I am proud to announce that the city of San Marcos was named in BusinessWeek as one of the best places to raise your kids. BusinessWeek noted, “San Marcos, located in Central Texas between San Antonio and Austin, is home to Texas State University-San Marcos. For residents, the university provides plenty of cultural opportunities and the San Marcos River and parkland allow for a variety of outdoor recreation.”

I am also proud to announce one of our favorite shopping destinations, Prime Outlets, in partnership with the City of San Marcos, was honored with an award recently. The Silver 2010 U.S. Shopping Center MAXI Award for Marketing Achievement was given for its innovative Prime Outlets – San Marcos CVB Partnership program in the national competition’s Alternative Revenue category. The award ceremony, hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), was held in Chicago March 3. The U.S. Shopping Center MAXI Awards is considered the professional retail industry’s most prestigious honor for marketing excellence. The group recognized the outlet center and the city for its matching funds initiative, designed to help increase regional tourism to the area along with city revenue. I am also pleased to report that as a result of this joint effort, shopping traffic to the center increased nearly nine percent which also benefited San Marcos with a more favorable sales tax contribution despite the economic downturn.

The Texas Municipal League has awarded the City of San Marcos the “Municipal Excellence Award in Management Innovations” for cities of more than 25,000 in population in honor of our “Achieving Community Together” campaign. ACT focuses on common values, missions and goals and has developed a problem-solving model to identify issues and seek solutions. This historic effort marks the first time major parties have come together on a large scale to promote positive relations between student and non-student residents through education, community connectedness and resources. Since its formation, ACT has rapidly evolved to a large scale ongoing program with a long term impact.

With all of the wonderful things happening in San Marcos, you’ll be pleased to know we have room for you. The City of San Marcos is currently accepting applications for the Texas Neighborhood Stabilization Homebuyer Program. The City received funding to purchase three foreclosed homes, make repairs, and sell the homes to three income-eligible households. If you are eligible, the city will be able to offer you a 30-year, no-interest loan and closing cost assistance! The loans will be made by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and require only a $500 down-payment by the homebuyer. This program has maximum income limits based on an estimate of the household’s total income for the next twelve months. Income from all sources for all adults who will live in the home is counted to determine the household income. The income maximum is based on the number of people who will live in the house, as follows:

People In Household Maximum Income
1 $25,650
2 $29,300
3 $33,000
4 $36,650
5 $39,600
6 $42,500
7 $45,450
8 or more $48,400

A credit score of 620 or higher is preferred. If you would like more information about this program contact City Hall or visit the City of San Marcos website.

The City of San Marcos Public Services Department has implemented two new programs to encourage energy efficiency. Through the Energy Efficient Heating/AC Rebate Program, City of San Marcos residential electric utility customers may receive rebates for making upgrades to their heating/ac systems. Rebates are offered for the following: Replacing central heat/AC systems with efficient models, adding attic/wall insulation, sealing duct systems, installing radiant barrier and installing programmable thermostats. City of San Marcos residents may also receive rebates for upgrading their home appliances to efficient models. Rebates are available for upgrading refrigerators, dishwashers, clothes washers, hot water heaters, and window AC units.

Both programs require the homeowner to have a free City Energy Audit prior to making any improvements.

In closing, I want to thank all Bobcats, citizens and the businesses listed at the end of this column for their support of our Haiti relief fundraiser entitled “Dine Out San Marcos.” Through this fundraiser San Marcos raised around $5,000 for the Clinton/Bush Haiti Fund. Once again, we thank you.

Remember, the eyes of Texas are not upon you, they look up to you because Bobcats are the stars of Texas!
www.dineoutsanmarcos.com

Participating Businesses:
Tres Hermanas Restaurant & Cantina, Texas Roadhouse, Woody’s Barbeque, Fuschak’s Pit Barbeque, Chili’s Grill & Bar, Grin’s, Cafe on The Square, San Marcos, River Pub & Grill, Root Cellar Cafe and Subway San Marcos Texas

Thank you for reading.

