For the fans that have been around a looong time.

[Dirtydawg]

Coach Mick, Coachdawg and other experienced (I used the more politically correct term of experienced for Coach Mick) fans who post on here that have been Bulldogs and following the Bulldogs before many of us were born or gained an interest in Tech, I have a question. Have you all seen a period for Tech football the likes of what we're seeing now. You know how impetuous and impatient younger generations are, and how doom and gloom we all can be. I guess my point is, I don't want to believe that this year is a now or never or that our Bulldogs are going to get to a point that we can't recover. I mean it's not like we got the death penalty and are totally trying to rebuild from scratch like SMU or did away with the program like SLU. Have you guys been through a drought with Tech football like this? Or are we justified in thinking that we may soon be to a point in which we won't be able to recover if we don't start turning things around.

[DONW]

The Larry Beightol era or 1979 season. He was fired before the last game against NLULM and Pat Patterson took over.
The Karl Torbush era where he left at the end of the season.

[dawg80]

There have been some periods, record-wise, that have been just like this. Well, maybe close to this. Going back to the 70's, well, Tech was DII and won National Championships then moved to DI and went to two Indy Bowls ('77 and '78). In the 80's we were I-AA and went to the national championship game ('84). Then it was not until 1990 before the post season was revisited. We all know that under Crowton, the 1996 team was decent, smoking Mississippi State and going 6-5, the '97 team was awesome, the '99 team even better...

To answer your question, no, not in most of our lifetimes. But, really, the schedules are a bit tougher these days than they have been in the past. Still, it was the path Tech decided to follow. And Bicknell was selected and has been kept to, supposedly, lead Tech football to success down this tougher path. Most of us look at this: no bowl since 2001 (and crapped out in it), losing records a bunch of years. Worst! we see what Boise State is doing....

If we could look in a crystal ball and see a 9-win bowl season in 2007, well, we'd be more understanding right now. But, does anyone see that for next year?

[ChuckK3]

There have been some periods, record-wise, that have been just like this. Well, maybe close to this. Going back to the 70's, well, Tech was DII and won National Championships then moved to DI and went to two Indy Bowls ('77 and '78). In the 80's we were I-AA and went to the national championship game ('84). Then it was not until 1990 before the post season was revisited. We all know that under Crowton, the 1996 team was decent, smoking Mississippi State and going 6-5, the '97 team was awesome, the '99 team even better...

To answer your question, no, not in most of our lifetimes. But, really, the schedules are a bit tougher these days than they have been in the past. Still, it was the path Tech decided to follow. And Bicknell was selected and has been kept to, supposedly, lead Tech football to success down this tougher path. Most of us look at this: no bowl since 2001 (and crapped out in it), losing records a bunch of years. Worst! we see what Boise State is doing....

If we could look in a crystal ball and see a 9-win bowl season in 2007, well, we'd be more understanding right now. But, does anyone see that for next year?

I agree with D80.

As a lifelong DAWG fan (I just turned 42 last week), I remember some "low" points along the way, but in my memory the impact was not as great back then as it is now.

We have much more at stake today, IMO. We are trying to grow a program that can compete on a level with the upper-middle of the 1-A ranks...pre-BCS if you will. To do that you HAVE to WIN. you HAVE to go to places like College Station, Lincoln and Auburn and beat those guys. You HAVE to have a top 25 ranking occasionally. By WINNING, you grow your fan base...which grows the income, which helps to fund facility improvements, which helps recruiting, which makes your team better, which comes full circle with MORE WINNING.

When we were 1-AA, or Division II, the pressure on the program didn't seem as great as it is today. Until we fully commit to being a BCS-calibre football program, we may as well go back to "small" school status. There really is no TRUE "mid-major" classification. Either you IS, or you AIN'T.

That's just my perception/opinion.

[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!

[Tech77]

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!

That's an all-time great post! We should print it out and force Dan Reneau to read it aloud in front of his special guests before this weekend's lightly attended football game.

[Coachdawg]

Who could say it better than my friend, Mickey Slaughter? Wonderful and sincere. Just wonderful. So truly written with dignity.

[Brian96]

I would love to see that printed in a newspaper, or sent to the CHAMPS mailing list. But that is for Coach Slaughter to decide on his own.

In my narrow experience with just a few CHAMPS members and boosters, many of these folks have no idea how bad it is, and don't understand the stakes at which we now play. The people I am thinking about have been involved with Tech for as long (and in some cases longer) than Coach Slaughter (does that make you feel youthful, Coach?), and they understand that we are having a down year, but they don't grasp the difference between a down year in 2006 compared to a down year in 1956. And these folks are DIEHARDs. So I imagine there are a lot of people out there just like them, who if they understood the stakes and the fact that we have actually moved BACKWARD, would become part of the solution.

