Commissioner says WAC has new members lined up

[TradinUp BH]

I don't know what people are talking about. The stadium was fiiled to capacity this year. Personally, I liked the tailgating better then the games I went to. I thought the team wasn't good, but the pre-game activities were fun. Sorry for bashing the team, but it wasn't like watching college football. Here's my two cents. LU will either have to recruit alot of local kids in the future to keep local fans going to the games or some how start recruiting some five star players. I don't think very many five star players will be going to LU. so your best bet is local talent. If it doesn't happen, then who knows what will happen in the future. Not trying to be negative, but like other people have already said, this area is more HS football then college football. My wife is an Aggie, so we go to A&M games and I'm a LSU fan. We go to Baton Rouge for games as well. It's hard to compete with those big school games.

[bigred360]

[quote name="Scalp'em" post="949143" timestamp="1295149514"]
I don't know what people are talking about. The stadium was fiiled to capacity this year. Personally, I liked the tailgating better then the games I went to. I thought the team wasn't good, but the pre-game activities were fun. Sorry for bashing the team, but it wasn't like watching college football. Here's my two cents. LU will either have to recruit alot of local kids in the future to keep local fans going to the games or some how start recruiting some five star players. I don't think very many five star players will be going to LU. so your best bet is local talent. If it doesn't happen, then who knows what will happen in the future. Not trying to be negative, but like other people have already said, this area is more HS football then college football. My wife is an Aggie, so we go to A&M games and I'm a LSU fan. We go to Baton Rouge for games as well. It's hard to compete with those big school games.
[/quote]

We have 43 young men on the 2010 roster from SE Texas and the Greater Houston area. We have verbal commitments from a kid from Nederland, West Brook and a juco player who played prep ball at Ozen. Then we have a FBS transfer who is from Silsbee. Then in Dec. we signed DePauldrick Garrett formerly from WO-S and Adrian Guillory who played prep ball at Beaumont Central.

So, I think we are recruiting local talent. Maybe you'd like to review the roster and signees.

http://www.lamarcardinals.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/lama-m-footbl-mtt.html

http://www.lamarcardinals.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121710aaa.html

http://www.lamarcardinals.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121810aaa.html

[UNLV]

FBS will give Lamar an advantage in recruiting over regional FCS schools.

[coachacola]

If Lamar stays FCS then they won't get many 3-star and above players unless they are transfers.  The only way they can start recruiting the better players is by joining the WAC.  The BCS teams will always get most of the 4 and 5 star players, but Lamar doesn't need those players to be successful in a non-BCS conference.

Staying FCS and recruiting mostly local players would solidify the image of Lamar as the "little local college of last resort."  I don't think that's a long term formula for success.  Dr. Simmons has been very successful in enhancing the academic standing of Lamar.  Now he needs to move Lamar to the WAC and enhance the athletic program as well.

[TradinUp BH]

[quote name="bigred360" post="949151" timestamp="1295150870"]
[quote author=Scalp'em link=topic=78804.msg949143#msg949143 date=1295149514]
I don't know what people are talking about. The stadium was fiiled to capacity this year. Personally, I liked the tailgating better then the games I went to. I thought the team wasn't good, but the pre-game activities were fun. Sorry for bashing the team, but it wasn't like watching college football. Here's my two cents. LU will either have to recruit alot of local kids in the future to keep local fans going to the games or some how start recruiting some five star players. I don't think very many five star players will be going to LU. so your best bet is local talent. If it doesn't happen, then who knows what will happen in the future. Not trying to be negative, but like other people have already said, this area is more HS football then college football. My wife is an Aggie, so we go to A&M games and I'm a LSU fan. We go to Baton Rouge for games as well. It's hard to compete with those big school games.
[/quote]

We have 43 young men on the 2010 roster from SE Texas and the Greater Houston area. We have verbal commitments from a kid from Nederland, West Brook and a juco player who played prep ball at Ozen. Then we have a FBS transfer who is from Silsbee. Then in Dec. we signed DePauldrick Garrett formerly from WO-S and Adrian Guillory who played prep ball at Beaumont Central.

