State of the Program

The Bulldog Report

Early 2000 was a great time for Louisiana Tech football. We were coming off an 8-3 season, where we defeated SEC champion Alabama. We had been accepted into the Western Athletic Conference and the future was bright. Unfortunately, we became complacent. In the world of college athletics, if you’re not moving forward aggressively, you’re falling behind.

The next season would prove to be very poor. Our Athletic Director set up the first of many irresponsible schedules. We played eight road games and only four home games; two of which were against teams from Division IAA (this type of schedule would not be permitted under current NCAA rules for Division IA programs). The only wins we got in 2000 were against Mississippi Valley State, ULL, and ULM. We lost to Stephen F. Austin at Homecoming.

In 2001, we won the WAC. On the basis of that WAC championship, Jim Oakes decided to sign Coach Bicknell to a three-year contract extension. This decision would prove to be a poor one.

The Bulldogs had a very bad year in 2002. Jim Oakes once again set up an irresponsible schedule, forcing us to play Clemson, Texas A&M, and Penn State, all on the road within a four week period. Coach Bicknell failed to prepare his team for conference games. The team was unable to rebound from the difficult schedule. Tech then lost in back-to-back weeks to SMU and Rice, who were a combined 0-11 at the time. We finished the season 4-8.

In 2003, the team showed promise with a win over Michigan State (the last BCS team that Tech has beaten). Then, the proverbial wheels fell off. For Homecoming, we were down by three with 1:22 remaining. Jack Bicknell again showed that he does not have the fortitude to be a Division I head coach. Ryan Moats had rushed for 267 yards that day, but instead of letting our best player try to get the first down, Bicknell allowed our kicker to attempt a 53 yard field goal in terrible conditions. Needless to say, we lost the game. Two weeks later, in a game that Tech fans had been anticipating for quite some time, Bicknell laid down against LSU. Run plays and screen passes were the only plays we ran because he was trying to be conservative and run time off the clock. The last two games of the season, Bicknell’s team quit on him. We lost 48-18 at Tulsa and came home to be humiliated by Rice 49-14. Rice ran for a school record of 672 yards. Numbers like that are a direct result of poor coaching and preparation. Bicknell had lost total control of his team. Jim Oakes again took the easy way out, saying he could not afford financially to terminate Jack Bicknell.

In 2004, Jim Oakes continued his lazy scheduling. He agreed to play at Tennessee for a big paycheck, ruining any chance of our having a winning season. We played at Miami, Auburn, and Tennessee within four weeks of each other and finished the season with three losses in our last five games. We finished 6-6 that year and because Jim Oakes signed the Tennessee deal instead of playing a smaller school, Miami (Ohio) played in the Independence Bowl.

Last year appeared to be 2001 all over again. We had seven wins, but four were against teams that had competed in the Sunbelt Conference the year before. Once again Jim Oakes gave Jack Bicknell an extension because it was the easy thing to do.

This 2006 season started out just like 2004. For our 13th game, Jim Oakes took a money game against Nebraska instead of providing a game against a team that we could realistically be expected to compete with. Once again were beaten badly by four good teams. Once again Jack Bicknell failed to motivate his team and we lost to Idaho at Homecoming. We committed eight turnovers. Six were directly attributed to the quarterback, but Bicknell refused to go to the bench. Coaching like this is not only unfair to the fans, it’s unfair to the struggling player. When we were down by 10 with 3:50 left on the clock, we punted. That one decision again showed that Jack Bicknell is a quitter.

It is past time for a change. Jim Oakes continues to make reckless decisions. He forces our football team to play numerous road games in order to make enough revenue to make his budget. He refuses to put the work in to earn the budget money we need. Instead, he prefers to sell the football team to the highest bidder. Baylor just announced that Tech has backed out of a series that was to start in 2007. Instead of playing a beatable team that was willing to return the game, we now must play a team that will pay us a little more money. That is money that could easily be made up by selling tickets to fans that want to see a winning team. As long as Jim Oakes is in charge, we will never have consistent success.

Jim Oakes would rather make excuses than move our athletic program forward. He continually fails to schedule for success. Our facilities have only been improved by the private donations of fans that can’t stand to see things as bad as they are. Jim Oakes has never fired a coach for poor performance. He allowed Kim Mulkey-Robertson to leave and he failed to bring in Tech graduate Mike McConathy after he led Northwestern State to a win in the NCAA tournament. He promoted Jack Bicknell from offensive line coach to head coach, a very rare move, but of course we could not afford an experienced coach. Keith Richard and Chris Long were both promoted from assistant coach to head coach because that is the easiest thing for Jim Oakes to do. We have one of the two smallest budgets in the WAC. Mr. Oakes would rather blame the school’s administration for his lack of budget than actually do anything to increase it. He has allowed several key employees to leave just this year because of his micro-management and inter-office politics. Mr. Oakes does not care to improve our athletic program, only to maintain it. He routinely refuses outside help and will not accept that corporate partners are the key to success.

Jack Bicknell is also a wealth of excuses. He would rather tell you how good the other team is and lay down for them than to actually try to beat them. His continued conservative style has taken us from a tough team to a beaten team. Three players have already quit the team this year. Jack continuously blames the schedule and, while the schedule is unreasonable, it is no excuse for failing to prepare our teams. Another hallmark of the Bicknell era is a lack of player development. It could be intelligently argued that Luke McCown got worse in his four years at Tech. Zac Champion was highly touted out of high school and has been in the system for four years. Despite that, he was directly responsible for six turnovers against a substandard Idaho defense.

Jack Bicknell and Jim Oakes are both bad for Louisiana Tech. Together they are a potent poison that will take this program to depths it has never seen. Every year we hear the same excuses, make the same mistakes, and the fan base experiences the same disappointment. How bad must this situation get before we see a change?

Recently the WAC came out with a strategic plan to improve its member institutions. If this administration is serious about meeting these standards, they must make changes. They must bring in the right person to lead us to success. If we do not, Louisiana Tech will be back in the Sunbelt Conference very soon. The current athletic administration is not capable of meeting these demands. In 2005, they came out with The Game Plan, which was a set of goals made in order to appease fans who had been questioning the direction of the current leadership. More than a year later, no effort has been made to achieve these goals, in part because the plan didn’t specifically detail how the goals would be reached. The only goals that have been met were because of one generous donor, not because of any plan being implemented.

We need to go out and search for the most qualified person we can find to be our AD, someone that understands the importance of growing and marketing the program, someone that has a burning hunger for success, and who will not allow himself to accept that things are not as good as they can possibly be. We need someone who will bring the same attitude to the entire athletic department that Wade Simoneaux has brought to baseball – a desire to be all we can be.

Louisiana Tech must get with the program. If we are to remain in the WAC or ever get into Conference USA, we must increase our budget. We must schedule opponents with whom our teams can compete. There are plenty of ways to increase the budget that our AD has yet to even attempt because they take away some of his control that he demands.

1. Develop corporate sponsorships. We need major corporations putting their names on our facilities. That will enable us to get new revenues to upgrade our facilities and fund our programs.
2. Sell advertising on a Jumbo-Tron-type video board. This is another revenue stream that we do not currently have.
3. Charge for parking. People will pay for it; they pay to park anywhere else they go.
4. Take over concessions and take back the Team Shop. When you let other people sell concessions and merchandise, you are letting them have the profits.
5. Win games to sell more tickets. Winning brings people, which brings money, which pays for teams to come to Ruston. You have to start the cycle somewhere. Schedule better and it will pay for itself.
6. Advertise on TV as well as billboards, radio, and newspapers. Advertise aggressively, not randomly. Keep Louisiana Tech’s name in front of everyone.
7. Advertise in Ruston, Monroe, and Shreveport aggressively. Also advertise in Central Louisiana and Southern Arkansas. Ruston is not big enough to support our teams by itself; we need to be a regional power, not just a local state university.
8. Set goals to encourage more CHAMPS memberships. Do not simply ask for money to meet the budget. Formulate CHAMPS groups in cities with high numbers of alumni. At the very least have groups in Ruston, Monroe, Shreveport, Homer-Minden, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, Little Rock, El Dorado, and Alexandria. Also consider groups in Tyler, Lake Charles, Lafayette, Vicksburg, Natchez-Ferriday, Memphis, and Jackson.
9. Ask the fans for help instead of shutting them out because they criticize. There are hundreds of fans that would love to help complete tasks for the athletic department. Unfortunately, they are too often turned away because they do not agree with everything the AD does.
10. Get the Coaches out to promote their teams. Have them do coaches shows on TV and radio. Put incentives in their contracts in order to drive them toward success. Most schools have incentives in their coach’s contracts.

As you can tell, we do not have the appropriate level of corporate sponsorships. The football stadium at Troy University is Movie Gallery Stadium. Troy University is in the Sun Belt Conference, yet they have a larger budget than Louisiana Tech. Our AD tells people that we will be the next team in Conference USA. We have heard that twice before and twice we have been passed over for another school that is rapidly improving like Troy is now. The only improvements made to our facilities under Jim Oakes have all been funded by private donors who were generous enough to do it themselves when the AD failed. This includes the new turf and the upgraded lights at the football stadium, the columns at the football and baseball stadiums, the new seats at the baseball stadium, and the backstop and nets at the softball field. We still have condemned bleachers at the track and we have to play our home tennis matches at Ruston High because we will not fix our courts. Jim Oakes was not going to let the tennis team travel to a conference match in 2004 because he did not want to spend the money. Unhappy fans decided to pay for the trip. Jim Oakes also hired a basketball coach to coach tennis in 2005 because he could do it on a part time basis. Only high schools do things like this, not Division I universities! We do not have a Jumbo-Tron. We do not charge for parking. We sub out concessions. We do not win enough games. We do not advertise enough at all, not even close.

How can we be more successful?
1. Play more home games. Never play a road game with no return. Only play teams that will come to Shreveport or, even better, Ruston. The Baylor deal would have been perfect. The home team wins more often than the road team. In basketball, play a SWAC school such as Jackson State, Southern, or UAPB in Ruston for every BCS team that you play on the road. We can no longer make one-for-one deals with these schools. If we want to be a mid-major team, we need to act like it. Pay them whatever it takes.

2. Quit relying on junior college players. They come in with bad habits and take just as long as high school kids to get adjusted. They create high turnover on the rosters. Only sign the very best junior college athletes and limit them to 20% of your signing class.

3. Sign local kids. They will take more pride in their program and they will generate more fan interest.

4. Pay coaches more. We can not promote assistant coaches, pay them cheaply and expect them to succeed. We can not hire NFL Europe coaches, graduate assistants, or near retirement assistants, pay them very little, and expect them to do a great job. Our assistant coaching turnover is too high. Idaho and New Mexico State realize this and they are well on their way to passing us on the WAC ladder.

5. In football, the NCAA now allows Division IA teams to play one team from Division IAA every year with no penalty. Instead of playing Nicholls St., Mississippi Valley State, or other schools that our fans are not interested in, play Southern and Northwestern State. Those two teams will travel very well to Ruston and our fans will come out to see those games. Play them alternating years and play Southern on a week when Grambling is on the road, their fans will come watch too. Pay them whatever it takes. Spend money to make money.

6. In basketball, develop series contracts with Northwestern State, ULM, UALR, UNO, and Centenary. We need road games for which we can take a bus instead of flying. It saves money, and our teams will be less road-weary. When those teams come to Ruston, our fans will be more likely to come see them play, since they have actually heard of them.

7. Incentive-based contracts:

A. One dollar for every "single" game ticket sold after accounting for season tickets and not including student tickets.
B. Ten dollars for every season ticket sold after the first 10,000.
C. Cash bonus for bowl appearance.
D. Cash bonus for reaching an academic goal (graduation rate increase).
E. Cash bonus for being ranked in top 25 at end of season.
F. Cash bonus for BCS game appearance (over and above the regular bowl game bonus).

There is also the additional income all coaches receive from their weekly shows, camps, equipment contracts, etc.



Jim Oakes and Jack Bicknell must be terminated at the same time. Our offense is not even a shell of what it was eight years ago. We desperately need new blood on our offensive staff. Conroy Hines should be promoted to Assistant AD for football and also taken off the staff. Moving Conroy Hines does two things; it allows another coach to become the offensive coordinator and it also allows Conroy to keep doing the great job he does with off-the-field issues on the team. Let Coach Jackson and Coach Perot have the team for the rest of the year. They have enough pride in Louisiana Tech, that they would give 100% effort in trying to salvage the season. At the very least, they would not punt when they are down by 10 with less than 4:00 to go. They would TRY to win games.

At the end of the season, we should conduct a REAL nationwide search for the next head coach for our football team. I have full confidence that a good AD would hire the right coach for us and he would not hire the cheapest candidate or the most convenient candidate. It would do no good whatsoever to allow Jim Oakes to remain in place. If Jack Bicknell is fired and Jim Oakes is allowed to hire the next football coach, then we will be in the same situation. Mr. Oakes will not hire the right man; only the most convenient. If Jack Bicknell is fired in order to take the fall for a bad season, and Jim Oakes promotes Conroy Hines to be our head coach, we will continue our downward spiral. We must replace them both, and we must do it as soon as possible.

Dr. Reneau has stated that Athletics is the window through which the world sees a university. We are in desperate need of gallons of Windex and a lot of elbow grease. It is very important that we do everything we can to continue to improve in everything we do. If we fail, we will lose all progress that we have made for the last 18 years. We cannot let the same excuses hold us back. The pride in our school that we had seven years ago is still there but it is fading. Please give us a reason to have hope, please do the right thing. Our fans, our student athletes, and our supporters deserve better. We are better. We are not Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, or Louisiana-Ruston. We are LOUISIANA TECH!



