Rate the job Scott Farmer is doing as UL AD

[CajunT]

Playing devil's advocate right now because I think you may be on to something, but why would we need a fundraiser if all of our teams were playing sub .500 ball? Aren't these coaches doing as much fundraising, by winning, as if we hired someone to do it full-time?

No, because the picture is much larger and more complicated than your think. Winning sells tickets as we have all recently witnessed hosting regionals and super regionals. Many of the people that wanted tickets to those events weren’t attending games while the softball and baseball programs were having great seasons, both being nationally ranked. Winning sells tickets and increases the value of your brand. Fundraising will require someone with the contacts and skills to go out and sell your brand to individuals, local businesses and corporations that essentially have no ties to this university or athletic program. This is the target group you must sell the athletic brand to moving forward and convince them there is something in it for them beyond just dumping money into a local university’s athletic fund. The LEDA presentation of the athletic programs economic impact on Lafayette and the surrounding area is a major spring board into approaching such business that have interest here in Lafayette. Approaching and selling these target businesses and corporations is going to take a person that has national connections and is versed in negotiations. The target investor is no longer just the local business man or woman that are vested in the success of this university, but those that have no ties to academics or athletics and convincing them of the benefits of investing into this athletic program.

We have fundraisers, but RCAF needs a full time professional to help raise the funds to complete the second and third phases of the Master Plan. This is not going to happen without moving forward and separating RCAF from the University Endowment. Coaches have to do too much fundraising at this university now; does anyone question how much Coach Hudspeth has done for football and what other coaches like Robichaux and Lotiefs have done for years? We need to move away from that model and allow coaches to run their programs. We are years away from that model, it will take time. Now is the time to push the envelope and get this going because we are just beginning to see what the benefits could be of a successful athletic program to this community.

[Turbine]

Answer the simple question, if we go 1-11 in football next year, would that be any of Scott farmers fault? Having a hand in the overall direction of the program is different than having a hand in direct on field results. For the record, I think Scott is doing a much better job in the things that I think he should be judged on.

An AD is judged on his hires.

A single winning or losing season is not the key.

The key job after setting coaches in place is handling success or failure.

If an AD holds on to a losing coach and lets players run the asylum for half a decade, he fails.

If an AD makes no effort to reward winning, he fails.

It goes deeper than a single season, but you can't ignore single seasons.

[BirdofParadise]

No, because the picture is much larger and more complicated than your think. Winning sells tickets as we have all recently witnessed hosting regionals and super regionals. Many of the people that wanted tickets to those events weren’t attending games while the softball and baseball programs were having great seasons, both being nationally ranked. Winning sells tickets and increases the value of your brand. Fundraising will require someone with the contacts and skills to go out and sell your brand to individuals, local businesses and corporations that essentially have no ties to this university or athletic program. This is the target group you must sell the athletic brand to moving forward and convince them there is something in it for them beyond just dumping money into a local university’s athletic fund. The LEDA presentation of the athletic programs economic impact on Lafayette and the surrounding area is a major spring board into approaching such business that have interest here in Lafayette. Approaching and selling these target businesses and corporations is going to take a person that has national connections and is versed in negotiations. The target investor is no longer just the local business man or woman that are vested in the success of this university, but those that have no ties to academics or athletics and convincing them of the benefits of investing into this athletic program.

We have fundraisers, but RCAF needs a full time professional to help raise the funds to complete the second and third phases of the Master Plan. This is not going to happen without moving forward and separating RCAF from the University Endowment. Coaches have to do too much fundraising at this university now; does anyone question how much Coach Hudspeth has done for football and what other coaches like Robichaux and Lotiefs have done for years? We need to move away from that model and allow coaches to run their programs. We are years away from that model, it will take time. Now is the time to push the envelope and get this going because we are just beginning to see what the benefits could be of a successful athletic program to this community.

Best post in this thread. Especially the part about making RCAF separate from the UL Foundation.

[CajunRage]

No, because the picture is much larger and more complicated than your think. Winning sells tickets as we have all recently witnessed hosting regionals and super regionals. Many of the people that wanted tickets to those events weren’t attending games while the softball and baseball programs were having great seasons, both being nationally ranked. Winning sells tickets and increases the value of your brand. Fundraising will require someone with the contacts and skills to go out and sell your brand to individuals, local businesses and corporations that essentially have no ties to this university or athletic program. This is the target group you must sell the athletic brand to moving forward and convince them there is something in it for them beyond just dumping money into a local university’s athletic fund. The LEDA presentation of the athletic programs economic impact on Lafayette and the surrounding area is a major spring board into approaching such business that have interest here in Lafayette. Approaching and selling these target businesses and corporations is going to take a person that has national connections and is versed in negotiations. The target investor is no longer just the local business man or woman that are vested in the success of this university, but those that have no ties to academics or athletics and convincing them of the benefits of investing into this athletic program.

