re: Will the Cajuns jump conferences within next 5 years?

The difference is Ruston cares a hell of a lot more than Lafayette. Lafayette thinks they’re entitled, Ruston has pulled up their sleeves and got to work. Because of that, Tech is in CUSA. USL, the worse conference in Division 1A football.

Missed their chance.
You win 16 straight New Orleans Bowls you gotta make moves

(no message)

LOL....what a load of shite. Before you start dumping on UL, you should first make sure that your own fan base is not laying out just how bad a shape your own program is in.
Because despite any success the mutts have had in recent years it has not paid off on their bottom line....their revenue for ticket sales, marketing etc has actually decreased, based on the official state budgets.
And apparently attendance and support is so bad that it has led to the inability to pay off recent EZ and PB renovations.......and they are also tapped out as far as student fees are as well.
Hell they paid ~$2 million for their video board in 2009, and apparently that is only half paid off. Any revenue it's generating has been going to the bottom line, trying to keep the whole damn thing afloat.
Again, this is all based on the mutt discussion board.....well, not the part about the state budgets:

quote:

---

Our problem is lack of money. The student facility enhancement fee is a HUGE factor in our program in that it is used to pay off the bonds that were issued to construct the south end zone facility. The bond payoff annually is about $650,000, 20yr or so to go, which leaves around $500,000 annually of the student fee that has been used to upgrade parking, etc. Thats a pretty hefty amount but we have to keep in mind that the pressbox and suites required a loan from the foundation to the athletic dept for about $11,000,000. That amount was projected to be paid off by suite rentals, etc but that hasnt really materialized so we must refrain from spending the excess student fees holding them basically in escrow to cover the press box expansion. What a complicated web we have woven.

---

Sounds to me that the web is not really that complicated.

Link

Oh, and how about being the only school that can't afford to hire the 10th coach?

quote:

---

Ruston is LOADED with old money. At one point in time it had the most millionaires per capita in the nation. Davidson has donated millions to Tech.

---

.

Lafayette has more money than Ruston ever thought of. Ruston has some heavy hitters but 20,000 population vs 120,000 isn’t even comparable.

And I’m from Ruston and am proud of a Tech has accomplished. Some people just need to take off their red and blue glasses.

quote:

---

Will the Cajuns jump conferences within next 5 years?

---

Well...when you are THE University of Louisiana and the flagship....why not think big for the future?

There’s not that many. Not to overcome the low population numbers.

Tech needs to play annual games in Shreveport at State Fair stadium to cultivate a fan base in Shreveport. There is just too much competition for fans and money in North Louisiana with ULM, Northwestern, Grambling, etc.

I disagree. And doing that a couple of times isn’t cultivating. Years of playing there helps in recruiting and building a fan base. Look at Arky. Playing in Little Rock helps build their base.

It’s not an ideal situation, but when you don’t have a competitive fan base, then you do what you have to do to develop it.

And Shreveport has sucked as a athletic town, but Ruston isn’t as supportive as it should be either.

quote:

---

I'd rather G5 schools get away from bowls and have their own league with playoffs. The Cajuns playing Tulane and Southern Miss in a playoff game in Lafayette is far more fun than playing North Idaho State in the Beef OBradys Bowl

---

There’s just no benefit for the AAC or even the MWC to be apart of that