I get it, but I sure would be curious to see the ticket holders by area. It appeared to me that alot of mid county residents are season ticket holders and surrounding area of Beaumont that are LU alums, I don't think many people from Houston are season ticket holders or attend many LU games. I may be wrong though. When you go to the tailgating activities and you see a majority of people you know, that means they are from this area. LU will have to find a way to get more people fro a greater distance then the golden triangle to keep attendance up. That's hard to do when you have U of H, Sam Houston, SFA, McNeese ULL, and sevearl others within a 2 to 3 hour drive. You have to find a way to get people to come to YOUR game instead of the other games where teams are playing well known teams.

So, I think we are recruiting local talent. Maybe you'd like to review the roster and signees.

http://www.lamarcardinals.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/lama-m-footbl-mtt.html

http://www.lamarcardinals.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121710aaa.html

http://www.lamarcardinals.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121810aaa.html
[/quote]

[bigred360]

I believe every game was sold out this year but admit I saw a lot of open areas at one of the games. Man, the majority of the 43 are from the Golden Triangle. You are right, there are a lot of season ticket holders from Mid-County. You mentioned what school your wife went to but didn't mentioned yours, just saying you like LSU. Are you just a T-shirt fan there? You wouldn't be a Lamar alum but rather so to Baton Rouge to see a game?

Then to compare a first year FCS program to those like A&M and LSU is ridiculous. What did you expect headed off to Provost Umphrey?

I've talked to the people at Lamar about attendance and what they want is more student attendance. Lamar has almost 15,000 students now and if just a 1/3 make the game that would be 5K.

Then we need more people from Beaumont. However, we are getting people from Orange, Lumberton, Silsbee and those areas.

Then there is the oldest reason in the book to come to Lamar football game and that is the team has to win. Period!

[UNLV]

SETX has everything needed for LU to be successful in local support. The problem is many people still
see LU as JV second class. Once we get away from playing NAIA or DII/III schools, then the respect and support will grow.

[Green Menace]

[quote name="bigred360" post="949262" timestamp="1295195168"]
I believe every game was sold out this year but admit I saw a lot of open areas at one of the games. Man, the majority of the 43 are from the Golden Triangle. You are right, there are a lot of season ticket holders from Mid-County. You mentioned what school your wife went to but didn't mentioned yours, just saying you like LSU. Are you just a T-shirt fan there? You wouldn't be a Lamar alum but rather so to Baton Rouge to see a game?

Then to compare a first year FCS program to those like A&M and LSU is ridiculous. What did you expect headed off to Provost Umphrey?

I've talked to the people at Lamar about attendance and what they want is more student attendance. Lamar has almost 15,000 students now and if just a 1/3 make the game that would be 5K.

Then we need more people from Beaumont. However, we are getting people from Orange, Lumberton, Silsbee and those areas.

Then there is the oldest reason in the book to come to Lamar football game and that is the team has to win. Period!
[/quote]
Lamar has to make an LU home game [b]THE IN PLACE TO BE [/b] for a Saturday home game.  Tailgating, fun zones for the kids, and [b]WINNING![/b]

[puddin tane]

[quote name="badndn" post="948963" timestamp="1295134134"]
[quote author=puddin tane link=topic=78804.msg948952#msg948952 date=1295131200]
when people choose high school over college, maybe you oughta stay FCS.
[/quote]
You must not be from around here.  ;D

PNG folks are going to PNG playoff games, it don't matter who else is playing at that time. Lamar will allways have trouble drawing for a game late in the season when multiple area HS teams are playing. SETX loves it's HS football. Allwys has and allways will.
[/quote]

I am  from here..thats why i think all this "expand to 40k seats" is nonsense

[bigred360]

I agree there is no need for a 40K stadium in Beaumont. However, I'd like to see a 30K stadium with all the bells and whistles.

