Head in the sand

[Webergrad02]

So what do we have? Should we be able to compete against BYU, USU and Utah? Should we expect to win OOC? Should we expect to be one or two in the BSC every year! What is success to you! I'm not saying I disagree, just want to hear your standards for success?

If you think it's been tough beating USU, Utah, and BYU wait a few years. The gap is only going to get wider. Weber had a chance to be a savior for the WAC along with the top BSC teams. Instead they played it safe and let the WAC implode into it's current form, while the BSC overbloated itself with mediocre teams. USU improved it's conference, Utah hugely improved, and it's only a matter of time until BYU is also power 5. Pie in the sky fan hopes we win every in-state game at home and occasionally steal one on the road, realist fan, UVU, SUU are our peers now. The conference gamble has or will paid off for the Aggies, Utes, and Cougars.

Sorry but this may be the worst post on this thread. The WAC was not a viable option and would have been a horrible mistake for Weber and others to jump. The problem isn't the Big Sky. The problem is Weber State. In almost every sport we are losing to these "mediocre" programs. We aren't competing in the conference we are in. Grabbing a home game against BYU once in 10 years is not too much to ask. We are getting quality recruits that should compete with USU most years. Utah and Pac 12 recruits may be another story.

I am sorry but anyone that attended our game at USU this year can tell you that it wasn't the fact that USU was in better conference or had better players. We got out coached and we refused to make adjustments. That one game has taught me enough about this group of players and coaches.

What the hell are you talking about by "conference gamble"? Utah and USU were both asked to join better conferences. BYU that's another story. The WAC was dead when they came knocking. And football drives most programs and last time I checked, the WAC doesn't have football.

 

[Itiger]

So what do we have? Should we be able to compete against BYU, USU and Utah? Should we expect to win OOC? Should we expect to be one or two in the BSC every year! What is success to you! I'm not saying I disagree, just want to hear your standards for success?

If you think it's been tough beating USU, Utah, and BYU wait a few years. The gap is only going to get wider. Weber had a chance to be a savior for the WAC along with the top BSC teams. Instead they played it safe and let the WAC implode into it's current form, while the BSC overbloated itself with mediocre teams. USU improved it's conference, Utah hugely improved, and it's only a matter of time until BYU is also power 5. Pie in the sky fan hopes we win every in-state game at home and occasionally steal one on the road, realist fan, UVU, SUU are our peers now. The conference gamble has or will paid off for the Aggies, Utes, and Cougars.

Sorry but this may be the worst post on this thread. The WAC was not a viable option and would have been a horrible mistake for Weber and others to jump. The problem isn't the Big Sky. The problem is Weber State. In almost every sport we are losing to these "mediocre" programs. We aren't competing in the conference we are in. Grabbing a home game against BYU once in 10 years is not too much to ask. We are getting quality recruits that should compete with USU most years. Utah and Pac 12 recruits may be another story.

I am sorry but anyone that attended our game at USU this year can tell you that it wasn't the fact that USU was in better conference or had better players. We got out coached and we refused to make adjustments. That one game has taught me enough about this group of players and coaches.

What the hell are you talking about by "conference gamble"? Utah and USU were both asked to join better conferences. BYU that's another story. The WAC was dead when they came knocking. And football drives most programs and last time I checked, the WAC doesn't have football.

I'm not sure I agree with your comments. The BSC is not a good conference if Weber has a desire to improve the quality of its program. I am not able to speak to the timing of a move to the MWC years ago, but I can say without hesitation that all the BSC does for Weber today is to provide a protected spot to the NCAA tourney. The quality of the teams in the conference is going to keep us at the play in or 15th seed level.i think the post on this thread has been the best that I've seen on the forum...... Why are you constantly talking people opinions down instead of encouraging their participation?

 

[Webergrad02]

I encourage everyone's participation. But some things aren't correct youngguns. There is not another conference to go to. The WAC wasn't a good option when they inquired. They first wanted Montana but Montana turned them down. If you look at the conference changes, football is the main driving force. Aside from that there are mid majors that have jumped to bigger conferences. Butler from the Horizon to the A10. Davidson from Southern to the A-10. Creighton from the MVC to the Big East. What is the thing they have in common? They have had continued success at the mid major level. There just isn't a lot of options for Weber in the West. Do you talk to the Summit?

We can't control all of the conference stuff. What we can control is putting competive teams on the floor and we are not doing a very good job of that in very many sports.

 

[Itiger]

I encourage everyone's participation. But some things aren't correct youngguns. There is not another conference to go to. The WAC wasn't a good option when they inquired. They first wanted Montana but Montana turned them down. If you look at the conference changes, football is the main driving force. Aside from that there are mid majors that have jumped to bigger conferences. Butler from the Horizon to the A10. Davidson from Southern to the A-10. Creighton from the MVC to the Big East. What is the thing they have in common? They have had continued success at the mid major level. There just isn't a lot of options for Weber in the West. Do you talk to the Summit?

We can't control all of the conference stuff. What we can control is putting competive teams on the floor and we are not doing a very good job of that in very many sports.

Got it! My apologies, I interpreted your comments differently.
Being new to Weber, I find this thread as being very informative. I want to see this program reach its potential and I feel with leadership and the right vision from The AD's office we might be able to improve athletics at Weber! I disn't think that a lot of fans are happy with where it is today.

I do agree that the first task had to be putting a competitive team on the floor. I'm still thinking we'll be fine next year, Rahe has shown the ability to make tough decisions. He's has a lot of them to consider in the offseason.