Athletic Budgets:

Louisiana Tech $11,009,487

WAC schools:

Boise State $16,693,080

Fresno State $26,691,142

Hawaii $19,878.946

Idaho $11,864,247

Nevada $18,677,243

New Mexico State $12,856,716

San Jose $13,157,436

Utah State $10,965,546


Conference USA:

Alabama-Birmingham $18,784,112

Central Florida $22,089,418

East Carolina $21,128,219

Houston $22,648,933

Memphis $24,289,381

Marshall $16,323,459

Southern Mississippi $18,246,484

UTEP $21,325,408



Tech's Comparative 7 (schools that are in mid-major conferences in rural areas):

Athletic Budgets:

Louisiana Tech $11,009,487

Southern Miss $18,246,484

Marshall $16,323,459

East Carolina $21,128,219

Wyoming $21,445,005

Miami, OH $20,558,287

Ball State $15,146,885

Troy $11,975,714



Football Attendance:

Louisiana Tech




1998 16,748
1999 25,408
2000 16,636
2001 20,433
2002 18,477
2003 20,778
2004 17,548
2005 16,416




2005 Attendance of other schools:




Fresno 39,307
Hawaii 32,735
Boise 30,112
Nevada 15,076
UTEP 47,899
ECU 33,046
Memphis 39,991
UCF 28,462
USM 27,862
Marshall 26,510
UAB 20,101
Houston 15,054






WAC Coaches Salaries:

Dick Tomey, SJSU - $142,386
Dennis Erickson, IU - $172,412
Jack Bicknell, LT - $200,000
Brent Guy, USU - $222,525
Hal Mumme, NMSU - $261,876
Chris Ault, UN - $284,680
June Jones, UH - $378,936
Chris Petersen, BSU - $479,100
Pat Hill, FSU - $617,034



Louisiana Tech:

SOFTBALL:

2003 16-42 overall, 6-14 in conference
2004 27-33 overall, 10-11 in conference
2005 18-47 overall, 4-17 in conference
2006 18-31 overall, 5-11 in conference

VOLLEYBALL:

2001 8-20 overall, 0-13 in conference
2002 19-16 overall, 4-9 in conference
2003 16-15 overall, 4-9 in conference
2004 6-21 overall, 1-12 in conference
2005 15-18 overall, 2-14 in conference
2006 currently 6-17 overall, 0-6 in conference

TENNIS:

2003 5-10 overall, swept 4 times
2004 9-11 overall, swept 2 times
2005 8-11 overall, swept once
2006 4-14 overall, swept 12 times*

* Played our NCAA Division I matches at the local high school


In 2002 or 2003 the decision was made to add women's bowling to our NCAA Division I and WAC program. This decision means we compete against the following institutions:

Mississippi Valley State
Jackson State
Alabama State
Grambling State
Prairie View A&M
Texas Southern
Southern University


Other statistics:

Baseball:
NCAA appearances 1994 – 2006: 0

Softball:
NCAA appearances 1994 – 2006: once, in 1995

Men's Basketball:
NCAA appearances 1982 – 1993: 6
NCAA appearances 1994 – 2006: 0*
Announced Attendance 1982 - 1993 (pre current administration) avg. 3307
Announced Attendance 1994 - 2006 (post current administration) avg. 1995

*Louisiana Tech’s Men’s Basketball team has never reached the finals of the WAC tournament. 2006 was the first year to ever make the semi-finals. 2006 was also the first year that a player was drafted into the NBA since P.J. Brown was drafted 14 years earlier.

Football:
In 2006 eight Division IA football programs had the choice of playing 13 games. Here is how they break down:

Four decided to play just 12-
San Jose State 12 games 7 at home
UNLV 12 games 6 at home
Nevada Reno 12 games 6 at home
Idaho 12 games 5 at home

Four decided to play the 13-
Hawaii 13 games 8 at home
Purdue 13 games 7 at home
Oklahoma State 13 games 7 at home
LA Tech 13 games 5 at home



“On Oct. 4, 1989, the Spirit of 1988, a bronze Bulldog statue guarding the south entrance to Aillet Stadium, was unveiled to commemorate head coach Joe Raymond Peace’s Tech team of 1988, which endured the brutal schedule in order to meet Division IA scheduling requirements.”
-Louisiana Tech 2006 Football Media Guide.


The Spirit of 1988 is meant to commemorate the team that had to play at Mississippi State, at Texas A&M, and at Florida State. Here we are almost twenty years later and we are playing at Nebraska, at Texas A&M, and at Clemson.

Very good post. Something drastic will have to take place this year or we run the risk of losing what little support we have now. I swear, if heads don't roll, they'll not see another dime from me.

That would be a great addition to firejimoakes.com

Great first post

Very well thought out post and a good summary of everything that has been stated in other threads for the past several years. This should be sent to DR (probably a waste of time) and the sports editors of several local newspapers. We need to shine a floodlight on the ineptitude of our administration. I fear if we don't make wholesale changes this year - more than a sacrificial lamb defensive coordinator - I may find other ways to spend my autumn afternoons in '07.

That was an excellent post, Mrs. Oakes.

[quote=bentondawg;405282]This should be sent to DR (probably a waste of time) and the sports editors of several local newspapers. quote]


Already done.

What a fantastic summary of just about everything discussed on this board. You put a great deal of thought and time and effort into that. E×cellent job! Although I don't think DR ever said that Athletics is the window through which the world sees a university. I think that is what we are all hoping he will figure out before it is too late. But maybe he will read that and think he said it :). Job well done!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TulsaPup

That would be a great addition to firejimoakes.com

Great first post

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My thoughts exactly. I have already received this in an e-mail. I am just waiting on confirmation from the writer that I can put this on website.

I think I love Changemaker. Thanks for putting in the work for your well researched and thought out post/letter.

magnificent summary

It's refreshing to see the truth spoken without a candy coated spin put on it. I especially like the idea of recruiting local talent and then developing them. Lets get back to the grass roots that made Tech what it was.

I wouldn't be impressed being recruited by an out of touch yankee. Give us some Tech guys who know football!

Retraction - It has been pointed out to me that people have heard DR make the window/athletics statement. Therefore, please disregard my previous post except for the part that says Excellent Job!!

wow! somebody on this board acutally knows what they are talking about. nice post.

Everyone should drop some reputation points on this guy!

Changemaker, Thank you for putting together everything I have been feeling since watching the Bulldogs fight each other in the Humanitarian Bowl more so than Clemson. Jack and Jim need to run up Wiley Tower to fetch a pink slip together. Jack fell down long ago but Jim carries his banner. Like many, I will only give money for a particular purpose now. I do not trust CHAMPS or basically anything that JO can control. Jack can not control the team and Jim must have been a prostitute in a former life. Hope even fades of late. Now, the only hope is that DR will see a need for change and actually do something about it. Thank you for spelling it out for all who are interested in change to see.

That hurts to see the 2002 losses to Rice and SMU mentioned again......pain. Reminds me of losing to IDAHO.

Stephen F. Austin in 2000 - my freshmen year. Need I say more. Made me think twice about my choice of university. Luckily, the next year we won the WAC, but that obviously was a fluke.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tenacious_dog

Everyone should drop some reputation points on this guy!

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I think CM is setting a record for green dots per post... :)

...WOW - this is one of the best sumaries I've ever read on La. Tech football. I'm making some copies of it to show some dedicated fans that have said the same thing and have quit giving money to Tech athletics two years ago do to the poor leadership and no direction for the football program. it's hard to support something when the leadership has no plan or direction, only to maintain a program. This is about as low as I've ever seen it !

Could "CM" be DFM...Where is he?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MiloBumP

Could "CM" be DFM...Where is he?

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I don't think so...

But I have been wondering where the moderators/administrators have been. I'm always discouraged when their posts become rare.

Very well thought out and articulated post, had some very good ideas about how to move the athletic program foward. I would like to know what some of you think the odds are of any real changes being made this year.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by johnnylightnin

But I have been wondering where the moderators/administrators have been. I'm always discouraged when their posts become rare.

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How's this for a post... BUMP

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MiloBumP

Could "CM" be DFM...Where is he?

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I can say that it is NOT Dwayne.

And yes, lack of posts means .....................

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OmahaDawg

I can say that it is NOT Dwayne.

And yes, lack of posts means .....................

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apathy? dejection? I have not even seen DFM around time...Has he gone into seclusion. I think I'll drive by his house to see if the garage still has the logo.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MiloBumP

apathy? dejection? I have not even seen DFM around time...Has he gone into seclusion. I think I'll drive by his house to see if the garage still has the logo.

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He has a TECH logo on his garage?? Are you serious?? That's SWEET!!!

Anybody have a picture of this? Maybe I could talk my wife and homeowner's association into it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MiloBumP

apathy? dejection? I have not even seen DFM around time...Has he gone into seclusion. I think I'll drive by his house to see if the garage still has the logo.

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...................................


that is a Flatline. That is why he is not around because we are Flatlining.

Update on Bulldog Report

In three short weeks, Louisiana Tech continues to fall further behind the rest of Division One schools. Our football team has fallen to 3-7, 1-4 in the WAC. They have been humiliated at San Jose State (44-10) and Hawaii (61-17). According to cbs.sportsline.com, Tech is ranked #97 in the country out of 119 football teams. Also on the CBS poll, Utah St. and North Texas came in ranked #103 and #114 and Nicholls State was not ranked because they are a 1-AA team who happens to be 4-5 on the year. Those three schools account for the only 3 wins that Tech has had this year. North Texas had the lowest ranked offense in the country going into the Tech game, and still scored 31 straight points in a 34-31 loss. Louisiana Tech has never lost 10 or more games in a single season but they are well on their way this year. Fresno State Coach Pat Hill has guaranteed victory over Tech, yet you will hear no such claim by Jack Bicknell. You will hear how great Nevada is this weekend and how Fresno is not near as bad as their record. Please do not listen to those that claim that Louisiana Tech can not afford to fire their Head Coach. There will be close to 10,000 fans in the stands for the next two home games. A good coach with a winning record would have at least 20,000 fans for each game. Those two games alone are costing Tech $400,000 (20,000 fans lost x $20). How can we not afford to fire Jack Bicknell?

Our football program has fallen to an all time low, and we continue to be passed by schools with less history. Western Kentucky has just announced that they will move up to Division 1-A. WKU already has an athletic budget of $14,577,734, compared to Louisiana Tech’s budget of $11,009,487. Western Kentucky’s Athletic Director has announced plans to increase his budget by $2.5 million by the time they compete in the Sun Belt in 2009. Jim Oakes has no plans to increase his budget, except to hope that Boise State finishes undefeated and competes in a BCS bowl game that would benefit all WAC schools. Jim Oakes refuses to use student fees to upgrade facilities. ULL built an indoor practice facility with their student fees, while Jim Oakes sits on his, hoping he can use them for his general budget. He did use some of the fees to finish paying for the upgrade to the lights at Joe Alliet Stadium, after a very generous booster paid for most of it. Jim Oakes also discourages donations to individual sports, asking instead that donations be made to the general fund. In the past, when money has been donated to baseball or softball, Jim Oakes has taken the same amount of money out of that coach’s budget. Fans have to work around Jim Oakes to help Tech’s coaches, paying for items themselves and either installing them themselves or paying for the installation.
Jim Oakes does not have Louisiana Tech’s best interest in mind. He gives his coaches tiny budgets which allows them to have unqualified staffs and minimal recruiting tools. Winning is not important, only the bottom line matters. Jim Oakes would rather hire an unqualified coach or staff member who does not require much money, than someone who he knows could do a good job. His last four staff hires have no experience for the jobs they perform; his Business Director is his former secretary, his Ticket Manager worked in continuing education, his Marketing Director was an intern, and his Director of Athletic Advancement was a teacher and research assistant. They might be great people and good employees, but not for the title they were given. He hired a basketball coach to coach Tennis in 2005, because he could do it part time. The football team had to promote a grad assistant to a full time assistant job in 2006, and that was not the first time. Maybe Jim Oakes does not feel one needs to be qualified for a position since he was not qualified when he was hired, or more likely, he does not want an experienced staff member because they are harder to control. In a meeting to discuss Louisiana Tech’s poor standing with the NCAA concerning academics (see attached), Jim Oakes insinuated that a coach would have to fire an assistant coach before he could afford to hire a full time tutor.
Tech athletes rank very low in academic performance among NCAA colleges and universities. The NCAA passed rules concerning academic performance of athletes. Tech's APR (Academic Performance Rate) ranks extremely low among NCAA schools. For a school that prides itself on academic greatness, this is embarrassing. Tech men's basketball, baseball, and track teams rank in the bottom 10 percent in APR in both their sport and overall. Tech football ranks in the bottom 30 percent among football teams in APR and in the bottom 10 percent overall. Tech men's golf and cross country rank in the bottom 20 percent in both their sport and overall. Major women's sports are also not highly ranked. Basketball and Soccer - bottom 10 percent in the sport; Softball and Volleyball - bottom 20 percent in the sport. Bowling is a bright spot in the top 10 percent in the sport and overall.


Louisiana Tech football and academics among athletes are not the only poor performances worth mentioning. The following are stats from all fall sports:

FOOTBALL
3-7 (1-4 WAC)
Outscored 416 to 192
Lost homecoming to Idaho
1 conference win


Total Points Margin 2006 (Through Hawaii game)

Boise State +213
Hawaii +217
Nevada +90
San Jose State +61
New Mexico -39
Fresno State -101
Idaho -165
Louisiana Tech -224
Utah State -229






VOLLEYBALL
6-25 (0-14 WAC)
19% winning percentage
swept 0-3 on 15 occasions
no conference wins

SOCCER
4-10-3 (0-6-1 WAC)
shutout 8 times
3 conference goals
no conference wins

BOWLING
3-3
Victories over Mississippi Valley St. and Prairie View A&M
Losses to Jackson St. and Texas Southern

GOLF
Chattanooga: T9 out of 17
Mobile: 9 out of 12
Memphis: T12 out of 18
Choudrant: 12 out of 18
Hattiesburg: T5 out of 12
Honolulu: 5 out of 16

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
at Rice: 4 out of 5
in Ruston: 1 out of 4
at Auburn: 3 out of 21
at Fayetteville: 21 out of 41
at Fresno: 4 out of 7
at Baylor: 14 out of 21

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
(sprinters forced to run XC)
at ULM: 3 out of 6 (including 2 forfeits from other schools)
in Ruston: 3 out of 4
at NSU: 9 out of 10
at Fresno: 9 out of 9

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
60-73 loss on home court to open season







Please do not think that Jim Oakes can continue to run things the same way over and over and expect different results. You can not continue promoting assistants to Head Coach. Conroy Hines can not be the next Head Football Coach at Louisiana Tech. He has failed at his current job, only Jim Oakes would promote someone like that. Hines became Offensive Coordinator in 2001:

Yards per game: 2001: (424.9), 2002: (417.9), 2003: (431.1), 2004: (380), 2005: (311.8) , 2006: (Through Hawaii game) (336.1)

Points per game: 2001(33.8), 2002: (26.7), 2003: (25.8), 2004: (25.7), 2005: (13.8), 2006: (Through Hawaii game) (19.2)



We must bring in new blood, not only to our football program, but to our to the Athletic Director’s office. The good-ole boy mentality does not work in the 21st century. Jim Oakes and Jack Bicknell are nice guys, but they can not repeatedly be allowed to continue their poor performance because of who their friends are. Tech desperately needs outside individuals with drive, determination, and the ability to take the Athletic program to the next level. It is past time, one more year can not be afforded. Please visit www.latechbbb.com for more fan’s opinions and www.firejimoakes.com for more information.

