re: What factor made our football team a national power so quickly

If we didn't spend the money, we would not be in this position. I know some schools have lots of money, but their facilities don't compare to LSU. What kind of coach would we have here if he was the lowest paid in the SEC? Throwing money into LSU has done wonders. Saban convinced everyone to raise and spend the money where needed to be. The COX Center is awesome along with the upgrades to Tiger Stadium and the state of the art weight lifting facility. Without the convincement of spending the money, this would of never happened. LSU has traditionally signed the best talent in state. The upgrades are helping lure athletes from out of state.

So it was Dinardo!

Yea I know we lost Warrick Dunn and Travis Minor, but we also had the best all purpose back in the SEC Kevin Faulk. We still loose top rated kids every year from Louisiana, but the difference now is that we are signing top rated players from other states. We were not successful is years past accomplishing this feat. Now it is no surprise to sign the best player from GA,FL,TX etc.

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I know some will say coaching, but I'm going with the money factor.

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You hit it on the head, but, in reverse - inconsistent coaching, both at the end of the Mac era, as well as inconsistently during the Stovall, Arnsparger (during bowl games, anyway), Archer and Dinardo tenures all contributed to a generalized decline. The only coach that was consistent, was Hallman and he was consistently terrible.

Dinardo posted 2 top 13 finishes after the terrible 6 seasons prior to his arrival. Archer (bad as he was at the end) led a Top 5 and Top 20 finish, in 2 of his 4 years. Arnsparger led a Top 10 and Top 20 finish in 2 of his 3 years and Stovall led us to the Orange Bowl in his 3rd season.

LSU has been a national power for almost 55 years, but for a couple of dips and dunks here and there. It doesn't feel that way because we're in, by an order of magnitude, the best conference in all of CFB, and we've struggled against Tennessee and Bama over the years.

So people are right when they say coaching, just from the opposite direction. We used to say, "Anybody can be a successful head coach at LSU." Since the Hallman "experiment", we say, "Almost anybody can be a successful head coach at LSU."

It's money. Without the money we don't get the coaches and facilities and never get the talent. Other schools have money, but all successful programs have invested that money in their program. No program was built for free

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What factor made our football team a national power so quickly

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A fertile recruiting base combined with coaches who could finally capture those recruits.

Given its inherent strengths, LSU football should have never fallen to the black depths of the 1990's. That we did is a testament to the sstaggering incompetence and parochialism of the AD during that period. The program was a glorious thoroughbred ridden by an obese, blind jockey who was too busy stuffing his face with greasy boudin to actually grab the reigns.

The 1997 Ole Miss loss got the ball rolling.
Dinardo fought with his OC and DC from that game on.
The next season, with a preseason #6 ranking, he had some young QB coach as OC. That plus Diesel's horniness ruined '98.
'99 Dinardo was just hallucinating.

We know what happened next. Former Ole Miss basketball player and Newman grad Sean Tuohy advised Joe Dean and Mark Emmert to interview the Michigan State coach.....

Louisiana high school football.

I think it started with the Strength and Conditioning hire of Tommy Moffitt.