Louisiana at Lafayette to have 50,000 Seats for Football within 3 years.
Their head football coach says they are working on it for their stadium right now.
Gave quite an interview on the Jim Rome Show today. Going to be harder
to recruit and win players over that.

Think he said they had raised $115,000,000 for stadium improvements.
Here is the interview:
http://jimrome.com/2014/07/08/mark-hudspeth/

He personally is weight lifting 380 pounds and expects to do 400 pounds.
Does 20 of the 225 reps that NFL draftees are required to try.
Really puts a lot of emphasis on strength and conditioning evidently.

Kinda of a good news bad news thing. We have been bitching and mouning for years that other SC members didn't care about facility growth and inhancements, now we are in a conference where the members seem fully committed to growing their athletic depts, but if we don't start aggressively moving forward on our own facilities we are going to get left behind.

I'm going to need a link in writing to prove they have raised $115M for stadium improvements.

The cost may be that much, but raised, doubtful.

People here worry so much about how many seats our stadium holds, but did you happen to see the post earlier today that said ULL's coach makes more than 4x what SS makes? IMO, that disparity is a much bigger issue for App than the one in seating capacity.

EastHallApp wrote:People here worry so much about how many seats our stadium holds, but did you happen to see the post earlier today that said ULL's coach makes more than 4x what SS makes? IMO, that disparity is a much bigger issue for App than the one in seating capacity.

Well that would be because SS got the contract while in SC not FBS, not to mention SS was a first time head coach, and Hudspeth has a conference championship on his resume. If SS performs he will get a comparable contract

regardless, ULL is spending some serious cash on their athletic dept, whether its the coaching staff or facilicies, where the hell they getting all this money? ULL is spending like they are a member of the SEC!!

Guys, other than the additional seating they are planning on building facilities we already have.

They have a much nicer baseball stadium and more football seats, but their current amenities are playing catch up.

The $115 is the budget for all sports.

http://www.ragincajuns.com/sports/2013/ ... spx?id=570

EastHallApp wrote:People here worry so much about how many seats our stadium holds, but did you happen to see the post earlier today that said ULL's coach makes more than 4x what SS makes? IMO, that disparity is a much bigger issue for App than the one in seating capacity.

I was going to post this in the coaches salary thread, but since budgets seem to have popped up here I figured this would be the proper place. Sorry but this is going to be a bit long.

Looking at it in cost of doing business terms it is easy to see how some SB schools are paying their coaches more. Due to the equal revenue streams at the G5 FBS level the fewer number of teams a school funds directly affects what they can pay coaches.

# of men's & women's sports and total # of NCAA allowable scholarships

Mark Hudspeth, UL, $950,000 -
7 men @ 137 + 7 women @ 79 = 216

Blake Anderson, Arkansas State, $700,000
6 men @ 127 + 8 women @ 78 = 205

Larry Blakeney, Troy, $480,000
7 men @ 137 + 8 women @ 93 = 215
(they also show Rodeo as a sport but it is funded by a group of rodeo enthusiasts across the region)

Trent Miles, Georgia State, $450,000
6 men @ 128 + 9 women @ 97 = 225

Joey Jones, South Alabama, $435,000
7 men @ 131 = 8 women @ 85 = 216

Dennis Franchione, Texas State, $400,000
6 men @ 127 + 8 women @ 85 = 212

Paul Petrino, Idaho, $390,000
6 men @ 112 + 8 women @ 87 = 199

Doug Martin, New Mexico State*, $363,000
6 men @ 131 / 10 women @ 114 (including equestrian) = 245

Todd Berry, UL Monroe, $306,000
6 men sports @ 127 scholarships + 9 women sports @ 83 scholarships = 210

Willie Fritz, Georgia Southern*, $300,000
6 men @ 128 + 10 women @ 103 = 231

Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State*, $225,000
9 men @ 151 + 9 women @ 97 scholarships = 248

While it is a good bet each of the school does not fund every scholarship for every sport the concept applies. The other thing to consider is not only do schools like ULL & Ark State have fewer sports, the types of sports they fund require fewer scholarships, less travel and facility cost.

Prime example. App sponsors Field Hockey, which I'm betting is fully funded. Twelve grants, a lot of equipment, large facility and cost of playing in a league that stretches across America. Ark State counters with Bowling. Requiring 5 grants. Minimal cost of equipment and no cost in facility investment.

IMO, App will have to streamline its number of sports somewhere down the line.

Kgfish wrote:

EastHallApp wrote:People here worry so much about how many seats our stadium holds, but did you happen to see the post earlier today that said ULL's coach makes more than 4x what SS makes? IMO, that disparity is a much bigger issue for App than the one in seating capacity.

