Yeah, I know this was initially going to be a blog about baseball, but seeing that I'm a San Diego native, I LOVE ALL SAN DIEGO SPORTS TEAMS! TOTALLY NOT A BANDWAGON FAN AT ALL, OR ANYTHING.
So I'm gonna write about them, at least just this one time.
I'm also a student at SDSU, who just happen to be playing the biggest game in program history this Saturday at Cal.
With that said, here are three easy steps that whoever replaces outgoing Athletic Director Jim Sterk can implement to turn SDSU into a premier athletic department! (it almost seems silly to type that, but, like whatever, man. My article, after all...)
1. GET OUT OF THE MOUNTAIN WEST AND INTO A POWER 5 CONFERENCE
****THIS IS THE MOST ESSENTIAL PART OF THE PLAN.*****
I don't care which conference it is. No need to be picky. We just need to get out of the MW. Far, far, far away.
The potential of SDSU’s athletic department is forever capped in a group-of-five conference like the Mountain West. Being in a premier conference will lead to significantly increased TV revenue and success against premier competition will increase program prestige and improve recruiting.
Recent rumors had linked SDSU with the Big 12, but apparently, State isn't on the shortlist for Big 12 expansion at the moment. An obvious geographic fit would be the Pac-12, but it wouldn't be a stretch to think that UCLA and USC would balk at the Aztecs siphoning off their TV dollars and recruits, and unlike the University of Hawaii, SDSU represents neither a lucrative nor particularly new demographic for the conference.
Long story short: right now, there isn't a clear or easy road to a Power Five conference.
BUT IT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
No pressure.
2. BUILD A FOOTBALL STADIUM ON CAMPUS
Qualcomm Stadium sucks.
If you've been frozen in carbonite since the sixties, this will shock you.
But for the rest of us, this isn't even an subjective opinion anymore. It's objective fact.
The Q is simply too big to be filled on a weekly basis and its age is showing, leading to a poor game atmosphere. I mean, have you seen photos of the games? It's like, a third full.
There are also trashcans in the stadium that still say "PROPERTY OF SAN DIEGO STADIUM". It hasn't been San Diego Stadium since 1980.
It's way too far away for most students to consistently attend games, who have to break open their wallets for an expensive trolley ticket- compounding this problem is the fact that most students are just set on only attending the Pike tailgate and going home (I hear that's quite a fun time, they're top house, after all. But I digress), skipping the game entirely.
What SDSU needs is a new, smaller stadium located on campus. One people can walk to. One that only holds about 35,000 people. One that'll improve the game day atmosphere and increase ticket demand when big-name teams come to town.
The future of a new stadium for SDSU football will become clearer once Prop C is decided on, but even then, a new Aztec stadium isn't feasible in the short term. Nevertheless, a new stadium is absolutely essential to the long term future and vision of this athletic program. If SDSU is able to acquire the land Qualcomm Stadium currently occupies, it could even radically change the entire University.
3. IMPROVE LOCAL RECRUITING
San Diego is a hotbed for amateur sports talent- but many top local high school athletes commit to schools from Power Five conferences.
SDSU could significantly boost the profile of their program if they can successfully recruit local prep talent that would otherwise sign with schools like UCLA, Oregon, Texas, and Oklahoma.
Remember Ricky Williams, the eccentric Dolphins running back? Williams played high school football at local Patrick Henry High School, and was recruited heavily by SDSU.
Williams was sent on attending State..... until one day, he suddenly wasn't- instead committing to the University of Texas. Just like that, SDSU lost out on a future Heisman Trophy winner who could've brought SDSU to national prominence and would've seamlessly succeeded the greatest player in program history, Marshall Faulk.
San Diego State would've became Running Back U. Instead, Aztec football floated in mediocracy for the next decade and-a-half.
One guy can indeed change the entire direction of a program. After all, you only need to ask Steve Fisher about what that quiet kid from Riverside with no jump shot and cornrows did for the basketball program.
If history is any indication, the Kawhi or Marshall could be a kid playing at a local high school right this very moment. Give him a call, State.
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