Pac-12 True, False, Good, Bad (multiple choice)

[Turbine]

As long as you put out the vibe that you are unwilling to move for whatever supposedly valid reason of the month, then ... you will never be asked to move. Ever

[31Ragin97]

I think a move now to pac is better and less risky than a move to cusa back then would have been. Worse case scenario now if pac flops is you end up back in sun belt or indy for a spell and make turbine happy

[tdncz]

im guessing the leadership at Texas State dont understand college athletics either. Its great if thats the ceiling you have for this University. It seems to be pervasive here. I call them the, "we cant do that here" gang. But at least your view is consistent since you think our admin has done the best job possible here.

THIS RIGHT HERE^!

[Duckster]

There many, many posters here who simply do not understand college athletics. They are great fans, but they do not understand that the PAC-12 is not a viable option, that Dr. Maggard and the administration are doing a good job of playing the hand that they have been dealt, that the sky is not falling, that Cajun Disaster Syndrome is REAL, that the Big 12 isn't an option now, and maybe never, that the Sun Belt is the best possible situation that we could currently find ourselves in, and that we could find ourselves in a much more precarious position should the next round of realignment shift half our current conference mates to the eastern time zone, and leave us with fewer options than we have right now. The clock is ticking. When we renegotiate with ESPN, they might put together an offer that pulls the rug out from under us. In the meantime, we must get our financial house in order. We have less than 4 years to stack our cash.

Agree with your point, the SBC (and others) is not immune to instability during next realignment shift. With regards to the athletic dept. stacking up cash, wouldn't it be more cost effective to sponsor a women's beach volleyball team instead of women's basketball? Take any savings and reinvest in men's basketball.

[Vobserver]

Womens basketball is required for SBC membership.

[Turbine]

Call their bluff

[Louisiana84]

Open your wallets, then. We need millions.

[Turbine]

Water under the bridge, (and impossible now) but by my calculations in football scheduling alone, Louisiana has left fifty million or more on the table by joining the Sunbelt.

[Houston Cajun]

im guessing the leadership at Texas State dont understand college athletics either. Its great if thats the ceiling you have for this University. It seems to be pervasive here. I call them the, "we cant do that here" gang. But at least your view is consistent since you think our admin has done the best job possible here.

"leadership at Texas State" is the key here. Texas State's leadership is moving the university forward. UH had the same issue when their new President took over a few years ago. She was committed to moving UH to a power conference and supported it despite athletic department deficits for several years. Look at UH today.

The question for UL is what is our new president going to do. "leadership at UL" is in question. Will he truly see athletics as UL's "window to the world" and support any move that will move UL to a new level or will it be business as usual? The SBC may be in improved conference, but the perception remains weak. Will a move to a higher conference like the PAC 12 change the perception of UL to many that will generate more support than we currently have in the SBC? Will an improved conference schedule increase attendance and exposure for UL and will the average fan view UL in a different lite?

What is our risk tolerance? Do we stay conservative in the comfort of the SBC with a half filled stadium and fan apathy or risk our future on a new conference that will excite the average fan, change the perception of the university, attract greater enrollment, and move UL to another level? Making that decision is why Dr. Kolluru is paid the big bucks and comes with the position of President of the university. Personally, I hope he decides to pursue membership in the PAC 12. Being a conference member with Washington State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State, Texas State and Gonzaga is much more appealing despite the travel. The PAC 12 and AAC are considered the 2 leading conferences in the Group of 5 to which we would belong and puts us ahead of other state schools and on equal conference footing with Tulane. And, it will have us in better position should realignment rear its head again in the next few years. Better bowl games, more conference revenue, greater attendance and fan support which means more university revenue, greater financial support and greater perception of UL to more equally put us athletically with our R1 academic standing. The two should go hand in hand, PAC 12 and R1. How will our fans and boosters view that?

[Cajunsmike]

We will not draw any more fans in football for The new PAC 12 teams than we do now.

[CajunRed]

Unfortunately, due to our current budget issues thanks to previous Martin Hall critters, even if all those long term benefits are as you stated, I believe due to the short term, there is almost no change the University of Louisiana System leadership would approve such a move.

