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How much, if any, inroads will Arkansas State U make in NWA?


KJW

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I saw an article in the Morning News (I think) around 2003 how Arkansas State was starting to recruit football players from NWA. (They've actually had them since the mid-80s, when two players from Rogers helped lead ASU to the NCAA Division I-AA (or II?) national championship.)

When talking about the statewide dominance of Arkansas, ASU has always been a mystery to me. Well, maybe not that much...they're not a land grant college, and it's frequently pretty tough going to secondary state institutions at the financial and legislative level.

But I wonder...is ASU ever going to make itself heard in NWA with advertising the way schools like UCA and Arkansas Tech have?

(Aporkalyse, sorry if "ASU" is a four-letter word. Aporkalyse responds: "Who?") :lol:

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This is somewhat off topic, but ASU plays Oklahoma State next weekend in Little Rock. Im assuming they will play at War Memorial. So they definetly have a presence in central ark at least. The only bad thing is that Oklahoma State is expected to have more fans show up than ASU.

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NWA traditionally hasn't produced many top conference DI players excepting obviously the huge Springdale class. I'm sure a lot of the 2nd tier players would look at ASU but they may have a lot of options, including Tulsa, Missouri State, and UCA.

UCA's a big threat to ASU. ASU is marginally DI and struggles to meet the attendance requirements, which is why they are opting to play in War Memorial. UCA is located in the 2nd best college town in the state, Conway, and has the benefit of being close to Little Rock. I'm sure you've noticed but they're getting stocked with DI transfers like Logan (a Fayetteville alum) and Winston from Arkansas. Former Fayetteville and UA QB Zac Clark had a great career down there. They have made a habit of winning a lot of games and now that they're in DIAA if they can do the same I think a lot of players may opt to win in IAA as opposed to losing in DI.

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I'm not sure if ASU can really comepete for the same players that the U of A can. I think if an athlete is good enough he'll certainly pick the U of A over ASU. No offense to ASU but it doesn't get any of the media coverage that the Razorbacks do. I think ASU is more likely to go after guys that the U of A aren't seriously looking at.

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NWA traditionally hasn't produced many top conference DI players excepting obviously the huge Springdale class. I'm sure a lot of the 2nd tier players would look at ASU but they may have a lot of options, including Tulsa, Missouri State, and UCA.

UCA's a big threat to ASU. ASU is marginally DI and struggles to meet the attendance requirements, which is why they are opting to play in War Memorial. UCA is located in the 2nd best college town in the state, Conway, and has the benefit of being close to Little Rock. I'm sure you've noticed but they're getting stocked with DI transfers like Logan (a Fayetteville alum) and Winston from Arkansas. Former Fayetteville and UA QB Zac Clark had a great career down there. They have made a habit of winning a lot of games and now that they're in DIAA if they can do the same I think a lot of players may opt to win in IAA as opposed to losing in DI.

That pretty much says it right there.

Of course, NWA is producing more DI caliber players, not all who can be top IA recruits, so it would not be surprising if more and more were to head to Jonesboro. But honestly, how many of those that do end up going to ASU were offered at a more prestigeous program? Not many I wager. No offense to ASU athletics.

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That pretty much says it right there.

Of course, NWA is producing more DI caliber players, not all who can be top IA recruits, so it would not be surprising if more and more were to head to Jonesboro. But honestly, how many of those that do end up going to ASU were offered at a more prestigeous program? Not many I wager. No offense to ASU athletics.

True and some people I guess prefer to be a big fish in a small pond or just want to go to a smaller university.

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True and some people I guess prefer to be a big fish in a small pond or just want to go to a smaller university.

Thanks, guys...but what I was actually wondering was whether ASU was academically recruiting more in NWA, not just athletically.

(BTW, I know some Rogers athlete(s) just signed with ASU, and a pair of them signed with UALR as well.)

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Thanks, guys...but what I was actually wondering was whether ASU was academically recruiting more in NWA, not just athletically.

(BTW, I know some Rogers athlete(s) just signed with ASU, and a pair of them signed with UALR as well.)

Like UCA and UALR, ASU is offering a lot of scholies to people who won't academically qualify for one at UA. A lot of these people have been leaving NWA for years to attend these other schools and I think going to ASU to get a little financial help makes a lot of sense. I don't think ASU has many programs that UA can't better, so I doubt many students leave for a better opportunity in a particular major.

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  • 1 year later...

Two things, 1 directly about Arkansas State U:

1. For the first time ever, I'm very sure, the majority of ASU's in-state recruits came from NWA/Fort Smith.

They'll most likely never catch the U of A in our lifetime in football, but if these guys can establish a beachhead in NWA we'll hear a lot more from them.

2. Saw where NWACC is now offering classes in Chinese and Arabic.

If I were ASU, I'd still look at a relationship with this school while there's still time, and before it eventually becomes a 4 year college.

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