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Stephen F. Austin Football

Like a Byrd: SFA must win or face the cruel end of an era

August 4, 2018
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When I sat inside CC's Smokehouse in the middle of November as a fill-in radio host for the Clint Conque Coaches Show, the feelings of optimism in the Stephen F. Austin football program's direction hadn't escaped me.

I was positioned across from the namesake of the show, a couple days before a blowout loss in the season finale at Northwestern State. I lobbed softball questions—it was his show, after all—and visited with both coordinators, Jeff Byrd and Gary Crowton, on the air.

We neared the end of the last week in another lost season and fans were probably more interested in the basketball team's bout with an NAIA team across town—but the mood was upbeat.

Mine too. Despite the growing "Fire Conque" movement, I knew where the program really was, I thought.

My well documented defense of former head coach Clint Conque was difficult to justify sometimes. Under his leadership, the Lumberjacks hadn't enjoyed a winning season since his debut season in Nacogdoches. SFA wasn't terrible—in the minds of fans, they were something worse, perhaps: mediocre.

But, like the Houston Astros went from laughing stock of the American League to World Series champions with a little bit of foundation, a dramatic youth movement, and lots of talent development, the foresight Conque had for the SFA program kept me believing.

His vision was specific, measureable, and real.

"All I can do is show you what we're trying to build," he told me before the 2016 season. "I've always believed that if you do it the right way, the results will follow."

And show me he did. The relationship I had with the Lumberjacks former leader was the kind sports writers dream of. Our conversations—whether in the bowels of Gerald J. Ford Stadium at SMU, his office past the north endzone of Homer Bryce Stadium, a little corner at the Southland Conference media days, a bench outside the field house, and even a practice field, once, where his son was finishing a final workout before jumping on a plane to join the New York Jets—ranged from football to life in general.

Nothing was off limits in those talks. Occasionally, "off the record" was firmly planted before an answer, but Conque believed if someone could see below the surface into the true character of his team—the good and the bad—they'd walk away believing in what he was constructing. He asked in return only that I tell his team's story.

For three years, I did.

For three years, I knew I would get the unfiltered truth, even in the lowest moments.

"Knowing what you know now about the state of the program," I asked him once after a particularly gutting loss, "do you still take this job?"

"I do," he said without hesitation. "I needed a new challenge and I know where we're headed."

Even when he felt it necessary to dismiss Crowton, his former mentor, he still made time to talk to me about it.

I always pushed for details. Most of the time, I got them.

Most. The only text I sent to Conque left unanswered was the last. It was one, on June 18th of this year, where I asked if there was anything he could tell me about what led to his suspension. It was the day his run in Nacogdoches ended.

Whether the youth movement he orchestrated over the past years proves successful or not, it will happen sans Conque and the vindication he craved from fans.

And Jeff Byrd, a veteran defensive coordinator, "just a country boy from Mississippi," as he introduced himself during a live broadcast of our Purple Lights Podcast last summer, a humble character whose hire last year was certainly one of the bright spots of the Conque era, will enter a tumultuous 2018 season as the new flag bearer for its product.

The lone carryover, whose quiet demeanor inexplicably commands respect, may just be the perfect candidate to lead this group through this inarguably difficult period.

If he manages to find the kind of success in 2018 that eluded his predecessor, the interim head coach may remove the asterisk from his title and keep the ship headed in the same direction.

If he crashes and burns, few will blame him. No team is prepared for the kind of late turnover forced upon this squad. 

But if the latter outcome becomes reality, the growing pains of a rebuilding program these past years should be considered the new normal for at least a few more. To say a lot is riding on 2018 would be a colossal understatement.

Between a wide open league and a host of talented young players on SFA's roster who have been waiting years for this coming-of-age season, there is more than enough reason to still believe. But as Lumberjacks football enters fall camp, uncertainty is the only thing certain.

That evening in CC's, a short eight months ago, now feels like an eternity past. "He really outkicked his coverage, didn't he?" Conque asked my football-oblivious wife of me when he met her that night ("he thinks you're hotter than me," I translated for her later).

The smiling and laughing that night, in spite of a difficult season, has long since faded. Of the three leaders of the program present, only Byrd remains today.

But the lone carryover, whose quiet demeanor inexplicably commands respect, may just be the perfect candidate to lead this group through this inarguably difficult period.

The Lumberjacks are probably a few bad losses away from blowing up the whole thing and starting over. With new athletic director Ryan Ivey leading the charge, they may even be closer to the reset button than that.

