Should we move to FCS & Southland Conf?

[Cajunsmike]

_ I didn't know that there were so many polite people at my alma mater. _

Moving down is not even a consideration. Revenue drop is greater than expense reduction if you move down. Program will be dropped before that occurs and that is not a possibility.

[CajunMarineBBK]

Thanks for the question I am sitting offshore on my last day of the hitch and the board was kind of slown now I have plenty to read and I am sure plenty more once everyone reads the question. Now to answer your question nope nadda no not now not ever

[RedBug58]

_ Just a thought. It would restore some natural rivalries with McNeese & Northwestern LA. We could still play LA Tech and UL-M along with others. We could likely be more competitive for a conference title and playoffs would be interesting. Some sports other than football might have a better chance of making NCAA 1-A playoffs (basketball, baseball). Any thoughts? _

Methinks you are actually from Lake Chuck or Baton Rouge and in either case have breathed in too many chemicals in those towns............

[jayrr]

_ Methinks you are actually from Lake Chuck or Baton Rouge and in either case have breathed in too many chemicals in those towns............ _

Definitely not from LC or BR and definitely a UL Alum. Also recognize at least one handle on the responses.

Just thought I'd throw it out for some speculation.

[allncr1966]

Too late in the game for that now. Hindsight is always 20/20 but we probably should have done what some old Div 1AA teams did. Play at that level for a period of time say 5 or 6 years and build up a winning culture then move up to Div 1A. That is what teams like Marshall, Central Florida, North Texas, LA Tech, Boise ST, etc did and have had more success than we have. They have all been to at least one bowl game and we have not. Now I know some of you are going to say that doing this hasn't worked out for everyone and that is true I am just saying it has worked out better than the path UL chose. But again its too late for that now so we have to find a way to build the football program up from where we are now.

[Just1More]

_ Too late in the game for that now. Hindsight is always 20/20 but we probably should have done what some old Div 1AA teams did. Play at that level for a period of time say 5 or 6 years and build up a winning culture then move up to Div 1A. That is what teams like Marshall, Central Florida, North Texas, LA Tech, Boise ST, etc did and have had more success than we have. They have all been to at least one bowl game and we have not. Now I know some of you are going to say that doing this hasn't worked out for everyone and that is true I am just saying it has worked out better than the path UL chose. But again its too late for that now so we have to find a way to build the football program up from where we are now. _

I disagree. If we were capable of going back and doing things differently, the correct move would have been to build a marketing team that worked tirelessly with a much more prior accessible alumni base and the Acadiana community business group and build a benefits-based, milestone chartered, athletic funding engine. We should have and could have outpaced everyone except LSU in our region. We should have hired coaching staffs that demand more money and more work out of the administration to ensure their success.

Hindsight has proved that everyone in the southern public university system that has poured their available energy into football has brought their university more success than could be imagined. Regional political authority success. Even some of the dumpiest schools and non-existent schools in the south have done well in some of the most rural backwards areas of their respective states. And by rule, exceptions do not sway the rule.

People that complain about our treatment in this state are the first that need to realize that without political authority (which in the public system is derived from the masses at large) you are always fighting another nobody for the last and least nourishing tit.

In conclusion... we are now nor should we ever have thought in terms of "stepping down" or "starting lower". We should have capitalized on the moments in time that the area was ripe for the fanbase and the money. We only have the now... and the now is... keep the pressure on the public employees to work tirelessly with the private side and make football respectable. All else will take care of itself.

[KajunKrazy]

_ I didn't know that there were so many polite people at my alma mater. _

MO-RON

[duggie85]

_ Just a thought. It would restore some natural rivalries with McNeese & Northwestern LA. We could still play LA Tech and UL-M along with others. We could likely be more competitive for a conference title and playoffs would be interesting. Some sports other than football might have a better chance of making NCAA 1-A playoffs (basketball, baseball). Any thoughts? _

No school has ever dropped down after joining D-1A. Theres a reason.

[Rasta]

It's simply not done, EVER. I believe Wichita State was the only one to do so, and they now no longer have a football program. It would be the worst thing in the history of Cajun athletics, and end the football program.

[LaGrid]

I'm not taking credit for this, don't even remember where I saw it, but it fits. FCS = FeCeS

[AstroCajun]

_ I'm not taking credit for this, don't even remember where I saw it, but it fits. FCS = FeCeS _

Classic!


Feces. Just like this thread.

Can will kill it now?

Please?

[TuffGuy84]

_ Let's try to answer this way. The answer is no for many reasons, most notably:

1. We would make far less money operating at a I-AA level. The cost of running the program would stay the same, but the attendence would go down. People just would not be as excited to see a I-AA team, not matter how successful. RCAF donations would plummet. You would also be missing the paideia we get playing big schools. Like it or not, that's what makes our athletic department work right now.
2. The worst team at I-A gets more national exposure than the best team at I-AA. And that affects the whole university, not just the football team.

As far as your other comment about the other sports, there is no I-A/I-AA in anything except football. So nothing would change.


igeaux.mobi _

Except perception.