 

[wsucatfan]

I encourage everyone's participation. But some things aren't correct youngguns. There is not another conference to go to. The WAC wasn't a good option when they inquired. They first wanted Montana but Montana turned them down. If you look at the conference changes, football is the main driving force. Aside from that there are mid majors that have jumped to bigger conferences. Butler from the Horizon to the A10. Davidson from Southern to the A-10. Creighton from the MVC to the Big East. What is the thing they have in common? They have had continued success at the mid major level. There just isn't a lot of options for Weber in the West. Do you talk to the Summit?

We can't control all of the conference stuff. What we can control is putting competitive teams on the floor and we are not doing a very good job of that in very many sports.

Yes, the WAC now isn't a good option, the top teams of the BSC could have taken a gamble and re-created the WAC into something better than what it is now. What you would rather have:
WAC:
Idaho, UM, MSU, Seattle, EWU, NMSU, WSU, Sac St., Denver, etc
or the weak bloated BSC that exists now.

The lower the BSC sinks the worse it's going to get for WSU to compete against other schools for recruits.

As it currently stands there is no better western based conference options (as in conferences WSU would be interested in and conferences that would be interested in WSU) for WSU to move to and that sucks.

 

[wsucatfan]

What the hell are you talking about by "conference gamble"? Utah and USU were both asked to join better conferences. BYU that's another story. The WAC was dead when they came knocking. And football drives most programs and last time I checked, the WAC doesn't have football.

Of course it was a huge gamble for Utah to join the Pac-12. They were the top dog of the MWC, they could have been content to stay and rule where they were or they took a calculated risk to improve their national exposure, national recruiting, finances. If they failed they could have become a new version of the Idaho program, failing to compete with USC, Oregon, Arizona, etc. Do you think the Ute fans would have been happy continually winning 1-3 games a year playing the whipping boy for a (huge) paycheck. Same goes for USU, it was a lower risk for them and it's going to improve the caliber of players headed to Logan.

Yeah the WAC was on life support, UM could have saved the conference and it's football status (not going into the FBS/FCS issue). UM goes to the WAC and they could have hand picked the teams to come with them.

 

[SWWeatherCat]

I am sorry but anyone that attended our game at USU this year can tell you that it wasn't the fact that USU was in better conference or had better players. We got out coached and we refused to make adjustments. That one game has taught me enough about this group of players and coaches.

No doubt about it! Although I didn't realize it at the time, that one game defined the entire season.

 

[SWWeatherCat]

Here are my standards of success:

1. be in the running to win the BSC regular season championship
2. win the regular season championship
3. win the conference tournament
4. win at least 20 games
5. win a game in the NCAA tournament

So, if the 1st item is met I consider the year to be mildly successful. The more items that are met the more successful the season.

...

Good list, I'd change it to my goals for the team if I was directly involved, however, there are two major things missing for me. Weber must be competitive in-state. If their schedule consists of USU, BYU, UVU, and SUUx2, then I expect them to win a minimum of three of those year-in and year-out and every once-in-a-while, win 4 or 5 of them. With Weber being unable to schedule interesting teams at the DEC, they have to be able to get wins against USU and BYU for my level of success to be met.

There are always down, reloading years to be expected but a level of consistency must be maintained and the program cannot continue to miss on capitalizing on things that can raise the bar (see Damian Lillard). Item 1 on the list must happen almost yearly. Items 3 & 4 need to happen frequently. For this program, with a great history, to keep strengthening itself and in order to take the next step, it cannot make the NCAA's, lose it's first game, and not be seen for another 5-7 years. That is not success to me.

 

[SWWeatherCat]

Our AD is a good guy, but he isn't really challenging the established status quo for our programs. I would want to do more and really drive athletics potential. Basketball should always be at the top. He should be committed to building a sought after and desired product. Not something you have to beg the community to attend by handing out free tickets.

100% agree.

There are no excuses why the Dee is partially full. His goal should be to see lines forming, wanting to bust down the doors, hours before the games. Students camping out to get into the building. The campus should be covered with information and that goes for the community. Rahe and his coaches should be all over the community during the off season building excitement. The AD is the overall leader of athletics. He is the man that ultimately needs to be held responsible.

I agree with the vision and that the coaches should do anything they can to support the vision, however, the coaches should not be canvasing the community begging for support much like Coach Arslanian was forced into with football. That responsibility falls on the shoulders of the administrative staff of the school, the athletics department and marketing in particular, public relations staff, and student groups. The coaches need to be focused on doing everything they can to put the most competitive team possible on the floor.

I think the community is more supportive of Weber than it used to be and more aware of events happening, unfortunately that's not saying much. What I haven't noticed is the athletic department trying to capitalize on what I believe to be better visibility in the community. Get them to the DEC, as paying customers, and entertain them with a quality product. Get the students more involved in both running the "show" and participating in it. Build a sense of ownership and pride in "their" school, "their" team. Certain student groups, under the direction of the marketing department, should have students out in the community every week "covering the community with information," involving the community with promotional opportunities, maybe having contests amongst businesses, students, or anyone/thing that would build excitement and pride in their team.

 

[Born2BleedPurpleGuy]

A lot had been said here.(yes I am writing this during the ISU game due to illness I can't be there). I agree with a lot o f it. The one point I want to make is this:
What I know about settling goals is once you achieve your goals, you reach higher. Meaning that we have been to the NCAA several times, won a few first round games which I will never forget. Our NEW goal EVERY year should be Sweet 16 and never looking below that level. I am not complacent with upsetting the local " big three" once in a while. WE should be in the BIG FOUR and having UVU
( pronounced: oooovoooo) & SUU aspiring to be US.