We've said it before, NMSU doesn't have a ton of friends to lend a helping hand in this respect, and needs a power player — whether it be Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson, a University of New Mexico, or a Martin — to help open a door in terms of getting them into a football-playing conference.
I wouldn't count too much on UNM being of assistance. And, yes, Martin is only one voice. But the former NMSU president also has a soft spot for the Aggies. It certainly can't hurt.
Follow me on Twitter @TeddyFeinberg
10 comments:
Just when I thought you had a handle on what the MWC requirements are you come up with this.UNM went to bat for NMSU and it got them nothing.
When it gets down to scraping the bottom of the barrel and TV markets become meaningless to the MWC then I think the Aggies might have a shot.
I don't think the Aggies could compete in the Mountain West with their current budget.
Teddy said...
I don't think the Aggies could compete in the Mountain West with their current budget.
May 12, 2012 10:39 AM
----------------------------
Given that the Aggies have beaten the Lobos 3 years in a row in football, split with them in basketball last year, beat them in baseball...I'd say that the Aggies have done alright against at least one of the Mountain West foes they have faced.
A higher sports budget, doesn't necessarily equate to better sports teams. UNLV has a budget twice that of Nevada. I don't see them being twice better than the Wolfpack.
Agree with Teddy...NMSU cannot consistently compete (especially in football) with the MWC schools with it's current budget. NMSU's budget would need to go up $3-5 million a year to do so. By the way, AFA and CSU are not in the list above, but their inclusion only makes the point more strongly. Joining the MWC for non-football now would make a 10/10 configuration since Hawaii is football only. Football could then be put in the Sun Belt and would be competitive.
All the schools that were listed has a bigger budget, because their fans support their teams. NMSU fans are sparse and without the support they are dead in the water as far as budget
I have no idea where NMSU will be conference wise in the next few years but I also don't think that one of the reasons we aren't being considered is the TV market. Take a look at Utah State. They are about the same distance from Salt Lake City as we are from El Paso and Utah has 2 big Universities in the same market, U of Utah and Byu. El Paso and SLC are about the same size. Take a lok at La Tech, who will move to Conf USA. Ruston La is not a major TV market. Let's face facts and say that NMSU is not attractive to a conference right now. We have 2 fairly successful programs in Basketball and volleyball. Football is improving but our history is bad. The key points in my mind is the community does not support NMSU athletics with terrible attendance in all sports, including our successful ones and the athletic budget is not enough to compete in other conferences. I don't have an answer other than attendance has to improve in all the major sports (BB and FB)and additional funds have to come from somewhere. It will be interesting to see if attendance at FB games improves if the football program continues its improvement.
Teddy how can you say the Aggies couldn't compete in the MWC? I think everyone is looking at football only. Men's basketball won 26 games, volleyball is consistently good, baseball is solid and women's basketball is rebuilding. I agree with Anon 7:43that the support isn't there. I'm a season ticket holder in both football and basketball. It was pathetic going to b-ball games and only having about two thousand people in the stands and winning 26 games. Even the student support was lacking and their admission to games is included in their tuition. The fault lies both with the fans and the university. Tickets are cheap and it's not like Cruces has major events going on every weekend. The university needs to more to bring people in. Little things like offering a variety of food at games goes a long way. Hot dogs and burgers don't cut it. Reach out to the community and I guarantee the big supporters such as Burger Time, Roberto's etc will set up booths. More public outreach is needed. The TV issue is the biggest hurdle. Look, if Boise St can do why can't we. Boise is about as far from civilization as you can get. They worked on marketing, budget and look where they are now. They are a consistent power in football only. We just need the support base. Stop whinning Aggie fans. Get out there show your support and buy tickets!
Anonymous said...
All the schools that were listed has a bigger budget, because their fans support their teams. NMSU fans are sparse and without the support they are dead in the water as far as budget
May 12, 2012 7:43 PM
--------------------
Fans support their teams? UNM doesn't average 25K in football. NMSU barely 15K. But guess what, UNM has ABQ with 500,000 people. NMSU has 110,000 people in Las Cruces. The additional 10k fans at UNM are not enough to make up the difference.
The REALITY is this, NMSU has a higher percentage of fans than either UNM or UTEP who have a huge potential fan bases, but don't.
Personally, I don't think the paltry 10K fans makes a difference. What makes a difference is the administration going to the state and securing better funding. UNM gets outfunded by UNM by a large margin. The difference is also in the amount of time/dollars spent of selling the institution.
AggieVision is a unique enterprise that could make NMSU attractive for conference membership despite the small Las Cruces market. It might behoove you to inquire about the following... Was an attractive incentive package involving AggieVision prepared for presentation to the MWC, but subsequently expressly forbidden? If so, why? Further, might one surmise that the AD was not the one doing the forbidding?
...What do Aggie basketball,volleyball,and all the other college programs do that make them successful? THEY WIN!-they know HOW to win and what it takes to be a winner-unlike NMSU football-there will be little or no support for NMSU football until it starts to develop a winning tradition-"Americans LOVE a winner-and will not tolerate a loser"-likewise,students won't spend their limited time and resources on a loser,free admission or not.FCS or independent would be a better way to go for football-LEARN to win and then move back up someday when they're ready-it's been done before...
Post a Comment