Chris Jones
City Council Place 4

Another incentive deal has been hovering under the radar; at $610,000, it is not especially glamorous. However, it is unique in that this is the first economic development incentive tied to revitalization rather than job creation. It has received a fair amount of criticism, having passed only on a 4-3 vote. This project will be the second major urban residential project in the downtown area, placing about 257 new residential units in downtown. Some have questioned whether this project would have been built on its own without assistance. I must admit that I have trouble understanding how $610,000 could make/break a nearly $29 million project, but real estate finance is a mess right now and the developer may have gotten surprised by a lender requirement for increased capitalization. I know this took out the initial developer of the project two years ago, so the developer may be on target with his request. Some folks are simply philosophically opposed to multifamily incentives. Regardless, I am actually supportive of this incentive for several reasons:

• It will replace the derelict Balcones Apartments with a new project more consistent with the type of urban development appropriate for the downtown/west campus area, increasing the property value by about 2.5 times.
• The project includes reconstruction of all of the surrounding roads, which are all currently in poor condition with significant drainage issues, including extension of bicycle facilities.
• The project includes enhanced streetscape/sidewalks and underground utilities that will compliment efforts San Marcos is undertaking elsewhere in the downtown area, saving the city capital costs down the road.
• The project ‘recycles’ land—the cost to redevelop a piece of property is significantly higher than purchasing unimproved property further from downtown, but it reduces sprawl.
• The project puts the students where they SHOULD be, near the university. So much of the traffic problem in San Marcos comes from off-campus student housing being located so far from the campus.
• This will be the first LEED-certified (green building standard) multifamily or commercial building in San Marcos.
• The project is well-designed, reflecting the principles of new urbanist development.
• The ground level portions of the building are designed to convert to commercial space with demand.
• The project adds 257 residential units to the downtown area, which helps increase the vitality of downtown
• The project is the first major private development proposed in downtown expected to break ground that meets a substantial number of the Downtown Master Plan’s recommendations.

In my opinion, the city is trading a small sum–$ 610,000—for millions of dollars invested in a project to make it vastly superior to San Marcos’ minimum codes and the existing development.  While it is indeed possible that this project would have occurred without help, enacting these incentives sends a clear message to the private development sector that San Marcos means business when it comes to enhancing the downtown and expecting higher-quality development. The best part is, the project has good performance measures between the incentive agreement and the Planned Development District regulations it has to operate under.

Before I go, I need to address a comment I received via email. Apparently some think that I’m not as impartial as I say regarding local politicians. The truth is, I’m pretty equal opportunity and that opportunity to ding ‘the other side’ just simply hasn’t come up on a topic that I think is interesting to write about (until today). In particular, someone asked whether I was targeting Mayor Narvaiz. The simple answer to that is no. In fact, Mayor Narvaiz and I get along quite well and had a positive working relationship. Sure, I have some policy disagreements with her and don’t always like her approach, just like I do with every one of the Council members. Narvaiz certainly earns a bit of criticism, but a lot of that comes from her having mastered the ‘bully pulpit’ of the mayor’s office. There’s a reason she became the Chair of the Capital Area Council of Government Board of Directors. This certainly isn’t an endorsement of her, nor is it an endorsement of any other member of the Council.

The next topic for this blog will probably discuss either the Austin Community College District or the economic impact of college sports on the local economy in light of ‘The Drive.’

Chance Sparks

chance@bobcatfans.com

The progress made to date basically equates to a new football stadium addition with the Fields’ name on it (rightfully so), along with suites for TXST management and existing advertisers.  It is my understanding that the recent stadium addition is only a small portion of what will be needed to bring the stadium within FBS compliance, so where will the additional funding be generated?

It was announced during the recent UT vs. Alabama national championship football game that the President of Texas Tech University was in attendance to observe coaches for recruitment purposes. What a fantastic message of support and solidarity. TXST’s President absolutely must make continual statements of affirmation and generate the funding necessary to support the move to FBS. Without this type of leadership, attaining the FBS goal will fail.

There is a steady murmur of discontent regarding TXST athletics. “The Drive” campaign is essentially a lost cause. I have previously stated my objections concerning “The Drive” campaign. In the past year, what specific advancements have occurred to achieve the goal of moving to FBS? What momentum has been gained?

