Here is video of the game vs. Miami in 2003. 43,279 in attendance. And 43,000 of those were Tech fans. Miami brought virtually no one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw6qPTwrquA
Here is video of the game vs. Miami in 2003. 43,279 in attendance. And 43,000 of those were Tech fans. Miami brought virtually no one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw6qPTwrquA
Last edited by The Historian; 08-12-2018 at 05:04 PM.
Of course there was the 1990 Independence Bowl itself which was a near sellout if not a sellout - over 48,000 and again most were Tech Fans. And again in 2005 - another 48,000+.
Just checked and ULL did have good attendance at their home bowl game, but the most was against Tulane which might be considered an even more home town team. And two of the others were vacated because of violations. I would expect them to have better attendance there than we did due to their proximity.
I honestly don't know if you're joking about this or not. I didn't want to respond to you until I heard back from a couple of people within your university who would have a little bit better than me of what's happening on the Cajun campus.
Several of the facility improvements over the past 15 years have been paid for with privately raised cash or with a small student fee passed on your campus in 2002. Your indoor practice facility ($3.9 millon), your softball facility expansion and renovation from several years ago as well as a more recent expansion ($3 million) are paid off.
To pay for the new APC ($14 million), as well as the expansion to Cajun Field ($7 million), and the expansion and renovation of the Cajun track/soccer facility ($5 million), $26 million in bonds were floated in 2013. One person told me it was revenue bonds, while another said that the reve bond interest rate was too high so general obligation bonds had to be used. That individual also told me there is still $55 million in debt service on those bonds over the next 26 years (including the interest). RCAF fundraising pays this note every year.
About $6 million in cash was raised to begin construction of the new baseball facility. A bank bridge loan for more than $10 million was secured using collateral from the university foundation to finish the project. Some of the money you see flowing into the RCAF is to try to pay off this loan as quickly as possible but in no more than 5 to 10 years. Funds are also being raised through the RCAF to pay for a new baseball clubhouse.
About a year ago you had about $34 million in athletic department related debt. That's likely been reduced by several million dollars with fundraising to eat into the bridge loan.
The other problem that's cropped up is the Cajundome. It floated $20 million in bonds last year to pay for a major renovation. That debt is serviced with a hotel/motel tax in Lafayette parish. Deficits for the Cajundome and the attached convention center - up to a certain amount - are covered by the City of Lafayette. This year, for the first time ever, the deficit for the Cajundome exceeded the maximum the City of Lafayette is allowed by law to cover. That's led to the retirement of the executive director and a staff layoff to close the gap for this year.
I only bring this up because one of the people I spoke with said the problem is only going to get worse. This will come up again in 10 months. And the only place she said she knew they could go to cover the deficit the City can't cover is the university. And she suspects it will come from the athletic department.
So the RCAF actually pays for principal and interest on the bonds, as well as principal and interest on the bridge loan. Presumably additional principal payments are being made on the bridge loan. By this time next year the RCAF might also contributing several hundred thousand dollars to the Cajundome to help it cover its deficits.
Louisiana Tech University
Flagship of the University of Louisiana System
I was there for that one....but...I gotta be honest. I was there to see Kellen Winslow, Jr. and Brock Berlin...
Winslow's dad had the same knee injury that I did at the same time. A complete posterior cruciate tear, with a complete medial collateral tear, which is pretty rare and pretty catastrophic. We were both participants in an experimental program for posterior cruciate bracing, based on a skier's brace that Dr. Steadman came up with. A California company, Innovation Sports, took Steadman's design and beefed it up, building the frame work out of Carbon Fiber, with some stainless steel and titanium fittings. I got the prototype, which was basically the skier's brace with a few minor mods. The fittings weren't designed for full contact, so they broke fairly frequently and I'd have to head over to the local limb and brace shop to get repairs done.
At the end of the year, Innovation Sports, took the old brace and my leg measurements and rebuilt it, adding new carbon layers to it, and redesigning the fittings and points of attachment. They shipped it back along with a brand new one, engineered from the ground up. It was pretty cool and - at the time mid 80's - on the cutting edge. Winslow got his brace, with all the upgrades, the following year after I'd been the guinea pig.
So, it was kinda cool to see his son out there playing, even if he did end up being one troubled piece of shit....
I was there too. Miami was stacked with athletes. When that big fellow...can't remember names at the moment...that 300+ lb DT turned and caught our guy, a RB, who looked like he was about to be gone for a good 40-50 yds....it was a screen pass...I was like....chit! these guys are playing a different game than us. About 2 -3 years later, back when I could remember players better, I would see former members of that Miami team in the NFL. About 8 guys off that starting 11 on defense played in the NFL. Not just made it to the NFL for a cup of coffee, nope. They were starters and key contributors.
McNeese went there in 2000, I think....and we counted 19 future first rounders on the two-deep roster. It was crazy.....We racked up over 400 yards of total offense against them, but...once they got on track, holy crap they were good...
Arguably the most talented college team ever....
You know, it occurs to me that if we keep the conversation focused on quality football, the USL fans won't be able to participate in the conversation in any meaningful way.
Do we change the topic to something they're knowledgeable about? Or basically tell them to get bent and continue to keep the discussion focused on quality football so that - by definition - they're excluded???
There is a reason this thread got relegated to the pit.