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Did you guys see this?

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This was an article someone posted on the Sun Belt Message Board. I'm not an FAU fan and I find it annoying, I can only imagine how you guys feel about it.

Here's the link to the board:

http://www.tribalgrounds.com/belt/board_entry.php?id=7944&page=0&category=all&order=last_answer&descasc=DESC

and the article:


There Really Is A FAU

Woodling: FAU? Wait, who?
By Chuck Woodling, Sports Editor

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Yes, Kansas University football fans, there really is a Florida Atlantic University.


Every time someone asks me about the Jayhawks' football opener this fall and I tell them the game will be against Florida Atlantic, I receive the same sardonic look. They think I'm kidding.

"Florida Atlantic??? Who's their archrival? Florida Pacific?"

Yuk, yuk. Actually, FAU's natural geographic rival is Florida International.

"Not Florida National?"

No, not Florida National. Or Florida Intercontinental. Or Tallahassee Tech. Or Florida Western. Or Everglades A&M.

Nobody takes Florida Atlantic seriously because the school is only four years old, and I suspect that's exactly what Owls' coach Howard Schnellenberger is counting on as the suburban Miami university makes its NCAA Div. I-A debut this fall as a football-playing member of the Sun Belt Conference.

(Can you name all 10 of the Sun Belt Conference schools with football programs? Of course you can't. You might be able to name nine, but you would never guess Utah State. That's right. Utah State – a school about as close to the Sun Belt as Florida Atlantic is to the Asteroid Belt).

Kansas, it should be pointed out, is not the only major school participating in FAU's initial sojourn into the college football firmament. The Owls also will meet Oklahoma State, Minnesota and Louisville this autumn. And, believe or not, the Oklahoma State game will not be in Stillwater, Okla. The Cowboys will be flying to Miami for a Thursday night ESPN2 game against the Owls in Dolphins Stadium.

That meeting, incidentally, will occur only five days after FAU plays the Jayhawks in Lawrence, so it would appear the Cowpokes are hoping the certain sauna-like September night in South Florida will sap the team with the shortest rest.

Then again, the OSU hierarchy has to be worried about a repeat of last season when Missouri went on the road to Troy and suffered a stunning defeat in a Thursday night game on ESPN2. Troy is a member of – you guessed it – the Sun Belt Conference.

Anyway, there is no turning back for Florida Atlantic.

"This is the beginning of a great journey into the I-A ranks," FAU athletic director Craig Angelos said, sounding a little bit like a latter-day Lewis or Clark when the school's football schedule was announced.

And how about the ageless Schnellenberger? The former head coach at Oklahoma, Miami and Louisville didn't sound like a wise old Owl when he called the ability to schedule the four nonconference games "a stroke of God-sent luck."

Still, I think it's safe to say KU officials didn't agree to play Florida Atlantic because of what they heard on a burning bush outside Parrott Complex. Kansas must have jumped at the opportunity. KU makes no apologies – and shouldn't have to – for seeking potential puff pastries to balance its annual steak-and-lobster Big 12 Conference schedule.

Florida Atlantic fashioned an impressive 9-3 record in 2004 against mostly low-rent competition. But Schnellenberger lost the bulk of his starters among 26 departed seniors, and few coaches relish opening on the road with an inexperienced team. That's what Schnellenberger will have to do on Labor Day Weekend right here in River City.

What else do we know about Florida Atlantic? You probably know that former KU aide Matt Doherty has been hired as the Owls' head basketball coach and that former KU guard Rex Walters will be one of his assistants. FAU will compete for the Atlantic Sun Conference basketball title next winter before joining the Sun Belt for the first time in 2006-2007.

Another FAU coach with a Kansas tie is Courtney Hawkins, a talented hurdler in the late '80s on Mount Oread who is now a track aide at the fledgling university.

So now you know there really is a Florida Atlantic. No more sardonic looks, please.

And finally, his e-mail address:

[email protected]

Tear him a new one ;D

Panthers on the Rise
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Did you guys see this?

