We've had recruits that have had offers from us go to Iowa, yes. (And remember you can go 500 miles west and still be in Texas
)
I don't think
we are so bad now but the road we've taken has been bad. For the longest time we not only had issues of reputation within the area of sports but Texas State was, until a few years ago, known as
the party school. Any luck in sports was mainly that... a combination of luck, coaching and a batch of good or slightly overachieving athletes. Until Bailiff came along football was something a bunch of guys did on Saturdays to stay busy when there weren't classes. While academic standards were fairly high it didn't mean we attracted the student athletes we really needed and thus they went elsewhere.
Now we truly have those "fights" for the better athletes and scholar athletes (every football player recruited this year was in the top 10% of their class) and more of those athletes are looking our way. I owe it to the 2005 team. Susccess breeds success.
We are not App or UNI or Montana or JMU (not as arrogant either but that comes from winning) but we are working towards that. Teams have to start somewhere and build from it. I don't see TXST falling back into the mediocrity that was the years between 1984 & 2005. We may not win the SLC every year but we'll be in the mix.
I do agree that for most part the SLC is not a great conference (thank you Louisiana) as far a parity goes. We have McNeese, who is not the team it once was. UCA is gonna make noise when they are playoff eligible. SAM needs new coaching (and other things.)
There's this conviction amongst TX FBS schools that players/students go to TXST because they didn't have the grades to get into UT. That is totally false and while it may have been somewhat true at one time, it hasn't been for the past decade. We have the 3rd highest academic requirements in TX (behind UT & A&M) and it is now a University of choice but changing that mindset is slow in coming.
Hopefully, in a few more years, TXST won't be the brunt of so many FCS jokes, even if the conference is.
Now I'll get off my soapbox and back to the topic. Anyone can say they have to compete with every other college or university in the country... that's a given. We have had guys from many other states too, that chose us or transferred in their soph year. I'm looking for the most obvious and direct competition. So ours is the Big XII, CUSA and SAM.
We're starting to get looks and I see us battling for the title again this year (barring catastrophe). I am also of the concept we need to establish ourselves on the winning side before considering going FBS, but I have no control over that one.
Ok, enough...... I need to go take something to relax me. I get all wound up talking about this stuff because I can write what I really would like to discuss and I think I've done enough damage (and confused everyone) for one post.