Please do not let the demise of the athletic program be the one blotch on Dr. Reneau’s otherwise brilliant legacy. Change must happen now, it can not wait. How bad do things have to get before persons of influence care? The next two home football games are going to be very empty because students are on break, they are both around Thanksgiving, and most of the fans are fed up. Why should they continue to throw their money at a black hole? Why should they care if the people in control do not? Do the right thing; make a difference; save Louisiana Tech Athletics.


http://www2.ncaa.org/portal/academic...per_school.pdf

http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/apr2005/366_2005_apr.pdf

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2349787

can we get a sticky on this thread?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MICKEYS14

Dirty-As a more "experienced" Bulldog fan of 49 years, I do have some thoughts about our current situation. Men like DON & MAXIE (CoachDawg) & DAN (CARTEK) & so many others have certainly enjoyed the successes & lamented the failures of our beloved Bulldogs for so many years. As I have said before, Louisiana Polytechnic Institute (what is was when I came in 1959) gave me a CHANCE to have a life & I will NEVER forget Coach Aillet taking a chance on a 145 lb. QB coming out of Bolton HS when no other college of junior college would. Like all others on BB&B, I have a deep, abiding love for our great school.

I DO remember the 5 int.'s that Terry threw in our last game vs. Sout. Miss in 1967 in the State Fair Stadium as we got STOMPED! That game ended a terrible season in my first year of coaching and as I rode the team bus back to Ruston (me & Pat Patterson the only ones on the bus), I wondered if I was really cut out for coaching as I was dumb as a board. I also remember the 5 int.'s Terry threw vs. SE the next year when we managed a win in Hammond. I DO remember Larry Beightol's inglorious 8 games as our HC & there have been many other low spots during all these years including the beatings we absorbed when we were transitioning from 1-AA to 1-A, finally achieving 1-A status on January 20, 1989.

We have had some golden opportunities to really advance our 1-A football program during the almost 17 years since we joined the 1-A ranks. One was right after the season ended with our participation in the Indy Bowl vs. Maryland. We FAILED to do anything to advance our program during a time when interest was at an all-time high. The door opened, we FAILED to step through. Another opportunity lost was during the golden years of Tim Rattay & Troy Edwards & Gary Crowton. Interest in our football program was so intense due to the play of Rattay & Edwards & the innovative, risk-taking, big reward offense of Gary Crowton. Again, we FAILED on every front to take advantage of people, companies, etc. that were so eager to be a part of such a wonderful, entertaining product-Tech Football. Once again, the door opened, we seemed to be content on the administrative level with where we were & what we had, and, Rattay, Edwards, & Crowton left and the DOOR CLOSED. Since that time, with just a brief interval or two of success, we have GONE BACKWARD!

That brings me to your question, Dirty. And, my answer is, in the 47 years of my involvement in & love for the Louisiana Tech Football program, I think we are now in the lowest depth of despair and those in charge just do not seem to care. I do agree that the days of my most personal involvement were different days. I played & coached on a different level. We never had to schedule these games where our chances of winning were NIL. There were no INTERNET GUYS! The level of scrutiny was far less. However, WE HAVE CHOSEN the level we are now competing on. It was US who got us to where we are now. And, in the end, its all relative. APATHY is at an all-time high among our own people regarding our football program and we have noone to blame but US. Will the door open once again to advance our program? If it does, so much must CHANGE!

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MICKEYS14

Under the word CHANGE, here's what I'm talking about. If you look close at our budget for football, I seriously doubt you would see much growth in 2006 dollars compared to 1989 dollars (the year we were granted 1-A status). You would see a growth in total dollars but, allowing for 17 years of inflation, I doubt there is much, if any, REAL GROWTH. That needs to change. Where is the $2million of BCS guarantees going every year? COMMITMENT-does anyone really believe there is a REAL, GENUINE COMMITMENT to growing our D1-A football program. Other than a new turf, new lights, somewhat new fieldhouse addition, weight-room improvements, the TB memorbilia display, ALL PAID FOR by INDIVIDUALS, what has the university done to contribute to needed improvements to enhance our FB program? What COMMITMENT has been displayed to our coaches in furnishing them with all that is needed to run a D1-A program (put aside the argument of who should be doing the coaching)? My God, Damon Harrington needed supplements for his program this year---not in his budget. This is a minor line in ANY D1-A football budget. What did he have to do? Solicit the money himself to pay for the supplements! I realize this is a minor thing but this is prevalent thoroughout the football budget---if you need something, go get it yourself. What REAL COMMITMENT has our university made to our FB coaches? You tell me. IMPORTANT-does anyone really believe that our FB program is IMPORTANT to the men who make the decisions--our administrators--from the top down? If that were the case, would we have left players at home on our plane ride to Nebraska so that non-participants could go? If our program was IMPORTANT, would we continue to schedule like we do and substitute "money-games," another term for "almost sure blowout defeats," instead of getting off our butts & marketing our program, really conducting capital fund drives for our program, really selling our program to corporate sponsors, really running our business LIKE a business, in other words, IMPORTANT enough to treat like a D-1A FB program? Instead, we have about the same staff we had in 1989 doing the same things and all of us are expecting different results? That makes no sense to me.

I could go on & on but you get the point. Before anything happens on the playing field that makes us all proud of a true D1-A football program, a LEGION OF CHANGE is going to have to happen in those administering the football program we have which is as far from being a D1-A football program as it can be, at this point in time.

---

There is no state of our program. it is dead.

What program?

Update: Volleyball ends conference play 0-16 after losing to FSU at home tonight (they played in Lambright b/c of graduation).

WBB: 0-2
MBB: 0-2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brian96

Update: Volleyball ends conference play 0-16 after losing to FSU at home tonight (they played in Lambright b/c of graduation).

---

WAC Strategic Plan for attendance:

Volleyball

Each school should have at least 20% of basketball arena capacity (December 2011).

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Mebbe they can play the volleyball games inside Dowling's Smokehouse and call it the "basketball arena" so we can qualify for 20% of capacity ??

THE JOAKES ON US ! ! ! ! !

jmo

www.firejimoakes.com

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nadB

WAC Strategic Plan for attendance:

Volleyball

Each school should have at least 20% of basketball arena capacity (December 2011).

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Mebbe they can play the volleyball games inside Dowling's Smokehouse and call it the "basketball arena" so we can qualify for 20% of capacity ??

THE JOAKES ON US ! ! ! ! !

jmo

www.firejimoakes.com

---

There are basketball goals in Lambright.

Maybe they should play the volleyball matches in Memorial. Just have the doors open with life-size photos outside of the volleyball players (in uniform) and you should be able to get a few hundred guys to walk in on their way between the dorms and the student center.

Actually, that might not be a bad idea anyway, and use the proximity of Memorial to the dorms to get a lot of people to attend at the last minute.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brian96

There are basketball goals in Lambright.

Maybe they should play the volleyball matches in Memorial. Just have the doors open with life-size photos outside of the volleyball players (in uniform) and you should be able to get a few hundred guys to walk in on their way between the dorms and the student center.

Actually, that might not be a bad idea anyway, and use the proximity of Memorial to the dorms to get a lot of people to attend at the last minute.

---

\

even better,
spread some sand on the floor in Memorial and advertise it as Beach Volleyball and recruit some gals who look like those on the t.v.

season tickets would sell out in ruston for that.

jmo :D

has Mr Oakes responded to this?

To TECHLAX: OAKES response would be "It goes with the territory". That is what his response was when he was asked about the "Fire Jim Oakes" web site.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BullPupN'46

To TECHLAX: OAKES response would be "It goes with the territory". That is what his response was when he was asked about the "Fire Jim Oakes" web site.

---

Brilliant!!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BullPupN'46

To TECHLAX: OAKES response would be "It goes with the territory". That is what his response was when he was asked about the "Fire Jim Oakes" web site.

---

Good perspective. I don't have a problem with him personally, I just don't think he's doing his job effectively.

WAC Adopts Major Strategic Plan


WAC plan details a noticeable move up

Rivals are leaning on each other in an effort to improve the conference's profile.

By George Hostetter / The Fresno Bee

The chief executives at the nine universities in the Western Athletic Conference have embraced a precedent-setting strategic plan that promises to transform the troubled alliance into a worthy rival to the nation's top intercollegiate powers.

But if all or a critical number of the eight presidents and one chancellor fail to follow through as promised at their universities, the result could be chaos in a conference that has seen little stability since Fresno State joined it 15 years ago.

The plan has no authority to force the schools to comply. But one of the presidents who voted for the plan in June said no such hammer is necessary — market forces will determine whether the current WAC survives.

"If you can't keep up with the competition, you stop belonging and you go somewhere else," said Joe Crowley, president at Nevada from 1978 to 2001, who recently completed a brief stint as the university's interim president.

Two years in the making, the strategic plan already is being felt at Fresno State. Athletic director Thomas Boeh said Thursday that the wrestling program was discontinued recently because it didn't fit into the overall vision of the university's athletic department or the conference.

The 479-page document is breathtaking in its ambitions.

"The WAC will be a premier Division I-A conference" in five years, the plan states in its introduction. "… All nine institutions must improve their athletic programs and take on characteristics that 'look' more like Pac-10 and Big 12 institutions."

The Pac-10 Conference is home to USC, UCLA, Stanford and Cal, among others. The Big12 Conference includes Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Denise Eby Konan, chancellor of the University of Hawaii, called the plan "historic" because the conference has never before made a public declaration of its aims and the steps necessary to achieve them. The plan is notable for four reasons:

It sets high goals (with suggested dates for meeting them) for on-field performance, academics, budgets and equity for women's sports.

The plan calls for increases in home attendance, more home games against major non conference opponents, and dramatic jumps in poll rankings for football, men's and women's basketball, and volleyball.

One thing missing is an estimated price for these improvements.

It leaves no doubt the current WAC is far from "premier."

The plan describes a conference of haves and have-nots. Fresno State's athletic budget is largest with expenditures of more than $25 million in 2004-2005 (though the universities own budget for that year lists expenditures of $22.6 million). At the bottom are Louisiana Tech and Utah State with expenditures of slightly less than $11 million.

These expenditures were compared to those at Oregon State and Washington State of the Pac-10, Iowa State and Colorado of the Big 12, Utah of the Mountain West, Memphis of Conference-USA and Toledo of the Mid-American — dubbed the "Comparative 7" in the plan. The first four were chosen because they are generally considered to be mid- or lower-level schools in their conferences, while the other three were chosen because they're considered "premier" programs in their conferences.

The Pac-10 and Big 12 schools, for example, spend considerably more than the WAC average of about $16 million: Oregon State ($36.1 million), Washington State ($27.9 million), Colorado ($36.6 million) and Iowa State ($28.2 million).

According to the plan, WAC teams also largely fail to meet NCAA-mandated academic requirements, go to bowls and postseason tournaments less often than mid-level schools in bigger conferences and generally have smaller stadiums and arenas than those other schools.

It requires WAC schools to enhance the conference's image throughout the United States.

Fresno State officials acknowledge the university — in light of recent men's basketball scandals and three pending lawsuits filed by former female employees of the athletic department — has work to do for itself in this area.

It has the full support of the most powerful person on each campus.

"This wasn't a plan created by athletic directors," Konan said. "It's a plan that calls for commitment at the highest levels — the presidents and chancellors of the universities. That will be a key part of its success."

The plan was approved unanimously by the WAC Board of Directors in June. The board's members are Konan (board president) plus the presidents of Fresno State, Boise State, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State and Utah State.

Fresno State already meets many of the plan's standards, particularly in on-field performance, attendance and budget. Fresno State and its fans have invested tens of millions of dollars over the past quarter-century in new athletic facilities and athletic scholarships.

This raises several questions.

Does Fresno State tie its long-term athletic future to a conference in which some programs need substantial growth just to reach the Bulldogs' current level?

Or does the university fulfill its part of the plan, but keep an eye open for a spot in a stronger conference, particularly if some WAC schools fail to make a good-faith effort to comply with the plan?

Fresno State officials said they're committed to the conference.

"At the moment, it is very important to have a strong Western Athletic Conference," Fresno State President John Welty said.

But there's talk about Division I athletics evolving into four 16-team conferences, Welty added.

"If that would occur, we want to be strong enough to be a part of that effort," he said.

-----The WAC strategic plan was born in part from desperation.-----

The conference was founded in 1962 by schools sprinkled throughout the wide-open spaces of the southwest and Rocky Mountains — New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah and Brigham Young among them.

Fresno State was invited to make it a 10-team conference in 1991, effective July 1, 1992.

But conference stability has been a problem. The WAC expanded to 16 teams in 1996, only to have eight schools bolt three years later and form the Mountain West Conference. Schools have come and gone ever since.

The WAC went through its latest realignment when a handful of schools left following the 2004-05 season and were replaced by Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State.

The WAC board held a summit in Salt Lake City in September 2004 to determine whether the conference had a future. According to conference commissioner Karl Benson, Welty took a leading role in discussions.

"He was the only president around that table that experienced going to 16teams, watching the other schools break away, watching the creation of the Mountain West Conference, then watching the WAC go through two or three more changes," Benson said.

Welty said he made "the strong point that we have invested heavily" in Fresno State athletics and it was vital for other WAC schools to do the same with their programs.

The constant membership changes — along with modestly funded programs, limited success against "premier" conference schools and generally small television markets — combined to make the WAC a second-class citizen in the multi-billion-dollar-a-year Division I intercollegiate athletics industry.

There are six major or "premier" conferences: Pac-10, Big 12, Southeastern, Big Ten, Big East and Atlantic Coast. Everyone else (except for independent Notre Dame) hustles to catch up.

The WAC's second-class status is frustrating but not fatal in many sports because the conference has guaranteed paths to postseason playoffs or events. For example, Fresno State won the NCAA softball title in 1998.

But it has been crushing in the big-money sport — football. In theory, a WAC team can qualify for one of the five Bowl Championship Series bowls and the multimillion-dollar paydays that go with them.

In reality, it's highly unlikely. Since the Bowl Championship Series was started in the 1998 regular season, Utah is the only school from outside the six "premier" conferences (plus Notre Dame) to play in a BCS bowl. This affects recruiting, scheduling and fundraising for schools on the outside.

Bulldogs football coach Pat Hill said he's a strong WAC advocate, but added, "League affiliation is the hardest thing to overcome."

WAC officials have hesitated to make the plan public. Benson gave The Bee a copy of the 42-page executive summary, but declined to make the entire report available. He said he isn't sure it's a public document. Fresno State made available its copy to The Bee, but it doesn't contain sections on the other eight schools.

What happens if a handful of schools pay the price to get better, but the others don't?

"I don't know," Hawaii's Konan said. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Yet, this question looms over the executive summary. After all, a fundamental purpose of any conference is to give members the best showcase for their teams.

Welty acknowledged this in June 1991 when, as Fresno State's incoming president, he explained the value of the Bulldogs moving from the Big West Conference to the WAC: "It means the quality of competition will be greater."

The question also is on the minds of some WAC presidents.

If, in five or 10 years, there is "an incredible disparity" in the budgets and efforts of WAC schools, Boise State President Bob Kustra said, "I would certainly think it would cause a university to wonder if it was in the right conference."

