always get a pass when he is the AD of UTEP. He should be fired immediately since he hasn't produced even with the new facilities for football and basketball. He is responsible for keeping 2 head coaches around way too long while not producing wins. Why because they both are considered friends? Running a program based on friends builds complacency and no urgency. Need a new AD with a new vision and someone that is going to help build the fan base. At least Diane Natalico had a vision to make UTEP a tier 1 university and is close to happening. Sports is a business not a charity you don't produce and you should be canned.
Why does Bob Stull....
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I think Stull will get a pass because hes leading a transistion of focus within the athletic department. He has failed at holding coaches accountable. However, hes in the middle of a complete course change within the department. They are going to announce within a few months a 60 million dollar Sun Bowl renovation. Stull has been fundraising for this for about a decade. This will be his legacy cementer. They are going all in on football. I'v heard that Kugler had a budget of $600,000 to hire coordinators. The concensus from people around the program is that Kugler has hit homeruns with his hires. With the increasrd money going toward football there obviously has to be cuts coming somewhere. Mens basketball is the obvious albatross. Thats why I put alot of credence in Tortuga's report that Floyd is out. They cant keep putting the amount of resorces they are in basketball. They've figured out that basketball is never going to help us improve our conference standing. It would make sence they get fid of Floyd and his assistants and replace the with an up and coming assistant and a staff they can pay half of what they are paying Floyd and his staff. Its poetic that is the fiftieth anniversary of 66, because its both a literal and symbolic end of an era for UTEP athletics. Im excited about the future. I think we are finally ditching thre small time mentality that has held down athletic department for so long.
Well that is awesome!! Put money into a program where the best thing that will ever happen will be a mid major bowl and stop putting any money into something where you can reach a tourney of 68 where anything can happen..... Awesome! I understand football drives things but UTEP will never be in a top 6 bowl.... It will either be losing seasons or crappy bowl games..... The basketball program at least has the chance every year to make a tournament where a mid major can do something .... Butler, gonzaga, etc.... Every year some Cinderella team comes knocking on the door in basketball.....this sucks if true! Unless it can get us into a better conference.... Then I'm willing to sacrifice but you all have to be honest no one wants us!
We should have invested heavily in football since the beginning. Just look at UConn they won a basketball national championship. That hasn't helped them join a P5 conference they actually got left behind. Basketball success does nothing to elevate UTEP athletics.
I'm not saying our goal is to join the P5 but it definitely should be to get into the AAC or the MW. The only way in is with a winning football program.
I hate the mentality that the best UTEP can do is a mid major bowl. Screw that we need higher aspirations. UCF went from FCS to BCS champ in less than 15 years.
If we pour money into our football team, make good hiring moves and win games we will get the attention of others. Once we are in the AAC or MW all we have to do is win the games in front of us. A shot at a NYB is realistic.
It seems like an insurmountable mountain to climb but one step at a time and we will get to the top.
If what Minerforlife said is accurate I personally am very excited for the future of UTEP.
I'm not saying our goal is to join the P5 but it definitely should be to get into the AAC or the MW. The only way in is with a winning football program.
I hate the mentality that the best UTEP can do is a mid major bowl. Screw that we need higher aspirations. UCF went from FCS to BCS champ in less than 15 years.
If we pour money into our football team, make good hiring moves and win games we will get the attention of others. Once we are in the AAC or MW all we have to do is win the games in front of us. A shot at a NYB is realistic.
It seems like an insurmountable mountain to climb but one step at a time and we will get to the top.
If what Minerforlife said is accurate I personally am very excited for the future of UTEP.
I really hope we don't waste all our money on FB, at the expense of the basketball program.
I'm sorry, but our football program will NEVER be of any relevance on a national level, regardless of how much money you throw at it. It has only so much upside.
I'd much rather see a successful basketball program compete in a tournament for a National Championship every year, as opposed to watching a football team fight to earn a berth to some half-ass'ed bowl. Bowl games are becoming less and less significant every year. It doesn't take much to get in one. Earning a spot to the NCAA is much more significant, and comes with it the ability to TRULY do something grand on a national scale.
I'm sorry, but our football program will NEVER be of any relevance on a national level, regardless of how much money you throw at it. It has only so much upside.
I'd much rather see a successful basketball program compete in a tournament for a National Championship every year, as opposed to watching a football team fight to earn a berth to some half-ass'ed bowl. Bowl games are becoming less and less significant every year. It doesn't take much to get in one. Earning a spot to the NCAA is much more significant, and comes with it the ability to TRULY do something grand on a national scale.
