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FWST: Outgoing TCU athletic director addresses football team’s bowl destination, controversy

TopFrog

TopFrog

Lifelong Frog

Outgoing TCU athletic director addresses football team’s bowl destination, controversy​

Big Steaming Pile

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Jeremiah Donati has been introduced as the new athletic director at South Carolina, but he remains tying up a few odds and ends with his “old” employer before he moves east.

This includes a variety of details with the TCU football team, specifically its upcoming bowl trip to New Mexico.

Reached by phone on Tuesday evening by the Star-Telegram, Donati asked to wait to discuss the specifics of his exit to his new job. He did address the topic of anger among TCU fans who are upset that “he is the one” responsible for TCU rejecting an invite for the football team to play in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.

“We were never offered the chance to play in the Liberty Bowl,” Donati said, “and had we been offered, we would have accepted the invite.”

Read more at https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mac-engel/article296925364.html

Also at https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/fo...am-s-bowl-destination-controversy/ar-AA1vJ6pW
 
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Toad Jones

Active Member
Never understood why responsible figures in coaching don't reply immediately to misunderstandings such as the Liberty Bowl invite. Like a parent to his child.....talk to us..!
 
BrewingFrog

BrewingFrog

Was I supposed to type something here?
So, the buried lede is TCU literally bribed Bowl people into extending bids in the past. And, apparently, didn't offer to do so this time round. So, we wind up in Albuquerque.

No wonder Donati refused to comment further.

While it comes as no surprise that the Bowls are as crooked as a dog's hind leg, this development adds another layer of fecal matter on the process.
 
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Frozen Frog

Active Member
Cold weather bowls are generally not very desirable for anyone especially when they are outdoors. Midday on a weekday always sucks for everyone. Playing in a crappy stadium with poor facilities all-around sucks. At least at SMU the Frogs could still use their regular facilities. This is nothing more than a meaningless scrimmage against a mediocre opponent. Play Seals and prep for next year.

Does anyone know how this bowl is for the teams? I know several bowls have a reputation for being miserable for the teams.
 
Frogs1983

Frogs1983

Full Member
This Ain't Chopped Liver said:
Other than the opponent not being a P4 team I would think the players and fans would be enthused about going to nice sunny Albuquerque with its nice bowl stadium and food of the SW. Albuquerque probably treats all well for this event - a festive atmosphere and Santa Fe and Taos are a short drive for fans.
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"Nice" stadium? Have you ever been to their "nice" stadium? A glorified H.S. Stadium at best imo.
 
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froginaustin

Active Member
Frogs1983 said:
"Nice" stadium? Have you ever been to their "nice" stadium? A glorified H.S. Stadium at best imo.
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I've wondered clear back to TCU's WAC days why New Mexico wasn't more of a football school. Just because of the part of the country they live in, I would guess that they have wealthy oil men among their alums. They treat their men's basketball nice (or have in the relatively recent past), have a relative large venue for basketball, and (at least in the near recent past) have had decent teams.

They have a sooper-dooper baseball field (although they share it with a minor league team).

But as far as I can tell, UNM hasn't gotten anywhere football-wise since Franchioni left, and obviously has crummy football facilities.
 
Chongo94

Chongo94

Active Member
froginaustin said:
I've wondered clear back to TCU's WAC days why New Mexico wasn't more of a football school. Just because of the part of the country they live in, I would guess that they have wealthy oil men among their alums. They treat their men's basketball nice (or have in the relatively recent past), have a relative large venue for basketball, and (at least in the near recent past) have had decent teams.

They have a sooper-dooper baseball field (although they share it with a minor league team).

But as far as I can tell, UNM hasn't gotten anywhere football-wise since Franchioni left, and obviously has crummy football facilities.
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I think Mendenhall could have built something there but we’ll never know now with him heading back to Utah (State) now.
 
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FroggleRock

Active Member
Okay fine, I’m willing to run with the Liberty Bowl just didn’t offer us even though we placed higher and beat Tech. But why can literally NOBODY answer why we ended up in a non-Big12 affiliated and non-P4 affiliated bowl game?

All the school has to do is come out and say, “we didn’t want to go to Phoenix or Shreveport”, and I’d believe that, and at least somewhat understand the justification. But the inability for them to be upfront and honest, tells me someone in the administration screwed up.
 
F

Frog Attack II

Active Member
This just tells me that we were asleep at the wheel. If you are not a hot commodity (highly ranked or a big story) the non playoff bowls are just gonna treat you with $ in mind... Large state schools with avg years > small private schools with avg years... If and only if the school's leadership (mostly athletic and donor related) step up and politic (or pay) for a spot and exposure... As we have had to do in the past to build the program.

While we may not have turned any bid down, we sure didn't lobby on our own behalf and elevate our status. A couple plays here or there left us with a small school, non-story, avg performance, asleep at the wheel come bowl-time season... And this is what you get.

The whole department (across the board) better wake up and get back to rowing in the same direction!
 
froginmn

froginmn

Full Member
FroggleRock said:
Okay fine, I’m willing to run with the Liberty Bowl just didn’t offer us even though we placed higher and beat Tech. But why can literally NOBODY answer why we ended up in a non-Big12 affiliated and non-P4 affiliated bowl game?

All the school has to do is come out and say, “we didn’t want to go to Phoenix or Shreveport”, and I’d believe that, and at least somewhat understand the justification. But the inability for them to be upfront and honest, tells me someone in the administration screwed up.
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I think the answer is that our option was Dallas, and for PR reasons it's best not to say that we didn't want to go there, just like we shouldn't say we don't want to go to ANY destination.

Saying that you don't want to go somewhere is a slam to that somewhere...
 
TopFrog

TopFrog

Lifelong Frog
I will believe JD that Liberty did not offer and considering the state of the stadium probably a good thing. Sure Memphis is a good destination for food, entertainment.

As far as his not wanting to comment further, I might take that to mean we told Shreveport and Frisco we were not interested. Options for an 8-4 team then start narrowing greatly.

It is what it is. Who cares if it is Albuquerque and a non-P4 team. No one is going to remember anything beyond the CFP games, and perhaps some of those will be quickly forgotten.
 
TxFrog1999

TxFrog1999

The Man Behind The Curtain
TopFrog said:
I will believe JD that Liberty did not offer and considering the state of the stadium probably a good thing. Sure Memphis is a good destination for food, entertainment.

As far as his not wanting to comment further, I might take that to mean we told Shreveport and Frisco we were not interested. Options for an 8-4 team then start narrowing greatly.

It is what it is. Who cares if it is Albuquerque and a non-P4 team. No one is going to remember anything beyond the CFP games, and perhaps some of those will be quickly forgotten.
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The players will remember.
 
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FloridaFrog76129

Active Member
FroggleRock said:
Okay fine, I’m willing to run with the Liberty Bowl just didn’t offer us even though we placed higher and beat Tech. But why can literally NOBODY answer why we ended up in a non-Big12 affiliated and non-P4 affiliated bowl game?

All the school has to do is come out and say, “we didn’t want to go to Phoenix or Shreveport”, and I’d believe that, and at least somewhat understand the justification. But the inability for them to be upfront and honest, tells me someone in the administration screwed up.
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Watch out - @froginmn will call you a liar and claim you’re fabricating the whole thing by asking reasonable questions…and not believing the PR nonsense
 

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