Kustra said officials at schools in the nine-member Mountain West have told him the conference might consider expanding to 12 schools in several years. Potential candidates, he said, "certainly would be Boise State and Fresno State."

Some WAC schools already are acting on the plan: Welty said recent university decisions such as moving home volleyball matches from the North Gym to the Save Mart Center were based on the plan.

Athletic director Boeh said the decision to discontinue wrestling had many "components" — including conference affiliation and the need to finance 16 other athletic teams. Add them all up, he added, and wrestling simply didn't fit into the future of a university casting its lot with the WAC.

"Strategically, we needed to pick our spots, [to] see what it is that we could be efficient at and be competitive at," Boeh said.

Benson said the strategic plan does not mention wrestling because "it's not a WAC sport."

Kustra said Boise State is making plans to expand its football stadium from 30,000 to 45,000 seats.

Benson pointed to New Mexico State as a school getting the message. It is spending $23 million to expand the Pan American Center, the Aggies' basketball arena, and hired former Kentucky coach Hal Mumme and former NBA star Reggie Theus before the 2005-06 season to head the football and men's basketball programs, respectively.

"They have truly stepped up to the plate and made a commitment to be a player in the WAC," Benson said.

Idaho has some hurdles. It's located in one of the WAC's smallest cities — Moscow's population barely tops 20,000 — and the Vandals' football stadium is the conference's smallest, with a 16,000 capacity. The basketball arena holds only 7,000.

Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said the university is studying how to improve its facilities. Said Spear: "As long as the schools commit to getting better, the WAC will be fine."

----The strategic plan also requires each school to come up with its own plan.

Benson will travel to at least one campus each month to hold what he calls a "town hall-type" meeting at which the public and school officials discuss what they want from the athletic program.

He will be at Fresno State in May.

This meeting figures to be historic. The direction of Fresno State sports since newly hired football coach Jim Sweeney promised some 30 years ago to awaken a "sleeping giant" has never been debated in such a public setting.

Is building a "premier" athletic conference worth the time, effort and money?

It's an issue conspicuously missing from the strategic plan's executive summary.

Hawaii Chancellor Konan said athletes who excel in athletic and academic competition represent "our finest traditions."

Welty said athletics "in many ways has allowed us to connect with this region that has led to support for other parts of the university."

Hank Smith is president of the Bulldog Foundation Scholarship Fund Drive, which is projected to raise more than $8 million through donations and ticket purchases this school year.

A strong Fresno State athletic program builds regional pride, brings in more money for academics and improves the quality of life by providing top-notch sports entertainment, he said.

"Athletics have helped build Fresno State," Smith said.

Others aren't so sure.

Retired Fresno State geology professor Bob Merrill, father of former NFL safety Than Merrill, said the university's drive to compete with the nation's top athletic programs "has been a huge drain" on the university.

His suggestion: Focus on academics, not athletics.

"In the long run, that would do more to upgrade the image of the university," Merrill said.

And a 2005 study done for the NCAA by Jonathan Orszag, an economic policy consultant, and Peter Orszag, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, found no proof that more spending on big-time sports affects a university's academic performance.

The study also found "little or no robust relationship" between changes in spending on Division-IA football or basketball programs and alumni donations, whether to the sports program or the university itself.

In the end, the direction of Fresno State athletics might pivot on the ambitions of the more than 2.5 million people who live in the Bulldogs' main market, stretching from Kern County to Merced County.

Steve Chase is manager of Collectibles Zone in Fresno's Manchester Center. He said business is especially good for Fresno State items; only one bobblehead doll of former star Bulldogs quarterback David Carr, now playing with the NFL's Houston Texans, remained in stock Monday.

Chase's plan for a better WAC sounds like a recording of a Pat Hill pep talk: "You play better schools and you beat them. Then the WAC gets noticed."

Over at the Fresno State Student Union, Cheryl Niederfrank, a junior majoring in physical therapy, said she has been going to Bulldogs athletic events with her parents for 20 years.

"You go to our football games and what do you see? The Red Wave," Niederfrank said. "People from Tulare to Merced come to the games. It's the thing to do."

At the World Sports Cafe in north Fresno's River Park shopping center, Walter Olazaba said Fresno State should go full-steam ahead with its national ambitions.

Olazaba described himself as a big Bulldogs football fan: "I want to see us play Michigan and teams like that. It might cost us more money. But, in the long run, it will help the school."

A few tables away, Raquel Leal said she rarely misses a Bulldogs football or basketball game.

But Leal said she's taking a wait-and-see attitude toward Fresno State's lofty rhetoric.

Said Leal: "They need to prove themselves. Don't you think they need to do that to justify spending all that money?"

The reporter can be reached at ghostetter@fresnobee.com or (559)441-6272.




The WAC's Comparative 7

The Western Athletic Conference strategic plan compares the performance of its nine members against seven other mid-level Division I programs, dubbed the "Comparative 7."

Who they are: Colorado and Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference, Oregon State and Washington State of the Pac-10 Conference, Utah of the Mountain West Conference, Memphis of Conference-USA and Toledo of the Mid-American Conference.

Six of the Comparative 7 exceed the overall WAC average in Academic Performance Rate.

All of the Comparative 7 had higher football Bowl Championship Series rankings than the WAC average in 2003-2005.

Six of the Comparative 7 had a higher men's basketball Ratings Percentage Index than the WAC average in 2004-January 2006.

Six of the Comparative 7 had a higher women's basketball Ratings Percentage Index than the WAC average in 2004-January 2006.

Six of the Comparative 7 have a larger football stadium than the WAC average.

Six of the Comparative 7 have a larger basketball arena than the WAC average.

Six of the Comparative 7 had a larger athletic budget than the WAC average of $16.1 million in 2004-2005.

All of the Comparative 7 had a larger football budget than the WAC average of $3.9 million in 2004-2005.

Six of the Comparative 7 had a larger men's basketball budget than the WAC average of $1.3 million in 2004-2005.

All of the Comparative 7 had a larger women's basketball budget than the WAC average of $825,454 in 2004-2005.

Six of the Comparative 7 had a larger volleyball budget than the WAC average of $121,429 in 2004-2005.

Washington State and Utah played in BCS bowls between 2002-2004; no WAC team has played in a BCS bowl.

The Comparative 7 played in 14 other football bowl games between 2002-2004; WAC teams played in nine.

The Comparative 7 had seven spots in the NCAA men's basketball tournament from 2003-2005; the WAC had four spots.






WAC Strategic Plan

Highlights from the Western Athletic Conference's five-year strategic plan.

THE MISSION
The WAC "wants to be one of the premier NCAA Division IA Athletic Conferences in the United States."

The WAC's use of "premier" must be "defensible and reasonable in the minds of the sports media, sports public, other Division IA members …"

Each WAC member must improve its athletic programs "and take on characteristics that 'look' more like Pac-10 and Big 12 institutions."

The conference has four "core" sports: football, men's and women's basketball, and volleyball.

Three sports have "substantial fan/revenue potential:" baseball, softball and women's soccer.

NATIONAL STANDARDS

People will know which schools are in the conference whenever the WAC is mentioned or seen (deadline June 2009).

The WAC brand will be worth more money (June 2009).

MINIMUM SCHEDULING STANDARDS

Football

Each school should play a minimum of six home games annually, or a minimum of 11 over two years (August 2008).

Each is encouraged to sign scheduling contracts that call for a minimum of one home game for each two away games with a nonconference opponent (immediately).

Each may have one I-AA game per year; away games with I-AA opponents are discouraged (August 2008).

Men's and women's basketball

Each school should play at least half of nonconference games at home (August 2009).

Each is prohibited from playing more than two away "pay day" games in a season (August 2008).

Each is prohibited from playing non-Division I opponents, unless with a waiver or under special circumstances (August 2007).

Volleyball, baseball, softball and women's soccer

Still being researched and developed.

MINIMUM HOME ATTENDANCE STANDARDS

Football

Each school must have at least 80% of stadium capacity; conference average is 64% (December 2010).

Men's basketball

Each school should have at least 70% of arena capacity; conference average is 56% (June 2011).

Women's basketball

Each school should have at least 20% of arena capacity; conference average is 14% (June 2011).

Volleyball

Each school should have at least 20% of basketball arena capacity (December 2011).

Baseball, softball and women's soccer

Still being researched and developed.

BUDGETS

Each school should immediately aim for an overall annual growth rate of at least 4%.

The average annual athletic budget should be at least $21 million vs. current average of $16 million (June 2011).

ACADEMICS

Achieve a conference academic performance rate in the top 50% of all Division I conferences; WAC men's sports currently is last among 31 Division I conferences; women's sports is 27th.

Elevate the conference's average academic performance rate in all four "core" sports plus baseball, softball and women's soccer (2009 or 2010).

ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

Average standing in Director's Cup of 100 instead of three-year average of 141 (June 2011).

Average ranking of 50 in the football Bowl Championship Series instead of 3-year average of 77 (June 2011).

Average Ratings Percentage Index of 100 for men's basketball instead of 3-year average of 146 (June 2011).

Annually place three men's basketball teams in NCAA Tournament instead of one or two (June 2011).

Average Ratings Percentage Index of 120 for women's basketball instead of 3-year average of 170 (June 2011).

Annually place two women's basketball teams in NCAA Tournament instead of one (June 2011).

Few big names to lose scholarships based on APR
ESPN.com news services



In Division I-A football, Temple (9), New Mexico State (6), Toledo (6) Hawaii (5), Middle Tennessee (5), Western Michigan (5) Buffalo (3) and Northern Illinois (2) were penalized.
"You've got to bring in kids that not only want to make it to the NFL, but also want to graduate and get their degree," first-year Middle Tennessee coach Rick Stockstill told ESPN. "If a kid just wants to graduate and not make it to the NFL, I'm not interested. If he wants the NFL and not the degree, I'm not interested. You have to do a good job in evaluating. We're getting out of the Prop 48 business."
In Division I basketball, Cal-Poly (2), Centenary (2), East Carolina (2), Hampton (2), Jacksonville (2), Kent State (2), Maryland Eastern Shore (2), New Mexico State (2), South Carolina State (2), Texas State (2), Sacramento State (1), DePaul (1), Florida A&M (1), Lousiana Lafayette (1), Louisiana-Monroe (1), Louisiana Tech (1) and Prarie View (1) were penalized.
First-year New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus told ESPN.com that it wasn't fair that a new coach gets penalized for past transgressions. The Aggies will lose two scholarships, a decision Theus said NMSU appealed to no avail. He will have to take off the scholarships from his maximum 13 for next season.
"There's got to be some sort of grace period to see if there is improvement [for new coaches] before you get hit with a penalty," Theus said Wednesday. "We've got a new AD, a new president, new programs that we've implemented and you would think we could get at least one of those penalties rescinded. But we didn't.
"We'll survive it," Theus said. "But for new coaches it puts you behind the eight ball."
First-year Temple coach Al Golden said he hadn't considered whether it was fair or not.
"I've been dealing with the problem," Golden told ESPN. "I try to demolish the bridges behind me by moving forward and not looking back. I wasn't here, so my regime didn't affect the scores. But now, we have a chance to positively affect those scores."
Golden said his players have been in an academic "culture shock" since his arrival seven weeks ago. "Every player will attend every class," Golden said. "They will keep every tutorial and study hall appointment. They are required to sit in the front row of their classes and get to know their professors."
Coaches are involved, as well.
"We personally make sure they hand their papers in," Golden said. "Every day, our coaches have 2½ hours on their schedule to spend with the players. Our coaches are required to personally meet with the academic counselors and have copies of their players' class schedules and syllabuses. And yes, we have been personally checking classes. We're already getting the right results."
Only seven teams in the six power conferences -- Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Southeastern and Pac-10 -- were sanctioned. Four schools -- Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Texas of the Big 12, and Tennessee of the SEC -- had insufficient scores in baseball. West Virginia of the Big East was penalized in men's wrestling and Mississippi of the SEC was sanctioned in men's indoor track.
DePaul of the Big East was the only power conference school to be penalized in football or men's basketball. It could lose one scholarship in men's basketball.
"The rates earned by many of our sports are at, or near, a perfect score and reflect the continued academic success of DePaul student-athletes," said DePaul AD Jean Lenti Ponsetto. "Thirteen of our 15 teams exceeded the average across every class of Division I as well as private institutions as a whole. Our men's basketball APR is reflective of the student-athletes who did not persist, in large part, as a result of coaching changes in the program. Our highest priority remains the academic success of our student-athletes."
The NCAA also released a list of schools that consistently outperformed the academic standards. Among those were Brown, Harvard, Yale, Notre Dame, the three U.S. military academies and William and Mary.
One of the programs hit hardest was Florida A&M, which loses scholarships in baseball (1.07), football (8), men's basketball (1), men's swimming (0.99) and women's swimming (1.23).
The NCAA said that the loss of eight football scholarships will be separate and in addition to penalties previously leveled against Florida A&M. Charged with a lack of institutional control, Florida A&M was put on probation for four years with a loss of 30 scholarships, including 14 over the next four seasons.
Of the 99 sports teams that will lose scholarships, 90 are men's teams and 9 are women's teams. The majority are in three sports: football (23), baseball (21), and men's basketball (17).
Sacramento State in California had the most teams affected (six) and could face the loss of as many five athletes. The school could lose as many as 2.3 scholarships.
Prairie View A&M, in Texas, was among the hardest sanctioned schools. It could lose nearly 10 athletes in five sports and be penalized 5.3 scholarships in football and nearly eight altogether.
As many as 350 Division I sports teams were in danger of penalties at this time last year. "We are encouraged by the response on many campuses to academic reform," said NCAA president Myles Brand. "The goal of academic reform is to improve academic behaviors and increase graduation, not unnecessarily penalize teams."
More serious consequences, which could include limits on postseason competition and restricted membership status, await teams that continue to academically under perform.
Eight institutions have not yet completed the process for determining penalties under APR: Arizona State University; Northern Arizona University; San Diego State University; San Jose State University; Texas A&M University, College Station; University of Arizona; University of Kansas; and Tulane University.
For a team to lose a scholarship under the "contemporaneous penalty" portion of academic reform, a student-athlete must have failed academically and left the institution; and the team's APR must be below 925 (out of 1000).
The APR is calculated by measuring the academic eligibility and retention of student-athletes by team each term. Based on current data, an APR of 925 calculates to an approximate Graduation Success Rate of 60 percent.
Teams that fall below the NCAA's cutoff line would not be able to replace those scholarships when academically ineligible athletes leave school. The NCAA has limited penalties to a maximum of 10 percent of the scholarships.
There is some concern that historically black colleges and universities were affected disproportionately.
"It is an issue," Brand said. "A number of those institutions received mission exemptions, but there are a number of institutions that are still not performing as well for student-athletes as they are for the rest of the student body."
Kevin Lennon, the NCAA's vice president for membership services, said 63 teams received waivers, primarily based on mission statements. Sixteen waivers were rejected.
Brand said baseball has been hit harder because more players leave school early for professional leagues and transfer rules do permit baseball players to sit out one season before continuing their college career.
Harsher penalties will be handed out in the future.
Next year, the NCAA will begin sending warning letters to schools whose teams have historically fared poorly in academics. In 2007-08, those schools could face the loss of scholarships and in 2008-09, the penalties could include a ban from postseason tournaments.

