If we were given the option to switch to the SEC...

ACC class my ass.

Countless posters said when we won at Auburn last time how gracious they were.

We, and I am not talking payouts, would make more money because we would sell more season tickets. And they would be to Tech fans.

We would be able to tap into recruits who might not consider us now. There are players at SEC schools who can easily qualify for GT. They are there and they are there because of the better competition.

Baseball, womens sports, Golf and, yes, even basketball would have ZERO dropoff from a competiion standpoint.

Your freakin degree will not be worth any less. Get over it.

If given the chance, we have just enough stupid, arrogant, egomaniacs that would try to prevent it. Hopefully sanity would prevail.
 
beej67 said:
Empty stadiums are worse for us.
Click to expand...

Empty, you say? Are you talking about on Sundays? :eek5:

I attended all home games last year and the stadium wasn't empty, or even half-empty, or even one-quarter empty for any of the games.

Yes, SEC games would probably fill our $tadium (except for the Mississippi teams and Vanderbilt)...but the cheap seats won't be filled with very many additional Tech fans.

Face it. The Falcons, Braves, Hawks, Thrashers, UGA, et al will continue to meet the sporting needs of Joe Six-Pack while Tech will have to draw upon its loyal fans plus the enemy to fill its stadium.

So if dollar$ is the only way you measure success, I can see how you might like the SEC. Personally, I don't favor association with the likes of the SEC/Hargrave (with the exception of Vanderbilt and Florida). If you sleep with junk yard dogs, you usually get fleas. :laugher:
 
I remember a similar recent post either here or on another forum.

Did I miss something? Has there been discussion or rumor concerning the possible move to the SEC?

Thanks.
 
GGGT said:
I remember a similar recent post either here or on another forum.

Did I miss something? Has there been discussion or rumor concerning the possible move to the SEC?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I sure hope so. I would love to be in the SEC again!
 
Beej, I usually don't like your posts (mostly for the sig thing you do, your occassional smugness, and your need to list those you ignore), but I really appreciate your discussion on the subject here and on the hive. Maybe the opportunity to jump ship will never present itself, but with football what seems like ages away and the basketball team being...well, the basketball team, it's fun to think about.

I would absolutely love returning to the SEC.

Most of your points are valid reasons to go back, and the ones that aren't have already been noted and corrected by others. Still, I think the positives outweight the negatives.

There's really nothing I can add to your reasons. I'll say this regarding attendance: I know of quite a few Tech fans (some also grads) who would get off their sorry asses and attend a lot more home games if they were against more SEC schools. Like it or not, there are a lot of folks out there who cheer for Tech from their recliner because they don't want to get in the middle of the crowds/etc just to see NCst, UNC, UMD, BC, Dook, UVA, and Wake Forrest. Tell me you don't know a Tech fan who only attends the UGA-GT game. A lot of people on here won't like hearing that and will say those people aren't worthy and are bad fans, but those same idiots also complain about a lack of Tech fans showing up for home games. I know of people in that category of fans. (Hell, a couple I can think of in my own large pro-tech family). Listen, people who have to make a trip out of a tech game, say 3 hours each way, have to weigh the time they are putting into that versus **** they need to get done on the weekends cause they can't do it during the week....

For instance: Travel 6 hours to the Tech-NCSt game (Zzzzz) which is also being televised VS catching it on TV and getting yard/house work done..... OR .... Traveling 6 hours to the Tech-Tenn game VS catching it on TV and getting yard/house work done...

Anyway, given more intriguing matchups I believe that the number of Tech fans who come out to support the team will noticably increase.

Not only that, but I think I have at least one good friend from each SEC school and it would be sooooooo nice to be able to talk trash with them....

Well, sorry for the rambling. I chugged a couple brews tonight and the wife went to be early.

Carry on.
 
I love the offseason, when the pointless discussions appear. Yeah, I know this is mildly interesting, but its not happening, ever. Ever. Sorry to disappoint a few of y'all.
 
Is it possible that we could move back to the SEC? That would help us in so many ways.

Fans, Sell outs, Recruiting, Revenues. <---(sp?)
 
yellajacketkid said:
Is it possible that we could move back to the SEC? That would help us in so many ways.

Fans, Sell outs, Recruiting, Revenues. <---(sp?)
Click to expand...

It's still farfetched, but the best possibility is if Arkansas moved over to the Big 12, if say Colorado gets kicked out of that conference.

I know that FSU petitioned a number of times to join the SEC before the SWC broke up and Arkansas joined. The SEC never went for them because they were dominating Florida at the time and probably would have had no problem winning the SEC. If Arkansas left, Tech might be a safer and more historic choice for them than FSU or Clemson.
 