I was going to post this in the coaches salary thread, but since budgets seem to have popped up here I figured this would be the proper place. Sorry but this is going to be a bit long.

Looking at it in cost of doing business terms it is easy to see how some SB schools are paying their coaches more. Due to the equal revenue streams at the G5 FBS level the fewer number of teams a school funds directly affects what they can pay coaches.

# of men's & women's sports and total # of NCAA allowable scholarships

Mark Hudspeth, UL, $950,000 -
7 men @ 137 + 7 women @ 79 = 216

Blake Anderson, Arkansas State, $700,000
6 men @ 127 + 8 women @ 78 = 205

Larry Blakeney, Troy, $480,000
7 men @ 137 + 8 women @ 93 = 215
(they also show Rodeo as a sport but it is funded by a group of rodeo enthusiasts across the region)

Trent Miles, Georgia State, $450,000
6 men @ 128 + 9 women @ 97 = 225

Joey Jones, South Alabama, $435,000
7 men @ 131 = 8 women @ 85 = 216

Dennis Franchione, Texas State, $400,000
6 men @ 127 + 8 women @ 85 = 212

Paul Petrino, Idaho, $390,000
6 men @ 112 + 8 women @ 87 = 199

Doug Martin, New Mexico State*, $363,000
6 men @ 131 / 10 women @ 114 (including equestrian) = 245

Todd Berry, UL Monroe, $306,000
6 men sports @ 127 scholarships + 9 women sports @ 83 scholarships = 210

Willie Fritz, Georgia Southern*, $300,000
6 men @ 128 + 10 women @ 103 = 231

Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State*, $225,000
9 men @ 151 + 9 women @ 97 scholarships = 248

While it is a good bet each of the school does not fund every scholarship for every sport the concept applies. The other thing to consider is not only do schools like ULL & Ark State have fewer sports, the types of sports they fund require fewer scholarships, less travel and facility cost.

Prime example. App sponsors Field Hockey, which I'm betting is fully funded. Twelve grants, a lot of equipment, large facility and cost of playing in a league that stretches across America. Ark State counters with Bowling. Requiring 5 grants. Minimal cost of equipment and no cost in facility investment.

IMO, App will have to streamline its number of sports somewhere down the line.

In 2013-14, The Field Hockey team had 12 matches in NC and Virginia.

Yosef10 wrote:

EastHallApp wrote:People here worry so much about how many seats our stadium holds, but did you happen to see the post earlier today that said ULL's coach makes more than 4x what SS makes? IMO, that disparity is a much bigger issue for App than the one in seating capacity.

Well that would be because SS got the contract while in SC not FBS, not to mention SS was a first time head coach, and Hudspeth has a conference championship on his resume. If SS performs he will get a comparable contract

I get the point about FCS, but I would think there might have been a clause for boosting his pay if/when App went FBS. Of course, that chart says the numbers don't include performance incentives etc., so maybe they're not a full picture of his compensation.

Regardless - that's a huge gap from ULL to the next school down (A-State), and nearly as big a gap from second to third place. Yes, SS is a first-time coach now, but within a few years, one of three things will happen:

- He'll build a winning program and we'll need to pay to keep him.
- He'll build a winning program and leave, and we'll need to pay to hire a qualified replacement.
- He won't build a winner, and we'll need to pay to find someone who will.

In any case, we aren't going to win being at or near the bottom of the league in coaches' pay. And that goes for the assistants as well as the HC.

As for ULL and their proposed 50,000 seat stadium - they couldn't even sell out their current 31,000 seat stadium one time last year. Not even once. They averaged less than 26,000 per game.

Can't say I'm too worried about recruits being blown away by sitting in a half-empty stadium.

bottom line is we are now in a conference that, the members are atleast trying to upgrade their programs, that is a good thing, now as far as ULL goes, I agree when you only average 26 thousand a game, how do you plan to double your attendance? I guess they are assuming that it will probably be 4-5 years before the expansion is complete, therefore they believe they have time to gradually increase attendance. Personally, I think they are being overly optimistic, but hey, give them credit for setting high goals.

NewApp wrote:

Kgfish wrote:

EastHallApp wrote:People here worry so much about how many seats our stadium holds, but did you happen to see the post earlier today that said ULL's coach makes more than 4x what SS makes? IMO, that disparity is a much bigger issue for App than the one in seating capacity.

I was going to post this in the coaches salary thread, but since budgets seem to have popped up here I figured this would be the proper place. Sorry but this is going to be a bit long.

