http://www.thestarpress.com/story/opinion/contributors/20... /

Could be any mid major but good article nonetheless...

Didn't we just have this conversation?

This sounds like a repeat of conversations that have taken place on this board for sure.

I found one thing to be odd in this writing: When talking about past successful players, not one single mention of Bonzi Wells, or the really good Cardinal teams under Rick Majerus. Do they have the same problem at BSU that we have where we don't embrace our greats from the past nearly well enough?

I'd be much more interested in an article about the poor relations between Ball State and Muncie that he decides to not talk about. He does mention "excesses" at Ball State. Hmmmmm.....

6:30 PM on Friday? Uhg.....

Anything for TV. As long as these folks are willing to drink the Koolaid and support it with their tax dollars, this is the crap we'll get.

And a senior education major told me today she'll graduate in April with 60K of debt. Not a whole lot different than the "bankers" in The Big Short.

I didn't really get a guilt trip vibe. I agree that no one is obliged to go to sporting events. I have a lot of friends and family who simply don't care for athletics. What I do find pathetic and annoying is people favoring - with dollars and eyeballs - other DI programs in places like Athens and Muncie. A bar owner in Athens putting out a Buckeye flag or a local driving up to Columbus for a game when one is happening in Peden is garbage to me. Just like I think it's pathetic that Cleveland State can't draw flies here but if Ohio State played a game in Cleveland it would sell out. Mid-major programs represent institutions that provide economic and cultural vitality in each of their respective cities. In the case of Athens and Oxford, the schools are the raison d'etre for each city. To be sure, programs aren't "owed" fans, but I don't buy a single excuse (I've heard them all) from people who love sports but can't be bothered to support their own school or the university that is directly or indirectly paying their salary.

That was kind of my point. The town and gown disconnect that exists here with the factories and higher education was never something I felt in Athens. As 69 pointed out and is commonly acknowledged we have a schism here between the populace and the University that goes back to the perceived class distinction engendered by the original Ball brothers, extended family and the other manufacturers like Kitsleman's and others that lived here.