Bryan ISD Has A Chance To Change The Narrative

7,310 Views | 47 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by trouble
GoodOleBryanBoy
How long do you want to ignore this user?
We move past the Ross Rogers era at Bryan high and look to the future with anticipation that a new coach can lead this program to heights not ever seen at Bryan High School. I am hopeful the leadership in charge of this process will make the best decision possible for Bryan and its athletic program. All my life in Bryan, I have heard people talk about the athletic potential here, the potential we rarely live up to. Over the past several years, it seems that athletics has taken a backseat to other programs within our district. This mindset has cost us much more than wins on field and court. The time is now to turn that potential into a reality. I hope that our leadership understands what's at stake with this hire.

A&M Consolidated's 4A state football championship in 1991 helped fuel a mass migration south to College Station. It also started a narrative that Bryan was somehow inadequate to College Station. The unfortunate part is how some Bryan schools and city leaders allowed this narrative to take hold without a fightthis cost Bryan many good families. Plenty of former Bryan high alumni now lives in College Station. According to some, the migration was for a better school, academic, and athletic environment. The athletic aspect is one I think to get overlooked. College Station's athletic achievements have as much to do with its growth as anything.

We now find ourselves with an opportunity to change that narrative, and with the right hire, we can. Bryan's academics are improving year after year, and fine arts programs are top-notch. A successful football program only adds to the upswing we are currently seeing within our school district. When athletics excel, all aspects of our schools and community will excel. Unfortunately, if athletics remain mediocre, we will continue to see family after family leave. Plain and simple people want to win. When they think the place where they live cannot or, even worse, is not committed to doing so, they will reluctantly pack and move to communities where athletics and winning are more of a priority.

I am not talking about a win-at-all-costs mentality. Bryan should never jeopardize the morals and standards of our city for wins. This hire is about more than a coach. This hire is about placing a priority on winning in Bryan, Texas. Suppose you want to build community morale, increase participation of athletes on the field and in the classroom, and inspire families to invest in Bryan ISD. In that case, we must emphasize creating a winning culture.
BrandoC
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I will say this, yes Bryan has the potential but the kids in Bryan are a whole different ballgame compared to College Station. Now Bryan High is not near as bad as Rudder, but its a very tough place to coach and teach these days. Rudder is run by people who are non-disciplinarians both academically and athletically. Its an absolute free for all over there. Bryan as a whole issue is leaders at the top (Superintendent and school board) but hopefully they do a great job with this new Superintendent hire. The best thing would be combine Rudder and Bryan High. That would be a load of talent to have athletically but man you would have to hire army generals to run the school.
Turf96
How long do you want to ignore this user?
You think people left Bryan because one football team had more wins down the road? Are you serious Clark?

Think it had a lot to do with better living, Less crime, and not the good old boy Bryan system. I mean you guys fought to get your name on the home of a University you didn't build. May just make this easier and claim some of CSHS or Consolidated football wins and move on. Isn't that how it works?
maroon barchetta
How long do you want to ignore this user?
b0ridi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
GoodOleBryanBoy said:

Over the past several years, it seems that athletics has taken a backseat to other programs within our district.
Hopefully, academics
halibut sinclair
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Turf96 said:

You think people left Bryan because one football team had more wins down the road? Are you serious Clark?

Think it had a lot to do with better living, Less crime, and not the good old boy Bryan system. I mean you guys fought to get your name on the home of a University you didn't build. May just make this easier and claim some of CSHS or Consolidated football wins and move on. Isn't that how it works?


Betting this guy lives in SoCo and is afraid to go into bad ol' Bryan.
IWannaGoFast1
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Turf96 said:

You think people left Bryan because one football team had more wins down the road? Are you serious Clark?

