CUSA UPGRADE

[Boomer]

But they don't have any of that. They don't have a $20M budget and they are yet to deliver on their facility upgrade. It was based on a promise to achieve those levels which they don't appear close to doing. Tech had been marketing itself for admission for years and they have better name recognition than we do. Also, being in a former conference (WAC) with some of the members helped greatly. As Basin Bear said, we didn't even try to get in and were caught unprepared not once but twice. You don't mail in a PowerPoint presentation as your marketing effort and hope that works. All indications are we are doing the right things now and we have finally been able to showcase our achievements and potential thru our bowl appearances. We should now be the most attractive candidate out there, but we are all still in the dark as to our actual efforts to move us to another level.

-------B-Bear, hammer, and H-Cajun think are all on the money-----We under sold and LTUR and others took Hyperbole to new levels----I like to look at all the competition and look at it from what is our ideal (BIG 12) Shoot for the highest and you will hit the in between----#1 who is the competition? What schools are the next in line to get into this conference or others along the way and WHY??? makes sense of far?? I would say BYU, some MWC and some ACC!!! Now lets take a look at why and what we have to do to reach their level for consideration----MARKET SIZE---every body talks about this and we cannot hatch people but we can point out that we are a rapidly growing and projected fastest growing as anywhere. Along with this we need to find out who actually is the market (LSU is Shreveport for instance)----ATTENDANCE---I think other than maybe 2 or 3 schools that we will be the Southern leader after this year
------FACILITIES---WE might have the best coming-----BUDGET---If we can get a student fee along with our continual growth we are there---Lafayette---We have the travel of both highways and flights coming into town plus maybe the greatest non Super metro in the South---Football---Getting there rapidly---Other programs----Been there and done that---------------I need you guys to add to this but when I look at the 'Where we are and the potential" we can do this!!! I would appreciate adding to this in anyway for the good or bad---It is 11:00 see you guys at the B-ball game!!!

[Just1More]

Like I said in my other post I don't disagree with what you say and judging by the opinions of others who have interacted with him relationships probably aren't Farmer's strong suit. But at the end of the day we didn't get in because we weren't the most attractive candidate to get in.

You can hang onto the concept that this threshold of attractiveness, strictly on paper, got others in and not us. I suppose had we made it in during conference realignment, you would have been saying "How in the world did we get in when we weren't qualified?". And as far as your post of Tech getting in... they did NOT have a $20M budget. They promised they would in several years. They marketed themselves. Their football achievements are precisely why UL has to market themselves. You can look a man in the eye and explain how a 34 year president, that was hired in under an NCAA basketball death penalty situation, is no longer in charge... and that you are a proponent of an athletic program, "the front porch of a university", being vitally important to your university growth mission. If you send them our past results, and they graph it, the trend isn't very flattering. If we were not scrambling to change perceptions with personal discussions of all the things that strapped us down in the past, coupled with what good leadership can do to reinvigorate a passionate alumni, then we screwed up.

I know you think everything gets done in this world with a yard stick, but it absolutely does not. You don't marry your bride saying, "this is as good as it gets". You talk about a future where your constant improvement as a team will bring about great treasures for your new family. That attraction got created by interest that took many attempts and long talks... not just a picture and a resume of your current measurements. These other programs and their presidents aren't above us as humans. They are just humans. Meeting with them and sharing hopes, fears, uncommon and common experiences go a long, long way. Don't ever doubt it.

[Hammer58]

- A 20 million dollar budget when ours was about 15 million
- A better football program from 1995-2012.
- Moderately better facilities and a plan for facility enhancements.

That was their sales pitch. As HoustonCajun points out, all smoke and mirrors. They promised to have a $20 million budget WITHIN 2 YEARS OF MEMBERSHIP. That included what they expected from enhanced revenue from CUSA TV contract and hopefully increase in donations which they did not have in hand. The better football record over that time frame is a fallacy. Our overall records were comparable. The difference was they had a very roller coaster record of pretty good years usually followed by poor years which averaged out to around or slightly better than 0.500 while we had mediocre year consistently hovering around the 0.500 mark. Granted the perception is better because of the memory of the sporadic good years. But that is mainly in football only. In other sports while their women's basketball was significantly better we were about the same in basketball and infinitely better in baseball and softball. So we had as much or more to offer as an all around program. Facilities were a wash at best. While we lacked in some areas we are better in others such as IPF, baseball and softball. As for the plans, yes they were ahead of us there and that lies at the feet of Farmer who you want to defend. But they flopped in fundraising for their plans and though they had a head start on us we are probably about even and if Farmer meets his Feb 1 deadline for construction to start we will move past them in that regard.

