Marlin Contract Extension - FOUR MORE YEARS!

[zeppelincajun]

For the people saying we should get behind the men wearing Louisiana, I agree! I’m sure the athletic department is eagerly awaiting your call to purchase season tickets this year! Plenty of great seats available.

[zeppelincajun]

I did not say that. I said you exaggerate the issue in your comments. I tend to be one harps on pure and hard facts. We do need to improve support. More promotion is needed for the program. That is the responsibility of the administration and people in the program as well.

You seem to be harping on the pure and hard facts that support Coach Marlin and ignoring those that don’t. You like several others in this thread have chosen to parrot the “20 win average over the decade” company statistic while not acknowledging that being an extremely top heavy decade with mediocre results in the second half.

[VObserver]

Cool. You can hang out with the other 500 people at the cajundome for the basketball games.

Regular Season Finishes the last 13 years: 1 First, 3 Second, 1 Third, 3 Fourth, 1 Fifth, 1 Sixth, 1 Seventh, 2 Eighth.. That's 5 outside the Top 4, 8 outside the Top 3. Most of the critics, myself included, believe that our program can be better than that. The SBC is not a horrible conference, but it is not very deep in quality teams. We rarely have 4 teams in the Top 100 RPI [or now NET], and our team during Marlin's tenure has a losing record against Top 200 RPI or NET teams. [It is very close to being a winning record, but it is still sub .500]. We have also done a horrible job of attracting student involvement. You can't generate enthusiasm for a program by beating only, or even mostly, bad teams. You can't draw the casual fan or build a dedicated fan base without having a few quality wins every year and having a dynamic and enthusiastic game day experience for those who show up. [Google "Utah State, I Believe", and "Utah State, Winning Team, Losing Team" to see what a great game day experience at a mid major looks like]

[babysitter]

And none of those in the Top 100 RPI when we beat them.

That's exactly where I was heading. He's never beaten a top 100 RPI team. Oh but we still have that "20 win" thing going for us.

[VObserver]

That's exactly where I was heading. He's never beaten a top 100 RPI team. Oh but we still have that "20 win" thing going for us.

Not true. He has beat several top 100 teams, but none from a power conference.

[zeppelincajun]

Regular Season Finishes the last 13 years: 1 First, 3 Second, 1 Third, 3 Fourth, 1 Fifth, 1 Sixth, 1 Seventh, 2 Eighth.. That's 5 outside the Top 4, 8 outside the Top 3. Most of the critics, myself included, believe that our program can be better than that. The SBC is not a horrible conference, but it is not very deep in quality teams. We rarely have 4 teams in the Top 100 RPI [or now NET], and our team during Marlin's tenure has a losing record against Top 200 RPI or NET teams. [It is very close to being a winning record, but it is still sub .500]. We have also done a horrible job of attracting student involvement. You can't generate enthusiasm for a program by beating only, or even mostly, bad teams. You can't draw the casual fan or build a dedicated fan base without having a few quality wins every year and having a dynamic and enthusiastic game day experience for those who show up. [Google "Utah State, I Believe", and "Utah State, Winning Team, Losing Team" to see what a great game day experience at a mid major looks like]

Are you considering 2nd place finishes within the West Division as 2nd place finishes?

[Cajunsmike]

You seem to be harping on the pure and hard facts that support Coach Marlin and ignoring those that don’t. You like several others in this thread have chosen to parrot the “20 win average over the decade” company statistic while not acknowledging that being an extremely top heavy decade with mediocre results in the second half.

The average of 20 was heavily influenced by 3 years, 2014, 2018, and 2023. They won several more than 20 in those years. Those years made up for seasons in which results were not at the level which was hoped. I don't know if the numbers truly indicate the first 5 years were much better than the last 5. I would have to check. They may due to the year of 2020 in which injuries decimated the team. I will agree that more consistency is needed. Even the people in the program know that is the case. Following up last season with another successful year is important for the program going forward.

[Cajunsmike]

Regular Season Finishes the last 13 years: 1 First, 3 Second, 1 Third, 3 Fourth, 1 Fifth, 1 Sixth, 1 Seventh, 2 Eighth.. That's 5 outside the Top 4, 8 outside the Top 3. Most of the critics, myself included, believe that our program can be better than that. The SBC is not a horrible conference, but it is not very deep in quality teams. We rarely have 4 teams in the Top 100 RPI [or now NET], and our team during Marlin's tenure has a losing record against Top 200 RPI or NET teams. [It is very close to being a winning record, but it is still sub .500]. We have also done a horrible job of attracting student involvement. You can't generate enthusiasm for a program by beating only, or even mostly, bad teams. You can't draw the casual fan or build a dedicated fan base without having a few quality wins every year and having a dynamic and enthusiastic game day experience for those who show up. [Google "Utah State, I Believe", and "Utah State, Winning Team, Losing Team" to see what a great game day experience at a mid major looks like]

Student involvement last season was much better than in the recent past. Much of that was from players themselves promoting their efforts on campus. That does not mean it is good enough. There is definite room for improvement in that regard. The administration does have some things planned in that regard for the upcoming season.

[VObserver]

Are you considering 2nd place finishes within the West Division as 2nd place finishes?

No. The Seconds were 2011 [Tie], 2021 and 2023

[ULvictory]

The common denominator in this entire discussion is INCONSISTENCY.

After the 2018 27-win season, we followed it up with a 5th place finish in a weak Sun Belt and 8th place the following 2/3 seasons with a few wins against Loyola-New Orleans,
UNO, and Southeastern to make the record look better. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why there's apathy here. But here is why this upcoming season is so important: it all comes down to can we break the trend of a down year following success. If it doesn't, then you'll have an even more apathetic fan base including a new contract that kicks in.

With a little more consistency, fans will be more interested. And to the coaches reading this, last year is over. It's done. Can we not go back to the 2019 rhetoric of "we won 27 games last year, so teams are coming after us..." excuse after every loss? Outside of the loyal diehards, most fans don't want to hear that. Now, let's take care of business in 2023-2024 and make another run.

[zeppelincajun]

No. The Seconds were 2011 [Tie], 2021 and 2023

Are you referring to conference standings? 2021 we finished 4th.

[zeppelincajun]

The average of 20 was heavily influenced by 3 years, 2014, 2018, and 2023. They won several more than 20 in those years. Those years made up for seasons in which results were not at the level which was hoped. I don't know if the numbers truly indicate the first 5 years were much better than the last 5. I would have to check. They may due to the year of 2020 in which injuries decimated the team. I will agree that more consistency is needed. Even the people in the program know that is the case. Following up last season with another successful year is important for the program going forward.

Over the last 5 years: we have hit the mark 1 time (last season with 26 wins - "missed the mark" seasons of 14, 16, 17, & 19 wins). We averaged 18.4 wins per season over that stretch.

The 5 seasons prior to that: we hit the mark 4 times, and the only season we missed it was a 19 win season (22.4 win average).

From my post earlier in the thread. There is a clear difference between the first 5 years of the decade and the last 5. 4 wins per season less.