Bob
Active Member
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$How on earth could UT and Arky convince 100 players to sign with them each year?
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$How on earth could UT and Arky convince 100 players to sign with them each year?
That would be an honest statement as they played Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl stadium every year.
In 1965 tuition at TCU was $25 a credit hour; at UT, A&M and other state institutions it was $4.
I think the four biggest issues (and there were many) were:
1. The arrival of two-platoon football severely limited the ability of many teams to compete. The larger, richer schools could stockpile players and smaller schools suddenly found themselves at a huge talent deficit. Although there had been dominant teams in the past (e.g., Oklahoma in the late '50s) this change ushered in the era of big-school dominance.
2. The administration was, at best, diffident toward athletics. TCU was making the transition from a liberal arts college to a national university and the focus was all on fund-raising for academic improvement.
3. State schools were beginning to undergo a massive leap in enrollments fueled by the baby boom and TCU was too expensive to compete. In 1965 tuition at TCU was $25 a credit hour; at UT, A&M and other state institutions it was $4.
4. The addition of Tech (with the support and sponsorship of TCU) to the SWC severely crimped TCU's recruiting in West Texas, which had previously been our main recruiting field. At the same time, Oklahoma began recruiting in Texas extensively in the 1950s. This especially hurt our recruiting in Wichita Falls and Abilene, HS powerhouse areas in those days.
After Jim Pittman died on the sidelines of the Baylor game, the administration took the cheap and easy way out and hired Billy Tohill from within rather than recruit a coach. He was followed by the Jim Shofner recruiting-with-a-postcard era and the decay of the program accelerated.
Thanks, Leap. I take back my lazy comment. Can't hang that on a sick man, but still, it doesn't appear the assistants took up the slack. Very good points about platoon football and the fact that TCU and the rest the SWC sans UT and Arky were not getting many Top 200 players. Leap, how do you feel about Pittman? He seemed to be the answer as I recall.
"Son, I don't care how good they looked in warm up. Now, take this envelop to that ref and remind him we want a good game.""Meat on the Hoof" or "Bleeding Orange" explain a lot about what programs like UT and UA were doing.
I started TCU in 1960. Abe was a successful coach in the fifties. WE won a couple of SWC championships and went to the Cotton Bowl three times. In '60 I think we lost to UT by one point. But Arkie began its 22 year run by one TD. Did Abe stay too long? Did he ever change his offense? Why couldn't we get the Hog monkey off our backs? Defense was still stout up to the late sixties. Maybe we fired Fred Taylor a year too soon. I have heard that expressed. Anyone have any thoughtd?
I started TCU in 1960. Abe was a successful coach in the fifties. WE won a couple of SWC championships and went to the Cotton Bowl three times. In '60 I think we lost to UT by one point. But Arkie began its 22 year run by one TD. Did Abe stay too long? Did he ever change his offense? Why couldn't we get the Hog monkey off our backs? Defense was still stout up to the late sixties. Maybe we fired Fred Taylor a year too soon. I have heard that expressed. Anyone have any thoughtd?
Many thought Coach Taylor was let go too so. My time in the program was from Coach Taylor through Shoffner. I was only a pup, but had chances to hear (or over-hear) Dutch, Abe, Frank, Elmer and a few others. I sat next to Dutch and Abe once at a baseball practice and heard them voice most every concern already typed in this thread. Many believed that Pittman ran off and ruined TCU’s association with predominantly black school athletes in DFW and Houston. Billy wasn’t like Pittman in that regard, but the damage was done. Then came the NFL style [ Finebaum ] show that was Shoffner.Fred Taylor was let go of way too soon.
Many thought Coach Taylor was let go too so. My time in the program was from Coach Taylor through Shoffner. I was only a pup, but had chances to hear (or over-hear) Dutch, Abe, Frank, Elmer and a few others. I sat next to Dutch and Abe once at a baseball practice and heard them voice most every concern already typed in this thread. Many believed that Pittman ran off and ruined TCU’s association with predominantly black school athletes in DFW and Houston. Billy wasn’t like Pittman in that regard, but the damage was done. Then came the NFL style [ steaming pile of Orgeron ] show that was Shoffner.
We were on board early with recruiting black athletes. Then on one day we lost Larry Dibbles, Ervin Garnett, Danny Colbert, and Hodges Mitchell. Later Raymond Rhodes transferred to Tulsa. Took us a long time to recover.