New FCS Program in Louisiana?

[TexasTerror]

There was a study done a few years ago regarding football at UNO.

Did not go too far, but one would think that football in the equation could get the student athletic fee passed (failed by a narrow margin in the largest voter turnout in school history). The options presented then focused around non-scholarship football.

Chancellor says is it on the table.


Ryan also said that football, which UNO played on the club level last year outside of athletic department auspices, now is on the table eventually to gain varsity status and that he has told Bujol to study the various models the school could consider.

http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-43/1249104610283580.xml&coll=1&thispage=2

[BearsCountry]

If they want to stay in a geographically based conference close to them, I say football is going to have to happen.

[JohnStOnge]

Geeze I hope not. The South Louisiana/Southeast Texas area is already over-saturated with FCS and low level FBS programs.

[crossfire07]

no kidding

[TexasTerror]

Geeze I hope not. The South Louisiana/Southeast Texas area is already over-saturated with FCS and low level FBS programs.

Yes, but in the south - people want to know why, if you do not have football. With Centenary going Div III, the school is the last Div I school in the state NOT to have football...

[TheBisonator]

UNO just recieved a ton of money from a recently passed on man's estate I believe...

[TexasTerror]

Information on their club program and the history of the attempt to add football...

http://freeteams.net/privateerfootball/page.html?page=2377

[centexguy]

If UNO did start football then they would not stay FCS for long unless they left the Sun Belt. I just don't see that happening, at least not any time soon.

[GeauxColonels]

I can't see it happenning right now. The entire athletic department could still be on the chopping block despite the public support of Hornet's owner George Shinn.

[TexasTerror]

I can't see it happenning right now. The entire athletic department could still be on the chopping block despite the public support of Hornet's owner George Shinn.

Nah. I believe the department has reached it's lowest point with has happened the last few months and they did not have to lay off a single person in wake of the state budget cuts nor cut any sports. Throw in the upwards of $50M that is funneling in, the Hornets providing a lift of different sorts and if they can somehow get a student fee passed, no telling.

[Redbird Ray]

Does Louisiana really need another mid major (be it at the FCS or FBS level) football program? And besides, if people in New Orleans already don't care about Tulane, they're probably not going to fully embrace an upstart UNO program. But whatever, if they have the money and want to start it up, go ahead. xcoffeex

[Seawolf97]

Maybe it is better if so many other local schools already have D-1 football. A start up like New Orleans could keep travel costs down for non conference games and hopefully draw fans to away games. I think college football is alot more popular down South than in the
Northeast and we manage to get by. Good for them if they do it! Better this than dropping football or other sports.

[SUjagTILLiDIE]

Does Louisiana really need another mid major (be it at the FCS or FBS level) football program? And besides, if people in New Orleans already don't care about Tulane, they're probably not going to fully embrace an upstart UNO program. But whatever, if they have the money and want to start it up, go ahead. xcoffeex

Most of Tulane's students come from the Northeast, so New Orleans isnt really connected to them like you would think.

[GeauxColonels]

Most of Tulane's students come from the Northeast, so New Orleans isnt really connected to them like you would think.
True, but no one really supports UNO either. And I'm not too sure that the city would even with a football program.

[Eaglesrus]

I volunteer GA Southern to be their opponent in their first home game (not that I have the power to make that happen, but I'm all for making the trip!).

[CollegeSportsInfo]

I can't see it happenning right now. The entire athletic department could still be on the chopping block despite the public support of Hornet's owner George Shinn.


Exactly. Makes no sense. There needs to be some point when natural selection comes into play. If you can't support your existing programs, including basketball, and need a last second hail mary just to stay D1 for a couple years...it's time to take a step back and determine if it's worth it.

It's not. If you can't support a D1 basketball program on your own, football should never come to the table.

[TexasTerror]

There's still a great deal of buzz and it is just increasing.

They drew over 3,000 fans for a single club football game done with little to no promotion. They have four games this year. No telling what that will bring.

I'm curious to see how it all plays out. Their pre-Katrina budget is only $2-3M less than ULL and ULM are. With guarantees alone, they'd cover most of the cost. Perhaps football can get a student fee passed that will make up the rest and get the other sports going.

All they really need to add is the six T&F components to get to 15 (SBC requirement).

[GeauxColonels]

I volunteer GA Southern to be their opponent in their first home game (not that I have the power to make that happen, but I'm all for making the trip!).
Hell, let's just get the Georgia Southern over to play Nicholls State or Southeastern Louisiana. You can stay in New Orleans for the weekend and just make the drive to Thibodaux or Hammond. Neither is much more than an hour from the city.

[crossfire07]

I love my trip every other year to Nicholls. that area is one of my favorites in the whole country to ride. riding along the bayous and marshland with the shrimp boats right next to the road. I like the mountains as well but I like deep southern LoUiSiAna the best.

[NSUDemon98]

There was a study done a few years ago regarding football at UNO.

Did not go too far, but one would think that football in the equation could get the student athletic fee passed (failed by a narrow margin in the largest voter turnout in school history). The options presented then focused around non-scholarship football.

