Danny Cottonham

[HoustonCajun]

No Director position requires a PhD. The director of the academic success center doesnn't have a PhD. Keep in mind that that a doctorate degree does not automatically qualify you for a job. To work with student athletes you have to have compassion, common sense, patience, & respect. Why is it that athletic coaches don't have to have PhD's?!? These young people respond better to people who care and understand their journey. Those of you who judge Mr. C have never had him by your side when there was noone else. I seriously doubt that the administration would have stuck by my side & gotten me thru some very trying times. They were just out to use me for my talent!

I wasn't making a judgement, just wondering If his position now requires a higher degree level plus experience and his level wasn't high enough. No one has yet said whether he had even a Masters.

[cajunmel]

He has a Masters Degree. I could care less if he only had his GED. He cared & he spoke to me like I meant something. As APraginCajun said, there are lots of former student athletes who are upset about this. And the student athletes are what this dept. is all about. Without us, there would be no coaches & administrators!! So they need to stop making decisions that supposedly benefit student athletes without consulting us!!!

[Cajunrunner]

You mean the same Authement that just recently told folks that he wasn't happy about UL football winning and going to a bowl game because you will now have a hard time keeping the boosters under control?? That Authement? The Fossil? Really? The same guy that was soooo freakin charismatic that most of our bigtime money folks now donate gobs of cash to LSU? That guy? Oh yeah, he was __________ great!

Z

+1

Remember, politics had just as much to do with the Baldwin hire and any thought of success. Thanks old Dr. A and Coach Blanco!

[playincajun]

Hear that they are going to put Jessica Leger over the department and yes she has a PhD. She is the Assistant Director for NCAA Compliance. May be using the PhD to justify the change. I don't understand when I had several interactions with Mr. Cottingham and found him genuine but real and that is what the athletes need someone who tells them straight up and they respect. Compliance is a bunch of paper work and not saying she is not great at it because she is but this is a lot more athlete interaction and personality is a big part of this when getting student athletes to pick UL over other schools.

[RaginRash]

Interesting.

Hear that they are going to put Jessica Leger over the department and yes she has a PhD. She is the Assistant Director for NCAA Compliance. May be using the PhD to justify the change. I don't understand when I had several interactions with Mr. Cottingham and found him genuine but real and that is what the athletes need someone who tells them straight up and they respect. Compliance is a bunch of paper work and not saying she is not great at it because she is but this is a lot more athlete interaction and personality is a big part of this when getting student athletes to pick UL over other schools.

[HoustonCajun]

Hear that they are going to put Jessica Leger over the department and yes she has a PhD. She is the Assistant Director for NCAA Compliance. May be using the PhD to justify the change. I don't understand when I had several interactions with Mr. Cottingham and found him genuine but real and that is what the athletes need someone who tells them straight up and they respect. Compliance is a bunch of paper work and not saying she is not great at it because she is but this is a lot more athlete interaction and personality is a big part of this when getting student athletes to pick UL over other schools.

UL is moving towards Tier 1. Maybe a reason for this decision was to put as many department heads as PhDs towards that goal. Tier 1 should be UL's # 1 goal. DC is at or near retirement. Keeping him in a position to still have an impact might have been offered to him. This is still an academic and not athletic position and dept. With understanding of the influence he has had on a lot of athletes, just maybe there is a bigger picture in mind. I would think more information needs to be forthcoming before everyone continues to bash UL over this.

[CajunT]

He has a Masters Degree. I could care less if he only had his GED. He cared & he spoke to me like I meant something. As APraginCajun said, there are lots of former student athletes who are upset about this. And the student athletes are what this dept. is all about. Without us, there would be no coaches & administrators!! So they need to stop making decisions that supposedly benefit student athletes without consulting us!!!

University decisions cannot or should not be made by consulting athletes on such decisions. I don't know the whole story here, but neither do you and a few others that have came out to speak on behalf of DC on Ragin'Pagin. Most people that have known DC for sometime will not have anything negative to say about the man. I certainly do not have anything negative to say about him and have always enjoyed my conversations with him. But such decisions aren't made in a vacuum and people's job performance are measured from year-to-year, not decades. Change is difficult and ofter met with emotion. Let's not trash the reputations of the people that made the decision or might be named as his replacement because you don't agree with the decision.

[Zeebart21]

University decisions cannot or should not be made by consulting athletes on such decisions. I don't know the whole story here, but neither do you and a few others that have came out to speak on behalf of DC on Ragin'Pagin. Most people that have known DC for sometime will not have anything negative to say about the man. I certainly do not have anything negative to say about him and have always enjoyed my conversations with him. But such decisions aren't made in a vacuum and people's job performance are measured from year-to-year, not decades. Change is difficult and ofter met with emotion. Let's not trash the reputations of the people that made the decision or might be named as his replacement because you don't agree with the decision.

Thanks, T.

[Lexhead]

He has a Masters Degree. I could care less if he only had his GED. He cared & he spoke to me like I meant something. As APraginCajun said, there are lots of former student athletes who are upset about this. And the student athletes are what this dept. is all about. Without us, there would be no coaches & administrators!! So they need to stop making decisions that supposedly benefit student athletes without consulting us!!!

+1