Yahoo: HBCUs Look to Close Gap at FCS Level


T

TexasTerror

Well-Known Member
Not sure if anyone has caught this... mostly speaks to the MEAC, since they are a postseason participant, but figure some of the same points apply to the SWAC...

Nobody is expecting the HBCUs to regain the supremacy they enjoyed in the pre-integration era, when they regularly had some of the nation’s most talented teams regardless of classification. Those days are gone … forever.

But why aren’t the HBCUs more competitive at the FCS level? The reasons are a bit complicated.
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http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=sm-megargee_hbcus_look_to_close_gap_fcs_121911
 



:smh:

And it doesn’t help matters that the Southwestern Athletic Conference – one of the largest leagues for HBCUs – holds a league title game instead of rewarding its regular-season champion with an automatic FCS playoff bid.

There were talks last year to organize a Legacy Bowl that would have pitted the MEAC champion against the SWAC champion every year. But the MEAC opted to keep its automatic bid to the FCS playoffs instead.

“You get so much more of an opportunity to build a better program with this as a goal rather than just acquiescing to the fact you can’t compete,” South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough says.

Rather than giving up on its playoff chances, the MEAC continues playing catch-up against the top FCS programs. MEAC officials insist it’s only a matter of time before they end their recent history of postseason frustration.

“There’s no question we’re narrowing the gap,” MEAC commissioner Dennis Thomas says. “Hopefully, we’ll knock the door down in 2012.”

Good Luck to the MEAC and TnSU!!! :tup:
 
The only thing I get from this article is the things I, THE Logical One, have been preaching for years.

1.) Going to the playoffs and competing in the playoffs are two different things.
2.) Playing 1-A teams (esp from BCS conferences) is a waste of time.
3.) I don't understand why playing a good D2 is bad but I totally agree with our OOC games should be almost completely vs other 1-AA teams.
4.) In the SWAC, we need a 7 game format with scheduling restrictions (ie no NAIA and sorry D2 clubs, no conference teams as OOC opponents, etc...)
 
Also, I really have no idea why we can't bring the Legacy/Heritage Bowl back. I would prefer that over the MEAC/SWAC challenge if Disney would put their money behind it (but I doubt it). This year, we could have had BCU vs Alabama State (preferred) or Grambling. I think such a game is a great marketing opportunity for HBCUs.
 
Tigerpride said:
Also, I really have no idea why we can't bring the Legacy/Heritage Bowl back. I would prefer that over the MEAC/SWAC challenge if Disney would put their money behind it (but I doubt it). This year, we could have had BCU vs Alabama State (preferred) or Grambling. I think such a game is a great marketing opportunity for HBCUs.
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Because the SWAC is the only HBCU conference that is still clinging onto that past-tense idea. The MEAC has said repeatedly that they don't want to participate in and is not interested in a so-called post season HBCU bowl over the playoffs. That makes it a dead issue or have you forgot that thing called the "legacy Bowl."

But ............ Moving on. :lol:
 
jstate83 said:
You not saying we gotta start at the basics are you? :lmao:
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:lol: Good joke about SU but on the real, this is true.

The REAL question we need to ask is "how do we get better?"

The playoffs don't make you better. I'm sure you have teams who have never been to the playoffs that can beat us. The MEAC is not better than us. Sure their good teams have beat our sorry teams lately but that's not a real indicator. What the MEAC is doing is the definition of insanity... doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. They have tried it all as have some of us. What will work? Playing 1-A teams have not helped either. Even for TNState who plays majority PWCs still step on field and lose to FAMU, JSU, SU and AAMU? We need to find a solid answer to what will work.
 
Tigerpride said:
Also, I really have no idea why we can't bring the Legacy/Heritage Bowl back. I would prefer that over the MEAC/SWAC challenge if Disney would put their money behind it (but I doubt it). This year, we could have had BCU vs Alabama State (preferred) or Grambling. I think such a game is a great marketing opportunity for HBCUs.
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TP, we are on the FCS level. Why would the NCAA let us bring the Legacy and Heritage bowls back. I guess if we wanted those bowls then both conferences need to move to the FBS level. Until then, we need to compete in te post season playoffs that is the FCS level. When the SWAC championship of 23,476(doubt that it was that many there) barely averages more then a Jackson State home game 23,166 (2011 attendance avg), then the game is not worth hosting especially if everyone is playing each other.
 
jstate83 said:
Because the SWAC is the only HBCU conference that is still clinging onto that past-tense idea. The MEAC has said repeatedly that they don't want to participate in and is not interested in a so-called post season HBCU bowl over the playoffs. That makes it a dead issue or have you forgot that thing called the "legacy Bowl."

But ............ Moving on. :lol:
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You don't have to forgo the playoffs to have a Heritage/legacy Bowl. BCU, Grambling or AlaState did not go to the playoffs. Sometimes we have to realize that everything is not about us. When you have kids who have played hard and worked hard all year, to give them an extra game is not something we should deny them of if playing that game is possible. The last HB had 33K fans and those were actual butts in the seats. You have some bowl games now who have to rely on rich alums just buying a block of seats to give away. I don't think SU can deny how much they benefitted by going to the HB all of those years even when they were not SWAC Champs. I think that moreso than winning the SWAC, those HB appearances improved their stock.
 