Think it had a lot to do with better living, Less crime, and not the good old boy Bryan system. I mean you guys fought to get your name on the home of a University you didn't build. May just make this easier and claim some of CSHS or Consolidated football wins and move on. Isn't that how it works?
The vitriol between some of the residents of both cities is ridiculous. I don't get what there is to be so bitter about. Life is too stressful in general to have to worry about that stuff too.
cslifer
How long do you want to ignore this user?
College Station didn't "build" the university either.
bryanhome
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Bryan is one of the smallest 6a schools.
textar4404
How long do you want to ignore this user?
When I served on the grand jury years ago, we were privy to felony charges against high school "kids". The number of bad apples at the CS schools far out weighed those from Bryan. Some people only see what they want to see.
gunan01
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Frankly it's stupid to have two separate towns. Egos will never allow it, but the cities should merge to save resources and admin costs. Not to mention the added drawing power of a unified message from a city of 220K+ folks.

It's one thing if we were two separate suburbs of a larger city. But two adjacent large towns so far outside of a larger city makes zero sense.
maroon barchetta
How long do you want to ignore this user?
gunan01 said:

Frankly it's stupid to have two separate towns. Egos will never allow it, but the cities should merge to save resources and admin costs. Not to mention the added drawing power of a unified message from a city of 220K+ folks.

It's one thing if we were two separate suburbs of a larger city. But two adjacent large towns so far outside of a larger city makes zero sense.


The citizens of Bryan won't want to deal with College Station Utilities and their higher price per KWh and assorted fees.

The leadership of College Station won't want to give up all of those fees that help fund all of their pet projects.
gibby03
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Want to fix the "issues" you are talking about? Ok.

1. Hire a Superintendent with a small school mentality that will put athletics at the forefront. That won't happen because even you say you don't want to sacrifice academics for athletics. But to make this change you want that's going to have to happen. Good Luck with that.

An example of this would be redrawing lines to make Bryan High a LARGE 6A. A school that is over 3k kids. Essentially taking some of the athletes that are at Rudder currently by redrawing the lines and zoning them to Bryan. In 2014 - 2016, when Bryan was going 3-4 rounds deep in 5A they didn't have enough depth. That depth at the skill position was sitting at Rudder floundering. When you do nothing in zoning and keep Bryan at the 6A cutoff they won't be successful enough for this "change" you want. The entire reason Rudder was opened, was because some daddies were pissed their kids couldn't compete at Bryan because of numbers, in athletics and fine arts. This is the exact opposite of what you want to happen. It's going to take an athletic minded focus to change that. It's not happening.

2. Let whomever comes in discipline the kids and then be supported by parents. Lots of people in this community believe Bryan "ran off" all the kids because of their color. The things that have been said about the coaching staffs at Bryan high, across multiple sports, is absolutely devastating. These parents run their mouths and then somehow expect their child to go play their own way and completely undermine the coaches.

3. You're absolutely right there is a lot of athletic talent in Bryan. The problem is that talent only wants to play on game nights. They don't want to pass, follow rules, work hard etc. The culture difference between a kid at Bryan high and their work ethic vs across town is night and day. That's an indication of this community and their support. There is a lot of "this is how I want you to do it" vs "this is what you need to do because your coaches are asking you to do it". Change that, if you can.

4. Make Rudder a 9th grade campus, funnel all the talent into one high school. If you want evidence that this will work, look at the middle school level. For years when the talent at the MS level was split between Jane Long, SFA, Davila and Sam Rayburn, Jane Long and Davila couldn't win a game. They were the Cleveland Browns of 20 years ago. College Station MS' were dominating them and beating SFA and Sam Rayburn somewhat regularly. Fast forward to the last 5 years since it moved to just SFA and Davila, and SFA absolutely DOMINATES that middle school district around town. That's all the talent from kids zoned to Bryan high being funneled into one school and they win. Even Davila is more competitive now than they ever were. Take all that talent, put it in one program and you'll compete against anyone around here. But you'll always be in 6A.

5. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE IN 6A, rezone and move Bryan to 5A D1. Send 300 kids from Bryan to Rudder. That would keep Rudder in D2 and give Bryan the chance to compete in D1, where they were when they were winning District Championships and advancing in the playoffs. But, that's not being done. By the "leadership". Which takes me back to point #1 above.

