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Topic:  Take a moment and reflect ....

Topic:  Take a moment and reflect ....
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bshot44
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  Message Not Read  Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 1:18:30 PM 
.... as you watch the MAC title game Saturday ... another that does NOT include Ohio.

CMU is one year removed from a 1-11 season with a new head coach. They won the more difficult West division.

This will be the fourth MAC title game appearance for CMU in the Solich era (winning all of the other three) ... and they're on their 5th head coach during that time.

Miami is also on their fifth head coach in 15 yrs .... and they're making their 3rd MAC title game appearance during that time. Only one less than mighty Ohio. (4th in 16 years in you go one year before Solich)

And they've won a MAC title in there.

This is rhetorical ... so don't bother answering. But how in the hell, after 15 years, has this coaching staff not been able to accomplish what Miami or CMU has been able to do?!?!?

It's mind numbing.

And there is no reason to think it'll ever happen with this regime.
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Pataskala
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 1:42:02 PM 
Of course, there's the down side.

Fiami:
2006: 2-10 (5th in the East)
2008: 2-10 (7th)
2009: 1-11 (7th)
2011: 4-8 (4th)
2012: 4-8 (4th)
2013: 0-12 (7th)
2014: 2-10 (6th)
2015: 3-9 (5th)
2017: 5-7 (2nd)

For every year they get into the MACCG, they've had three where not even competitive. They've been last in the weaker East division four times.

CMU has been much more consistent, but as you mentioned the West is traditionally stronger than the East. And actually CMU has been more like Ohio -- competitive every year with the occasional MACCG appearance.

Last Edited: 12/3/2019 1:45:05 PM by Pataskala

We will get by.
We will get by.
We will get by.
We will survive.
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Casper71
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 1:56:40 PM 
I’ve said it numerous times over the last 10 years. This staff can coach ok but it does not recruit enough quality players and get them on the field at the same time to win a MAC championship. If they could, we would have won one championship by now.

Last Edited: 12/3/2019 1:57:27 PM by Casper71
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72 Bobcat
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 2:19:44 PM 
The only one that got away was 2011. We had NIU 20-0 at half.
Every other time, 2006, 2009, 2016 we were playing a clearly better team.

I definitely want a title but I'll never call for this coaching team
to be fired. This is the golden time of Ohio football. I believe it!
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ou79
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 2:25:42 PM 
While we are reflecting, take a moment and think about this. Appalachian State University has similar difficulties to Ohio University. Both institutions are located in the Appalachian mountain region which means both have similar issues such as inaccessibility, poverty, both play in what can best be described as the bottom feeders for FBS football (Sun Belt/MAC), and both have to deal with somewhat limited resources, especially compared to the P-5 conferences/teams.

In 2014 Appalachian State made the jump from D-IAA/FCS football to FBS football and joined the Sun Belt Conference. Since then their football record going into this week is 58-17. In 2018 they were ranked at No. 25 in the AP Poll and this year have been ranked several times with the highest being this week at No. 20 in the AP Poll. They have appeared in four post season bowl games and have won all four. In 2015 they played in the Camelia Bowl and beat us. In 2016 they again played in the Camelia bowl and beat Toledo. In 2017 they played in the Dollar General Bowl and again beat Toledo, and in 2018 they played in the New Orleans Bowl and beat Middle Tennessee State. They have also won the Sun Belt Championship in football in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and play Troy this weekend in the Championship game. And finally this year they have beaten two P-5 teams, North Carolina from the ACC and South Carolina from the SEC. With a little help they could arguably be playing in a New Year's Day bowl this year, or at least come closer than Ohio University has ever been.

Now think about what our staff has achieved in the last 15 years. Yes they have somewhat "elevated" our program, but no MACC's, one week of national rankings in 2012, and a mixed bag when it comes to post season bowl games with absolutely no smell or chance of playing in a New Year's Day bowl. I agree with what bshot44 stated at the beginning of this thread. With this staff we play for mediocrity ever year. After 15 years I do not see that changing going into the future.