Men's Basketball
Schools which will lose scholarships for poor scholastic performance under the terms of the Academic Progress Rates reform program:
School
No.
Cal Poly
2
Centenary
2
East Carolina
2
Hampton
2
Jacksonville
2
Kent State
2
New Mexico St.
2
S. Carolina St.
2
Texas State
2
Mary.-Eastern Shore
2
DePaul
1
Florida A&M
1
Louisiana Tech
1
Prairie View
1
La.-Lafayette
1
La.-Monroe
1
Sacramento State
1

Football
Schools (Division I-A) which will lose scholarships for poor scholastic performance under the terms of the Academic Progress Rates reform program:
School
No.
Temple
9
Toledo
6
Hawaii
5
Middle Tenn. St.
5
Western Michigan
5
Buffalo
3
New Mexico St.
2
Northern Illinois
2



Information from ESPN's Joe Schad and Andy Katz and The Associated Press was used in this report.

The Game Plan – Louisiana Tech

STRATEGIC GOAL:

$2 MILLION ANNUAL NEW INVESTMENT IN TECH ATHLETICS

Fall 2007

SUMMARY

Louisiana Tech has a long history of outstanding athletic success involving national championships, conference titles and All-American achievements by exceptional student-athletes. The athletic program at Tech now offers 16NCAA Division 1-A sports - nine women's sports and seven men's sports - that all compete in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

Educational opportunities through scholarships are provided to over 250 student-athletes annually. These student-athletes learn valuable life lessons about teamwork, sacrifice, and commitment through competition at the highest NCAA level. Many of these young people would not have the opportunity to gain a college education without athletic scholarship assistance.

According to the recent NCAA Graduation Report, Louisiana Tech now graduates more student-athletes than any other Louisiana school competing in NCAA 1-A. The report also noted that 88 percent - nearly nine of every ten - of Tech's student-athletes who have completed their athletic eligibility have graduated.

Membership in the WAC has given Louisiana Tech the chance to compete on a national stage unlike any other time in the history of the athletic program. The numerous national television appearances that occur annually present enormous opportunities to put the Louisiana Tech name before millions of viewers. WAC membership provides unique opportunities for national and regional television appearances, conference championships, bowl games, and an affiliation with highly respected athletic programs.

Tech's athletic program continues to be the single greatest source of national and regional visibility for the University. During the past football season, 11 of 12 games were televised. For the third consecutive year, Tech hosted a national football broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2, and is expected to host another game in the 2005 season. The Lady Techster basketball team remains a national power that has appeared on national television more than any other Tech sport, bringing tremendous positive recognition to the University,

The challenges for the future are great because of the increased costs for maintaining a successful intercollegiate athletic program. Unless significant new funding is found for the athletic program, it will be impossible to succeed in the WAC. The athletic program at Tech has done more with less, as illustrated by its $9 million budget - the smallest in the WAC. Competition in a lesser conference will only lower revenue opportunities for the athletic department and decrease fan interest. Eliminating the athletic program completely would end athletic expenditures, but the cost to the University in image and enrollment clearly makes this option unthinkable.

The landscape in NCAA Division 1-A is continually changing - some of the change is good and some will provide additional challenges for Tech. Further change is certain to occur as schools continue to explore their conference options. In addition, there is a growing number that believe the issues that continue to trouble the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) need to be addressed

The biggest challenge for Tech Athletics is building new support from alumni and fans to meet the increased costs of maintaining a successful intercollegiate athletic program. Raising the level of support available to Tech's student-athletes and coaches will help them reach their goals and objectives. New investment that would grow the athletic budget by $2 million each year is essential for future success. An annual revenue increase of this size can only be achieved by increase in ticket sales, contributions, and corporate sponsorships.


MISSION STATEMENT

Louisiana Tech University is committed to an intercollegiate athletics program that embodies academic, athletic and financial integrity. This constancy must be manifested primarily in an athletics program which is always in concert with the overall mission of the university and complements the values and goals of higher education. As a part of the total educational process at Tech, the intercollegiate athletics program should bring pride, admiration and loyalty to the university. In this context, the Louisiana Tech University intercollegiate athletics program will benefit the student body, alumni, faculty, staff and the local community through the development of esprit de corps. The soundness of the athletics program must also be evident in a commitment to enhance the educational growth and development of student-athletes and to abide by the letter and spirit of the rules and regulations set forth by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Western Athletic Conference.

Specific goals of the Louisiana Tech University intercollegiate athletic program include the following:

1. To conduct the athletics program in harmony with the educational goals, values, practices and missions of Louisiana Tech University,

2. To look to the president of the university for authority and direction in the administration of the athletics program.

3. To seek the intellectual and vocational development of student-athletes and to enable them to meet the demands of academic competition successfully with the assistance of an academic support program.

4. To provide all student-athletes, male and female, equal opportunity to pursue academic and athletic excellence.

5. To recruit student-athletes who have demonstrated academic ability to be successful in college.

6. To allow student-athletes to participate in athletics only when they are able to demonstrate satisfactory progress toward a degree as outlined in the standards set forth by the NCAA and university academic policies.

7. To provide student-athletes the assurance that their education is of the utmost importance and to confirm that unsatisfactory academic achievement shall be neither accepted nor excused.

8. To strive for success at the conference, regional and national levels in all athletics programs whenever possible.

9. To maintain a coaching staff that represents the best in athletic instruction; that possesses the ability to motivate and inspire the student-athletes in their charge; and that is selected without regard to their race, color, creed, sex, age, handicap or national origin.

10. To always conduct the business of intercollegiate athletics in such a manner as to reflect pride and integrity for the university, alumni and community and to ensure that intercollegiate athletics will be an honorable tradition at Louisiana Tech University and in North Louisiana.

11. The athletics department envisions increased external funding, improved graduation rates for all student-athletes, increased life-skills educational opportunities for all student-athletes and the continuation of programs toward achieving gender equity.


A $2 MILLIONANNUAL INVESTMENT IN NEW REVENUE IN THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM RESULTS WHEN STRA:

Academic Advancement

The academic performance of Louisiana Tech's student-athletes has dramatically improved through the work of the Tech Athletic Academic Center and the commitment by all of the school's coaches. The graduation rate for student-athletes remains higher than the graduation rate for all Tech students - a notable achievement. Helping student-athletes gain a degree and develop valuable life skills clearly remains a high priority for the athletic program. Increasing funding byat least $50,000 annually for the Athletic Academic Center will allow for additional tutors and staff to assist student-athletes in reaching their academic potential.

Marketing and Promotions

Marketing activities are critically important to an athletic program's success because college athletics are very much a part of the entertainment industry. Creative marketing and promotions are vital to attracting consumers to athletic events, pie addition of at least $100,000 annually to the athletic budget would provide for enhanced marketing activities by a marketing director.

Salary Adjustments

More competitive salaries are needed to keep outstanding coaches for all 16 Tech sports. The average salary paid to coaches and staff should approach the average salary for comparable positions within the WAC. A plan to provide $200,000 annually in incentives for productivity would significantly affect the program's ability to attract and retain the best coaching staffs.

Increased Recruiting Funds

An increase in recruiting budgets for all 16 sports is needed for each sport to reach championship potential. Talented student-athletes must be recruited to campus in order to achieve the level of success aspired by Tech's coaches and fans. Tech coaches do an excellent job in recruiting top talent, and an increase of $I25,000 annually would allow for recruiting efforts to stretch far beyond the boundaries of North Louisiana.

Facility Improvements

Improving athletic facilities will benefit recruiting and improve the fan experience for those attending athletic contests. The cost of these improvements over a three-year period is $24 million. Special needs include:

• Artificial surface for Joe Aillet Stadium (Football and Women's Soccer) - $300.000
• Video scoreboards for Joe Aillet Stadium and the Thomas Assembly Center
(Football, Women's and Men's Basketball, and Women's Volleyball) - $1,500,000
• Tech Bowling Alley improvements (Women's Bowling) - $50,000
• Repaint Thomas Assembly Center floor (Women's and Men's Basketball) -$20,000
• Resurface Tennis Courts (Women's Tennis) - $35,000
Improvements to Jim Mize Track & Field Complex (Women's and Men's Track and
Field) - $50,000.
•New Scoreboard for the Tech Softball Field (Women's Softball) - $20.000,
• Renovations to Softball Locker Room (Women's Softball) -$10.000
• New lights at Joe Aillet Stadium (Football and Women's Soccer) - ($225,000)
•Other improvements $100,000)

Favorable Basketball Schedules

The more home games played, the better the chance for success. This is a simple rule of thumb in athletics, but one that is especially true in basketball because of ratings percentage index (RPI) used to rank teams and determine selection for post-season play. The more wins, the higher the RPI. Better stated, the more home games played (and won), the higher the RPI.

Currently, the Bulldog Basketball team plays several road guarantee games that result in much needed revenue for the basketball program. Playing just one less road guarantee game and replacing that game with a home win would have a very positive impact on the team's RPI. More favorable scheduling, eliminating the necessity of playing road guarantee games and the addition of home guarantee games would require additional funding of $75,000 per year.


The Lady Techsters have not played road guarantee games - sizable guarantees have not been paid in the women's game - and every effort has been made by the athletic department to protect the national reputation of the program. However, the Lady Techsters have played home and away contests with lesser opponents that have led to fewer home games being played.

The loss of just one or two of these games annually and the replacement with home games that are won would have a positive impact on the RPI for the Lady Techsters. The overall cost for these changes to the schedules of both the Lady Techsters and Bulldogs would be approximately $100,000.00 each year.

Favorable Football Schedules

An annual football schedule with only two guarantee road games against major Bowl Championship Series opponents should be arranged to improve the chances of bowl participation and successful seasons. These guarantee games have been an essential source of revenue that has enabled the athletic department to balance its books each year. However, playing more than two of these type games in any season makes it difficult to achieve the record needed to qualify for bowl participation. .Approximately $750,000 annually would be required to eliminate one road guarantee game and to bring a quality opponent to Ruston for a home game. Always, the emphasis has to be on quality opponents with an opportunity for success.


$2 MILLION NEW INVESTMENT

SOURCES

Champs

Champs is the name of the annual fundraising campaign that benefits Tech Athletics. Loyal supporters provide tax-deductible financial contributions that are necessary for our student-athletes to excel. Support for the Champs program comes through cash gifts, matching gifts, memorials, endowed scholarships, wills and bequests, insurance policies, and gifts-in-kind. Membership in

The Champs program must expand in order for the Tech Athletic program to meet its strategic goals.

A concerted effort must be made to expand the membership base of the Champs program, with a focus on volunteer support. The creation of a Champs Board of Directory that will operate under the direction of a strong chairman Dr. Guthrie Jarrell will allow for a more effective volunteer approach.

Continued work to create and initiate Champs chapters across Louisiana and in other parts of the country will also be important to successful fundraising. The members of these chapters must become fundraising volunteers willing to make solicitations to sell the Champs program.

The number of staff solicitations through face-to-face meetings, phone calls, and direct mail must increase to sell the program and explain the importance of financial support to the athletic program.

Ticket Sales

The sale of game tickets to Tech Athletic events has increased in all but two of the past ten years, but not at the rate necessary to keep up with conference partners. The season ticket base must grow in each of Tech's revenue sports. The added revenue from increased season ticket sales is absolutely critical.

Of course, the most effective tool is selling athletic tickets is winning games. Winning has a significant impact on increasing ticket sales in all sporting endeavors. The athletic program at Tech will ultimately be judged based on the level of competitive success. Wins and losses will remain the common measuring stick for athletic success. An increased premium on winning is necessary for all Tech sports, especially the revenue-generating sports. Coaches must continue to be evaluated on a variety of factors, but winning must be at the heart of any annual review.

An automated ticketing system must be purchased to allow for a more attractive approach to customer service and improved data collection- Most new ticketing systems also allow internet sales. This technology is commonplace in collegiate and professional sports.

A well organized marketing campaign, funded through additional budget resources and directed by a full-time marketing director will greatly assist in the sale of season tickets. Most of the marketing for Tech sports has been done on a 'swap out' basis with local media outlets. A more effective approach will be to create a broad marketing campaign with adequate funding that can present a compelling reason for fans to purchase season tickets.

More promotional offers, such as the free Ryan Moats jerseys given to kids before the Tech-Nevada football game in 2004, are necessary to make game tickets more attractive to fans. These types of promotional offerings will require additional operating expenses that will be essential to an effective marketing campaign.

Just as with the Champs fundraising campaign, a strong volunteer effort is also needed to sell season tickets for the revenue sports. A core group of ticket captains must be identified and asked to serve in a structural ticket campaign.

Corporate Sponsorships. Radio and TV

The number of corporate sponsors for the Tech Athletic program has steadily increased in the past ten years. However, more must be done in this important area to create added revenue. The creation of a Bulldog Business Backer program targeted to small businesses should help in generating new support. Local businesses that contribute a certain amount annually will be given an attractive sign or display that will clearly identify them as Bulldog Backers. These businesses will be asked to offer special discounts to season holders or to Champs members as a way to give added value to season tickets and increase traffic for their business.

Increased efforts to generate additional revenue from inventory on the broadcast of Tech football and basketball games through the Louisiana Tech Sports Network will be important.

Conference Bonuses

The WAC has adopted new policies regarding football national television appearances, bowl participation, and NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament selection that can result in revenue bonuses being paid to member schools. Louisiana Tech has already benefited from this change in policy through the nationally televised football games played hosted by Tech. Future success in football and men's basketball can bring even more revenue to the athletic program through this conference bonus program.

Naming Opportunities

A program that would allow for the names of major donors or businesses to be placed on the entrance of offices and other facilities in the athletic program should be initiated. A simple plaque mentioning the name of the office or facility with the name of the donor could yield significant new income for the athletic program. The inscription on these plaques might simply name the office, Head Football Coach, followed by the words, a gift by the John Doe family.

http://www.latechbbb.com/themes/Pite...s/quadrato.gif Articles: Tech sets strategic money plan http://www.latechbbb.com/themes/Pite...ages/pix-t.gif
Sunday, July 03, 2005 - 03:36 PM, (468 Reads)

Athletic department seeks an additional $2 million annually.

July 3, 2005
By Jimmy Watson

jimwatson@gannett.com

Donate to LA Tech Champs Today!