"We're going to have a football team we can be proud of," Ivey told me during an evening phone call last month. "We're going to find a great coach."

But, depending on what happens over the next few months, that button may still not be pressed.

"Who knows?" Ivey continued. "It might be Jeff Byrd."

Like a Byrd: SFA must win or face the cruel end of an era

30,389 Views | 64 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by OldSchool
beaubrad46
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Purple, even though Sam's growth is mostly commuters it boosts their athletic budget. Our university is not growing. Whose fault is that? In fact we have less student and campus population than we did in the 80's considering that included in that total is other off campus entities and also the fact that we have quite a few students who merely take classes online. We're hurting.
Lawsuit pending PurpleOut.
beaubrad46
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Many of the people who come to our games never go to their seats and have very little interest in the games. They tailgate! I would argue that most of the games we have only have about 6500 hundred people in the stands. SFA also gives away a lot of tickets. Many of the fans come and watch the band and leave. These are sad facts. Nacogdoches is not a football town. We've never had much of a football tradition at SFA. We are at a crossroads. Football is costing way more than SFA and it's students can afford to maintain. If it weren't for the band I sincerely believe that football would have been dropped long ago. I've been a season ticket holder for thirty years or more. We need to grow and either get serious about football or drop it. SFA's teachers are way underpaid.
Lawsuit pending PurpleOut.
Jacks4460
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SFASU needs to be charging that fee every other public university in Texas charges in some way shape or form... Think they are doing a better job with social media and communicating with students. They had a mentor program where some of the players would eat supper with a faculty members to get to know each other. That fee would be huge and then maybe some of the monies the university was spending on Football could be allocated to Professor raises. Both my parents were teachers so I am with you on teachers/professors being underpaid. I had to go back to school in Fall 2014 to finish my degree and I met some awesome Drs./Professors. I was really really impressed by how much they gave the young students every chance to succeed and at the same time held them accountable if they didnt do their part. That is how the real world is. Everyone needs to be held accountable..
BigJack85
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beaubrad46 said:

Many of the people who come to our games never go to their seats and have very little interest in the games. They tailgate! I would argue that most of the games we have only have about 6500 hundred people in the stands. SFA also gives away a lot of tickets. Many of the fans come and watch the band and leave. These are sad facts. Nacogdoches is not a football town. We've never had much of a football tradition at SFA. We are at a crossroads. Football is costing way more than SFA and it's students can afford to maintain. If it weren't for the band I sincerely believe that football would have been dropped long ago. I've been a season ticket holder for thirty years or more. We need to grow and either get serious about football or drop it. SFA's teachers are way underpaid.
Beaubrad,

I don't know if we are at a crossroads......... You might want to look beyond East Texas and/or Texas. The average enrollment for a FCS school is approximately 8,000. This is reported by the NCAA. We can certainly support football, although I agree with you and 4460 that we should have a fee. But let's back up and be real about expenditures. Sam doesn't have a magic wand that conjures up income for athletics. There licensing and ticket revenue is about the same as us despite them being 30% larger. If you look at what they do (accounting) it is similar to what ALL,,,, I repeat ALL FCS schools do outside of North Dakota State and possibly Montana. They use auxiliary funds or a fee to supplement athletics, football specifically. If we adopt a fee it's estimated that it would pump $1 - $2 million a year into the universities coffers. Do you think we will bump up spending by $1 - $2 million. I doubt it! More likely less money will come from auxiliary accounts. YES, some of this would end up in facilities. Regarding your other statements I'll address them individually:

1) Attendance at games. I have been to games across the western U.S.(S.Utah, Montana and Colorado State) and Texas. Mostly FCS games. The only school that I have seen games at there were full was Montana (Missoula) NOT Montana State. I've been to Lamar, HBU, NW St, Texas St. Sammie, U of H, Rice etc. Attendance at all with the exception of U of H (recently) are pathetic..... less than what you see in the stands in Nacogdoches.... think about that Beau. Texas State with 30,000 enrollment barely gets 14,000 to a game. The last few SHSU games I've been to, barely had 3,000 in the stands. Probably closer to 2,000. AND THEY ARE WINNING.... 2,000.....

2) Football Tradition: I agree with you. It is not strong but until recently (2008) we were one of only 2 SLC teams to make the national finals. I was in the stands in the mid 90's when we did get 14,000 to a game or two a season. I was there.

