Scheduling . .

[HoustonCajun]

_ I think they are still upset with Wrong Waters which we all should be. We need to get out of the Belt asap and yes that includes jumping to the WAC. Right now however I think we are lucky to be in the Belch. Our programs are all pretty terrible. We haven't moved up at all in the Belch. Being an Independent would be mean death to Ragin Cajun sports. _

Why would being an Independent be death to UL sports? Every team out there is looking for opponents. It might be a little more difficult to schedule, but not impossible and we would certainly get more quality opponents. As an Independent in 1996, we went 5-6 against Florida, Texas A&M, Southern Miss, LA Tech, Houston, Ark. State, UAB, Memphis, VA Tech, Norhern Ill. and Texas Tech, with A&M, Houston, Ark. State, Memphis and N. Ill as home games. In 1997 we played Pitt, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, UAB, Ark. State, N. Alabama, ULM, Tulane, Washington State and LA Tech, with OSU, UQAB, N. Alabama, ULM, Tulane and LA Tech at home. Stokley's last year at UL we played Arkansas, Northwestern State, LA Tech, USM, UAB, ARk. STate, UCF, Tulane, ULM, Oklahoma State & W. KY. Even when Baldwin took over in 1999, we played a great schedule with Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Houston, Middle Tennessee, LA Tech, Washington STate, Tulane, ULM, Ark. State, USM and Wofford. Scheduling has gone downhill since then.

That fact that we had losing records was not so much because of scheduling but because our budget kept getting reduced. After 1996 when we wnet 5-6 and beat Texas A&M, Dr. A kept lowering out budget and we dropped to the bottom on 1A football. Why can't we maintain that same kind of schedule and with what we are starting to do with facility improvements and the RCAF, we could move our program up a notch or two above the SBC? A winning record would get us in a bowl game against that kind of competition. We have been in 2 conferences, Big West and SBC, where we tied for the championship and still got shut out of a bowl game. And, when we became bowl eligible this year, we still got shut out to teams that finished lower than us in our conference and in the MAC. SBC Conference affiliation has done nothing for us.

Of course, when we were an independent back then, we were also an independent in other sports as well. Softball still made it to the World Series. Teams still want to schedule against geographic teams and would prefer to play an independent than a lower tier SBC program. Would we have to travel more? I don't know that that is necessarily true. If we win, schools will want to play us and if we win we can get invites to the NCAA (automatic conference births have meant little to us). And, better scheduling will give us more credibility, more recognition, greater attendance, more revenue (the SBC generates no revenue that I am aware of), and a better chance at conference realligment time. And, we would no longer be tied to the hip with ULM and a conference that will not support our use of UL.

And, in starting the RCAF, if we were to become an Independent and announce the kind of scheduling we had in 1996, would we likely get more donations and committments to facility improvements? I may be totally wrong, but I think the idea is too readily dismissed and still has merit.

[Hammer58]

_ Why would being an Independent be death to UL sports? Every team out there is looking for opponents. It might be a little more difficult to schedule, but not impossible and we would certainly get more quality opponents. As an Independent in 1996, we went 5-6 against Florida, Texas A&M, Southern Miss, LA Tech, Houston, Ark. State, UAB, Memphis, VA Tech, Norhern Ill. and Texas Tech, with A&M, Houston, Ark. State, Memphis and N. Ill as home games. In 1997 we played Pitt, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, UAB, Ark. State, N. Alabama, ULM, Tulane, Washington State and LA Tech, with OSU, UQAB, N. Alabama, ULM, Tulane and LA Tech at home. Stokley's last year at UL we played Arkansas, Northwestern State, LA Tech, USM, UAB, ARk. STate, UCF, Tulane, ULM, Oklahoma State & W. KY. Even when Baldwin took over in 1999, we played a great schedule with Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Houston, Middle Tennessee, LA Tech, Washington STate, Tulane, ULM, Ark. State, USM and Wofford. Scheduling has gone downhill since then.

