At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, Rickey Bustle will lead a football team onto the field for the 31st straight year. He’ll do so for the seventh season as head coach of UL Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns, undoubtedly with the same marked enthusiasm that seems to underscore his every endeavor.
And for yet another fall, Cajun fans will hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
Since 1996, the Cajuns have had just one winning season. In 2005, they rallied for five consecutive wins at the end to finish 6-5. Even the most ardent fans have now realized that success in college football is more than talented athletes, the money to recruit and train them, and modern facilities. It’s more than a friendly schedule, too, though if friends are responsible for the usual slate of Cajun opponents, who needs enemies?
Winning is attitude, an unwavering belief that you will succeed regardless of odds and obstacles. It’s why LSU wins BCS Championships even sometimes with less talent than its opponents. It’s why the Giants are defending a Super Bowl title, why little Tampa Bay continues to whip up on the mighty Red Sox and Yankees, and why Tiger Woods seldom loses a tournament. He might get beat, but he won’t lose.
The rest of the story
By Don Allen
The Independant
Ok, I'll jump in with a FWIW.
For a Don Allen piece this one is a little disappointing in that I don't see much that hasn't already been said a lot already. Typically, this stuff would be more appropriate in a post season "debacle" article.
The schedule is the schedule. It's been suggested before - compare to FAU and Troy and ULM's.
The budget is growing not shrinking. Improvements to our facilities are actually being made and not just talked about like until very recently. We have a new and more energetic administration.
The coaching staff has been seriously upgraded.
He didn't call us "young". Because, we're topped out with scholarship players (who are fine kids as well) and we have some real talent and experience at several key spots.
I will give Don Allen credit for not obsessing over our fruity uniforms and dorky mascot and the condition of the restrooms in mid-July at Cajun Field. It's real plus he didn't mention any of those things.
Here is a link to construction updates from the official website. If you look at gallery 30 and 31 they have some baseball pictures. There will also be updates on the basketball arena and football stadium.
http://southernmiss.cstv.com/sports/...galleries.html
A question for you , if you happen to know the answer, what sort of funding formula does Mississippi use in distributing funding for higher ed in the state? Roughly how is it divided between UM, USM and MSU? Also are you allowed to charge a student fee dedicated to athletic funding as part of each semester's tuition and fees? If so, how much is that per semester? And finally is there a cap on the amount of the school's budget that can be directed towards athletics?
Just curious about the funding to compare how Mississippi does it versus Louisiana. Since both our schools are mid-majors and are or at least at one time were considered on par and folks (myself included) complain that we have not kept up it would be noteworthy to see the differences in funding mechanisms and any restrictions on funding that could contribute to that failure to "keep up".
Thanks in advance.
Thanks for the link Spread. If I remember correctly, I remember hearing/reading that you guys spent about $3 Million on those renovations? And construction lasted a little over a year?
Just curious...Plans are in the works to have some work done on our stadium, though nothing final has been announced yet. I'm just trying to get an idea of the scope of USM's project (cost, timing, extra improvements) to have a better idea of what we can expect.
Hammer I am sorry but I don't have many answers for you. I do believe a student fee is charged for athletics. There was a bond election in Hattiesburg to help finance some facility improvements, but it was defeated by Hattiesburg residents. I do know the selling of the suites raised a lot of money used for facility upgrades. As for how money is split up between OM, MSU and USM, I don't know that answer.
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