Was this season a success, failure, or something in between?

[techdawg28]

Disappointment if compared to last year, but a success if compared to most of the last 10-15 years of baseball.... so somewhere in between. Another 35+ wins without a regional appearance and then I might start to rethink my position. While we want our teams to win a national championship every year as fans, the consistency that we are starting to witness at Tech is something that hasn't happened as far back as the 60's or 70's in some sports. This consistency is the most important step in getting where we want to be. Basketball is a good example right now, winning a good bit of games the last 7 or so years, but no NCAA appearance. I know we have played above our skill level at times to get the number of wins we have, but we need consistent post season play. Either NIT with some wins, or the NCAA. That program needs post season skins now.

Baseball isn't quite there yet, but they are getting close.

Football needs a conference title not just a division title, because barring a special year and a bowl access game, a CUSA title and a win in the best bowl available is what we have in front of us.

Well said.

[Tech77]

Disappointment if compared to last year, but a success if compared to most of the last 10-15 years of baseball.... so somewhere in between. Another 35+ wins without a regional appearance and then I might start to rethink my position. While we want our teams to win a national championship every year as fans, the consistency that we are starting to witness at Tech is something that hasn't happened as far back as the 60's or 70's in some sports. This consistency is the most important step in getting where we want to be. Basketball is a good example right now, winning a good bit of games the last 7 or so years, but no NCAA appearance. I know we have played above our skill level at times to get the number of wins we have, but we need consistent post season play. Either NIT with some wins, or the NCAA. That program needs post season skins now.

Baseball isn't quite there yet, but they are getting close.

Football needs a conference title not just a division title, because barring a special year and a bowl access game, a CUSA title and a win in the best bowl available is what we have in front of us.

Good points. I used "disappointment" because for me the season was not a failure, for the reasons you stated so well.

[Dwayne From Minden]

Average -

Picked by the Coaches to finish 5th in the regular season and we did - so you can basically say they met expectations (talked to some baseball gurus in Biloxi who are still saying we overachieved at 36 wins based on the talent on the overall roster and the drastic change in coaching personalities)

I think we are two recruiting classes away still in baseball -

A win against MT in the 3rd game and we are probably in the field of 64, a win in Biloxi and we are definitely in the field of 64 - as it were we were one of the last 4 out - which equates into one of the top 21% in the country as far a D1 baseball programs go which is a far cry higher in football whom all of us would say had a great year...

[revf]

The problem I see with all Tech sports is this trend of being unable to finish.

Great football season let down with a bad beat at USM (costing us the championship game at home) and a let down vs. WKU.

Good basketball season yet unable to achieve anything in the C-USA tournament.

Beautiful start of Baseball season only to have inexplicable and costly loses down the stretch. Almost two different teams.

We are in this state of being good but not that good. I'm not sure how we improve.

[SicemDawgz]

The problem I see with all Tech sports is this trend of being unable to finish.

Great football season let down with a bad beat at USM (costing us the championship game at home) and a let down vs. WKU.

Good basketball season yet unable to achieve anything in the C-USA tournament.

Beautiful start of Baseball season only to have inexplicable and costly loses down the stretch. Almost two different teams.

We are in this state of being good but not that good. I'm not sure how we improve.

My thoughts exactly. After the 3 run HR by Charlotte I knew how this season was going to end. It still baffles me how a team could reel off 14 wins to start the season and then implode. Oh well, GO RICE!!

[DallasDog]

Average -

I think we are two recruiting classes away still in baseball -

A win against MT in the 3rd game and we are probably in the field of 64, a win in Biloxi and we are definitely in the field of 64 - as it were we were one of the last 4 out - which equates into one of the top 21% in the country as far a D1 baseball programs go which is a far cry higher in football whom all of us would say had a great year...

I agree baseball still has some room to grow before it starts to be a failure. Now it can't really slip below this point now either. I had the feeling that we might be "batting above our average" this year with our play, but after years of underachieving, I'll take a little bit of luck the other way and smile as I walk away. I will take a baseball program that stays in the top 40 area (21%) etc from here on out and just deal with missing the tournament sometimes, to know that the team we put on the field is always going to be competitive.

Football did have a good year, but there isn't much more we can do, the system is rigged a different way with football. I know it will take something truly special for football to rise much higher than a CUSA title and a slightly better bowl opponent. With Basketball and Baseball, I think it stings just a little bit more because those sports do have a shot at the big dance and to take a P5 or two down along the way, even more so with baseball than basketball.