I'm surprised some of you would sell the bball program short, just for a chance to get into some middle pack conference. I'd rather be in the AAC or MWC as well, but snubbing the only major sport we have history in is not the way to go.
But hey, go ahead and put all your eggs into one basket, Bob Stull. I'm sure UTEP football is just POISED to become a breakout success after these 100+ years of being a bottom feeder. It's like a reverse "Murphy's Law"!!
But hey, go ahead and put all your eggs into one basket, Bob Stull. I'm sure UTEP football is just POISED to become a breakout success after these 100+ years of being a bottom feeder. It's like a reverse "Murphy's Law"!!
Apparently throwing all our money into the basketball program has resulted in 0 rewards. How many FBS schools pay their basketball coach more than their football coach? How many people were at the game last night to watch the highest paid coach in CUSA? In this crappy ball league we play and we can't sniff a ncaa tournament. Elevating our football program will put us into a better situation for our ball program.
I rather have the opportunity to earn an at large invite in the MW or AAC than having to compete with 14 teams for one bid. That's just me if some of you are happy with the current results then more power to you.
I rather have the opportunity to earn an at large invite in the MW or AAC than having to compete with 14 teams for one bid. That's just me if some of you are happy with the current results then more power to you.
Elevating our football program? Elevating it to what.....the New Mexico bowl? Give me a break.
If you think throwing a few mill at some football renovations is going to get us anywhere, then you're living in a false reality. We'll NEVER be able to keep up with any respectable football program in terms of funding, and we'll always be behind the 8-ball with coaching salaries. The best the FB program can hope for in terms of "elevation" is a berth to some mediocre bowl game every couple years. Frankly, I don't even bother watching them anymore. When damn near every football team gets invited to one, they lose their luster...
If you think throwing a few mill at some football renovations is going to get us anywhere, then you're living in a false reality. We'll NEVER be able to keep up with any respectable football program in terms of funding, and we'll always be behind the 8-ball with coaching salaries. The best the FB program can hope for in terms of "elevation" is a berth to some mediocre bowl game every couple years. Frankly, I don't even bother watching them anymore. When damn near every football team gets invited to one, they lose their luster...
The NM bowl can be a start. I saw UNM play in the New Mexico bowl and give Arizona all they could handle in front of a full stadium
I see why El Paso is forever stuck in an inferiority complex. Since you don't bother watching the football team then this conversation is pointless. I rather discuss with someone who loves UTEP and wants them to succeed. Not a fortune teller who predicts doom for the eternity of UTEP football.
I attend every football game and have strong belief we are close to turning the corner. If you don't want to come along for the ride that's fine with me. Don't ruin my parade with your negativity.
I see why El Paso is forever stuck in an inferiority complex. Since you don't bother watching the football team then this conversation is pointless. I rather discuss with someone who loves UTEP and wants them to succeed. Not a fortune teller who predicts doom for the eternity of UTEP football.
I attend every football game and have strong belief we are close to turning the corner. If you don't want to come along for the ride that's fine with me. Don't ruin my parade with your negativity.
It's not an either/or decision -- invest in both.
But you have to soar with your strengths, which has been basketball.
But you have to soar with your strengths, which has been basketball.
Stull can allocate all the athletic funding towards the football program, if he so chooses. It still won't change the fact that recruiting and retaining high level talent to play four years of college football in El Paso is a Mt. Everest-like hill to climb.
I just don't understand why you would throw the basketball program under the bus when In reality it's the only thing that has a CHANCE to bring any attention to El Paso ! Mediocre bowl games will do a thing and we have a much better chance of making an elite 8 than a top 6 bowl
Maybe because some of us are bigger football fans than basketball. My first ever UTEP event As a little boy was watching Rocky Perez inside a 45k plus Sun Bowl. I'm like a crack feint searching for that first time high I experienced that lovely Saturday night.
We don't want to throw the ball team under the bus. We have witnessed our bball team have much more success in a tougher conference with a lesser budget. That is all I'm sure we can hire a coach for half of what Floyd makes and have similar or better results.
We don't want to throw the ball team under the bus. We have witnessed our bball team have much more success in a tougher conference with a lesser budget. That is all I'm sure we can hire a coach for half of what Floyd makes and have similar or better results.
