AD Hire: J Batt

Creative

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101
AUFC said:
There are some rumors about us fielding a women's soccer team in the near future with the goal of balancing Title IX scholarship numbers. I'd love that and would get season tickets but I would not anticipate any teams being added in the near future without this motive -- we are at the minimum teams for D1 status for a reason.

I think an ACC women's soccer team would be extremely successful and have even more sidewalk fans than the WBB team. It'd get some very good draws.
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Gotta disagree on this. Women’s soccer is as bad a product as WBB. For me, gymnastics would be better. Softball is a far more exciting women’s sport to watch. Does that team get support or are they a success? I never understood why the goal was not lowered to 9 feet for women’s b-ball, similar to what the do in volleyball. Women’s volleyball is exciting because the net is 8 feet. I would argue a better product than men’s indoor.
 

Creative

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101
4shotB said:
Apropos of nothing, I can recall a particular bloody "downsizing" or "rightsizing" my company went through in the late 80's/early 90's. The CEO brought in a hatchet guy to run our division for about a year. He was notorious for walking up to people and asking them what their job title was and what they did for the company (what would you say you do here, Bob? kind of questions). If he didn't know what you did from your answer within the first 30 seconds of the conversation (I am a welder, I am responsible for the shipping department, I am the process engineer for fabrication, I am a tool and die maker, etc.) you weren't there the very next day. All the people with vague job titles (and usually attached to large paychecks) who had been on easy street heretofore were chopped down and discarded like the unproductive vermin that they were. After that, I swore that I would never take a job that the title wasn't pretty much self explanatory....process engineer, production manager, plant manager, math teacher, etc.

I said all that to say I feel the same way about majors and degrees. If your degree has to be explained past the title, it seems sketchy to me. Now that I am in education, I am considered a lowbrow savage philistine by the overwhelming majority of my peers. And they are probably right.
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Did you get your TPS reports out on time?
 
4shotB

4shotB

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Creative said:
Did you get your TPS reports out on time?
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I did! I survived it. I think the "look to your left, look to your right mentality" from the old GT days helped me in that situation as well. I remember the joke of the time...."What is the definition of an optimist? Someone who brings their lunch to work!". Fun times. ;)
 
AUFC

AUFC

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Creative said:
Gotta disagree on this. Women’s soccer is as bad a product as WBB. For me, gymnastics would be better. Softball is a far more exciting women’s sport to watch. Does that team get support or are they a success? I never understood why the goal was not lowered to 9 feet for women’s b-ball, similar to what the do in volleyball. Women’s volleyball is exciting because the net is 8 feet. I would argue a better product than men’s indoor.
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Basketball outdraws softball by nearly an order of magnitude more. Half of the crowd at those games is UGA alum Cobb dads bringing their daughters to high level D1 college basketball down the street for $7 and soccer may be a more popular sport in those suburbs.

I don’t think it’d be unrealistic for a women’s soccer team at Tech to pull 4 figures most games. Even the Pups averaged over 1,000/game in 2019.
 
roadkill

roadkill

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Techastrophe said:
GT is a unique place academically. It's rigorous but not in a self-absorbed intellectual way. It has held on to the idea of driving industrial competence long after most other universities became ends unto themselves. It would be really sad to see its character poisoned for cheap athletic wins, gratification of political ideas, etc. It's not something you can get back. Majors have been added and dropped over time and that's fine if it's for the right reasons. The question should be what-are-the-employers-going-to-need. Question mark. Period.
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As an alumnus, I agree with much of what you said. However, short of emulating something like UNC's fake classes, I don't see how a few more accessible degree paths would result in our "character poisoned". Seriously, name an elite academic school where this has happened (and if so, didn't recover).
As far as what the employers want, the NFL wants athletic prowess, a propensity for hard work, and (but not always) good character. Things that GT should be willing to provide.
 
GTHomer

GTHomer

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AUFC said:
I don’t think it’d be unrealistic for a women’s soccer team at Tech to pull 4 figures most games. Even the Pups averaged over 1,000/game in 2019.
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As a former soccer Dad, I can attest that there is a LOT of women's soccer talent in the metro Atlanta area. This along with the interest that would likely come from our international students is a way to grow interest (and revenue) in the overall athletic program.
 
Techster

Techster

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GTHomer said:
As a former soccer Dad, I can attest that there is a LOT of women's soccer talent in the metro Atlanta area. This along with the interest that would likely come from our international students is a way to grow interest (and revenue) in the overall athletic program.
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If the presser for ADJB is any indication, Cabrera seems to be excited about the mention of soccer at GT. He pumped his fist a few times when a reporter asked J Batt about the possibility.

IMO, GT would quickly be among the top teams in the ACC if we brought in womens and mens soccer. I started playing soccer after college, and I still play on men's team. The amount of fields, soccer academies, and kids littering the soccer fields have grown exponentially since I started. GA now produces some of the best talent in the country for both women's and men's players.

If GT ever does get a soccer team, I'll be one of the first in line for season tix and donation towards it starting a program.
 
iceeater1969

iceeater1969

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Techster said:
If the presser for ADJB is any indication, Cabrera seems to be excited about the mention of soccer at GT. He pumped his fist a few times when a reporter asked J Batt about the possibility.

IMO, GT would quickly be among the top teams in the ACC if we brought in womens and mens soccer. I started playing soccer after college, and I still play on men's team. The amount of fields, soccer academies, and kids littering the soccer fields have grown exponentially since I started. GA now produces some of the best talent in the country for both women's and men's players.

If GT ever does get a soccer team, I'll be one of the first in line for season tix and donation towards it starting a program.
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I hated sons hs soccer team, but kids like it.

Somehow gt girls volleyball has become one of my favorite ACCN tv programs. The size of the playing surface is perfect for female college athletes.
Whatever Angel and Techster wants lets do it!
 

Oakland

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We need to be realistic for a few more years. The money makers (football and basketball) have got to start producing a lot more revenue. If the day comes that we can field soccer teams, we're going to have to play off campus or build a facility over the downtown connector.
 

g0lftime

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I live in the research triangle park NC. Soccer is very big in this area and has been for many years and in fact UNC dominated women's soccer for many years winning national championships. The local college teams are lucky to get 100 people to the games. Definitely does not pay for itself. Now if someone endows the program with big bucks, then that's a different scenerio, but even with so much popularity among the younger generation it would be a stretch to think it could support itself based on what I see here with very established programs. Maybe someday but we are not in a financial position to start soccer teams yet. Let's get FB and BB income up to where it should be first. Hopefully we have some good club soccer teams.
 

TwinTownTony

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101
Oakland said:
We need to be realistic for a few more years. The money makers (football and basketball) have got to start producing a lot more revenue. If the day comes that we can field soccer teams, we're going to have to play off campus or build a facility over the downtown connector.
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Or put it on the infield of the track like many other facilities do.
 
Techster

Techster

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Oakland said:
I'm not sure if the dimensions of that infield would work.
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I heard a rumor that Arthur Blank's main goal in building Mercedez Benz Stadium was actually for GT's future soccer programs. The size of the crowds GT Soccer would pull in would but the Atlanta United crowds to shame.
 
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