Northwestern South ??

[jmahone]

Not sure I agree with this. I have an ME degree. But, I studied German, Linguistics, Political Science, History, Economics ... all as part of my degree. The core curriculum is technical, but I don't feel slighted in the least. I think Tech provides a very well-rounded education.

I graduated BEE and MSEE; with my undergraduate degree, I also received a Certificate in American Literature. So, yes, there are definitely ways to get a well-rounded education at Tech.

As an aside, I wanted to study French, but as a co-op, it was impossible to get the six courses as they were only offered in quarter sequence and I was out of state every other quarter. If I recall the specific issue correctly, if you graduated with < 6 of a foreign language, they counted as free electives and you still had to take the correct number of humanities for the degree requirements. As an out of state student in the co-op division, I didn't have enough time or money to stay 6 years! So, I took American Lit courses for the certificate.

 

[LibertyTurns]

@MidtownJacket Recruiting’s another example. Amazon can figure out what type of toothpaste I’d buy. We’re the ones who design these AI analysis tools. We should be able to locate high probability of succeeding at GT type athletes that can also thrive on the football field.

Then as you rightly point out, even if you don’t make it to the NFL or you flame out early, your GT career takes you the rest of the way. We’ve got boatloads of successful former football players that achieved high success on and off the field.

 

[Vespidae]

OK. The boards are awash in "Alabama does this ...". Ok, fine. I'm from Alabama and an Alabama fan. Here's a little factoid: Only 38% of Alabama's players are from ... Alabama. Whereas at Tech, 65% are from Georgia. Scanning the list, Bama is all over Florida and Texas for talent.

 

[augustabuzz]

Ok I have a slightly different take on this and I’ll say it again. We need to make this work the GT way. Many business majors do not need calculus. Most don’t need GT’s calculus if you know what I mean. Many Engineers don’t even need GT’s calculus quite frankly.

We need to leverage our strengths. Here’s a list of things we should be #1 at due to our unique blend:

A. Sports equipment- nobody should have a better shoe (cleat), a lighter or more shock resistant set of pads, a helmet that minimizes the chance of concussion. We design these freaking things and select the materials for this stuff for heavan’s sake, not some moron up the road sniffing his butt.

B. Sport science- nobody should be able to design a better workout regimen to increase strength, speed and flexibility. You freaking kidding me some toothless wonder from Bammer can our analyze the dynamics ????

C. Crap our IE’s should produce reams of data optimizing play selections against anyone we play in any situation. Our freaking statistical capabilities should be head and shoulders above the rest.

D. Technology - we should be a showcase. Video boards, wifi, tablets, sound, freaking LINES AT THE CONCESSIONS STANDS. We should have the best of everything because we know how to design equipment, processes, etc.

E. Entertainment- you telling me we should be able to line up celebrities to perform in and around campus to enhance the gameday experience. They perform all around us.

F. Should anybody be any better at designing methods to take under skilled students and train them up than GT? Most of these kids just come from bad schools, they’re not dumb. They should be able to thrive here with state of the art educational tools.

Geez, the list goes on. we just don’t have leadership that cares enough to lift a finger to do anything. That’s the sad reality. They line the status quo in athletics and only care about academics.

It's true that many Business Administration majors have no real need for calculus and that is why Tech is forced to offer a BSBA and UG has a BBA.

 

[Vespidae]

It's true that many Business Administration majors have no real need for calculus and that is why Tech is forced to offer a BSBA and UG has a BBA.

There's really no need for a business school at Tech if you want to get right down to it. GSU *was* the business school for Tech until the BOR took it away and made it it's own university. Emory is excellent as are a number of USG schools. I would have loved to see Tech have an Engineering Management as I think that makes more sense. Still, I believe the reasoning was that it would level out the gender gap ... which it has.

 

[GTonTop88]

The NCAA really needs to step in and even the playing field in some way. There’s really only about 20 schools in the country that have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs year in and out, and 14 of them are a long shot.

They need to help out the non-factories more to make it more enjoyable for everyone, or take the top 32 programs and make it an NFL format.

 

[Vespidae]

The NCAA really needs to step in and even the playing field in some way. There’s really only about 20 schools in the country that have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs year in and out, and 14 of them are a long shot.

They need to help out the non-factories more to make it more enjoyable for everyone, or take the top 32 programs and make it an NFL format.

This is where NCAA football is headed. There are five real conferences today and within each, there are 2-3 truly sustainable programs. So you're talking a Power Elite of 20 schools and then another 100 or so that hang on.

 

[GT_05]

This is where NCAA football is headed. There are five real conferences today and within each, there are 2-3 truly sustainable programs. So you're talking a Power Elite of 20 schools and then another 100 or so that hang on.

