioned) for their own good. As far as Charlotte is concerned......they are now FBS in football. We honestly shouldn't be on the same level as they are. I guarantee you if you went from Charlotte's facilities to UNC's or NC State's or ECU's facilities, they would have the same gripes about having a paltry program compared to the big state schools. I keep telling folks you can't always have the biggest car, biggest house, biggest bankroll, etc. I don't believe in counting other people's money. There's simply no way we're going to be Charlotte..... ....but guess what? Despite all the amenities they have, WE WOULD HAVE BEATEN THEIR ASSES IN FOOTBALL LAST YEAR, DESPITE THE BROWN GRASS OUR TEAM PRACTICES AND PLAYS ON AND DESPITE THE ALUMINUM SEATS OUR FANS SIT ON AT AGGIE STADIUM!!!! .....and here we are talking about Hassan Klugh at FBS Charlotte and the dude clearly wasn't the best QB on our FCS/MEAC roster. I've got to stop reading Blue Death because I've started to agree with NSS 100%. When I first came on this site I thought he was too extreme. Now he's starting to make a lot of sence ! Folks, every day college students change colleges and who knows why. I hate to lose good students(athletes, students, band members, etc) to other schools, but it happens. In my sales classes I teach my students how to deal with customer rejection. Sw, SW, SW, Next! "Some will, some won't, so what, next! We just hope the next student athletes can do the job.
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Apr 26, 2016 9:10:47 GMT -5
I'm of the thought process that it has to be more than just optics/facilities to get me to come to an institution. You are not a 17 year old high school star athlete in 2016. thank you, maxell. i was about to post the same thing. an athlete’s perspective of which school he/she attends is quite different from that of a normal student. accept it or not, “material things” like nice facilities and uniforms are very important to athletes. if it wasn’t, why would the big bcs schools keep spending so doggone much on their facilities? and a lot of athletes picked schools like oregon and maryland primarily because of their tremendous assortment of “uniforms” that under armour and nike provide for those schools. schools like unc and duke have “basketball museums” on their campus. as far as i know, they don’t make no money on those museums. but it certainly does attract recruits. lastly, folk are comparing a&t to the major d1 schools. however, i know we’re not on the same level as the major d1’s and i don’t expect us to come remotely close to matching their resources. but i’m saying, compare a&t to our “fcs peers” like coastal carolina or james madison or even elon. the disparity at the fcs level is my concern and i don’t even expect us to “match” the resources of pwc fcs schools. but certainly we should be in the “ball park” of most pwc fcs schools. to me, that means things as simple as not having “brown grass/dirt” surfaces in aggie stadium and not having embarrassing outdated eyesore bleachers in corbett. again, i’m referring to “athletes” who we compete against our fcs peers for their athletic services. for scholarship athletes who have many choices of which college to attend, yes facilities and uniforms mean a lot. accept it or not, but its 100% true...
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Apr 26, 2016 9:18:44 GMT -5
But what are we really saying because we can talk upgrading facilities all we want but, we won't match the average pwc in our lifetime. So our message should be more like: yeah UNC, NC State and ECU are the Jaguars and we are a Toyota BUT,if we change the oil on the regular our Toyota will run just as good and long. We cannot dispute the obvious, sure they have state of the art facilities but, we offer more than just facilities. Otherwise, what other alternatives do we have. ohsix, competing against those schools you listed (i.e., unc, nc state, ecu) is not the issue. we know we’re not on that level and very rarely do we recruit the same prospects. however, the issue is comparing our resources to our pwc fcs peers, but also to our fcs hbcu peers. shoot, our basketball facility comes up “way short” compared to most meac schools, much less pwc’s at our level and pwc’s like unc and nc state are completely out of the question. we’re talking about teenagers of today, they are very “materialistic”. we can sell a great experience at an hbcu all we want and sometimes it works. but most times it doesn’t, which is exactly why hbcu’s cannot compete against pwc fcs schools in the fcs playoffs. pwc fcs schools are recruiting better athletes than we are and its largely because they offer better facilities and better resources...
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Post by neighborhoodsuperstar on Apr 26, 2016 9:39:19 GMT -5
I don't disagree with you OSA.....personally, seeing dirt/brown grass on the field at Aggie Stadium during the regular season is inexcusable. I don't know if that was a monetary issue or just us being lazy as hell with our upkeep. You cannot be on national TV looking like the football game is in a sandlot.....inexcusable.
I think the new scoreboard in Corbett is a big deal. Big ups to the AAF for making this happen. Doing things to upgrade Corbett can only help our cause. Although I don't believe it's the #1 issue that ails our basketball program, no one is going to turn down any attempts to spruce up Corbett.
