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Post by troy79 on Oct 18, 2023 11:42:08 GMT -6
Another AWESOME video; proud to be a TROJAN!
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Oct 9, 2023 11:33:14 GMT -6
So proud of Vidal. The Sun Belt has 5 Running Backs in the Top 22 halfway through the season.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Aug 31, 2023 11:57:06 GMT -6
Awesome video, thanks for sharing.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Aug 29, 2023 11:55:48 GMT -6
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Post by troy79 on Aug 15, 2023 11:54:18 GMT -6
If my math is right, there are 69 Power Five members, including Notre Dame. If we are #34, that means they project us higher than half of all Power Five schools. I am extremely proud of this ranking, especially considering the trajectory we were on prior to last season. If we had waited one more year to make the change, we likely would have polled in at around #100 going into this season, maybe a bit worse. Generally speaking, these pre-season polls are worthless, but it is nice to see that Troy is gaining respect from those who are 'supposedly' in the know. As KSD said, it is one game at a time and if we take care of our business, things will come our way before the season is over.
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Post by troy79 on Aug 8, 2023 11:42:29 GMT -6
Going undefeated is a stretch for any program in any conference. It would be awesome to happen and we will have to be prepared to come out strong as K-State is in the pre-season Top 20. Any year would be great to go undefeated but starting next season, it would really provide an opportunity for a Group of 5 team to enter the playoff picture. Timing is everything in life!
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Jul 27, 2023 12:14:35 GMT -6
That was a wonderful interview. Thanks for sharing.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Jun 22, 2023 11:43:18 GMT -6
My biggest concern is that when the dominos begin to fall (which will happen), and the MWC (likely replacing SDSU) and AAC (likely replacing SMU and possibly Memphis) lose teams to the Power Five, then the AAC will come after App. State, Coastal Carolina, maybe USA, or other Belt members) to match up with Charlotte and East Carolina, and possibly UAB. At that point, the Sun Belt will either have to be a weaker 12 team conference or we will only have the opportunity to go after a couple of CUSA schools or future FCS schools planning to make the transition to FBS. To quote Possum, the SBC are the darlings of the Group of Five so if we plan to maintain that honor, I am suggesting we don't sit back but continue to be the aggressor.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Jun 20, 2023 5:32:46 GMT -6
Fellow Trojans,
I know this is a lengthy post, but I feel it’s time to discuss the future of the Sun Belt.
Since the dominos have not all dropped with conference realignment throughout the country, I want to share some thoughts about strengthening our own conference.
The Belt is at the top end of the Group of Five and it would be awesome if we could remain there into the foreseeable future.
First, I want to identify the 2023 versions of the AAC, CUSA, the Independents, and Sun Belt.
The AAC has 14 members:
UAB, Charlotte, FAU, Navy, North Texas, Rice, SMU, Temple, UTSA, Tulsa, East Carolina, Memphis, South Florida, and Tulane
Conference USA has 9 members:
FIU, Liberty, Jax State, MTSU, La Tech, NMSU, UTEP, Sam Houston, and WKU
The four FBS Independents schools include:
Notre Dame, UCONN, UMass, and Army
The Sun Belt has 14 members:
Texas State, Arkansas State, La Monroe, Louisiana, Southern Miss, USA, Troy, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, App State, Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion, JMU, and Marshall
To have a strong conference, it is my belief that a tighter geographic footprint with natural type rivalries will make for an exciting conference and more convenient for traveling to away games. Commissioner Gill (whose contract goes into 2030) has been the aggressor in strengthening our Conference. We are blessed to have him in this leadership position during such a volatile time with schools jumping from one conference to another.
As you may have seen, SDSU just announced to the Mountain West Conference that they want to explore other options (I imagine others will follow). It has been rumored that the Pac 12 may be interested since they lost both USC and UCLA to the Big Ten. There has also been talk that the Pac 12 may be looking at SMU.
I must believe that with the Big 12 searching to poach other conferences to strengthen its brand, there will be some Pac 12 members on their radar screen (i.e., Colorado, Arizona, ASU, Utah). Even Memphis has been a name the Big 12 has discussed, and possibly UCONN.
The Big Ten has been rumored to want Notre Dame, Oregon, Washington, and maybe even Utah.
Most recently, the rumor is the SEC and Big Ten both may be interested in bringing on North Carolina and Virginia.
This leads me to the Sun Belt and Commissioner Gill. As we all know, timing is everything. If the Belt is happy to remain at 14 teams, then here is an option that we could consider.
Obviously, if we add new members and want to remain at 14 teams, then we would need to consider dropping some schools and adding others. As you see above, fifty percent of the new AAC is made up of former CUSA and Sun Belt schools. I would suggest there are four original AAC member schools in our geographic footprint that we could add.
I would consider dropping the three schools furthest West (Texas State, Arkansas State, and La Monroe). The AAC, Mountain West, and/or CUSA would take these three schools. It is highly likely that some of the Power Five Conferences will be purging current members as they begin to add new schools in the future.
If Memphis is absorbed by the Big 12, then they would be out of the question for the Sun Belt. However, if not, they would be a great addition for our Conference. We should target Tulane (the Sun Belt’s headquarters is in New Orleans), East Carolina, and possibly South Florida (assuming Memphis is not available). If we no longer have a presence in Texas, then Florida (USF) would be a great addition. With the AAC being so watered down, these schools might jump at the chance to become members of the top Group of Five Conference (the new Sun Belt). This move should secure any concerns of schools like App. State and Coastal Carolina from jumping ship.