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JSU2000 said:
TP, we are on the FCS level. Why would the NCAA let us bring the Legacy and Heritage bowls back. I guess if we wanted those bowls then both conferences need to move to the FBS level. Until then, we need to compete in te post season playoffs that is the FCS level. When the SWAC championship of 23,476(doubt that it was that many there) barely averages more then a Jackson State home game 23,166 (2011 attendance avg), then the game is not worth hosting especially if everyone is playing each other.
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TOOOOOOOOOOO much sense in this post.
 



JSU2000 said:
TP, we are on the FCS level. Why would the NCAA let us bring the Legacy and Heritage bowls back. I guess if we wanted those bowls then both conferences need to move to the FBS level. Until then, we need to compete in te post season playoffs that is the FCS level. When the SWAC championship of 23,476(doubt that it was that many there) barely averages more then a Jackson State home game 23,166 (2011 attendance avg), then the game is not worth hosting especially if everyone is playing each other.
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Maybe the SWAC need to rethink it's vision.
 
JSU2000 said:
TP, we are on the FCS level. Why would the NCAA let us bring the Legacy and Heritage bowls back. I guess if we wanted those bowls then both conferences need to move to the FBS level. Until then, we need to compete in te post season playoffs that is the FCS level. When the SWAC championship of 23,476(doubt that it was that many there) barely averages more then a Jackson State home game 23,166 (2011 attendance avg), then the game is not worth hosting especially if everyone is playing each other.
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Says who? The thing about black folk is that we don't count our blessings. You all want to down the SCG but no playoff game has drew that yet and I highly doubt that the 1-AA playoff national champtionship will either....well maybe it will since Sam Houston is playing in it and the game is in Texas, but otherwise, good luck. Some of you all talk outta both sides of your neck.

Also, it's not about the NCAA letting us bring the Bowl game back. It's up to us to just let them know we want it back.
 
jag4life said:
Funny how even without an athletic website we had more info on that hbcu all star game that your superstar qb played in than your fans had.
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Man............... I don't know the "inside joke" about SU's web site. When I posted my LOL comment, I was thinking about the SWAC as a whole having to close the WEB SITE GAP before we talk about closing the FCS playoff gap. STARTING AT THE BASICS. That shat SS posted was funny to me. :lol:

You ready to go off the deep end thinking I'm posting shat about Ya'll when SU was not even on my mind. Guess the usual Louisana posters will start following me, posting bull next as usual.

Its all good though. :tup: :lol:
 
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jstate83 said:
Man............... I don't know the "inside joke" about SU's web site. When I posted my LOL comment, I was thinking about the SWAC as a whole having to close the WEB SITE GAP before we talk about closing the FCS playoff gap. STARTING AT THE BASICS. That shat SS posted was funny to me. :lol:

You ready to go off the deep end thinking I'm posting shat about Ya'll when SU was not even on my mind. Guess the usual Louisana posters will start following me, posting bull next as usual.

Its all good though. :tup: :lol:
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:emlaugh:

They don't like you!! :lmao:
 
SU posters don't fret. I am sucker punching SS as soon as I see her for all the times she done got my blood pressure boiling on smalltalk. Even though I don't like yall, I might get one in for yall too.
 
The problem here is that a lot of you don't know how to look at things like an administrator. You don't know how to properly look at data and how to compare and contrast. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people compare apples and oranges on here. Most of the things that happen in our conferences can either be the result of laziness on behalf of our admins or the data that they have to go by. Of course, data also needs common sense added to it.

No one is trying to figure out how we can get better and who do we want to get better than and by how much. Do we want to compete with the Southland, the SoCon or the Sunbelt? No proper parameters have been set. I will say that the MEAC, being a playoff conference, does seem to have a better set of guidelines for their teams to follow (ie they can only schedule one D2 without being fined) but they have still not figured out how to get better ... and losing by 4 TDs one year and losing by 1 TD the next is not getting better (as implied in the article). What happens to that team in year 3 and 4?

What is meant by "better"? There are some 4-7 teams in the SoCon that are better than a 7-4 team in the SWAC. TNState could proably be 6-5 or 7-4 in the MEAC but they settle for 3-8 in the OVC every year. While at the same time, you have a team in the Subelt that is 3-8 but could easily be 9-2 in the OVC. So obviously records don't make you better. What would we prefer? More talent on a team that goes 3-8 or less talent on a team that goes 8-3? We need to sit down and figure out how to measure our improvement and then figure out a way to get there.

Most of you recall how Hughes was fired after going 9-3, 7-4, 7-4, and 7-4. That was becasue back then, we had better guidelines. There nothing good about beating 9 sorry teams and losing to the only two good teams you face. There is no glory in beating 7 teams with losing records and then losing to 4 teams with winning records. 7-4 is DATA....being fired for going 7-4 is analyzing the data.
 
Tigerpride said:
You don't have to forgo the playoffs to have a Heritage/legacy Bowl. BCU, Grambling or AlaState did not go to the playoffs. Sometimes we have realize that everything is not about us. When have kids who have played hard and worked hard all year, to give them an extra game is not something we should deny them of if playing that game is possible. The last HB had 33K fans and those were actual butts in the seats. You have some bowl games now who have to rely on rich alums just buying a block of seats to give away. I don't think SU can deny how much they benefitted by going to the HB all of those years even when they were not SWAC Champs. I think that moreso than winning the SWAC, those HB appearances improved their stock.
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Try that crap in 2011.................This is not the 1980's.
There are too many FCS teams for the NCAA to pick from. 1ST PLACE TEAMS FROM OTHER CONFERENCES. That is just another roadblock that don't even need to exist. What 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place teams are gonna play in those post season bowls. The MEAC don't want no parts of it.
 
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