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[Cajun Monkee]

After the first NOLA Bowl victory, Zee and I were talking.

He commented the measure of us as a fan base wouldn't be how we dealt with winning. He said it would be how we dealt with the lean.

I think the proof is in the pudding.

We are one of 60 odd teams competing for one cherry bowl slot.

I fear the "ceiling" is irrelevant. I hate to think the "ceiling" is the reason.

[TammanyCajun]

Attention: we are all on the same team that want the same things, which is a prosperous UL. With that said, if anyone on this board thinks we should be content with staying in this conference, go join Authement at the nursing home or Farmer at University of Phoenix, where he is the AD.

[CajunRage]

The problem with your request is that short of a 10-1 with our one loss being to a Top 10 team and having at least one win over a Top 25, or going undefeated (thereby gaining a NY6 Bowl), the NOLA Bowl is our ceiling. NOLA gets first pick. If we lose both money games, going 10-2, they’re picking us. No NY6 Bowl is going to pick us, and the others that are “better” than NOLA all have tie-ins for other conferences.

Now I get the average college fan in Acadiana who’s used to LSU fans always wanting to be in the Sugar Bowl and maybe settling for the Heart of Dallas or Citrus Bowl aren’t aware of this, but that’s just the reality of our situation.

The latest news from the conference with the Nola bowl taking the conference champ changes my perception of the NOLA Bowl. Either we are winning the conference year in and year out or we are playing in Mobile, Montgomery or some other tie-in. The NOLA Bowl becomes a much better gift than the "just get bowl eligible" requirement of years past. A conference champ playing in NOLA is better for the casual fan than the 6-6 team getting a participation trophy. That's where you can build your base and gain season ticket holders after a good experience not too far away. JMO.

[Oiler]

The latest news from the conference with the Nola bowl taking the conference champ changes my perception of the NOLA Bowl. Either we are winning the conference year in and year out or we are playing in Mobile, Montgomery or some other tie-in. The NOLA Bowl becomes a much better gift than the "just get bowl eligible" requirement of years past. A conference champ playing in NOLA is better for the casual fan than the 6-6 team getting a participation trophy. That's where you can build your base and gain season ticket holders after a good experience not too far away. JMO.

Has the Sun Belt Conference committed to sending the conference champ to the NOLA Bowl from now on? I thought it was only for this one year.

[CajunRage]

Has the Sun Belt Conference committed to sending the conference champ to the NOLA Bowl from now on? I thought it was only for this one year.

My understanding was going forward as well. If not, I change my stance and can't believe how ____ty this conference continues to be toward the only school that generates revenue year around.

[BananaHammock]

Basinbear is far more connected behind the scenes to the steps that are being taken by our program so I would hope he'd give you some details, even if it was via PM.

Having said that, I'll give you my opinion of how this might shake out. The "haves" would include those forward-looking programs who have invested in facilities and coaching staffs, and are doing everything possible to think outside the box as it relates to overall declining interest in college athletics. That's to say, programs that are not dead in the water, but actually increasing athletic budgets on a regular basis and growing their programs.

The driving factor of change, like always, will be money.

Those who have managed to cultivate an engaged fanbase that contributes to the sucess of the program are most likely to get the call to be a part of something bigger, something evolving, something new. Some believe that the P5 cartel (and the media who feeds and thereby controls them) will eventually be forced via monolopy-related lawsuits to share a greater portion of the pie. Only time will tell on that issue, but if they are forced to open up the cofers, there's a good chance they'll dictate the types of programs who will participate.

Some envision a new media package that involves top-quality G5 programs who have formed something of a scheduling alliance. The TV broadcast of a Ragin Cajun versus Houston game, for instance, would likely be far more attractive to a TV audience in our general area than Houston playing UConn or the Cajuns playing Coastal Carolina. That's just one example.

Now, Bear calls it the coming mother of all realignments. I have no idea if it'll be the type of realignment we've seen over the last 10 years or so, or something different, even unique. But most every professional at the G5 level today says that our current structure is unstable and unsustainable. Changes are coming and will be forced upon everyone.

Perhaps think of it as preparing for war. You don't know exactly when, or what will happen, but you damn well know you'd better be prepared.....better prepared than the competition. And while you can't prepare for every potential unforeseen circumstance, you've got a good idea of what it will take to win the war.

Hope that makes sense. While I'm certain change is coming, I don't know the exact nature of that change. But regardless of the type of realignment that takes place, those responding by mailing in a Powerpoint presentation of what they've accomplished will most certainly be pulling up the rear.

Fortunately, it looks like our admin has figured that one out.

I find your mention of a scheduling alliance among G5 programs pretty interesting. While most teams in the G5 arena probably need money games, just think of what the landscape would look like if teams just flat out refused to play the P5's. LSU plays a pretty damn tough schedule but you have teams like Alabama who don't play a super tough schedule.

You have the G5's band together and tell the P5's no when they call to schedule. This forces the P5's to start shelling out a lot more money because they have to pony up for all of the big name schools to travel. Maybe this actually hurts them more than anything because there revenue probably doesn't go up, expenses definitely go up and you don't have as many 1 or 2 loss teams anymore.

Seems reasonable on paper but no idea if something like this would ever fly.

[CajunRage]

I find your mention of a scheduling alliance among G5 programs pretty interesting. While most teams in the G5 arena probably need money games, just think of what the landscape would look like if teams just flat out refused to play the P5's. LSU plays a pretty damn tough schedule but you have teams like Alabama who don't play a super tough schedule.

You have the G5's band together and tell the P5's no when they call to schedule. This forces the P5's to start shelling out a lot more money because they have to pony up for all of the big name schools to travel. Maybe this actually hurts them more than anything because there revenue probably doesn't go up, expenses definitely go up and you don't have as many 1 or 2 loss teams anymore.

Seems reasonable on paper but no idea if something like this would ever fly.

I think they would just replace G5 teams with more FCS schools.

[Million$Mullet]

I find your mention of a scheduling alliance among G5 programs pretty interesting. While most teams in the G5 arena probably need money games, just think of what the landscape would look like if teams just flat out refused to play the P5's. LSU plays a pretty damn tough schedule but you have teams like Alabama who don't play a super tough schedule.

You have the G5's band together and tell the P5's no when they call to schedule. This forces the P5's to start shelling out a lot more money because they have to pony up for all of the big name schools to travel. Maybe this actually hurts them more than anything because there revenue probably doesn't go up, expenses definitely go up and you don't have as many 1 or 2 loss teams anymore.

Seems reasonable on paper but no idea if something like this would ever fly.

Curious to know why you think LSU’s schedule is pretty damn tough compared to Alabama’s. I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’ve just had conversations with different people who think the same.

[BananaHammock]

I think they would just replace G5 teams with more FCS schools.

And they might, but attendance for them would shrink even more along with a further revenue decline. It wouldn't be sustainable and then they would be back to the drawing board in a few years. Big time programs don't want to watch their team beat up on small schools on a regular basis and attendance at these schools proves this during those matchups.

If this were to ever transpire it would prove the original posters comment that the current model is not sustainable or stable. This landscape can't carry on where 30-40 programs are making all of the money and the rest are fighting for scraps. There has to be some assimilation of a much fairer playing field.

[BananaHammock]

I think Alabama has a reasonably tough schedule, that's what I should have said. They had more teams this year that it really wasn't going to be a contest (Louisville, Ark St, Ole Miss, Cajuns, The Citadel). LSU just had a few less of those no contest games (SLU, LA Tech, Rice) but they played 6 teams that are in the Top 25 with 4 being in the Top 10 at some point.