WBB coaching talk ...

[GetTheFacts1st]

FROM: CajunEXPRESS;

"What would be nice is to tare down Blackham, and build a state of the art facility for WBB, Volleyball, seating about 4500."

ummmmm, not practical from a ROI perspective

[CajunEXPRESS]

ROI is not in my estimation of what would be nice. You know you could also do other things in such an arena lots of use for a building of that nature. We are going for 20K students and additional student activites could be done in a place like this.

Women basketball will probably never be a good sport in the huge Cajun Dome, but surely I want it to be more popular than what can fit into EKL. In addition there will come a day that the location of EKL will have to be converted to academcis.

Let us not get too emotional about EKL. It was ancient when I was a student in 1966 with a student body of around 10K. Now we are a decade into the 21st century and will probably be at 20k before 2016-2018.

[VObserver]

FROM: CajunEXPRESS;

"What would be nice is to tare down Blackham, and build a state of the art facility for WBB, Volleyball, seating about 4500."

ummmmm, not practical from a ROI perspective

Not if you are filling it.

[awadelewis]

Women basketball will probably never be a good sport in the huge Cajun Dome, but surely I want it to be more popular than what can fit into EKL. In addition there will come a day that the location of EKL will have to be converted to academcis.

Let us not get too emotional about EKL. It was ancient when I was a student in 1966 with a student body of around 10K. Now we are a decade into the 21st century and will probably be at 20k before 2016-2018.

The fact that EKL is located on prime real estate for an academic building goes a long way towards supporting getting a new facility for WBB and VB. Plus, a new facility like what CajunEXPRESS talks about could also be used as a practice facility for MBB.

There's a bunch of talk going on around campus about what will happen if and when the University buys the Lourdes property. Part of that includes what to do with Blackham... Of course, need to get the money to do anything of that sort... join RCAF if you haven't already done so!

[NewsCopy]

UL to announce the new head women’s basketball coach in a press conference today at 12:00 p.m.

The rest of the story

UL-SI

[VObserver]

The fact that EKL is located on prime real estate for an academic building goes a long way towards supporting getting a new facility for WBB and VB. Plus, a new facility like what CajunEXPRESS talks about could also be used as a practice facility for MBB.

There's a bunch of talk going on around campus about what will happen if and when the University buys the Lourdes property. Part of that includes what to do with Blackham... Of course, need to get the money to do anything of that sort... join RCAF if you haven't already done so!

I am pretty sure that every poster in this thread is already an RCAF donor.

[BayouBaller]

Most athletic directors have a short list of prospects they would recruit for any vacancies. It appears Garry Brodhead has been at the top of Scott's list for quite some time. There is a lot to be said about hiring somebody that knows and respects the university community. Garry's run on the McNeese staff would be something we would all hope could be replicated at UL when he moves to the next seat.

But, he will need our support.

Butts in the cheap seats at EKL are nice, but that gym is an embarrassment to any Division I basketball program starting with the phony picture of fans in the stands on the scoreboard wall. If we want to be big time, then build the women a big time practice facility with more than two hoops in it and play all home games at the Cajun Dome. Let's start filling up a facility that is similar to what the Lady Cajuns will be playing in when they play on the road.

At the end of the day, the most important element of building a successful program is recruiting. Once you get them to LALA the program will need support to keep them here in the off season for classes, training, and employment. All big time programs have big time summer jobs for the student athletes in their academic field of study.

Finally, even Garry Brodhead will need support from the athletic department. He has never been a Division I head coach. I hope Scott gives him the same support he has provided to our whirling dervish football coach. Errol Rogers might have had a lot of shortcomings, but I feel his failure had a lot to do with the absolute lack of supervision, structure, and support from Mr. Walker and Mr. Farmer.

For some reason, I feel Coach Brodhead will get more. Unfortunately the ones that have suffered through this painful ordeal have been the players who in my mind have laid it all on the line for UL. Thought they did not win a lot of games, I pray UL will make sure they are a part of the university and athletic legacy they signed up for. Every one of them was a winner when they got here. UL needs to take some shared responsibility for how infrequent the scoreboard lit up in favor of the Ragin' Cajuns.

Garry Brodhead can have a lot to do with that!

