SWAC Alumni Dirs. Meeting


Z

zac1

New Member
:alicia: We SWAC alumni directors had a conference call meeting yesterday. UAPB, BamaSt, SU, GSU, JSU, MVSU, and TSU were represented. I'll give you some of the topics:

SWAC Football Championship game - December 9th, 2006
SWAC Basketball Champiosnhip Tourney- March 7-11, 2007

SWAC Spring Meetings will be held on the campus of JSU sometime in May.

We talked about some inter-conference topics as they relate to the Alum Dirs and the SWAC. Hopefully they will be ironed out. In 2000, we were left out of the conference meetings and have not really gotten together as a group since. That is changing.

SWAC office has developed a theme for alumni this which is:

Organized, Energized and Mobilized!

Markesha McWilliams is our conference liason and has some great ideas. One hot button issue was mentioned, but not discussed at great length, but I will not go into it. Stay tuned!

Football attendance is down. I don't think I need to tell you that because most of us know what is going on. The SWAC used to rank number one in D1AA attendance, but slipped to 3rd this past year. We heard individual attendance rankings for your respective schools and just know that very few saw a move up the rankings. A majority of the conference schools slipped down the rankings as far as attendance went.

The Sports Admin Committee will be meeting at the Spring Conf. @ JSU to take quite a few issues. (Issues were not mentioned). If you want to know more, call your director of alumni relations. Just thought you all should know!
 
stripes,

I was on the call for the alumni association presidents at 6:00 pm. Are you an alumni affairs director (representing the university) correct?
 

stripes said:
Football attendance is down. I don't think I need to tell you that because most of us know what is going on. The SWAC used to rank number one in D1AA attendance, but slipped to 3rd this past year. We heard individual attendance rankings for your respective schools and just know that very few saw a move up the rankings. A majority of the conference schools slipped down the rankings as far as attendance went.
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Ya'll ain't heavy....the SWAC will be number one again next year. Don't let a little one year blip bother you. We also lost numbers during Katrina, namely SU's home game vs Albany and Alcorn's home game against Grambling is normally higher than what showed up at season's end.
 
Tigerpride said:
Ya'll ain't heavy....the SWAC will be number one again next year. Don't let a little one year blip bother you. We also lost numbers during Katrina, namely SU's home game vs Albany and Alcorn's home game against Grambling is normally higher than what showed up at season's end.
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TP's right... the storm wreaked havoc on our (SU) attendance numbers this season and made logistics difficult on gameday...

But hopefully Comegy turns J-State around and gets them back up to the 26,000-28,000 per home game level they were before the JSU Dark Ages...

what was this hot button issue that got glanced over stripes and CLeb???
 
TP and Journalist are correct. When to conference attendance rankings came out we all pretty much noted that our attendance was down as a conference due to Katrina - the same could be said for the SIAC also - where as they led Div II in attendance, their overall attendance was down by 311. It goes without question that Katrina more than affected our attendance being that 6 of our member institutions, 7 when you include PV, were in areas that were influenced directly by the storm.

And Ms. McWilliams does a bang up job.
 
Journalist said:
what was this hot button issue that got glanced over stripes and CLeb???
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It all depends on which call she was on (alumni directors or alumni association presidents). I can't recall a hot button issue that got glanced over on our call with the exception of our (Texas Southern's alumni) isolated issue we have with our athletic leadership.
 
stripes said:
C-LeB, I am the director of alumni relations at Bama State. How was the 6pm call?
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OK, this makes sense now. We had the same agenda that your (alumni relations) CC had. Only difference was (possibly) there was a National Alumni Association President Chair and Vice Chair assigned. I guess I opened my big mouth too often on the call so I was unanimously elected Chair. :lol:
 
C-LeB28 said:
It all depends on which call she was on (alumni directors or alumni association presidents). I can't recall a hot button issue that got glanced over on our call with the exception of our (Texas Southern's alumni) isolated issue we have with our athletic leadership.
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As jafus would say, interesting!!!
 
:cool: Congrats C-Leb! Journalist, we did not glance over an issue, it's just that no one asked a follow up question to an issue that is a "hot button" here in the swac page. We spent 95% of our call on issues relating to alumni directors and the swac. I'd rather the swac admin committee handle its business in Jackson next month and perhaps that button'll be hot again. Other than that, just wanted you all to know what we as your alumni directors were up to. The conference will handle all that other stuff that we in the 'Page agree and disagree with!
 
stripes said:
:cool: Congrats C-Leb! Journalist, we did not glance over an issue, it's just that no one asked a follow up question to an issue that is a "hot button" here in the swac page. We spent 95% of our call on issues relating to alumni directors and the swac. I'd rather the swac admin committee handle its business in Jackson next month and perhaps that button'll be hot again. Other than that, just wanted you all to know what we as your alumni directors were up to. The conference will handle all that other stuff that we in the 'Page agree and disagree with!
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So, um, Stripes and C-Leb...