6. Figure out a way for people in this community to stop bad mouthing this community. The biggest problems of the comparison between the two communities are the people IN THIS COMMUNITY. Don't kid yourself, there are bad kids in CSISD, and those numbers are growing, but when 10 kids are doing right and you introduce 1-2 bad, they conform. But, in Bryan right now it's flipped. You got the 10 acting bad and then the rest just feed off that and then the response by parents is "well what did you do to my child to make him upset?" Instead of holding their kids accountable.

Don't mistake what I'm saying here. My kids are in BISD, and they will stay there unless my family moves. I wouldn't have them there if I didn't believe in the district, but there are problems. Problems that run deep within the community that aren't going to be fixed by a new football coach.

Yes, this superintendent hire is important but if you're waiting on this hire to change the athletic prowess of Bryan ISD, you're in for a long wait. I don't see the school board hiring the type of superintendent you're wanting, that's not the politics they want to deal with.

Just my two cents. I could have a long long conversation about lots of things happening around here.
skeetboy3
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
As a student during the '90s, I don't think the CSISD migration was due to football. It certainly did not hurt, but Consol during that time still placed a premium on academics over athletics. There were 340 in my graduating class and 11 national merit finalists. Football got treated well, but it wasn't the Dillon Panthers treatment.
EliteElectric
How long do you want to ignore this user?
coleasterling said:


The vitriol between some of the residents of both cities is ridiculous. I don't get what there is to be so bitter about. Life is too stressful in general to have to worry about that stuff too.
Typically, when people live at the top of their means they attach more value and sentiment to their property than people who can more easily afford similar properties do. Therefore they see their own neighborhoods or communities as more desirable, whether they are or are not.

It's been my experience that those same type of people will gravitate towards HOA boards.
Hornbeck
How long do you want to ignore this user?
People didn't move to College Station because of football. They moved because all the new development, and convenience.
bcstx06
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Hornbeck said:

People didn't move to College Station because of football. They moved because all the new development, and convenience.


I agree! And Bryan waited years and years and had no new developments while College Station got everything until recent years. Now Bryan is playing catch-up. I think it's doing a decent job, but can do more to attract retail development to certain parts of town.
Tumble Weed
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I didn't care anything about football when I picked a home in College Station. My kids were in Elementary and I chose what I thought was the best school.

In retrospect I should have looked a little closer at the private schools. Was not impressed with the administration at csisd.

As a current soco resident I think that the Bryan city administration is running circles around cs. They seem to have all of the momentum.

Now that my kids are not in school, I am not interested in dealing with the local city governments, and will try to create my own little paradise in the country like George and Lennie dreamed of.
snaglepuss
How long do you want to ignore this user?
gibby03 said:


Just my two cents. I could have a long long conversation about lots of things happening around here.
I'm thinking more like a quarter...
gibby03
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Ha, fair enough.
techno-ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Quote:

Figure out a way for people in this community to stop bad mouthing this community. The biggest problems of the comparison between the two communities are the people IN THIS COMMUNITY.
Amen.
Buy a man eat fish, he day, teach fish man, to a lifetime.

- Joe Biden

I think that, to be very honest with you, I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled.

- Kamala Harris
Hornbeck
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Are there bad neighborhoods in Bryan with drive-bys and folks shooting fireworks at local law enforcement? Yes.
Are there similar neighborhoods in CS? Also yes.

I would agree that if the powers that be were more forward thinking, they would combine, but I fear there has been a lot of empire building in the past 30-40 years.
TAMU1990
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I also think the school board should make both schools 5A. I can't understand why Bryan wants to be 6A.
gibby03
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
The people that it matters to, don't, just put it that way.
AG81
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Anyone who thinks football had anything to do with the explosive growth in College Station in contrast with Bryan's modest growth is unaware of history.