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Post by thefriscotxaggie on Apr 26, 2016 10:31:35 GMT -5
I am with you on the brown field there is no excuse. If we had trouble growing the grass late in the year spay it green; it's not that expensive. truth be said we an agriculture school it is in our name some things you just have to get right.
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Post by aggie2039 on Apr 26, 2016 11:54:14 GMT -5
What does the AD say about the field?
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Post by A&T AGGIE 96 on Apr 26, 2016 12:28:07 GMT -5
I don't recall the field looking like this in years past...but I have really noticed the condition on the field recently. Maybe I've grown accustomed to seeing the turf on TV.
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saabman
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Post by saabman on Apr 26, 2016 12:35:01 GMT -5
We're talking about why kids don't choose us not whether or not the on the field product is comparable. Don't get the two things confused. That's all. I'm an Aggie through and through but reality is reality. Charlotte is still an upstart FBS program and trust me our program is worthy of competing for some of the same recruits for the next few years. So, to me, you have to AT LEAST have the optics to attract the best athletes that you can. Our front porch has to look like it's worth seeing what's inside of the house because some of these kids might be surprised at what they find in Aggieland. But if they never look, they'll never know. We're past the point of comparing ourselves to other HBCUs only. From an enrollment standpoint, we are the largest HBCU in the country. If you don't see that as a point of pride and can't understand why we need to set high goals then we'll always be an afterthought in the minds of North Carolina kids. It's like someone said earlier, we didn't know we were poor growing up but when we found out, we had a greater respect for our parents and we knew that there were many more possibilities for our lives. There are many more possibilities for Aggie Athletics! Maxell, the reason folks shy away from your line of thinking about upgrading the front porch is because it's the harder thing to do. Simple as that. It requires more money and time to do that. It's why all the MEAC/SWAC members are generally in the same boat in terms of mid-major/FCS competition level. We tip-toe around the obvious because we either don't believe that we can raise funds to move to a next level of competitiveness or we don't have trust that the extra money donated will make a difference. Where there's no vision, the people perish. Don't get too comfortable with Aggie Football on top if we're not willing to financially support it more than we have been. " It's why all the MEAC/SWAC members are generally in the same boat in terms of mid-major/FCS competition level. We tip-toe around the obvious because we either don't believe that we can raise funds to move to a next level of competitiveness or we don't have trust that the extra money donated will make a difference" Also a lot donors are looking to see physical progression made in ASAP time, not understanding that a Vision takes time and you will not see the full difference or payoff of your donations right away but over time " If you build a strong platform a program can stand the test of time, But if your Base/ platform is weak. Time will expose all the cracks in your foundation and what you have built will most likely fall "
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Post by durhamgsoaggie on Apr 26, 2016 12:42:01 GMT -5
Maxell, the reason folks shy away from your line of thinking about upgrading the front porch is because it's the harder thing to do. Simple as that. It requires more money and time to do that. It's why all the MEAC/SWAC members are generally in the same boat in terms of mid-major/FCS competition level. We tip-toe around the obvious because we either don't believe that we can raise funds to move to a next level of competitiveness or we don't have trust that the extra money donated will make a difference. Where there's no vision, the people perish. Don't get too comfortable with Aggie Football on top if we're not willing to financially support it more than we have been. " It's why all the MEAC/SWAC members are generally in the same boat in terms of mid-major/FCS competition level. We tip-toe around the obvious because we either don't believe that we can raise funds to move to a next level of competitiveness or we don't have trust that the extra money donated will make a difference" Also a lot donors are looking to see physical progression made in ASAP time, not understanding that a Vision takes time and you will not see the full difference or payoff of your donations right away but over time " If you build a strong platform a program can stand the test of time, But if your Base/ platform is weak. Time will expose all the cracks in your foundation and what you have built will most likely fall "
. Great points, Saab.
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Post by ohsixrain on Apr 26, 2016 14:56:25 GMT -5
When we continually discuss this matter, I think back to Allen Hooker, who is a motivational speaker, told his story and he had offers to lots of schools including Oklahoma who I'm sure their optics were much better than ours then and now. He managed to choose A&T...my opinion, is we need to teach our children that instant gratification isn't always the answer. We still see it till this day, a kid goes to a Clemson, UNC or NC State and gets lost in the numbers game when they easily could have gone to an HBCU and gotten plenty of playing time. Most of the time, I chalk it up to being misinformed but, I will say the responsibility of informing is ours.
Secondly, to listen to you guys talk about our facilities, you would think we don't have any. We have decent facilities, but if you want to play the "Keep up with the Jones'" game, you will never be satisfied. I wonder why Duke cannot recruit the state of NC...it's not because of optics. Just my 2 cents anyway.
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bluehaze
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Post by bluehaze on Apr 26, 2016 15:14:39 GMT -5
I was sitting behind some high school students at the spring game. They were football players, don't know from what school or if they were recruits. Straight out of their mouths "This stadium would be tight, if they did something with the field". First impressions...