It would be an interesting experiment to see how things would change if the NCAA dictated the number of allowable scholarships for a team based on the previous year’s rank - higher ranked schools have less scholarships to give and vice versa.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

It would be an interesting experiment to see how things would change if the NCAA dictated the number of allowable scholarships for a team based on the previous year’s rank - higher ranked schools have less scholarships to give and vice versa.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

An interesting concept with but one flaw. If the NCAA cannot or will not enforce its own standards on the football factories then they most definitely will not dictate scholarship reductions based upon rankings. If those corrupt shysters would just do their job in a reasonably fair and even handed way then that would be a start. Cheating, gray shirting, paying players, dangling all sorts of illicit offers of everything from prostitutes to money to clothes is being done by most of the factories and that is not counting the shenanigans taking place after the recruit gets to "school". When Leonard Pope was being recruited by all the usual suspects until he signed with UGA, one of his high school coaches said: "Leonard can do anything with a football but sign it"

 

[1939hotmagic]

As an outsider/sidewalk fan looking in, it occurs to me that it should not be considered an either-or perspective of (1) a few more majors/no calculus (for some majors) or (2) "abandoning academics." Adding a handful more liberal arts-ish majors, and dropping calc for non-STEM majors (and perhaps replacing calc with a required course in intro to probability and stats,, or introduction to reasoning and logic, either of which would be useful for any student regardless of major) , would hardly be a diminution of a Tech degree to something as low as a non-STEM undergrad degree from the likes of M.I.T. https://mitadmissions.org/discover/the-mit-education/majors-minors/ Tech need not go so far as to seek the addition of "Parks and Rec," "Social Work," "Family Studies," or "General Studies" in a quest to broaden its academic scope a wee bit more.

That said and out of the way, sure -- "Moneyball" approaches, leveraging institutional strengths, more support staff and recruiting assistance, etc., have at it!

 

[GTNavyNuke]

As we say in the South...."why, bless your heart!" That's just so *sweet*! Unicorns and rainbows everywhere.

Reality is if you continue down that path you WILL become Tulane playing in front of 20,000 disheartened fans with a schedule that is third rate. You simply wish to close your eyes and ignore the current realities of college football. You either are living in a fantasy world or living in the past...neither of which exist today.

The reality is in front of you. It is on the field every Saturday now for one and all to see.........

Too bad we don't have NC State fans. Their team usually isn't as good as ours and the NC State stadium (although smaller) is sold out every week.

We have to enjoy what we have. We don't have a choice; except to ***** and make ourselves miserable.

 

[iceeater1969]

As a football aside.

I see that the 2nd string Clemson qb (hunter) went to Northwestern because Clemson got the top pro style qb recruit (Lawrence) who played at Cartersville ga.

From watching interviews they both seem bright.

In general qb seem brighter than most players so that opens up more potential recruits. The down side is so few hs teams actually pass first run second. Although pass happy h s are still winning texas state championships ( Manvel tx hs coach now the qb coach at Syracuse)

Obviously both hunter and Lawrence liked Clemson football but due to only so many available brass hats And both wanting to play , one went to northwestern BUT not ga tech.
While both schools have great academic reputations, we have 2 strikes against us. We have lmited degree offerings and an offense that does not feature passing AT ALL.


To get a recruit like the cartersville ( 40 miles from gt) kid it would take a super recruiting effort and a commitment to a passing attack.

If we ever change from this offense , I think a pass first offense is the right idea.

 

[Vespidae]

To get a recruit like the cartersville ( 40 miles from gt) kid it would take a super recruiting effort and a commitment to a passing attack. If we ever change from this offense , I think a pass first offense is the right idea.

Can Tech get a QB like this? Can we get any super athletes? Not how we are recruiting today.

I studied engineering at Tech and later, marketing. I spent most of my career as a marketer of various products and worked both domestic and internationally.

Recruiting strikes me as "selling" and the greatest impact on selling is among other things, the influence of group behavior on the decision. If Tech is going to be successful, I believe that we'll have to a) be effective that going to Tech is cool and appealing and b) using opinion leaders (those with enduring involvement with the product) to create positive word of mouth and affirmation.

Who are the opinion leaders? All the professional sports alumni we have ... Pat Swilling, Matt Kuchar, etc. All of them. Talking about how well Tech prepared them for a professional sports career. Or any career.

If we don't start understanding that we are "selling", and using those tools, we will continue to struggle. Products that have "pick me" on them as their strategy are usually in the discount bin.

 

[bobongo]

Can Tech get a QB like this? Can we get any super athletes? Not how we are recruiting today.

I studied engineering at Tech and later, marketing. I spent most of my career as a marketer of various products and worked both domestic and internationally.

Recruiting strikes me as "selling" and the greatest impact on selling is among other things, the influence of group behavior on the decision. If Tech is going to be successful, I believe that we'll have to a) be effective that going to Tech is cool and appealing and b) using opinion leaders (those with enduring involvement with the product) to create positive word of mouth and affirmation.

Who are the opinion leaders? All the professional sports alumni we have ... Pat Swilling, Matt Kuchar, etc. All of them. Talking about how well Tech prepared them for a professional sports career. Or any career.

If we don't start understanding that we are "selling", and using those tools, we will continue to struggle. Products that have "pick me" on them as their strategy are usually in the discount bin.

