State of the Program

[johnnylightnin]

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.

[BulldawgBB]

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!

[ChangeMaker]

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.

[johnnylightnin]

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

[JAY]

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

You know it!


I still have to decide what all it will involve.

[JAY]

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

[johnnylightnin]

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

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

[GermDawg]

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

LMAO

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

[jimwwms]

"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.

[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!

[frogdog]

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.

[fantasy318]

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

[frogdog]

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!

[Tech77]

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!

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

[Dirtydawg]

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.