[puddin tane]

for the FIRST YEAR BACK IN OVER 20 YEARS...the last T[u]WO[/u] home games were poorly attended

[size=10pt]i saw similar posted on la tech board..think its fitting[/size]

[i]"I wear my Lamar shirt because I went there, he wears his LSU shirt cuz he went to walmart"[/i]

and that, in a nutshell, is your LU problem

[bigred360]

[quote name="puddin tane" post="949373" timestamp="1295211590"]
for the FIRST YEAR BACK IN OVER 20 YEARS...the last T[u]WO[/u] home games were poorly attended

[size=10pt]i saw similar posted on la tech board..think its fitting[/size]

[i]"I wear my Lamar shirt because I went there, he wears his LSU shirt cuz he went to walmart"[/i]

and that, in a nutshell, is your LU problem
[/quote]

I was at the last home game with my family and there were over 15k there. The stadium holds 16k but there were a lot of students sitting in the grassy area near the athletic complex. Wasn't a sellout like the first few were but it was a nice crowd for a 4-6 team at the time.

[UNLV]

[quote name="bigred360" post="949370" timestamp="1295211135"]
I agree there is no need for a 40K stadium in Beaumont. However, I'd like to see a 30K stadium with all the bells and whistles.
[/quote]setx is probably the only place on Earth where you have to drag fans kicking and screaming away from the
think limited mentality.

[AJ25]

I'm sorry, you're not going to get a sell out on your [b]last game[/b] of the season when you are playing a very poor D2 program like OPSU. You have to schedule better teams. But, LU did that to get more W's in their first year and I can't blame them. LU is going to continue to improve, and they're going to go WAC. They said in bringing back football that the point was to move FBS. Lamar never had intentions of staying in the Southland. Like another poster said, the McNeese game at the end of next season will be a sellout and probably the biggest game of the year, especially if Lamar is playing for a playoff spot. It's going to be a lot of fun, and I'm positive the fans will keep coming.

[LU4LIFE]

The only thing that hold LAMAR back from being where all die hard Cardinal fans want it to be is the mentality of the people of Beaumont and the surrounding areas. Most people think of LAMAR as a small town/last resort university, and that is also how they feel about LAMAR athletics. That is a huge problem that we needs to fix.  We have something with LAMAR that the whole Golden Triangle could get behind and support, but most of them would rather sit on their couches and cheer on a team that they might go see in person one time a year. The question that I would like answered is why would anyone like to sit on their couch and watch a college football game instead of going to a LAMAR game and experiencing all the game day atmosphere like tailgating, and cheering on the local team? It might just be me but I would rather be apart of the game day atmosphere then watch it on tv. I don't think people realize how important the support for LAMAR athletics is (or maybe they do and just don't care). When it comes to recruiting for schools like LAMAR you have to set a stage that would attract recruits to want to play there, especially when/if LAMAR makes the move to the WAC that is when you will need better recruits to be able to be competitive. IMO school support plays a huge role in this because good support could bring better recruits which means your team is better which means more recognition for LAMAR. Everybody knows that college athletics is a business and a good business has to make money, support equals money for the school  in which they can use to hire the best coaches we can get and upgrade our facilities.

[AJ25]

[quote name="LU4LIFE" post="949427" timestamp="1295216945"]
The only thing that hold LAMAR back from being where all die hard Cardinal fans want it to be is the mentality of the people of Beaumont and the surrounding areas. Most people think of LAMAR as a small town/last resort university, and that is also how they feel about LAMAR athletics. That is a huge problem that we needs to fix.  We have something with LAMAR that the whole Golden Triangle could get behind and support, but most of them would rather sit on their couches and cheer on a team that they might go see in person one time a year. The question that I would like answered is why would anyone like to sit on their couch and watch a college football game instead of going to a LAMAR game and experiencing all the game day atmosphere like tailgating, and cheering on the local team? It might just be me but I would rather be apart of the game day atmosphere then watch it on tv. I don't think people realize how important the support for LAMAR athletics is (or maybe they do and just don't care). When it comes to recruiting for schools like LAMAR you have to set a stage that would attract recruits to want to play there, especially when/if LAMAR makes the move to the WAC that is when you will need better recruits to be able to be competitive. IMO school support plays a huge role in this because good support could bring better recruits which means your team is better which means more recognition for LAMAR. Everybody knows that college athletics is a business and a good business has to make money, support equals money for the school  in which they can use to hire the best coaches we can get and upgrade our facilities.