The rumor of dropping baseball has hit Dwight Mann. SID at Alabama was talking about that yesterday at the SE Louisiana vs. Bama game in hammond. He said the SWAC is going to drop baseball because no one except Southern has an interest in it...

I couldn't believe that a SID guy at Bama would know about it, but then he said Bama Souf and Bama North are just terrible (which is true).

So what's the discussion on the topic of the SWAC dropping sports.
 
Journalist said:
But hopefully Comegy turns J-State around and gets them back up to the 26,000-28,000 per home game level they were before the JSU Dark Ages...
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I may be overestimating from the anticipation of the season but I fully expect these minimum numbers for our games this season.

Paul Quinn 15K
Valley 25K
Southern 55K
AAMU 15K
PV (Homecoming) 30K

Average: 28K
 
Journalist said:
So what's the discussion on the topic of the SWAC dropping sports.
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This topic didn't come up in our initial conversation. I talked with our assistant coach and he mentioned that Vowels said that the SWAC has been somewhat successful in post-conference play and that baseball would not be an option in program cuts.

Alabama A&M will drop baseball but from what I was told, I don't believe baseball, as a conference will not be dropped.
 
Tigerpride said:
I may be overestimating from the anticipation of the season but I fully expect these minimum numbers for our games this season.

Southern 55K


Average: 28K
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TP, you know the SU-JSU game won't "officially" be 55,000 in Memorial. They underbid attendance like a square underbids a hand full of spades...

But if SU and JState come into that game in first in their respective divisions...it'll be big...
 
C-Leb,

Do you think the REAL reason that HBCU's won't make the jump to 1-A is becasue:

1.) The Commishioner can't push it without appearing to favor some schools over others?
2.) The issue has not been discussed or seriously investigated?
3.) The SWAC Presidents (if it gets past AD's ect...) would not vote it in if their school is not included.
4.) It would simply be a difficult task getting the "most appropriate" 8 schools on one accord?

I am asking becasue it seems that if such a thing were to happen, someone would have to spearhead it. Conference commishioners can't do it (unless they are pushing for the entire conference to move up) and the Presidents would likely stand together against an outsider trying to spearhead it. I think TNState could spearhead it BUT not the way they did it the last time because again, the SWAC/MEAC President's would have to decide who would make the move and how it would affect the MEAC/SWAC and the remaining 1-AA members.


Journalist, that is why I said 55K to cover the undercount...Memorial holds 62K so if JSU and SU are doing well (JSU starts off with a weak schedule so we should be in good shape (PQ, Valley, TNState, TxSo and possibly AlaState). We should be no worse than 4-1 coming into the SU game but I fully expect us to be putting our 5-0 record on the line against SU!!
 

It's a culmination of factors actually with the ultimate end result would be the end the SWAC as a conference as we know it as several schools are barely staying afloat as I-AA entities.

Hello Texas Terror. :wavey:
 
C-LeB28 said:
It's a culmination of factors actually with the ultimate end result would be the end the SWAC as a conference as we know it as several schools are barely staying afloat as I-AA entities.

Hello Texas Terror. :wavey:
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But don't you think that is going to eventually come to pass anyway with the PWC 1-AA's steadily getting better and HBCU's steadily getting worse?

I also don't think that it would mean the end of the SWAC. It would alter the SWAC but I would rather alter the SWAC than lose BCF. And as you stated, we are barely staying afloat as 1-AA. Is that situation going to get better? Very unlikely. The money is not in 1-AA football. The sponsorships, paydays, bowls, and TV deals are in 1-A so why are we 1-AA? Being 1-AA could automatically move us ahead of 10-12 other conference and 100 other schools in terms of access to perks. Also, the only thing altered would be football. My personal setup for the 1-A SWAC would be JSU, SU, Grambling, SCState, A&T, FAMU, TNState and Alabama State. The SWAC 1-AA would be BCC, AAMU, PV, TxSO, Alcorn, Valley, UAPB.. a 1-AA conference that would get an automatic bid to the playoffs. Basketball, baseball, etc could be split into East/West. The MEAC is adding NCCU and WSSU so losing 3 schools would not kill them either and they would not lose their automatic 1-AA playoff bid. What upsets me is that we don't try. Conference money is conference money. If the entire conference makes more, that should be good for everyone until we get to the point where we can move others up. Everyone knows that a HBCU 1-A would be a bigger draw than a those other lower teir 1-A teams.

