LUSportsFan

Just a quick look... SBC basketball hasn't been too bad over the years.   WKU made the NCAA tournament 22 times and the sweet 16 7 times.   UTA has had some decent basketball teams in recent years.   ULL had some decent teams. There has been some success in baseball also.   ULL made the NCAA tournament 12 times and the College World Series 1 time.   Texas State has been pretty good in baseball in recent years. Didn't look anymore, but the SBC would be a step up in competition in our main sports.  (I guess I'm one of the deluded ones that think it would be a good fit.)

Agree... Interesting that Langston and McMurry were two of the higher attended games this season.  The games against SLC opponents had lower attendance than any of the others.

I was disappointed in Saturday's attendance, but I don't think this season's attendance warranted what I would term as a "Burn the Bridges" type of statement by Coach Woodard with his calling out the fans.  Just for comparison below is the conference's average attendance according to today's NCAA statistics through November 11.  [url=[Hidden Content]] FCS Attendance ranking is to the left of team.  SLC record and overall records to the right. 23.  McNeese - 12,237 3-3 6-4  (Receiving votes in the Coaches and The Sports Network FCS poll  11/5/2012) 25.  Lamar - 11,119  1-5  4-7 36.  SHSU - 9,352* 6-1 8-2  (#3 in Coaches and The Sports Network FCS poll  11/5/2012) 40.  UCA - 8,909  6-1  8-2  (#13 in Coaches and #14 in The Sports Network FCS poll  11/5/2012) 43.  NWSU - 8,759  2-4 4-6 76.  SFA - 6,301*  3-4 4-6 81.  Nicholls State - 5,651 0-6 1-8 85.  SELU - 5,266  4-2 4-6 *SHSU vs SFA game at Houston's Reliant Stadium pulled in 26,185 ** SFA, UCA, and McNeese have one home game remaining this season. Just for grins, there are three FBS programs below us in average attendance this year. Akron - 9,275 San Jose State - 9,228 Eastern Michigan - 4,437

Had the pleasure of experiencing Katharine & Company in the Mildred Building Complex at the corner of MLK and Calder for a wedding rehearsal dinner this weekend.  If the dinner was any indication, the restaurant should definitely be on the list if someone is in town a day early.  Bad news is the hours.  It's open for lunch Monday through Friday and for dinner on the first Thursday and for Symphony nights.  Good news is that the food was great and the Mildred Building Complex is architecturally pleasing.  The Mildred has been one of my favorites in the Triangle from the outside.

I enjoyed the game.  It was great football weather.  Saw a lot of people having a good time tailgating before the game.  I also got to see an 88 yard kickoff return, a nice 41 yard field goal, several passes for touchdowns, a nice run for a touchdown, as well as a nice interception followed by a 53 yard return for a touchdown.  Halftime band performance followed by fireworks was nice. As a season ticket holder, I would like to see fewer games against DII / NAIA teams even if it meant fewer home games, but Lamar football gives me another reason to make the short trip over from Houston to visit family members in the area. I thought this game might be a "trap" game especially since McMurry beat UTSA last year.  There's a lot the team needs to work on to be competitive in the SLC, but it's nice to have the team back so that we can gripe about it instead of wishing we still had a football team like the 21 year period.

I compare us with SMU (death penalty - no football for two years) vs us dropping football and no football for 21 years.  I don't see it taking us as long as SMU to get to a winning record, but I think a five year "honeymoon" period mentioned by Wreckem2011 sounds reasonable as long as we see improvement.  I agree that we need to get the area behind the team.  I think support will accelerate the road to success. Here's SMU's record after starting their program back.  (Each of the blowouts noted below were I-A/FBS vs I-A/FBS; not I-A/FBS vs I-AA/FCS like this week's game with UL-L. 1989 2-9  (Blowout loss 21-95 vs Houston) 1990 1-10 (Blowout loss 17-52 vs Baylor) 1991 1-10 (Blowout loss 6-65 vs A&M) 1992 5-6 (Blowout loss 7-49 vs Baylor) 1993 2-7-2 (Blowout loss 24-41 vs Texas Tech) 1994 1-9-1 (Baylor and Texas - blowout losses) 1995 1-10 (Navy, Wisconsin, Baylor - blowout losses) 1996 5-6 (Blowout loss to BYU) 1997 6-5 (Blowout loss to Navy) 1998 5-7 (Blowout loss to Arkansas) 1999 4-6-1 (Blowout loss to Tulane) 2000 3-9 (Blowout loss to NC State and TCU) ... 2009 8-5

Backing out of games happens all the time in College football.  That's why contracts have "out" clauses in them.  Examples other than our one game are Texas State dropping Hawaii this year,  Texas A&M dropping McNeese this year,  Louisiana Tech dropping us this year, and LSU dropping a bunch of games against A&M in the 90's and on and on. I think my comment of moving home games toward "Quality" indicated that there could possibly be more away games so we are in agreement there.  I'd like to see us do like SHSU did when it moved away from the multiple D2/NAIA home games it had in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007. ---------------------------------------------- To get this back to the original topic, I'm still excited that football is back at LU.  I'd like to see us move up.  I'd like us to move up with some of our conference mates.  If we do get the chance to move up in the future, we need to have a commitment to do it correctly.  Otherwise, we'd kill the program.