There have been recent comments questioning Coach Wright. In my opinion, questioning Coach Wright is simply a deflection of where blame should squarely be placed – on TXST’s Athletics Director. If there is one thing I’ve learned in life, it is that you can not just sit back in your recliner and wait for magic to happen. It takes hard work, personal comittment, grit, dogged determination, and someone who knows how to make it happen. Everyone I talk to is sick of excuses, so where is the accountability? Whether Coach Wright is the best man for the job cannot be established without TXST’s administration fully supporting the program. Regardless, he obviously cares about the program and has the desire to succeed. Who can deny he has the competitive spirit TXST needs?

It has been a little over a year since I have written a column for BobcatFans Magazine. I decided to give TXST’s leadership a chance to make some progress toward the move to FBS. I wrote the following list of TXST shortcomings over a year ago and in reviewing it was struck again by how little has been achieved.

• Not recruiting leadership qualified to advance athletic programs beyond their present status.
• Not having a results-based system of accountability.
• Not recognizing the importance of athletic programs in attracting top quality educators, athletes, students, and in portraying an image of excellence.
• Very limited detailed information regarding TXST iniatives is made available to the public.
• Not adopting best practices that other universities employ that are proven to be successful.
• Having numerous athletic programs and not supporting them in the manner other successful universities do.
• Not hiring a professional marketing agency.
• Not advertising outside of the San Marcos area.
• Not having radio station broadcasts of athletic events outside of the San Marcos area.
• Not having TXST-licensed promotional items available in major metropolitan areas.
• Removing the TXST name from the football uniforms.

Inaction is an action in itself!

David Eyre

loyal2youtsu@yahoo.com

I would like to acknowledge Mr. Steve Thompson of Dallas, Texas for writing his Texas State University – San Marcos Athletic Manifesto and his related petition drive.  You can review Steve’s manifesto at the following website: http://www.petitiononline.com/78666TSU/petition.html

The Deal: Basically, the City would provide a $2.5M zero-interest loan to Triple Tap Ventures, conditioned upon them opening and operating an Alamo Drafthouse Theater at Springtown Mall for the duration of the incentives. But the devil is in the details. The draft deal states “the increase above 2009 taxes in the City’s sales tax and ad valorem tax revenue generated from (”Tax Repayment”) from and after the Effective Date will be applied to offset the Loan Amount.”

Allow me to translate: Triple Tap will receive a loan that will not be repaid by their profits or capital reserves—it will be repaid through taxes that the City would have been getting. Triple Tap is left with little financial obligation and no real risk. Plus, these incentives are to an end-user that will hold a lease, not the actual property owner. This is counter to best practices in using economic development incentives for retail users that do not have fee-simple ownership. And apparently these incentives to Triple Tap will allow Lamy-Springtown, LTD to build a beautiful mixed use urban center (that we have not even seen concept drawings of, so I call BS).

So this is a loan, paid back through local taxes and leaving Triple Tap with no financial risk, that will help a property owner already in default (apparently the property owner, Lamy-Springtown LTD has a hot date with the Courthouse steps and a bankruptcy lawyer). Ask yourself this: Would you loan money to anyone that you know is already in default and likely to file bankruptcy? Would you loan money to anyone that says they have a fanciful vision, but doesn’t even have a concept plan/sketch or business plan for how to do it, and the deal doesn’t include any strings to make sure it happens? You would have to be an idiot to sign-up for this, and apparently Lamy and Triple Tap think they have found their idiot(s). If I were Triple Tap though, I’d be worried. At the 2/16/2010 meeting, I watched new Councilman Ryan Thomason vote with Bose and Thomaides to deny incentives for another project (based on voting patterns, Jones would have likely voted against but had to recuse himself). Many predicted he would march blindly to the drum of a certain constituency. Perhaps Thomason really is going to back up his rhetoric about being conservative with economic incentives with action. If so, he is about to prove an awful lot of his naysayers and skeptics wrong.