Times are changing and just like the ACC revolutionized 1-A football, someone has to revolutionize BCF football. Also, just on a PURELY personal note, I want to give our young black men the OPPORTUNITY to play for a 1-A HBCU team. If they don't choose us over Florida State, fine but if a child really wants to go to HBCU, he should have that option rather to going to LA-Monroe or to top 1-AA just to play what is in their mind a "better brand of football". In the end, we are only robbing ourselves. I also understand that you are not the right person to talk to about this but I wanted to know if the National presidents had this on their minds at all?
 
C-LeB28 said:
It's a culmination of factors actually with the ultimate end result would be the end the SWAC as a conference as we know it as several schools are barely staying afloat as I-AA entities.

Hello Texas Terror. :wavey:
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You're giving a shot out to infamous Texas Terror :scared: :goof: But on the topic TP brought up it has become clear to me that while some SWAC schools have the potential to move up to Division I-A with the proper planning and fundraising it will probably never happen. Because who will do the proper planning and fundraising? And there aren't enough schools with that kind of potential anyway. As C-LeB28 said several schools are barely staying afloat in I-AA. You've got some SWAC schools playing their head coach $75,000 to $80,000 a year. A high school coach in Mississippi just got that kind of contract last year.
 
C-LeB28 said:
It's a culmination of factors actually with the ultimate end result would be the end the SWAC as a conference as we know it as several schools are barely staying afloat as I-AA entities.

Hello Texas Terror. :wavey:
Click to expand...

That's Texas Terrorist C-LeB. :emlaugh:
 
Tigerpride said:
But don't you think that is going to eventually come to pass anyway with the PWC 1-AA's steadily getting better and HBCU's steadily getting worse?

I also don't think that it would mean the end of the SWAC. It would alter the SWAC but I would rather alter the SWAC than lose BCF. And as you stated, we are barely staying afloat as 1-AA. Is that situation going to get better? Very unlikely. The money is not in 1-AA football. The sponsorships, paydays, bowls, and TV deals are in 1-A so why are we 1-AA? Being 1-AA could automatically move us ahead of 10-12 other conference and 100 other schools in terms of access to perks. Also, the only thing altered would be football. My personal setup for the 1-A SWAC would be JSU, SU, Grambling, SCState, A&T, FAMU, TNState and Alabama State. The SWAC 1-AA would be BCC, AAMU, PV, TxSO, Alcorn, Valley, UAPB.. a 1-AA conference that would get an automatic bid to the playoffs. Basketball, baseball, etc could be split into East/West. The MEAC is adding NCCU and WSSU so losing 3 schools would not kill them either and they would not lose their automatic 1-AA playoff bid. What upsets me is that we don't try. Conference money is conference money. If the entire conference makes more, that should be good for everyone until we get to the point where we can move others up. Everyone knows that a HBCU 1-A would be a bigger draw than a those other lower teir 1-A teams.

Times are changing and just like the ACC revolutionized 1-A football, someone has to revolutionize BCF football. Also, just on a PURELY personal note, I want to give our young black men the OPPORTUNITY to play for a 1-A HBCU team. If they don't choose us over Florida State, fine but if a child really wants to go to HBCU, he should have that option rather to going to LA-Monroe or to top 1-AA just to play what is in their mind a "better brand of football". In the end, we are only robbing ourselves. I also understand that you are not the right person to talk to about this but I wanted to know if the National presidents had this on their minds at all?
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It just won't happen TP. :smh: There is no one to lead the charge. There is no one who can talk the schools that can into put together a plan that targets the business community and alumni to raise endowment money for the football programs and for stadium expansion projects.
There is no leader and no one to carry out any of the leader's plans.
But you are dead right, the real money is in Division I-A. It has almost come to the point where we, as a conference, need to trim the fat and either invest and grow football or drop down to Division II in all sports.
The reason is because it takes more and more money each year to run an athletic department with many of the sports being non-revenue producing.
So football, is the bread and butter. If this cost trend continues, schools are going to have to make an increasing amount of money in football to keep its athletic department function at a Division I level.
So if we don't invest in football and grow it, then our athletic departments will have no choice but to make cuts and with Title IX that's harder to do so Division II will be the only way out.
I guess maybe only a few of us can see where we are heading and it doesn't look good.
 
I spoke to Texas Terror because he's over here reading then will go over to another board and create a thread about what we are talking about. So I say :wavey: Texas Terror.
 
Tigerpride said:
I may be overestimating from the anticipation of the season but I fully expect these minimum numbers for our games this season.

Paul Quinn 15K
Valley 25K
Southern 55K
AAMU 15K
PV (Homecoming) 30K

Average: 28K
Click to expand...

Actual Attendance

Paul Quinn 25K
Valley 40K
Southern 60K
AAMU 35K
PV (Homecoming) 40K

Average: 40K
 
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