That fact that we had losing records was not so much because of scheduling but because our budget kept getting reduced. After 1996 when we wnet 5-6 and beat Texas A&M, Dr. A kept lowering out budget and we dropped to the bottom on 1A football. Why can't we maintain that same kind of schedule and with what we are starting to do with facility improvements and the RCAF, we could move our program up a notch or two above the SBC? A winning record would get us in a bowl game against that kind of competition. We have been in 2 conferences, Big West and SBC, where we tied for the championship and still got shut out of a bowl game. And, when we became bowl eligible this year, we still got shut out to teams that finished lower than us in our conference and in the MAC. SBC Conference affiliation has done nothing for us.

Of course, when we were an independent back then, we were also an independent in other sports as well. Softball still made it to the World Series. Teams still want to schedule against geographic teams and would prefer to play an independent than a lower tier SBC program. Would we have to travel more? I don't know that that is necessarily true. If we win, schools will want to play us and if we win we can get invites to the NCAA (automatic conference births have meant little to us). And, better scheduling will give us more credibility, more recognition, greater attendance, more revenue (the SBC generates no revenue that I am aware of), and a better chance at conference realligment time. And, we would no longer be tied to the hip with ULM and a conference that will not support our use of UL.

And, in starting the RCAF, if we were to become an Independent and announce the kind of scheduling we had in 1996, would we likely get more donations and committments to facility improvements? I may be totally wrong, but I think the idea is too readily dismissed and still has merit. _

If being an independent was such an advantageous way to go don't you think more mid-majors would take that route? As it is the only mid-majors that can pull it off are Notre Dame and the two service academies because finances are not an issue for any of them.

[RCAJUN90]

_ Why would being an Independent be death to UL sports? Every team out there is looking for opponents. It might be a little more difficult to schedule, but not impossible and we would certainly get more quality opponents. As an Independent in 1996, we went 5-6 against Florida, Texas A&M, Southern Miss, LA Tech, Houston, Ark. State, UAB, Memphis, VA Tech, Norhern Ill. and Texas Tech, with A&M, Houston, Ark. State, Memphis and N. Ill as home games. In 1997 we played Pitt, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, UAB, Ark. State, N. Alabama, ULM, Tulane, Washington State and LA Tech, with OSU, UQAB, N. Alabama, ULM, Tulane and LA Tech at home. Stokley's last year at UL we played Arkansas, Northwestern State, LA Tech, USM, UAB, ARk. STate, UCF, Tulane, ULM, Oklahoma State & W. KY. Even when Baldwin took over in 1999, we played a great schedule with Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Houston, Middle Tennessee, LA Tech, Washington STate, Tulane, ULM, Ark. State, USM and Wofford. Scheduling has gone downhill since then.

That fact that we had losing records was not so much because of scheduling but because our budget kept getting reduced. After 1996 when we wnet 5-6 and beat Texas A&M, Dr. A kept lowering out budget and we dropped to the bottom on 1A football. Why can't we maintain that same kind of schedule and with what we are starting to do with facility improvements and the RCAF, we could move our program up a notch or two above the SBC? A winning record would get us in a bowl game against that kind of competition. We have been in 2 conferences, Big West and SBC, where we tied for the championship and still got shut out of a bowl game. And, when we became bowl eligible this year, we still got shut out to teams that finished lower than us in our conference and in the MAC. SBC Conference affiliation has done nothing for us.

Of course, when we were an independent back then, we were also an independent in other sports as well. Softball still made it to the World Series. Teams still want to schedule against geographic teams and would prefer to play an independent than a lower tier SBC program. Would we have to travel more? I don't know that that is necessarily true. If we win, schools will want to play us and if we win we can get invites to the NCAA (automatic conference births have meant little to us). And, better scheduling will give us more credibility, more recognition, greater attendance, more revenue (the SBC generates no revenue that I am aware of), and a better chance at conference realligment time. And, we would no longer be tied to the hip with ULM and a conference that will not support our use of UL.

