(05-08-2017 08:39 AM)BirdofParadise Wrote:  I'm not going to bash ULM. They are who they are.

Who they are is a program with the lowest budget in the FBS...and that's by a wide margin....and there is NOTHING that would indicate that's going to get better. There is no season ticket base and, therefore, no way to generate revenue.

Someone said facilities are "nice". When the end zone facility was built, it was the first new athletic construction on campus in more than 30 years. No...the facilities aren't "nice." They are antiquated.

There has been some on field success. ULM was in the NCAA tournament in baseball five years ago. There was the bowl game. Men's basketball had two good years recently. But other than that, what?

The problem with ULM is there's nothing to indicate it's going to get better. Matt Viator is a very good football coach and ULM football is going to improve. But one of the reasons ULM looked so bad in the last bowl game is players were sent home after the season until bowl week because the school couldn't afford to house them.

The lack of student fees is a hindrance. But the Cajuns have put nearly 50 million dollars into facility improvements with more planned. McNeese State is constructing a badly needed on-campus basketball arena. They don't have student fees, either.

Perhaps a change in leadership would help. Despite Nick Bruno's posturing, the man doesn't care about athletics. As you said, ULM doesn't use all the money they could use. That's on Nick Bruno.

In my professional opinion, if there is a consolidation between CUSA and the Sun Belt, ULM could get left out. There just doesn't seem to be anything to indicate there are good things ahead.

None of this is personal. I'm just saying what most of us see.

Nah I get It Iam a realist.

You're part correct on some things.
The were not sent home after the season to the bowl. They did not use all their practices they could have but they did stay for practices just not full amount. That would never happen again. The soft AD / HC who were there then are not now. Yes we did get our ass kicked and yes that is part of the fact we did not use all practice dates but also a lot of team had the flu. We still would have lost but the flu factor did play a some role as well. Again not saying we would have won just sharing a little more info.

ULM is doing a 5 million upgrade to the Track as well. Not bragging but things are getting a little better.

Considering ULM is only like 4.5 hours from Memphis, I'll probably make the trip to Monroe next year.

I had a friend tell me to stop at Waterfront Grill for a Poboy and gumbo before the game...might have to check it out.

(05-08-2017 09:41 AM)UofMemphis Wrote:  that said, considering ULM is only like 4.5 hours from Memphis, I'll probably make the trip to Monroe next year.

I had a friend tell me to stop at Waterfront Grill for a Poboy and gumbo before the game...might have to check it out.

That's the spot. Nothing is fried doe the BBQ Shimp PoBoy is good. The ribeye without shrimp rahkee is the shiz.

(05-08-2017 09:50 AM)Golota Wrote:  

(05-08-2017 09:41 AM)UofMemphis Wrote:  that said, considering ULM is only like 4.5 hours from Memphis, I'll probably make the trip to Monroe next year.

I had a friend tell me to stop at Waterfront Grill for a Poboy and gumbo before the game...might have to check it out.

That's the spot. Nothing is fried doe the BBQ Shimp PoBoy is good. The ribeye without shrimp rahkee is the shiz.

lookin' at their prices...it'll be the Poboy and gumbo for me, lol

(playing smaller town teams like ULM presents a good road trip opportunity as I would think ticket prices, parking, and hotel rooms will all be reasonable in Monroe)

Monroe is a super easy AState road trip for those of his living in Central Arkansas so my self-interest says keep them on.

But look at the Bubas Cup standings. Year after year ULM has the most last and next to last finishes.

Look it is a good thing to not saddle students with big expenses but there are 52 schools spending more than ULM on athletics between ULM and the next lowest spending Sun Belt school. Basically add ULM and UALR together and you have a competitive Sun Belt football program budget.

That is not a good thing, and I don't think it is particularly fair to the student-athletes to expect them to compete against schools spending nearly twice as much.

If ULM believes their budget is appropriate, they really should be in a conference with similar budget sizes and give their programs a real chance at being competitive.

