If the (TCY) Solecismic 8 Conference Really Existed, in Alaska.....

[MylesKnight]

If a full Division I-A Football Conference began from stratch in the great state of Alaska, how would this league (or some of the teams within this league) eventually become competitive with the rest of the college football landscape?

What seems to happen in TCY is that the teams that compete at the top of the conference (the top 2 teams in my old Dynasty) in the first couple of seasons seem to automatically build upon this success and eventually get to the point (within 8-10 seasons in my estimation) where they compete with the top programs in the country. The rest of the league is pretty much god awful for the rest of time.

Early on, the only wins teams in this league get are in conference play.. For instance, in the first season in the Great Frontier Conference (S-8 Alaska Conference) in my old TCY Dynasty, the conference went 0-28 in OOC play. In the second year, the league went 1-27... Slowly things got a bit better for a couple of teams, but overall the league was by far the weakest in the country in a Dynasty that lasted nearly 25 seasons.

Now, going back to the original question, how would any of these schools become nationally competitive? Keep in mind the lack of population in a state with what would be a total of eight Divison I-A Programs, the lack of any sort of football tradition whatsoever, the lack of proven academic integrity at any of these schools (all would be brand new universities, created from state oil $$$ for the sake of argument), not to mention the cold weather and unique situation with sunlight or lack there of at certain times of the year.

Would this in fact be the toughest coaching job in America?

Even in TCY, if these facts were inserted into the game more thoroughly, would it be possible to ever do much at the helm of any of these programs? You talk about a challenging college football sim.. and this from a guy who in nearly 25 seasons at UCF, didn't make the Playoffs one cotton-pickin' time.



PS: This is an actual ON-TOPIC post here at the FOFC-General Discussion Board. Should I get a special mark for this?

[Ben E Lou]

I can think of ten reasons off the top of my head why they'd never, ever, ever be competitive in real life.

1. No recruiting base anywhere nearby.
2. No recruiting base anywhere nearby.
3. No recruiting base anywhere nearby.
4. No recruiting base anywhere nearby.
5. No recruiting base anywhere nearby.
6. No recruiting base anywhere nearby.
7. No recruiting base anywhere nearby.
8. No recruiting base anywhere nearby.
9. No recruiting base anywhere nearby.
10. Too cold during football season to attract enough black players.

[stevew]

The only pro athletes I can even recall from Alaska are Carlos Boozer and formerly Trajan Langdon.

[MylesKnight]

If this were the case in TCY, how many times do you imagine you'd use the Bribe button while recruiting? May make for a very expensive football team.

[Poli]

IIRC, EA placed one of Tennessee's linebackers (#58 James Turner) as from Alaska. In reality, he's from Arkansas.

[scooper]

Skydog summed it up. I would add difficulty in scheduling due to travel issues, as well.

In the real world, it would be impossible for even one D1 program in Alaska, much less 8 to divide up what little talent is available.

[scooper]

Originally Posted by MylesKnight

If this were the case in TCY, how many times do you imagine you'd use the Bribe button while recruiting? May make for a very expensive football team.

The black gold should cover it.

[MylesKnight]

I should've thrown this thread out there in a different way.

What about in regards to TCY? How would you attack this job? I'm interested in some answers from some of the many experienced TCY'ers at FOFC as well.

I just find this interesting for whatever reason.


Funny comments so far guys.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by MylesKnight

I should've thrown this thread out there in a different way.

What about in regards to TCY? How would you attack this job? I'm interested in some answers from some of the many experienced TCY'ers at FOFC as well.

I've done sims where I put the Sol 8 in Alaska (I usually put it in Texas or Louisiana) and had to take a job there after getting canned elsewhere. My main strategy was to get out as soon as possible: get a modest improvement in performance and take the first mainland job that comes my way...

[scooper]

Years and years ago, I played as an Alaskan Sol 8 team. As I'm sure many others have. It happened pretty much as you described above. Sure, the talent in Alaska was close to non-existant, but I only had to out recruit the other Sol 8 teams. I got enough cannon fodder out of Alaska, Washington and Oregon to field a team slightly better over the first few seasons than the rest of the league.

As you know, winning even a weak league a few times can work wonders for your prestige. I never got to national title contender status, but pretty much ran the Sol 8 and competed very well against middle of the road BCS schools.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by MylesKnight

What about in regards to TCY? How would you attack this job?

You mean if, say, I were trying to do it as quickly as possible no-holds-barred? I don't think it would be that difficult, given TCY's recruiting model.