[DallasDog]

Good points. I used "disappointment" because for me the season was not a failure, for the reasons you stated so well.

disappointment is probably the best way to describe it, and you beat me to it

I am proud anytime one of our teams is successful, even unsuccessful if they play the game the right way, but I always want them to have that ultimate success as well.

[PawDawg]

I agree baseball still has some room to grow before it starts to be a failure. Now it can't really slip below this point now either. I had the feeling that we might be "batting above our average" this year with our play, but after years of underachieving, I'll take a little bit of luck the other way and smile as I walk away. I will take a baseball program that stays in the top 40 area (21%) etc from here on out and just deal with missing the tournament sometimes, to know that the team we put on the field is always going to be competitive.

Football did have a good year, but there isn't much more we can do, the system is rigged a different way with football. I know it will take something truly special for football to rise much higher than a CUSA title and a slightly better bowl opponent. With Basketball and Baseball, I think it stings just a little bit more because those sports do have a shot at the big dance and to take a P5 or two down along the way, even more so with baseball than basketball.

Our biggest problem in the two sports that matter (Football and MBB) is scheduling. We do have a great schedule for 2017 in football and our AD gets credit for most of that reorganization. It's now time for our AD to fund MBB's budget to get the games they need to be successful. The Bossier experiment was a disaster and embarrassing for university. Our AD must STOP seeing us as part of the Louisiana System club when it comes to athletics.

The third sport that matters (to me) is baseball. No more SWAC series. Play the annual politicallly necessary game with Grambling and be done with the +200 RPI games. Time to drop nlulm as well. Scheduling matters more in baseball than any sport. See SLU for a great example. Even though we lacked pitching and hitting in the end we still had a legit shot at making the field had we not been short two games.

[Tech77]

Our biggest problem in the two sports that matter (Football and MBB) is scheduling. We do have a great schedule for 2017 in football and our AD gets credit for most of that reorganization. It's now time for our AD to fund MBB's budget to get the games they need to be successful. The Bossier experiment was a disaster and embarrassing for university. Our AD must STOP seeing us as part of the Louisiana System club when it comes to athletics.

The third sport that matters (to me) is baseball. No more SWAC series. Play the annual politicallly necessary game with Grambling and be done with the +200 RPI games. Time to drop nlulm as well. Scheduling matters more in baseball than any sport. See SLU for a great example. Even though we lacked pitching and hitting in the end we still had a legit shot at making the field had we not been short two games.

Yep, out of 299 D-1 teams, UAPB is 283 in RPI. Grambling is 279. ULM, after being dead last for awhile, is 256.

[Dwayne From Minden]

24 months ago we were coming off a 12 or 15 win season... (or basically where injun high is at now)

Steps -

[PawDawg]

24 months ago we were coming off a 12 or 15 win season... (or basically where injun high is at now)

Steps -

Good point, but thankfully it's been 36 months since we FINALLY fired Sim.

[DallasDog]

Our biggest problem in the two sports that matter (Football and MBB) is scheduling. We do have a great schedule for 2017 in football and our AD gets credit for most of that reorganization. It's now time for our AD to fund MBB's budget to get the games they need to be successful. The Bossier experiment was a disaster and embarrassing for university. Our AD must STOP seeing us as part of the Louisiana System club when it comes to athletics.

The third sport that matters (to me) is baseball. No more SWAC series. Play the annual politicallly necessary game with Grambling and be done with the +200 RPI games. Time to drop nlulm as well. Scheduling matters more in baseball than any sport. See SLU for a great example. Even though we lacked pitching and hitting in the end we still had a legit shot at making the field had we not been short two games.

I agree that scheduling is a problem across the board for us. Too many SWAC and weak opponents in every sport for the most part. Politics being what they are in Louisiana, I don't think that politics and the lack of funding will let us get away from enough of the bad games though. Until we find a way to get more than the 5000 or so loyal donors to give money its is a problem at best we can try and manage. Hell if we had even 50,000 of the 70-80,000 living alumni they always mention give $100 we could add 5 million to the budget and all this would go away.

Instead we come back and hit the same group of alumni up over and over to fund everything. If money will solve the scheduling issues then we need to change our fund raising strategy. Look at all the people who never went to college much less LSU and the like that give money or buy tickets to those programs. We can't even get a majority of our own to give. Something is broke somewhere.