2016: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics

Let's let Farmer alone. He's gone, if he should have been gone sooner it's on T Joe.

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Originally Posted by Scuttlebutt6

Scott Farmer grew the job into something he could personally no longer manage. For that, I am thankful. However, it was obvious that he could no longer handle the job long before any attempt to replace him was made.

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And all the errors made while this growth was going on may have slowed it down to where it could have been. You could almost argue that it took place in spite of his presence. I would attribute it to having Hud with early success generating general fan (not hardcore) interest and T-Joe being in charge and willing to allow the interest to go beyond the interest phase. Numerous times in the previous thirty years that wasn't the case. JMO

Since the man is not here to defend himself, I will.

Any of you ever thought that a lot of the things recommended by the Alden report were already suggested to Martin Hall by SF before the report ever happened?

If you haven't thought about it, you really, really should.

Whatever you guys think about SF, he is not stupid.

Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't have changed the AD. It was needed from a PR standpoint at the very least, but I get the impression that whoever was the AD during the years SF did the job would have received the same treatment from Martin Hall.

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Originally Posted by CajunNation

Since the man is not here to defend himself, I will.

Any of you ever thought that a lot of the things recommended by the Alden report were already suggested to Martin Hall by SF before the report ever happened?

If you haven't thought about it, you really, really should.

Whatever you guys think about SF, he is not stupid.

Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't have changed the AD. It was needed from a PR standpoint at the very least, but I get the impression that whoever was the AD during the years SF did the job would have received the same treatment from Martin Hall.

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The one thing I have bad to say about SF is that he blamed everyone else for the problems instead of addressing them himself

It all boils down to raising the money.

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Originally Posted by CajunNation

Since the man is not here to defend himself, I will.

Any of you ever thought that a lot of the things recommended by the Alden report were already suggested to Martin Hall by SF before the report ever happened?

If you haven't thought about it, you really, really should.

Whatever you guys think about SF, he is not stupid.

Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't have changed the AD. It was needed from a PR standpoint at the very least, but I get the impression that whoever was the AD during the years SF did the job would have received the same treatment from Martin Hall.

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All those issues would have caused way more work and much more skill than he possessed and he knew it. Fake it until you make it...won't get you to the next level...but it will get you a long way.

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Originally Posted by CajunNation

Since the man is not here to defend himself, I will.

Any of you ever thought that a lot of the things recommended by the Alden report were already suggested to Martin Hall by SF before the report ever happened?

If you haven't thought about it, you really, really should.

Whatever you guys think about SF, he is not stupid.

Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't have changed the AD. It was needed from a PR standpoint at the very least, but I get the impression that whoever was the AD during the years SF did the job would have received the same treatment from Martin Hall.

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How agressivw can you be in the fox hole called the corner bar. Farmer was outfoxed in everything from uniforms to overpaying Hud who had one season under his belt at the time.

I challenge your claims that he was smart or trying. His main concern was clearly trying to cover up his ineptitude at a job that was way beyond his ability even at ten million.

I'm all for letting sleeping dogs lie, but not when we get revisionist accounting of events. And let's not forget the lying, the two screwups on the Tigue.

Let's not forget that he was fine with a downgrade to the APC until Hud took over Farmers job. How about trying to stiff the assistant coaches on bowl bonuses.

He was one of the worst employees we've ever had in a position of power and influence.

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Originally Posted by CajunEXPRESS

How agressivw can you be in the fox hole called the corner bar. Farmer was outfoxed in everything from uniforms to overpaying Hud who had one season under his belt at the time.

I challenge your claims that he was smart or trying. His main concern was clearly trying to cover up his ineptitude at a job that was way beyond his ability even at ten million.

I'm all for letting sleeping dogs lie, but not when we get revisionist accounting of events. And let's not forget the lying, the two screwups on the Tigue.

Let's not forget that he was fine with a downgrade to the APC until Hud took over Farmers job. How about trying to stiff the assistant coaches on bowl bonuses.

He was one of the worst employees we've ever had in a position of power and influence.

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Let's not forget the softball fiasco with Mike.

Oh yeah, there's that.

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Originally Posted by Scuttlebutt6

Scott Farmer grew the job into something he could personally no longer manage. For that, I am thankful. However, it was obvious that he could no longer handle the job long before any attempt to replace him was made.

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Scott Farmer grew his job as far as his vision took it, the SUNBELT CONFERENCE. That was the model he believed in and the model in which he earned the vast majority of his experience in between Troy and UL. He had neither the contacts, vision or knowledge to lead this program beyond it's current status today.

As someone else rightly pointed out in this thread, he was hamstrung financially at times by Martin Hall. But he also learned from his predecessor David Walker that it was much easier to accept those decisions as final, and simply not challenge the status-quo by being creative and pursuing other avenues for raising revenue.

He gave us a base to build upon with improved facilities. And that should be his legacy, bringing UL from the depths of the worst facilities in the SBC other than ULM to it's current status, up until the inception of Russo Park at Tigue Moore Field project.

We now have a group of professionals running our athletic program and fundraising for RCAF. Under the training and tutelage of Alden and Jones, we are already miles ahead of where we were in the spring of 2016 in building relationships, respect and future planning.

At this time in history, our opportunity to be more relevant beyond a regional conference may be long gone, but at least I can see my money at work with this group of professionals.

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Originally Posted by CajunT

Scott Farmer grew his job as far as his vision took it, the SUNBELT CONFERENCE. That was the model he believed in and the model in which he earned the vast majority of his experience in between Troy and UL. He had neither the contacts, vision or knowledge to lead this program beyond it's current status today.

As someone else rightly pointed out in this thread, he was hamstrung financially at times by Martin Hall. But he also learned from his predecessor David Walker that it was much easier to accept those decisions as final, and simply not challenge the status-quo by being creative and pursuing other avenues for raising revenue.

He gave us a base to build upon with improved facilities. And that should be his legacy, bringing UL from the depths of the worst facilities in the SBC other than ULM to it's current status, up until the inception of Russo Park at Tigue Moore Field project.

We now have a group of professionals running our athletic program and fundraising for RCAF. Under the training and tutelage of Alden and Jones, we are already miles ahead of where we were in the spring of 2016 in building relationships, respect and future planning.

At this time in history, our opportunity to be more relevant beyond a regional conference may be long gone, but at least I can see my money at work with this group of professionals.

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F&B

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Originally Posted by California Cajun

It all boils down to raising the money.

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Cali is spot on with his observation. There is one other point here people are failing to realize. In this economy, there is not much money to be raised as it is simply not available. In the last year, Chevron has basically left the area and Stone Energy has let go the majority of their employees. I walk out of the front door of my house and I see three for sale signs on nearby homes and those signs have been there for months. The area has diversified some economically and that is preventing an even bigger issue. However, energy still drives things and things will be tough until that turns around. I don't see that happening anytime soon due to the fracking boom in West Texas and New Mexico. Gulf or Mexico projects simply cannot compete with those plays economically. Lack of available funds is the main reason many of the Alden suggestions have not been implemented. Maggard and Harris have great challenges in front of them as a result.