I seriously doubt the basketball program will be thrown under the bus and it shouldn't be, although so far this season it appears to have been run over by that bus. Invest in both the best we can and we certainly need to elevate the FB program if for no other reason than to be ready the next time the MWC or AAC is needing a school.
Its not about throwing basketball under the bus. You do realize that people under 25 have seen UTEP play in more bowl games than ncaa tournaments. Im not trying to say that our football program is great its not, but neither is our basketball program. Basketball is not going to get UTEP or El Paso anymore recognition. We cant build a great hoops program in the twentieth best conference. CUSA basketball is the equivalent to UTEP playing football in the MEAC. Basketball is an invisible sport. Very few of our games are televised. Football is much more visible than hoops. Everyone of our games was televised except the Iwu game. In the long run the only way to improve basketball is to improve football. Ask NMSU how having a perenial tournament team, but a crappy football team is working out for them. By your logic Craig Thompson should be begging NMSU to join the MWC. He's not because no one gives a damn about hoops. If you want to be a rinky dink regional school focus on hoops. If you want to be build a national brand and take your school to the next level you focus on football.
THIS !^^^ We should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time, anything less is typical loser thinking(thanks Trump) to much of this type of thinking seems pervasive in El Paso.
I can agree with that, I am just saying we need to invest in both !! If it's to get UTEP to a new conference I am all for it but truth is a mid major will very rarely play in a top bowl game and mid majors always seem a way to find the elite 8 in basketball almost every year
I get what you're are saying, but dont agree football wise. In the last three years ive had to watch first UCF and now Houston play in new years six bowl games. Both of them are former conference mates who we've beaten on the field in the not so distant past.Yet they've both passed us by athletically because they invested in football and we didnt. It makes me sick to my stomach.
When it comes to basketball the AAC and the MWC are perceived as "power conference" by ESPN and the sports media. For those who love bball why wouldn't you want to put UTEP in position to play in one of those two conferences?
I read that in 16 years of existence the MW has always had at an large bid except for one time. In CUSA I think it's the opposite. Only once or twice we have sent multiple teams to the NCAA. With the best teams having moved to the AAC I don't know if CUSA will ever see an at large bid.
For those who say we have a better shot of an elite 8 than a NYB I have one question. When was the last time a school from a non power conference which hosts football made an elite 8 run. MW and AAC teams don't count since they are classified as power conference in bball.
I read that in 16 years of existence the MW has always had at an large bid except for one time. In CUSA I think it's the opposite. Only once or twice we have sent multiple teams to the NCAA. With the best teams having moved to the AAC I don't know if CUSA will ever see an at large bid.
For those who say we have a better shot of an elite 8 than a NYB I have one question. When was the last time a school from a non power conference which hosts football made an elite 8 run. MW and AAC teams don't count since they are classified as power conference in bball.
Butler Wichita state , Vcu, Davidson, gonzaga, Florida gulf coast got close
I know some do not have football but my point is every year a Cinderella team gets known.... You can ask a lot of people and they remember butler still do this day or fgsu. These are mid majors that made noise and gained attention to their city and university... UTEP just has a better shot of becoming known in basketball than in football... However I do acknowledge football drives things soooo we need to use football to change conferences which is fine I am just saying don't forget about basketball that would be stupid!! Like I said UTEP has a much better chance of going to the sweet 16 than ever a top tier bowl
I know some do not have football but my point is every year a Cinderella team gets known.... You can ask a lot of people and they remember butler still do this day or fgsu. These are mid majors that made noise and gained attention to their city and university... UTEP just has a better shot of becoming known in basketball than in football... However I do acknowledge football drives things soooo we need to use football to change conferences which is fine I am just saying don't forget about basketball that would be stupid!! Like I said UTEP has a much better chance of going to the sweet 16 than ever a top tier bowl
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I know what you are saying !! About having a football team..... But ask yourself honestly what do you think UTEP has a better chance at??? Sweet 16 or power 5 bowl?? Honestly
I honestly think we can do both. I was present in the Sun Bowl when we blanked UCF. I was also there when we upset a nationally ranked UH. It's not unthinkable for us to compete with those teams for a New Years Bowl.
In CUSA it will be tough just to get into the tournament. If we improve our football team and get into a better conference we will have more opportunities as an at large to make the tournament. Once in the tournament we can easily beat two teams.
The same applies for football. In CUSA we will only be competing for some mid major bowl. If we make a move to the MW or AAC we have a good chance that if we win the conference we make a New Years Bowl.