[quote name="kingkat99" post="1254681" timestamp="1346343710"] As long as Lamar insists on playing 6 home games a year there will almost always be a D2 or NAIA game on the schedule.  If Lamar moves up to FBS and insists on 6 home games they will not be able to fill their non conference schedule with the TX Tech's and Baylor's of the world and they will have to schedule FCS programs to go along with a conference home schedule of New Mexico, Colorado State and Utah State which I doubt will equal decent attendance especially during the transition years when they will not be very competitive. [/quote] Don't forget, with the Hawai'i game, we're playing 12 games this year while the remainder of the conference is playing 11 excluding play-off games.  That gives us an extra home game. I'm ok with D2 / NAIA home games (McMurray is transitioning to DII) for the first few years, but later I'd like to see us move to "Quality" over "Quantity" after the next year or so.  Coach Knight's goal is no D2's in basketball.  I'd like to see the same thing in football. Right now, our home schedule is not a lot different from the one that UTSA, another start-up, has this year (except for the WAC teams on their schedule).  UTSA is playing two Division II teams in addition to McNeese and UTSA's WAC conference mates at home. [url=[Hidden Content]]

Fall schedule posted on LamarCardinals.com today.  All home games will be at Ford Park.  Also, if you want to check out the team, there is no admission charge for the Fall Schedule home games.  The Cardinals open with a double header against Texas Women's University on Sept 22 @ noon. [url=[Hidden Content]]

Here's a link to a Beaumont Enterprise article about preparations at the temporary home field at Ford Park.  As the article title indicates, looks like Coach Bruder is definitely a hands on person. [url=[Hidden Content]] As AggiesAreWe mentioned, there are several articles in the Softball section of LamarCardinals.com ranging from work on the Ford Park field, the recruiting class, as well as other good information. I'm glad Softball is coming back as a supported sport at Lamar.  Can't wait to see the on-campus field.

Worth a try.  Three Oklahoma State players down here now.  The worst thing that could happen would be that the prospects would say NO.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

As far as DirectTV, if you get Fox Sports Central, the games are broadcast on a delayed basis.  It did look like DirectTV only broadcasts live games, though (not sure since I'm not a subscriber).  Depending on the area you are in, the SLCTV network channel in your area may be on DirectTV.  A failsafe option would be to watch the games on ESPN3 over the internet. While we're at it, if anyone else is an AT&T U-verse subscriber in the Houston area, the games are on channel 57 (KUBE - Live broadcast) and on channel 648 (Fox Sports Central - Delayed basis).

[quote name="puddin tane" post="1237284" timestamp="1342644864"] i hate televised home games...hurts attendance [/quote] Same point forrmer A&M AD, Bill Byrne, tried to make.  He refused PPV until the stadium sold out.  On the other hand, appearing on a televised game is good advertising for the University.  Southland TV is picked up all over the state of Texas and Louisiana, in Little Rock, AR as well as Tulsa, OK.  I'm sure they aren't the highest rated programs, but every bit helps. With dvr, I don't think that's as big a deal as it was.  We watch very little tv when it is actually broadcast.  We just dvr it and watch it when we want to and when it meets our schedule. I watched SLC televised games here in Houston before Lamar brought football back. Now, I can make the drive over to Beaumont and attend the Lamar games.  If the game is televised, I just dvr it so that I can replay it if I want to.

It might be extreme, but I share NOTB's concern.  Seems like the bar is moved every time the "lower" programs move up.  It happened to us shortly after moving up to DI.  The division split into D-IA and D-IAA.  Wouldn't be at all surprised if there was a complete split. We're already in a subdivision of DI that is perceived as DII by many.  What would prevent the actual split?  All the "big" programs would need to do is say that they are going to withdraw from the NCAA and start their own athletic association.  With all the money involved, they have a pretty good stick to make people pay attention to threats.

He's accused of two counts of 2nd degree forgery.  He pled not guilty.  He has a court appearance on Wednesday.

Sitting out a season would be required if he transferred to another FBS school.  A player from an FBS school tranferring to a FCS school does not have to sit out. There have been cases where an FBS to FCS transfer was required to sit out.  Those cases are where NCAA rules are violated and the NCAA rules the one year penalty.  Example would be Rhett Bomar from Oklahoma to Sam Houston State several years ago. Don't think any NCAA rules violations are involved with this one.

