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Conference Constipation Thread 2.0

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
I don’t know how it is elsewhere, but in Chicagoland we are 10-20 years away of a big public school (non-CPS) dropping football because of lack of interest.

Morton (8,200 students) and Waukegan (4,600 students) are the two biggest schools in the state. But the demographics of both of those schools are 80%-90% Hispanic and they struggle with interest because of low numbers. It takes one school like that to drop the sport and then others will follow.

EDIT: Morton is actually a combination of Morton East and Morton West. Both of those schools alone would be top 5 enrollments if they fielded separate teams.

I thought messicans liked footbaw? Hereabouts there are many high schools that likewise have 80+% Hispanic populations, but they generally don't have issues fielding a footbaw team. To be sure, very few of them are going to play college football, but that doesn't seem to deter them.

But Petros Papadakis' alma mater, Peninsula HS, recently had to forfeit like half their season because they only had 25 players to begin the season, and as injuries depleted even this tiny roster, the decision was made to forfeit the balance of the season as a safety measure. Peninsula HS used to be a pretty decent regional power back in the 90s (when Petros played), especially for a public school. Their enrollment and demographics haven't changed drastically in 30 years, but apparently the culture and interest around the football program has.
 

Skeeter

Uber felon
My son goes to a decent sized high school. About 2200 enrolled. There were about 100 kids out for the 8th and 7th grade teams that started practice Monday.

Foosball still alive and well in Ohio
 

Mr. Radpants

Trog Five Standing By
My son goes to a decent sized high school. About 2200 enrolled. There were about 100 kids out for the 8th and 7th grade teams that started practice Monday.

Foosball still alive and well in Ohio

Football will continue to be very popular in Ohio, Florida, and Jar Land
 

Snorky's Shame

Well-Known Member
I thought messicans liked footbaw? Hereabouts there are many high schools that likewise have 80+% Hispanic populations, but they generally don't have issues fielding a footbaw team. To be sure, very few of them are going to play college football, but that doesn't seem to deter them.

But Petros Papadakis' alma mater, Peninsula HS, recently had to forfeit like half their season because they only had 25 players to begin the season, and as injuries depleted even this tiny roster, the decision was made to forfeit the balance of the season as a safety measure. Peninsula HS used to be a pretty decent regional power back in the 90s (when Petros played), especially for a public school. Their enrollment and demographics haven't changed drastically in 30 years, but apparently the culture and interest around the football program has.

To be fair, Morton and Waukegan have been very bad in football for a very long time, even when they had a decent amount of whites (for both schools) and African-Americans (for Waukegan). The last time Waukegan was good, Otto Graham was there.

Another issue are the type of schools that are good now in Chicagoland at the higher levels. Basically the good teams are either Catholic schools (Mt. Carmel, Loyola and Joliet Catholic) or middle-class/rich kid schools (Lincoln-Way East, Hinsdale Central, Naperville Central, Stevenson and Maine South). Thornton (predominantly African-American) used be pretty good (Tai Streets, Napoleon Harris and Antwan Randel-El) but are now mediocre.
 

Snorky's Shame

Well-Known Member
So we’re blaming ESPN for destabilizing the Big XII now?

I’m not the biggest fan of ESPN, but I’d argue that the conference was never stable.

Nebraska was never happy as they lost every big vote to the SWC schools when the conference started (partial qualifiers, league office location, championship game).

Colorado never truly fit in and it was McCartney (who would never coach in the Big XII) that steered them to the Big XII and not the PAC-10.

There was resentment from the Big 8 schools that they had to take Baylor and Texas Tech and there was resentment from the SWC schools that it wasn’t a full merger.

Really the Big XII was just a marriage of convenience to ward off the PAC-10, B1G and SEC.