Looking at it in cost of doing business terms it is easy to see how some SB schools are paying their coaches more. Due to the equal revenue streams at the G5 FBS level the fewer number of teams a school funds directly affects what they can pay coaches.

# of men's & women's sports and total # of NCAA allowable scholarships

Mark Hudspeth, UL, $950,000 -
7 men @ 137 + 7 women @ 79 = 216

Blake Anderson, Arkansas State, $700,000
6 men @ 127 + 8 women @ 78 = 205

Larry Blakeney, Troy, $480,000
7 men @ 137 + 8 women @ 93 = 215
(they also show Rodeo as a sport but it is funded by a group of rodeo enthusiasts across the region)

Trent Miles, Georgia State, $450,000
6 men @ 128 + 9 women @ 97 = 225

Joey Jones, South Alabama, $435,000
7 men @ 131 = 8 women @ 85 = 216

Dennis Franchione, Texas State, $400,000
6 men @ 127 + 8 women @ 85 = 212

Paul Petrino, Idaho, $390,000
6 men @ 112 + 8 women @ 87 = 199

Doug Martin, New Mexico State*, $363,000
6 men @ 131 / 10 women @ 114 (including equestrian) = 245

Todd Berry, UL Monroe, $306,000
6 men sports @ 127 scholarships + 9 women sports @ 83 scholarships = 210

Willie Fritz, Georgia Southern*, $300,000
6 men @ 128 + 10 women @ 103 = 231

Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State*, $225,000
9 men @ 151 + 9 women @ 97 scholarships = 248

While it is a good bet each of the school does not fund every scholarship for every sport the concept applies. The other thing to consider is not only do schools like ULL & Ark State have fewer sports, the types of sports they fund require fewer scholarships, less travel and facility cost.

Prime example. App sponsors Field Hockey, which I'm betting is fully funded. Twelve grants, a lot of equipment, large facility and cost of playing in a league that stretches across America. Ark State counters with Bowling. Requiring 5 grants. Minimal cost of equipment and no cost in facility investment.

IMO, App will have to streamline its number of sports somewhere down the line.

In 2013-14, The Field Hockey team had 12 matches in NC and Virginia.

Three matches were in NC. Two trips (four games) were to Harrisonburg, Va. One trip (two games) to Richmond with a trip to Philly for two matches. Past schedules include trips to Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and California. For a program with an average W-L record of 3-16 over the past 7 years. ASU sports info doesn't list any farther back than that. Not hating on women's athletics, just the insanity of having a program that few, if any, public high schools in NC play. It is primarily a northern women's private / boarding school sport meaning a majority of the scholarships are out of state (3 players out of 23 from NC) and few colleges in NC have.

Kgfish wrote:Not hating on women's athletics, just the insanity of having a program that few, if any, public high schools in NC play. It is primarily a northern women's private / boarding school sport meaning a majority of the scholarships are out of state (3 players out of 23 from NC) and few colleges in NC have.

As of a few years ago the law changed so UNC system schools had to pay out-of-state tuition for out-of-state athletes, dramatically increasing the cost of these scholarships. Schools like ours were hit much harder by this than UNC-CH and NCSU even though they recruit more regionally/nationally because they have so much more revenue.

There is a lot of buzz that UL-L would like to join C-USA, but our conference (like most) has realignment fatigue and is not looking to add anyone now. Plus there are a couple of schools near them whose fans say they would oppose it. I wonder if the stadium expansion--and especially the fundraising reported above--is an effort to get some attention, kind of like Liberty is doing with the Belt?

Nugget49 wrote:

Kgfish wrote:Not hating on women's athletics, just the insanity of having a program that few, if any, public high schools in NC play. It is primarily a northern women's private / boarding school sport meaning a majority of the scholarships are out of state (3 players out of 23 from NC) and few colleges in NC have.

As of a few years ago the law changed so UNC system schools had to pay out-of-state tuition for out-of-state athletes, dramatically increasing the cost of these scholarships. Schools like ours were hit much harder by this than UNC-CH and NCSU even though they recruit more regionally/nationally because they have so much more revenue.

There is a lot of buzz that UL-L would like to join C-USA, but our conference (like most) has realignment fatigue and is not looking to add anyone now. Plus there are a couple of schools near them whose fans say they would oppose it. I wonder if the stadium expansion--and especially the fundraising reported above--is an effort to get some attention, kind of like Liberty is doing with the Belt?

I'm sure Louisiana wanted to move to CUSA at one time, but as the current CUSA TV deal draws to a close and the Belt continues to dominate CUSA on the football field, I don't see any football-first athletic departments making such a shift. WKU made sense. They're a basketball-first school. Anything short of an AAC invite and ULL is staying put.