[quote name="kingkat99" post="1234325" timestamp="1341684814"] As of late there is no one here talking Lamar but you much less ragging SH.  And I dont piss on Lamar in every thread, just every thread about Lamar.  Big reason for it is out of all the SLC schools Lamar was the only one whose fans were wishing we would lose and be poor representatives of our conference in the playoffs last season, not that I need a reason. [/quote] Just did a search of this board and the other one and couldn't find anything that would come close to supporting the statement "Lamar was the only one whose fans were wishing we would lose and be poor representatives."  I did find an unlinked thread on Katfans.com about that, but saw nothing on the referenced web site.  There may have been some fans that thought that way.  The main thing I could see was comments about attendance in Huntsville during the playoffs, but that turned into a great story as the playoffs progressed. I've seen a lot more instances of "Lamar sucks, etc", "Reject U" or "Rehab U" on katfans and from Bearkat supporters than the other way.  A statement wishing SHSU would do poorly in the playoffs might have been a reaction from such a statement or it may be from some of our fans that just don't want Sam to succeed. I'm not in that group.  I pull in conference teams when they are playing out of conference opponents.  In conference, it's a different story.  Head to head, I want LU to prevail.  SLC team against non-conference foe, I want SLC to prevail. To get it back to the original thread topic, I would like the SLC teams to stop scheduling DII and NAIA teams, Lamar included.  LU Basketball is moving toward that goal.  I agree with UNLV that we need to improve the conference's stature.  SHSU's run in the football playoffs helped get the SLC back where it had been as one of the premier FCS conferences in football.  LU needs to up its game in football.  We all need to up our games in basketball.  LU needs to get back in baseball.  SHSU is doing a good job in that.

[quote name="kingkat99" post="1228014" timestamp="1338576311"] [quote author=puddin tane link=topic=100313.msg1227964#msg1227964 date=1338567553] [quote author=kingkat99 link=topic=100313.msg1227951#msg1227951 date=1338566444] Well if we you use the drive times youve posted on here stating that Beaumont is only an hour from Houston that would make Huntsville like 30-45 minutes tops and Huntsville is apart of the Houston media market along with the Sports Director and his side kick from at least one major TV station in Houston are SH alumni and follow the team closely already they very well could feasibly send a crew each week.  Also the Bryan College Station channel is at every home game so they could easily do what the Beaumont stations do.  As for the other reasons our Alumni base in the Houston area is bigger than Lamar's, We are closer in proximity and we have a satelite campus in The Woodlands, the houston media is saturated with Sam grads who are more than willing to cover things going on with the school. Those are just a few simple reasons without much thought as to why it would be easier not neccessarily reasons why it would happen as I agree neither school will ever "Carry" the market unless UT and the Aggys fall off the planet. [/quote] y'all crack me up...Houston coulg give a rats arse about Lamar or Sam... [/quote] Never said they did, just said if you were using the media market argument, I'd say Houston being apart of their footprint makes more sense for SH than Lamar at this point.  I could care less really as I perfectly happy where SH is at the present time.  Trust me poontane Im not delusional. [/quote] I have to agree with KingKat99, but it's an argument much like the one that UTA or UNT would have in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  It's like two fleas on a dog fighting about who can take the biggest bite when there's an infestation of Aggie, UT fleas on the dog.  Heck Houston, Rice, Texas Southern are afterthoughts after the big two. I think it will always be that way.  On the other hand, with a 6,000,000 population dog even we two fleas can still get a decent chunk with the leftovers.  In addition to that we have our own individual areas where we both have a lot larger share.  I think something like the "Battle of the Piney Woods" that Sam and SFA have going would go a long way to helping both of our brands in Houston.  We used to do that in the Astrodome in the 70's and early 80's.  Also trying to get the Houston teams on our schedule like Sam with Texas Southern this year and us with Rice in baseball most years helps.  More of that is better.  It has the added benefit of cutting down on travel costs and allowing our alumni in Houston an easier opportunity to see our teams. I think if we're going to accomplish anything, our two universities need to do it together.  I think both KingKat99 and UNLV have excellent points.  Houston is growing toward both of us.

[quote name="wbfan" post="1227544" timestamp="1338481983"] [quote author=WOS95 link=topic=99866.msg1227443#msg1227443 date=1338439810] i want to win..i wouldn't care if we played D-3 football...i want to win! and right now we don't win...we need to go 10-2, 11-1, or 12-0 every year regardless of division... personally i enjoy playing SHSU, SFA, and McNeese cause i have friends that attended all of these schools and talking smack with them is something i look forward to....if we ever go FBS i hope we can continue to play these teams...but i wont be disappointed if we stay in FCS...as long as we WIN!!!  However i will be disappointed if we go FBS and go 5-7, 4-8, or 3-9 every year. [/quote] Strongly agree with this. I think Lamar would better benefit from being an FCS powerhouse as opposed to suddenly moving to FBS "because its the cool thing to do" right now." lamar is not prepared to make such a drastic move Imo. [/quote] The main thing I worry about is that a lot of the the teams I enjoyed playing moved on like the Ragin Cajuns, Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, the Mean Green, and now Texas State - San Marcos.  Just don't want to be left behind by any more of the teams I enjoy playing.  I even sat on "the Stage" in Arlington watching the Cards vs. UT- Arlington. Even the great Larry Kennan teams in the 80's (one which beat a nationally ranked Baylor football team in Waco) didn't have the kind of records some are thinking should be the standard.