ETSU Is Becoming the “It” Team in the Tri-Cities
Several days ago Colin Cowherd mentioned on his radio show how the Los Angeles Rams were becoming the darlings of the Los Angeles market, supplanting the Southern California Trojans football team.
Why wouldn’t they? In fact, I have often felt that the Rams and Chargers moving back to LA is the worst thing that could happen to the Trojans (and, for that matter, Bruins) because of the attention they will take away from college football in the market.
Regardless, the Rams supplanting a sports entity playing on a lower level in their market is similar to what ETSU is doing in the Tri-Cities.
Once upon a time it seemed as if ETSU didn’t count in their own market. They had a loser’s reputation and it seemed as if their best days were behind them.
The act of dropping football 15 years ago sent the message “we can’t compete,” and it was difficult to listen to the then-administration talk about how things were better than ever with the Buccaneers when in reality they were likely never worse.
But even before then, it seemed as if ETSU fell behind entities like high school basketball on the local sports landscape.
This has changed.
Sure, playing basketball in the shadow of Science Hill High School at Freedom Hall is a reminder of the days in which Buccaneers games were pre-empted on the radio for the Hilltoppers or other high schools. When fans clamored for George Pitts to coach the Buccaneers, even though high school coaches generally fail when promoted directly to a college head coaching position. When fans actually believed Science Hill’s basketball team could beat ETSU, even though the Bucs were only a season removed from the NCAA Tournament.
Winning changes a lot, doesn’t it? It finally appears ETSU is getting the recognition it should as a Division I athletic program.
It used to be there was an unwritten rule ETSU should not schedule a home men’s basketball game in the final week of the year. That was reserved for high school basketball tournaments.
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That seems so yesterday. The high school tournaments have regressed, and the Bucs will host Furman, the surprise team of the Southern Conference after defeating Villanova, on Dec. 29.
Meanwhile, while one has room to be skeptical of ETSU’s announced football attendance, the announced figures are roughly 2,500 fans more than attended ETSU games back in the Minidome.
It just seems the Bucs count more.
The exciting thing about this is that unlike a high school program, a college program can really grow.
A high school program can win more games, but interest will always be limited to the town in which it plays in.
Besides, if a high school program moves up in classification, it is likely because the city in which is plays in got bigger.
A college program can really put a town on the map, so to speak. It can play for championships the nation cares about. It can move up the Division I ladder to additional prominence that means more people coming to town and possibly more amenities.
The biggest of the amenities would be if a new arena was built for ETSU to play in, which would be a benefit for the entire area and not just sports fans. There is nothing that would make the area more cosmopolitan than a structure that would bring everything from concerts to minor pro sports to town.
But for the time being, while Freedom Hall isn’t ideal, it is a reminder that ETSU can fill the place up with large crowds for their basketball team.
Science Hill couldn’t.
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