Ragin' Cajun Athletic Performance Center

[Show Me]

We don't need anything like that. Just hire a coach.

Right. Hud took a bad job with no facilities no bowl games in 41 years and then took them to 4 straight bowl games and now is rewarded for his efforts. And made the place decent. Tulane instead hired retread Bob Toledo.

Wrong. Hud made it clear he wasn't taking the job unless they built these facilities. The school then made that commitment. The rest is history.

Exactly. How many promises did Dickson make and break. No one will work for the liar.
Dickson promised the world to Rich Rod and he didn't believe a word of it. Same thing with my friend Billy Kennedy in basketball from Holy Cross. He knew better than to trust Tulane.

[winwave]

No you claimed they were just able to hire a coach and now he's being rewarded w/facilities. The fact is he wouldn't take the job w/out the commitment up front. Crucial difference. It's not about RD it's about TULANE MAKING SAID COMMITMENT TO THE NEXT COACH.

[Show Me]

No you claimed they were just able to hire a coach and now he's being rewarded w/facilities. The fact is he wouldn't take the job w/out the commitment up front. Crucial difference. It's not about RD it's about TULANE MAKING SAID COMMITMENT TO THE NEXT COACH.

They were because they honor their promise. Tulane has not. Had Hud lost he'd be fired. At Tulane you go 3-9 and get extended.

[golfnut69]

USl...has some nice facilites, not too much better than many of the more successful High Schools in Texas, but nice....Every suggestion I have made in regards to facility upgrades at Tulane comes with zero cost in acquiring land and with minimal infrastructure improvements...FIRE RD and HIRE ME !!!!!...and I promise many within the Athletic Dept will be gone...This krap attitude they have will be swept out...new blood...take zero prisoners, death to the infidels... will be the new watch words....oh wait I cannot do that...hire me and all things will stay the same...I promise !!!

[winwave]

No you claimed they were just able to hire a coach and now he's being rewarded w/facilities. The fact is he wouldn't take the job w/out the commitment up front. Crucial difference. It's not about RD it's about TULANE MAKING SAID COMMITMENT TO THE NEXT COACH.

They were because they honor their promise. Tulane has not. Had Hud lost he'd be fired. At Tulane you go 3-9 and get extended.

Like I said that's on Tulane not just RD. The promise needs to be made publicly w/the plans displayed. Otherwise just shut it down and end the misery.

[cajunfanatico]

More photos of work in progress inside the new Ragin Cajun Athletic Performance Center now surfacing so I though I'd post them for those interested.

Shots of the weight room:




View of the pool the players will use to cool down and heal up after practice, those open areas to the left in the first photo below are for the television sets that will be mounted at eye-level:



Auditorium with seating for 170:


Balcony and view from Hud's office overlooking the practice field:



Cardiac room located on second floor and looking down on the weight room:



The football program released a statement today that a new recruit from Mississippi has been dismissed from the team. He's the third player in just the last couple of weeks to be dismissed from the team for violating team rules. One of the previously-dismissed players is the kid who scored the only touchdown by either team in last year's New Orleans Bowl. It appears Hud's running a very tight ship and not tolerating any foolishness. The fellow who snapped the above photos had this interesting comment to make about the issue:

I was able to talk to Coach Hud for a few minutes afterwards and he asked what I thought, I said it looks like I need to up my donation to pay for all of this. I also thanked him for doing the right things with the players and keeping our program clean. He said basically that people are banging down the door trying to get in to the program now, so it is next person up.

[cajunfanatico]

Won't be long now.

Views of the player auditorium. Note that it can be divided into two separate sections.



Player treatmet room, complete with individual exam rooms like doctor's office.


Weight room, 12,000 sq feet total. Power-Lift equipment will be installed.


Hydro-therapy



Locker room


Hud's office


Hallway between coaches offices and meeting rooms: coaches offices to the right with view of the practice field, meeting rooms to the left......each meeting room is designated for individual groups....quarterbacks, tightends, linebackers, etc and located directly across from that particular coach's office.