Last Edited: 12/3/2019 2:33:16 PM by ou79
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Mark Lembright '85
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 2:58:11 PM 
I like the comparison of APSU and Ohio but I think the big difference between the two schools is that APSU is much more of a football school than Ohio will ever be. Their fanbase and alumni overall are much more into football than Ohio's. Consequently their school is willing to devote more resources than Ohio. Not making any sort of judgment, just pointing out the emphasis each school places on football.

And I'm not so sure the facilities are similar or equal. APSU's football stadium is newer, and looks fantastic! It's sweet! And they're building an endzone addition with loges. I'm not sure there's really much of a comparison with Peden.

Last Edited: 12/3/2019 3:09:15 PM by Mark Lembright '85
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Bobcat1996
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 3:48:46 PM 
Agree with Mark 85 and Bobcat 72 100%.
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OU_Country
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 4:02:50 PM 
Mark Lembright '85 wrote:
I like the comparison of APSU and Ohio but I think the big difference between the two schools is that APSU is much more of a football school than Ohio will ever be. Their fanbase and alumni overall are much more into football than Ohio's. Consequently their school is willing to devote more resources than Ohio. Not making any sort of judgment, just pointing out the emphasis each school places on football.

And I'm not so sure the facilities are similar or equal. APSU's football stadium is newer, and looks fantastic! It's sweet! And they're building an endzone addition with loges. I'm not sure there's really much of a comparison with Peden.


The stadium App State has in Boone is phenomenal. They have what could have be done to Peden had they had a master plan rather then piece mealing things here.

They are more of a football school and town, but how much of that is simply due to a winning tradition?

Lastly, and these in my opinion are key: 1) Boone is a bigger town with more going on that Athens has in general, though it is more remote than Athens. That has to help recruiting, along with facilities and winning. They probably have more money from sponsors that Ohio has, if I were to guess. 2) They are, by my estimate, in their immediate region the biggest show in town in terms of sports. Especially with football.
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Mark Lembright '85
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 4:40:34 PM 
OU_Country wrote:
Mark Lembright '85 wrote:
I like the comparison of APSU and Ohio but I think the big difference between the two schools is that APSU is much more of a football school than Ohio will ever be. Their fanbase and alumni overall are much more into football than Ohio's. Consequently their school is willing to devote more resources than Ohio. Not making any sort of judgment, just pointing out the emphasis each school places on football.

And I'm not so sure the facilities are similar or equal. APSU's football stadium is newer, and looks fantastic! It's sweet! And they're building an endzone addition with loges. I'm not sure there's really much of a comparison with Peden.


The stadium App State has in Boone is phenomenal. They have what could have be done to Peden had they had a master plan rather then piece mealing things here.

They are more of a football school and town, but how much of that is simply due to a winning tradition?

Lastly, and these in my opinion are key: 1) Boone is a bigger town with more going on that Athens has in general, though it is more remote than Athens. That has to help recruiting, along with facilities and winning. They probably have more money from sponsors that Ohio has, if I were to guess. 2) They are, by my estimate, in their immediate region the biggest show in town in terms of sports. Especially with football.


Go to APSU's athletic website. What they've got going on is amazing! I checked it and they are really improving some of their facilities. And they are currently underway with a $60 million athletics program fundraising campaign; according to the website, they've already raised $39 million (now, whether that's really accurate I have no clue).

Can you imagine the outrage in Athens if the administration said it wanted to raise $60 million for athletics?!?
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bshot44
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 4:46:13 PM 
I must say ... I did not expect a rational conversation in this thread. So kudos to everyone who posted. All very good and well thought out comments.

What I'll say is this ... I do NOT think Ohio should fire Solich & Co. No way, no how. I've stated that about a million times on here. He's done waaaaaay too much to be fired.

I'm just mystified that after 15 years, we watch teams go from 1-11 (0-8 in the MAC) to playing for a league title in one year?!?!?! And Ohio has played in one title game in 8 years?!?!! How is that?!?!?!

How does Miami have a title (maybe two after this weekend) before Solich brings one to Athens?!?!?

It's super frustrating. And there hasn't been much in the last few years that has raised an ounce of confidence that it's going to happen. And it goes without saying (but I'll say it) ... with no title, the program will remain in neutral.