Strange Circumstances at City Hall: A commenter on the Newstreamz website perhaps said it best, “I am really getting tired of government by ambush from the City of San Marcos.” This time, the City teetered dangerously close to violating the Texas Open Meetings Act. In fact, I would argue they violated the intent of the Act, considering that this was posted as an addendum on a holiday weekend with few people around. The City Secretary’s Office is highly professional–I doubt seriously that this really was an error on their part (perhaps information was not supplied in a timely manner to them).

Ambush has been an ongoing characteristic of economic development incentive proposals involving Springtown Mall, which go back nearly 18 months to the first meetings the city had about the project. This lack of transparency stinks to high heaven and is an absolute disgrace. By my estimate, this is the fourth iteration of an incentive proposal, and the first going directly to an end-user rather than the property owner. That alone would raise flags with me if I was sitting on the dais.

Help! Help! My Hair is on Fire: That 18 months is important. Why? Because the sudden placement of this item on the agenda was justified, in part, on Lamy-Springtown Mall, Ltd facing foreclosure at the beginning of March. My question is, why did this deal suddenly appear in mid-February, when we haven’t heard so much as a peep out of this project since the summer? So what I get from this is that Lamy is an idiot when it comes to investing, and set himself up to end up upside-down on Springtown.

While the City deserves blame for Springtown hemorrhaging anchors, Lamy did an effective job of shooting himself in the foot. Several of the smaller tenants have reported that Lamy chose not to renew their leases, or presented lease terms that were not acceptable under Springtown’s economic realities shortly after JCP departed for StoneCreek. When you don’t have a deal in hand for new anchors or a redevelopment plan, you cannot afford to lose your little tenants. Six months to a year is nothing for a commercial vacancy, assuming you are a smart commercial investor. He grossly overpaid for those two parcels even for the 2006 real estate climate, and there are consequences for that. Let it go to foreclosure. Somebody else will pick it up, but they won’t have near the financial burden and will be able to afford to do quality redevelopment instead of another crappy facelift that becomes obsolete just as the incentives come to an end.

In fact, Triple Tap Ventures & Alamo Drafthouse might stand to benefit from it facing foreclosure and be able to negotiate a sweetheart deal for themselves with the lease (it’s tough to find a negotiating tool that is more effective than knowing the landlord is desperate). Odds are that the non-profit holding the note on the property will renegotiate before this hits the courthouse steps, because they would stand to be a big loser if Lamy files bankruptcy. Bottom line is that Alamo Drafthouse is a natural fit for San Marcos and is desirable. However, the purpose of tax incentives is not to bail out investors that made stupid decisions.

But Wait, There’s More: Triple Tap Ventures and Lamy have suggested that this deal is integral to gaining the financial backing necessary to turn Springtown into a mixed use urban village of commercial, office and residential space. They act like this is some kind of realization they just came to recently, when that simply is not the case. I know this because I provided them with a 40-page report I wrote that assessed the redevelopment potential of Springtown in late 2008. It built a business case for a mixed-use urban center redevelopment comparable to The Triangle in Austin, and it practically provided an instruction manual for how to do it (including discussions of involving the San Marcos Housing Authority as a potential partner to gain connectivity to Bobcat Stadium).

Speaking of Triple Tap Ventures, they aren’t exactly hurting for capital. They are a subsidiary of Restaurants Unlimited, which owns a laundry list of major chain restaurants. Oh, and Restaurants Unlimited is a subsidiary of Sun Capital, one of the largest private investment firms out there. Yes, these guys really NEED an interest-free loan that is repaid by sales and property taxes, rather than conventional repayment. Local government is not equipped to operate as a bank; it should be considered a lender of last resort.

Yet somehow, San Marcos has become the lender of first resort for any retail development recently. This city is already over-reliant on notoriously unstable sales tax revenue, which is a problem that has come home to roost in the form of hiring freezes and sudden belt-tightening. And Triple Tap Ventures is saying that this project won’t happen without this deal. Right. That is why you issued a PRESS RELEASE saying that you purchased the franchise rights to Alamo Draft House in San Marcos and announce your intentions to open a theater here. Sounds to me like they already had a good business case for locating Alamo Draft House here, even without incentives. Of course I’ll call you on your bluff when you’ve already shown me your hand.

