Stay at home
WAC, not Sun Belt, is where La. Tech wants to be
Scott Beder
May 23, 2004
Despite Louisiana Tech's failed bid to get into Conference USA, the school remains committed to its affiliation with the Western Athletic Conference.
When C-USA decided to take UTEP instead of Tech last month, rumors and published stories suggested that Tech might be headed back to the Sun Belt Conference - the league it left in July of 2001.

Tech athletics director Jim Oakes, however, has been emphatic: Tech has no intentions of returning to the Sun Belt, despite the fact that Tech remains the lone WAC school in the Central Time Zone.

"There has been some misinformation about which league we will participate in," Oakes said. "We have made it clear at every turn our plan is to remain a member of the WAC and not rejoin the Sun Belt. We have an investment in the WAC that's not only financial, but as a program."

Many have accused Tech of letting its ego get in the way of making a common-sense move - and that may be a small part of the equation. A move to the Sun Belt could feel like a step backward after leaving the league.

There were also some hard feelings when Tech bolted. Exhibit A was the Sun Belt's decision to pull the 2001 men's and women's basketball tournament from Tech after it had been awarded the bid.

But more than any lingering animosity, Oakes says Tech's decision to remain in the WAC comes down to hard, cold numbers.

According to Oakes, the WAC's revenue sharing payouts, national exposure and strength of programs outweigh - for the short term anyway - the geographic advantages afforded by the Sun Belt.

"We feel at this time because of the revenue sharing, television possibilities and bowl opportunities, we are better suited to be a member of the WAC rather than rejoin the Sun Belt," Oakes said.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

A comparison between the two leagues - compiled by the WAC - supports Oakes assertions: When the 2004 fiscal year ends, the WAC will pay out $754,415 per school. In 2003, the Sun Belt paid out $57,000 per school.

"We have enjoyed the benefits of revenue sharing from a conference that has had a history of success in the NCAA basketball tournament, which is a large source of the conference revenue share," Oakes said.

In the 2000-01 season - Tech's last in the Sun Belt - it received $65,670 in revenue from the Sun Belt. In the 2002-03 season Tech received $633,684 from the WAC.

The disparity in revenue sharing helps offset the increased travel cost Tech experienced in its move to the WAC.

Tech spent $834,825 on travel in its last season in the Sun Belt and $982,432 during the 2002-03 season in the WAC, a difference of $147,607. The WAC also pays travel expenses to the men's and women's basketball tournaments, while the Sun Belt does not.

"You don't say that revenue sharing goes to travel, but it does help cover the cost of travel," Oakes said.

While the WAC does in fact pay out more, it is also true that it costs more to be a member.

Membership dues in the Sun Belt are $80,000 per year, while Tech paid $400,000 to be a member of the WAC last year. But in taking travel, revenue sharing and conference dues into account, Tech came out $100,407 better off by being a member of the WAC in 2002-03 than in its last year in the Sun Belt.

However, Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters refuted the WAC's numbers.

"We don't get into comparisons," Waters said. "We've seen the numbers and we don't think they're accurate and our member institutions know they're not accurate."

MORE THAN NUMBERS

But money is just part of the equation. Oakes said the WAC's exposure on television and the money its television contracts generate, along with the tie-ins to three bowls, make it a more attractive alternative at this time.

The WAC has bowl tie-ins with the Silicon Valley Football Classic, the MPC Computers Bowl (formerly the Humanitarian Bowl) and the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. There is also the possibility of a tie-in with the Mobile Bowl. Tech played in the Humanitarian Bowl in 2001 after winning the league in its inaugural season.

The Sun Belt has one tie-in with the New Orleans Bowl.

Since joining the WAC, Tech's football team has appeared on television nine times as part of WAC television deals with Fox Sports Southwest and ESPN.

The WAC just completed a six-year, $1 million-per-year deal with ESPN and is in the process of finalizing a new contract. The conference also re-upped deals with Sports West and CSTV.

"Membership in the WAC has been positive for us in many different ways," Oakes said. "We have improved from a competitive level and been able to raise our name nationally through numerous national television appearances."

But despite the positives, many challenges remain.

The failed bid to get into C-USA exposed Tech's weaknesses - and has now given the administration a clearer picture of what it must do to make itself more attractive.

C-USA officials cited market size, budget and attendance as the three major areas Tech was lacking.

"There's not much we can do about (market size)," Oakes said. "But we can work on attendance figures and we can certainly improve the size of our budget."

The Ruston market paled in comparison to El Paso, but Tech's challenge is to market itself beyond Lincoln Parish. Ideally, Oakes would like to see Tech have a presence from as far west as the Texas line and eastward to the Mississippi line, while also venturing into southern Arkansas.

"We want to command the market we're in," Oakes said. "We want to draw, not just from Ruston, but from Shreveport and Monroe and all of north Louisiana."

However, Tech's future may truly rest with one critical factor - attendance. More fans in the seats translate into more money and more exposure.

Tech's average football attendance in the three years it's been in the WAC is 19,896, while men's basketball averaged 2,391 over the same time frame.

Without a strong fan base, it will be increasingly difficult to grow Tech's budget - already the smallest in the WAC - to improve its position should C-USA or any other opportunity come calling again.

RECOMMITTING TO SUCCESS

One of the men charged with helping Tech improve in those areas is Ronny Walker, the executive director of advancement, who helped found Tech's Champs organization, a fund-raising arm that's independent of the school.

Walker's goal is to get one-fourth of Tech's 60,000-strong alumni base to give on an annual basis.

"My dream is to have 15,000 people give $200 a year (to Champs)," said Walker, on his way to a Champs fund-raising event in Tyler, Texas. "That would be $3 million a year - and then we wouldn't have to play Tennessee, Auburn and Miami (in football for money)."

Walker is also in the process of revamping Tech's ticket pricing across the board.

"We need to get more in line with the demographics of where we are," Walker said. "We are offering some young alumni specials and some group rates that we're marketing to businesses."

Walker has also instituted a consistent marketing plan that was implemented last year and will be expanded this year.

"We need to do a better job of marketing for the whole season," Walker said. "Last year was the first time we had done a theme for everything. 'Bring It On' was on everything, the media guides, tickets, the whole works."

Walker's efforts - or the success of them - are at the core of Tech's potential growth for the future.

"I think we've done a good job from a competitive standpoint and now we have to do a good job of marketing the program," Oakes said. "We need to increase our attendance to go along with what I know to be an improved product on the field. The challenge moving forward is to increase revenue. Really, that's always been the challenge."

Oakes said the athletic program has grown tremendously since the football program moved to Division I-A in 1988 and now is the time for Tech to begin a new growth spurt.

"I'm pleased with the foundation we have," Oakes said. "We have good quality programs and a strong reputation. Ten years ago, we would never have been in position to be turned down by Conference USA - and we were very close to getting the invitation we wanted.

"We've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go," he said. "The entire Tech family has to re-commit and I know we will."
©The News-Star
May 23, 2004