I LOVE the comparison to App State. It's amazing how they've excelled since going FBS. It certainly didn't hurt that they had a really strong winning tradition that included National Titles while they were FCS.

But to come in and do what they've done is very similar to what Marshall did in the 1990s. They bumped up to FBS and joined the MAC and then ran roughshod over it until they got a little too big-headed and jumped. They haven't been the same dominant program ... but have had they moments. They, understandably, struggling to remain dominant in a much more competitive landscape than the MAC.

App State can stay in the Sun Belt and dominate that league forever ... will be interesting to see if they get that itch to leave like Marshall did?

But yes .... back to the point .... what Solich & Co have done at Ohio is tremendous ... they've given a dead program a pulse and a solid foundation. They've just taken it as far as they can. It's time to hand off the keys and let someone come in and build off that foundation and see what they can do with the IPF and other things the program has acquired over the Solich era .... which includes some brand recognition.

The program is stuck on the MAC Interstate going 60mph while others are zooming past from time to time. Ohio gets from point A to point B (which is essentially bowl eligibility) ... but they do it with no flare and in a very stale way.

It just sucks watching two programs that I thought Ohio was above play for a MAC title this weekend .... especially when I think Ohio can beat both of them. And this doesn't even scratch the surface of the last two years of disappointment.

It just sucks. Plain and simple.

Last Edited: 12/3/2019 4:47:39 PM by bshot44
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Kevin Finnegan
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 5:11:07 PM 
I think that Shot makes an interesting point in that you can be disappointed with the results of the coaching staff without necessarily demanding a change in the leadership. That seems to be the impulse of most organizations, primarily in sports. The only way to bring change is to fire leadership. That's not necessarily true.

When Frank was off for his year, it was mentioned that he was watching other teams, getting other information before returning to coaching. I would love for him to do that with his assistants. CAn he get them to have mentors elsewhere? Maybe that would liven some of our stuff up. That being said, I feel something drastic has to be done with the defense this offseason. If it's not a change in coordinators, maybe scheme?
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Pataskala
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 5:34:48 PM 
It's been difficult for a lot of MAC programs to sustain success. At Fiami, Shane Montgomery inherited Terry Hoepner's excellent team, had a good first year then bombed. Mike Haywood went from 1-11 to 10 wins, moved on to Pitt but was undone by off-field problems. Don Treadwell did nothing there. Martin has steadily built the program but will likely be gone after this season.

Darrell Hazell had one spectacular season of the two he coached at Kent, moved on to Purdue and had six wins in 3 1/2 years.

Turner Gill had a MACC but it was the Bulls' only winning season of the three he coached there. Jeff Quinn followed up with one winning season in the 4+ he was there. Leipold has done better.

BG had three straight division titles and two MACCs under Clawson and Babers. They've been 12-36 since.

There are stories like this all over the G5 landscape. Fact is, younger coaches get success and move on. We had a stroke of luck getting Solich. I still think we can get over the hump with him.

Oddly, I'm thinking that the next Ohio coach might've been standing on the sideline at the BG game. Jim Burrow is 66 but looks like he'll be ready to get back into it after Joe is done at LSU.

We will get by.
We will get by.
We will get by.
We will survive.
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UpSan Bobcat
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 5:41:47 PM 
I know people don't like this is an answer but a large part of it is really bad luck. Ohio generally outplayed Miami this year but a few things went Miami's way (fumble, deflected pass for a TD, long FG that barely was good) and they won. Last year against Miami, Rourke simply wasn't sharp. It may have been his worst game in the last two years. I don't think it was anyone's fault, but it probably cost Ohio the MAC East last year. A few years ago when Kato Nelson was a freshman for Akron, he made throw after throw that was right on the mark. He's never had a game like that since. I'm not talking about how the defense played. He simply hasn't thrown the ball like that. He was so awful this year. Why did he have to have that one game when it cost Ohio so much?

