[bball fan]

Pikeville will always be about academics, football, and cheerleading. Plain and simple. It doesn't matter how much you put into it Pikeville just won't be a basketball school. And I hate that because I think the world of Bart and his staff. Basketball will always be in the back court so to speak. Football is what brings the money. And isn't that what it is about anymore is money.

Sure, acadmics, football, and cheerleading have always been strong at Pikeville but things are slowly changing. The acadmics will always be strong just because of the type of kids they get but the football program is certainly not what it used to be. They are holding on to the glory days of the late 80's for dear life. The Panthers have struggled when it counts the past few years on the gridiron. They haven't had a "big" win in a long, long time. The crowds have been very dissapointing as of late and the natives are restless. Basketball on the other hand is on the rise fast. I have been in this town for 40+ years and have never seen the interest at the level that it is now. This town has been starving for a top notch program for a long time and it is on the horizon.

By the way, just to clear things up! The football program is the most expensive sport at PHS. The athletic program loses money on the football program because of the cost to run the program. The football program spends about 4 times as much as any other program just because of equipment. And lately the gate money is down!!