There is nothing wrong with "The Program"

[RaginEsquire06]

My only question to everyone is...How can the other state schools find success in their football programs but UL continues to fall short. What is it that they have over us? L.Tech, Tulane, ULM, NWestern.....Are their facilities better than ours? Is it the fan support? OR is the COACHES? (recruiting methods, coaching styles, competence, etc....) I know it can take one great player to make a difference in a programs ability to win...ie, Brian Mitchel & Jake Delhomme....so, with regards to that, are we playing our BEST players? I know everone will not stop supporting UL in football, however....I know they are, just as I am... sick of losing!

[CajunNation]

Here is another way of looking at things.

There are 52 teams in the SBC, CUSA, WAC, MWC, and the MAC

'02-'04, Bustle's tenure, we have 9 Division 1-A wins.

Of the 52, there are only 12 schools with less than 9 1-A wins in that same timeframe: FIU, FAU, Idaho, Buffalo, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Ohio, Temple, Central Florida, East Carolina, SMU.

We've already lost to 3 of schools on this list THIS YEAR.(EMU,UCF,FAU)

In case you missed it, FAU and FIU are the only SBC schools with fewer 1-A wins than us in the SBC over the last 3 seasons.

[JMV JustMyView]

Winning at any level would cure things...How can Western Kentucky play football D-II but all other sports at D-I? I would be good it we could do this...

[CajunNation]

Winning at any level would cure things...How can Western Kentucky play football D-II but all other sports at D-I? I would be good it we could do this...

WKY plays Division I in all sports.

Division 1-AA in football.
Division 1 in everything else.

Division II football is played by schools smaller than WKY.


You want us to drop to 1-AA?

Better yet, let's just drop football all together! Then, we could REALLY spend money and improve our Basketball and Baseball teams, right?

I mean, it worked for Lamar. right? Right??

[JMV JustMyView]

WKY plays Division I in all sports.

Division 1-AA in football.
Division 1 in everything else.

Division II football is played by schools smaller than WKY.


You want us to drop to 1-AA?

Better yet, let's just drop football all together! Then, we could REALLY spend money and improve our Basketball and Baseball teams, right?

I mean, it worked for Lamar. right? Right??

You miss the question...I ask how are they able to do this D-I all sports except football. Yes I'm saying we should play D-II in football but not drop the sport.. We would win more which would increase fan base, attitudes, recruits, etc...

[Turbine]

Just wanted to present an argument to a few things.

HOTBOUDIN I don't have time (at the moment) to address all your arguments, but I would remind you we are talking about building a program.

The programs you mentioned had just that "programs" going in. Bustle came into no program to speak of. The schools that are in fact upstarts either have twice the budget or benefited from the free transfer rule, or both.

Do you happen to know the record of Tech in the years leading up to Crowton?

Frank Beamer’s inherited much more of a program when going to V-Tech than Bustle did coming to UL. He inherited a program producing somewhere between 5 and 6 wins a year on average in the previous 12 or so before he took the V-Tech job.

We are talking about building a program (almost) from scratch with no money, and all Bustle has to do is win 12 games in the next two and a half years and UL will be on pace (in number of wins) with what Frank Beamer did at now national power house Virginia Tech.

The UL program is on track for success.

[Turbine]

Yes I'm saying we should play D-II in football but not drop the sport.. We would win more which would increase fan base, attitudes, recruits, etc...

I'm thinking attitudes by some of the diehards might improve but overall interest would disappear.

I know I would not be jacked about the lesser challenge.

For me the challenge is the fun, or at least part of it.

jmo

[Hammer58]

You miss the question...I ask how are they able to do this D-I all sports except football. Yes I'm saying we should play D-II in football but not drop the sport.. We would win more which would increase fan base, attitudes, recruits, etc...

Why do all the proponents of 1AA football assume we would win and sudenly draw more fans? We draw more fans when we have mediocre to good 1A teams. I don't think we could ever expect to get 20,000 for Southland conference games even if we were going undefeated. And as far as the argument that we would be winning, you are assuming we would be getting the same level of talent. Our level of talent would actually be lower. The guys we have recruited came here for the opportunity to play D1A football, not D1AA. Other than guys who went to a D1AA team to play a specific position there rather than come here as an athlete, tell me how many players did we lose to a D1AA team that we offered a scholarship for the same position. I would bet the answer is very few if not none at all. The guys playing D1AA football are talented but they are playing D1AA football because they were lacking size, quickness, speed or some other aspect of their talent was just a little lacking for D1A football. There may be an exception here or there but overall I think that is a true statement.

