texasstud28

On 11/25/2019 at 8:00 PM, Mr. Buddy Garrity said:

LU would never hire Briles. 

And why is that? He sure seems to be the front-runner. 

So did anyone happen to see last night's contest at Provost Umphrey?  There was like...eh.... all 12 of us there.  Seriously maybe LSU@Texas had something to do with the low turnout but there's too much apathy when it comes to Lamar football.  It certainly wasn't a clean game - penalties, turnovers, etc....  At least Lamar got the victory as we prepare for the slaughter @A&M this week.  I just hope we stay healthy and keep it somewhat competitive.  

I say 4-5 wins would be considered successful. They still have a pretty young team this year, and the Southland is very competitive. Next year we need to have a winning season and hopefully contend for a playoff berth. 

That's bullshit and simply untrue.  I'm about to get an MBA and yet, I qualify for food stamps.  Our economy sucks, and Obama may go down as the worst president in U.S. history.  He promised college graduates jobs in his bid for the presidency, but he lied and our country is becoming one of socialism and maybe even communism, in the near future.

[quote name="WOSgrad" post="783260" timestamp="1269785450"]
One the reasons that the WO-S baseball program used to be the best was that Ronnie Anderson was there forever.  Once he left, a virtual revolving door of coaches (including Coach Thompson) left the baseball program in shambles to the point where it has seen success only recently with the revival under Coach Jesse Riojas. 
Recall that Coach Thompson did have his opportunities as the head man (head football at Palestine and head baseball coach at West Orange-Stark) and from what I understand, found both experiences pretty bitter ones.  [/quote]
Ronnie Anderson's retirement was not the reason for WOS' declining baseball program.  If you recall, Jerry Nichols took over and later resigned after the 1994 season, due to health issues.  Basically, he was forced out because the team was loaded with talent and yet, they finished around 15-15 or 14-15, etc.  Lots of talent but too many selfish players.  Coach Thompson took over in 1995 and the Mustangs won their own Certa-Bearden Tournament, won district, and finished 24-5.  Brenham beat them in the area round of the playoffs.  John Patterson was terrific that year, but here's the most impressive stat of all: every senior that played on the 1995 team has earned a college degree.  One I'm not real sure of, but here's the list: McDonald, Sellars, Bates,Thompson, Shugart, Fuqa, Caillier, etc.  Forgive me if I've left someone out.  
Coach Thompson was forced to resign in 1998, but the talent pool, in just three years, went from great to below average. What you stated about the "virtual revolving door of coaches...." leaving the baseball program in shambles is totally inaccurate and ridiculous.  Did Sam Moore and Stephen Westbrook "leave the baseball program in shambles?" No.  

How about Billy Gillispie?  No, seriously, I'm not joking.  If he ever intends to coach again at a major school, he needs to revive his career.  Hopefully he has gotten his life in order, and I think Lamar would be a fresh start.

Sounds like you've gotten things misconstrued and misinterpreted.  FCU did not "give" your money away.  Corporate sponsorships and donations such as these will be mutually beneficial to both Lamar University and FCU members in the long run.

Guys/Gals,

I willl  be done with my MBA in May and was looking for an entry-level wolunteer coaching position in the Golden Triangle Area.  Maybe even in Housoton or Galveston.  My resume isn't spetacular ,but one good thing is my passion for indooor football and this will help our area tremenously if it happens.

Rob Butler

[quote name="TexasTerror" post="742673" timestamp="1263318717"]
Where's the release from the school regarding the $150k donation? Is it on the Lamar.edu web site? Because I do not see it on LamarCardinals.com.

Either way, it is not on the LamarCardinals.com web site. Again, more opportunities wasted in promoting the program. I'm really surprised that the university continues to misstep when it comes these marketing and promotion opportunities. From an outsider's perspective, Lamar is really botching the marketing and PR behind the football effort. Bearkat41 and I were discussing this on KatFans.com.
[/quote]

I agree.  Lamar University does not have the financial resources to compare with UTSA, Georgia St., South Alabama, etc.  But the marketing and promotions aspect of startup Division I programs is vitally important, and we've failed thus far in that area. 

This year Roc didn't bring in any JUCO stars like his first two years.  I know Hall and McThay are JUCO players, but they only played 1 year of JUCO and will (or did) play 3 years at LU.

I think the transition from JUCO players to HS players this year really hurt, especially with the loss of a scholarship (Roc's fault), loss of Nabors and Nwevo, ongoing injuries during the year, and Moton not eligible (Roc's fault too?).  The loss of Hopkins and Todd really hurt because Roc didn't bring in any good 3-point shooters (maybe that was suppose to be Moton's role?).

