University of Louisiana Snubbed

[GoneGolfin]

I'll buy that. But don't you think the Texas Bowl would want to sell more tickets rather than placate Rice? I dunno...

Rice may have threatened to bolt. That would have really damaged ticket sales.

Brian

[rcarte3]

_ If you knew me you would know I am pretty cynical fan. I have been watching Cajun games for 20+ years. Almost all of those years I have seen bad football. The team this year was one of the best I have seen during this time. Before our QB got hurt ,we were a legitimate d1A team. Post injury we were just another mid-major trying to scrape by.
With the talent we have 5 to 7 wins is all we are capable of getting right now. Nick Saban would be hard pressed to get more than 7 wins with our talent.
Bustle's biggest weakness has not been on Saturdays, but on the recruiting trail. This is the first Senior class he has produced that has any NFL aspirations. Until we recruit better, 5-7 wins seasons are what we can realistically obtain.
Does this make me happy? Hell no, but until we get or Athletic department in order we will probably stay where we are, no matter who our coach is. _

It's cool and by the way a caller to the Tim Brando show asked why the I-Bowl picked Northern Illinois. Brando who lives in Shreveport stated that the biggest reason is that if they picked ULL to play Tech there would be very few hotel rooms reserved. He said most fans of both schools, ULL and Tech, would drive in the day of the game. He stated that Northern Illinois would bring more fans than people realized and that they would require hotel rooms. He didn't despute that ULL wouldn't sell tickets but that they want to sell hotel rooms too. He also said that they had no choice in who to bring into the game. He didn't explain it real but they could have had NC State but for some reason allowed the PapaJohn's bowl to have them even though the I Bowl got to pick ahead of PapaJohn's. Again he didn't explain it very well but it just goest to show that the smoke filled room is alive and well among the bowls.

[SportsFan]

I think I'll throw my 2 cents in today!

I heard the above mentioned Brando conversation. He is correct. One of the great lies about most bowl games is that they are a "reward" for a good season. No. Bowl games are for bringing tourists into a city and making money for the Chamber of Commerce. That's the real reason they exist. Therefore, the object is to bring in the 2 teams that will bring in 1. the most people for the longest period of time. And 2. the highest ratings in the largest market possible. A Tech/UL game would do neither one of those things for Shreveport. Why did FAU make it? Market size. Howard Shnellenbrger(sp?). It is considered an up and coming program. Sure, the Cajuns had 2 exciting players on offense. but, that was known only to Cajun fans and around the SBC. The bowl committees and TV people have to consider "how will this play in Peoria. or Boise. or Los Angeles and New York. This is all about money. Nothing more. The only promise of a bowl is winning the conference championship. Now, 7-5 helps a lot. A couple of those wins against schools that are known in those above mentioned cities will get notice. beating North Texas, or Ark State won't. Beating Southern Miss, or a BCS school will. It would have to be done consistantly. And, of course, once that starts happening, they won't play you anymore! The "name" problem is meaningless outside of Acadiana. As someone mentioned earlier, if you win, they will know you by your real name. It might be Louisiana. If the program wins, who gives a crap whether it's Louisiana, Louisiana-Lafayette, or ULL. Which, by the way, it should be, ULL. Because of Louisville, it will NEVER be UL on a national stage. NEVER. That's just a reality. USL was original. No other one in the country. Should have become South Louisiana as opposed to Southwestern Louisiana. (see South Florida.) But, the name is not as important as winning.
I know this will draw many nasty replies. Hey, that's part of the deal on these boards. I do not have a dog in this fight either. I enjoy the conversation. These are just observations from a sportsfan outside of Acadiana. I mean no disrespect toward anyone here or at your school. And, I don't expect to change anyone's mind. That's not my purpose. Just wanted to throw in my thoughts. The thoughts of someone not emotionally invested in Louisiana.

[CajunZ1]

USL was original. No other one in the country. Should have become South Louisiana as opposed to Southwestern Louisiana. (see South Florida.) But, the name is not as important as winning.

When we were "USL," we weren't "USL." We were "SW LA"

So while USL may be nice and unique, it wasn't what we were called.

I would have like University of South Louisiana.

But who cares, what's done is done.

[chauncey]

I don't believe many cajun fans would have attended the game and bolted back to Lafayette. Its not about the money, the independence bowl lost money last year with 2 BCS teams. You can't tell me that NIU would have more fans staying in Shreveport than the Cajuns.

[SportsFan]

The University of South Louisiana would have been good. USL. Still unique. No question who you are talking about.

I do believe more fans from south Louisiana would make the trip to Shreveport. But, I also believe NIU fans would stay longer and spend more money. Yes, it is all about money. It may be that the Independance Bowl has gotten tired of losing money.

[rcarte3]

_ I don't believe many cajun fans would have attended the game and bolted back to Lafayette. Its not about the money, the independence bowl lost money last year with 2 BCS teams. You can't tell me that NIU would have more fans staying in Shreveport than the Cajuns. _

I am not saying that Tim Brando did. What I am gathering from that is the NIU fans would need to stay longer than ULL fans. You would probably have some ULL fans staying one night but some NIU fans would need 2 nights. What is it from Lafayette a 3 hour at most drive to Shreveport? I bet up to half the ULL fans would drive back home after the game. Granted 2 BCS teams don't promise a profit but that is the perception of the bowl committees. At least one team away means more fans in hotels. I am not saying they are correct just that is the perception. It is about money not for the bowl but for the hotels, shops, and resturants. I relative of mine works in government in New Orleans and he has told me deep down the hotels don't like it much when LSU is in the Sugar Bowl because their fans don't rent many rooms because LSU is so close by.