Chancellor says is it on the table.



http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-43/1249104610283580.xml&coll=1&thispage=2

I would sincerely hope that would not happen.

Of course from the disturbing email I received yesterday, there is a possibility that NSU, McNeese, SLU, Grambling and Nicholls probably won't even have enough state funding to afford fielding a football team in 2011-2012. MAJOR, and I mean MAJOR cuts...xsmhx

I hope all of you Cowboys, Colonels, Tigers and Lions are ready for a fight...you need to start contacting your local politicians today.

[TexasTerror]

Everyone across higher education and education in general needs to be putting up a stink. We're in for some massive cuts over the next few years and most of the schools you listed (SLU, Southern and Nicholls) have already cut sports in the last year. There's not much more wiggle room at this point...

UNO has that $30-50M from the endowment they are getting solely for athletics. Could make things interesting, especially if the economy rebounds...and if they get a student fee increase to cover the addition of the sports needed to be Div I.

[NSUDemon98]

Everyone across higher education and education in general needs to be putting up a stink. We're in for some massive cuts over the next few years and most of the schools you listed (SLU, Southern and Nicholls) have already cut sports in the last year. There's not much more wiggle room at this point...

UNO has that $30-50M from the endowment they are getting solely for athletics. Could make things interesting, especially if the economy rebounds...and if they get a student fee increase to cover the addition of the sports needed to be Div I.

Well, the information I received yesterday has already been passed and is as of now set in stone for the 2011-2012 budget year...and unless there is a drastic change, and I doubt there will be....well I am just gonna come out and say it, at a 47% budget cut for NSU (and the same for McNeese and SLU) there may not be a 2011 football season for Northwestern St. Going from $49,000,000 to $23,000,000 is more than just a budget cut...it is a death sentence.

That is no "sky is falling"...this flew under the radar and passed back in June. ULL and LaTech were barely even touched according to my source.

[TexasTerror]

Well, the information I received yesterday has already been passed and is as of now set in stone for the 2011-2012 budget year...and unless there is a drastic change, and I doubt there will be....well I am just gonna come out and say it, at a 47% budget cut for NSU (and the same for McNeese and SLU) there may not be a 2011 football season for Northwestern St. Going from $49,000,000 to $23,000,000 is more than just a budget cut...it is a death sentence.

That is no "sky is falling"...this flew under the radar and passed back in June. ULL and LaTech were barely even touched according to my source.

I have a hard time believing that such a thing has been 'passed' already and "set in stone". Come on, we're not talking about football here - we're talking about state budgets.

No one knows what is going to happen in the next few years, let alone 2010-11 as far as the Louisiana budget goes and you are jumping to 2011-12? Ask any university president or Chancellor and they will tell you that they are expecting the cuts to be worse in 2010 and 2011 before they get better. But, I do not think they know specifics.

Projections are somewhat known, but it's too far away to really give a good on idea.

[NSUDemon98]

I have a hard time believing that such a thing has been 'passed' already and "set in stone". Come on, we're not talking about football here - we're talking about state budgets.

No one knows what is going to happen in the next few years, let alone 2010-11 as far as the Louisiana budget goes and you are jumping to 2011-12? Ask any university president or Chancellor and they will tell you that they are expecting the cuts to be worse in 2010 and 2011 before they get better. But, I do not think they know specifics.

Projections are somewhat known, but it's too far away to really give a good on idea.

I just know that I am close friends with a Department head at NSU and he has been showing businessmen all over Natchitoches the paper that shows the budget cuts from the BoR...and basically NSU, McNeese, SLU, etc have been set adrift in a boat while Sally Clausen and friends sail off with LaTech and UL-L.

I don't know how they have already decided this for 2011-2012, but they have.

[TexasTerror]

I don't know how they have already decided this for 2011-2012, but they have.

It's projections.

Trust me, it looks all doom and gloom for a few more years before it can get any better. There's no telling if the projections end up to be as rough as the pundits are making them out to be...

Until the state of Louisiana and the citizens in the state go a different direction - we can expect it to get worse. I think Jindal has soured a lot of people between the cuts to health and education plus his flip-flopping on legislative pay raises. Term limits is getting rid of some of those long-standing wastes of space as well.

[NSUDemon98]

It's projections.

Trust me, it looks all doom and gloom for a few more years before it can get any better. There's no telling if the projections end up to be as rough as the pundits are making them out to be...

Until the state of Louisiana and the citizens in the state go a different direction - we can expect it to get worse. I think Jindal has soured a lot of people between the cuts to health and education plus his flip-flopping on legislative pay raises. Term limits is getting rid of some of those long-standing wastes of space as well.

Well I know of a lot of folks who are regretting voting for Bobby "Bo Jangles" Jindal. He is falling right in line with the good ol' boy way of doing things.

A college buddy of mine is a politician. He worked for Mary Landrieu in D.C. and then moved back to Louisiana to be her liaison for military operations in La. and is now working for the City of S'port. He said the tax cuts that Jindal made in his first year would have been more than enough to cover the money recently cut from higher ed.