Like always, there's potential, but the big question is can Roc put it together?

The athletic department should employ more academic advisors.  Granted Lamar doesn't have the budget to hire an army of em', but with football starting there is definitely a need.  It wouldn't necessarily be full-time, either, but sufficient enough to monitor student-athletes' academic progress. 

What happened to the LU men's basketball team this year?  We started 10-4, and now we're sitting at home instead of going to Katy.

I was actually on campus taking a lifeguarding certification class in the Rec center when he was spotted on campus, (no lie), and there was a huge buzz in the entrance of the Rec Center that Fran was spotted. I believe he was interested more in a Consultant job, or he wanted a guarantee that Brad Franchione would be his replacement once he left for a better job.

That sounds accurate, but Fran's "better job" is with ESPN, in all likelihood.  Brad Franchione will be a Division I head coach soon. Fran would have done a fine job down here, too.

Coach Fran was on campus last year.

Can you validate this Franchione sighting?  It's a moot point, but does anyone recall the Beaumont Enterprise mentioning Fran or Coker?  I can't recall, but the given list of applicants may have not been entirely accurate, either.  What do you think? 

Was Coker even interviewed by Lamar?  Or Dennis Franchione? I highly doubt that anyone can validate it.

What does it take nowadays to break into the coaching ranks?  Lets say you're 28-30 years old, hold a four-year degree, and love the game of fooball. Only problem, though, is that you weren't very good at either football or baseball in highschool  Do you apply for an eleemntary job and work your way up? 

One has to wonder about the job security of the LU coaching staff.  Starting 10-4 was expected.  But after this debacle, someone's  approval rating will fall significantly.

One would think that they would release a detailed feasibility study on the costs, infrastructure, budget, etc. UTSA has one, and every other startup football program does too.

I ran across this blog post about Georgia Southern and what it would take for them to go FBS.  They have a 18K stadium and a $9.5 million budget, and this guy talks about how they could increase their budget to compete in the Sunbelt.  Here's how they could increase their budget:

To reach the next level of funding for our Eagles, there are several methods of increasing revenues that will have to take place to increase our current $9.115M budget to a competitive level in a FBS conference. Here is my scenario of how we can accomplish this.

Student Fee Increases - $1.875M

Based on 15,000 undergraduates averaging 2.5 semesters each year (7,500 enrolled during summer), an increase of $50 per semester in the student athletic fee would net $1,875,000 per year.

Southern Boosters Increased Giving - $1M

Adding 2,000 new contributors at $500 cash for each contributor would net a $1,000,000 per year. This will take a lot of work to reach our alumni and fans, but it can be done. This figure will rise above $1M over the years.

Football Season Ticket Increases - $600K

The 2,000 new contributors to Boosters will buy 2.5 season tickets per account (average family size) at a cost of $120 per season ticket. This would net $600,000 per year. The question is, where will 5,000 new $500 seats be located?

Football Single Game Ticket Increases - $240K

With all the added interest in FBS football, we can expect more walk-up ticket sales on game days. 2,000 additional fans buying single game tickets would net $240,000 per year. Again the question arises, where will these newly-converted Eagles fans sit?

Auxiliary Services Absorbs Fees - $2.5M

As in the case with many schools, meals and rooms are absorbed by the university. Being that AuxServices does not operate with state money and is not restricted by state laws that say no state tax dollars for athletics, our University could have AuxServices absorb the costs currently being paid by Athletics for meals and rooms for our student-athletes. This could be done now if our President decided to take the initiative and simply do it! Freeing the athletic budget from these costs would net around $2,500,000 per year.

Playing One Football Money Game Per Season - $750K

Once we are a FBS member, we will be able to receive a minimum of $750,000 per game for playing a BSC team at their home stadium. These prices have escalated dramatically over the past five years with some SBC, CUSA & WAC programs receiving over $900K for a guarantee. One of these games would net a minimum of $750,000 per year.

Increased Marketing Sponsorships - $250K

With increased exposure in FCS, a higher-profile conference, more butts in seats for home games, and more regional/national exposure on television, we will have additional opportunities for corporate sponsorships. Taking advantage of these opportunities would net us a minimum of $250,000 per year.

That's a little over $7 million more a year this guy's talking about.  How does this apply to Lamar, especially since we don't have football yet?  Here's how I think Lamar's budget will grow from the current $6.5 million to over $12 million in 2 or 3 years before they go FBS:

1.  Lamar will raise student fees which will bring in an extra $2 million a year.

2.  Boosters will give more money to Lamar because of football.  I say $500,000 more a year.

3.  Season ticket sales should bring in at least $500,000 a year.  I think LU basketball ticket sales are normally over $200,000 or $300,000 a year so football should double that.