Also I just find it funny that everyone that Texas is going to suck in the SEC. Anyone remember the state of the Oklahoma program as the Big 8 ended and the Big XII started? They had three head coaches in three years and were getting humiliated by Nebraska on a regular basis. By 2000 everything had changed and they really haven’t looked back.
 

silverwheels

PLAY LA BAMBA BABY
Unless Texas changes the entire culture around their football program they will suck anywhere. OU will struggle to adapt at first due to lack of quality depth in their front 7, but they'll be fine after a few years of CROOTIN with da SEC on there gloves.
 

Karl Hungus

Here to fix the cable
Anyone remember the state of the Oklahoma program as the Big 8 ended and the Big XII started? They had three head coaches in three years and were getting humiliated by Nebraska on a regular basis. By 2000 everything had changed and they really haven’t looked back.


There were, uh, external factors at play in the state of the OU program in the 90's.
 

Snorky's Shame

Well-Known Member
Unless Texas changes the entire culture around their football program they will suck anywhere. OU will struggle to adapt at first due to lack of quality depth in their front 7, but they'll be fine after a few years of CROOTIN with da SEC on there gloves.

Yeah, it’s toxic no question.

They can’t go in thinking they’ll dominate or it’s not going to go well at all. The only thing they’ll have going for them is they won’t get an annual beating from Alabama like Texas A&M did save 2012.

Problem is, they won’t go in with that mentality.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
To be fair, Morton and Waukegan have been very bad in football for a very long time, even when they had a decent amount of whites (for both schools) and African-Americans (for Waukegan). The last time Waukegan was good, Otto Graham was there.

Another issue are the type of schools that are good now in Chicagoland at the higher levels. Basically the good teams are either Catholic schools (Mt. Carmel, Loyola and Joliet Catholic) or middle-class/rich kid schools (Lincoln-Way East, Hinsdale Central, Naperville Central, Stevenson and Maine South). Thornton (predominantly African-American) used be pretty good (Tai Streets, Napoleon Harris and Antwan Randel-El) but are now mediocre.

With the overall decline of interest in football, what we see in So Cal, at least - is that the talent is getting more and more concentrated in either the private schools which can recruit (Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, J Serra, Serra, Orange Lutheran, Oaks Christian, etc.) or those public schools where there is an open enrollment policy and they too, can effectively recruit the best players in their areas (Long Beach Poly, Corona Centennial).

Few and far in between are the local high schools primarily made up of only neighborhood kids that still manage to stay competitive in football. Where once you could tick off probably a dozen or more HS teams that were regionally competitive and were regularly putting out a couple of D1 players every year, nowadays any kid that shows talent gets pulled into one of the private schools or other football factories, and the standard public school teams generally have a much lower talent level.

Carson HS and Banning HS used to be the two big LA City powers back in the day. In the 70s and 80s, there were probably like 50 alums of both schools throughout the Pac10's rosters in any given year. While those schools still have no issues fielding a team, they're nowhere near the type of programs they were a generation ago.
 

Renegade

Charge on!
Ironically yes, if we'd let UL take the Big XII spot and waited another year we'd have been UMDs replacement in the ACC and wouldn't have to be shitting our pants right now.

Nah, you'd have already self-immolated on the couches when UConn got that opening.
 

Renegade

Charge on!
Bowlsby is pissed because he believes (rightly, imo) that ESPN is conspiring with the SoonerHorns to torpedo the league. Anyone who witnessed firsthand the demise of the Big East as a football conference should find that entirely plausible.

Having said that...too damn bad. You reap what you sow.

I really hope Baylor ends up in CUSA or the Sun Belt when this is said and done. The 5 teams the AAC tried to steal were reportedly Kansas, Iowa St., Oklahoma St., West Virginia, and Texas Tech. I'm guessing TCU and K-State would have gone to the MWC with Baylor being the odd man out. Or maybe they can join the WAC for the other sports and play FB as an independent. I don't really care...I just want them to be the biggest loser in this deal.
 

Renegade

Charge on!
I’m not the only one with a newspapers dot com subscription. Good for you Matt.

Twitter search says I have never interacted with that guy, but he has me blocked. I only insult USF (and occasionally Iowa State or Mississippi State) fans. Is he one of those?
 
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