(06-13-2017 10:02 AM)DETLTU Wrote:  

(06-12-2017 07:41 PM)RonBurgundy Wrote:  The thing with ULM is they're only in FBS because of Tech. They couldn't stand we moved up in 1988 and decided they needed to as well in 1994. They rushed their transition because they didn't want to be left behind and it's been biting them in the butt ever since. They've never had any real mechanism for any source of outside funding to support athletics. NLU was already limited in financial support because they primarily graduate teachers and nurses which generally don't turn into large donors. They really set the house on fire and pissed on the ashes when they let the name change occur. A lot of the alumni with money closed up shop and stopped coming to games when this happened. For people outside of North Louisiana, you really don't understand how bad that name change hurt them. It alienated a bunch of their support and it just happened to be a time when everyone's favorite SEC school in Baton Rouge decided to win a national championship. So what happened? They started supporting LSU and going to Baton Rouge or staying at home to watch football rather than going to Malone Stadium. Tie that in with a lack of success and a university president in Bruno who would've shut down athletics yesterday, they've sailed into a perfect storm of self inflicted wounds and lack of success.

We also played our last series with them around that time and the games weren't particularly close. I have spoken to people who felt that when the name changed, their university was gone. They changed the name of the school and mascot around the same time and quit playing against us. There wasn't much left of the old school. Combine all of that with limited success and the LSU success around that time period and it's a bad combination. Their president giving up the name fight to ULL will probably chase away a few more donors as well. They have also constantly struggled to do what we do (videoboard, field turf, endzone facility) and either go into serious debt to do it or do it half way.

We will see what happens. I think dropping down would probably be good for them and there is actually some support within the student body. The financials are tough to justify though. There is no good option for them so I wouldn't be surprised if they continue to limp along and hope for a breakout year.

With regard to the bolded part above, it was a LA Tech grad (Jason Bullock) who donated the 450K used to upgrade ULM's football field turf the last time they did it in 2014. It was the largest donation in the history of ULM's athletic programs.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/sport...f/5196055/