UNCC football dumpster fire

[Yosef84]

Personally, I think having an in-state "rival" can help App in terms of local interest, but it could certainly impact recruiting. I do think there are plenty of recruits available and until Charlotte does some building, any kid who chooses them over App is simply looking for something different....most likely immediate playing time. I don't take any delight in watching them struggle, although I do hope we dominate them completely next year in our head to head.

I can't say that I have any particular insight into what athletes look for but I do know a little bit about the age group. App can sell the campus town feel...game day experience...tradition and excellence. If a kid really wants the urban thing, we probably aren't going to get him. My gut says that, if he wants that it could be a warning signal because I think to that group "urban" means "night life" which is when most of the off field problems happen.

I do think tradition matters to most recruits, but to a kid coming out of high school tradition doesn't equal 30 years. To them, tradition is defined by the last 5 years or so. Just my opinion of course.

We just played our in-state rival.

No doubt that I would prefer that Wake or ECU become the primary in-state Rival. The arrogant ACC fans seem to resist allowing that to happen at Wake, but I see a few who are open to the idea. ECU was "above" us also for a while, but they are eating some crow right now. Charlotte has a long ways to go before they can be considered a football rival...which was the reason for the quotes.

[JTApps1]

Personally, I think having an in-state "rival" can help App in terms of local interest, but it could certainly impact recruiting. I do think there are plenty of recruits available and until Charlotte does some building, any kid who chooses them over App is simply looking for something different....most likely immediate playing time. I don't take any delight in watching them struggle, although I do hope we dominate them completely next year in our head to head.

I can't say that I have any particular insight into what athletes look for but I do know a little bit about the age group. App can sell the campus town feel...game day experience...tradition and excellence. If a kid really wants the urban thing, we probably aren't going to get him. My gut says that, if he wants that it could be a warning signal because I think to that group "urban" means "night life" which is when most of the off field problems happen.

I do think tradition matters to most recruits, but to a kid coming out of high school tradition doesn't equal 30 years. To them, tradition is defined by the last 5 years or so. Just my opinion of course.

We just played our in-state rival.

Exactly. We really have two rivals in the state with Wake and ECU.

[AtlAppMan]

What is the harm in beating them while they are down? It is all in good taste.

Also, in the day, App had a reputation as a party school whether that is good or bad is in the eye of the beholder. But there is definitely something to be said about an Urban University vs. College Town environment. Some kids will have a preference over the other and you cannot control that.

[ah59396]

Personally, I think having an in-state "rival" can help App in terms of local interest, but it could certainly impact recruiting. I do think there are plenty of recruits available and until Charlotte does some building, any kid who chooses them over App is simply looking for something different....most likely immediate playing time. I don't take any delight in watching them struggle, although I do hope we dominate them completely next year in our head to head.

I can't say that I have any particular insight into what athletes look for but I do know a little bit about the age group. App can sell the campus town feel...game day experience...tradition and excellence. If a kid really wants the urban thing, we probably aren't going to get him. My gut says that, if he wants that it could be a warning signal because I think to that group "urban" means "night life" which is when most of the off field problems happen.

I do think tradition matters to most recruits, but to a kid coming out of high school tradition doesn't equal 30 years. To them, tradition is defined by the last 5 years or so. Just my opinion of course.

We just played our in-state rival.

Exactly. We really have two rivals in the state with Wake and ECU.

I hate being the voice of dissent here again, but we are not rivals with ECU and Wake. We just played Wake for the first time in nearly 2 decades and we haven't beaten ECU since the 1975. (Despite how crazy this sounds, that's 42 years ago). Hell we've only played them twice since 1980.

I'm not saying we can't rekindle a dead flame, but cmon. Do you consider NC A&T our rival? Because we've played them more than ECU or Wake in the past 20 years. A&T has even beat us.

[EastHallApp]

I don't want to be the one side that says something's a rivalry while the other side says it isn't. That's embarrassing.

We have one rival right now - Georgia Southern. My guess is we'll develop some others in the coming years, but it has to happen organically, not because we just declare someone our rival.

[ASU-FTW]

I don't want to be the one side that says something's a rivalry while the other side says it isn't. That's embarrassing.

We have one rival right now - Georgia Southern. My guess is we'll develop some others in the coming years, but it has to happen organically, not because we just declare someone our rival.

Exactly. Let's draw the comparison from Western's perceptions where they consider us to be rivals. However our fans would claim otherwise.

[Yosef84]

I don't want to be the one side that says something's a rivalry while the other side says it isn't. That's embarrassing.

We have one rival right now - Georgia Southern. My guess is we'll develop some others in the coming years, but it has to happen organically, not because we just declare someone our rival.

Exactly. Let's draw the comparison from Western's perceptions where they consider us to be rivals. However our fans would claim otherwise.