The massive growth in College Station can be traced to the late 70's early 80's and one single decision. Back then the DeBartolo family (owned the 49ers) were developing shopping malls all over the country. They identified B/CS as a location. At the time Bryan had about 45,000 residents (with a majority of faculty living there) and College Station had about 20,000. The DeBartolos wanted to put the mall at the intersection of Briarcrest and the bypass. The DeBartolos wanted tax abatements from the City of Bryan. Bryan said no. Manor East Mall was just 4 miles away. It is clear that a brand new big mall 4 miles away would signify impact Manor East Mall. It was thought that the DeBartolos would abandon their plan and go away. They did, but only as far as College Station who said "you betcha" to tax abatements. The Mall was completed in 1982. That decision led to significant growth in investment in other commercial development in College Station and residential development soon followed. Interestingly, Manor East Mall quickly died anyway.

A true "if you build it, they will come" story. And football has NOTHING to do with it.
AG81
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Hornbeck said:

Are there bad neighborhoods in Bryan with drive-bys and folks shooting fireworks at local law enforcement? Yes.
Are there similar neighborhoods in CS? Also yes.

I would agree that if the powers that be were more forward thinking, they would combine, but I fear there has been a lot of empire building in the past 30-40 years.


Way, WAY longer than that. They will never combine.
Daytripper
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Bryan has a great future. Unlike College Station which only has a few tracts of land by the old race track left to develop, being hemmed in by the Navasota and Bryan school districts, Bryan has plenty of space for expansion. The A&M RELLIS Campus will within 20 years have 20-30 thousand people driving there every day to work or go to school. For 3 years now, Bryan has led CS in housing starts and I expect Bryan to permanently overtake CS as the dominate economic power in the county by 2050. I love College Station for what it is, a small college town, but the economic muscle of the region will inevitably be centered in Bryan.
maroon barchetta
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Daytripper said:

Bryan has a great future. Unlike College Station which only has a few tracts of land by the old race track left to develop, being hemmed in by the Navasota and Bryan school districts, Bryan has plenty of space for expansion. The A&M RELLIS Campus will within 20 years have 20-30 thousand people driving there every day to work or go to school. For 3 years now, Bryan has led CS in housing starts and I expect Bryan to permanently overtake CS as the dominate economic power in the county by 2050. I love College Station for what it is, a small college town, but the economic muscle of the region will inevitably be centered in Bryan.
Stupe
How long do you want to ignore this user?
S
Quote:

Anyone who thinks football had anything to do with the explosive growth in College Station in contrast with Bryan's modest growth is unaware of history.
Anyone that thinks athletics don't affect growth isn't aware of recent history.

I know people that have bought homes here recently and have chosen either Consol or CSHS depending on the sports that their kids were involved in. Students are going to get a good education at either high school so the tipping point was the extracurricular activities.
GoodOleBryanBoy
How long do you want to ignore this user?
According to some people around town, Bryan High has found their new head coach. I am Hopeful that they have picked a good one.
Bryanisbest
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Hornbeck said:

People didn't move to College Station because of football. They moved because all the new development, and convenience.



White flight says hello.
gibby03
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Ricky Tullos from Pearland named new Head Football Coach.

https://theeagle.com/sports/high-school/football/bryan-isd-hires-pearlands-ricky-tullos-as-vikings-head-football-coach/article_68b6ace8-78ad-11ec-84a1-5b3bcc3d3593.html
BryanTexan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
It would be difficult to find a more qualified candidate for the job. BISD admin is bringing a proven winner to town. I think it's a great hire.
Stupe
How long do you want to ignore this user?
S
Bryanisbest said:

Hornbeck said:

People didn't move to College Station because of football. They moved because all the new development, and convenience.



White flight says hello.
It's always easier to point the finger of blame out instead of in.
gibby03
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
BryanTexan said:

It would be difficult to find a more qualified candidate for the job. BISD admin is bringing a proven winner to town. I think it's a great hire.


Absolutely.

Now, there will be some in the community that won't agree, but it's not because of his win/loss record or his credentials. But it's a really good hire on paper for sure.

Ricky Tullos Intro Press Conference
Page 1 of 2
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.