We have fundraisers, but RCAF needs a full time professional to help raise the funds to complete the second and third phases of the Master Plan. This is not going to happen without moving forward and separating RCAF from the University Endowment. Coaches have to do too much fundraising at this university now; does anyone question how much Coach Hudspeth has done for football and what other coaches like Robichaux and Lotiefs have done for years? We need to move away from that model and allow coaches to run their programs. We are years away from that model, it will take time. Now is the time to push the envelope and get this going because we are just beginning to see what the benefits could be of a successful athletic program to this community.

I understand everything you are saying. My point was, didn't we need to pay these coaches to produce a product worth investing in? I think taking the previously stated 125-150k from any of our sports would have hurt then in the winning department and thus making the program less attractive to big donors. This winning tells the donors that we can do this much with nothing. Imagine what they could do with a respectable budget.

[Hammer58]

Playing devil's advocate right now because I think you may be on to something, but why would we need a fundraiser if all of our teams were playing sub .500 ball? Aren't these coaches doing as much fundraising, by winning, as if we hired someone to do it full-time?

That's the old model by which this university operated for decades, in other words "the way things were done around here ". It was articulated by former AD Nelson Schexneider in a radio interview when a caller raised the question about an athletics fundraising organization. His response was basically "If you want to write us a check we'll be glad to take your money. ". That was their reactive reasoning., win a few games and people might get excited enough to come by a drop off a check. That's small time thinking that might have worked in the SLC. But to get the big money you need to fund facility improvements, pay top to obtain and retain top notch coaches you need a full time professional with skills and contacts to tap into revenue sources that we could only previously dream of.

[CajunT]

I understand everything you are saying. My point was, didn't we need to pay these coaches to produce a product worth investing in? I think taking the previously stated 125-150k from any of our sports would have hurt then in the winning department and thus making the program less attractive to big donors. This winning tells the donors that we can do this much with nothing. Imagine what they could do with a respectable budget.

I understand the point you are trying to make and I don't disagree with it. I just don't like using the phrase "look how much we've accomplished with very little funding"! That was the mantra of the old regime and the built in excuse for doing nothing at the time. Other than that, your point is on target.

[CajunRage]

I understand the point you are trying to make and I don't disagree with it. I just don't like using the phrase "look how much we've accomplished with very little funding"! That was the mantra of the old regime and the built in excuse for doing nothing at the time. Other than that, your point is on target.

I agree. If I was a multi millionaire (which I am far from) with no ties to UL like most of us have, and the athletic department was in the shape it was a few years ago, a 500k/yr fundraiser would not be getting any money from me.

[basinbear]

Best post in this thread. Especially the part about making RCAF separate from the UL Foundation.

And hiring someone to run RCAF with those type of connections......

[CajunFan3406]

You were very generous. 1 higher than me. Why are you so generous?

He's definitely a #2.

;-)

[HoustonCajun]

I understand the point you are trying to make and I don't disagree with it. I just don't like using the phrase "look how much we've accomplished with very little funding"! That was the mantra of the old regime and the built in excuse for doing nothing at the time. Other than that, your point is on target.

That mantra of doing more with less is prevalent not only in athletics but in academics too. I fear our leadership is content with our current success and being dominant in the Sun Belt. That is my biggest concern. If we are ever going to move beyond that, no better time than now. If we are ever going to complete Phase 2 and be truly competitive on a major level, we need a dynamic person to head up an RCAF that is separate from the Endowment as you stated. While it is great that we have accomplished what we have with so little, it is time we move from "doing more with less" to "doing more with more".

[CajunAmos]

That mantra of doing more with less is prevalent not only in athletics but in academics too. I fear our leadership is content with our current success and being dominant in the Sun Belt. That is my biggest concern. If we are ever going to move beyond that, no better time than now. If we are ever going to complete Phase 2 and be truly competitive on a major level, we need a dynamic person to head up an RCAF that is separate from the Endowment as you stated. While it is great that we have accomplished what we have with so little, it is time we move from "doing more with less" to "doing more with more".

Maybe "Doing even more with more".

[CajunT]

That mantra of doing more with less is prevalent not only in athletics but in academics too. I fear our leadership is content with our current success and being dominant in the Sun Belt. That is my biggest concern. If we are ever going to move beyond that, no better time than now. If we are ever going to complete Phase 2 and be truly competitive on a major level, we need a dynamic person to head up an RCAF that is separate from the Endowment as you stated. While it is great that we have accomplished what we have with so little, it is time we move from "doing more with less" to "doing more with more".

I think there are those that are perfectly happy sitting in the SBC until we are done with Phase II or III. I'm not one of those people, but you have to have someone that views the landscape differenty campaigning for this athletic program. Build from the SBC seems to have won out, regardless of what anyone thinks at this time.