Lufkin Hudson

[Ray_BearKat]

Anyone know whats up with this school...they are located in a town known for football yet they have none. Down here we have a basketball only school, but that is changing come next alignment...Valley View will be a new addition to 32-3A or possibly 32-4A. Any chance of Hudson doing the same thing?

[JasperDog94]

Very doubtful. Any kids that want to play football usually go to Lufkin High School.

[pakrat]

This is not the first time I have answered this same question about Lufkin Hudson. They grew into a good sized 3A school from a very small rural school. This is not a new school, its been around for years and years, maybe nearly a century. The area began to attract people from Lufkin in the early 70's. Subdivisions have sprung up. The people have not cared if their sons played football. They have other sports and used to be pretty good basketball fans. The school board has spent a lot of money expanding the facility, building 2 new elementary schools in the last 3 years, a new sports complex and remodeling of some of the old campus buildings. Someone who used to be on the school board told me that football was too expensive and they did not feel they could be competitive soon enough or often enough to merit the expense. They look at their neighbor Huntington and it scares them to think they could have a program like that, never seeming to add much to the school, just draining the budget. They have a big rivalry with Lufkin Central, and they are content with that it seems. Central doesn't play football either. They are strong in baseball most years and have had some good cross country teams in the past. I think a lot of it is lack of a football tradition. They never had it and don't miss it.

[spiveyrat]

Originally posted by pakrat
They look at their neighbor Huntington and it scares them to think they could have a program like that, never seeming to add much to the school, just draining the budget.

Is this what high school sports has turned into? Another way to make (or lose) money? I thought it was for the kids.(?) Interesting opinion.

[VWG]

Around the D/FW area you can look at strong basketball programs (baseball too) with 2A schools such as Krum, Brock, and Peaster.
Krum is growing rapidly... just outside of Denton. New houses, etc.. There is a push from some in the community to get football but again dollars and cents have pushed it back.

[pakrat]

Originally posted by spiveyrat
Is this what high school sports has turned into? Another way to make (or lose) money? I thought it was for the kids.(?) Interesting opinion.

People move into the area knowing and not careing that their boys will not be playing football. MAny of the community leaders graduated from Hudson and like I said, they don't have the tradition and don't see any need for football.

[spiveyrat]

That's too bad. Football can be a good teacher.

[JasperDog94]

With the budget crunch schools are under these days, sometimes it does come down to being able to make money...or at least break even. They do have other sports and activities that can teach them the same concepts as football. That said, I'm glad I didn't go to school there.:D

[spiveyrat]

We have a budget crunch concerning schools here in KS too. In fact, some judge in his infinite wisdom has ruled that schools will not open in the fall until the legislature "gets it right". It's one thing to say that, but to rule it? What a moron. Back to the point. I'll bet the parents of the kids in the public schools here would get a little ticked if they saw the cost per student in the Catholic schools. It's quite a contrast. I'll see if I can get the numbers. Point being, it is possible to do more with less. We have been concentrating on that here where I work for several years and even though the number of products we sell has been on the decline, the profit margins are on the rise. It IS possible. You just have to learn to be LEAN.

[VWG]

I agree... now you have to do more with less, but if you have the right people you can make it work. If you don't have the right people then your ship sinks!
I would think that football at these schools could only bring more money in. The stadium will cost a bomb, but the revenue that some football programs bring in are the cash cow for the athletic programs.
If you bring in 2,000 fans per game avg. at about $5 per ticket, then add the concessions, etc...

[3afan]

Originally posted by pakrat
This is not the first time I have answered this same question about Lufkin Hudson. They grew into a good sized 3A school from a very small rural school. This is not a new school, its been around for years and years, maybe nearly a century. The area began to attract people from Lufkin in the early 70's. Subdivisions have sprung up. The people have not cared if their sons played football. They have other sports and used to be pretty good basketball fans. The school board has spent a lot of money expanding the facility, building 2 new elementary schools in the last 3 years, a new sports complex and remodeling of some of the old campus buildings. Someone who used to be on the school board told me that football was too expensive and they did not feel they could be competitive soon enough or often enough to merit the expense. They look at their neighbor Huntington and it scares them to think they could have a program like that, never seeming to add much to the school, just draining the budget. They have a big rivalry with Lufkin Central, and they are content with that it seems. Central doesn't play football either. They are strong in baseball most years and have had some good cross country teams in the past. I think a lot of it is lack of a football tradition. They never had it and don't miss it.

according to the lufkin isd web page (http://www.lufkinisd.org/) there is no central high in lufkin. are you referring to central heights in nacogdoches??? as a matter of fact, hudson is not part of the lufkin isd, although all of the hudson isd (http://www.hudsonisd.org/) schools have lufkin addresses.

[JasperDog94]

Originally posted by VWG
I agree... now you have to do more with less, but if you have the right people you can make it work. If you don't have the right people then your ship sinks!
I would think that football at these schools could only bring more money in. The stadium will cost a bomb, but the revenue that some football programs bring in are the cash cow for the athletic programs.
If you bring in 2,000 fans per game avg. at about $5 per ticket, then add the concessions, etc...
Part of the problem is that I would bet most 3A's don't get 2000 fans per game. Schools that are chronicly bad (sorry Hunnington) will never bring in that kind of revenue. Plus the cost of maintainence. Plus the costs of lights.(not cheap) Please don't get me wrong, but I can definitely see where that would be a hard sell to some communities.

[fred grunden]

Huntington likes to water their field too much. They probably have a big water bill too. At least they did the only time Jasper played in Huntington. It was a slop bowl. Varsity did not even dress out in the 2nd half. I told some of the boys they should go to the other side of the field and cheer for Huntington. hehehe:D

[fred grunden]

Originally posted by 3afan
according to the lufkin isd web page (http://www.lufkinisd.org/) there is no central high in lufkin. are you referring to central heights in nacogdoches??? as a matter of fact, hudson is not part of the lufkin isd, although all of the hudson isd (http://www.hudsonisd.org/) schools have lufkin addresses.

If you go northwest on Hwy 69 out of Lufkin, about 10 mi out, you will come to Central School. It's been there a long time and I never called it Lufkin Central, but I can understand why some would put Lufkin with it because there are a number of other schools called Central, such as the large school in Beaumont.
If you go to Lufkin, nobody there calls Hudson by the name of Lufkin Hudson, its just Hudson. Both Hudson and Central are independent school districts with their own administration and school boards.