I think Ohio's had the most talented team in the MAC at least a couple times and almost every year has been not far off of that and yet things just haven't broken the right way. Coaches often get the blame for that but there really are things that just happen out of anyone's control.
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colobobcat66
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 9:08:40 PM 
OU_Country wrote:
Mark Lembright '85 wrote:
I like the comparison of APSU and Ohio but I think the big difference between the two schools is that APSU is much more of a football school than Ohio will ever be. Their fanbase and alumni overall are much more into football than Ohio's. Consequently their school is willing to devote more resources than Ohio. Not making any sort of judgment, just pointing out the emphasis each school places on football.

And I'm not so sure the facilities are similar or equal. APSU's football stadium is newer, and looks fantastic! It's sweet! And they're building an endzone addition with loges. I'm not sure there's really much of a comparison with Peden.


The stadium App State has in Boone is phenomenal. They have what could have be done to Peden had they had a master plan rather then piece mealing things here.

They are more of a football school and town, but how much of that is simply due to a winning tradition?

Lastly, and these in my opinion are key: 1) Boone is a bigger town with more going on that Athens has in general, though it is more remote than Athens. That has to help recruiting, along with facilities and winning. They probably have more money from sponsors that Ohio has, if I were to guess. 2) They are, by my estimate, in their immediate region the biggest show in town in terms of sports. Especially with football.

Boone’s population is under 20000 so not so sure about local help there.
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OhioBobcat
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 9:22:52 PM 
72 Bobcat wrote:
The only one that got away was 2011. We had NIU 20-0 at half.
Every other time, 2006, 2009, 2016 we were playing a clearly better team.

I definitely want a title but I'll never call for this coaching team
to be fired. This is the golden time of Ohio football. I believe it!


I agree, the 2011 MACC completely got away. That should have been a win. While I agree about Ohjo playing a better team in the other three, WMU simply could not shake Ohio in 2016 and the Bobcats had the Bronco fans crapping in their pants on that last drive before the pick deep in Western territory. I still believe Ohio would have won that game if not for the turnover there. Ohio never went away and WMU was hanging on for dear life at the end in that one.
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AlumDadDad
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 10:13:18 PM 
Wow - lots of good stuff here, a very content-rich thread. Bshot - I cannot argue with anything you have said here. I am utterly baffled (and frustrated to no end). Our program is the class of the conference; consistency, quality coaching, best fan support, apparently clean. The only program item that's not top-notch for the MAC is our stadium, but I don't think that is holding us back to any significant degree. It has character(?!?), butts in the seats, and is in a setting that none of the other conference members can duplicate.

I think the App State comparison is valid. I totally agree with Country's comment and I believe that WE would be just as much of a football town if we had their record of success.

So what is it then? HOW do we lose three critical conference home games by a total of nine points? Should we have lost at Buffalo? Yes. Should we have beaten NIU, WMU, and Fiami in Athens? Yes, yes, and hell yes. The scary answer is that it's gotten into their heads. Is there any empirical evidence which could prove or disprove that? No. The 2nd half MACC collapse in 2011, the 2012 Fiami brain fart and the massive swoon afterwards, the almost yearly November missteps. Of course, the team is completely different from 2011 and 12, but when it happens annually, it could become ingrained in the culture (what's going to go wrong this time...). I really hope I'm wrong about that, because I don't know how you would fix it.

I really want for Frank to go out on a high note - with a MACC. He deserves that - but he's running out of time. Maybe 2020? I hope so. I like the idea of Burrow coming in after Frank retires. Not sure how likely that is, but our defense needs him. Can Kurtis do what his older brother couldn't? His skill players will all be back and more experienced - some losses on the O-line, but they had some pretty mediocre showings at times this year, so maybe some turnover is not the end of the world.

We won't be picked to win it next year - based on experience, that's only good news.
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colobobcat66
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 10:20:02 PM 
Sorry duplicate post]

Last Edited: 12/4/2019 10:14:42 AM by colobobcat66
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colobobcat66
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 10:37:47 PM 
colobobcat66 wrote:
AlumDadDad wrote:
Wow - lots of good stuff here, a very content-rich thread. Bshot - I cannot argue with anything you have said here. I am utterly baffled (and frustrated to no end). Our program is the class of the conference; consistency, quality coaching, best fan support, apparently clean. The only program item that's not top-notch for the MAC is our stadium, but I don't think that is holding us back to any significant degree. It has character(?!?), butts in the seats, and is in a setting that none of the other conference members can duplicate.