Again, Commissioner Gill has already proven that he is not one to sit back and watch us get gobbled up by other conferences. The dominos are going to start falling again and so the time is right for the Sun Belt to be hands down the top Group of Five Conference, in all major sports.
As the old saying goes, “It’s always best to be the hunter than to be the hunted.”
Let’s have a discussion on next steps for the Sun Belt. Nothing stays the same, so we need to continue with the aggressive attitude.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Jun 12, 2023 11:37:29 GMT -6
I am sure there will be a lot of pushback from fellow board members, but this was an awesome rivalry back in the day. Made for some very interesting gameday signage and messages on Homecoming floats!
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Jun 2, 2023 11:54:18 GMT -6
Coach Smartt has forgotten more about baseball than many 'participants' on our board will ever know. He has dedicated most of his adult life as a true Troy Trojan and loves his alma matter more than most. Mark deserved to go into our HOF this year and shouldn't have to be subject to reading some of the crap being said by someone going by the name of Trojan1andAll. How ironic is that? Pitiful, absolutely pitiful!
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Jun 2, 2023 11:33:02 GMT -6
Troy has lost a wonderful coach. Kenneth Mangrum will be missed. He will have a great opportunity to turn a program around that is basically starting over from scratch after the hazing of players and firing of coaches at NM State. Good luck Coach Mangrum!
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on May 25, 2023 11:44:19 GMT -6
I hope Troy can find a way to keep him on campus. You have to figure that several SEC teams have noticed the great talent he has; if we can have a nice run here at the end of the season and play in the post season tournament, that could help our cause.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on May 25, 2023 11:40:04 GMT -6
Being in the 5th best ranked Conference in the country in Baseball will definitely go a long way in helping our cause. We have a great opportunity ahead of us, we just need to keep focused and play one at a time. We need to put the pressure on early against USM.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on May 22, 2023 11:35:54 GMT -6
Looking forward to watching #2 in the CFL. The Tiger-Cats have hit a homerun with the signing of Martial. Proud for your opportunity, Carlton. The Trojan Nation will be supporting you!
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Apr 10, 2023 11:59:33 GMT -6
Thank you, Warrior. It was a blessed day for all.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Apr 6, 2023 11:26:15 GMT -6
Great promo video for our students, athletes, and fanbase.
It's a great time to be a TROJAN!
Thanks for sharing this video.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Mar 2, 2023 12:53:41 GMT -6
Guys,
I love baseball and our Trojans. Have attended Troy games for 45 years.
IMO, instant reply, and all the challenges, are ruining the experience. Every game we've played this season has lasted, at a minimum, 3 hours and 30 minutes. It has destroyed the pace of the game and takes away any momentum.
I understand the argument for 'getting it right,' but there is so much 'down-time' during the games that it has become ridiculous. I believe that these things (the umpires calls) work themselves out over a long regular season. Maybe consider replay for the conference tournaments and NCAA tourney.
It is very challenging for many fans, especially families with kids, to come to the ballpark and spend so much time watching a game, especially a 6 PM start time. I have seen quite a few folks just up and leave after 7 innings, even though most every game we've played has been close at the end.
MLB is now running games by using a clock, maybe we would fare better to take their lead and find a way to get games back to a respectable duration, like 2 and a half hours.
Thoughts?
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Mar 2, 2023 12:25:45 GMT -6
Great Picture! We are fortunate that Pensacola is the host city for the tournament. Maybe one day, UWF will be invited into the conference (assuming if and when they make the jump to FBS).
All the best to our Ladies and Men's teams this weekend.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Feb 16, 2023 12:57:51 GMT -6
I do wonder if Coach Vic K. (ULM) would want to return to Troy for a third time. I am sure he would like to add to his State of Alabama retirement fund. HCJS knows him well from his previous Troy tenure. We all remember how the return of Coach Bolt with the 'Dead Bolt Defense' played out for Troy about a decade ago. We may hire from within the program as it is getting a bit late to find DC's at this point into the off-season.
I trust HCJS will find the right man for the job.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Feb 15, 2023 12:44:05 GMT -6
You're right, it would have been a nice home game for TROY. The BYU fans travel well and it would have been a great opportunity to fill the Vet. I do not see many fans from Nevada coming to Pike County to watch their football team.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Feb 13, 2023 12:37:59 GMT -6
Al Lucas was certainly a Trojan great and his folks are wonderful people as well. I own a Los Angeles Avengers helmet (the team he played for when he passed away on the playing field) and have a Blue-Gray All Star Classic football signed by Big Al, along with several others who played in Montgomery that year.
We were blessed to have Al on our campus during his collegiate career.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Feb 9, 2023 12:57:48 GMT -6
Agree, Cornhole.
Pensacola is a great town and host for our post season tournaments. It is my belief that if the University of West Florida decides to move up to D-1, they would be the next Sun Belt addition. Look how quickly Kennesaw State moved from no football program just a few years ago to now being the latest addition in CUSA.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Feb 7, 2023 12:28:43 GMT -6
What an accomplishment.
To think she's done that in just over a decade is mind-boggling. She and her staff are the real deal and we are so fortunate to have her as our HC.
Go TROY!
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Post by troy79 on Feb 7, 2023 12:18:52 GMT -6
Well said, Buzz. We are very blessed to have the current leadership in place with Troy Athletics (and not just football) and you are correct, we better enjoy it while we can!
Go TROY!
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