3) Enrollment Growth. I agree with you and have stated it possibly 25 times on this site. I have contributed liberally to the College of Business over the past 33 years. We need new university leadership, period.

4) Dropping Football. It needs to be looked at in the next few years. Not because our support is weak but because of the cost and the impending legal jeopardy that universities that support it will be put in. This in my mind is the biggest issue.

5) Professors are underpaid. In general this is misleading. When adjusted for cost of living (East Texas is obviously very low). We are middle of the pack. There have been studies that show our professors are poorly paid but we have remedied much of that in the last 5 - 6 years. The common complaint about professor pay mostly comes from the colleges of Liberal Arts, Education and Applied Arts and Sciences. Business, Forestry and Science tend to be reasonably compensated (in general). As reported via a faculty survey.

6) Enrollment History. We peaked in 2011-2012 at 12,950. Enrollment dropped after this for a few years and has been about the same (12,700 - 12,800) for the past 3 - 4 years. I believe the additional focus on STEM fields will propel us to 13,500 over the next 3 - 4 years. We need to do better but again.... most FCS schools in the U.S. are approximately 8,000.

I apologize for the dissertation.
Axe 'Em Jacks - Class of 85'
beaubrad46
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Comparing us to schools who have lesser enrollments doesn't get you anywhere. Many of those schools you refer to are private schools. what we need and what we have are two different things. Campus enrollment has not grown and more of those who live on campus go home on the weekends than ever before. I love football and dream of having a great program here that we would all be proud of but that is not happening. Nacogdoches is not that close to a a highly populated area. The administration realized during Kaspar's tenure that basketball was going to give us more bang for our bucks and get us more recognition. You also need to consider that people in Nacogdoches don't have very high incomes. Homer Bryce is dead. We no longer have a super donor. Stephen F Austin is a teachers college and doesn't have all that many alumni with super incomes that care about football. there are many algorithims that are not included in your assessment. We cannot forever continue to pay for a program that gets us hardly anything in return. The biggest loss would be our marching band if we ended the program. SFA is getting a lot of criticism for it's athletic spending and for under paying it's teachers. Ask a teacher. The retention level is very low for teachers at SFA. We don't have many tenured staff members. I've had this discussion with some high level staff members several times. You should hear their side of it. Many of them hate the football program because of what it costs. I don't wish to see it go but at this point it is hurting SFA scholastically. I'll give it a few more years but at some point I am going to have to agree with the dissenters. The Small raises that they have gotten the last five years do not match the inflation numbers. If they are good teachers they can make much more at other universities. I know a professor in the Forestry department who agrees with what I am saying. His raises have been very small. When I talked to him about it initially he didn't know that SFA's football program was losing money. It pissed him off when I told him the discrepancies. He deserved to know. SFA doesn't charge near as much for tickets as a lot of the schools in our conference. People here cannot afford to pay high ticket prices.
Lawsuit pending PurpleOut.
BigJack85
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I donate and aspire for more. We can agree to disagree. BTW most of the 8000 enrollment schools are public. Fact. Fact. Again your being myopic and looking only at Sam. NWST McNeese and Nicholls ALL have enrollments under 10,000 and they are in are Conference. Algorithms. Average attendance and spending is simple math. I have MS in IS and don't know where the algorithm thing is coming from. Despite your rebuttal you missed the fact that I agree with you on about 60% of your speech which tells me I took the time to read your comments and you did not fully read mine. Maybe we need better instruction at SFA. Like read before you comment.
Axe 'Em Jacks - Class of 85'
Jacks4460
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Great read BigJack..
beaubrad46
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We donate to athletics, the music department and to the arboretum and theater but then again, I'm not Homer Bryce. Those schools that you mentioned with the exception of Northwestern have higher ticket prices. Don't forget that Nichols program has been on the ropes for years. McNeese is a much larger town with higher income. Nichols has a lot of alumni from the Baton Rouge and New Orleans area that support their athletics. Their attendance is very low and hardly any people go to their basketball games. Someone is funding them from the outside.
Lawsuit pending PurpleOut.
BigJack85
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beaubrad46 said:

We donate to athletics, the music department and to the arboretum and theater but then again, I'm not Homer Bryce.
. The focal point of my comments regarding your post was not aimed entirely at football.
Axe 'Em Jacks - Class of 85'
beaubrad46
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SFA does not need to raise their student athletic fee. The fact that they vote against it also helps prove my point. They aren't that much into it. Why should you force the students to pay for something that is of little interest to them. Do you think that they should do it for all of us die hard fans? SFA's enrollment needs to grow and it's not doing that. Our retention rate is also still not very good. I've said my piece. We can dream.
Lawsuit pending PurpleOut.
PurpleOut
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Staff
beaubrad46 said:

SFA does not need to raise their student athletic fee. The fact that they vote against it also helps prove my point. They aren't that much into it. Why should you force the students to pay for something that is of little interest to them.
Not totally the case. We've admitted we did a poor job marketing and explaining what the fee was for. Of course the average 18-20 year old will not agree to pay for something that they don't know what it does.

