Ask the A.D.

Question: What year did women's basketball become a varsity sport at Tech? Terri Bradshaw
Answer:  Terri, our records indicate that women's basketball became a varsity sport in 1970-71 and had a 23-7 record that first year under Head Coach Marynell Meadors.  Hope you can make a game here at the end of the season to cheer on Coach Sytia Messer and her team as they work to win an OVC Championship!  Mark

Question: Is there going to be a women's soccer camp this summer? My daughter, Kaitlyn, visited your school and is very interested in coming there. Susan Poulakis
Answer:  Susan, thank you for your question and glad to hear that Kaitlyn likes Tennessee Tech.  Camps at Tennessee Tech are private ventures by our head coaches so I do not have a lot of information on camps.  Head Soccer Coach Daniel Brizard is going to have a women's soccer camp.  Please contact him directly at dbrizard@tntech.edu to get all the information.  Mark

Question:  Mr.Wilson, my father graduated from Tech 60 plus years ago. He has been a strong supporter of Tech Basketball for as many years. Dad has been to the ticket office on more than one occasion to discuss listening to Tech basketball games on the radio. Dad does not have a computer or any desire to get one. He listened for years and needs to listen to his Golden Eagles. Can you help? Barbara Wall
Answer:  Barbara, thanks for your question and I am sorry your father has been frustrated trying to listen to our basketball games.  Tennessee Tech Basketball games are broadcast on the Golden Eagle Sports Network by Cookeville Communications.  They can be heard locally on Newstalk 1400 The HUB which is AM 1400, Channel 7 on Charter and on free Teamline which is on the computer or on the telephone by calling 1-800-846-4700 and using the team code 0654.  We do not have an FM station as part of the network but I ask your father to call the folks at Cookeville Communications and encourage them to carry Golden Eagle Basketball games on a FM station.  Maybe this will help them decide to carry basketball on Magic 98.5 like they started doing with football a couple of years ago.  Thanks and Go Tech.  Mark

Question:  There is a group of us that would be interested in helping build support for the tennis team. Do you have suggestions for ways that we could help or other suggestions? Tina Francis
Answer:  Tina, our teams always welcome financial support and fan support.  Thank you for your generous offer to assist!  Please contact Head Tennis Coach Kenny Doyle at 931-854-0569 and/or Grant Swallows, Associate AD for Development, at 931-372-3929 since they would be the appropriate folks for you to work directly with.  Thanks again and Go Tech!  Mark

Question: I can't stand waiting till next year to hear about Tennessee Tech Football.  I was thinking why don't we do like other colleges and have a page of who we're trying to recruit, if we're getting any new transfers and just stuff that may happen in the 2011 season.  I am so tried of just sitting around waiting till national signing day, going well i wonder who we're recruiting.Devin
Answer:  Devin, this is a good question.  NCAA rules prohibit Tennessee Tech Athletics, our coaches and/or staff from commenting or publically stating any information regarding the recruitment of student-athletes.  This is the same for other institutions and some fans have pages regarding recruiting as do many of the recruiting analysts but Tennessee Tech has great pride in following NCAA rules so will not be commenting or posting information regarding prospective student-athletes.  Mark

Question: Just wondering, you mentioned a facilities master plan in a previous question. What are some of the upgrades that are on that list at the moment? Thanks.
Answer:  Ben, thank you for your question.  The original Tennessee Tech Athletics Facilities Plan was adopted by the University in November of 2005 and updated in late 2009.  The new Athletic Performance Center that we are just getting ready to open, the basketball office complex, improvements to Tucker Stadium including the field/track, broadcast quality lighting, and all the general improvements have been part of this plan.  After we open the APC, the next big projects are a Student-Athlete Center that would new space for athletic academic services, sports medicine, locker rooms, coaches offices, etc., a new tennis complex that will feature 6 indoor courts and 12 outdoor courts and continued improvements to the soccer complex including game quality lighting.  It will take a significant amount to determine a course of action on all these projects since they will be primarily donor funded and we need to secure finanacial gifts to be able to move the projects forward.  Thanks for your interest and if you are interested in making a gift please contact Grant Swallows at 931-372-3929.  Mark