3rdGen -

I agree for all the reasons you mention, but really my biggest beef is that Atlanta is firmly and completely an SEC town, and all the SEC championship games are here. If we were in the SEC, we would be THE team for SEC area players who wanted to move to the "big city." Our annual Thursday night game would be THE thing to watch on TV in the southeast. The Atlanta thing is just too big a deal.

The rubber meets the road on finances. I've gone back and looked at our average attendance for conference games over the past two years. We've had 4 near sell outs:

07 Clemson @ 54635
07 UGA @ 54990
06 Miami (homecoming) @ 55320
06 ND @ 56680 (don't ask me how we got more than 55k)

Note two of those were out of conference.

Based on those numbers, I think it's reasonable to assume that we could increase our attendance at a very MINIMUM to 55k for our 4 conference games with a move to the SEC. Run the numbers on that, over the past two years, and we'd see an average conference game increase in attendance annually by 16,000 tickets sold. At 45 bucks a ticket that'd be $720,000 net. Now that's just pure difference in the gate - doesn't take into account any additional alumni contributions, or the ability to raise ticket prices due to higher profile games, or any of that.

Three quarters of a million dollars net just on the gate is nothing to frown at.
 
Last edited:
I understand the feelings towards the SEC, especially for the older fans, but to me it really would mostly be about the money. Yes, we might improve ticket sales, etc., but I'm not convinced that the overall numbers work when you include membership, penalties to leave, annual payouts, etc. That's what I would base a decision on if there was an option between the two...what are the projections of the numbers.
 
texstinger said:
ACC class my ass.

Countless posters said when we won at Auburn last time how gracious they were.

We, and I am not talking payouts, would make more money because we would sell more season tickets. And they would be to Tech fans.

We would be able to tap into recruits who might not consider us now. There are players at SEC schools who can easily qualify for GT. They are there and they are there because of the better competition.

Baseball, womens sports, Golf and, yes, even basketball would have ZERO dropoff from a competiion standpoint.

Your freakin degree will not be worth any less. Get over it.

If given the chance, we have just enough stupid, arrogant, egomaniacs that would try to prevent it. Hopefully sanity would prevail.
Click to expand...

I think this thread sort of proves the opposite point. People have had to correct misconceptions of Miami for instance because of their reputation on the field. I think in many ways the SEC mentality could carry over to our team in a race to win and be competitive and could have detrimental effects on perception of the Institute as a whole. While it may not hurt your salary I think the tarnishing of an image is much more important to me. I've been to 5 SEC schools for games and I think the win at all costs carries over to fans/alums and causes a different and more zealous attitude that is articulated in very profane ways. Georgia Tech stands for dignity and class, it would be shame to damage this perception.
 
GTatUSC said:
I think this thread sort of proves the opposite point. People have had to correct misconceptions of Miami for instance because of their reputation on the field. I think in many ways the SEC mentality could carry over to our team in a race to win and be competitive and could have detrimental effects on perception of the Institute as a whole. While it may not hurt your salary I think the tarnishing of an image is much more important to me. I've been to 5 SEC schools for games and I think the win at all costs carries over to fans/alums and causes a different and more zealous attitude that is articulated in very profane ways. Georgia Tech stands for dignity and class, it would be shame to damage this perception.
Click to expand...

Well said GT@USC... most intelligent post on this thread
 
ncjacket said:
I understand the feelings towards the SEC, especially for the older fans, but to me it really would mostly be about the money. Yes, we might improve ticket sales, etc., but I'm not convinced that the overall numbers work when you include membership, penalties to leave, annual payouts, etc. That's what I would base a decision on if there was an option between the two...what are the projections of the numbers.
Click to expand...

I agree 80%. I think the other 20% is how the location synergy would help our program.

I think an increase in stadium revenue of 750k/yr pretty well balances the 5mil buyout to leave, though, don't you Ncj?

I think this thread sort of proves the opposite point. People have had to correct misconceptions of Miami for instance because of their reputation on the field.
Click to expand...

Academic reputation doesn't matter in an athletic conference. What matters is academic reputation anc class of your SAs, and the ACC is pretty terrible at that.

Miami is the penultimate example of how academic reputation of a school is meaningless to the caliber of their SAs.
 
beej67 said:
IAcademic reputation doesn't matter in an athletic conference.
Click to expand...