The entire facility is right at 100,000 sq feet. I'm getting giddy.

[jonathanjoseph]

Won't be long now.


The entire facility is right at 100,000 sq feet. I'm getting giddy.

As you should be. Looks like a beautiful facility.

We're on the verge of not being able to compete with ULL on football facilities, and that is monumentally sad. Instead, the great Rick Dickson has decided Olympic Sports are what's needed.

[cajunfanatico]

Won't be long now.


The entire facility is right at 100,000 sq feet. I'm getting giddy.

As you should be. Looks like a beautiful facility.

We're on the verge of not being able to compete with ULL on football facilities, and that is monumentally sad. Instead, the great Rick Dickson has decided Olympic Sports are what's needed.

Did I mention the new track & soccer facility is almost completed and we'll soon get started on a complete makeover of The Tigue (baseball) with a new grandstand......and then the ladies will get a new indoor softball batting facility?

[Eaglewave]

Great stuff Cajuns.

[Show Me]

Nice stuff but ULL will pay nothing towards the cost of attendance to their student athletes. Tulane will pay over $2,500, LSU $3,800.

[cajunfanatico]

Nice stuff but ULL will pay nothing towards the cost of attendance to their student athletes. Tulane will pay over $2,500, LSU $3,800.

Hudspeth appreciates the decision by UL's administration to pay full cost of attendance, especially since not all Group of Five schools have decided to do so yet.

"It just shows their commitment to what we're doing — commitment to our student-athletes' well-being, to make sure that they have all the resources necessary," he said.

For UL, that will mean an extra $5,888 per student-athlete per year on top of a scholarship valued at roughly $18,000 to in-state students and $26,000-plus for out-of-state students.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/spor ... /23861985/

Google is your friend.

[Show Me]

Nice stuff but ULL will pay nothing towards the cost of attendance to their student athletes. Tulane will pay over $2,500, LSU $3,800.

Hudspeth appreciates the decision by UL's administration to pay full cost of attendance, especially since not all Group of Five schools have decided to do so yet.

"It just shows their commitment to what we're doing — commitment to our student-athletes' well-being, to make sure that they have all the resources necessary," he said.

For UL, that will mean an extra $5,888 per student-athlete per year on top of a scholarship valued at roughly $18,000 to in-state students and $26,000-plus for out-of-state students.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/spor ... /23861985/

Google is your friend.

This just out and no ULL. Tulane private so not in this but was reported $2,500-$2,800.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/co ... /32062729/

[mbawavefan12]

Do players on TOPPS get the stipend as well? If so, seems like another unfair advantage to public schools.

[Show Me]

Do players on TOPPS get the stipend as well? If so, seems like another unfair advantage to public schools.

No. Only athletic scholarship athletes.
Basically they are going to cut somewhere else to pay the players. See how that works out.

Farmer has been busy lately discussing that very question with his ULL coaches.
"Either we're gonna raise an extra $1.2 million," he said, "or we're gonna deduct expenses (by) $1.2 million.
"I don't know what it's gonna turn out," Farmer added. "I'm just saying there are huge options out there."
Trimming the number of students who attend summer school, Farmer suggested, is one.
Reducing staff, he added, is another.

[cajunfanatico]

Nice stuff but ULL will pay nothing towards the cost of attendance to their student athletes. Tulane will pay over $2,500, LSU $3,800.

Hudspeth appreciates the decision by UL's administration to pay full cost of attendance, especially since not all Group of Five schools have decided to do so yet.

"It just shows their commitment to what we're doing — commitment to our student-athletes' well-being, to make sure that they have all the resources necessary," he said.

For UL, that will mean an extra $5,888 per student-athlete per year on top of a scholarship valued at roughly $18,000 to in-state students and $26,000-plus for out-of-state students.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/spor ... /23861985/

Google is your friend.

This just out and no ULL. Tulane private so not in this but was reported $2,500-$2,800.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/co ... /32062729/

Well ya got me. Despite what our head coach and AD say, it's hard to argue with an incomplete and inaccurate list posted by USA Today.

