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+---- Thread: The Ragin' Cajuns (/thread-683925.html)
The Ragin' Cajuns - exflash - 03-26-2014 10:08 PM
So I ask where should a school with 3 Bowl wins in a row over SDSU/ECU/Tulane----Basketball to the NCAA tourney----softball in the top 15 ----baseball ranked by some as the #1 in the country---Where should they be in what conference---one of the great cities in the country in Lafayette---unemployment about zero----growing population about to explode with the natural gas situation---Fabulous facilities being built----55-60K stadium---Soon to be a tier I academic university ----within the top 3 fan supported of all non top 5 AQ schools in all sports---easy to get to with 2 interstates and close airport---BTW---nice to bring 45K to a bowl!!!! UL is waiting!!!
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - loki_the_bubba - 03-26-2014 10:09 PM
And I ask, why would such a school be ashamed of their name?
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - PirateMarv - 03-26-2014 10:13 PM
(03-26-2014 10:08 PM)exflash Wrote: So I ask where should a school with 3 Bowl wins in a row over SDSU/ECU/Tulane----Basketball to the NCAA tourney----softball in the top 15 ----baseball ranked by some as the #1 in the country---Where should they be in what conference---one of the great cities in the country in Lafayette---unemployment about zero----growing population about to explode with the natural gas situation---Fabulous facilities being built----55-60K stadium---Soon to be a tier I academic university ----within the top 3 fan supported of all non top 5 AQ schools in all sports---easy to get to with 2 interstates and close airport---BTW---nice to bring 45K to a bowl!!!! UL is waiting!!!
The MAC has an opening.
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - john01992 - 03-26-2014 10:44 PM
oh i dunno......
-being in a state that is notorious for giving academic institutions the short end of the stick
-having only 16k students which is quite small for a public FBS school
-having an endowment that is only $112 mill
-a 15:1 undergrad/postgrad ratio
-the whole "University of Louisiana" fiasco with LA Monroe
-one of the lowest rankings in US news for an FBS school
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - GO Coogs GO!!! - 03-27-2014 12:04 AM
(03-26-2014 10:08 PM)exflash Wrote: So I ask where should a school with 3 Bowl wins in a row over SDSU/ECU/Tulane----Basketball to the NCAA tourney----softball in the top 15 ----baseball ranked by some as the #1 in the country---Where should they be in what conference---one of the great cities in the country in Lafayette---unemployment about zero----growing population about to explode with the natural gas situation---Fabulous facilities being built----55-60K stadium---Soon to be a tier I academic university ----within the top 3 fan supported of all non top 5 AQ schools in all sports---easy to get to with 2 interstates and close airport---BTW---nice to bring 45K to a bowl!!!! UL is waiting!!!
Let's see SDST's wins that year finished a combined 30-67. Not really Bama there....
ECU's wins finished 30-66 again not Bama. Tulane's wins 42-44 while close to .500 still not all that impressive.
Those three wins in the same bowl you might want to mention (an "insane" 135 miles from Lafayette) came over teams that finished a combined 23-14. Yes decent to good but not great teams.
Basketball, admittedly UH sucked here this year overall but we answering why you aren't where you think you should be. In basketball you did finish with an impressive record or 23-12 but look deeper. That was with a schedule that finished with an rpi of .5429. Again good but not a world beater.
As for baseball you are and have been as good as you think you are. This year alone you have some impressive wins such as LSU but baseball has little to nothing to do with conference invites softball even less.
Everyone thinks their city is great it's what others think that matters.
Your improving facilities but so is everyone else. Oh and your stadium is as much 50-60k as ours is that is false advertising. Your barely over 30k now.
As for tier 1 as much as I don't think US News is the end all be all people love to quote it and any school that they won't even publish the ranking isn't making tier 1 anytime soon.
Top 3 supported of non top 5 non aq? What kind of logic is that? So you claim, if I follow correctly, that you are the 8th most supported program outside the P5? Hmmm interesting logic and I find it one that I would love to see proof of.