You may not want it to matter, or you may not think it should matter, but, as someone pointed out in the thread on The Hive, it is the ULTIMATE determining factor because the presidents run the conferences. So, if our president doesn't think any argument outweighs our need to be academically compatible with our conference peers, we ain't moving (not that I think there's a snowball's chance in hell that we ever would or could anyway).

What do you think the chances are that GT's president would ever want GT to officially associate with a bunch of academically inferior schools? Even in the face of compelling financial evidence? Which,by the way, we don't have either. You can only get 55K in BDS, and we're currently running at 90% capacity for football (sales-wise) and 100% capacity for hoops (sales-wise). There aren't enough empty seats which would hypothetically be filled by folks excited by our return to the SEC to make up for the difference in the per-school payout from the ACC versus the SEC.

I think yours is an argument based on what the fans would enjoy more. That should be a consideration but by no means the first, second or third priority. JMHO...
 
Stick said:
You may not want it to matter, or you may not think it should matter, but, as someone pointed out in the thread on The Hive, it is the ULTIMATE determining factor because the presidents run the conferences. So, if our president doesn't think any argument outweighs our need to be academically compatible with our conference peers, we ain't moving (not that I think there's a snowball's chance in hell that we ever would or could anyway).

What do you think the chances are that GT's president would ever want GT to officially associate with a bunch of academically inferior schools? Even in the face of compelling financial evidence? Which,by the way, we don't have either. You can only get 55K in BDS, and we're currently running at 90% capacity for football (sales-wise) and 100% capacity for hoops (sales-wise). There aren't enough empty seats which would hypothetically be filled by folks excited by our return to the SEC to make up for the difference in the per-school payout from the ACC versus the SEC.

I think yours is an argument based on what the fans would enjoy more. That should be a consideration but by no means the first, second or third priority. JMHO...
Click to expand...

I don't get the academic argument. Is Vandy worse for being in the same conference as Ole Miss? Did GT take a hit at all when FSU, an SEC school through and through, joined the ACC?

Based on the attendance figures and bowl tie-ins, the SEC would provide far more revenue year-in and year-out. Even the Tech Fund contributions are small-time for SEC season tickets. The bowl payouts in the SEC are also in another league compared to the ACC's. The only advantage the ACC may have is revenue from basketball television contracts and the ACC tournament.
 
What do you think the chances are that GT's president would ever want GT to officially associate with a bunch of academically inferior schools? Even in the face of compelling financial evidence? Which,by the way, we don't have either. You can only get 55K in BDS, and we're currently running at 90% capacity for football (sales-wise) and 100% capacity for hoops (sales-wise). There aren't enough empty seats which would hypothetically be filled by folks excited by our return to the SEC to make up for the difference in the per-school payout from the ACC versus the SEC.
Click to expand...
Yup. The rubber meets the road on finances, and I'm totally cool with finances being the deciding factor. I did post, though, 750k/yr in increases just on the gate here, and ArmyJacket posted 1.4 mil/yr as his expectation, also based purely on the gate. Either of those figures might justify the 9 million quoted as the buyout amount.

Floridajacket -

I've seen some responses to this thread either here or on the Hive indicating that the average payout for the ACC was higher than the SEC, and that the SEC does a graded system. I think we'd come in above average in the SEC and get an above average payout, but others don't.
 
Last edited:
beej67 said:
Yup. The rubber meets the road on finances, and I'm totally cool with finances being the deciding factor. I did post, though, 750k/yr in increases just on the gate here, and ArmyJacket posted 1.4 mil/yr as his expectation, also based purely on the gate. Either of those figures might justify the 9 million quoted as the buyout amount.
Click to expand...
I'm with you there beej, just don't have any way of knowing how the numbers would really work out of course. But if there was an option, I think that's how a decision should be reached.
 
beej67 said:
Miami is the penultimate example of how academic reputation of a school is meaningless to the caliber of their SAs.
Click to expand...

Miami is also the penultimate example of how the behavior and actions of the SA's impact the perception of the student body as a whole. Numerous times in this very discussion people have lumped Miami in with FSU, solely because the athletes are thugs. Miami is obviously an extreme example, but there is a national perception of the sports teams as a representation of the school. While solely being an SEC school wouldn't hurt that perception, the fact we're in the ACC helps that perception.
 
beej67 said:
Either of those figures might justify the 9 million quoted as the buyout amount.
Click to expand...

But they're not taking into account the difference between the annual revenue share between ACC member schools versus the annual revenue share between SEC member schools. That's nearly a million dollars a year right now, which wipes out the gate increase. Not a very compelling argument to present to the president of a school which prides itself on its academic reputation above all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top