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Apr 26, 2016 15:50:35 GMT -5
ohsix, its not a matter of trying to keep up with the jones. as i stated, i don’t even expect us to “match” what the other fcs schools have. but we have to set “standards”, what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. after all, the appearance of our campus and the appearance of our facilities says a lot about our university.
quite frankly, i own a house and i keep my lawn well groomed. not because i’m trying to keep up with my neighbors, but because i have “pride” in the appearance of my home and my lawn. if my lawn was “jacked up”, that would say a lot about me. it would say a lot about my home’s interior and basically how i carry myself.
so its not just a matter of keeping up with the jones. we should want to show the best face possible to the public even if we won the meac championship every single year. athletically, our facilities represent the front porch of our house. some people don’t care about “appearance”, perhaps you’re one of them. but i do, and will accept any criticism coming my way because of it.
when our new student union is completed, everybody will have tremendous “pride” in our state of the art first class facility and rightfully so. we don’t have to have the best football stadium or the best basketball arena, i’m not saying that. but we should have a football stadium and a basketball arena that we can be proud for the entire national public to see. me personally, i personally can’t say that about aggie stadium when the grass is brown or dirt is exposed, and i personally can’t say that about corbett center relative to most other meac venues...
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Post by marchingband1969 on Apr 26, 2016 17:32:50 GMT -5
I think A&T has built the infrastructure for a solid football program. We have an established winning coach that understands how to build and sustain a winning program both on the field and in the classroom. Now's the time to focus on the icing on the cake...upgrading the facilities. I look at a lot of HGTV and I've learned that proper "staging" really improves the appearance and value of any property. At A&T we need to do a better job of "staging" our stadium. And I'm not talking about big dollar stuff, just some cosmetic stuff. Let's face it, it's way past time to improve the landscaping in and around Aggie Stadium. Come on people, how much does it cost to pave a darn parking lot? And how about leveling off the tailgating area next to the old field house? And if we don't have the funds to put up a brick wall around the field, could we buy some blue and gold paint and paint it. And speaking of paint, can we get some art students to paint bulldogs and athletic scenes on everything in the walkway under the stadium? Hey a coat of paint on that cinder-block would go a long way. And one last thing...more large posters of players everywhere. The minute you walked inside the fence you should see 8 foot high pictures of Cohen, Keyes, and other key players.
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saabman
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Post by saabman on Apr 26, 2016 17:59:34 GMT -5
ohsix, its not a matter of trying to keep up with the jones. as i stated, i don’t even expect us to “match” what the other fcs schools have. but we have to set “standards”, what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. after all, the appearance of our campus and the appearance of our facilities says a lot about our university. quite frankly, i own a house and i keep my lawn well groomed. not because i’m trying to keep up with my neighbors, but because i have “pride” in the appearance of my home and my lawn. if my lawn was “jacked up”, that would say a lot about me. it would say a lot about my home’s interior and basically how i carry myself. so its not just a matter of keeping up with the jones. we should want to show the best face possible to the public even if we won the meac championship every single year. athletically, our facilities represent the front porch of our house. some people don’t care about “appearance”, perhaps you’re one of them. but i do, and will accept any criticism coming my way because of it. when our new student union is completed, everybody will have tremendous “pride” in our state of the art first class facility and rightfully so. we don’t have to have the best football stadium or the best basketball arena, i’m not saying that. but we should have a football stadium and a basketball arena that we can be proud for the entire national public to see. me personally, i personally can’t say that about aggie stadium when the grass is brown or dirt is exposed, and i personally can’t say that about corbett center relative to most other meac venues... I can agree with a lot of what your saying Now as for the over all appearance of the campus and facilities A&T is on par campus wise Now as for the Football field in the stadium there is No flunking reason for it's appearance other then just being Irresponsible up keep But why is No one holding the Administration accountable is my ? To me this falls on the back of the president all the way down to the Bottom You can't just hold the AD or Coaches responsible with out holding the others accountable Because as ODA stated "quite frankly, i own a house and i keep my lawn well groomed. not because i’m trying to keep up with my neighbors, but because i have “pride” in the appearance of my home and my lawn. if my lawn was “jacked up”, that would say a lot about me. it would say a lot about my home’s interior and basically how i carry myself" As OSA holds his self accountable for his lawns appearance the President and Administration on down, should show the same Pride in the appearance of the institution that they are Governing Even if it is something as small as a Football Field
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Post by captaggie on Apr 26, 2016 17:59:46 GMT -5
Here we go again and here's my same response: when A&T alumns (like other fcs schools) are ready to put a million on the table (annually), we'll have what they have.
Until then, we're dreaming.
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