45k (if it's actually true you brought that many) is a great number but again 135 miles from home is pretty close to home. If you drew that in a city 500 miles or more away I would be more impressed.
You school is just fine I would just temper your expectations of where you think you should be. Keep building your programs, academics, facilities, and fan support and you will do just fine. That is just a "few" years or more down the road.
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - IceJus10 - 03-27-2014 12:16 AM
One of the Great Cities of America? Is this guy serious?
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - ncbeta - 03-27-2014 12:35 AM
I'm having trouble answering a question that's semi-posed as a statement here...Where is this 55-60k stadium? 80% of what you said is a stretch so it's really hard to take this seriously, I'm trying. Louisiana does have a very small enrollment and needs to increase its academic profile. It is good that the school remains competitive on the field but you really need more fan and academic support in my opinion.
Okay, I couldn't help it (some of our posters are just as bad):
I'll take Fan base by Ramblings for 400, Alex.
--Original post--
Answer: Who are the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns?
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - john01992 - 03-27-2014 12:37 AM
(03-27-2014 12:16 AM)IceJus10 Wrote: One of the Great Cities of America? Is this guy serious?
I didn't even touch that one....
remember this is the same poster who says they have a 60k stadium
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - 10thMountain - 03-27-2014 09:35 AM
CUSA?
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - 1845 Bear - 03-27-2014 11:14 AM
Which league are you looking at? I could see CUSA but P5/AAC probably isn't in the cards. The budget (17mm) would be well behind the low end of the P5 teams even with a better league payout helping them out and frankly even with a 20mm shot in the arm would struggle to stand out vs the AAC crowd.
The lack of a national brand is also an issue for a P5 or AAC bid. ULL has improved a lot and become a legit SBC power but still has a lot to build up to become a consideration beyond CUSA.
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - swampbear - 03-27-2014 11:50 AM
(03-27-2014 11:14 AM)S11 Wrote: Which league are you looking at? I could see CUSA but P5/AAC probably isn't in the cards. The budget (17mm) would be well behind the low end of the P5 teams even with a better league payout helping them out and frankly even with a 20mm shot in the arm would struggle to stand out vs the AAC crowd.
The lack of a national brand is also an issue for a P5 or AAC bid. ULL has improved a lot and become a legit SBC power but still has a lot to build up to become a consideration beyond CUSA.
Completely true and a level headed response.....Thank you
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - TopperCard - 03-27-2014 12:21 PM
Football at UL-L has been decent, but not great. A few bowl wins against low level competition isn't going to turn heads, but you're winning, so that's important. Basketball.... meh. Baseball is great, but like someone said, that's not going to get you into another league. What's going to attract attention is an overall investment in athletics. This starts with facilties, and as far as I can tell, the upgrades and renovations currently being done look great. I think one very important thing is to improve OOC scheduling in the major sports and be willing to play anyone, anytime, anywhere. Another key is investing in your coaches, and giving them the support they need to hire their staff and implement their visions.
Overall, I believe Louisianna-Lafayette will move up to CUSA in due time. I doubt any Sun Belt teams are going to make the jump to the AAC, or any P5 conferences.
PS - There's only one UofL, and that's Louisville :). UL-L should design a shirt that says "Respect the Hyphen".
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - Attackcoog - 03-27-2014 12:48 PM
(03-27-2014 11:50 AM)swampbear Wrote:(03-27-2014 11:14 AM)S11 Wrote: Which league are you looking at? I could see CUSA but P5/AAC probably isn't in the cards. The budget (17mm) would be well behind the low end of the P5 teams even with a better league payout helping them out and frankly even with a 20mm shot in the arm would struggle to stand out vs the AAC crowd.
The lack of a national brand is also an issue for a P5 or AAC bid. ULL has improved a lot and become a legit SBC power but still has a lot to build up to become a consideration beyond CUSA.