I think the App State comparison is valid. I totally agree with Country's comment and I believe that WE would be just as much of a football town if we had their record of success.

So what is it then? HOW do we lose three critical conference home games by a total of nine points? Should we have lost at Buffalo? Yes. Should we have beaten NIU, WMU, and Fiami in Athens? Yes, yes, and hell yes. The scary answer is that it's gotten into their heads. Is there any empirical evidence which could prove or disprove that? No. The 2nd half MACC collapse in 2011, the 2012 Fiami brain fart and the massive swoon afterwards, the almost yearly November missteps. Of course, the team is completely different from 2011 and 12, but when it happens annually, it could become ingrained in the culture (what's going to go wrong this time...). I really hope I'm wrong about that, because I don't know how you would fix it.

I really want for Frank to go out on a high note - with a MACC. He deserves that - but he's running out of time. Maybe 2020? I hope so. I like the idea of Burrow coming in after Frank retires. Not sure how likely that is, but our defense needs him. Can Kurtis do what his older brother couldn't? His skill players will all be back and more experienced - some losses on the O-line, but they had some pretty mediocre showings at times this year, so maybe some turnover is not the end of the world.

We won't be picked to win it next year - based on experience, that's only good news.




The MAC will be a lot better next year, it almost has to be. NIU, Toledo, Bugs and Akron have to be better.. CMU, Miami, Kent St and Ball State are all pretty young. Buffalo is reloading. We’ll have to find a QB quickly.

Last Edited: 12/3/2019 10:38:40 PM by colobobcat66
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OhioCatFan
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/3/2019 11:11:25 PM 
Pataskala wrote:
. . .Oddly, I'm thinking that the next Ohio coach might've been standing on the sideline at the BG game. Jim Burrow is 66 but looks like he'll be ready to get back into it after Joe is done at LSU.


I had the same thought, but only after he comes back as DC, and Frank decides to retire. I suspect that Frank might retire a little sooner than otherwise if he is assured that his successor is someone "from his coaching tree," to use a hackneyed sports expression.

The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

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BillyTheCat
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/4/2019 10:54:03 AM 
What makes everyone think/believe that Jimmy is not enjoying watching his son, and spending time with his family. I am sure Jimmy would like to follow an NFL son as well.
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Alan Swank
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/4/2019 11:46:59 AM 
colobobcat66 wrote:
OU_Country wrote:
Mark Lembright '85 wrote:
I like the comparison of APSU and Ohio but I think the big difference between the two schools is that APSU is much more of a football school than Ohio will ever be. Their fanbase and alumni overall are much more into football than Ohio's. Consequently their school is willing to devote more resources than Ohio. Not making any sort of judgment, just pointing out the emphasis each school places on football.

And I'm not so sure the facilities are similar or equal. APSU's football stadium is newer, and looks fantastic! It's sweet! And they're building an endzone addition with loges. I'm not sure there's really much of a comparison with Peden.


The stadium App State has in Boone is phenomenal. They have what could have be done to Peden had they had a master plan rather then piece mealing things here.

They are more of a football school and town, but how much of that is simply due to a winning tradition?

Lastly, and these in my opinion are key: 1) Boone is a bigger town with more going on that Athens has in general, though it is more remote than Athens. That has to help recruiting, along with facilities and winning. They probably have more money from sponsors that Ohio has, if I were to guess. 2) They are, by my estimate, in their immediate region the biggest show in town in terms of sports. Especially with football.

Boone’s population is under 20000 so not so sure about local help there.