1. Recruit only players with SAT's of around 1300 or better.
2. Bribe ALL of the good ones (who are smart) you target for the first 2-3 seasons, 'cause you ain't going to a Bowl then anyway using this method. It'll get you enough talent to win the SC8 hands down within 3-5 years.
3. Continue to pump up your academic rating by only going after smart guys.
4. Recruit REALLY smart walk-ons (SAT>1500) to get that GPA up.
5. Somewhere in the 7-10 year range, you ought to have your academics high enough to land enough Acad* guys to compete on a national level.

Academics are greatly imbalanced in TCY. If you're going all-out, you can build any team to Top 5 status just by focusing on academics.

[MylesKnight]

SkyDog, I meant the question this way..

Succeeding at a Alaska Sole-8 School in TCY with these issues inserted into the game more thoroughly..

Keep in mind the lack of population in a state with what would be a total of eight Divison I-A Programs, the lack of any sort of football tradition whatsoever, the lack of proven academic integrity at any of these schools (all would be brand new universities, created from state oil $$$ for the sake of argument), not to mention the cold weather and unique situation with sunlight or lack there of at certain times of the year.

If recruits placed more emphasis on these things in the game, how would you go about creating a successful program? This could very well be the toughest College Football Game ever created.

You are right on about academic integrity carrying waayyyy too much weight in TCY.

In my old dynasty, Stanford dominated the Pac-10, Rice & SMU did so in the WAC, Northwestern was always up there in the Big 10, Tulane in CUSA, the AFA in the MWC, Vandy was competitive in the SEC (they even won the East a couple of times), and Notre Dame & Navy were consistent Top 15 programs as well. Each of these programs were playoff participants nearly every season.

It was good to see that Duke still sucked though. 2-9, 1-10, 2-9, 0-11, 1-10, 2-9, etc..

[scooper]

Does bribing really make much of a difference? I can probably count on one hand the times I've tried it. If you use it frequently, how often do you get caught.

Man, I have got to load TCY onto my new PC. Haven't actually played in over a year, but some of these new posts (along with a couple dynasties) have re-piqued my interest in the game.

[MylesKnight]

It's the season Scooper. Fall is here and the time is perfect for College Football.

[scooper]

That must be it.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by scooper

Does bribing really make much of a difference? I can probably count on one hand the times I've tried it. If you use it frequently, how often do you get caught.

I'm not sure how much it helps, but I'd almost classify it as a cheat when you're playing wiht a school that you KNOW isn't making a Bowl for the next couple of years. You only get one year of probation for getting caught, if I recall. I *always* play with a no-bribing-until-I've-made-the-postseason house rule.

[Honolulu Blue]

In real life, a D-1A school would be a huge challenge for all of the reasons mentioned. But I wouldn't underestimate how much of an influence that some lucky combination of (1) money, (2) superior coaching, (3) fantastic recruiting, and (4) pure luck can achieve.

In TCY I would imagine it to be a lot easier. Recruits are randomly distributed, so you'll get a few quality ones by sheer chance. And don't forget those guys that crave negative distance. Alaska is about as far from any place in the continental U.S. as anywhere.

[MylesKnight]

SD, I never actually tried the Bribe "Option", so please correct me if I'm wrong here.. Wasn't the recruiting ability of a school found placed on probation completely nullified for a couple of seasons thereafter?

I remember the one school that was caught cheating in my Dynasty receiving very low recruiting rankings for the season in which they were on probation and for the year or two after that as well.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by MylesKnight

SD, I never actually tried the Bribe "Option", so please correct me if I'm wrong here.. Wasn't the recruiting ability of a school found placed on probation completely nullified for a couple of seasons thereafter?

I remember the one school that was caught cheating in my Dynasty receiving very low recruiting rankings for the season in which they were on probation and for the year or two after that as well.

It has been a lonnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg time since I've used it, so I can't help you there. Heck, it could have been changed a bit in a patch or update, for all I know. I'm thinking I stopped using it within the first couple of months of owning the game, once I realized that the penalty wasn't severe enough for bottom feeders.

[scooper]

It would be nice if probation would have a sizable impact on prestige.

[Fighter of Foo]

Originally Posted by scooper

Skydog summed it up. I would add difficulty in scheduling due to travel issues, as well.

In the real world, it would be impossible for even one D1 program in Alaska, much less 8 to divide up what little talent is available.

There are two D1 hockey programs in Alaska (Fairbanks and Anchorage) and they seem to manage just fine.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Fighter of Foo

There are two D1 hockey programs in Alaska (Fairbanks and Anchorage) and they seem to manage just fine.