EastHallApp wrote:As for ULL and their proposed 50,000 seat stadium - they couldn't even sell out their current 31,000 seat stadium one time last year. Not even once. They averaged less than 26,000 per game.

Can't say I'm too worried about recruits being blown away by sitting in a half-empty stadium.

Agree 100%

Nugget49 wrote:

Kgfish wrote:Not hating on women's athletics, just the insanity of having a program that few, if any, public high schools in NC play. It is primarily a northern women's private / boarding school sport meaning a majority of the scholarships are out of state (3 players out of 23 from NC) and few colleges in NC have.

As of a few years ago the law changed so UNC system schools had to pay out-of-state tuition for out-of-state athletes, dramatically increasing the cost of these scholarships. Schools like ours were hit much harder by this than UNC-CH and NCSU even though they recruit more regionally/nationally because they have so much more revenue.

There is a lot of buzz that UL-L would like to join C-USA, but our conference (like most) has realignment fatigue and is not looking to add anyone now. Plus there are a couple of schools near them whose fans say they would oppose it. I wonder if the stadium expansion--and especially the fundraising reported above--is an effort to get some attention, kind of like Liberty is doing with the Belt?

App was also hit hard when the out of state waiver was rescinded in 2010.

ULL folks are constantly making noise about leaving the SunBelt and they particularly dislike Karl Benson. As someone pointed out earlier they have a hard time selling out their current 31,000 seats so the push for 50K is hard to figure. They have come close to averaging 30K one time (29,200 in 2011) in the past nine years and only three of the remaining eight years were 20K or better.

Kgfish wrote:

EastHallApp wrote:People here worry so much about how many seats our stadium holds, but did you happen to see the post earlier today that said ULL's coach makes more than 4x what SS makes? IMO, that disparity is a much bigger issue for App than the one in seating capacity.

I was going to post this in the coaches salary thread, but since budgets seem to have popped up here I figured this would be the proper place. Sorry but this is going to be a bit long.

Looking at it in cost of doing business terms it is easy to see how some SB schools are paying their coaches more. Due to the equal revenue streams at the G5 FBS level the fewer number of teams a school funds directly affects what they can pay coaches.

# of men's & women's sports and total # of NCAA allowable scholarships

Mark Hudspeth, UL, $950,000 -
7 men @ 137 + 7 women @ 79 = 216

Blake Anderson, Arkansas State, $700,000
6 men @ 127 + 8 women @ 78 = 205

Larry Blakeney, Troy, $480,000
7 men @ 137 + 8 women @ 93 = 215
(they also show Rodeo as a sport but it is funded by a group of rodeo enthusiasts across the region)

Trent Miles, Georgia State, $450,000
6 men @ 128 + 9 women @ 97 = 225

Joey Jones, South Alabama, $435,000
7 men @ 131 = 8 women @ 85 = 216

Dennis Franchione, Texas State, $400,000
6 men @ 127 + 8 women @ 85 = 212

Paul Petrino, Idaho, $390,000
6 men @ 112 + 8 women @ 87 = 199

Doug Martin, New Mexico State*, $363,000
6 men @ 131 / 10 women @ 114 (including equestrian) = 245

Todd Berry, UL Monroe, $306,000
6 men sports @ 127 scholarships + 9 women sports @ 83 scholarships = 210

Willie Fritz, Georgia Southern*, $300,000
6 men @ 128 + 10 women @ 103 = 231

Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State*, $225,000
9 men @ 151 + 9 women @ 97 scholarships = 248

While it is a good bet each of the school does not fund every scholarship for every sport the concept applies. The other thing to consider is not only do schools like ULL & Ark State have fewer sports, the types of sports they fund require fewer scholarships, less travel and facility cost.

Prime example. App sponsors Field Hockey, which I'm betting is fully funded. Twelve grants, a lot of equipment, large facility and cost of playing in a league that stretches across America. Ark State counters with Bowling. Requiring 5 grants. Minimal cost of equipment and no cost in facility investment.

IMO, App will have to streamline its number of sports somewhere down the line.

Agree - there could be a potential of teams cut sometime in the next 5 years IMO. I see the list of potential candidates to be Wrestling, along w/ Men's & Women's Cross Country.

I have nothing personal against these sports, just my opinion based on popularity of the respective sports.

Gonzo wrote:

Nugget49 wrote:

Kgfish wrote:Not hating on women's athletics, just the insanity of having a program that few, if any, public high schools in NC play. It is primarily a northern women's private / boarding school sport meaning a majority of the scholarships are out of state (3 players out of 23 from NC) and few colleges in NC have.

