UNCC sees recruiting boost

[Gonzo]

I hope my grandsons don't pick ASU. or any other school for that matter, based on the number of bars in close proximity.
Also, if my grandkids choose a commuter type school, I don't care as long as they get a quality education that leads to a quality, well paying career.

I want my kids/grandkids to be successful while having an amazing experience. That's why I'll be lobbying for them to attend Appalachian. Bar proximity was just one of a laundry list of things that build a college culture.

[NWA49]

I don't argue versus the perception - it was something that was there for many years. It is one of those things that take awhile to shake. When I graduated in 95 the commuter nature of the school was already shifting and is far less true today than it was 20 years ago and football will be yet another piece of shifting that. With that said we will never be like App because that isn't the mission of the school. We are serving a large metro area which by it's nature and by the mission of the school leads to more people living off campus. Again I wont argue the safety school and academic stuff. I got into Charlotte, UNCG, UNCW, App and State. I picked Charlotte for very specific reasons. I won't try to speak for or assume I know the motivation of other students.

I'm sure the culture has improved over time from when you were an undergraduate, but you have to understand that compared to schools like App State and UNC-Ch ect, it is still very much a commuter school atmosphere.

Look at the Boone/King Street area now-a-days. There are ~12 college bars within an 8-minute walk of campus. There are stores everywhere selling App State gear. Kids don't go home on the weekends at ASU, they stay in town. There is a bustle, a cohesiveness about the whole area. Students go massive house parties with multiple kegs.

Things like this happen at App State.

At UNCC, kids might be staying on campus more and supporting athletics more, and that's great, but there is NOTHING in the way of a college atmosphere at that campus. No college bars near campus at all (Franchises do not count so please don't embarrass yourself by listing off TGI Fridays ect), no stores selling gear, nothing beyond a campus apartment shindig as far as that goes. It just isn't the same. The atmosphere is still that of a trade school. UNCC students have to drive 15-20 minutes downtown to have a night out. (Like I said, I'm from Charlotte, had several friends in school over at UNCC, and have experienced it first hand pretty recently as I graduated from App in 2011.)

I think NC State, as an "urban school" would be a good model for you guys to follow. They are not located in the downtown area of Raleigh just like Charlotte (although they are closer), so kids still have to grab a taxi to hit the scene down there. State also has the Hillsboro street area, an area with everything a college atmosphere implies. They have the best of both worlds. With UNCC expanding so rapidly, and if the light rail/football team really does change the culture, you guys could really become something special if you did something like that.

As far as the current culture of UNCC though, it is still very much a commuter school.

Wow - A nice reasonable sensible post from Gonzo! I knew you had it in you!

Charlotte will most likely never have that type of atmosphere. Being bordered by why is effectively two highways really makes it difficult for us to have the main street type of atmosphere found at App or NCSU. I would even argue that even if we did try it now it might be too late in the game because of well developed areas of Charlotte that people and students flock to - downtown, NoDa, Montford and others. The school administration could have and should have done a much better job being leaders in the community while all the area was being developed. Instead they sat on their hands. Most Charlotte people wish that we had done a better job working with developers. At this point though I am not sure what can be done - the light rail running to campus will both help and harm in this regard. More students will be walking around campus, but it will enable everyone around to hop on a train and hit up NoDa, downtown and south charlotte. I am anxious to see how it plays out as I am really not sure what to expect.

Part of what has driven Charlotte's growth is it's location with plenty of land to develop, but the positive is also a negative in terms of what is around campus. Really the thing is that the majority of our student population lives within close proximity of the school, but you are most likely going to have to get in a car to drive somewhere on the weekends so why stick around campus when you can hit those other areas. I suspect that football will help to some degree because business may spring up when they see the number of potential customers walking around. It will be interesting for sure. I have wanted to open a bar across 29 for years now, but not sure I want to dump the capital in some a venture. It may be symantics but the term commuter school is what I bristle at - while we do have students who live at home for various reason, most of the students live in off campus apartments so while they do commute to school in a sense they are not what the image that word creates.