[/quote]

Like you said, people think of the name Lamar and not want to support it. Students from the area don't want to go to school there, and the baseball team is the only team year in and year out that is solid. Well, football is a great chance for Lamar to really make a NATIONAL name for themselves, and it's going to take all the people of SETX and surrounding areas to make it happen. The ball is in our courts, not Lamar's.

[coachacola]

It took a while but SETX did support the basketball team very well in the 1980s.  Putting together a winner year after year does wonders for attendance.  Although the team has been mostly mediocre (to put it nicely) for years, Lamar still leads in the SLC in attendance.

Even this year Texas had a lot of empty seats in their last few games, so even one of premiere teams in the country has to win or fans will stop showing up.  It's been repeated many times, but not matter if Lamar stays in the SLC or goes to the WAC, they have to win or it won't matter much.

[RS73]

[quote name="coachacola" post="949434" timestamp="1295218524"]
It took a while but SETX did support the basketball team very well in the 1980s.  Putting together a winner year after year does wonders for attendance.  Although the team has been mostly mediocre (to put it nicely) for years, Lamar still leads in the SLC in attendance.

Even this year Texas had a lot of empty seats in their last few games, so even one of premiere teams in the country has to win or fans will stop showing up.  It's been repeated many times, but not matter if Lamar stays in the SLC or goes to the WAC, they have to win or it won't matter much.
[/quote]

+1

If we win, we won't have to worry about attendance. There are enough people in this area that loves football to pack a 40,000 to 50,000 seat stadium. Just win, baby!

[AJ25]

It's tough for basketball attendance to stay maintained because of the amount of games in a year. As for LU, I think the big thing that would make attendance so much better is if students would actually go to events. If I went to LU, I'd be at every event. They need students like that to get attendance where it belongs..

[puddin tane]

[quote name="RS73" post="949441" timestamp="1295219420"]
[quote author=coachacola link=topic=78804.msg949434#msg949434 date=1295218524]
It took a while but SETX did support the basketball team very well in the 1980s.  Putting together a winner year after year does wonders for attendance.  Although the team has been mostly mediocre (to put it nicely) for years, Lamar still leads in the SLC in attendance.

Even this year Texas had a lot of empty seats in their last few games, so even one of premiere teams in the country has to win or fans will stop showing up.  It's been repeated many times, but not matter if Lamar stays in the SLC or goes to the WAC, they have to win or it won't matter much.
[/quote]

+1

If we win, we won't have to worry about attendance. There are enough people in this area that loves football to pack a 40,000 to 50,000 seat stadium. Just win, baby!
[/quote]

yeah, sure...if it isnt cold, aTm and texas and lsu are off, PNG isnt playing,the cable goes out and the coach taters cant watch the big ten and the fighting Irish are coming to town

[LU4LIFE]

[quote name="puddin tane" post="949458" timestamp="1295221966"]
[quote author=RS73 link=topic=78804.msg949441#msg949441 date=1295219420]
[quote author=coachacola link=topic=78804.msg949434#msg949434 date=1295218524]
It took a while but SETX did support the basketball team very well in the 1980s.  Putting together a winner year after year does wonders for attendance.  Although the team has been mostly mediocre (to put it nicely) for years, Lamar still leads in the SLC in attendance.

