AU_Canoe

Says a lot about the fanbase as we have achieved several attendance milestones, regardless of losses. The fans definitely deserve credit for their level of support. There are several teams out there with poor records and their fans are nowhere to be seen.

Cardwell is an AU treasure and a true Auburn man. Glad he is staying and I feel like he is one of those alum who will return to campus for years to come.

UTK and Vandy are at a different level of baseball vs. AU. Watched both in person and it's like observing professional vs. amateur in talent/skills and coaching. Of course, they will take their occasional loss but it's probably because they had an off-game vs. being out competed. At least so far.

It can be jaw dropping and thrilling to watch high-level talent play, i.e. Cam. We just need this level of skills spread throughout, and it wouldn't hurt to have some depth with talent. 😅 Honestly, that's the level our rivals are playing at and we chronically compete against. I am thrilled to see fun football come back to the Plains.

I believe Nike sponsors specific tournaments and development showcases that only their partner schools can attend. Outside of quality of products vs. UA, I believe this has been a selling feature for basketball.

Maybe AU needs time to dump garbage UA stock before going public. 😅

I streamed some of the top softball teams', i.e., OU, TX, UGA games this weekend and the gap between them and AU is tough to watch. All three were fun to observe and high energy; however, AU seems to be chronically at a different level and feels sluggish. UGA is building a softball only facility which looks pretty sharp and probably a huge recruitment tool. Scary with OU and TX entering the conference.

I totally agree. Bruce has a unique personality that is attractive to many and I think this trait is still not completely understood with CSP. In some ways the discussion reminded me of the early reactive push for Cadillac to be AU's next head coach. Outside of all the noise out there with Cadillac, there was a tangible need for him to professional stretch beyond the AU bubble. Maybe there would be a benefit for CSP to experience HC nuances elsewhere before moving up. "Coaches in waiting" programs have a lot of unknowns to include the challenges of recapturing a spark.

Impressive group considering the number of nationals championships and appearances with Self, Calipari, Izzo, and Barnes.

IU is currently under an Adidas contract.

Nowadays, contracts are not a lock if there is desire to poach, hire, or fire. From all accounts, Pearl seems to be happy here and it takes a lot of work, money, and time to build a program. In a lot of ways, he is a successful coach but whether he wants to start over again, might be a telling question.

Yeah, I believe it is to help minimize the foot and equipment traffic damage to the grounds. From what I heard, it's more of a stop-gap vs. perm solution.

I agree. I believe several schools are going this route with their high traffic, non-playing areas. Chatted with some friends at UGA and they too are reviewing the same surface tactic due to the difficulty of maintaining the integrity of the grass and the issue of compacting the dirt in high traffic areas. Many schools, i.e., UTK, AU, UGA, etc., are having to use a type of tarp on the ground to minimize damage yet that is causing it's own issues.