See my comment on poor recruiting base and black players in Alaska. Neither apply in hockey.

[scooper]

Originally Posted by Fighter of Foo

There are two D1 hockey programs in Alaska (Fairbanks and Anchorage) and they seem to manage just fine.

1. Hockey is an indoor game which is most popular in the north, especially Canada. It's not a stretch to say relatively speaking, the talent pool for hockey in Alaska is deeper than for football.

2. It takes a lot more players to field a successful football team than hockey team, which relates back to my first point.

[st.cronin]

Neither Alaskan hockey team has ever been competitive, either.

[Young Drachma]

If you had the right size budget to pull it off...it could be done in football. I mean, you'd play in a domed stadium right off the bat, it'd be in the largest city in the state and you could probably attract/recruit Canadian players from BC who wanted some D-1A love to say, offset the lack of a major U.S. city nearby.

It wouldn't be easy, no, but...I don't think it'd be impossible. It'd be a matter of having the resources, really. They'd have to play as an independent, but if they had the money to burst onto the scene and compete, it'd be doable.

[WSUCougar]

It would be kinda cool to hear the NFL players announcing their alma mater as THE Alaska State University.

[Fighter of Foo]

I was referring to the travel budget, not the relative suckiness.

[MylesKnight]

D.C., I hear your argument about the possibility of one program working out in Alaska, but what about eight?

That's 85 scholarships x 8 schools = 680 players, plus walk-on's.. Wow!

[Poli]

My favorite fictional school is Northeastern Alaska State University.

Go fighting Eskimos!

[M GO BLUE!!!]

I think the one positive in recruiting would be the same positive in increasing the population... recruit criminals! There are five cops in the state, and they really don't care if you're on the run as long as you don't go messing up anything!

The only negative I see is that a certain school in Columbus would have more difficulty recruiting.

[MylesKnight]

Honolulu Blue, you make a good point about the "Negative Distance" aspect some recruits in TCY look for (I forgot about this one).

Wouldn't you think a guy that wanted to be as far away from his hometown as possible would very possibly have some skeletons in the closet as well? Attitude problem? Prima Donna?

Dark Cloud, I enjoyed your comments about a Alaska D-1A Team.. I'm sure a Alaska team would get the benefit of a extra game each season (a la Hawaii) to offset travel costs as well.. I don't think as many teams would line up for that trip as do for one to the islands to face the Rainbow Warriors.. Alaska in late November/early December? It could work though, with a roster of I'd say around 50% Canadians.

[Honolulu Blue]

Originally Posted by MylesKnight

Wouldn't you think a guy that wanted to be as far away from his hometown as possible would very possibly have some skeletons in the closet as well? Attitude problem? Prima Donna?

Well, likely yes to all of the above. But judging by the reports of college football athletes over the past few years, what would be new?

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by MylesKnight

D.C., I hear your argument about the possibility of one program working out in Alaska, but what about eight?

That's 85 scholarships x 8 schools = 680 players, plus walk-on's.. Wow!

Yeah I realized it afterwards. 8 wouldn't work, that'd be nuts. So I get the premise and having the Sol 8 in Alaska wouldn't work in real life.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by MylesKnight

Dark Cloud, I enjoyed your comments about a Alaska D-1A Team.. I'm sure a Alaska team would get the benefit of a extra game each season (a la Hawaii) to offset travel costs as well.. I don't think as many teams would line up for that trip as do for one to the islands to face the Rainbow Warriors.. Alaska in late November/early December? It could work though, with a roster of I'd say around 50% Canadians.

Actually, with the domed stadium and then, making more of their late season games as ones on the road...it would work okay. I think they'd just have to bunch up the home games for earlier in the season and perhaps, they could host a bowl game there too (Midnight Sun Bowl) to bring in extra cash.

In my NCAA dynasty that I decided to do that was inspired by this thread, I've assumed the school is a private one..flush with oil cash and an college President who will be a Texan and who is hellbent on getting the university to the top of the BCS rankings and is willing to spend cash to get those athletes there and yet, it's a 5-star academic school.

We're at 3-stars now...and recruiting is still quite difficult. I've done my best work from California and I can manage a few Canadians and I bet in real life, I could get more of the latter, than even the former.

Hawaii is our rival and we play them at the end of the season each year. But the only way I think it would work is to be sure to keep them as an independent. If they joined a conference, they'd cease to be relevant, because the team would have to try to win and get adopted as "America's" team, as weird as they might be. But with a cool logo and a national TV deal (a la Notre Dame) it would be interesting to imagine.