Completely true and a level headed response.....Thank you
What I think the biggest issue for ULL is that their performance has improved dramatically---as has their fan support. It seems to have come out of nowhere. Their football had been fairly lackluster prior to this recent uptrend. If they can keep it rolling for a few more year and continue to build fan support, they will really be a great target for CUSA.
It seems that perception always lags nearly a decade behind performance. So, keep up the current level of performance for 2-5 more years and I think ULL will be in a lot more expansion conversations.
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - westwolf - 03-27-2014 02:09 PM
When it comes to awareness of Louisiana colleges, the national perspective is:
1. LSU
2. Tulane
3. La Tech
4. La Laf
5. La Mon
and there's a huge divide between #s 1 and 2; even more so between #'s 2 and 3
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - HeartOfDixie - 03-27-2014 02:42 PM
UL is finally hitting its stride after decades of backward ass management.
Lafayette is a prime location for a major college so in time, and with continued strong leadership, I think it will make great strides.
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - mlb - 03-27-2014 02:48 PM
Apparently in Lafayette 31,000 is essentially 55-60k.
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - Niner National - 03-27-2014 03:46 PM
(03-27-2014 02:42 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote: UL is finally hitting its stride after decades of backward ass management.
Lafayette is a prime location for a major college so in time, and with continued strong leadership, I think it will make great strides.
Agreed.
Honestly, I'd rather have UL than La Tech in CUSA personally. I'm sure a lot of people would say the same about Charlotte though...and I'm cool with that. I just feel like UL has far more potential because of its location, support, and all the new found wealth there due to the natural gas industry.
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - BIgCatonProwl - 03-27-2014 04:05 PM
(03-27-2014 12:37 AM)john01992 Wrote:(03-27-2014 12:16 AM)IceJus10 Wrote: One of the Great Cities of America? Is this guy serious?
I didn't even touch that one....
remember this is the same poster who says they have a 60k stadium
Nothin wrong with a man being proud of his city. In his mind it is, that's all that counts.
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - HeartOfDixie - 03-27-2014 04:11 PM
(03-27-2014 02:48 PM)mlb Wrote: Apparently in Lafayette 31,000 is essentially 55-60k.
The expansion plans called for 60k after several rounds of improvements.
RE: The Ragin' Cajuns - HeartOfDixie - 03-27-2014 04:33 PM
(03-27-2014 12:48 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:(03-27-2014 11:50 AM)swampbear Wrote:(03-27-2014 11:14 AM)S11 Wrote: Which league are you looking at? I could see CUSA but P5/AAC probably isn't in the cards. The budget (17mm) would be well behind the low end of the P5 teams even with a better league payout helping them out and frankly even with a 20mm shot in the arm would struggle to stand out vs the AAC crowd.
The lack of a national brand is also an issue for a P5 or AAC bid. ULL has improved a lot and become a legit SBC power but still has a lot to build up to become a consideration beyond CUSA.
Completely true and a level headed response.....Thank you
What I think the biggest issue for ULL is that their performance has improved dramatically---as has their fan support. It seems to have come out of nowhere. Their football had been fairly lackluster prior to this recent uptrend. If they can keep it rolling for a few more year and continue to build fan support, they will really be a great target for CUSA.
It seems that perception always lags nearly a decade behind performance. So, keep up the current level of performance for 2-5 more years and I think ULL will be in a lot more expansion conversations.
This.
This is a major high point for the program but a 'good run' won't be enough to garner a big time conference bid.
The big thing UL has going for it is the fact that the primary reason it is where it is now is because of stunningly awful leadership over several decades who refused to expand or even put any money into the athletic department.
The rapid growth over the last five years is pretty indicative of where the program can go though.
A lot of people don't want to think it, or don't want to admit it, but that rapid growth coupled with the advantages Lafayette, and the region, offers means UL could make a serious play for being the 'other' school in Louisiana next to LSU.