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Arkansas set the single game attendance record for baseball?17,998, 18k fans. They have also won 20 SEC games for 3 consecutive years. They might be the best program in the conference due to consistency in being in the top echelon of the SEC and nation year in and out.
We?ll see. I think we are getting blue-balled by big names for more money and resources. Baseball coaches don?t like to move. Case in point- it?s been rumored Lemon turned down SC last summer. Thats dumb as hell to me considering where he was with our fanbase.
I stand by lower P4/G5/Top Asst
They set that this past weekend?Quote:
Originally Posted by Thick
NM I see, it wasn?t at their home field. Few months ago.
AgreeQuote:
Originally Posted by Thick
I admit I put a lot of weight on attendance .
For that reason I rate State, LSU, ArkansaS and even Ole Miss high.
Yes, I saw it this morning.
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Originally Posted by StarkVegasSteve
No it's not, we're going to get a proven coach IMO. Whether it's O'Connor, Was, or Fitz or whoever else it's a good hire. I'll agree if we hire an assistant or G5 guy. Too many are interested and affordable this time. This was planned IMO. I feel confident that we'll get a good one.Quote:
Originally Posted by StarkVegasSteve
And I think some are playing poker with a bad hand. Virginia isn't going to give O'Conner more resources.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach34
That's literally not what I said at all. Because if we get Wasikowski, or Fitzgerald, or Pollard, or Wes Johnson, or etc. there is going to be backlash because a portion of the fanbase got locked in on Brian O'Conner. That's what I was saying. And by the way, all those guys I mentioned are proven coaches. As are Skylar Meade, Andrew Checketts, Rob Vaughn, etc. We're going to make a good hire, but it may not be the first candidate mentioned or the primary candidate that everyone has fixated on. That doesn't make it a bad hire.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
This is not true. The game was not on campus, and there have been much higher off-campus crowds than that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Thick
We still own the entire top 20 on campus crowds.
Yea the top off campus crowd, at least the last time I saw it, was like 40K for a San Diego St game and they were playing it at PETCO and it was the first game ever at PETCO. I think UGA and Tech had the same deal when Truist Park opened and they drew like 32K. It was LSU/Tulane for the longest time because they played a game in the Superdome in the early 00sQuote:
Originally Posted by Quaoarsking
None of these coaches you mentioned sit on a bucket, at least from what I saw of their games. ***Quote:
Originally Posted by StarkVegasSteve
Win win, we improved. But really any coach with a drive to win, will do well with the NIL resources we are committed to.
I am fine with anyone including Meade, Coggins, Parker . I do think the bearded coaches win more, so there is that. A coach that looks like he just go out of the tree stand.
We are going to win.
It's going to be wildly interesting to see who's actually interested in this job. Some of the names I've been given are truly shocking. I mean I've heard some MLB managers have interest in it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Santiago
From what I can gather though, I think Brian O'Conner definitely has interest. I think Wes Johnson has some level of interest, I don't think he's realistic at the end of the day though. I keep hearing Eric Bakich's name thrown around and I know he's got interest. I don't think the search gets past Pollard or Wasikowski. I think it's a guarantee that if Wasikowski is offered, he would take it.
depends if Nike kicks some money his way. They are really set up at Oregon now to run through their conference with west coast players. Unless that grind to Big Ten country is getting old.Quote:
Originally Posted by StarkVegasSteve
I've learned that Nike is not as big of a deal with their baseball program. I don't think they'd ask Uncle Phil to kick in any money. I also think he wants to be in the SEC. At least that's what I have gathered.Quote:
Originally Posted by Santiago
Most people I know from Mississippi and other surrounded states are doing everything in their power to move away from larger cities and towns and get to smaller communities.
Yes. We own all the on campus records. These other teams play in big cities and parks from time to time. Like LSU playing Tulane at Zephyr field.Quote:
Originally Posted by MBDawg601
Is this through his agent or from him on wanting in the SEC?Quote:
Originally Posted by StarkVegasSteve
I can see it , that he wants a baseball program that helps him recruit.
Just seemed he had a better path to host regionals as the Big ten #1 or #2 team each year, since the committee wants to "grow the game"
It's kind of a take your pick.Quote:
Originally Posted by Santiago
1. He's up in the Pacific Northwest which is not exactly fertile recruiting ground.
2. He's sees himself as an elite coach and wants to test himself in the best conference in college baseball.
3. He's only making around 700K. We could probably offer 1.1 and Oregon would not come close to matching it.
Definitely a couple guys hoping just to get raises/NIL. I still contend a large buyout is a problem on some of those anyway, so they're easy to predict IMOQuote:
Originally Posted by StarkVegasSteve
Nobody hates Starkville more than Mississippi State fans. There isn?t another fanbase that hates their city more than State fans hates Starkville. Jesus Christ
A tradition like no other.....Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDawg81
Except always believing QB2 is the solution to our football woes.
