After the Oil Bowl

[Hooj_Cajun_Fan]

I was recently doing a bit of reading up on Louisiana's football history, as I do from time to time, and came across the Oil Bowl. Really cool how UL was a football superpower (even though it was so incredibly short lived).

Does anyone know exactly why SLI (at the time) went from being a beast to falling apart immediately after? I notice that they had a horrible record the following year. Just curious because I couldn't find any explanation for it.

[CajunFan64]

If i had to take a stab, I would say because VJ day was in August of 1945. All of our football greats were there because UL had some type of military based schooling there. I can't remember exactly what is was but, I beleive it may have been affiliated with the airforce. So, Jan. 1; SLI wins the Oil Bowl and by Aug 1945, the whole reason for them being at SLI was over. I beleive Dark played out his career at LSU ( I can't remember which school he played at first).

So, in conclusion; because the war ended their reason for attending SLI; and they all went back to their respective schools.

[Hooj_Cajun_Fan]

_ If i had to take a stab, I would say because VJ day was in August of 1945. All of our football greats were there because UL had some type of military based schooling there. I can't remember exactly what is was but, I beleive it may have been affiliated with the airforce. So, Jan. 1; SLI wins the Oil Bowl and by Aug 1945, the whole reason for them being at SLI was over. I beleive Dark played out his career at LSU ( I can't remember which school he played at first).

So, in conclusion; because the war ended their reason for attending SLI; and they all went back to their respective schools. _

That makes sense. It's ashame for all of us Cajun fans that it didn't bring more attention to UL. It could have been a good turning point for the university...I guess we'll just have to settle for having one now

It's a really cool part of the schools history though. Its really a shame that it's not more well known.

[Turbine]

During WWII, UL was a Navy school and a member of the V-12 program, an officer training program.

A lot of the V-12 athletes that came through UL did go back to their previous school, but Alvin Dark was not one of them.

He went to LSU in 1942-43 before coming to UL and was a running back in football, his blocker was Steve VanBuren.

He attended UL in 1943-44 and it was on Jan 1st 1944 that UL won the Oil Bowl.

Most of V-12 althetes left for the war in 1944 and many like Alvin Dark was stationed in China.

After the war he returned to UL for school.

Here is some more on the Alvin Dark story.