If you're still trying to figure out how you're going to spend that $2 million that you had left over from your summer vacation budget, Louisiana Tech Athletic Director Jim Oakes has a plan for you.

Tech officials are kicking off a fund-raising campaign designed to elevate the school's athletic programs and move into the next decade at a higher level. "The Game Plan," a full-color strategic plan that will be mailed to at least 10,000 Tech alumni in the next couple of weeks, seeks $2 million per year as an "investment" in Louisiana Tech athletics.
"It is critical that we generate more revenue to advance our programs because the landscape is shifting, our competitors are continuing to spend more money than us," Oakes said. "We have to do a better job of selling tickets, raising money through our Champs organization and finding more corporate sponsorships."

The money will be used for facilities improvements, including an artificial playing surface at Joe Aillet Stadium, guarantees for more home men's basketball games, elimination of a road guarantee football game, more tutors for student-athletes, increased marketing and promotions, an increase in the recruiting budget and salary adjustments for coaches.

Funding would come from donations to Champs, the fund-raising arm of Tech athletics, increased season ticket sales, additional corporate sponsorships, WAC bonuses and from the selling spots for donor names above various offices and facilities at the school.

It's a grand plan, but Oakes said its success is vital if Tech is to become a consistent winner in the WAC.

"We obviously are hoping to receive a positive response to the initiative," Oakes said. "We need to generate $2 million to fill the needs of our 16 NCAA Division I-A sports."

The Game Plan cites a number of positives that have occurred in Tech athletics over the past few years, including the graduation rate of student-athletes.

According to the recent NCAA Graduation Report, 88 percent of Tech's student-athletes who have completed their athletic eligibility have graduated --more than any Louisiana school competing in Division I-A.

The report also noted that 11 of Tech's 12 football games last season were televised and the Lady Techsters' basketball team continues to bring national recognition to the school.

"The challenges for the future are great because of the increased costs for maintaining a successful intercollegiate athletic program," the report said. "Unless significant new funding is found for the athletic program, it will be impossible to succeed in the WAC. The athletic program at Tech has done more with less, as illustrated by its $9 million budget -- the smallest in the WAC."

In addition to a new surface for Joe Aillet Stadium ($300,000), new video scoreboards for the football stadium and in Thomas Assembly Center ($1.5 million) as well as new lights for the stadium ($100,000) are in the plan.

The new money would allow the men's basketball team to play at least one less road guarantee game, which could improve the team's Ratings Percentage Index ranking. Approximately $75,000 in funding is needed to make that a reality.

The athletic department would also like to eliminate one road guarantee football game and bring in one quality opponent to Ruston each season and $750,000 is needed to accomplish that goal.

"Playing more than two of these type games (where Tech is paid to play at BCS schools) in any season makes it difficult to achieve the record needed to qualify for bowl participation," the report said. "Always, the emphasis has to be on quality opponents with an opportunity for success."

Although Tech student-athletes are graduating at a higher rate than the rate for the Tech student body as a whole, $50,000 annually is needed for additional tutors and staff to assist the athletes according to the report.

The strategic plan is also seeking $125,000 each year to allow Tech coaches to expand their recruiting base and allow them to reach "championship potential."

"Having great facilities is a big inducement for bringing top caliber student-athletes to our school," Oakes said. "Having Hawaii as a WAC member is also something our coaches have used as a recruiting tool."

.

One down, one to go!


So far...........................

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ChangeMaker

Jack Bicknell is also a wealth of excuses. He would rather tell you how good the other team is and lay down for them than to actually try to beat them. His continued conservative style has taken us from a tough team to a beaten team. Three players have already quit the team this year. Jack continuously blames the schedule and, while the schedule is unreasonable, it is no excuse for failing to prepare our teams. Another hallmark of the Bicknell era is a lack of player development. It could be intelligently argued that Luke McCown got worse in his four years at Tech. Zac Champion was highly touted out of high school and has been in the system for four years. Despite that, he was directly responsible for six turnovers against a substandard Idaho defense.

Jack Bicknell and Jim Oakes are both bad for Louisiana Tech. Together they are a potent poison that will take this program to depths it has never seen. Every year we hear the same excuses, make the same mistakes, and the fan base experiences the same disappointment. How bad must this situation get before we see a change?

Recently the WAC came out with a strategic plan to improve its member institutions. If this administration is serious about meeting these standards, they must make changes. They must bring in the right person to lead us to success. If we do not, Louisiana Tech will be back in the Sunbelt Conference very soon. The current athletic administration is not capable of meeting these demands. In 2005, they came out with The Game Plan, which was a set of goals made in order to appease fans who had been questioning the direction of the current leadership. More than a year later, no effort has been made to achieve these goals, in part because the plan didn’t specifically detail how the goals would be reached. The only goals that have been met were because of one generous donor, not because of any plan being implemented.

We need to go out and search for the most qualified person we can find to be our AD, someone that understands the importance of growing and marketing the program, someone that has a burning hunger for success, and who will not allow himself to accept that things are not as good as they can possibly be. We need someone who will bring the same attitude to the entire athletic department that Wade Simoneaux has brought to baseball – a desire to be all we can be.




Jim Oakes and Jack Bicknell must be terminated at the same time. Our offense is not even a shell of what it was eight years ago. We desperately need new blood on our offensive staff. Conroy Hines should be promoted to Assistant AD for football and also taken off the staff. Moving Conroy Hines does two things; it allows another coach to become the offensive coordinator and it also allows Conroy to keep doing the great job he does with off-the-field issues on the team. Let Coach Jackson and Coach Perot have the team for the rest of the year. They have enough pride in Louisiana Tech, that they would give 100% effort in trying to salvage the season. At the very least, they would not punt when they are down by 10 with less than 4:00 to go. They would TRY to win games.

At the end of the season, we should conduct a REAL nationwide search for the next head coach for our football team. I have full confidence that a good AD would hire the right coach for us and he would not hire the cheapest candidate or the most convenient candidate. It would do no good whatsoever to allow Jim Oakes to remain in place. If Jack Bicknell is fired and Jim Oakes is allowed to hire the next football coach, then we will be in the same situation. Mr. Oakes will not hire the right man; only the most convenient. If Jack Bicknell is fired in order to take the fall for a bad season, and Jim Oakes promotes Conroy Hines to be our head coach, we will continue our downward spiral. We must replace them both, and we must do it as soon as possible.

Dr. Reneau has stated that Athletics is the window through which the world sees a university. We are in desperate need of gallons of Windex and a lot of elbow grease. It is very important that we do everything we can to continue to improve in everything we do. If we fail, we will lose all progress that we have made for the last 18 years. We cannot let the same excuses hold us back. The pride in our school that we had seven years ago is still there but it is fading. Please give us a reason to have hope, please do the right thing. Our fans, our student athletes, and our supporters deserve better. We are better. We are not Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, or Louisiana-Ruston. We are LOUISIANA TECH!

---

Don't you mean two more?

Or three.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dawgbitten

Don't you mean two more?

---

I said so far..............

Agreed.... Why must we hire a 3rd party to help restructure the athletics department? I thought that was the job of the AD??? Per Dr. Reneau's quote “The first thing we need to do is redo the track,” Reneau said. “We also need to look at a Jumbo Tron for the stadium, tennis courts and a bowling alley for the bowling team." Is he serious?? Are these really the priorities to get this program back??? It is getting tough for the few alumni that do donate to continue to donate.

Hiring consultants is a good idea. Any organization that relies only on its own internal perspective is not going to maximize its potential. An objective 3rd party evaluation can provide any organization with fresh ideas and a fresh perspective. We need that in Ruston right now in a BIG way.

Maybe so, but a 3rd party just seems like a waste of funds. Who knows, it would funny if the 3rd party reports back that the first thing to do is replace the AD. You need to win games before you start worrying about a JumboTron.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TecHZ

Maybe so, but a 3rd party just seems like a waste of funds. Who knows, it would funny if the 3rd party reports back that the first thing to do is replace the AD. You need to win games before you start worrying about a JumboTron.

---

I think it would be hard to avoid that conclusion, based on the preponderance of the evidence.

"Hiring consultants is a good idea"

A consultant is someone who can tell you how to make love, but who can't get a date

I normally poke fun at private companies who hire consultants because they usually try to push or sell an idea that is either not practical to implement or that is outside the capabilities of the current employees skill sets.

However, for a government or not-for-profit entity, a consultant can help prioritize objectives.

For those outside the system, and not bogged down in the daily grind or internal politics, the consultant's recommendations usually seems to just point out the obvious. And then we will all say that we could have told them the same thing for 1/2 the price or even free.

HELLo, just tell them to read BBB!!!!!

Can someone answer this question for me. How much are we looking at. What is the dollar figure we must raise so that over the next 5 to 6 years we can catch up. I mean all sports from track and field, tennis, to footaball. From field improvemnts to things such as a academic center for atheltes if that is what we need.

Is it 5 million? 10? 15? 20?

For everything, I would think at least $20 million.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bayourant

Can someone answer this question for me. How much are we looking at. What is the dollar figure we must raise so that over the next 5 to 6 years we can catch up. I mean all sports from track and field, tennis, to footaball. From field improvemnts to things such as a academic center for atheltes if that is what we need.

Is it 5 million? 10? 15? 20?

---

that all depends on how high you are looking. FSU has raised over $100 million over the last 10 years to upgrade all facilities and endow more of our scholarships. and that was just to play catchup to other programs. it takes a large endowment that can pay the recurring costs to truly expand the department. we are still a long way behind the schoold like UGA, UF, and Bammer.

so as to your question of "how much will it take". the answer is "everything that Tech can possibly raise."

According to DR, the alumni will be doing their part if 10,000 of us pledge $25 per month for the next three years.

Send it to Vision 2020-Tech Athletics in care of the University Foundation.

That's $9 million Clyde! When you break it down like that you would think that would be easily done!

the push for upgrading is good for a school, and on JO...
one word: :zbehead:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RXDAWG

That's $9 million Clyde! When you break it down like that you would think that would be easily done!

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It would be a fairly reachable goal IMHO, $25 a month is nothing, and we have a fairly large fan base. But I am still waiting on an answer for season tickets and CHAMPS membership since mid December, hard to get there like that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cowpoke1977

But I am still waiting on an answer for season tickets and CHAMPS membership since mid December, hard to get there like that.

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I am a little confused about what you are needing an answer to.

If you are looking for a bill for your season tickets it will probably be April before those start going out. I think the WAC finalizes the scheduals late Feb early March and that is the hold up with the printing of the season ticket pamplets. As far as CHAMPS goes you can pay online or just call Jimmy Hand's office (318-257-2933) anytime you want. If you just told Brenda you wanted to join back in Dec. more than likely your contact info was misplaced or they just haven't gotten to your name yet. (It was pretty crazy around that time for her.) I do know that she is still going through all the info we all gave her in Dec. because she called me last week with a question about my tickets.

Thanks, that makes it clear. Do you donate online at latechsports.com? How do you make online payments to champs?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cowpoke1977

Thanks, that makes it clear. Do you donate online at latechsports.com? How do you make online payments to champs?

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There is a link at latechsports.com, and it takes you to the University Foundation website. Basically, when you make a payment to CHAMPS you are actually making a payment to the Foundation designated to CHAMPS.

I sent my $25 for a student membership that way. I didn't get any kind of membership stuff (supposedly even student members are supposed to get a card) but I did get a letter from JO and a letter from JH, as well as an invite to the signing day luncheon (even though I signed up for CHAMPS in January).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cowpoke1977

It would be a fairly reachable goal IMHO, $25 a month is nothing, and we have a fairly large fan base. But I am still waiting on an answer for season tickets and CHAMPS membership since mid December, hard to get there like that.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by JAB

I am a little confused about what you are needing an answer to.

If you are looking for a bill for your season tickets it will probably be April before those start going out. I think the WAC finalizes the scheduals late Feb early March and that is the hold up with the printing of the season ticket pamplets. As far as CHAMPS goes you can pay online or just call Jimmy Hand's office (318-257-2933) anytime you want. If you just told Brenda you wanted to join back in Dec. more than likely your contact info was misplaced or they just haven't gotten to your name yet. (It was pretty crazy around that time for her.) I do know that she is still going through all the info we all gave her in Dec. because she called me last week with a question about my tickets.

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Also I'd like to add that she has had some computer problems as well. She lost several people e-mails in a spam filter. If you have sent something to her and she hasn't replied, I'd ask that you just resend the e-mail. She thinks that the problem is solved.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DocMarvin362

Also I'd like to add that she has had some computer problems as well. She lost several people e-mails in a spam filter. If you have sent something to her and she hasn't replied, I'd ask that you just resend the e-mail. She thinks that the problem is solved.

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Thanks, I'll do that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dawgbitten

Don't you mean two more?

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Dr. Reneau continues to prove that he is serious about changing things. Lets hope he finishes the job!


Thank You Dr. Reneau!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ChangeMaker

Dr. Reneau continues to prove that he is serious about changing things. Lets hope he finishes the job!


Thank You Dr. Reneau!

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Much thanks to you Changemaker. Your role in the Great Tech Awakening can't be understated. You presented to bulldog report in a well thought-out and professional manner. I, and the rest of the Tech faithful, are in your debt.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by johnnylightnin

Much thanks to you Changemaker. Your role in the Great Tech Awakening can't be understated. You presented to bulldog report in a well thought-out and professional manner. I, and the rest of the Tech faithful, are in your debt.

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Agreed. The Bulldog Report was one of the most vital documents in the revolution.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ChangeMaker

Dr. Reneau continues to prove that he is serious about changing things. Lets hope he finishes the job!


Thank You Dr. Reneau!

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I would love not to hang a banner next season.

Thanks to Johnnylightnin, Beaz17, JAB, and Domangue too!

FWIW, I agree with most of the ideas of the original poster.

Especially the thoughts on scheduling.

You cannot expect to build a program by selling out and getting paid for sure-fire losses (Money games). It takes W's to build a program. It takes W's to put butts in seats. It takes W's to qualify for Bowl Games. And it takes W's to get the recruits we're after.

Schedule more home games and gear that scheduling toward competitive opponents. A chance would be nice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ChangeMaker

Update on Bulldog Report

Jim Oakes would rather hire an unqualified coach or staff member who does not require much money, than someone who he knows could do a good job. His last four staff hires have no experience for the jobs they perform; his Business Director is his former secretary, his Ticket Manager worked in continuing education,

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he butchered the firing of the soccer coach....

he butchered the firing of the basketball assistants...

he is not interviewing every qualified candidate for the external affairs job....



the joakes keep coming, and coming, and coming........

still a ways to go, huh?

I'm afraid the Good Ole Boy Network has prevailed. No, I don't have inside knowledge of anything, I've just been thinking. The consultants have been done for quite some time now. If the report were good, we'd have seen it (they'd be crowing about it from the mountain top (Mount Driscoll). Some thought Oakes wouldn't last the summer. Wel, it's nearly November and there's NO sign of him going anywhere. The only significant change has been our schedule, but as soon as Dooley takes off (which he will...especially with our admin), that will go back to the same old same old. If nepotism and BS continue to prevail in Ruston, the outlook for our athletic program is very bleak.