[VObserver]

Most athletic directors have a short list of prospects they would recruit for any vacancies. It appears Garry Brodhead has been at the top of Scott's list for quite some time. There is a lot to be said about hiring somebody that knows and respects the university community. Garry's run on the McNeese staff would be something we would all hope could be replicated at UL when he moves to the next seat.

But, he will need our support.

Butts in the cheap seats at EKL are nice, but that gym is an embarrassment to any Division I basketball program starting with the phony picture of fans in the stands on the scoreboard wall. If we want to be big time, then build the women a big time practice facility with more than two hoops in it and play all home games at the Cajun Dome. Let's start filling up a facility that is similar to what the Lady Cajuns will be playing in when they play on the road.

At the end of the day, the most important element of building a successful program is recruiting. Once you get them to LALA the program will need support to keep them here in the off season for classes, training, and employment. All big time programs have big time summer jobs for the student athletes in their academic field of study.

Finally, even Garry Brodhead will need support from the athletic department. He has never been a Division I head coach. I hope Scott gives him the same support he has provided to our whirling dervish football coach. Errol Rogers might have had a lot of shortcomings, but I feel his failure had a lot to do with the absolute lack of supervision, structure, and support from Mr. Walker and Mr. Farmer.

For some reason, I feel Coach Brodhead will get more. Unfortunately the ones that have suffered through this painful ordeal have been the players who in my mind have laid it all on the line for UL. Thought they did not win a lot of games, I pray UL will make sure they are a part of the university and athletic legacy they signed up for.

Garry Brodhead can have a lot to do with that!

I agree with nearly everything you say.. nearly. Mr. Rogers shortcomings were entirely his own. Any lack of institutional support stemmed directly from his total failure as a coach, NOT the other way around.

[Turbine]

1. The last basketball coach to win and win big at UL said "Think Big"

He also said EKL was an asset to winning basketball games at UL. He said this with the full option of playing games in the Cajun Dome and still opted for EKL except in rare instances. Right up till Nelson Schexnayder hired J. Kelley Hall he stated and thought Title Nine required the Lady Cajuns to play in the Cajun Dome. It wasn't accurate but it was where he was headed pre JKH.

ps Chris Gradnigo transferred to a school with a gym the size of EKL.

Point: Thinking Big and playing big are not related to the size of the venue.

jmo

[BayouBaller]

I guess we can agree to disagree. It all started in the beginning when Errol was selected in the first place. Somebody needs to take responsibility for that mistake. When it became apparent he had many short comings the athletic department leadership did nothing to improve his abilities to lead the program. If this were a business, he would have been counseled then put on a strict performance plan to reverse what has been long discussed on this board. Instead, Scott Farmer EXTENDED HIS CONTRACT when the old one expired. This is not the leadership I would expect from an athletic department committed to excellence.

Hiring someone is simple. Giving them the training and motivation necessary to be successful and retained when they are is the mark of a highly productive operation. And if it does not work out, you need to cut your losses and move on. That did not happen for the women's basketball program in a timely manner.

[cajunref]

I guess we can agree to disagree. It all started in the beginning when Errol was selected in the first place. Somebody needs to take responsibility for that mistake. When it became apparent he had many short comings the athletic department leadership did nothing to improve his abilities to lead the program. If this were a business, he would have been counseled then put on a strict performance plan to reverse what has been long discussed on this board. Instead, Scott Farmer EXTENDED HIS CONTRACT when the old one expired. This is not the leadership I would expect from an athletic department committed to excellence.


Hiring someone is simple. Giving them the training and motivation necessary to be successful and retained when they are is the mark of a highly productive operation. And if it does not work out, you need to cut your losses and move on. That did not happen for the women's basketball program in a timely manner.

Training, motivation...seriuosly?? Resources. i.e; a budget to be successful, absolutely.

[BayouBaller]

Turbine,

Coastal Carolina's Kimbel Arena (http://www.goccusports.com/facilities/kimbel-arena.html) appears to be much bigger and nicer than EKL - AND IT HAS SIX HOOPS HANGING FROM THE CEILING! When watching the miserable shooting for this team I could only wonder how many shots you can get in practice with only two goals in EKL. Were they rolling out more that we knew nothing about? Check out the men's facility. Do you think Bob Marlin could be successful with a limited practice facility?

But really, is that the commitment to excellence UL is striving towards? The Big South Conference?

Kind of setting the bar low don't you think? Maybe I am unrealistic, but I am thinking more about building a program that can compete with The Louisiana State University.