I respect that they have fielded some good teams at times despite the financial handcuffs but until ULM's administration makes the decision to be Sun Belt competitive these sorts of threads will continue to pop up.

I just wonder how much the Louisiana university system budget crisis has to do with their situation. I know there were ridiculous thoughts that even LSU could shut down their football program, that never would have happened, but that is how bad it got. Grambling and Southern were also on the brink. ULM may of had to fight harder then some of the other schools just to maintain what they have, just don't know what goes on behind the scenes.

ULM does get some run on the Duck Dynasty shows, got to be good for something.

Things I enjoyed about being conference mates with ULM:

The turkey leg I had at Malone Stadium in 2007

(05-07-2017 08:02 PM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  I respect ULM.

You won my respect when you upset Alabama, and then had that monster 2012 season where you shocked the college football world.

Ah, the 2012 Indy Bowl. That is beyond doubt the highlight of anything my alma mater has given to me. For several different reasons. ;-)

(05-08-2017 10:13 AM)Usajags Wrote:  I just wonder how much the Louisiana university system budget crisis has to do with their situation. I know there were ridiculous thoughts that even LSU could shut down their football program, that never would have happened, but that is how bad it got. Grambling and Southern were also on the brink. ULM may of had to fight harder then some of the other schools just to maintain what they have, just don't know what goes on behind the scenes.

ULM does get some run on the Duck Dynasty shows, got to be good for something.

The Cajuns (and LaTech for that matter) have been operating under the same restrictions as ULM. UL has been taking substantially less than the maximum allowed for a number of years with the expectation of continuing budget cuts, but during that same period our athletics budget has increased by approximately 35%. The athletic construction projects are primarily publicly funded at the same time as we are growing the athletic budget. As with all Louisiana schools, there are no purely athletic fees for students.

(05-08-2017 08:31 AM)bullitt_60 Wrote:  

(05-07-2017 09:27 PM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  

(05-07-2017 08:48 PM)Oldyeller Wrote:  ULM does more than most with half the money. I'm a fan. I'm not a fan of university systems that share the same name. Directional has more reach particularly when marketing or branding. My only beef with the UL schools.

?

1994 3-8
'95 2-9
'96 5-6
'97 5-7
'98 5-6
'99 5-6
2000 1-10
'01 2-9
'02 3-9
'03 1-11
'04 5-6
'05 5-6
'06 6-6
'07 6-6
'08 4-8
'09 6-6
2010 5-7
'11 4-8
'12 8-5
'13 6-6
'14 4-8
'15 2-11
'16 4-8

One season above .500
Four at .500
18 losing seasons

That's one more winning season than UTA has had over the same time period with roughly the same budget. Some would say, and I'm one of them, that proves his point. Someone has to finish last.

Doing more implies something better than just fielding a team. It's not like they are a school that struggles in football bit is competitive elsewhere. They'll have more last place finishes in 16 sports this year than SBC championships in all sports since joining the league. Their entire athletic department is conditioned to losing. The dont do more with less, they do less with less.

(05-08-2017 08:22 AM)bluephi1914 Wrote:  Everyone looks at ULMs budget and decides to bash us off of that. Well, we aren't leveraged with student fees like others in the Belt. That bubble may soon pop for them, yet we won't be affected. We actually transfer less money to athletics than the state allows, so we have money available we can utilize if need be. Lastly, we didn't swell our budget trying to attract other conferences like some others. So, as those schools who did swell their budgets now look for a way to generate alternate revenues to sustain those budgets, we are not in such a panic mode because we kept our finances in line with reality. Therefore, let's not look and ridicule, because as the chickens come home to roost for other programs, we will not be under such a crunch to make something happen when the football revenue recession hits the rest of the G5 schools.

This is like saying a turd doesn't usually stink.

I respect them for hanging in there with football but I fear they get Idahoed one day. So many years and no real traction in football. One winning season since 1993 is tough sledding. They play us tough so far so they have been good games.

Toured their campus shortly after we joined the Sunbelt. Perhaps the place strikes others differently, but it was the most dismal campus that I recall ever seeing.