Everyone in the athletic department, and mostly everyone that actually understands what the fee does and could lead to, agrees that we need it.
AxeEm99
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BigJack, I am not quite sure how and where you received your info, but my dad was a prof and dept chair at SH for 35 years. I would like to hear how you have a better connection to SH???
BigJack85
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This is really a pointless convo. I'm just about out. I tried to frame the subject with Brad. It seems lost on Brad that there are 1300 NCAA teams that field athletic teams. It's estimated that MAYBE 75 of these school make a profit or break even. Athletics is part of the fabric of the college experience. That being said I have my doubts about college football and it's future, especially given the lawsuits. We are mixing arguments about our academic reputation and making broad and loose statements that are fueled by the ire of a forestry professor that is underpaid. I went in computer networks for my career because it had financial benefits. I don't think a professor that makes 75,000 a year fully grasps the 70 - 80 hour weeks that professionals in other fields routinely deal with. Let me put a bow on it. Professors at ALL universities complain about pay. My best friend from HS is a professor at Rochester Polytechnic in New York. He makes really good money but still maintains he's been left behind......
Axe 'Em Jacks - Class of 85'
BigJack85
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randybass said:

BigJack, I am not quite sure how and where you received your info, but my dad was a prof and dept chair at SH for 35 years. I would like to hear how you have a better connection to SH???


Explain what you are talking about???? Attendance?

My comments regarding Sam have to do with there athletic department
Axe 'Em Jacks - Class of 85'
aquavelvis
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BigJack85 said:

When it does come out .... and it surely will, judgement of Conque will be partially influenced by what the team that Conque left Byrd does on the field. It must have crossed one or two lines. I've been in corporate environments where the VP that gets fired is not to blame, but they are the easiest to cut loose.
Yep, the old adage was, "Whenever you get promoted to VP, start polishing up your resume."
Scott Taylor
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beaubrad46
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PurpleOut. The people who voted knew exactly what athletic fees are about. I don't care how well you market it. It wasn't going to pass. The vote wasn't even close. I also heard from many students about why they were against it. I totally disagree with you. It failed because they didn't think it was worth it to them. Don't get me wrong, I was for it. Texas State passed one that raised their fees by twenty dollars a semester hour that is twice what ours was. It was well marketed. The interest is just not there. I tried to help market it. I got cussed out by students numerous times. A professor also cussed me out. Those teachers are very bitter about how little they are paid and also very bitter about the cost of football. You have to remember that deficit wouldn't be near as large if we didn't have a very good basketball program. Football is a drag on the budget more than you even realize. Also the cost of a college education is astronomical and growing out of control as we speak. Now that is where there is a real problem.
Lawsuit pending PurpleOut.
Ljacks&Longnecks
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Well, I find this debate interesting...that said I can not add any facts or figures from SFA or other schools about the fees, salaries etc but I will throw out a couple of thoughts from a blue collar worker from a blue collar family...

The professors vs athletics battle has been waged since time began (or athletics began). At all colleges and universities there is always been the academics vs athletics fight. I'm sure even at UT, OU, Ohio St et al there are professors who complain about the athletic budget vs academia. This battle is nothing new.
When the athletic fee vote failed, many of my fellow sawmillers blamed the SFA faculty for the defeat. While I'm sure some faculty members did beat the drum, I feel that the real reason behind the loss was a simple case of economics...most college students and their families are financially stretched by the costs of attending school. When given the opportunity to vote down an extra college expense, many would vote no. I would argue that many students had no real idea of how an athletic fee would actually be used or of any potential benefits it would bring SFA...to the average student it was simply more money out of their pockets. It was no surprise to me that it failed....simple economics to a cash strapped college kid.

