R1 are not botttom dwellers though.
Bankrupt? 5% of budget. About to clear annual budget concerns. Plan announced soon for going forward. If anything, our overreach in athletics was main issue. Not meeting SACS and Carnegie rqmts. Now, what we do in future for athletics I have no idea. All wanting big time athletics need to be prepared to pay for it. We are not in that game. We are increasing our donations to some functions at UL that will receive less support but we believe in. Such as Vets program. And KRVS. Sad to see what’s coming but the G5 or whatever got played and we are seeing the consequences.
And Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.
With my limited knowledge, but this is the way the University needs to do to move forward!
If UL wants to reposition itself for a better conference, it has to confront the reality that athletics is currently losing money due to budget cuts and shrinking resources. That financial strain makes it harder to retain athletes, upgrade facilities, and show the kind of competitiveness that bigger conferences demand. The solution is to lean into NIL as the bridge between limited institutional budgets and the need for athletic growth. By organizing a Cajun-focused NIL collective, tapping alumni pride, and building partnerships with local businesses, UL can create a new revenue stream that directly supports athletes without relying solely on the university’s budget. At the same time, UL should leverage its R1 research status and academic credibility to show conferences that it brings more than just athletics it brings prestige and market expansion into Louisiana. The combination of grassroots NIL fundraising, community driven sponsorships, and academic strength positions UL as a program that can stabilize its athletic finances and prove it belongs in a stronger league. In short, NIL is the path to offsetting budget cuts, keeping athletes in Lafayette, and making UL an attractive candidate for conference realignment.
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