As most of you know by know it is offical that the 1st game of the season is against ULM. I think it is good that we get to play are first game at home to tune up before going to Arizona. The only thing I have against this is we are playing 2 teams from LA in the same year. I have nothing against the other teams in LA but most of the teams are not that good. Tulane and LA Tech are moving up in the college football ladder but the other are stuck in 1st gear. I also have a serious question about the game. How many fans could we expect them to bring and will they bring their band. It was sad when last year ULL which is 1 hour away from Baton Rouge did not bring their band because they could not afford to buy them tickets to the game. We could at least give them tickets for the band. They probably won't win the game but a least there will be some on cheering them on.
I doubt many people from Monroe will show up. Back in high school I played a couple games in Malone Stadium against Ouachita Parish High and we drew more people than ULM did the next night. The students are not very excited about football and many go home on the weekends or they keep up with LSU football. I know a couple of ULM students personally and they don't even go to the games except for the ULL vs ULM game since it is the "big game" of the year. I think the game will be ugly against ULM. It won't be as bad as it would be if it were in the middle of the SEC schedule but I look for the game to over by the middle of the 2nd Q. Has LSU and ULM (NLU) played in football? If so what is the series records, average score, etc.....
This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools in football. Actually fellows, it's worse than you think. Tulane seems to be improving, but they are still a ways away from contending in C-USA. Louisiana Tech is coming off a dismal 4-8 season, and many Bulldog fans are not happy with their coach. They may be in for a long run of problems, and that's too bad, because they have enjoyed some success at the 1-A level. We are all familiar with the struggles of ULL and ULM. The Indians showed signs of life last season, but I don't expect them to run with us for too long.
Can anybody explain to me why ULM and ULL, who were Div I-A powerhouses, want to be doormats in Division I? Neither has the money, fan support, recruiting base or facilities to compete with the major schools. I enjoyed the old days when Louisiana had contenders in all four football divisions.
I assume you meant I AA power houses. As far as Ull goes, I think it's a huge case of Tiger-envy. They spout economic reasons but it's all about prestige. They only need to look 75 miles to the west to see what they could accomplish at that level. I guarantee you if McNeese was in Lafayette, I'd attend their games and follow them closely while still being a huge Tiger fan.
According to many ULL supporters the state of Louisiana has wronged the school many times and that LSU has taken money away from them. They wish to be as succesful as LSU is on the football field but the jump from 1-AA to D1-A is very difficult and many schools can't keep it up. I think they should look at the success that McNeese and Northwestern State are having and should reconsider. They might compete in baseball but they will continue to get pounded in football.
They could stay in 1A in Basketball and baseball and remain competitive. But football is a whole 'nother animal.
The way I understand it is the only difference between 1-A and 1-AA is football. Southern Uni participated in the Baton Rouge Basbeall Regional and they are 1-AA. I also remember Northwestern State's basketball team making the NCAA Tournament since they won the Southland Conference and they are 1-AA also. ULL would still be able to compete on the same level as LSU in basball and they would be giving their football team more of a chance instead of being just another game for a big school to get closer to bowl elidgibility.
LSU football supports itself and doesn't get subsidized by my tax dollars. ULM, ULL, McNeese and every other football program in Louisiana has funding that comes out of their University's regular budgets. I don't see how LSU hurts ULL. ULL is costing all Louisiana taxpayers more and more money to be a I-A doormat. If they can't put 50,000 butts in their stadiums, they don't deserve to be in Division I-A.
It also gets under their (ULL) skin that LSU is THE state university of La while they are relegated to "regional" status. They finally get to call themselves Uof L only to be undercut by NLU who insisted that "if they get to be UofL, so do we". Thus the "at" stuck to the name. So...they remain regionalized and they can't stand it. I got a kick out of the abbreviation ESPN2 used in the running score box for the Colorado BB game recently. They were ULLAF. Trust me. They didn't like that one bit.