F this small time mentality. Like Pitbull said "reach for the stars if you don't grab them at least you're on top of the world".
In CUSA it will be tough just to get into the tournament. If we improve our football team and get into a better conference we will have more opportunities as an at large to make the tournament. Once in the tournament we can easily beat two teams.
The same applies for football. In CUSA we will only be competing for some mid major bowl. If we make a move to the MW or AAC we have a good chance that if we win the conference we make a New Years Bowl.
F this small time mentality. Like Pitbull said "reach for the stars if you don't grab them at least you're on top of the world".
Ok ok I see what you are getting at.... I am good with this as long as we go for it with both sports
This isn't "small time/town" reality...it is simply reality.
UTEP is a university with over 100 years of football history, almost all of which has been porous to say the least. Recruits don't want to play here, and that isn't changing no matter how much glitter and fresh paint Stull plans to put on the SB.
You keep bringing up schools like UCF and Houston, yet you fail to realize the difference between us and them. They have a much larger/wealthier alumni base, and they are right in the middle of two of the most lucrative recruiting FB grounds in the country. Kids can go to UCF/Houston and still be close to home. El Paso might as well be on the moon to people who've never been.
UTEP is a university with over 100 years of football history, almost all of which has been porous to say the least. Recruits don't want to play here, and that isn't changing no matter how much glitter and fresh paint Stull plans to put on the SB.
You keep bringing up schools like UCF and Houston, yet you fail to realize the difference between us and them. They have a much larger/wealthier alumni base, and they are right in the middle of two of the most lucrative recruiting FB grounds in the country. Kids can go to UCF/Houston and still be close to home. El Paso might as well be on the moon to people who've never been.
In the end, we're not the only one's trying to better our FB profile. EVERY team in the country is doing the same. We would need to outspend, out-recruit, and outsmart 70% of the programs in the country to get ahead of the curve. Unless Stull has some magic penny bank i'm not aware of, I don't see how we leapfrog these established football programs.
Keeping a large % of resources in our bball program is the best chance we have for success. It can be done, and history has proven such.
Besides, the P5 have taken over college football and they ain't about sharing. The BEST we can ever hope for is something like the New Year's bowl.
I'd rather spend another decade in search of a theoretically attainable NC in basketball, then spend a century trying to make it to a "significant" bowl game.
Keeping a large % of resources in our bball program is the best chance we have for success. It can be done, and history has proven such.
Besides, the P5 have taken over college football and they ain't about sharing. The BEST we can ever hope for is something like the New Year's bowl.
I'd rather spend another decade in search of a theoretically attainable NC in basketball, then spend a century trying to make it to a "significant" bowl game.
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We can sit and cry about how bad we are and how the future will be the same. Or we can go out there and do things differently than the last century.
We don't need to outspend anybody. La Tech and Southern Miss have the lowest athletic budgets in the conference yet they have two of the best football teams in the conference.
This entire time we have put basketball first and look where it has gotten us. We are in one of the worst conferences in the nation. We are slowly fading into irrelevance in both sports.
We can say it's never happening because of our past but that is not true. It's not happening because we have tried the same thing over and over expecting a different result.
If we make a commitment to football we will see results. There are programs that are in the middle of nowhere like La Tech and USM and they have no problems recruiting championship caliber athletes. This is with half of the budget we have.
If you think it can't happen then I feel sorry for you. If I had listened to the people who told me I wouldn't ever be nothing then right now my life would be nothing. I wouldn't have two beautiful daughters and a wife. I wouldn't have a quarter million home in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the east side. I wouldn't have two new cars. I wouldn't have my own business. I would probably be nothing and depend on the government for food stamps and rent. I do not take no for an answer or some weak failure attitude. The future can be changed it is in our hands. If I can do it then UTEP can win football games.
We don't need to outspend anybody. La Tech and Southern Miss have the lowest athletic budgets in the conference yet they have two of the best football teams in the conference.
This entire time we have put basketball first and look where it has gotten us. We are in one of the worst conferences in the nation. We are slowly fading into irrelevance in both sports.
We can say it's never happening because of our past but that is not true. It's not happening because we have tried the same thing over and over expecting a different result.
If we make a commitment to football we will see results. There are programs that are in the middle of nowhere like La Tech and USM and they have no problems recruiting championship caliber athletes. This is with half of the budget we have.
