This. As you just said pretty much every college town in the South is pretty much the same, with some being bigger and some being smaller but very similar. Also some of these college towns the cities around them are just dumps.
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So, is it our marketing needs to ramp up? Do we need to spend some money on selling the town and the atmosphere of Starkville? You are either growing or you are dying, under loafers I honestly felt like we were growing. Since then, It feels like we are just standing still, which means we are dying, ole miss that crap!
We could definitely ramp up our marketing and branding. It needs to be way more agressive and visible. We've got quite an opportunity with our National Championship in baseball to really push it but those windows close rapidly, can't let a single minute go by in this day and age. Need to spend some of that SEC money.
I have a lot of friends out west who have come to Starkville for regionals, football games(byu),etc. and have just absolutely loved the town and the environment.
If it really boiled down to the city the school is in, then Vanderbilt should be winning National Titles in almost every sport every year. Only school that has a NFL team in its backyard. Its admin, boosters and recruiting that are holding us back. Fix that and you'll fix State football.
I was thinking the same thing. I go to Nashville every 6 months or so on business and it is probably the most well rounded as far as things to do/activities/atmosphere etc in the SEC. I think the academic entrance requirements tend to hamper them a bit in recruiting though.
What we need is a new AD with a great track record of being at other schools with success
In 5 years as AD at MSU I can honestly say we have take steps backwards in all facets other than baseball.... and he was r he baseball coach and played here. Like him or not SS had a resume and had a track record. We had an upward trajectory in all sports. Look at the mess USCE is in now... why cause t her promoted a baseball coach to AD.
I know this. I am about an hour from Oxford. 2.5 to Starkville. Kids here, 2 out of 3 are going to State. There are kids moving to Starkville and attending EMCC-GTR just to be in Starkville for the experience. It doesn't have squat to do with why football players choose where they do but....
I don't think Starkville has much to do with it. I'm not saying Starkville is the greatest place, but it's not the reason we have trouble in football. People in the know say our boosters don't support football the way we need to. It's also really hard to win end recruit as a bottom feeder in this conference. We're usually competing with Ole Miss and Arkansas to see who is the worst.
The favorite son Athletics Director hire was a failure. It will always be a failure because they have tunnel vision and cannot see the big picture. The Keenum (another favorite son ) hire was also a huge failure. The same cigar boys pushed his hire because he was a huge football supporter. Academics be damned, we are going to pack 24000 on a campus and a city with half that amount for decent housing and what decent housing we have is over priced by double for the Student we attract so momma and daddy go in deep dept of the kid graduates with $75,000 in debt. Not sustainable economically.
I kind of get what you mean about vibe. I think that just has to do with the type atmosphere of the school and town in general. Places like Oxford and Athens do create a certain "party" atmosphere and promote themselves that way. It kind of builds on itself. But just because the student body like to "never lose a party" doesn't mean that they actually offer anything that different. Just means you have more people out drinking and creating mayhem. Georgia Southern is known as a major party school and the students follow thru (see their OL on top of a bus catching a brew Stone Cold Steve Austin style). But it doesn't make Statesboro any less of a shithole town - it just means there is lots of coke to go around. I don't see MSU ever attracting a student population that "never lose a party".
Money is the issue pure and simple. Until about 70% of our fanbase gets off their butts, forget it.