Anything new on the horizon?

[Western_101]

Anything new on the horizon for WIU athletics? Partnerships, scheduling, staff changes, facilities upgrades. It would be nice to get some positive energy here and positive dialog.

Western Men's Basketball has scheduled four D-III schools and Chicago State to come to Macomb (there is nothing nice to say, so I guess say nothing). The Women have two D-II a D-III and a NAIA scheduled On the other hand they do have SEC Mizzou and MVC Drake coming to Western Hall so that is a positive.

Mercifully the volleyball season is winding down.

The football team still has a chance to make the playoffs if not that, then at least a winning season, that's positive for a first year coach with all those holes to fill.

I made the mistake of going over to the Bison message board and reading their game thread vs. us. I highly recommend to anyone that will listen to not repeat my mistake. Ok now I'm just rambling.

Anyone have any updates on improvements to football facilities?

[rocki]

" made the mistake of going over to the Bison message board and reading their game thread vs. us. I highly recommend to anyone that will listen to not repeat my mistake. Ok now I'm just rambling. "

Been there before, and my main thought was "who cares"? I've heard more than once that what other people think of you is none of your business. The Bison fans I met were nice people - if they thought I was lacking in something, oh well. Same goes for the team and the school - we work and do the best we can with what we've got. If they think less of us for it, well, that's life. Doesn't affect me in the least. Whining gets annoying, though.

[ST_Lawson]

Anything new on the horizon for WIU athletics? Partnerships, scheduling, staff changes, facilities upgrades. It would be nice to get some positive energy here and positive dialog.

Western Men's Basketball has scheduled four D-III schools and Chicago State to come to Macomb (there is nothing nice to say, so I guess say nothing). The Women have two D-II a D-III and a NAIA scheduled On the other hand they do have SEC Mizzou and MVC Drake coming to Western Hall so that is a positive.

Mercifully the volleyball season is winding down.

The football team still has a chance to make the playoffs if not that, then at least a winning season, that's positive for a first year coach with all those holes to fill.

I made the mistake of going over to the Bison message board and reading their game thread vs. us. I highly recommend to anyone that will listen to not repeat my mistake. Ok now I'm just rambling.

Anyone have any updates on improvements to football facilities?

Good things...
Nicole Beebe (Cross Country) ran the 4th best time in school history for 6K the other day at a meet hosted by Bradley in Peoria. It was a personal best for her.

Women's BBall bringing in Mizzou is HUGE. Sure they also have a few lower-division teams, but at this level, you don't want all D1 schools, I think. Games like this give Coach Gravina a chance to get the younger players some experience without it impacting our W/L record, and gives them a chance to try out some schemes that you don't want to have to try out "on the fly" in games that really "matter". You gotta remember, we're a 1-bid league, so OOC really doesn't matter that much...you win the conference regular season, you're going to some postseason tournament...you win the conference tournament, you're going to the NCAA tournament. OOC might slightly affect your seed in those tournaments, but it's generally far enough removed from the postseason that it's not going to make a huge difference.

Yeah, don't go to Bisonville. I know plenty of NDSU fans who don't even go to Bisonville. The AGS thread for WIU vs NDSU was much better. I got a bit sarcastic in it, but in general, the NDSU fans on AGS are much more friendly and knowledgeable than other places. One of the guys from there goes to a lot of their away games, brings a trailer and does a whole big thing with tailgating, sets up tables of food, etc. Really nice guy (played O-Line for NDSU back around the early '70s I think), so I stopped by and said hi and he insisted I have an Italian beef sandwich...really good.

Like you said, a winning season for the first year of a new coach considering what we lost is pretty solid. I'm still hoping for playoffs though. We can do it, but there's little room for error along the way. I was very impressed with the way that Connor Sampson was slinging the ball around in the later part of the game last weekend. I think that bodes well for the future of our passing game next year. I also met his dad at the tailgate and talked with him a while, along with a few others of the younger players parents.

[ST_Lawson]

" made the mistake of going over to the Bison message board and reading their game thread vs. us. I highly recommend to anyone that will listen to not repeat my mistake. Ok now I'm just rambling. "

Been there before, and my main thought was "who cares"? I've heard more than once that what other people think of you is none of your business. The Bison fans I met were nice people - if they thought I was lacking in something, oh well. Same goes for the team and the school - we work and do the best we can with what we've got. If they think less of us for it, well, that's life. Doesn't affect me in the least. Whining gets annoying, though.