Was in Boone last month and have been vacationing in that area for over 15 years. Population figures are misleading. The city of Athens has less than 8,000 permanment residents. The local high school has less than 800 students. Athens is a very small town so small that many businesses have trouble staying in business between May and August. Boone has industry - we have a hospital and Walmart. Bottom line Boone is way bigger than Athens.
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OU_Country
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/4/2019 11:48:09 AM 
colobobcat66 wrote:
OU_Country wrote:
Mark Lembright '85 wrote:
I like the comparison of APSU and Ohio but I think the big difference between the two schools is that APSU is much more of a football school than Ohio will ever be. Their fanbase and alumni overall are much more into football than Ohio's. Consequently their school is willing to devote more resources than Ohio. Not making any sort of judgment, just pointing out the emphasis each school places on football.

And I'm not so sure the facilities are similar or equal. APSU's football stadium is newer, and looks fantastic! It's sweet! And they're building an endzone addition with loges. I'm not sure there's really much of a comparison with Peden.


The stadium App State has in Boone is phenomenal. They have what could have be done to Peden had they had a master plan rather then piece mealing things here.

They are more of a football school and town, but how much of that is simply due to a winning tradition?

Lastly, and these in my opinion are key: 1) Boone is a bigger town with more going on that Athens has in general, though it is more remote than Athens. That has to help recruiting, along with facilities and winning. They probably have more money from sponsors that Ohio has, if I were to guess. 2) They are, by my estimate, in their immediate region the biggest show in town in terms of sports. Especially with football.

Boone’s population is under 20000 so not so sure about local help there.


I guess it's my perception that it's a larger community. Maybe the mountains make it more spread out and just seem that way? It's a regional draw more than Ohio is based on what I saw around there in the 2-3 years we've vacationed in the area. It's only drawback is getting there from the north, which isn't ideal at all.
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Rufusbobcat94
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/4/2019 2:27:35 PM 
The last three seasons have been tough pills to swallow, losing games as favorites that prevented MAC East Titles. This year we were a total of 9 points away from being 9-3 instead of 6-6.

It is really tough to take some of these losses and I understand the disappointment. Losing to NIU and Miami this year was unacceptable. We left at least 17 points on the field vs Miami due to execution failures on three plays. We melted down in the second half on defense against NIU, unable to stop almost everything in the second half.

Last Edited: 12/4/2019 2:28:22 PM by Rufusbobcat94
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Bobcat1996
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/4/2019 3:20:55 PM 
Guessing Appy State has a bigger stadium and nicer facilities than Ohio. Not being in Boone, I'm not for certain, but just a guess. They do love there football in Boone.
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colobobcat66
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  Message Not Read  RE: Take a moment and reflect ....
   Posted: 12/4/2019 8:42:45 PM 
Alan Swank wrote:
colobobcat66 wrote:
OU_Country wrote:
Mark Lembright '85 wrote:
I like the comparison of APSU and Ohio but I think the big difference between the two schools is that APSU is much more of a football school than Ohio will ever be. Their fanbase and alumni overall are much more into football than Ohio's. Consequently their school is willing to devote more resources than Ohio. Not making any sort of judgment, just pointing out the emphasis each school places on football.

And I'm not so sure the facilities are similar or equal. APSU's football stadium is newer, and looks fantastic! It's sweet! And they're building an endzone addition with loges. I'm not sure there's really much of a comparison with Peden.


The stadium App State has in Boone is phenomenal. They have what could have be done to Peden had they had a master plan rather then piece mealing things here.

They are more of a football school and town, but how much of that is simply due to a winning tradition?

Lastly, and these in my opinion are key: 1) Boone is a bigger town with more going on that Athens has in general, though it is more remote than Athens. That has to help recruiting, along with facilities and winning. They probably have more money from sponsors that Ohio has, if I were to guess. 2) They are, by my estimate, in their immediate region the biggest show in town in terms of sports. Especially with football.

Boone’s population is under 20000 so not so sure about local help there.


Was in Boone last month and have been vacationing in that area for over 15 years. Population figures are misleading. The city of Athens has less than 8,000 permanment residents. The local high school has less than 800 students. Athens is a very small town so small that many businesses have trouble staying in business between May and August. Boone has industry - we have a hospital and Walmart. Bottom line Boone is way bigger than Athens.


So the census bureau counts the students in Athens, but not in Boone. Hate to say it, but that makes no sense.
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