To "sell" something, to "market" it, one should concentrate on its benefits, its strong points. What GT has to offer is a top-notch education in certain fields while at the same time participating in a power-5 conference. It's a great combination, and that's what we should be selling. Any superior athlete is going to get his shot at the NFL if he's good enough, no matter whether he plays here or for Alabama. The competition on the other side of the ball is roughly equal. Players who were good enough got their shot if they played here, just as they have if they played at Alabama. They just have had more of those NFL-worthy players, that's all.

Smart kids have sense enough to know this, and those kids are the ones we should be targeting, ones with a bent toward what our curriculum has to offer. To do this effectively, we have to expand our horizons. We need to find target-rich environments all over the country and bring them in. Think of what a difference it would make if we expanded to recruiting staff by twenty, and if we brought in one additional four-start athlete for every five of them. That would be four additional four-star athletes every year. We can do this.

 

[Jacket in Dairyland]

Can Tech get a QB like this? Can we get any super athletes? Not how we are recruiting today.

I studied engineering at Tech and later, marketing. I spent most of my career as a marketer of various products and worked both domestic and internationally.

Recruiting strikes me as "selling" and the greatest impact on selling is among other things, the influence of group behavior on the decision. If Tech is going to be successful, I believe that we'll have to a) be effective that going to Tech is cool and appealing and b) using opinion leaders (those with enduring involvement with the product) to create positive word of mouth and affirmation.

Who are the opinion leaders? All the professional sports alumni we have ... Pat Swilling, Matt Kuchar, etc. All of them. Talking about how well Tech prepared them for a professional sports career. Or any career.

If we don't start understanding that we are "selling", and using those tools, we will continue to struggle. Products that have "pick me" on them as their strategy are usually in the discount bin.

Great idea ! Can't even imagine why we have not done this already !!

 

[Jacket in Dairyland]

To "sell" something, to "market" it, one should concentrate on its benefits, its strong points. What GT has to offer is a top-notch education in certain fields while at the same time participating in a power-5 conference. It's a great combination, and that's what we should be selling. Any superior athlete is going to get his shot at the NFL if he's good enough, no matter whether he plays here or for Alabama. The competition on the other side of the ball is roughly equal. Players who were good enough got their shot if they played here, just as they have if they played at Alabama. They just have had more of those NFL-worthy players, that's all.

Smart kids have sense enough to know this, and those kids are the ones we should be targeting, ones with a bent toward what our curriculum has to offer. To do this effectively, we have to expand our horizons. We need to find target-rich environments all over the country and bring them in. Think of what a difference it would make if we expanded to recruiting staff by twenty, and if we brought in one additional four-start athlete for every five of them. That would be four additional four-star athletes every year. We can do this.

Not only can we do this , we MUST do this !

 

[bobongo]

Not only can we do this , we MUST do this !

Absolutely, and I don't know why we haven't already done it.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

Thinking about our current frustration with our athletic programs, and looking back on the times since I attended (1968-1973) and really started paying closer attention to our athletic performance, several thoughts come to mind :
1) We have had some GREAT ADs - Rice quickly comes to mind.
2) We have had some terrible ADs- Bobinski for sure - Braine ??
3) We have had presidents who have seemed to be more "athletics friendly'.
4) Our athletic success, or not , seems to depend on whether we have a good/great AD AND a FULLY athletic supportive president. If either one is missing , we take a dip in our success.
IMO, the president can be like a " governor " on an engine. He ( or she ) tries to balance our image in the world.
Are we an Educational Institution or a Athletic Factory ? That's why my comparison to Northwestern comes in.
Although in my mind we have a much richer athletic tradition than NU, we risk pushing those memories so far into the history books that recruits can't remember when were even relevant athletically - like NU.
I have come to the realization that a MAJOR limitation on our athletic success is " the Hill ". I think it's why Radakovich left, Bobinski thought " what's the point ?" , and unfortunately why TStan may be hamstrung by what he can accomplish.
Given the limitations CPJ has had to endure during his tenure, it is sometimes amazing to me that he has even wanted to extend his contract.
Of course , I am not privy to what " the Hill " actually thinks. But my impression, albeit from afar, is that their actions , or lack thereof, say two things - A) That to greatly improve athletic performance puts our image as an "Educational " institution " at risk. B) They want to see more support - attendance, fundraising, etc. and sustained athletic success FIRST , to then put more emphasis on athletics with more majors, etc.
I am CAUTIOUSLY optimistic that TSTAN can thread the needle on this , but it will take him some time. But, and it's a big but, what are we as fans going to do in the meantime ?
What say you ?

If GT is like Northwestern i wouldn't mind Pat Fitzgerald coaching the football team

 

[Jacket in Dairyland]

Great idea ! Can't even imagine why we have not done this already !!

Do we need to compile a list and send it , along with the suggestion, to TStan ?

 

[Vespidae]

Smart kids have sense enough to know this

No, they don't. No offense, but "rationality" is only a very small part of how purchase decisions are made. If you do not understand the field of consumer behavior, you make selling a product very, very difficult. Decisions are affected by a number of different variables and it's important to know those when developing a strategy. Again, I see a lot of parallels between marketing a product and recruiting an SA. It's becoming ever more clear that ... we don't do the process at a mature level.