What Goes Around Comes Around: And I am not referring to the Justin Timberlake song “Cry me a River.” The council has been extraordinarily stupid when it comes to incentivizing retail. Incentivizing retail is not considered a good economic development strategy to start with. Incentivizing a developer to cannibalize three anchors from an existing development is almost criminally stupid. Ignoring city staff recommendations that the StoneCreek incentives include buying out the non-compete deed restrictions at Springtown was stupid (though I’m not sure those recommendations ever saw the light of day with the Council).

Not immediately working with the Springtown property owner once the planets were aligned to rape the development of all of the anchor tenants was stupid. The StoneCreek incentives charted an unsustainable course for the city. Springtown will, and probably should sit vacant for a long time just to remind everyone of the importance of thinking long-term. Sadly, the actions on StoneCreek virtually guarantee that San Marcos will need to use some incentives to revive Springtown. The key is making sure you get what you want, rather than just settling for whatever comes through the doors of city hall (which is the current trend, for those of you keeping score). That is how you end up with a bland cheese pizza–you get your pizza, but nobody is really satisfied with it. Me? I’d prefer a quality pizza that perhaps takes a bit longer but is something that is satisfying.

Chance Sparks

chance@bobcatfans.com

I will share my physical goals with you. I need to lose a lot of weight! Friends often refer to me as “Big Rick” for distinction. I am not a fan of the title, but I don’t blame them. So the 29 year-old me contemplated a bit at the ending of 2009 and acknowledged that I wasn’t going to do something by the time I was 30, I definitely wasn’t going to be happy with myself.  Indeed I won’t be.

So on November 30th I joined a gym and started to take time to work on me as my first and foremost project.  I figured if I joined a month before the New Year I would be more likely to follow through. So far, so good!

As of the time I wrote this I had lost 35 lbs. Not a bad start, but it will only matter if I finish. So setting realistic expectations, I want to drop 100lbs by the time you read the Feb/ 2011 issue of BobcatFans Magazine.

Lofty goal I know. But I think I can do it so I’m gonna try. For those interested in following my progress keep coming to the blog. I will start working on updating it at least once a week.

On another note- FYI, BobcatFans is hosting a Mardi Gras Bash at Harpers Public House on the square Feb 16th. There will be all kinds of drink specials so come by and catch a few beads from the balcony and hang out with us on Fat Tuesday.

Here’s to a new decade! Let’s make it a good one for us, our family, and our friends.

Rick Koch

rick@bobcatfans.com

Last night (1/13/10) was my first game of the season and all I can say is that we should not lose a home game to that A&M CC team.  There is enough talent there to be a top 3 team in the conference but I believe we will finish towards the bottom.  Sure we may get free trip to a suburb of Houston, but if that is this team’s goal then I want no part of it.  The goal should be to win the conference and/or the conference tournament.  As of right now, that looks unlikely by the poor performance I saw last night.

The players appear to have the talent but their 3-9 record against DI competition is an embarrassment to this University.  Considering that we are in Davalos’ 4^th year I don’t blame this on the players.  They appear to be trying but I don’t see a lot of improvement since Davalos’ second year despite what would appear to be significant talent upgrades and time to recruit his own players.

In consideration of this being Davalos’ 4^th year and his DI record is 3-9 and this being Fox’s 13^th season and she is 0-9 against DI competition I am very disappointed and someone needs to be held accountable.  The records and the 99-18 losses are getting embarrassing, either Dr. Teis needs to do something or he needs to step aside for some one who will.

I don’t see how Fox can salvage the season but I could be wrong.  Davalos needs to win 15 games or I will be disappointed, or let me put it to you another way he needs to win 8 more conference games, giving him a 9-7 record and if he is around next year I expect a 20 win season.   The bar isn’t set very high, lets hope he can get over it.

All and all, I am tired of being a supporter of a consistent loser, some people have a breaking point and I think Davalos has just about found mine.  Maybe I should write Dr. Teis a thank you letter for finding out just how much losing I can take.