I am not trying to be mean, as I don't have any animosity toward them; however, I could hardly believe it.

Maybe I was having a bad day or something.

Don't really have too many feelings about them one way or the other.

ULM's problem is one of perception. Their budget is the lowest hanging fruit on the FBS tree by a mile. This is common knowledge.

When outsiders come here and post hypothetical conferences, a wanna be move up tends to be included, which makes ULM expendable in the poster's eyes. It's nothing malicious or personal, just someone's perceptions.

Unfortunately, there is plenty of ammunition out there to support the perception of a program in dire straits; such as the lost practice days in 2012 bowl prep, Louisiana state budget (which has been an issue for years), fan support, overall in conference performance, which adds fuel to the fire. At least ULM starting focusing on THEIR brand and quit getting sucked into the name game fight. Yes, ULM's president may not care for athletics, but was a smart move to quit putting resources into a fight over another university's marketing.

(05-08-2017 04:25 PM)UTArlingtonMaverick Wrote:  Toured their campus shortly after we joined the Sunbelt. Perhaps the place strikes others differently, but it was the most dismal campus that I recall ever seeing.

I am not trying to be mean, as I don't have any animosity toward them; however, I could hardly believe it.

Maybe I was having a bad day or something.

Really? What was so dismal? Not saying we're Ole Miss but our campus isn't that bad. They have redone a lot, we have a nice library, bayou running through campus..etc..

(05-08-2017 04:13 PM)JCGSU Wrote:  I respect them for hanging in there with football but I fear they get Idahoed one day. So many years and no real traction in football. One winning season since 1993 is tough sledding. They play us tough so far so they have been good games.

Right? We've had trouble with ulm in every game even when we were good. Glad we don't play them this year.

(05-08-2017 05:35 PM)Golota Wrote:  

(05-08-2017 04:25 PM)UTArlingtonMaverick Wrote:  Toured their campus shortly after we joined the Sunbelt. Perhaps the place strikes others differently, but it was the most dismal campus that I recall ever seeing.

I am not trying to be mean, as I don't have any animosity toward them; however, I could hardly believe it.

Maybe I was having a bad day or something.

Really? What was so dismal? Not saying we're Ole Miss but our campus isn't that bad. They have redone a lot, we have a nice library, bayou running through campus..etc..

Maybe I did not give it a fair shake. I am sure it is really very nice.

(05-08-2017 05:56 PM)UTArlingtonMaverick Wrote:  

(05-08-2017 05:35 PM)Golota Wrote:  

(05-08-2017 04:25 PM)UTArlingtonMaverick Wrote:  Toured their campus shortly after we joined the Sunbelt. Perhaps the place strikes others differently, but it was the most dismal campus that I recall ever seeing.

I am not trying to be mean, as I don't have any animosity toward them; however, I could hardly believe it.

Maybe I was having a bad day or something.

Really? What was so dismal? Not saying we're Ole Miss but our campus isn't that bad. They have redone a lot, we have a nice library, bayou running through campus..etc..

Maybe I did not give it a fair shake. I am sure it is really very nice.

Obviously, ULM produces some very decent people, and that's what matters most by far.

(05-08-2017 08:22 AM)bluephi1914 Wrote:  Everyone looks at ULMs budget and decides to bash us off of that. Well, we aren't leveraged with student fees like others in the Belt. That bubble may soon pop for them, yet we won't be affected. We actually transfer less money to athletics than the state allows, so we have money available we can utilize if need be. Lastly, we didn't swell our budget trying to attract other conferences like some others. So, as those schools who did swell their budgets now look for a way to generate alternate revenues to sustain those budgets, we are not in such a panic mode because we kept our finances in line with reality. Therefore, let's not look and ridicule, because as the chickens come home to roost for other programs, we will not be under such a crunch to make something happen when the football revenue recession hits the rest of the G5 schools.

As mentioned previously, 1 winning season in the highest profile college sport in 24 seasons is the issue. I thought, after seeing ULM's defense in 2014, that they would step up to the plate in 2015 and compete; obviously that didn't happen.