In the end we will probably never see eye to eye on this. I went to Charlotte specifically to get away from a small town atmosphere, away from a tight community and away from a town where everything was walkable. It was one of the HUGE reasons I chose Charlotte over App. When I visited my mom kept talking about how "Boone is just like home, you will love this!". I would classify my experience as amazing just as you would classify yours amazing. In the end each school offers a different experience and neither is better - they are just different. I have a daughter and if she decides to go to App I would support her 100% because Boone is a beautiful place and App is a solid school. If she goes to Charlotte I would love it, as she would be living and exploring a large city and my alma mater. The only school that I will actively campaign against is Chapel Hill. Im going to tell her only whores go to Chapel Hill

[NWA49]

I don't care as long as they get a quality education that leads to a quality, well paying career.

In the end this is all that matters. College is about getting a solid education to set you up for the rest of your life. All the other stuff bantered about is just window dressing. The older I get and now being a parent the more I understand this.

[appst89]

I don't care as long as they get a quality education that leads to a quality, well paying career.

In the end this is all that matters. College is about getting a solid education to set you up for the rest of your life. All the other stuff bantered about is just window dressing. The older I get and now being a parent the more I understand this.

One can get a good education just about anywhere if they want it. To me, and as I get older I believe it even more strongly, it's all the other stuff that makes college a memorable experience. The people I met and the things I experienced were far more important in shaping me as a person than anything I got from a textbook or in a classroom. That's not to discount the importance of the classroom, but I could have gotten that at a hundred different places. It was all the other stuff that made ASU and Boone special. When my son gets ready to go to college, my advice to him is going to be find the place that calls to you, the place that feels special because that's what's going to make your college experience special.

[NWA49]

I don't care as long as they get a quality education that leads to a quality, well paying career.

In the end this is all that matters. College is about getting a solid education to set you up for the rest of your life. All the other stuff bantered about is just window dressing. The older I get and now being a parent the more I understand this.

One can get a good education just about anywhere if they want it. To me, and as I get older I believe it even more strongly, it's all the other stuff that makes college a memorable experience. The people I met and the things I experienced were far more important in shaping me as a person than anything I got from a textbook or in a classroom. That's not to discount the importance of the classroom, but I could have gotten that at a hundred different places. It was all the other stuff that made ASU and Boone special. When my son gets ready to go to college, my advice to him is going to be find the place that calls to you, the place that feels special because that's what's going to make your college experience special.

Also true - and true in life. The people you meet and the places you go have a huge impact on the person you become. My main point was you can find those experiences with out going to college - so college's main goal is education, but to your point when you find that special place for you, wherever it is, you can find both. Great point!

[cbarrier90]

Don't know how much this pertains to this thread, but Charlotte just scheduled a single filler-game with NC State.

So...who ya pullin' for?

[RankinApp]

So...who ya pullin' for?

A meteor.

[NWA49]

So...who ya pullin' for?

A meteor.

Same thing I pull for at every Duke/Chapel Hill game.

[AppinVA]

Don't know how much this pertains to this thread, but Charlotte just scheduled a single filler-game with NC State.

So...who ya pullin' for?

As much as I'd like to say screw it, go Niners, we need NC State to win to help our RPI. I will laugh if they play the game in worse conditions than Sunday's non- game.

[NWA49]

As for being ignorant - I have researched the App basketball numbers so I wouldn't say I was off base there. I also have been in Boone plenty and was going to games there before some of you set foot on campus in Boone.

So you know how to use Google and you have an outdated perception of Appalachian. I defer to your infinite wisdom in all things App State.

I don't have the hate for App that you guys have for Charlotte. I was simply here to counter some of the things being said about Charlotte and in the process have met a few folks here that are logical and great fans to engage with.

I'm just curious, because I've never been there, does Niner Nation have a lot of App State fans going there to "counter" things said about App State, or to "set the record straight?" We've seen an influx of UNCC posters lately on the MMB. I'm just curious what caused you, and others, to feel you need to defend UNCC on the App State board to anonymous people?

