Pastner dropping TN from Schedule.

Memphis coach Josh Pastner confirmed to Memphis media today that he will be dropping UT from his schedule and replacing with Boise St and San Diego St.

If Cuonzo still wants to get in front of the of the Memphis kids, I hope they work something out to maybe play the annual tilt with Ole Miss in Memphis or play in some type of doubleheader like we have played in Nashville before.

 

pastner is a [ussy pay]

 

Memphis never should have been playing UT. Cal had it right. There's nothing at all in it for them. UT needs to see if the FEF will book them versus somebody like Georgetown, Kansas, or Ohio State.

 

Memphis has always needed to convince themselves they are vastly better than UT and cancelling the series has been the focal point of trying to establish this point. Memphis not "needing" the game has always been a cop out reason to me. It's been a great rivalry game and that's the allure. The Tigers just don't want their impression of being the "superior" program ruffled in any way.

 

Who is it a great rivalry to? There may have been four games in the history of the series that were remotely meaningful and that's being generous. Use that spot in the schedule to rotate national programs.

 

It's a lot of fun for Vol fans in West Tennessee. I hate to see it go.

 

Maybe four games were nationally meaningful, yes, but that doesn't mean it was a good rivalry. The animosity from the Bluff City, among other reasons, was enough to make the game a worthwhile event, and we've no had any trouble fitting in solid non-conference games outside of Memphis as it is. The idea of losing to Tennessee and putting their air of superiority on the line every year is most definitely the motivation for calls to end this series by Tiger fans.

 

Who gives a damn what the motives of fans are? Cal pretty much called for the series to end, or be played annually in Nashville, from the day he was hired. Do you think he was really concerned about losing to Jerry Green with regularity? He saw it for what it was. A series that was of zero benefit to Memphis basketball. The Memphis-Arkansas rivalry was ten times better than UT-UM and there was no real gnashing of teeth when the plug was pulled on it.

 

This wouldn't really bother me all that much. Hopefully we can start taking kids out of Memphis regularly and then the game really won't matter to us.

 

Yes, replacing UT with Boise State and San Diego State certainly provides a greater benefit to the Memphis program.

It's a good rivalry game and I wish they would keep it because it's entertaining. Marquette and Wisconsin playing each year provides little benefit to each other, but it's played and entertaining.

 

San Diego State has been in the Top 20 most of the last two seasons and will be for the forseeable future. Those games will be on national televison. I'm also pretty sure Pastner won't have to worry about Fisher using the road game as a West Tennessee pep rally for Aztec basketball.

I'd much rather see UT playing the Ohio States and Georgetowns of the world on a rotating basis.

 

Funny, I remember playing Ohio State and Georgetown in the same seasons as we played Memphis. It's not some impossible task with 12 OOC games.

SDSU has certainly established themselves as a decent program, but the Tennessee games have typically been on national TV and the Aztecs aren't a TV draw, certainly not as muchs as the Vols. As far as the pep rally, it certainly hasn't done us much good in recruiting Memphis, nor does playing in Memphis every two years do shit as far as recruiting.

 

Then why should Tennessee or its fans give the first damn about playing Memphis? There are plenty of top shelf programs that are closer to Knoxville than Memphis. Start an annual series with one of them. I'm amazed that people act as if losing a series with a program that would actually make Josh Pastner its head coach is something to be bothered about.

 

I'm not crying about it, but I do wish it would continue. It was fun, you have to admit. Georgetown and Ohio State are great games, but where are we going to get that visceral hatred going that we get from the Memphis folk?

 

Having lived in Memphis the past three seasons, it has definitely been a fun rivalry and I'll personally hate to see it go. The vast majority of Memphis basketball fans have such a sense of superiority, it's great to have been able to beat their ass the majority of my time here. I agree with Unimane that I don't really see the argument that scheduling Memphis would eliminate some other high quality matchup. It sure didn't stop us from playing some great competition the last 7 years.

 

As long as it's called that and Fred Smith is alive, I'll bet you a dinner anywhere in the city of Knoxville it won't happen. He won't allow it.

 

IIRC, the UTAD used the football series as leverage to keep the series alive. I'm wondering what has changed about that.

 

Big East money

 

Yup. It's been fun.

 

Well, might be a little more difficult for UT to get a lot of exposure in the Memphis area now.