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re: What moron decided that Tulane should leave the SEC in 1966?
Posted on 10/27/11 at 9:16 am to Purplehaze
Posted on 10/27/11 at 9:16 am to Purplehaze
quote:
I was a junior in high school then and as I recall, it was a combination of professor revolt for more emphasis on academics, the procession of losing seasons, and the desire to be associated with the great so called intellectual type of university. The largest reason was the realization that since the demise of single platoon football where players played offense and defense, you would need to recruit more athletes.
The biggest reason was that the other SEC schools started spending more and more money on their football programs and coaches. The mid 60s was the real beginning of the hippie generation and the violence on the field wasn't favorably viewed upon by the "educated elite".
Tulane thought of themselves as the "Harvard of the South" and they shouldn't try to increase spending that was needed to stay competitive with the big boys in the conference. The professors at the university seized the opportunity to gather student support to down-size the athletic program and redirect money to academics. Last, but not least, Tulane thought they had a national following and that they could survive as an independent...which they did for a few years.
This post was edited on 10/27/11 at 9:19 am
Posted on 10/27/11 at 9:31 am to adono
quote:
Tulane thought they had a national following and that they could survive as an independent...which they did for a few years.
I doubt this was true, before they left the SEC, their attendance sucked, I remember them playing on Friday nights to try to find a crowd. They couldn't win in the SEC for the last decade and they went independent to get an easier schedule.
No meaningful TV coverage in the era meant a national following was meaningless even if they had one, and they didn't.
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