[rcarte3]

_ I think I'll throw my 2 cents in today!

I heard the above mentioned Brando conversation. He is correct. One of the great lies about most bowl games is that they are a "reward" for a good season. No. Bowl games are for bringing tourists into a city and making money for the Chamber of Commerce. That's the real reason they exist. Therefore, the object is to bring in the 2 teams that will bring in 1. the most people for the longest period of time. And 2. the highest ratings in the largest market possible. A Tech/UL game would do neither one of those things for Shreveport. Why did FAU make it? Market size. Howard Shnellenbrger(sp?). It is considered an up and coming program. Sure, the Cajuns had 2 exciting players on offense. but, that was known only to Cajun fans and around the SBC. The bowl committees and TV people have to consider "how will this play in Peoria. or Boise. or Los Angeles and New York. This is all about money. Nothing more. The only promise of a bowl is winning the conference championship. Now, 7-5 helps a lot. A couple of those wins against schools that are known in those above mentioned cities will get notice. beating North Texas, or Ark State won't. Beating Southern Miss, or a BCS school will. It would have to be done consistantly. And, of course, once that starts happening, they won't play you anymore! The "name" problem is meaningless outside of Acadiana. As someone mentioned earlier, if you win, they will know you by your real name. It might be Louisiana. If the program wins, who gives a crap whether it's Louisiana, Louisiana-Lafayette, or UL. Which, by the way, it should be, ULL. Because of Louisville, it will NEVER be UL on a national stage. NEVER. That's just a reality. USL was original. No other one in the country. Should have become South Louisiana as opposed to Southwestern Louisiana. (see South Florida.) But, the name is not as important as winning.
I know this will draw many nasty replies. Hey, that's part of the deal on these boards. I do not have a dog in this fight either. I enjoy the conversation. These are just observations from a sportsfan outside of Acadiana. I mean no disrespect toward anyone here or at your school. And, I don't expect to change anyone's mind. That's not my purpose. Just wanted to throw in my thoughts. The thoughts of someone not emotionally invested in Louisiana. _

At last someone who sees the real world for what it is NOT FAIR!!!!!! You made some great points!!

[rcarte3]

_ The University of South Louisiana would have been good. USL. Still unique. No question who you are talking about.

I do believe more fans from south Louisiana would make the trip to Shreveport. But, I also believe NIU fans would stay longer and spend more money. Yes, it is all about money. It may be that the Independance Bowl has gotten tired of losing money. _

How about doing something similar to Memphis State did several years ago. Their MSU was perceived as being confused with Miss. State and Mich. State. They changed to the University of Memphis. Why not go with the University of Lafayette? I know, I know some will say that could be confused with the University of Louisville ie, UL, but it makes you more unique.

[rbilleaud]

Before we get all angry, let's look at this objectively. The bottom line is that the Cajuns just didn't get it done this year, and we don't deserve to be in a bowl. Wins over UTEP and Florida Atlantic - both game we SHOULD have won - would have locked it up, and the team blew it. Who's responsible? I have no clue. I actually watched the UTEP game here in Atlanta, GA and it was like I was watching a totally different team. I understand, we had some injuries, but a good team learns to overcome those and win tough games. Frankly, I don't know whether to hold Bustle to account or not - he's an adequate coach, I suppose - but who are we going to get who'd be better? Coach shopping hasn't worked out that great for us. Look what we did to our once nationally recognized basketball team when we hired that loser Robert Lee, what rock did we find him under, and why is he still here? We should have kept the other guy even if his resume was a little fishy, he couldn't have been any worse than what we have now.

There is some truth in what one of the other posters was saying about marketing the athletic department. A lot of it comes down to how we present ourselves to the rest of the country. That ties into the issue about being able to hire better coaches. Look, we have some fantastic facilities, but we fail to capitalize on those. Perhaps the money would have been better spent coming up with a more attractive compensation package for coaching prospects - but it's a moot point now. This goes back to the previous administration and its inability to prioritize. Authement, for all of his acheivements, was in charge way too long and was more concerned with his legacy toward the end than about doing what was right and he over-reached. He wanted to do everything and do it now. Unquestionably, he improved the educational value of ULL (which is what the institution is supposed to be about anyway) and its facilities - but you can't do everything at once, you have to do it in steps, and the one step that got missed was the one where you clean out the deadwood in the athletic department. The mentality (and some of the personnel) is unchanged since the 1970's. Until that changes, we will remain mired in mediocrity. Admittedly, the Sun Belt conference was ill conceived and will never rise to the level of mid-major, but we're stuck with it. That said, our mission should be to dominate the conference the way that Florida State dominated the ACC in the 1990's or USC dominates the PAC-10. Along with purging the athletic department of its old attitudes, that would go a long way to improving our image nationally.