But hearing it from me just sounds like the impassioned, histrionic ravings of a 31-year-old "child," who probably takes all of this stuff too seriously.

I am not implying that it is Coach Slaughter or anyone else's duty to reach these people, only that these are some of the people we need to reach, and I'm not sure how to do it.

[Dirtydawg]

Well, I must say that wasn't the answer I was anticipating. I didn't want to have the all is lost attitude, but apparently we are headed that way fast. I just have to believe that we will be able to make it back.

[Brian96]

Well, I must say that wasn't the answer I was anticipating. I didn't want to have the all is lost attitude, but apparently we are headed that way fast. I just have to believe that we will be able to make it back.

What I am reading in all of this is that, no this isn't the first time our athletic program (or football in particular) have struggled, no this isn't the first time our athletic administration has demonstrated wholesale incompetence. But now IS different because the stakes are so much higher. Div I A is not like Div I AA or Div II. And Div I A 2006 is not the same as Div I A 1990. There are proven models for building an athletic program that serves and enhances the university, and our administration is not at all interested in pursuing this goal. It would rather have an athletic program that is subservient to the mission of the university, and stays out of the way. The problem with this is that choosing not to develop our athletic department in the long run will tarnish the overall reputation of the university (beacuse of the assumption today that good athletics=good university, unless you are Ivy League). And allowing this to tarnish the reputation of the university may be the saddest thing of all.

[MICKEYS14]

Dirty-the "all is lost attitude" are YOUR words, not mine. I do not believe that all is lost. I DO believe that for GAIN, a whole lot has to CHANGE. Respectfully yours, an "experienced Tech alum."

[WonderDawg]

To answer the question, I was at Tech from 1956 until 1961 during the JOE AILLET era. I do not remember having a team that was even below average of course we were in the GSC and the travel and coompetition was not what it is today. Those were glorious times and I loved and lived Tech Sports. I can fondly remember a number of athletes who made Tech proud and were very proud of Tech.

[Dirtydawg]

Dirty-the "all is lost attitude" are YOUR words, not mine. I do not believe that all is lost. I DO believe that for GAIN, a whole lot has to CHANGE. Respectfully yours, an "experienced Tech alum."

You are correct, Coach. Those were my words, and I didn't mean to try to put them in your mouth. However, knowing that for us to see any gain there must be a lot of change (your words), I feel all is lost because as is quite apparent, there will be not be even a small change in the forseeable future. By then, I think it will be too late since the landscape of college football has changed so dramatically.

[8411]

although i HIGHLY respect coach mick's advise & evaluations, and in no way intend to have even the least bit of experience than most on this board, i do not believe all is lost.

in the short time i have been around tech football, (and that's all i can attest to in the athletic program), i have seen changes for the better. yes, there are questions with the staff, but as a whole, i think these gentlemen are right for the program. both in the recruiting process & pretty much on the field, (except for a few questionable decisons). shoot, the field & the lights are a huge improvement. add the jumbotron next year as well as other announced improvements and we are moving in the right direction.

as far as the apathy goes in the community, that i cannot comment on being i live 6 hours away. what i can guarantee, is the fact that the core, as well as the newcomers on the team, have not given up. from what i understand, emotions were as high, (or low in this case), as ever in the locker room following saturdays debacle. if we can get thru this season in a respectable manner, the next couple of years will be huge. with the fish, sophs, & jrs we have, (as well as some of the class of '07 we are talking to), we will be a force in the WAC. maybe its just "blue" colored glasses, but i totally believe it will get better.
i know one thing, i would not want to be an USU aggie this saturday. it could get ugly.

[champion110]

I have been watching and attending Tech football games since I was, literally, born in 1963. I say "since I was born" because I was taken as an infant to these games.

I truly appreciate Coach Mick's analysis of where we are. I did not take it as an "everything is lost" post. To me, it was more like a "things must change" post. I am truly upset and discouraged about this season. I do not think this season will make or break the program, though. It will just make it more difficult to build from here. A change has to take place.

The only way I can see for that "change" to take place is to get to those few people that D.R. knows and trusts. In other words, the money guys. They are the missing piece of the puzzle that we have been trying our best to put together. Without them, our screams fall on deaf ears. I don't know the solution to that. Apparently, they are well guarded from outside noise.

I am really down, but do not feel hopeless. I have seen programs go this far down and come back. I have seen the opposite, as well. I just keep some hope that we can once again experience some success.