I do not understand many of the decisions either... especially why to promote Richard and Long, then give Bicknell and extension all the while not hiring Mulkey. JO is a good guy and nice to everyone but I agree that the numbers tell the story and it is time for a change. Maybe DR gave him one more year... If so it doesn't look good.

BTW, I know that this is an old thread!

Dr. Reneau has said numerous times this year that he is fully committed to building a first class Athletic Department at Louisiana Tech. At the Tech Happening in Monroe, at the Karl Malone press conference in Ruston, or at the Willie Roaf social in Shreveport, Reneau really tried to get it across that he was serious.

Well, it is time to put up or shut up. Either Dr. Reneau is talking from both sides of his mouth or he does not really care about athletics and he is allowing his Athletic Administration to penny pinch Louisiana Tech Athletics into obscurity.

You can lobby the state government for more money and you can hire first rate coaches to lead your teams, but if you consistently undermine them, and constantly put them at a disadvantage to their competitors, what good are you really doing.

For years, Tech fans were told that Ruston was not good enough and not big enough to host BCS football teams. Last year, we learned that Baylor was willing to agree to a home and home deal with Tech and they were turned down. Instead of playing Baylor, the Bulldogs will make the trip down to Baton Rouge to play a top 5 team. Now, we learn that Kansas was shocked that we wouldn’t agree to play them home and home, instead we opted to take more money and play them in Kansas only.

I can promise you, the Administration will come out publicly very soon, if they haven’t already, and they will claim that Dr. Reneau was the one who did not allow the deal. They will claim that it is their job to balance the budget and playing money games are necessary. Besides the fact that it is untrue, it is also unbelievable that someone would totally blame their boss and still be allowed to make the same mistakes over and over.

I asked Dr. Reneau privately and I will ask him publicly: How long do Louisiana Tech coaches, players, and fans have to put up with this? When are you going to provide us the necessary leadership to get us where you say we can be?

How long can we claim to want greatness, yet we sign deals to play three basketball games at UALR and only demand two games in return. What top 25 program drops the third home game with UALR in order to accept a money game at Mississippi State? What top 25 program signs home and home deals with Southern or Arkansas-Pine Bluff?

I am tired of excuses. The damage control is already in full effect and the spin master is spinning his web of deceit. I do not want to hear it for the umpteenth time and other fans should not have to listen to it either.

Show us the plan, show us the consultants report. Do not hide the report like the last one was hidden, the one that basically said our whole athletic department was dysfunctional. We want and deserve real answers, we need real leadership.

It is not fair to Coach Dooley or to Coach Rupp to make them play games that their conference mates do not have to play. It is unfair to the fans and the players, who desperately want to play more home games and win them.
The silence is deafening, unless you count the excuses.

Hey CM, is one of these going out in the mail to the folks that need to see it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by johnnylightnin

Hey CM, is one of these going out in the mail to the folks that need to see it?

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You know it!


I still have to decide what all it will involve.

Oh, and I'm through using an alias. What's the point.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JAY

Oh, and I'm through using an alias. What's the point.

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:laugh:

That is a lot of signing in and signing out...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JAY

Oh, and I'm through using an alias. What's the point.

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:laugh::laugh::laugh:

LMAO

Did someone forget which screen name he was signed on as? :laugh:

"I am tired of excuses. The damage control is already in full effect and the spin master is spinning his web of deceit. I do not want to hear it for the umpteenth time and other fans should not have to listen to it either." - CHANGEMAKER


I am also very tired of the small time thinking and the whoring of our athletic programs. Our coaches, players, fans, and alumni deserve better. The "anytime, anyplace as long as enough dollars paid us" attitude has kept us and will keep us from ever becoming what we could be. Turning down winnable Home - Away series vs BCS programs is unforgiveable.

We obviously need more changes (or at least one more change:icon_wink:).

Another year of football 2007 and we saw more of the same ole same ole!
I am a season ticket holder for 10 years. I am so disgusted that it is hard to make the trip from Shreveport. I think Dooley is a great coach at the right time. He is trying to turn this around and I truly believe he will!
I am disgusted with the selling out the team, and getting the Dawgs so beat up, that they struggle in the WAC. The Kansas sell out is terrible. We need to play Grambling and NSU in Shreveport, NLU and ULL in Ruston. We need Rally in the Alley back, state fair. NLU did not have a problem beating Grambling in Monroe. Recently I sent 2 letters to Reneau and Oakes about the Shreveport Times article on how poorly we have been in 20 years playing BCS schools. Drop Kansas game and pickup a winable game!
Why did we stop playing NSU and NLU and ULL? We want respect out of LSU, but we are too good to play our other Louisiana Schools? I do not think so, we keep having poor teams. In 30 years, we went to the Indp bowl, won 1977 Louisville, lost 1979 with east carolina, tied 1990 with Maryland, lost 2001 with Clemson in Humantarium bowl. That is a 1-2-1 record in post season bowls. What is really sad, these are not your blue chip bowls. Probably C- bowls at best! Look at Indy this year, two 6-6 teams and an Alabama team with 4 loses in a row. Our mens basketbal team is terrible, our girls bball team has lost all its old prestige. People ask me what happened to your lady techsters? What can I say? We got to get good coaches and that starts with our president and ad. I love my school, but I hate to see them keep losing and always have a losing team. Someone has to loose, why does it always have to be TECH? What hurts even more this year, is the success LSU has, National Championship game again! Great bands and tailgating, successful teams, great fun! I want the fun and success! Our tail gating is at best sad! We need to step it up and make it fun!

I disagree we can not and should not go backward, winning those games mean nothing. We at most should have 1 of those games a year. We do need regional BCS (Div 1) games like Baylor, SMU, USM, TCU, Houston, etc. going back to where you want may get wins but will not ever yield a path to a true change in the program or any true improvement.

Conference USA is not a BCS conference. Going backwards? Central Ark is backwards and will not sell tickets, fill a stadium or build a rivarly.
WAC is stronger now than the Conference USA. Just not Tech.
NLU and ULL are Division 1 teams. Losing to California, LSU ole Miss does not make us stronger. Just lose!
We need to play our one 1AA team and make it NSU at Shreveport. One big name team, but schedule someone we can compete.
Ole Miss was a good choice, Miss State is a good choice, LSU every 4 years is ok.
Schedule one Conf USA team, we can beat them. But to make $600,000 to go to Kansas and get our tail handed to us is not making us better, just lose and beat up our team and sell out our chances for anything positive.


BCS conferences
Atlantic Coast Conference
Big 12 Conference
Big East Conference
Big Ten Conference football
Pacific Ten Conference football
Southeastern Conference football

To be more precise we do not need to play anymore Sunbelt Schools! I agree with 1 1-AA but do it at home with the team that will travel best (it is about the Money) probably McNeece would travel better than Northwestern, but if they or Central Arkansas can put more fans in seats then thats who it should be. AT HOME!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fantasy318

Another year of football 2007 and we saw more of the same ole same ole!
I am a season ticket holder for 10 years. I am so disgusted that it is hard to make the trip from Shreveport. I think Dooley is a great coach at the right time. He is trying to turn this around and I truly believe he will!
I am disgusted with the selling out the team, and getting the Dawgs so beat up, that they struggle in the WAC. The Kansas sell out is terrible. We need to play Grambling and NSU in Shreveport, NLU and ULL in Ruston. We need Rally in the Alley back, state fair. NLU did not have a problem beating Grambling in Monroe. Recently I sent 2 letters to Reneau and Oakes about the Shreveport Times article on how poorly we have been in 20 years playing BCS schools. Drop Kansas game and pickup a winable game!
Why did we stop playing NSU and NLU and ULL? We want respect out of LSU, but we are too good to play our other Louisiana Schools? I do not think so, we keep having poor teams. In 30 years, we went to the Indp bowl, won 1977 Louisville, lost 1979 with east carolina, tied 1990 with Maryland, lost 2001 with Clemson in Humantarium bowl. That is a 1-2-1 record in post season bowls. What is really sad, these are not your blue chip bowls. Probably C- bowls at best! Look at Indy this year, two 6-6 teams and an Alabama team with 4 loses in a row. Our mens basketbal team is terrible, our girls bball team has lost all its old prestige. People ask me what happened to your lady techsters? What can I say? We got to get good coaches and that starts with our president and ad. I love my school, but I hate to see them keep losing and always have a losing team. Someone has to loose, why does it always have to be TECH? What hurts even more this year, is the success LSU has, National Championship game again! Great bands and tailgating, successful teams, great fun! I want the fun and success! Our tail gating is at best sad! We need to step it up and make it fun!

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Tailgating is what you make it. Form a group and get after it!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fantasy318

Another year of football 2007 and we saw more of the same ole same ole!
I am a season ticket holder for 10 years. I am so disgusted that it is hard to make the trip from Shreveport. I think Dooley is a great coach at the right time. He is trying to turn this around and I truly believe he will!
I am disgusted with the selling out the team, and getting the Dawgs so beat up, that they struggle in the WAC. The Kansas sell out is terrible. We need to play Grambling and NSU in Shreveport, NLU and ULL in Ruston. We need Rally in the Alley back, state fair. NLU did not have a problem beating Grambling in Monroe. Recently I sent 2 letters to Reneau and Oakes about the Shreveport Times article on how poorly we have been in 20 years playing BCS schools. Drop Kansas game and pickup a winable game!
Why did we stop playing NSU and NLU and ULL? We want respect out of LSU, but we are too good to play our other Louisiana Schools? I do not think so, we keep having poor teams. In 30 years, we went to the Indp bowl, won 1977 Louisville, lost 1979 with east carolina, tied 1990 with Maryland, lost 2001 with Clemson in Humantarium bowl. That is a 1-2-1 record in post season bowls. What is really sad, these are not your blue chip bowls. Probably C- bowls at best! Look at Indy this year, two 6-6 teams and an Alabama team with 4 loses in a row. Our mens basketbal team is terrible, our girls bball team has lost all its old prestige. People ask me what happened to your lady techsters? What can I say? We got to get good coaches and that starts with our president and ad. I love my school, but I hate to see them keep losing and always have a losing team. Someone has to loose, why does it always have to be TECH? What hurts even more this year, is the success LSU has, National Championship game again! Great bands and tailgating, successful teams, great fun! I want the fun and success! Our tail gating is at best sad! We need to step it up and make it fun!

---

blah blah blah. Same old tired argument. We can't even fill I-Stadium playing A&M or Ok. State. We'd be lucky to have 20k for a game against NSU. The days of the state fair game and rally in the alley are over. It's time to stop living in the past. Now, I can see an argument for playing state 1aa schools in Ruston if we're going to schedule a 1aa team. As far as ULM, if we can work a deal like that suggested by Dwayne and maddawg, then it would be a good idea.

We did sell out against NSU for a flash in the past! The last big game with over 48,000 fans was 1990 vs Maryland. The first sell out at the Indy Bowl. Do not forget we did not sell out with Miami, when they were number one and with the Evangel QB! That is Shreveport. Give the fans a winning good show and they will come. LSU could not sell out 10 years ago, after that 20 plus years of mediocre bowls. Now they enlarge the stadium and still sell out.
I guess I am tired of selling out for the bucs!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ChangeMaker

The Bulldog Report

Early 2000 was a great time for Louisiana Tech football. We were coming off an 8-3 season, where we defeated SEC champion Alabama. We had been accepted into the Western Athletic Conference and the future was bright. Unfortunately, we became complacent. In the world of college athletics, if you’re not moving forward aggressively, you’re falling behind.

The next season would prove to be very poor. Our Athletic Director set up the first of many irresponsible schedules. We played eight road games and only four home games; two of which were against teams from Division IAA (this type of schedule would not be permitted under current NCAA rules for Division IA programs). The only wins we got in 2000 were against Mississippi Valley State, ULL, and ULM. We lost to Stephen F. Austin at Homecoming.

In 2001, we won the WAC. On the basis of that WAC championship, Jim Oakes decided to sign Coach Bicknell to a three-year contract extension. This decision would prove to be a poor one.

The Bulldogs had a very bad year in 2002. Jim Oakes once again set up an irresponsible schedule, forcing us to play Clemson, Texas A&M, and Penn State, all on the road within a four week period. Coach Bicknell failed to prepare his team for conference games. The team was unable to rebound from the difficult schedule. Tech then lost in back-to-back weeks to SMU and Rice, who were a combined 0-11 at the time. We finished the season 4-8.

In 2003, the team showed promise with a win over Michigan State (the last BCS team that Tech has beaten). Then, the proverbial wheels fell off. For Homecoming, we were down by three with 1:22 remaining. Jack Bicknell again showed that he does not have the fortitude to be a Division I head coach. Ryan Moats had rushed for 267 yards that day, but instead of letting our best player try to get the first down, Bicknell allowed our kicker to attempt a 53 yard field goal in terrible conditions. Needless to say, we lost the game. Two weeks later, in a game that Tech fans had been anticipating for quite some time, Bicknell laid down against LSU. Run plays and screen passes were the only plays we ran because he was trying to be conservative and run time off the clock. The last two games of the season, Bicknell’s team quit on him. We lost 48-18 at Tulsa and came home to be humiliated by Rice 49-14. Rice ran for a school record of 672 yards. Numbers like that are a direct result of poor coaching and preparation. Bicknell had lost total control of his team. Jim Oakes again took the easy way out, saying he could not afford financially to terminate Jack Bicknell.

In 2004, Jim Oakes continued his lazy scheduling. He agreed to play at Tennessee for a big paycheck, ruining any chance of our having a winning season. We played at Miami, Auburn, and Tennessee within four weeks of each other and finished the season with three losses in our last five games. We finished 6-6 that year and because Jim Oakes signed the Tennessee deal instead of playing a smaller school, Miami (Ohio) played in the Independence Bowl.

Last year appeared to be 2001 all over again. We had seven wins, but four were against teams that had competed in the Sunbelt Conference the year before. Once again Jim Oakes gave Jack Bicknell an extension because it was the easy thing to do.

This 2006 season started out just like 2004. For our 13th game, Jim Oakes took a money game against Nebraska instead of providing a game against a team that we could realistically be expected to compete with. Once again were beaten badly by four good teams. Once again Jack Bicknell failed to motivate his team and we lost to Idaho at Homecoming. We committed eight turnovers. Six were directly attributed to the quarterback, but Bicknell refused to go to the bench. Coaching like this is not only unfair to the fans, it’s unfair to the struggling player. When we were down by 10 with 3:50 left on the clock, we punted. That one decision again showed that Jack Bicknell is a quitter.