beaubrad46
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Wouldn't you also believe that the parents also told them to vote it down. When I talked to students that weren't athletes none of them wanted it to pass and believe me they were discussing it amongst each other. The cost of a college education is spiraling out of control. Teachers degrees aren't as valuable as they used to be either. Teachers all over the nation are underpaid. They are not even getting reimbursed for the expense of stocking their classrooms and for teaching tools. It is a real problem in this country. Believe me the economy is not as good as they claim it is. Wages are stagnant and tariffs are causing higher inflation and gasoline prices have risen. That little tax cut has evaporated. The jobs that are created aren't high paying jobs. I am not trying to start a political discussion but football is expensive for schools like SFA.
Lawsuit pending PurpleOut.
AxeEm99
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BigJack85,
Yes I am talking about attendance. Winning in Football is part of the equation. And a very important part of the equation. It is a big reason why Sam Houston has grown so fast in such little time.
Jacks4460
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beaubrad46 said:

The people who voted knew exactly what athletic fees are about.
When I went back to get my degree I would ask kids on campus what they tought of adding an ath fee and they could of cared less and had no information on it.. I asked kids in the library,UC,and just walking around to class. I had a Professor in the Science department talk down on the fee to our class.. A few days later i went to talk to him about his comments because I felt that I had established a good adult to adult relationship with him. He was upset that the Ath Dept was so secretive on what they do that he didnt want this to happen until people were told what these monies would be used for. So maybe more information from the Ath Department is what is needed to help sway some faculty to not talk against the fee.
beaubrad46
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I just simply believe that the students and their parents could not afford for it to pass. Once again I love football but not only is it a drag on our university, it is a huge drag on school systems everywhere. Only the truly wealthy school districts can afford it. Teachers are underpaid resultantly. Where are our priorities?
Lawsuit pending PurpleOut.
Jacks4460
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I wonder what that actual fee $$ amount would of been? I know it was tied to the credit hour taken. As an adult that had already owned a business and been in the real world, I was really impressed with my professors and how much they would help if you just asked for it.. I promise if I could start over I would of been a 4.0 student. I loved my business law/environmental regulatory professor when I went back. He challenged us everytime we had lecture.. I feel the STEM is going to help get us moving forward on the academic side.
beaubrad46
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If I remember correctly it would have raised student fees by ten dollars a semester hour. If a person took 16 hours a semester it would have raised their fees by 160 dollars. That would pay for a lot of books and meals. I'm sure that if some Homer Bryce type person would step up and cover that they would accept it and use it on athletics. Like I said before, I'm no Homer Bryce.
Lawsuit pending PurpleOut.
BigJack85
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Agreed. The STEM initiative is overdue. Specifically engineering. Even though it is only starting it has potential. The company I work for was successful in supplying much of the infrastructure. I donated some high end telecom cabinets for the one of the maker spaces. The building is first class.
Axe 'Em Jacks - Class of 85'
nacluth
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Paper today said that it will be ready and fully operational for students for the fall semester. Last time I went by I didn't think they could hit that date, but good for them.
Ryan
Kinnaird Guitars
BigJack85
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It's going to be close. I did a tour right before the ribbon cutting. Doing another next week.
Axe 'Em Jacks - Class of 85'
PurpleOut
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Staff
Looking forward to (hopefully) seeing it when we're in town for the Tarleton game.
drhuggybear
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I am hoping to get a quick peek at the STEM building when we drop our daughter off on the 24th. Not sure my wife will be up for it being that our daughter is leaving the nest.

I am glad that Conque finally resigned ... just to close the chapter out. I never want to see anyone have issues like this but having that hang over the team and the university just keeps people from moving on and it keeps people asking "what did he do?"
TallTexan
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drhuggybear said:

I am hoping to get a quick peek at the STEM building when we drop our daughter off on the 24th. Not sure my wife will be up for it being that our daughter is leaving the nest.
It's pretty centrally located within the Campus, so it shouldn't be too hard to just swing by.
OldSchool
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Not sorry to see old coach gone. Not going to use his name because in my mind it was the worse hire ever in my time around the program (20+) years. Doesn't do any good to try and explain it, my sights are aimed forward and looking forward to getting the program back on track ASAP.
Met new coach and AD at the last scrimmage and was impressed with both men. Believe both are on the same page and know it wont be easy but at least now we have some folks in place to bring our kids together and reclaim our spot in the top tier of the teams in our conference.
Not sure we have all the truly talented kids we need right now, but with the right coaches and few wins recruiting will improve and highly recruited players across Texas will give serious consideration to SFA.

Haven't been this excited about SFA football in a long time. Don't believe I'm alone .

Go Jacks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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