And, in starting the RCAF, if we were to become an Independent and announce the kind of scheduling we had in 1996, would we likely get more donations and committments to facility improvements? I may be totally wrong, but I think the idea is too readily dismissed and still has merit. _

I understand your frustration and in the mid 80's when we were an independent we had good (by our standards) football and basketball teams. The college landscape has changed since then. I was shocked when we didn't get into CUSA. We had played all those teams every year like a league when I was a student. In an act of desperation we joined the Big West and then the Sunbelt. I hate the Sunbelt. I wish we could just leave but with our teams being as bad as they are we wouldn't survive as an independent nor would we be welcomed anyplace else. Do you really think we would survive playing the big boys every other week? Could we survive without a Bowl game to play for and a championship? We need to at least win the Belt and go to the New Orleans Bowl before we can leave the Belch. I believe if we were Troy (As far as their successful sports teams ) we could probably bolt for greener pastures but right now we look about as hot as an 93 year grandma.
Just my .02

[HoustonCajun]

_ I understand your frustration and in the mid 80's when we were an independent we had good (by our standards) football and basketball teams. The college landscape has changed since then. I was shocked when we didn't get into CUSA. We had played all those teams every year like a league when I was a student. In an act of desperation we joined the Big West and then the Sunbelt. I hate the Sunbelt. I wish we could just leave but with our teams being as bad as they are we wouldn't survive as an independent nor would we be welcomed anyplace else. Do you really think we would survive playing the big boys every other week? Could we survive without a Bowl game to play for and a championship? We need to at least win the Belt and go to the New Orleans Bowl before we can leave the Belch. I believe if we were Troy (As far as their successful sports teams ) we could probably bolt for greener pastures but right now we look about as hot as an 93 year grandma.
Just my .02 _

Why would we have to play BCS schools every week? Other conferences still need to schedule games. It might be easier to schedule C-USA, WAC, MAC & an SBC game mixed in with BCS schools and a 1AA school than it is to play those conferences as an SBC member. We have a bowl game to play for in the SBC, but it hasn't done anything for us. We tied for the conference and didn't play. We were bowl eligible this year and didn't play. We have a great reputation on baseball and softball, so that shouldn't be a problem. Basketball has a great reputation although we haven't played well of late. Football is up and coming. I don't think scheduling would be a major problem. In fact, we would likely have better scheduling than in the Belch. Games vs. conference members for the most part don't excit me. I still think we would be just as attractive to anyone as we are now in the Belch and likely moreso. I just might be easier to establish ourselves as an Independent than an also ran in the Belch. Maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part, but I am not ready to concede that the SBC is better than being an Independent.

[RCAJUN90]

_ Why would we have to play BCS schools every week? Other conferences still need to schedule games. It might be easier to schedule C-USA, WAC, MAC & an SBC game mixed in with BCS schools and a 1AA school than it is to play those conferences as an SBC member. We have a bowl game to play for in the SBC, but it hasn't done anything for us. We tied for the conference and didn't play. We were bowl eligible this year and didn't play. We have a great reputation on baseball and softball, so that shouldn't be a problem. Basketball has a great reputation although we haven't played well of late. Football is up and coming. I don't think scheduling would be a major problem. In fact, we would likely have better scheduling than in the Belch. Games vs. conference members for the most part don't excit me. I still think we would be just as attractive to anyone as we are now in the Belch and likely moreso. I just might be easier to establish ourselves as an Independent than an also ran in the Belch. Maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part, but I am not ready to concede that the SBC is better than being an Independent. _

Hey that is what message boards are all about. You bring up an interesting shift for UL. We disagree if it would be a good or bad move. I respect your opinion. We can both agree that the Belch is not where we want to be.

[Frenchie35]

_
And you're also assuming that if we got 20 free throws, we would have made 4 for the win _

Yes

[HoustonCajun]

_ Hey that is what message boards are all about. You bring up an interesting shift for UL. We disagree if it would be a good or bad move. I respect your opinion. We can both agree that the Belch is not where we want to be. _

Thanks, and I respect your opinion as well. None of us want to be in the Belch, but think there is no alternative right now. I submit that there is.
And, another major advantage of being an Independent vs. SBC that I failed to mention is recruiting. I submit that being an SBC member hurts recruiting. An Independent would play a much better schedule, have as good or better chance at a bowl game, and allow for better recruiting because of our better schedule, better perception nationally, better fan support, better facilities, and better financial support. Understand that my recommendation for Independent status is based on our SBC membership. If we were in a better conference, that would make all the difference in the world. And, I would include the WAC as a much better conference, as well as C-USA. The MAC holds no interest for me and makes no sense anyway. I think we can achieve more as an Independent that we ever will in the Belch because its reputation will always be that of the lowest conference in 1A. We can gain more notoriety, improve our reputation, increase support, improve recruiting, improve scheduling, use our UL and Louisiana name, and win. And, when we do win, we won't be perceived as winning in the lowest level conference which means nothing. We will be winning against higher level competition, against teams our fans would rather see us play, against teams that will inspire people to support our program and against teams that will bring us more national recognition. And that will take us to a higher level and give us a better chance at conference realligment quicker than maintaining affiliation with the Belch. We can schedule because everybody needs teams to play, particularly on a regional basis, and we won't be hindered by the reputation of the SBC or by conference scheduling requirements, which generate 0 dollars for us anyway. Again, just my opinion.