I don't think it's hate. I think it's reality realizing that Starkville doesn't have a lot of appeal unless you're a Mississippi State fan or a student at Mississippi State. I mean if you weren't a Mississippi State fan, where would you spend a non gameday weekend? Athens or Starkville? Auburn or Starkville? Oxford or Starkville?Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDawg81
We love Starkville because we're Mississippi State fans. If you have no connection, would you feel the same way? Look a lot of it is simply just perception. For 5 decades, Ole Miss touted The Square, Velvet Ditch, The Grove, etc. They also touted that Starkville was a cow pasture. Starkville and Mississippi State, at that time, never did anything to fight that perception. Now, in today's day and age we are fighting back finally. But Ole Miss has a 50 year head start. I say this all the time and it's true PERCEPTION MATTERS. Our perception is finally changing, but it's not something that will change overnight. This goes back to another thing I continually harp on, we focus too much on in state students. The out of state students, however much you want to make fun of them, have helped Ole Miss change the perception. They spread that message, and it helps Ole Miss with recruits and coaches alike because they're told that Oxford is an amazing place.
Starkville stands out as a great small town. And in this day and age of growth everywhere to the point you cannot breathe, the town is keeping its charm.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDawg81
But we can be real about any town, when discussing attracting talented people, and then address how to do it. My OP is more about the blind view of the area, as if Coaches make decisions only on the sport they coach. More to it with a family and to consider how happy is momma at the current town and connections.
Like that TV show Love it Or List It if anyone has ever seen. Almost always the couple decides to stay, even if the new place is way better.
Creatures of comfort and hard for families to up and go without several boxes checked.
As Vegas said, we all assume everyone just wants to come here and it means the same thing to them.
Ask the academic side right now how are they doing on recruiting some positions of need?
Decided to do a little investigating. Bored sitting at home while guys close in the patio and build a shed for me.
Population figures as of 2023: without students
Austin- 979,882 Metro area- 2.473,275
Nashville- 681,150 Metro- 2,072,283
Lexington- 320,154 Metro- 517,056
Baton Rouge- 219,573 Metro- 870,569
Knoxville- 198,162 Metro- 868,546
Columbia SC- 142,416 Metro- 858,302
Norman- 130,046 Metro- 1,425,695 (OKC)
Columbia MO- 129,330
Athens- 128,628 Metro- 219,870
College Station- 125,192 Metro- 269,248
Tuscaloosa- 111,338 Metro- 277,494
Fayetteville- 101,680 Metro- 590,337
Gainesville- 97,500 Metro- 332,317
Auburn- 82,025 Metro- 206,337
Oxford- 27,008
Starkville- 25,444
Make of it what you will, but since 1941, the "overall" Athletics Department at MSU has felt the "Small Town" image. Imagine if the Golden Triangle area had a Sam and Bud Walton duo with the same vision. Look at everything that built around Wal-Mart that brought in hundreds of thousands more people. Every major Vendor built a satellite office employing hundreds. A major trucking company, a major poultry plant, a major paper company all built warehouses and distro centers. The NWA Airport is a major hub now. State used to have to fly into Tulsa and bus nearly 2 hours on mostly 2 lane roads to get to UA's stadium. Now they can land Air Force One and its entire Air Support!
Vision! Bryan just didn't have the Vision! Sara Lee Company had the Vision and took his product and closed his plant. Toyota didn't see the Golden Triangle as a better choice than East New Albany! Puhlease!!! Vision!!!
Where is "Metro Tuscaloosa" LOL
I'm assuming that's Birmingham. Kind of like how DFW has the metroplex but Dallas and Ft. Worth are an hour apart.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
Tuscaloosa County has exploded. Schools that we 2A ten years ago are 6A now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
Starkville - does that exclude students living off campus?Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainObvious
Assuming "residents"?
But either way.... just looking at that number, dang on baseball game days our crowds in the spring really is important for the town of Starkville.
Those number's don't include students, by and large. Generally you can add 20-23K to Starkville and Oxford on any given year. Which still puts them well behind any other SEC town.Quote:
Originally Posted by Santiago
You are correct though about how important the crowds are to the town. One of my good friends, and pledge brother, owns Boardtown and he says that those Regional/Super Regional crowds generally bring an extra 150-300K worth of revenue, just for a singular business. So multiply it by all the businesses and it's an 8 figure influx that we've missed out on the past 4 years.
My point is that you will never hear me say that Starkville sucks regardless of how I feel. If any other fanbase goes combatant towards Starkville, I am the 1st to defend it. I grew up 35 minutes south of Starkville with a town that doesn’t have a red light. Skate Odyssey was the place to go as a kid. Ole Miss fans think that Oxford is best city in the SEC and it really isn’t that much different from Starkville.Quote:
Originally Posted by StarkVegasSteve
Who on here said it sucks?Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDawg81
PERCEPTION and 100 years ago they built a square in the middle of town and we built a cemetery.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDawg81
The way to fix this if you think it needs to be fixed is bring jobs to Starkville.
Easier said than done, but all the other development would follow jobs and population growth.
Make gambling legal in Okt Cty and build casinos. Done and done.
Look up Joe Max Higgins and get back to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by cheewgumm
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Originally Posted by cheewgumm
Yeah I don't understand our fans constantly bashing MSU, Starkville, etc. OM talks up their crap even when it amounts to nothing. We are our own worst enemy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skydawg1
Hahaha
Oh no, what happened.
I'lll look it up.
They would have to build the casino where Davis Wade is. Burial Grounds and all that stuff. Shaking them bones!Quote:
Originally Posted by cheewgumm
Includes Northport for sure!Quote:
Originally Posted by Cooterpoot
And we beat a blue blood in football, they just sucked that year.Quote:
Originally Posted by BrunswickDawg