So last night I left Dallas to enjoy a 4 day weekend and right before shutting down for the week, I got a text message and it read, “Check out the Commerce Journal website, it has a great article about Ryan Ivey.” So I did, and I enjoyed what I read. Every single bit of it. Here are some snippets in italics that I found the best and most exciting.-
Last year, the A&M-Commerce football team played four home games. Ivey said he wants to increase that number, along with the number in the win column.
“I want to have six home games this year,” he said. “We didn’t come here not to win.”
I love this. Ivey is saying, look, we are a top name program that is going to take our rightful spot back at the top. If this includes 5 games at Memorial Stadium plus the Harvey Martin game at Cowboys stadium, sign me up. Its all in North Texas and all within an hour of me and most Lion alums. He also put a premium on winning, I would say way to go, but that comes with the territory. So there you are. Handshakes out, fist pumps in.
According to Ivey, people who would like to keep the status quo for the A&M-Commerce athletic department are in for a rude awakening. “I’m going to push you like you’ve never been pushed,” he said. “If you don’t like that, then we’re probably not going to be the best of friends.”
All I can say is put that in your pipe and smoke it. Goodbye and good riddance to the mossbacks who want the lack of excitement in Commerce, which has been gone for over 10 years now, to stay that way, and Ivey says, not going to happen. The best part is when he lines out the fact he is here to win and turn this athletic department around and he is not out to make friends, he is saying I will do whatever it takes, and I a mean whatever it takes within the paramaters of legal, ethical and moral to ensure A&MC athletics is back at the top.
Getting more funding to make additions to the athletic department is something Ivey said he will be looking for. “We are revamping our fundraising campaign and our athletic organization,” he said, adding that he would like to see the athletic department have an updated workout facility and training room as well as an academic enhancement room for players to study together. Ivey also said he would like to see an expanded football locker room and football stadium, and an upgrade to the Field House in the near future.
YES! YES! YES! YES! This is what I want to hear, but I want the action behind it. Ivey is bascially saying from what I can decipher is ” The guy before me did some good things and got the ball rolling facilities wise, but I am going to finish and one up what he started.” We do need a new training room, it is adequate in size, but if you want players to come here, you need improvements. Knowing those are coming will get fans and players fired up, and good gosh do we ever need something to make the Fieldhouse a more attractive venue, despite its current improvements.
Ivey stressed cooperation between the city and university, and guaranteed he would bring results. “We have an opportunity to make a difference in A&M-Commerce and Commerce,” he said. “But we have to do this together. I know we’re going to do it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.” Ever since the university’s club baseball team stopped playing five years ago, alumni and students have expressed interest in a baseball/softball team. “I have an idea that folks want to have a softball and baseball team brought here,” Ivey said, adding that he would like to see a baseball and softball team in the next three to five years.
Again, this guy is hitting on all cylinders. We want the town to embrace the school, and teams and the student athletes, and not just the alums that live in Commerece. The community and school relations have improved drastically, so the fact he is going to Lions club meetings and getting active in the community is just going to help that cause.
Now, as far as Baseball and Softball, we already have the facilities, and we had a club team for each, but with the lack of support from the school, the programs folded. Should we make an NCAA sanctioned sport for us, that would be great, plus think of what revenue you could draw for hosting playoff baseball games in Commerce and the same with softball, but right now, as every school in the Conference is gearing up for Baseball and Softball except us, and this area is a VERY fertile recruting ground for College Baseball and Softball. He did not address the tennis programs, which I wish he would have.
Here is the link to the entire article-http://commercejournal.com/sports/x766087725/Ivey-s-next-frontier
Go Lions…….
Brian
While I think baseball and softball would be good adds to help increase exposure, I don’t think now is the time. Fix the sports they currently have first and get them heading in the right direction, then think about adding others. Plus would take some serious funding to add both. Guessing they’ll go with softball first, then baseball a few years after that.
I do agree that the main focus should be on the sports that we have now, we should good in EVERYTHING we have first, and then keep the excitement going by adding baseball and softball. We also need Tennis back. We are very tradition rich in that sport.
Go Lions……
Brian