[Hammer58]

You can hang onto the concept that this threshold of attractiveness, strictly on paper, got others in and not us. I suppose had we made it in during conference realignment, you would have been saying "How in the world did we get in when we weren't qualified?". And as far as your post of Tech getting in... they did NOT have a $20M budget. They promised they would in several years. They marketed themselves. Their football achievements are precisely why UL has to market themselves. You can look a man in the eye and explain how a 34 year president, that was hired in under an NCAA basketball death penalty situation, is no longer in charge... and that you are a proponent of an athletic program, "the front porch of a university", being vitally important to your university growth mission. If you send them our past results, and they graph it, the trend isn't very flattering. If we were not scrambling to change perceptions with personal discussions of all the things that strapped us down in the past, coupled with what good leadership can do to reinvigorate a passionate alumni, then we screwed up.

I know you think everything gets done in this world with a yard stick, but it absolutely does not. You don't marry your bride saying, "this is as good as it gets". You talk about a future where your constant improvement as a team will bring about great treasures for your new family. That attraction got created by interest that took many attempts and long talks... not just a picture and a resume of your current measurements. These other programs and their presidents aren't above us as humans. They are just humans. Meeting with them and sharing hopes, fears, uncommon and common experiences go a long, long way. Don't ever doubt it.

Don't sell yourself short Matt. Z says a picture of you in a thong along with your measurements is mighty impressive.

[Just1More]

Don't sell yourself short Matt. Z says a picture of you in a thong along with your measurements is mighty impressive.

Well, you probably think the Victoria's Secret models were fighting over me due to my thong... but it wasn't the thong and how magnificent I look in it. I told them I had a $20 million/year budget... and they believed me. That was one crazy week in the Bahamas. You'd be very surprised at how you can change a relationship, good and bad, with the words you speak.

[Just1More]

Not to get all touchy-feely, but many moons ago I was tasked with trying to figure out the relationship with two major companies. The more I dug into it, the more these two companies just didn't align... but they gave each other exclusive business. Later, I met a guy that was in the lower level executive management at one of the companies. I asked him what in the world bonded the two companies and almost locked out everyone else. He told me that the two owners used to hate each other... despite not knowing each other. But, they were at a group breakfast together one morning where one of them brought his Downs Syndrome brother with him. The Downs brother was walking around, since everyone was wearing name tags with only their first names, and introducing himself to everyone. He introduced himself to the other guy, who then discovered whose brother he was. He walked over and said, "I have a brother with Downs. I wish I would have known you did. I really like your brother." They became big friends, permanent business partners, and both built huge businesses.

Paper pushes with figures and stats don't win friends and influence people. If you have the best stats, you can probably live by them. If you don't, you had better cultivate relationships... while you improve your stats.

[Zeebart21]

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/201...u-stadium-chun

Chun made the effort. FAU wasnt even on the radar. This article has been posted before, apparently some have short memories.

Z

[Turbine]

- A 20 million dollar budget when ours was about 15 million
- A better football program from 1995-2012.
- Moderately better facilities and a plan for facility enhancements.

Two of the three were promises, not reality.

In other words a sales job, and I have to admit, a job well done.

[Turbine]

ps didn't realize the replies covered it.

[basinbear]

The past is the past....learn from our mistakes and short comings, prepare with a real sense of urgency....in EVERYTHING that we are discussing and dealing with.....for the future.....there are things that we are doing and can do NOW that will show the College Athletics world that we mean business....it is ours to grab and hang on to if we really want to...

[DaddyCajun]

Our talks are with CUSA and the American Conference! I think Arkansas State and Louisiana are going to be asked to the American Conference Western Division!

[HoustonCajun]

Our talks are with CUSA and the American Conference! I think Arkansas State and Louisiana are going to be asked to the American Conference Western Division!

Wishful thinking or inside information?