Please, do NOT pay attention to this guy Woodling's garbage. You would think, being a sports columnist for the Lawrence newspaper, Woodling would be biased for the Hawks. WRONG! He loves to take shots at the KU football program, whenever and wherever he can. He drools over the basketball program, but slights Mangino and his boys, even when we've done something good. He sux! I once read that he has ties to Missouri - like a journalism degree or something. Don't feel slighted, this guy is a real boob!
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Did you guys see this?

We have a couple of them in this area, so trust me we know exactly what you are talking about. Thanks for the heads up.
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Did you guys see this?

Did you guys see this?

Thanks MaxX bu no thanks. I surf a lot of boards and people have a lot of negative things to say about FAU/FIU and the SunBelt.

I also found that It's a losing battle to even respond to someone else's biased opinions. Just like the two reporters here with the Sentinel and PBPress.
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Did you guys see this?

I think what this writer had to say was much more tame than some of the things our friends at the PB Post/Sentinel have to say about our program. We have been getting "dogged" by bigger programs since our inception. It's nothing new, and it's harmless. I'm sure the fans in Hawaii were saying F-A-WHO this time last year. ;D
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Did you guys see this?

I hate it when people write s*** about stuff they don't know about. If this is guy is a writer, i feel sorry for him, he needs to do some fact checking. The school is not four years old, more like 40 years old. And i don't really call Boca a suburb of Miami. Boca and Miami couldnt be more opposite and they are 45 miles and 2 counties apart. This guy gives us no credit, he fails to mention that we made the division 1-aa semifinals in 03, and that we went on the road and beat Tommy Chang and Hawaii last yr.. I'm sure a hell of a lot of people in the country who know something about football have heard about FAU. I know for sure that all the KU football players and coaches are aware of what we've accomplished and would give us credit. He is basically calling our football program a joke.
I'm not saying we are going to beat KU but i'll think we give a good showing and prove we are worthy of being a 1-A. I can't wait to send this guy an email when we play them and see what his response is after the game, I think he'll respect us then. No point in sending him an email now, this guy is an idiot.
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Did you guys see this?


NoInsideGame said

I hate it when people write s*** about stuff they don't know about. If this is guy is a writer, i feel sorry for him, he needs to do some fact checking. The school is not four years old, more like 40 years old. And i don't really call Boca a suburb of Miami. Boca and Miami couldnt be more opposite and they are 45 miles and 2 counties apart. This guy gives us no credit, he fails to mention that we made the division 1-aa semifinals in 03, and that we went on the road and beat Tommy Chang and Hawaii last yr.. I'm sure a hell of a lot of people in the country who know something about football have heard about FAU. I know for sure that all the KU football players and coaches are aware of what we've accomplished and would give us credit. He is basically calling our football program a joke.
I'm not saying we are going to beat KU but i'll think we give a good showing and prove we are worthy of being a 1-A. I can't wait to send this guy an email when we play them and see what his response is after the game, I think he'll respect us then. No point in sending him an email now, this guy is an idiot.

This is what I meant about this article, this guy seems like he doesn't have a clue, so many inaccuracies in this article that it's almost insulting.

Panthers on the Rise
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Did you guys see this?

If you go to the article on line you will see there is a contact link for this guy above the article. It is his email address. I already sent him a message correcting the mistake he made about FAU's age and his comment about a fledging university (he did not say fledgling football team). I let him know that FAU's 26000 enrollment is right there with KU's 29000 and that projections are FAU will be in the 30's within a few years.

I don't know if we will win or not. Although no one expeted FAU to beat Hawaii. IF we don't get blown out and can make the score close we will gain alot of credibility.

FAU - THE REAL SLEEPING GIANT
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Did you guys see this?

FA-who , what a bit hack that is so old already , then again this guy is a hack.
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Did you guys see this?

Like I said, Woodling is a joke. I don't know why he has been kept around the Journal World for so long - most every KU fan dislikes his columns - KU football fans for sure. We've got others who write for the Kansas City Star who really know how to get people fired up… in a bad way!
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