Lamar Football: On Hold due to Rita

[TexasTerror]

Lamar is obviously having issues recovering from Hurricane Rita, which is why they are behind UTSA in getting together a football program. We'll see where UT-Arlington and A&M-Corpus Christi stand eventually, but Rita really setback chances of Lamar getting football.

I do share a belief with some of the Lamar fans that Billy Tubbs, the AD at Lamar, would have gone into retirement, if he did not think he could get football to become a reality at Lamar. Time will tell...

Bob West column for Sunday, Dec 3, 2006
The Port Arthur News

Looks like Lamar University is not the only Southland Conference school taking a hard look at adding football. The University of Texas-San Antonio, which hopes to be playing at the Division 1 level by 2014, recently got back results from a $60,000 study commissioned as a blueprint. The projected startup cost for a 1-AA level program at UT-SA in 2010 is $15 million, with the number escalating to $90 million to climb the Division 1-A mountain within five years. Included in the projected $90 million projection is a stadium. Going from scratch to 1-A in five years, while somewhat impractical, is not totally a pipe dream. Florida Atlantic, under the direction of Howard Schnellenberger, recently pulled it off . . . .

Lamar’s football plans, by the way, have gone from the front burner to the back burner because of the hit the school took from Hurricane Rita. Enrollment is down some 800 students in Rita’s aftermath and little can be done about football until the enrollment is regained. Both LU president Dr. Jimmy Simmons and AD Billy Tubbs, however, remain staunch advocates of bringing back football and are confident at some point it will get done. Their projected startup for a 1-AA program is $16 million, with a big chunk of that needed for Cardinal Stadium restoration. Although football remains on hold, the fact that Lamar has added a women’s soccer program makes it pretty clear where things are headed.

http://www.panews.com/sportsbobwest/local_story_336223823.html?keyword=topstory

[Retro]

RITA? Bull****! Beaumont was not hit near as hard as Lake Charles and they've hard far fewer problems getting back up and running than Mcneese did, especially considering state help..

Lamar had no trouble getting their baseball stadium up and running before the season while mcneese's stadium is still under repair and mcneese still won the SLC. If they had so much trouble, they wouldn't have added a another women's sports so soon?:rolleyes:

They're just saying that because they don't have the money or interest locally to re-start football, hurricane or not.. They've talked about this for the past 10 years, but it's just been talk.. There has never been any SERIOUS action toward restarting football there.. All they care about in the beaumont area is high school football.

To blame it on rita is just plain ridiculous. Come to Lake charles and cameron and i'll show you what a hurricane setback looks like!:nono:

[MplsBison]

If all 12 SLC schools started football, that would be great.

Lots of teams for NDSU and SDSU to beat up on.

[TexasTerror]

RITA? Bull****! Beaumont was not hit near as hard as Lake Charles and they've hard far fewer problems getting back up and running than Mcneese did, especially considering state help..

Lamar had no trouble getting their baseball stadium up and running before the season while mcneese's stadium is still under repair and mcneese still won the SLC. If they had so much trouble, they wouldn't have added a another women's sports so soon?:rolleyes:

They're just saying that because they don't have the money or interest locally to re-start football, hurricane or not.. They've talked about this for the past 10 years, but it's just been talk.. There has never been any SERIOUS action toward restarting football there.. All they care about in the beaumont area is high school football.

To blame it on rita is just plain ridiculous. Come to Lake charles and cameron and i'll show you what a hurricane setback looks like!:nono:

You should post this on the Lamar Fans Board...:thumbsup:

Perhaps they can learn a thing or two from you! :bow:

[Retro]

Lamar doesn't have any fans. That's a big reason they dropped football and started playing so many high school games on saturday's?:rolleyes:

[McNeese75]

If all 12 SLC schools started football, that would be great.

Lots of teams for NDSU and SDSU to beat up on.


xidiotx

[TexasTerror]

Lamar doesn't have any fans. That's a big reason they dropped football and started playing so many high school games on saturday's?:rolleyes:

Their boards have a lot more focus on Golden Triangle football and basketball...a fair share of Univ of Houston fans as well. Guess that's where they get their college football fix...

They also live and die by the basketball recruiting class rankings...while claiming Lamar dropping football has all the world to do with McN's success...

http://www.lamarfansboard.com

[MplsBison]

xidiotx

SDSU beat Cent Ark, McNeese, and Nicholls this season. NDSU beat SFA this season, and both Northwestern and Nicholls the past 2 seasons.


What are you talking about?

[McNeese75]

SDSU beat Cent Ark, McNeese, and Nicholls this season. NDSU beat SFA this season, and both Northwestern and Nicholls the past 2 seasons.


What are you talking about?

Only that you obviously have nothing better to do at this time of the year other than be "Full of" youself. xcoffeex

[Freightliner]

Only that you obviously have nothing better to do at this time of the year other than be "Full of" youself. xcoffeex

Hmm...guess he forgets that SDSU got hammered by us in 05.

Lets see if they can return the favor this year.

As for Lamar football fans - which there are very few of. Terror and the McNeese folks are right. Those guys would rather see a Central/Westbrook game, than watch the Cardinals play.

As for the remark that Lamar's downfall became McNeese's boon? Hogwash....pure and simple. And this is coming from someone who WORKED for the program back when it was dropped.

[Retro]

Their boards have a lot more focus on Golden Triangle football and basketball...a fair share of Univ of Houston fans as well. Guess that's where they get their college football fix...

They also live and die by the basketball recruiting class rankings...while claiming Lamar dropping football has all the world to do with McN's success...

http://www.lamarfansboard.com

I haven't been to their board, but probably will in time.. Meanwhile you can post this over there...,

During lamar's last 15 years as a football program, they had 1 (one) winning season.. During that same time, Mcneese had 10 winning seasons including 3 trips to the Independence bowl.

After Lamar was gone, Mcneese did get even better but a large part of that was due to the emergence of Head Coach Bobby Keasler. I'm sure being able to recruit more from SE Texas played a part, but Mcneese was already a step above..

[TexasTerror]

More talk on the Lamar board...

One fan, who I know is in the know claims, "I've heard some great news" and then later said, "Lets just say in a few years we may very well know how well people in this community will support Lamar football and not have to wonder."

Let's hope we have a Lamar football team competing in FCS soon! I do not think they have all the pieces in place to move up to FBS, though that is what the fans desire. Sun Belt, perhaps...but I do not believe that is what Lamar wants, similar to Texas State...

[MplsBison]

They seem kinda small for a public school to have FBS football.

The smallest FBS public school in TX is U Houston with 19.5k FTUE.

Lamar is only 6.7k.

[patssle]

no way they could go FBS.

[TexasTerror]

no way they could go FBS.

I wouldn't discount anyone at going FBS. There's numerous schools who at one point or another were FCS that have gone FBS, only to really go nowhere. These schools would probably love to, behind closed doors, go back to FCS, but they would risk their jobs, their school's conference affiliation and really tick off loads of alums...

Beaumont is growing, but I don't think Lamar has a fighting chance to go FBS before a school like Texas State - San Marcos, which has a long way to go to reach that status as well...