Whatever happened the LT's "Cigar Boys"?

[Rutherford B Hays]

* Are they sitting on their money and hoping that "LT willrise again?"
* Have they realized that LT was a screwup and they on board with Strickland?
* Are they trying the manipulate Strickland into become "their boy" on turn him into an LT?

Does anyone have any insight?
Iguess I could emailGene and ask him since he was the persistent apologist for the Cigar boys and LT.

 

[FreeDawg]

Great question

 

[DAWG101]

with there hard earned money just like they have done years before.Who do thinkpaid most of the money for the football facility? Who do you think gave most of the money for the basketball facility? Who do you think gave money to have Croom's contract bought out along with all the other coaches? Why do you think we are able to pay Mullen as much as we do?

 

[EmoryBellard]

[No message]

 

[DAWG101]

nm

 

[coach66]

Cohen, just my opinion. They all go way back with Stans and are pretty good friends with him so you can understand their dilemma.

 

[Dawgbreeze]

I will guarantee you that most of the people on this board spouting off all the time don't give 1/100 of those guys. I also know that most of the funds raised for the practice facility were raised by Wesley Reed and Stans. If that bothers you, so be it, it isn't going to change and not one person on this board including me has the influence those guys have and fortunately, they see a bigger picture than most of you.

 

[jacksdawgs]

*

 

[rem101]

if i could do that, maybe i could finally get that gto i've always wanted.

 

[jcbully]

Do I do the right thing? Do I do what is in the best interest of my "company"? Or do I appease the 1%'ers? The big money guys, that for the most part, don't want to lose their "access" and "status" inside the program or still think that this is the best we can ever expect at Mississippi State and how dare we suspect otherwise. It's the old school approach that came with Templeton. We are poor ol' MSU and shouldn't set higher expectations and we should know our place. I wish we could get some big money guys that thought progressively and bought in to what Strick and Mullen and Cohen are selling. Maybe one day.

 

[Porkchop.sixpack]

Who are they? I think most people who think there is this small group of folks who significantly influence MSU athletics are just a bunch of conspiracy theorists. There is no group of "cigar boys" formally or informally. The list of large donors ebbs and flows, changing sometimes more than at others. And most of them give because they have some sort of passion for athletics or want to produce a certain outcome or see something get done. And they just don't seek to influence the process, for the most part.

This "cigar boys" stuff is just a bunch of hogwash for the most part.

 

[coach66]

more access to our programs over the years due to their giving. It isn't much of a factor with Mullen or Cohen since they don't subscribe to<div>the old school concept as much but believe me it is alive and well in the basketball program.</div><div>
</div><div>I appreciate what the Cigar boys have done and I try to give as much as I can as well which we should all do if we want our University to be</div><div>successful. It does take money.</div>

 

[DAWG101]

They didnt get rich from backing a looser. If stricklin fires Stansbury or any other coach, you can bet that he has the backing of them.

 

[jcbully]

It's not that they necessarily want to lose. It's just that they enjoy their spot within the program. They will accept the mediocrity in place just so that they get what they want which is access and tickets and a better priority and so on. It's an entitlement that they have. They give more money than most so they think they deserve more stuff than most.

 

[Rutherford B Hays]

Geno pinned a letter from one of the CB's defending their role and denying any special favors from LT in athletic department spending toward their businesses.

 

[thatsbaseball]

nm

 

[thatsbaseball]

nm

 

[Hanmudog]

It's not that they necessarily want to lose. It's just that they enjoy their spot within the program. They will accept the mediocrity in place just so that they get what they want which is access and tickets and a better priority and so on. It's an entitlement that they have. They give more money than most so they think they deserve more stuff than most.

If I gave millions to MSU you better believe I would want some perks. I have no problem with this. We can piss and moan about the "cigar boys" but we sure enjoy those jumbotrons and nice digs that we have now.

 

[AROB44]

<font color="#ff0000">They give more money than most so they think they deserve more stuff than most.

</font><font color="#000000">Sort of like capitalism, isn't it? I don't have a problem with it, do you?</font>

 

[jcbully]

I'm not a socialist or any of that ****, and don't want to turn this in to a political debate, but isn't giving the wealthy preferential treatment sort of a big reason why our economy and country is in the ******* at the moment.

Whenever decisions that are made on high are influenced more heavily by one group with an agenda over what's good for the entire population, then it's probably going to be bad for the whole group.

If Stricklin does what's best for the University, the program, and for the fans as a whole then he should probably can Stans(if we miss the tourney, of course). It's gonna piss some high up people off, and might even cost us some donation money in the short term, but in the long term, it's the right move.