As of a few years ago the law changed so UNC system schools had to pay out-of-state tuition for out-of-state athletes, dramatically increasing the cost of these scholarships. Schools like ours were hit much harder by this than UNC-CH and NCSU even though they recruit more regionally/nationally because they have so much more revenue.

There is a lot of buzz that UL-L would like to join C-USA, but our conference (like most) has realignment fatigue and is not looking to add anyone now. Plus there are a couple of schools near them whose fans say they would oppose it. I wonder if the stadium expansion--and especially the fundraising reported above--is an effort to get some attention, kind of like Liberty is doing with the Belt?

I'm sure Louisiana wanted to move to CUSA at one time, but as the current CUSA TV deal draws to a close and the Belt continues to dominate CUSA on the football field, I don't see any football-first athletic departments making such a shift. WKU made sense. They're a basketball-first school. Anything short of an AAC invite and ULL is staying put.

You may be correct, all I know is there are UL-L people on the C-USA board talking about it. Message boards are not really a bastion of accuracy. Like I said, it doesn't appear that C-USA is interested in any changes now. When Cincy or UCONN find a new home then the merry-go-round will begin to turn again.

Kgfish wrote:

NewApp wrote:

Kgfish wrote:

EastHallApp wrote:People here worry so much about how many seats our stadium holds, but did you happen to see the post earlier today that said ULL's coach makes more than 4x what SS makes? IMO, that disparity is a much bigger issue for App than the one in seating capacity.

I was going to post this in the coaches salary thread, but since budgets seem to have popped up here I figured this would be the proper place. Sorry but this is going to be a bit long.

Looking at it in cost of doing business terms it is easy to see how some SB schools are paying their coaches more. Due to the equal revenue streams at the G5 FBS level the fewer number of teams a school funds directly affects what they can pay coaches.

# of men's & women's sports and total # of NCAA allowable scholarships

Mark Hudspeth, UL, $950,000 -
7 men @ 137 + 7 women @ 79 = 216

Blake Anderson, Arkansas State, $700,000
6 men @ 127 + 8 women @ 78 = 205

Larry Blakeney, Troy, $480,000
7 men @ 137 + 8 women @ 93 = 215
(they also show Rodeo as a sport but it is funded by a group of rodeo enthusiasts across the region)

Trent Miles, Georgia State, $450,000
6 men @ 128 + 9 women @ 97 = 225

Joey Jones, South Alabama, $435,000
7 men @ 131 = 8 women @ 85 = 216

Dennis Franchione, Texas State, $400,000
6 men @ 127 + 8 women @ 85 = 212

Paul Petrino, Idaho, $390,000
6 men @ 112 + 8 women @ 87 = 199

Doug Martin, New Mexico State*, $363,000
6 men @ 131 / 10 women @ 114 (including equestrian) = 245

Todd Berry, UL Monroe, $306,000
6 men sports @ 127 scholarships + 9 women sports @ 83 scholarships = 210

Willie Fritz, Georgia Southern*, $300,000
6 men @ 128 + 10 women @ 103 = 231

Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State*, $225,000
9 men @ 151 + 9 women @ 97 scholarships = 248

While it is a good bet each of the school does not fund every scholarship for every sport the concept applies. The other thing to consider is not only do schools like ULL & Ark State have fewer sports, the types of sports they fund require fewer scholarships, less travel and facility cost.

Prime example. App sponsors Field Hockey, which I'm betting is fully funded. Twelve grants, a lot of equipment, large facility and cost of playing in a league that stretches across America. Ark State counters with Bowling. Requiring 5 grants. Minimal cost of equipment and no cost in facility investment.

IMO, App will have to streamline its number of sports somewhere down the line.

In 2013-14, The Field Hockey team had 12 matches in NC and Virginia.

Three matches were in NC. Two trips (four games) were to Harrisonburg, Va. One trip (two games) to Richmond with a trip to Philly for two matches. Past schedules include trips to Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and California. For a program with an average W-L record of 3-16 over the past 7 years. ASU sports info doesn't list any farther back than that. Not hating on women's athletics, just the insanity of having a program that few, if any, public high schools in NC play. It is primarily a northern women's private / boarding school sport meaning a majority of the scholarships are out of state (3 players out of 23 from NC) and few colleges in NC have.

It is primarily a northern sport but public schools also sponsor the sport. In Virginia a large number of schools in the Richmond, Tidewater, and NOVA areas also sponsor the sport. In the rural part of the state, it is generally confined to private schools. In light of the fact that they just created a facility for them, I wouldn't think they are looking to close down the sport.