Truth about the fall to D2

[buffalorunning]

For years WT athletics had ran deficits but the deficits where always balanced with the Dorm Maintenance Fund. A change in University policy in 1977 prevented athletics budget to be balanced with the dorm fund. Athletics was forced to stand on its own feet. Years of the Buffalo Club and Alumni Foundation hosting telethons, and fund raising events with celebs like Morgan Fairchild allowed the athletic fund to tread water. Sometime local businessmen would rescue athletics at the final hour. However when the MVC and D1 raised the number of sports that were required to stay D1 and Title IX requirements WT was forced to drop to D2. With talks of D3 on the table. WT could not maintain the cost without the benefit of a major conference TV deal like Tech had with the SWC and with fair weather fans.

It was single persons fault, but a changing of times in collegiate sports with Title IX and higher D1 standards. Other ex-Border conference schools like NMSU struggled during the 80's with athletic costs but since they had higher enrollment (double WTs) NMSU survived with student Fees.

[buffalorunning]

I meant to say that it was NOT any single persons fault in the previous post.

[west-texan]

You are right that it was not the work of any one person.

And I have never heard anyone try to pin it to a single person.

Then you neglected to include some important facts:

WT athletic director Frank Kimbrough died in 1971.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Kimbrough_%28football_coach%29

And he was WT's last full-time athletic director until Bruce Grimes was hired in 1985.

That means WT went 14 years without an athletic director from 1971 to 1985.

Most athletic departments could not succeed without a manager running the business.

The WT coaches ran things by consensus without an athletic director.

And Dr. Myron Dees helped out part-time while he was head of the PE department at WT.

Then you left out the important fact that the Buffalo Club was started by WT athletic director Ed Harris.

The Buffalo Club did not exist until it was started in the 1990's.

Until the 1990's...fund-raising for WT athletics was run by the WT Gridiron Club and the WT Cager Club.

Until then fund-raising was separate for WT football and basketball.

[west-texan]

And this is what D2 is doing for WTAMU.

14,700 empty seats at this game.

The football team is winning games.

But WT is losing big money with football because of empty seats.

And most of Amarillo and most WT alumni don't give a rat's tail about WT sports at the D2 level.

WT has got to do something bigger and better than this.

If Lubbock can suppport D1.

Amarillo can support D1.

[buffalorunning]

I do not think Lubbock could support D1 without the Big IIX TV deals. Tech sells out Jones maybe twice a year. They need either Texas, A&M or Oklahoma to come to Lubbock to have true sell outs.

[phantom]

We supported D1 before the Big XII. A major university will support D1. And that is why there are TV deals.

[west-texan]

Amarillo can support D1 just fine. ;D

But some WT and Amarillo people don't want that for politics.

And it's hilarious to see them desperately scrambling for excuses to keep WT from going back to D1. ;D

Ask them why Texas Tech attracts more students and grows while WT does not.

Question: What is the biggest difference between WT and Tech?

Answer: D1 sports at Texas Tech...and D2 at WT.

D2 at WT is all about trying to keep WT from growing and attracting more students.

And Lubbock supported D1 sports very well before Tech even joined the Southwest Conference.

Which was when both Texas Tech and WT were in the same D1 Border Conference together. ;D