WAC talks 2012 conference expansion & Texas State

[west-texan]

From the Reno Gazette-Journal:

Interesting to note that from the 1950's to 1981, WT was competing at the current WAC level.

And in 1981, WT beat current WAC member Louisiana Tech 17-10 in pouring rain at Canyon.

I was at that WT game with several of my high school friends.

Texas State will have to move up to D1A-FBS, but West Texas State was already D1A-FBS in 1981.

And in 1981, Texas State was still playing below the WT D1 level at D2.

www.rgj.com/article/20100727/SPORTS06/7270342/1018/SPORTS

[buffalorunning]

My question to you would be why did WT leave D1 competition if it was so profitable? Why didn't the ground swell of support save WT from dropping to D1AA and eventually D2?

[west-texan]

I was at WT when they dropped to D2, and WT dropped to D2 because of:

1. Bad management.

2. Too many years of not having a full-time athletic director to run the football program.

3. Business and football fundraising side of the athletic department was disorganized.

4. Dishonesty of a small group of people who told everyone that dropping was all that could be done.


WT athletic director Frank Kimbrough died in 1971,

And WT went 14 years without a real full-time athletic director until Bruce Grimes came in 1985.

Most schools would have hired a full-time AD person to get the department back on track.

But WT ran up the white surrender flag and made the decision to drop to D2.

And then hired a full-time athletic director on the condition that he take WT immediately to D2.


Notes:

1. Dr. Myron Dees was a temporary part-time AD at WT n the late 70's and early 80's.

2. Dr. Dees did not want the WT AD job and was really head of the physical education department.

3. Head football coach Don Davis was part-time AD from 1982 to 1984.

But Don was disorganized as football coach...and he was even worse as athletic director.

And I know that for a fact, since I knew Don while he was head football coach at WT.

4. I was hearing stories about management problems in the WT athletic dept when I was in high school.

And those stories came from a current player and a coach who had played football at WT.

[west-texan]

And here are more comments from others:

[west-texan]

Some people fed the line of BS that dropping to D2 was all WT could do.

Then they cut the WT ticket prices, which cut revenue.

[west-texan]

[buffalorunning]

The loss of Frank Kimbrough was critical. I agree that D1 athletic success really rallies the Alumni and increases enrollment. When I attended WT (92-96) my roommate was physical ed major and he did a term paper on how the University of Miami enrollment increased 300% during the 80's after having D1 success. I wish WT would have stayed with the Mizzu Valley Conference because WT also has a strong Basketball tradition. WT has little in common with the schools of the Southland Conference, much better fit in the Mizzu Valley.