Yeah, you really have to considering their situation as opposed to ours.
The Fargo/Moorhead metro area has just under 250k people in it and is the #192nd largest metro area in the country. For comparison of places you might be familiar with: Cedar Rapids is #178, Champaign/Urbana is #193, Springfield, IL is #215.
The Macomb micropolitan statistical area (yes, that's a thing) has our "area" (essentially McDonough County) population at 32k.
They have more businesses, more corporations, and more places for alumni to stick around and work after graduation.

We do well with what we have, but what we have is ~50% of their enrollment and ~12% of what they have in terms of local population. They are essentially the equivalent of the University of Illinois for their state.

[sealhall74]

I guess I am just a different kind of dude. Rather than avoid Bisonville and other NDSU internet paraphernalia, I am all over it like stink on poop. For example, their strength trainining coach has workouts posted which I find very useful. They are not just overhyped PR stuff showing a bunch of enthusiastic offensive linemen flexing their biceps. They get into showing you the intricate details of lifting to avoid injuries. Very serious stuff. Their culture is one you want to emulate, not ignore. If you want to be the best, you better not deviate away too much from what the best are doing.

[ST_Lawson]

I guess I am just a different kind of dude. Rather than avoid Bisonville and other NDSU internet paraphernalia, I am all over it like stink on poop. For example, their strength trainining coach has workouts posted which I find very useful. They are not just overhyped PR stuff showing a bunch of enthusiastic offensive linemen flexing their biceps. They get into showing you the intricate details of lifting to avoid injuries. Very serious stuff. Their culture is one you want to emulate, not ignore. If you want to be the best, you better not deviate away too much from what the best are doing.

I think it was mostly the ripping on Macomb and WIU that was the issue. I'm sure they post plenty of good things over there, and I do read some of their stuff, especially when we're playing them, but you kinda have to have a thick skin when they talk about the town and the school.

[sealhall74]

I guess I am just a different kind of dude. Rather than avoid Bisonville and other NDSU internet paraphernalia, I am all over it like stink on poop. For example, their strength trainining coach has workouts posted which I find very useful. They are not just overhyped PR stuff showing a bunch of enthusiastic offensive linemen flexing their biceps. They get into showing you the intricate details of lifting to avoid injuries. Very serious stuff. Their culture is one you want to emulate, not ignore. If you want to be the best, you better not deviate away too much from what the best are doing.

I think it was mostly the ripping on Macomb and WIU that was the issue. I'm sure they post plenty of good things over there, and I do read some of their stuff, especially when we're playing them, but you kinda have to have a thick skin when they talk about the town and the school.

yea, you need a thick skin but at the same time, what good does it do to ignore and/or sweep it all under the rug? That's not a recipe for change.

[Western_101]

Great posts Scott. getting Mizzou to Western hall is huge. Drake is no Mizzou but definatley a name most people recognize.

Awesome about the X-Country success (my Niece runs X-Country for Purdue). All true about football. Good points on the women's schedule. The men's really doesn't have anything redeeming about it IMO though.

Certain boards set certain tones/expectation for how one conducts oneself. You do a great job Scott (even deleted a post or two of mine when I had too much wine not enough cheese). Bradley has an excellent board they don't allow smack talk at all there. Bisonville.com they drink a
lot up North maybe the Mods are as intoxicated as the posters?!

Also like your Hoodie, I have the same style one, (and to think the guy that sold it to me said it was one of a kind). You ought to retell the tale of your scarf for those that have come later to the party.

[ST_Lawson]

yea, you need a thick skin but at the same time, what good does it do to ignore and/or sweep it all under the rug? That's not a recipe for change.

I'm not saying ignore the problems. I think we all realize that enrollment, sporting event attendance, local population...are all down.
I meant more about posts like this,
this, or this. Just ripping on our area and school because they can. It's annoying, but I don't really let it affect what I think and feel about my home.

[GV Dad]

yea, you need a thick skin but at the same time, what good does it do to ignore and/or sweep it all under the rug? That's not a recipe for change.

I'm not saying ignore the problems. I think we all realize that enrollment, sporting event attendance, local population...are all down.
I meant more about posts like this,
this, or this. Just ripping on our area and school because they can. It's annoying, but I don't really let it affect what I think and feel about my home.

Being from Kansas City, I find it HILARIOUS that anyone from God forsaken North Dakota would make fun of any area in the country. Why the hell do we even need 2 Dakotas? I get that Macomb is rural, but that's also a big part of it's charm.