Jody Campbell

jody@bobcatfans.com

With the win, the Bobcats remain unbeaten in Strahan Coliseum and move to 5-8 on the year. Point Guard Ryan White had a team high 7 assists today to go along with 10 points. Cameron Johnson also filled up the stat sheets with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. While the Bobcats played pretty good, they didn’t let down on what they’ve become known for: fouls. The Cats had 35 fouls overall and had 4 different players foul out of the game.

For the Cats, after a 25 point win against Texas Lutheran on December 29th and another home game against Oklahoma Panhandle State coming up on January 5th, we could be going to into conference play with a 3 game winning streak. The Bobcats open up Southland Conference play on January 9th against UT-Arlington in Arlington.

Maximum Bobcat

max@bobcatfans.com

Teams are broken into five regions–Northern, Central, Southeast, Western, and Texas.  The Texas region includes teams from the Lone Star State, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.  College fishing does not care what conference (or NCAA status) your football team is in, as long as you are a four-year school.  Texas State anglers find themselves competing against dozens of schools throughout the region including A&M, LSU, Tarleton State, SFA, and North Texas.

In Mid-November, Texas State students Jay McCollum and Davis Cosner traveled to Natchitoches, LA to compete in the Texas Regional Championship.   Their three day total of 27 lbs, 9 ounces was  good enough to finish in 2nd place out of 20 teams.  The second place finish netted the duo $25,000 (with $12,500 for Texas State and another $12,500 for their club), and gives these Bobcat Bassmen an opportunity to participate in the National Championship tournament held in Knoxville Tennessee on April 10th – 12th, 2010.

Accompanying Texas State in the National Championship Tournament will be the rest of the Texas Region Top 5-

1. Texas A&M University
2. Texas State University
3. Tarleton State University
4. Northwestern State University
5. Baylor University

The following is an excerpt from College Fishing.com –

“I started second-guessing myself this morning, and I really had to tell myself to slow down,” Cosner said. “I started off fishing a jig, but then I started throwing a spinnerbait, and it paid off. We caught all of our keeper fish on spinnerbaits.”  The Texas State anglers used ½-ounce white Booyah spinnerbaits. Given the day’s dim conditions, they switched from metallic blades to painted blades. They caught their fish on spinnerbaits with chartreuse willow blades and white Colorado blades.   “The water was murky, and it was on the rise from all the heavy rain,” Cosner said. “Also, the sun wasn’t out, so metallic blades wouldn’t flash.”  McCollum said that diligence was his biggest ally today: “I had a plan, and that plan was to throw a spinnerbait all day. If I hadn’t have caught my last fish when I did, I probably would have put that rod down because my wrist was killing me.”

More information, including photos from this tournament can be found at – http://www.collegefishing.com/championship/2009-Northwestern-State-University.cfm

Chris Lehman

chris@bobcatfans.com

The tournament had a round-robin first round, where teams were placed into pools.  If a team wins a match, they are awarded three points, and the loser gets zero.  If they tie, each team receives one point.  The awarded points are totaled and the top two teams advance to the championship bracket, while the third team plays in the Consolation Bracket.

The Men’s team team ended up in a pool with Weber State (Utah) and Michigan State.  Texas State had the first match of the tournament at 8 am Thursday morning against the Weber State Wildcats.  The Wildcats won this cat fight, downing the Bobcats 2-1.  The Bobcats had a quick turn around and returned to action Thursday Afternoon at 1PM against the Michigan State Spartans.  When the final gun sounded, the match ended at a standstill neither keep giving up a score.  The Bobcats placed third in their pool as the Michigan State / Weber State match ended knotted at zero.  This meant that the Bobcats would enter the Consolation round on Friday where they faced the Midshipmen of Navy.    The Midshipmen proved too much for the Bobcats winning the match 2-0.

The Texas State Women ended up in a pool with Colorado State and the University of Michigan.  The Bobcats faced the Rams early Thursday morning and came away with a 3-1 victory.  Their second match of the day was at 3pm against the Michigan Wolverines.  The Wolverines won 2-0 over the Cats, however the Maroon and Gold were able to advance to the championship round to be held the next day.