With that said, now that you're here, I hope you stick around and enjoy posting here. Most of us are quality guys/gals, and all of us are passionate for App State. Many of us have a chip on our shoulder regarding our alma mater, and we like it that way.

There are a few that show up from time to time. Most are pretty open to dialogue. We also don't have many threads that bring App up at all (at least not in the thread title), so there isn't much there that would get an App fan thinking I need to register. We have a few posters that have gone to both schools, but they don't post much. I don't like to troll boards so I rarely venture off of NNN, but since I have so many friends that are App alums and my wife grew up in Boone I probably pay more attention to what is happening up there than most NNN folks. Someone posted a link to this thread on NNN and said to check out what you guys were saying/thinking about us. I thought seems like some reasonable people so lets give it a go. Most NNN people just laughed and let it go.

I am sure that if we started playing you guys again in basketball or maybe someday football there would be far more crossover.

Plus if I can get some of you to go heckle my App alum friends that are App football fans and Chapel Hill basketball fans it would make my day!

[ASUMountaineer]

As for being ignorant - I have researched the App basketball numbers so I wouldn't say I was off base there. I also have been in Boone plenty and was going to games there before some of you set foot on campus in Boone.

So you know how to use Google and you have an outdated perception of Appalachian. I defer to your infinite wisdom in all things App State.

I don't have the hate for App that you guys have for Charlotte. I was simply here to counter some of the things being said about Charlotte and in the process have met a few folks here that are logical and great fans to engage with.

I'm just curious, because I've never been there, does Niner Nation have a lot of App State fans going there to "counter" things said about App State, or to "set the record straight?" We've seen an influx of UNCC posters lately on the MMB. I'm just curious what caused you, and others, to feel you need to defend UNCC on the App State board to anonymous people?

With that said, now that you're here, I hope you stick around and enjoy posting here. Most of us are quality guys/gals, and all of us are passionate for App State. Many of us have a chip on our shoulder regarding our alma mater, and we like it that way.

There are a few that show up from time to time. Most are pretty open to dialogue. We also don't have many threads that bring App up at all (at least not in the thread title), so there isn't much there that would get an App fan thinking I need to register. We have a few posters that have gone to both schools, but they don't post much. I don't like to troll boards so I rarely venture off of NNN, but since I have so many friends that are App alums and my wife grew up in Boone I probably pay more attention to what is happening up there than most NNN folks. Someone posted a link to this thread on NNN and said to check out what you guys were saying/thinking about us. I thought seems like some reasonable people so lets give it a go. Most NNN people just laughed and let it go.

I am sure that if we started playing you guys again in basketball or maybe someday football there would be far more crossover.

Plus if I can get some of you to go heckle my App alum friends that are App football fans and Chapel Hill basketball fans it would make my day!

Thanks.

I live in Charlotte, so feel free to name names and I'll see what I can do!

[Gonzo]

I have UNCc alum friends that support UNC basketball. Whoopty F***ing Doo!

[NWA49]

I have UNCc alum friends that support UNC basketball. Whoopty F***ing Doo!

Do me a favor and give them hell - even more so if they have Charlotte FSLs or Charlotte basketball season tickets.

[moonshine]

Don't know how much this pertains to this thread, but Charlotte just scheduled a single filler-game with NC State.

So...who ya pullin' for?

Even though a NCSU win can help App, screw the Wolfpeckers for canceling the last 2 games of the series due to whatever inclement excuse they want to give. If that wine n cheese crowd that resides down on the hill can play, the mangy Pack have no leg to stand on. Go Niners, pound those COWards!

[Gonzo]

Cee got destroyed by the Wolf Sacks. I'm sure Niner Nation still thinks their baseball program is head and shoulders above App State though....

[ASU-FTW]

Well if this thread is STILL going, I might as well contribute:

http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/UNCC.html

This backs up some of the smack about UNCC....OUCH! 62% of participants would choose not to return to UNCC. There are probably plenty out of the 115 negative reviews in there about it being a commuter school. I found a few without much effort.

Challenge: Try to find a school with a worse would/would not return percentage

[Gonzo]

Hate to revive this thread, but this is a must-see. (1:25)