 

[coach66]

are in because we had the noble idea of providing a house for people who had no business owning a house. The government basically forced the banks to lend to unworthy<div>applicants and threatened them with litigation if they did not do it. Wall Street saw an opportunity to leverage up on the financial engineering that was going on to provide these</div><div>so called sub prime loans and the rest his history. Bail out city!</div><div>
</div><div>The theory was that home ownership would transform unproductive members of society into productive, tax paying, law abiding citizens. Sadly it did not.</div><div>
</div><div>The laws of nature can not be defied.</div><div>
</div><div>
</div>

 

[DAWG101]

The point of Stricklin having to go against the money people if he wanted to fire stans. Who the hell do you think is mad they havnt made the tournament. Answer: the Money people. They want to go to bowls, tournament games, college world series etc..... So they can brag to there ole miss buddies at said coffee shop. Maybe Im too dumb or too smart, but I dont think the money guys are keeping us from winning</p>

 

[mjh94]

i know a so-called "cigar boy," and while he has entry into non-public/media practices, knows the coaches, sits in on game film sessions just for kicks, etc... he has no influence whatsoever on hiring/firing a coach. i'm sure he gives opinions, but i'm not sure that it's actually taken into consideration... maybe.

now, his father was a "LT cigar boy".... i think that set of "cigar boys" had a different position within our athletic department. that has kind of gone away with the new regimeS that have been in office since.

 

[coach66]

family. There is also a strong belief among this faction that Rick has been very good for MSU basketball overall and he deserves every<div>opportunity to turn things around. They will go out of their way to make sure Rick has every opportunity to right the ship, that is just the</div><div>way they feel about it.</div><div>
</div><div>They have memories of Kermit Davis, Ron Greene, Jim Hatfield, and Bob Boyd and in their book Rick is way above those guys, just putting it in perspective.</div>

 

[jcbully]

I'm not saying they don't want to win as much as everyone else does. They do. You're exactly right. They like to be able to stick their chests out like everyone else. But, the difference is, they have much larger egos when it comes to their "place" within the program. People that become that successful in business/life usually have a larger than life ego to drag around with them. Most of the LT crew stuff has faded over time with a new regime, but guess who has been around for 14 years and has the supporters with big wallets and influence? Stansbury. He survived an AD change, and things are pretty much the status quo within his inner circle of boosters. I don't want to come off as a conspiracy theorist here, because these sort of things happen with a tenured coach at every major University. Why do you think it's going to be so hard to get rid of Mack Brown at Texas? Because of his presence and relationships with very influential boosters.

Do I think these "Cigar Boys" will directly have a say in the decision to fire Stans or not? No, but their willingness to give down the road and their support on major projects will indirectly factor in Stricklin's decision. It has to. My point is simply that in the long run, he has to take that risk in order to do what's best for the program. If we hire someone else and have some success, those guys will come crawling back to give money, support because they'll miss their "status" and perks and just being intricately involved in a high-level basketball program.

 

[coach66]

consensus as much as possible. You are also generalizing about the cigar boys. I happened to know one on the bigger cigar boys and I would describe him as one hell of<div>a good guy and for a guy with his cash a very humble person. Don't hate on success, it is what built this country and what will make it great again.</div>

 

[ColMuldrow]

You're only partially correct about the cause of the problem. The Fed's insistence on keeping interest rates at ridiculously low levels throughout the early and mid-2000's to "spur" growth was a big contributor. The access to credit led to more lending and the ability to sell the debt to third-parties created the "boutique" business of lenders searching and seeking out low income individuals whom they could get qualified for a loan.<div>
</div><div>So in other words, the "noble" idea of putting individuals undeserving of home ownership in a home was a result of the FED keeping interest rates at ridiculously low rates for in combination with lenders (many of them fly-by-night shops) who took advantage of the easy access to credit and were able to operate with little to no oversight from the federal government. </div><div>
</div><div>I won't get into the Wall Street end of things and the complete failure of the rating agencies to properly evaluate or even understand the risk of the CDOs that were being traded and contained billions of dollars of the bad debts that were pushed on low-income individuals by lenders. </div><div>
</div><div>Lock it up.</div><div>
</div>

 

[coach66]

to deal with Volker type interest rates to solve a problem like we did with inflation in the early 80's. I know inflation isn't the issue right now but you have to<div>think it is coming sooner than later. Easy credit did lead to alot of financial engineering and Wall Street did take full advantage. How the jails are not full is</div><div>still a mystery to me.</div>

 

[jcbully]

Not gonna go down the list of every one of them that I know. I'm speaking about their view as a majority. I know many of them that are very very much inside his circle. Yes, they are good people and humble people. I'm not trying to say this group is "bad people". They're absolutely not. But what you said earlier referencing their historical view on the program is exactly right. They don't want things to go back that way, and are so afraid of it that they are willing to hold on to Rick and support him no matter what happens. They will settle for this mediocrity just so they don't have to see us go back down. That's their view, and it's a scared one that frankly, I'm sick of. We seemed to do alright hiring Mullen and Cohen. Why couldn't we be successful with hiring a basketball coach? We have shown that we give great support for a team that plays hard and with effort. We pay well. We are in a good conference. We have a good building with a GREAT new practice facility.

I'm not hating on their success, I'm just being real. Their success and the ego it takes to get that success and stay there is what is causing them to fight off progressiveness within our basketball program. I know this sounds hard to believe, but some people would rather have things done their way and under their "control" and be mediocre than have things done without them and be successful. It's just part of the dynamic.

 

[coach66]

nm

 

[Porkchop.sixpack]

nfym

 

[OxpatchReb]

And the I and the E are on opposite sides of the keyboard, so it wasn't a typo.

 

[00Dawg]

He means pinned. As in Genepinned itto the top of the message board.

 

[RobbieRandolph]

.

 

[dawgstudent]

[No message]

 

[Barkman Turner Overdrive]

In the future, you may want to think before you type something stupid.