So, hard as it might be to believe there were things I didn't write in my last post (seeing as how it was the most longwinded piece of writing since Remembrances of Things Past), well, there were. Here they are:
--I should have perhaps made a disclaimer that my reaction is the reaction of one particular BSC alum, one who's been following these developments at a distance. I haven't been in Birmingham since early June, haven't been on campus since hoops season, haven't been a student since 2001. I wouldn't dare call my response the right one, the definitive one, or even the representative one: talk to anyone involved with athletics or even much of the student body, I'm guessing, and you'll hear a lot more anger than I expressed.
--That said, talk to the faculty and I'd imagine you'd hear much less. (They voted in support of the D3 move a few days ahead of the Board vote.) Not surprising, I know, but in my experience the faculty at BSC are much more supportive of athletics than their peers at larger institutions. It's worth noting.
--A handy chronicle of the Birmingham News's coverage of the move can be found here.
--Lastly, an announcement about the future of the JCCW. The blog will continue, starting this winter, to cover mid-major college basketball. It will no longer, however, be exclusively devoted to the Big South. There will always be a proverbial soft spot in my proverbial heart for the Flyin' Falwells and Fakecocks and Gregg Marshall's exquisite suits, but I think I can be excused for lacking the interest necessary to cover the league as I did last spring. Instead, I'm currently planning to provide daily (or near daily) analysis of overlooked mid-major results across the country. More Big South / SWAC / Sun Belt / Mid-Con than Missouri Valley, if you get my drift. Akin to the old "Daily Dribblings" on the Mid-Majority before Whelliston started playing with the big boys.
Until then, it's Auburn and SEC football and whatever else strikes my fancy--I feel a Hawks rant coming on in the next week or so. Please do keep, uh, tuning in.
As a former BSC baseball player, I can certainly understand the wide range of emotions related to BSC dropping to DIII.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your candor and you write on the issue.
If you want more opinions (not that they matter much), visit goldenspikes.blogspot.com. It was a blod primarily for Baseball alumni. As you can see, it has since been updated to represent UAB colors...if for nothing more than spite.
Anyway, I enjoy your blog. Keep up the good work.
Mike, thanks for reading and I appreciate the heads-up on your blog. I certainly don't begrudge you your alliance to coach Shoop rather than BSC--it's the support of good people like you Pollick had to expect to lose by being so underhanded.
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