[CajunNation]

HOTBOUDIN I don't have time (at the moment) to address all your arguments, but I would remind you we are talking about building a program.

The programs you mentioned had just that "programs" going in. Bustle came into no program to speak of. The schools that are in fact upstarts either have twice the budget or benefited from the free transfer rule, or both.

Do you happen to know the record of Tech in the years leading up to Crowton?

Frank Beamer’s inherited much more of a program when going to V-Tech than Bustle did coming to UL. He inherited a program producing somewhere between 5 and 6 wins a year on average in the previous 12 or so before he took the V-Tech job.

We are talking about building a program (almost) from scratch with no money, and all Bustle has to do is win 12 games in the next two and a half years and UL will be on pace (in number of wins) with what Frank Beamer did at now national power house Virginia Tech.

The UL program is on track for success.

You tell me not to compare us to Va Tech. Then, you turn around and do the very same thing?????


"Do you happen to know the record of Tech in the years leading up to Crowton?"

La Tech was 16-28 in the 4 years previous to Crowton with 3 losses to the Cajuns. 4 losing seasons in a row.


"The programs you mentioned had just that "programs" going in. Bustle came into no program to speak of. The schools that are in fact upstarts either have twice the budget or benefited from the free transfer rule, or both."

The best comparisons to our situation just happen to be in our state and in our conference.

1)La Tech when Crowton took over.(see above)
2)ULM when Weatherbie took over.
-They also have 9 1-A wins from '02-'04. But, the '02 year was Keasler. So, a truer comparison would be since '03.
-From '03-'05, ULM has 8 1-A wins, we have 6 1-A wins
-From '03-'05, ULM is 6-6 against current SBC schools, we are 5-6
-They finished in a tie for third in the the SBC last year, we finshed in a tie for last
-If you are going to say we are poised for success, you had better say Weatherbie has ULM poised for success.

[Turbine]

You tell me not to compare us to Va Tech. Then, you turn around and do the very same thing?????

Don't recall telling you that. What post # was it?

I encourage the comparison to Va Tech. I just ask that you remember the status of Va Tech's program when Beamer took over and the status of the program that Bustle took over.

Beamer took over a program with 7 straight winning seasons.
Bustle took over a program with 6 straight losing seasons.

[gorcajun]

Everyone knows that football fuels the athletic engine and the success of the football program breathes life into each and every other sport.

With the above statement in mind and referencing the "success of the other state schools" the following statement is a fact.

When the Ragin Cajuns and La Tech were in the same conference (that is playing the same teams for a conference championship), NEVER, AT NO TIME, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES did La Tech surpass the SLII, SLI, USL, ULL, or UL in overall achievement in the all sports trophy.

Turbine, you referred to Wins/Losses on a game vs. Success/Failure on a program. You are correct the football program is making strides, the athletic department is a very successful one.

Dare I say PENTATHLELAM again. Ragin Cajuns win.

[CajunNation]

Don't recall telling you that. What post # was it?

I encourage the comparison to Va Tech. I just ask that you remember the status of Va Tech's program when Beamer took over and the status of the program that Bustle took over.

Beamer took over a program with 7 straight winning seasons.
Bustle took over a program with 6 straight losing seasons.

I made a comparison to years 3 and 4. You say it doesn't matter because Va Tech was a winning program already when Beamer got there. Yet, you say if Bustle does x,y, and z, like Beamer in years 5,6, and 7 then, it's a success.

You can't have it both ways.

Quite frankly, Beamer should have been let go after year 6. He inherited a program that went 54-23-1 in 7 winning seasons in a row and a Peach bowl victory in 1985.

Over the next 6 seasons, Beamer went 24-40-1. with 4 losing seasons in that time frame.

The fact that the mid-90's saw a RETURN to prominence of Va Tech football had little to do with Beamer or Bustle and everything to do with Virginia Tech as an ever growing presence on the East coast, politically and academically.

The football program was already an established winner against quality competition before Frank Beamer/Ricky Bustle.

I've never understood the constant comparison to Va Tech.

Apples and Oranges.