Question: Who was the men's basketball coach in 1951-52? Thanks. Rick
Answer:  Rick, Raymond "Bull" Brown was the Tennessee Tech Head Coach during the 1951-52 season.  Mark

Question:  Our family enjoyed the "Church Bulletin Sunday" game a couple weeks ago. Do you have any more planned like that. I'd like for everyone at my church to know about it. Sarah
Answer:  Sarah, I'm pleased that your family took advantage of that special event, and hope you can do so again - we will host the second "Church Bulletin Sunday" at our doubleheader on Sunday, Jan. 2. The women's team will play St. Louis at 2 p.m. and the men's team host Bluefield at 4 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets (limit of four) for one dollar each just by presenting a church bulletin. See you at Eblen Center!  Mark

Question:  As a student at Tech, I would like to know why the school has wrestling mats and wrestling area but no desire to start a program for men's or women's wrestling above club levels? Jack Gallagher
Answer:  Jack, the Tennessee Tech Intercollegiate Athletics Department does not have any wrestling mats or a wrestling area so I am unsure of your reference.  EXPW, intramurals and/or campus recreation may have the area you describe for teaching and general student use.  At the present time, Tennessee Tech sponsors 14 varsity sports that compete at the NCAA Division I level and have no plans to expand our sports offerings.  Actually, we suspended two of our sports last fiscal year to be able to absorb budget cuts in general fund support like have been taken by every other unit on campus.  Thanks for your question.  Mark

Question: Not a question, just a statement.  I am sure not many schools get this kind of letter after a losing football season.  But, I would like to congratulate Coach Brown and the team for a fine year.  Coach Brown has done alot to build the name of Tech with the tough schedules he has put together. I feel the football program is on the right track to be a great program.  Rick - Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Answer:  Rick, thanks for your comment.  Coach Brown is doing a wonderful job leading our program and I think we have a wonderful opportunity to win Ohio Valley Conference championships in the next few years!  We have had tough non-conference schedules but we believe they have helped prepare our student-athletes for OVC games and has brought tremendous exposure for Tennessee Tech and our community.  Mark

Question:  This is about the football program. I was thinking instead of loading up on big FBS schools next year that we should aim for some smaller FBS teams like (Memphis, Tulane, Bowling Green, South Alabama, etc.).  I think we have a realistic chance of beating some of those teams instead of playing ranked SEC teams. Devin
Answer:  Devin,  Tennessee Tech plays FBS opponents primarily for the financial guarantee and then for the student-athlete experience along with exposure for our program and university.  The financial gain for our program and department is significantly improved by playing teams with bigger stadiums that quite frankly offer more money.  Next year the Golden Eagles will open the season at Iowa and that is the only FBS opponent that we plan on competing against in 2011.  Thanks for your question and Go Tech!  Mark

Question: With Cookeville now the site of the TSSAA playoffs and also with the creation of the new sports authority, has there been any discussion on building a new football stadium?  Corey
Answer:  Corey, thank you for your question and we are very proud of the partnership that Tennessee Tech Athletics, Tennessee Tech University, the City of Cookeville, Putnam County, the chamber of commerce and our Highlands partners have formed to host the football championships.  We had a very successful second year and are looking forward to the next two years.  Tennessee Tech Athletics has a facilities master plan which includes additional improvements to Tucker Stadium but not a complete new stadium.  This has not been discussed in regards to the sports authority but certainly could when the sports authority becomes fully functional.  See you soon!  Mark

Question:  Why can't the two basketball teams not play one home game a year against a bigger school? With UT/MTSU close, could we not do a home and home or something with them? I know it costs money, but the attendance would be worth the price. Josh
Answer:  Josh, our coaches and administration work to schedule home games against bigger schools but quite frankly an SEC, Big 10 or ACC opponent are not coming to Cookeville for a game.  They make way to much money playing at home and they consider it a risk to play on the road.  We continually talk to Middle Tennessee and we have not been able to make our schedules work to play in men's basketball but we play every year in women's basketball.  Scheduling for schools like Tennessee Tech is very difficult and there are not many games left to schedule after we play our OVC schedule.  Sometimes two schools want to play but they just can't find the dates that match with both schedules.  See you at the games and Go Tech!  Mark