A lot were saying Martin Hall was too tight with its checkbook. Turns out, they were way too loose.

[Diehard1280]

A lot were saying Martin Hall was too tight with its checkbook. Turns out, they were way too loose.

That is a scary thought!

[31Ragin97]

That is a scary thought!

People go on and on about the federal national debt but often cant seperate that from an individual year budget deficit. They also often mistakenly lump discretionary spending and nondiscretionary spending in together. I bet some of those same principles are at play here..... plus if a different school transfers more from academics or state coffers to athletics ahead of time, rather than waiting and making it look like there was a deficit, even if the first is a greater amount. Not sure why that gets a pass, even if end result is worse

[ULGrad@Hou]

"leadership at Texas State" is the key here. Texas State's leadership is moving the university forward. UH had the same issue when their new President took over a few years ago. She was committed to moving UH to a power conference and supported it despite athletic department deficits for several years. Look at UH today.

The question for UL is what is our new president going to do. "leadership at UL" is in question. Will he truly see athletics as UL's "window to the world" and support any move that will move UL to a new level or will it be business as usual? The SBC may be in improved conference, but the perception remains weak. Will a move to a higher conference like the PAC 12 change the perception of UL to many that will generate more support than we currently have in the SBC? Will an improved conference schedule increase attendance and exposure for UL and will the average fan view UL in a different lite?

What is our risk tolerance? Do we stay conservative in the comfort of the SBC with a half filled stadium and fan apathy or risk our future on a new conference that will excite the average fan, change the perception of the university, attract greater enrollment, and move UL to another level? Making that decision is why Dr. Kolluru is paid the big bucks and comes with the position of President of the university. Personally, I hope he decides to pursue membership in the PAC 12. Being a conference member with Washington State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State, Texas State and Gonzaga is much more appealing despite the travel. The PAC 12 and AAC are considered the 2 leading conferences in the Group of 5 to which we would belong and puts us ahead of other state schools and on equal conference footing with Tulane. And, it will have us in better position should realignment rear its head again in the next few years. Better bowl games, more conference revenue, greater attendance and fan support which means more university revenue, greater financial support and greater perception of UL to more equally put us athletically with our R1 academic standing. The two should go hand in hand, PAC 12 and R1. How will our fans and boosters view that?

Good post. All True. Staying put rarely works out if you are trying to improve your position. We present ourselves at the moment as a middle of the pack Sun Belt program, content with staying there forever, never looking to move up in national standing. Our administration puts little effort or energy in wanting to better ourselves. Every move they make is to maintain a status quo, and they are failing at that.

[Duckster]

The old saying 'you are the company you keep' applies here. Majority of current SBC members are FCS moveups. Not throwing shade at Coastal or Madison who've achieved elite level success in baseball and football. Congrats to them. But good grief, how many more times are we content to let FCS moveups pass us by? When CUSA was picking the SBC apart in 2012-14 we supposedly "weren't ready" (remember that one?) since we were planning the baseball and football stadium renovations. To administration's credit both got done, plus a fine T & F/ soccer renovation. Even the Cajundome underwent a major renovation during that time span. We have some first class athletic facilities that we can be proud of. Even so, it seems our monitoring the landscape strategy of the past 14 years surrounding conference realignment is a study in passivity.

[ULGrad@Hou]

The old saying 'you are the company you keep' applies here. Majority of current SBC members are FCS moveups. Not throwing shade at Coastal or Madison who've achieved elite level success in baseball and football. Congrats to them. But good grief, how many more times are we content to let FCS moveups pass us by? When CUSA was picking the SBC apart in 2012-14 we supposedly "weren't ready" (remember that one?) since we were planning the baseball and football stadium renovations. To administration's credit both got done, plus a fine T & F/ soccer renovation. Even the Cajundome underwent a major renovation during that time span. We have some first class athletic facilities that we can be proud of. Even so, it seems our monitoring the landscape strategy of the past 14 years surrounding conference realignment is a study in passivity.

It's extremely frustrating as an alum and fan of the Cajuns.

[31Ragin97]

Womens basketball is required for SBC membership.

Rules for me but not for thee