Even this year Texas had a lot of empty seats in their last few games, so even one of premiere teams in the country has to win or fans will stop showing up.  It's been repeated many times, but not matter if Lamar stays in the SLC or goes to the WAC, they have to win or it won't matter much.
[/quote]

+1

If we win, we won't have to worry about attendance. There are enough people in this area that loves football to pack a 40,000 to 50,000 seat stadium. Just win, baby!
[/quote]

yeah, sure...if it isnt cold, aTm and texas and lsu are off, PNG isnt playing,the cable goes out and the coach taters cant watch the big ten and the fighting Irish are coming to town
[/quote]

Puddin tane your a idiot he said if the support was there and we win we could fill a 40-50k seat stadium, you should make sure you understand the post before you comment on it.

[coachacola]

[quote name="puddin tane" post="949458" timestamp="1295221966"]
[quote author=RS73 link=topic=78804.msg949441#msg949441 date=1295219420]
[quote author=coachacola link=topic=78804.msg949434#msg949434 date=1295218524]
It took a while but SETX did support the basketball team very well in the 1980s.  Putting together a winner year after year does wonders for attendance.  Although the team has been mostly mediocre (to put it nicely) for years, Lamar still leads in the SLC in attendance.

Even this year Texas had a lot of empty seats in their last few games, so even one of premiere teams in the country has to win or fans will stop showing up.  It's been repeated many times, but not matter if Lamar stays in the SLC or goes to the WAC, they have to win or it won't matter much.
[/quote]

+1

If we win, we won't have to worry about attendance. There are enough people in this area that loves football to pack a 40,000 to 50,000 seat stadium. Just win, baby!
[/quote]

yeah, sure...if it isnt cold, aTm and texas and lsu are off, PNG isnt playing,the cable goes out and the coach taters cant watch the big ten and the fighting Irish are coming to town
[/quote]

You do realize that attendance only dropped after Lamar lost 5 or 6 games?  Lamar had sellouts when everybody knew they'd probably lose a lot of games, they had no chance of making the playoffs, and the home schedule included a lot of non-D1 teams they've never heard of?  Besides McNeese, SFA and SHSU, what other FCS teams will bring in the big crowds to Beaumont?  And those 3 schools won't all be playing in Beaumont every year, only 1 or 2 home games against them a year.  The rest of the schedule will be against the likes of Nicholls State, Central Arkansas, and probably a D2 or NAIA team.  I just don't see how being in the WAC is worst than being in the SLC.

[geezer]

At least part of the responses are only made to aggrivate the other opinion.  End of day we probably won't have any imput to what Lamar does as far as being in the Southland or an FBS conference.  As for student attendance, a lot of it has to do with the type of students Lamar has.  Most of the students are commuters, they drive in to go to class and then drive home to go to work and don't want to drive back in the evening to attend anything.  On Satudays they are busy somewhere else.  Places like A&M, Texas and LSU have a large number of students living on campus or near campus so there is more peer pressure to go to the game with the group.  For basketball the student organizations are key to getting students to the games.  And yes most places really only wildly support winners.

[UNLV]

At UNLV we had each dorm organize trips to the game. We would march to the Thomas and Mack as a group.
We did the same thing for football. We'll we didn't march to Sam Boyd, those without cars took the city bus.
It was fun going as a group. 

[AJ25]

[quote name="UNLV" post="949588" timestamp="1295233007"]
At UNLV we had each dorm organize trips to the game. We would march to the Thomas and Mack as a group.
We did the same thing for football. We'll we didn't march to Sam Boyd, those without cars took the city bus.
It was fun going as a group. 
[/quote]

That's the kind of stuff that college is about..

That is one downside to Lamar.. You don't get the right "college" feel because it is a commuter campus. If more people lived on campus, the school would make more money, more activities would take place, better crowds, etc...

Does Lamar have any rules with having to live on campus?
I know some schools make freshman HAVE to live on campus their first year. Or you have to spend like 30 hours of your degree living on campus. If Lamar did that, a lot of things would change.