[CajunZ1]

_

I can't find much wrong with what you're saying.

Can anybody refute these ideas as bogus? The only argument to the contrary that I've heard was a simple "we'd go bankrupt and it would be the death of UL football."

How so?

Again, I'm just asking since I'm admittedly pretty ignorant about all this stuff...

[Hammer58]

_ I can't find much wrong with what you're saying.

Can anybody refute these ideas as bogus? The only argument to the contrary that I've heard was a simple "we'd go bankrupt and it would be the death of UL football."

How so?

Again, I'm just asking since I'm admittedly pretty ignorant about all this stuff... _

Prior to the Belt membership we were indiependent. At one time it was possible in large part because you had a number of other football mid-majors that were in the same boat such as S Miss, E Carolina and others that people mention as our peers that have passd us by. the big change came when most of them got into CUSA. That and the bowl tie-ins going to different conferences changed the landscape. The argument about a better chance of playing in a bowl as an independent and easier to recruit have been proven worng. that was our reason for seeking FB only memebership in the Big West. When that door closed we pursued forming football in the Belt which up until then did not have it and did not have enough members playing FB which is why ULM got into the Belt.

[Hammer58]

_ Thanks, and I respect your opinion as well. None of us want to be in the Belch, but think there is no alternative right now. I submit that there is.
And, another major advantage of being an Independent vs. SBC that I failed to mention is recruiting. I submit that being an SBC member hurts recruiting. An Independent would play a much better schedule, have as good or better chance at a bowl game, and allow for better recruiting because of our better schedule, better perception nationally, better fan support, better facilities, and better financial support. Understand that my recommendation for Independent status is based on our SBC membership. If we were in a better conference, that would make all the difference in the world. And, I would include the WAC as a much better conference, as well as C-USA. The MAC holds no interest for me and makes no sense anyway. I think we can achieve more as an Independent that we ever will in the Belch because its reputation will always be that of the lowest conference in 1A. We can gain more notoriety, improve our reputation, increase support, improve recruiting, improve scheduling, use our UL and Louisiana name, and win. And, when we do win, we won't be perceived as winning in the lowest level conference which means nothing. We will be winning against higher level competition, against teams our fans would rather see us play, against teams that will inspire people to support our program and against teams that will bring us more national recognition. And that will take us to a higher level and give us a better chance at conference realligment quicker than maintaining affiliation with the Belch. We can schedule because everybody needs teams to play, particularly on a regional basis, and we won't be hindered by the reputation of the SBC or by conference scheduling requirements, which generate 0 dollars for us anyway. Again, just my opinion. _

Then why are we having trouble filling the slot for that last game right now? At least in a conference we only have to go out and fill about 4 or 5 games per season because the rest are conference games. As an independent we have to negotiate 12 games per season and make all of the dates work. As an independent there were times going into the summer when we still didn't know what our finalized schedule was going to be for the upcoming season. Now with a conference we have future schedules completed or almost completed before the end of the current season.

As for the wins and increased fan support, how do you figure that? If the Belt is so bad and we have struggled here how do you see us automatically winning if we are playing other teams which by your definition would be better than the Belt teams? Are we going to draw draw better crowds at home because we are getting killed in money games at BCS schools on the road? Who other than Belt teams, if even them, are going to agree to come here to play? If your answer is the BCS teams that we manage to get 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 deals that probably leaves us with very few home games if we have to travel 2 or 3 years for every 1 home game we manage to get.

Finally, every bowl has its participants locked in with a conference tie-in. Even in a rare year like this with open spots because of teams not having 6 wins what independent other than ND or Navy got a bid?

I just do not see the argument in favor of being an independent holding any water.