I actually agree. ECU and Wake have both looked down their noses at us. Whether justified or not, there is no mutual "rivalry." I know that everyone on here (myself included) would love to have those schools as recognized traditional rivals but that is yet to develop. Charlotte WANTS to be a rival but hasn't really achieved anything yet. Our FBS rivalries will grow. I do think that the attitudes at both ECU and Wake will evolve and hopefully legit rivalries will develop. Wake will always have an elitist attitude stemming from their academic status, but they have enough reasonable fans out there who will accept the series if it happens. That was the largest visiting contingency I've ever seen in Kidd Brewer. ECU fans are football oriented and their current struggles combined with App's success will pave the way for a rivalry attitude.

I hate that the Belt screwed up our schedule by dropping ASU and Troy because both of those are budding rivalries.

[Rekdiver]

Let's face it.....Our conference is not conducive to getting people fired up. Coastal, ODU, UNCC, ECU, Wake, Marshall ...I know i'm preaching to the choir

[bcoach]

Rivalries are not wished into existence, they evolve.

[APPdiesel]

Not playing for 18 years then having a 1 point game will go a long way to spark a rivalry. We have an open date in 2019, I hope DG has at least floated the idea at Wake's athletic director to move that game up to '19 @ Wake, 2020 in Boone and get another one tacked on the end.

[moonshine]

Not playing for 18 years then having a 1 point game will go a long way to spark a rivalry. We have an open date in 2019, I hope DG has at least floated the idea at Wake's athletic director to move that game up to '19 @ Wake, 2020 in Boone and get another one tacked on the end.

Wake's schedule is full in '19 unless they want to buy out the Leon game. The Deacons' next opening isn't until 2023 and beyond.

[AppinVA]

I think both schools can more than make up the $$$ from a FCS buyout.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

Oh, you think UNCC is your rival. But you merely adopted UNCC; I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the rivalry until I was already a winning team, by then it was nothing to me ...

[hotrod2001]

Not playing for 18 years then having a 1 point game will go a long way to spark a rivalry. We have an open date in 2019, I hope DG has at least floated the idea at Wake's athletic director to move that game up to '19 @ Wake, 2020 in Boone and get another one tacked on the end.

There's a lot of rivalries out there which have been long standing but strung out to the wayside due to politics and realignment. Wake's a rival to those old enough to remember when we would play them frequently. Look at it the same way Notre Dame and Michigan State are now. They played each other pretty much annually until the Great Realignment took place. Now the Megaphone Trophy won't be up for grabs until 2026, but they're already looking forward to that game, even if it's almost 10 years away. Whenever we play Wake it'll be a "renewed rivalry" and will be special since it won't be annually like it used to be.

[EastHallApp]

The problem with trying to make Wake a rival is that it will be tough for their fans to ever see it that way, even if we beat them, because they're in a power conference. For a game to be a rivalry, it has to be one that both sides give extra priority.

It's like ECU vs. State and Carolina - even though ECU has done well against them both recently, I don't think either of those fanbases really considers that much of a rivalry. It's a game they're embarrassed to lose, but not one they're super-excited to win.

That's the feeling I got from the Wake fans I've heard from, even the ones who understand we're a tough opponent. As long as they're playing Clemson, FSU, and even State every year, beating us isn't going to get them that excited, or at least not unless/until we reach a Boise State level of prominence.

[CVAPP]

The problem with trying to make Wake a rival is that it will be tough for their fans to ever see it that way, even if we beat them, because they're in a power conference. For a game to be a rivalry, it has to be one that both sides give extra priority.

It's like ECU vs. State and Carolina - even though ECU has done well against them both recently, I don't think either of those fanbases really considers that much of a rivalry. It's a game they're embarrassed to lose, but not one they're super-excited to win.

That's the feeling I got from the Wake fans I've heard from, even the ones who understand we're a tough opponent. As long as they're playing Clemson, FSU, and even State every year, beating us isn't going to get them that excited, or at least not unless/until we reach a Boise State level of prominence.

^^^^^^^^^This sums it up^^^^^^^^^

[AppNation85]

Although the biggest factor was perceived market, another big reason UNCC got the CUSA bid instead of us was basketball.

Not that they are anything crazy special in that but we really have nothing going in b-ball at all other than a decent facility and now a new video board.

I wish we would really focus on our basketball program as much as our football.

[Yosef84]

I think that East's point is valid but there is a difference between the UNC/NCSU vs. ECU games and the Wake vs. App games. Wake's elitism is institutional/academic but they know they are not a good football school. They look at the FSU and Clemson games just like App does....once in a while they have a long shot at pulling out an upset win. They are a doormat (usually) for the ACC. Even though UNC and NCSU really aren't significantly better and Wake actually has a more recent football championship, I think UNC and NCSU have great athletic egos. That's just a theory.

All that being said, I agree that Wake fans in general will never see App as a good win until we achieve a higher status (Boise State) by either winning more P5 games or moving to a stronger conference. CUSA wouldn't do it...maybe the AAC would.

I don't really care what the Elitists say. I love the App/Wake games and I hope they continue. For the record. I'm NOT calling ALL Wake fans elitists.....just the handful who make the ridiculous, uninformed and arrogant comments assuming superiority simply because they are the privileged few.

[hotrod2001]

Looks like Charlotte might actually get a win tonight.

[NewApp]

Looks like Charlotte might actually get a win tonight.

Who are they playing?