4.  The new suites at the stadium will bring in $100,000 (just a wild guess).

5.  Increase sponsorships and more merchandise sales could bring Lamar $200,000 more a year.

6.  One money game a year will bring maybe $200,000.

Add these up and Lamar's athletic budget is now at around $10 million a year at the FCS level.  Now let's say they join a FBS conference.  They'll need to increase their budget even more.  They won't be able to add another $7 million that easily, but with increased enrollment, higher paying "guarantee" games, better attendance, etc., they can probably get their budget to the $14 million level.  That's still low for FBS schools, but not unreasonable.

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I'm seriously thinking about this for a thesis.  Thanks for the web page.

Is hell really a bad word?  I mean, sportswriters and commentators use it all the time.  But on this board it's considered "bad word."  The f-bomb is inappropriate, along with GD, but it's pretty wimpy to change hell to heck.  Lets liven things up a little.

I see Lamar going 9-2.....

Hell no. The expected win total should be 4 - minimum.

La Tech talks smack of ULL and ULM all the time. Their AD has even gone as far. There's no chance ULM and ULL leave their current situation to have any part of La Tech. This whole Independence Bowl has taken it to a whole new level.

Secondly, of the non-current FBS schools, UTSA is the most attractive. More so than TXST and Lamar. Their commitment to facilities is very intriguing, they are in a major city (which hurts TXST, who is squeezed between UTSA and Texas), they have a connection to a bowl game (home games at the Alamodome - home of the Alamo Bowl) and unlike the other two schools, have hosted NCAA championship events in basketball and volleyball. That does not hurt, from what I am told.

Someone on the TXST board brought up a good point, "I hate to say it, but I think that UTSA has a very similar situation to U of South Florida. USF got a football program that was starving for a football team in a way similar to San Antonio's current situation. Back when USF started their program several years ago, they immidiately had crowds averaging around 25,000. If this is what happens in San Antonio, they (UTSA) will be come a viable option for CUSA."

Third, SHSU's President has told the "inner circle" that there's no way SHSU would not join TXST and LU in a join up if those schools went that direction.

If SHSU isn't ready for FBS, Lamar isn't, either. This is kind of a moot point but an interesting topic.

There is no link bretween the schools. Lamar is ready when it is ready. Sam is ready when it is ready.

I never insinuated that there was a link.  The two schools are very similar since they're both 80 miles from Houston. (close to 80)

La Tech talks smack of ULL and ULM all the time. Their AD has even gone as far. There's no chance ULM and ULL leave their current situation to have any part of La Tech. This whole Independence Bowl has taken it to a whole new level.

Secondly, of the non-current FBS schools, UTSA is the most attractive. More so than TXST and Lamar. Their commitment to facilities is very intriguing, they are in a major city (which hurts TXST, who is squeezed between UTSA and Texas), they have a connection to a bowl game (home games at the Alamodome - home of the Alamo Bowl) and unlike the other two schools, have hosted NCAA championship events in basketball and volleyball. That does not hurt, from what I am told.

Someone on the TXST board brought up a good point, "I hate to say it, but I think that UTSA has a very similar situation to U of South Florida. USF got a football program that was starving for a football team in a way similar to San Antonio's current situation. Back when USF started their program several years ago, they immidiately had crowds averaging around 25,000. If this is what happens in San Antonio, they (UTSA) will be come a viable option for CUSA."

Third, SHSU's President has told the "inner circle" that there's no way SHSU would not join TXST and LU in a join up if those schools went that direction.

If SHSU isn't ready for FBS, Lamar isn't, either. This is kind of a moot point but an interesting topic.

1. Lamar

2. UTSA

3. UNT

4. TSU

5. Ark St

6. ULM

7. ULL

8. LT

Not sure if you could get two others??

TCU, Rice, UH, SMU, UTEP would never leave their conferences because they could get BCS bids if undefeated seasons and in CUSA or MWC.

But would UNT, ArkSt, ULM, ULL, and LaTech leave their conferences? It may or may not be economically feasible.

This may have been discussed but, assuming Lamar would join the FBS in the next few years, and UTSA's intentions, what are the chances of a new FBS conference made up of teams from our region?  Texas State, UTSA, Sam Houston State , Lamar, et al'.  There will definitely be some changes regardless of what other schools decide to do.

Sounds like Lamar is a consolation prize. Go play somewhere else if that's your attitude.