As luck would have it, the Bobcats drew the Longhorns for a high-noon showdown on Friday.  When the smoke cleared, a 2-1 victory signaled that the Cats were too much for the “Cows”. They returned to action Friday night in the Quarter Final Match against the Michigan State Spartans.  Just like Leonidas before them, these Spartans inevitably fell to the Bobcats, 2-1. With this victory, Texas State advanced to the final four where they faced the team from Happy Valley–The Penn State Nittany Lions.  Sadly, this is where the story ends.  The Bobcats lost to PSU 2-0.  With this the season was over, but team finished THIRD in the nation.

Congrats to both of our teams!

A complete bracket can be found here- http://www.nirsa.net/sc/soccer/2009/Results2009.html

Photos can be found here – http://clubsportsphotos.exposuremanager.com/g/phoenix_2009

Personally, I loved this photo of a Texas State player putting the hurt on a UT player.  — http://clubsportsphotos.exposuremanager.com/p/texas_vs_texas_state/phoenix09b-09893_22_2_43

Chris Lehman

chris@bobcatfans.com

Chris : Brett, What is the name of your Sport Club?

Brett: Texas State Men’s Club Soccer

C: How do people join your club?

B: We have tryouts at the beginning of the fall semester.

C: How many members do you have?

B: Currently, about 35.

C: How frequently do you practice?

B: We practice 3 times a week – Monday, Wednesday, Friday

C: Describe your sport for someone who is not familiar with it?

B: The beautiful game. It is free flowing and strategic.  It is the most democratic of sports in that you don’t have to be a certain height or weight in order to be successful.

C: What kind of success has your program had?

B: Our club has been around since the 1980s. During the ‘90s, the club was a force to be reckoned with, constantly progressing through the national tournament. The last 10 years, we have had a lot of success through the league and at regionals. However, it was more difficult to make that final step to nationals. Starting last year, the current squad is hoping to continue its dominance in the league, regionals, and be a national contender.

C: What was your biggest win in program history?

B: In recent history, our biggest win came last season. The past four years we had made it to the regional finals and had failed to progress on to nationals. Last year we stormed through the regional tournament and met UT in the regional final. After a 0-0 tie through regulation and extra time, we won in penalty kicks to advance to the national tournament for the first time in 5 or 6 years.

C: What league do you play in, and who do you compete against?

B: The Premier Conference of the Texas Collegiate Soccer League (The University of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor, UT-San Antonio.)

C: Who is your biggest Rival?

B: The University of Texas has been one of our biggest rivals for years.

C: Do you have website or online schedule?

B: You can view our schedule, and more information about the team, at http://txstatemenssoccer.googlepages.com/.

C: Brett, now that we have talked about the team, tell me a little about yourself.

B: I am from Georgetown, and  I will  graduate in December of 2009 with a Marketing degree.

C: What position do you play?

B: I have played just about everywhere on the field since I joined the team, minus goalie. This season, I am playing right back.

C: What was your favorite win and why?

B: The regional final win against UT last season. We had had a poor run of form the last couple of times we played them. It was an amazing feeling to win in penalty kicks and know that we were going to the national tournament.

C: Why should people join your soccer club?

B: Our club team offers a competitive atmosphere for soccer players that are looking for more than intramurals has to offer. It is unfortunate that there aren’t many Division 1 schools that have NCAA scholarship teams, but club soccer is a healthy alternative. There are some amazing players in the league and the competition is great. In addition, I have met some of my best friends since I joined the team. It’s a college experience that I encourage everyone to pursue.

C: Why do you enjoy playing?

B: I’ve played all of my life and enjoy the fact that I can continue to play in a competitive environment for a few more years.

C: Just a couple more questions, why did you choose to Texas State?

B: I came to Texas State in hopes of transferring out after my first year. But, after my first year, I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else. This school offers a large university experience, while still providing a small university experience in the classroom.

C: What is your fondest Texas State memory?

B: Too many to pick just one.

I would like to thank Brett Georgulis for taking the time to answer my questions.  If you are a member of a Texas State Sports Club (or you know someone who is), please send an email to Chris@bobcatfans.com .

Chris Lehman

chris@bobcatfans.com