If you think it can't happen then I feel sorry for you. If I had listened to the people who told me I wouldn't ever be nothing then right now my life would be nothing. I wouldn't have two beautiful daughters and a wife. I wouldn't have a quarter million home in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the east side. I wouldn't have two new cars. I wouldn't have my own business. I would probably be nothing and depend on the government for food stamps and rent. I do not take no for an answer or some weak failure attitude. The future can be changed it is in our hands. If I can do it then UTEP can win football games.
My only question is again... When running a business something that is very important is LOCATION!! UTEP is not in a great location on two fronts... El Paso isn't anywhere near a recruiting hotbed and we are in conference USA and we have about 75 years of crap too..... So we have a bad rep and location. Not good for business!!!
It's easier to bring in 3-4 good players for a basketball program than the 8-10 you need to have a strong football team
On that note I am in favor of bringing up both if it all possible ...
It's easier to bring in 3-4 good players for a basketball program than the 8-10 you need to have a strong football team
On that note I am in favor of bringing up both if it all possible ...
If we make a commitment to football we will see results. There are programs that are in the middle of nowhere like La Tech and USM and they have no problems recruiting championship caliber athletes. This is with half of the budget we have.
So if they have twice our success with half our budget, how do you figure that increasing the budget will help us in any way? Your statement alone would insinuate that budget's don't have a significant impact on the quality of the program.
I don't think our FB problems are financial, they are geographical and historical. Nobody in the football world knows who we are, and we are geographically on an island and away from the eyes of potential prospects (even in Texas). Hattiesburg and Ruston may seem in "the middle of nowhere" to you, but people around the gulf states know exactly where they are. They have lots of talent locally (within the bordering states), and get decent leftovers from programs like LSU and Ole Miss.
If we ever do anything special in football, I don't believe it will be due to a budget increase. We'll have to hit the Head Coach lottery and find a guy who thinks outside the box and figures out how to put a competitive team on the field.
So if they have twice our success with half our budget, how do you figure that increasing the budget will help us in any way? Your statement alone would insinuate that budget's don't have a significant impact on the quality of the program.
I don't think our FB problems are financial, they are geographical and historical. Nobody in the football world knows who we are, and we are geographically on an island and away from the eyes of potential prospects (even in Texas). Hattiesburg and Ruston may seem in "the middle of nowhere" to you, but people around the gulf states know exactly where they are. They have lots of talent locally (within the bordering states), and get decent leftovers from programs like LSU and Ole Miss.
If we ever do anything special in football, I don't believe it will be due to a budget increase. We'll have to hit the Head Coach lottery and find a guy who thinks outside the box and figures out how to put a competitive team on the field.
Brag much? I for one do not care about your nice home or new cars. You allegedly having those things has nothing to do with UTEP.
I think the frustration of the fan base with Floyd had to do with the high expectations he came with. A proven winner, a proven recruiter.
Then you see that the last 5 coaches, unproven, all first time head coaches at this level, all of them, successful with the exception of Rab (even Rab had promise).
Then you add the new facilities, the bigger budget, the higher assistant pay, and better head coaches pay.
Three different coaches who were new to being a head coach were successful. They weren't successful anywhere but here. Three guys who are nowhere nearly as decorated as Floyd took us dancing. Floyd is a winner everywhere he has been.
All we hear are excuses on why it can't be done. But 4 of the last 5 coaches we had got it done. And the one guy who has all the resources, the coaching ability, the budget, the salary, the staff, can't get it done.
Then you see that the last 5 coaches, unproven, all first time head coaches at this level, all of them, successful with the exception of Rab (even Rab had promise).
Then you add the new facilities, the bigger budget, the higher assistant pay, and better head coaches pay.
Three different coaches who were new to being a head coach were successful. They weren't successful anywhere but here. Three guys who are nowhere nearly as decorated as Floyd took us dancing. Floyd is a winner everywhere he has been.
All we hear are excuses on why it can't be done. But 4 of the last 5 coaches we had got it done. And the one guy who has all the resources, the coaching ability, the budget, the salary, the staff, can't get it done.
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You captured it perfectly and that is what has me scratching my head- at first I rationalized to myself by saying he is trying to build a consistent winner, whereas the others just wanted to do whatever it took to win and move on - well, unfortunately I don't feel like I can use that rationalization any more
Merry Christmas.
As life said previosly, this is Stull's baby. He's been public about it for years so it not like it an unknown endeavor.