It is past time for a change. Jim Oakes continues to make reckless decisions. He forces our football team to play numerous road games in order to make enough revenue to make his budget. He refuses to put the work in to earn the budget money we need. Instead, he prefers to sell the football team to the highest bidder. Baylor just announced that Tech has backed out of a series that was to start in 2007. Instead of playing a beatable team that was willing to return the game, we now must play a team that will pay us a little more money. That is money that could easily be made up by selling tickets to fans that want to see a winning team. As long as Jim Oakes is in charge, we will never have consistent success.

Jim Oakes would rather make excuses than move our athletic program forward. He continually fails to schedule for success. Our facilities have only been improved by the private donations of fans that can’t stand to see things as bad as they are. Jim Oakes has never fired a coach for poor performance. He allowed Kim Mulkey-Robertson to leave and he failed to bring in Tech graduate Mike McConathy after he led Northwestern State to a win in the NCAA tournament. He promoted Jack Bicknell from offensive line coach to head coach, a very rare move, but of course we could not afford an experienced coach. Keith Richard and Chris Long were both promoted from assistant coach to head coach because that is the easiest thing for Jim Oakes to do. We have one of the two smallest budgets in the WAC. Mr. Oakes would rather blame the school’s administration for his lack of budget than actually do anything to increase it. He has allowed several key employees to leave just this year because of his micro-management and inter-office politics. Mr. Oakes does not care to improve our athletic program, only to maintain it. He routinely refuses outside help and will not accept that corporate partners are the key to success.

Jack Bicknell is also a wealth of excuses. He would rather tell you how good the other team is and lay down for them than to actually try to beat them. His continued conservative style has taken us from a tough team to a beaten team. Three players have already quit the team this year. Jack continuously blames the schedule and, while the schedule is unreasonable, it is no excuse for failing to prepare our teams. Another hallmark of the Bicknell era is a lack of player development. It could be intelligently argued that Luke McCown got worse in his four years at Tech. Zac Champion was highly touted out of high school and has been in the system for four years. Despite that, he was directly responsible for six turnovers against a substandard Idaho defense.

Jack Bicknell and Jim Oakes are both bad for Louisiana Tech. Together they are a potent poison that will take this program to depths it has never seen. Every year we hear the same excuses, make the same mistakes, and the fan base experiences the same disappointment. How bad must this situation get before we see a change?

Recently the WAC came out with a strategic plan to improve its member institutions. If this administration is serious about meeting these standards, they must make changes. They must bring in the right person to lead us to success. If we do not, Louisiana Tech will be back in the Sunbelt Conference very soon. The current athletic administration is not capable of meeting these demands. In 2005, they came out with The Game Plan, which was a set of goals made in order to appease fans who had been questioning the direction of the current leadership. More than a year later, no effort has been made to achieve these goals, in part because the plan didn’t specifically detail how the goals would be reached. The only goals that have been met were because of one generous donor, not because of any plan being implemented.

We need to go out and search for the most qualified person we can find to be our AD, someone that understands the importance of growing and marketing the program, someone that has a burning hunger for success, and who will not allow himself to accept that things are not as good as they can possibly be. We need someone who will bring the same attitude to the entire athletic department that Wade Simoneaux has brought to baseball – a desire to be all we can be.

Louisiana Tech must get with the program. If we are to remain in the WAC or ever get into Conference USA, we must increase our budget. We must schedule opponents with whom our teams can compete. There are plenty of ways to increase the budget that our AD has yet to even attempt because they take away some of his control that he demands.

1. Develop corporate sponsorships. We need major corporations putting their names on our facilities. That will enable us to get new revenues to upgrade our facilities and fund our programs.
2. Sell advertising on a Jumbo-Tron-type video board. This is another revenue stream that we do not currently have.
3. Charge for parking. People will pay for it; they pay to park anywhere else they go.
4. Take over concessions and take back the Team Shop. When you let other people sell concessions and merchandise, you are letting them have the profits.
5. Win games to sell more tickets. Winning brings people, which brings money, which pays for teams to come to Ruston. You have to start the cycle somewhere. Schedule better and it will pay for itself.
6. Advertise on TV as well as billboards, radio, and newspapers. Advertise aggressively, not randomly. Keep Louisiana Tech’s name in front of everyone.
7. Advertise in Ruston, Monroe, and Shreveport aggressively. Also advertise in Central Louisiana and Southern Arkansas. Ruston is not big enough to support our teams by itself; we need to be a regional power, not just a local state university.
8. Set goals to encourage more CHAMPS memberships. Do not simply ask for money to meet the budget. Formulate CHAMPS groups in cities with high numbers of alumni. At the very least have groups in Ruston, Monroe, Shreveport, Homer-Minden, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, Little Rock, El Dorado, and Alexandria. Also consider groups in Tyler, Lake Charles, Lafayette, Vicksburg, Natchez-Ferriday, Memphis, and Jackson.
9. Ask the fans for help instead of shutting them out because they criticize. There are hundreds of fans that would love to help complete tasks for the athletic department. Unfortunately, they are too often turned away because they do not agree with everything the AD does.
10. Get the Coaches out to promote their teams. Have them do coaches shows on TV and radio. Put incentives in their contracts in order to drive them toward success. Most schools have incentives in their coach’s contracts.

As you can tell, we do not have the appropriate level of corporate sponsorships. The football stadium at Troy University is Movie Gallery Stadium. Troy University is in the Sun Belt Conference, yet they have a larger budget than Louisiana Tech. Our AD tells people that we will be the next team in Conference USA. We have heard that twice before and twice we have been passed over for another school that is rapidly improving like Troy is now. The only improvements made to our facilities under Jim Oakes have all been funded by private donors who were generous enough to do it themselves when the AD failed. This includes the new turf and the upgraded lights at the football stadium, the columns at the football and baseball stadiums, the new seats at the baseball stadium, and the backstop and nets at the softball field. We still have condemned bleachers at the track and we have to play our home tennis matches at Ruston High because we will not fix our courts. Jim Oakes was not going to let the tennis team travel to a conference match in 2004 because he did not want to spend the money. Unhappy fans decided to pay for the trip. Jim Oakes also hired a basketball coach to coach tennis in 2005 because he could do it on a part time basis. Only high schools do things like this, not Division I universities! We do not have a Jumbo-Tron. We do not charge for parking. We sub out concessions. We do not win enough games. We do not advertise enough at all, not even close.

How can we be more successful?
1. Play more home games. Never play a road game with no return. Only play teams that will come to Shreveport or, even better, Ruston. The Baylor deal would have been perfect. The home team wins more often than the road team. In basketball, play a SWAC school such as Jackson State, Southern, or UAPB in Ruston for every BCS team that you play on the road. We can no longer make one-for-one deals with these schools. If we want to be a mid-major team, we need to act like it. Pay them whatever it takes.

2. Quit relying on junior college players. They come in with bad habits and take just as long as high school kids to get adjusted. They create high turnover on the rosters. Only sign the very best junior college athletes and limit them to 20% of your signing class.

3. Sign local kids. They will take more pride in their program and they will generate more fan interest.

4. Pay coaches more. We can not promote assistant coaches, pay them cheaply and expect them to succeed. We can not hire NFL Europe coaches, graduate assistants, or near retirement assistants, pay them very little, and expect them to do a great job. Our assistant coaching turnover is too high. Idaho and New Mexico State realize this and they are well on their way to passing us on the WAC ladder.

5. In football, the NCAA now allows Division IA teams to play one team from Division IAA every year with no penalty. Instead of playing Nicholls St., Mississippi Valley State, or other schools that our fans are not interested in, play Southern and Northwestern State. Those two teams will travel very well to Ruston and our fans will come out to see those games. Play them alternating years and play Southern on a week when Grambling is on the road, their fans will come watch too. Pay them whatever it takes. Spend money to make money.

6. In basketball, develop series contracts with Northwestern State, ULM, UALR, UNO, and Centenary. We need road games for which we can take a bus instead of flying. It saves money, and our teams will be less road-weary. When those teams come to Ruston, our fans will be more likely to come see them play, since they have actually heard of them.

7. Incentive-based contracts:

A. One dollar for every "single" game ticket sold after accounting for season tickets and not including student tickets.
B. Ten dollars for every season ticket sold after the first 10,000.
C. Cash bonus for bowl appearance.
D. Cash bonus for reaching an academic goal (graduation rate increase).
E. Cash bonus for being ranked in top 25 at end of season.
F. Cash bonus for BCS game appearance (over and above the regular bowl game bonus).

There is also the additional income all coaches receive from their weekly shows, camps, equipment contracts, etc.



Jim Oakes and Jack Bicknell must be terminated at the same time. Our offense is not even a shell of what it was eight years ago. We desperately need new blood on our offensive staff. Conroy Hines should be promoted to Assistant AD for football and also taken off the staff. Moving Conroy Hines does two things; it allows another coach to become the offensive coordinator and it also allows Conroy to keep doing the great job he does with off-the-field issues on the team. Let Coach Jackson and Coach Perot have the team for the rest of the year. They have enough pride in Louisiana Tech, that they would give 100% effort in trying to salvage the season. At the very least, they would not punt when they are down by 10 with less than 4:00 to go. They would TRY to win games.

At the end of the season, we should conduct a REAL nationwide search for the next head coach for our football team. I have full confidence that a good AD would hire the right coach for us and he would not hire the cheapest candidate or the most convenient candidate. It would do no good whatsoever to allow Jim Oakes to remain in place. If Jack Bicknell is fired and Jim Oakes is allowed to hire the next football coach, then we will be in the same situation. Mr. Oakes will not hire the right man; only the most convenient. If Jack Bicknell is fired in order to take the fall for a bad season, and Jim Oakes promotes Conroy Hines to be our head coach, we will continue our downward spiral. We must replace them both, and we must do it as soon as possible.

Dr. Reneau has stated that Athletics is the window through which the world sees a university. We are in desperate need of gallons of Windex and a lot of elbow grease. It is very important that we do everything we can to continue to improve in everything we do. If we fail, we will lose all progress that we have made for the last 18 years. We cannot let the same excuses hold us back. The pride in our school that we had seven years ago is still there but it is fading. Please give us a reason to have hope, please do the right thing. Our fans, our student athletes, and our supporters deserve better. We are better. We are not Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, or Louisiana-Ruston. We are LOUISIANA TECH!



Athletic Budgets:

Louisiana Tech $11,009,487

WAC schools:

Boise State $16,693,080

Fresno State $26,691,142

Hawaii $19,878.946

Idaho $11,864,247

Nevada $18,677,243

New Mexico State $12,856,716

San Jose $13,157,436

Utah State $10,965,546


Conference USA:

Alabama-Birmingham $18,784,112

Central Florida $22,089,418

East Carolina $21,128,219

Houston $22,648,933

Memphis $24,289,381

Marshall $16,323,459

Southern Mississippi $18,246,484

UTEP $21,325,408



Tech's Comparative 7 (schools that are in mid-major conferences in rural areas):

Athletic Budgets:

Louisiana Tech $11,009,487

Southern Miss $18,246,484

Marshall $16,323,459

East Carolina $21,128,219

Wyoming $21,445,005

Miami, OH $20,558,287

Ball State $15,146,885

Troy $11,975,714



Football Attendance:

Louisiana Tech




1998 16,748
1999 25,408
2000 16,636
2001 20,433
2002 18,477
2003 20,778
2004 17,548
2005 16,416




2005 Attendance of other schools:




Fresno 39,307
Hawaii 32,735
Boise 30,112
Nevada 15,076
UTEP 47,899
ECU 33,046
Memphis 39,991
UCF 28,462
USM 27,862
Marshall 26,510
UAB 20,101
Houston 15,054






WAC Coaches Salaries:

Dick Tomey, SJSU - $142,386
Dennis Erickson, IU - $172,412
Jack Bicknell, LT - $200,000
Brent Guy, USU - $222,525
Hal Mumme, NMSU - $261,876
Chris Ault, UN - $284,680
June Jones, UH - $378,936
Chris Petersen, BSU - $479,100
Pat Hill, FSU - $617,034



Louisiana Tech:

SOFTBALL:

2003 16-42 overall, 6-14 in conference
2004 27-33 overall, 10-11 in conference
2005 18-47 overall, 4-17 in conference
2006 18-31 overall, 5-11 in conference

VOLLEYBALL:

2001 8-20 overall, 0-13 in conference
2002 19-16 overall, 4-9 in conference
2003 16-15 overall, 4-9 in conference
2004 6-21 overall, 1-12 in conference
2005 15-18 overall, 2-14 in conference
2006 currently 6-17 overall, 0-6 in conference

TENNIS:

2003 5-10 overall, swept 4 times
2004 9-11 overall, swept 2 times
2005 8-11 overall, swept once
2006 4-14 overall, swept 12 times*

* Played our NCAA Division I matches at the local high school


In 2002 or 2003 the decision was made to add women's bowling to our NCAA Division I and WAC program. This decision means we compete against the following institutions:

Mississippi Valley State
Jackson State
Alabama State
Grambling State
Prairie View A&M
Texas Southern
Southern University


Other statistics:

Baseball:
NCAA appearances 1994 – 2006: 0

Softball:
NCAA appearances 1994 – 2006: once, in 1995

Men's Basketball:
NCAA appearances 1982 – 1993: 6
NCAA appearances 1994 – 2006: 0*
Announced Attendance 1982 - 1993 (pre current administration) avg. 3307
Announced Attendance 1994 - 2006 (post current administration) avg. 1995

*Louisiana Tech’s Men’s Basketball team has never reached the finals of the WAC tournament. 2006 was the first year to ever make the semi-finals. 2006 was also the first year that a player was drafted into the NBA since P.J. Brown was drafted 14 years earlier.

Football:
In 2006 eight Division IA football programs had the choice of playing 13 games. Here is how they break down:

Four decided to play just 12-
San Jose State 12 games 7 at home
UNLV 12 games 6 at home
Nevada Reno 12 games 6 at home
Idaho 12 games 5 at home

Four decided to play the 13-
Hawaii 13 games 8 at home
Purdue 13 games 7 at home
Oklahoma State 13 games 7 at home
LA Tech 13 games 5 at home



“On Oct. 4, 1989, the Spirit of 1988, a bronze Bulldog statue guarding the south entrance to Aillet Stadium, was unveiled to commemorate head coach Joe Raymond Peace’s Tech team of 1988, which endured the brutal schedule in order to meet Division IA scheduling requirements.”
-Louisiana Tech 2006 Football Media Guide.


The Spirit of 1988 is meant to commemorate the team that had to play at Mississippi State, at Texas A&M, and at Florida State. Here we are almost twenty years later and we are playing at Nebraska, at Texas A&M, and at Clemson.

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It is finally time to retire this thread. Please unsticky.



JAY

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ChangeMaker

It is finally time to retire this thread. Please unsticky.



JAY

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and im retiring ChangeMaker.