[mbawavefan12]

Do players on TOPPS get the stipend as well? If so, seems like another unfair advantage to public schools.

No. Only athletic scholarship athletes.
Basically they are going to cut somewhere else to pay the players. See how that works out.

Farmer has been busy lately discussing that very question with his ULL coaches.
"Either we're gonna raise an extra $1.2 million," he said, "or we're gonna deduct expenses (by) $1.2 million.
"I don't know what it's gonna turn out," Farmer added. "I'm just saying there are huge options out there."
Trimming the number of students who attend summer school, Farmer suggested, is one.
Reducing staff, he added, is another.

Something tells me (LSU at least) these schools will figure out a way to get these kids the cash.

[cajunfanatico]

Basically they are going to cut somewhere else to pay the players. See how that works out.

Except that's not exactly what he said, is it? First you claim there will be no payment to players made by the Cajun athletic department, now you're claiming there will be cuts to cover it. Make up your mind.

Farmer has been busy lately discussing that very question with his ULL coaches.
"Either we're gonna raise an extra $1.2 million," he said, "or we're gonna deduct expenses (by) $1.2 million.
"I don't know what it's gonna turn out," Farmer added. "I'm just saying there are huge options out there."
Trimming the number of students who attend summer school, Farmer suggested, is one.
Reducing staff, he added, is another.

The Ragin Cajun athletic budget has almost doubled over the last 5 years. Raising the funds necessary to cover the COA fee is not out of the question.

Also, the RCAF just hired its first executive director whose background is raising funds at the collegiate level. He starts his new position on September 1. While closely-associated with the university, the foundation has seen consistent growth in the revenues it generates for the Ragin Cajun athletic department. The foundation has now separated itself from the university and most Cajun faithful believe that with its new Independence and new executive director, it's poised for even greater success. The current economy in Lafayette won't help, but if it can grow revenues in the current oilfield environment, image what it will do when things turn around, as they always do.

Sorry Show Me, but the future never looked brighter.

[DrBox]

The current economy in Lafayette won't help, but if it can grow revenues in the current oilfield environment, image what it will do when things turn around, as they always do.

Sorry Show Me, but the future never looked brighter.

More trolling. Latent Tulane bashing. ULL fans never stop. That's what they are and what they do.
Try chest beating Tulane on your ULL board and see what happens...the hypocrisy of the ULL fan is astounding.

ULL is obviously struggling to pay COA, when the AD talks about cutting staff, expenses. With that, all of the debt service on the facilities, they'll need their fundraiser. Maybe they can increase their draw from the taxpayer till to pay for some of it.
No NCAA hoops at larges in over 30 years, and never finished a football season ranked. And really no football wins of any real significance ever. But the chest beating endures.

[jonathanjoseph]

The current economy in Lafayette won't help, but if it can grow revenues in the current oilfield environment, image what it will do when things turn around, as they always do.

Sorry Show Me, but the future never looked brighter.

More trolling. Latent Tulane bashing. ULL fans never stop. That's what they are and what they do.
Try chest beating Tulane on your ULL board and see what happens...the hypocrisy of the ULL fan is astounding.

ULL is obviously struggling to pay COA, when the AD talks about cutting staff, expenses. With that, all of the debt service on the facilities, they'll need their fundraiser. Maybe they can increase their draw from the taxpayer till to pay for some of it.
No NCAA hoops at larges in over 30 years, and never finished a football season ranked. And really no football wins of any real significance ever. But the chest beating endures.

No. That's not trolling. You are confusing someone who is a ULL fan talking about ULL with trolling, which is something different. As for "chest beating" Tulane on the ULL board, 1) we have very little to chest-beat about these days and 2) that's their problem and doesn't reflect on this forum or the poster in question.

Now, a good example of trolling is trying to point out that ULL has no "at large" NCAA bids in 30 years, which is a convenient way to trying to talk around their recent NCAA tournament appearance and NBA lottery pick. They've been to the NCAA tournament 4 times during the Cowen/Dickson era with 2 NIT appearances, a time period during which Tulane basketball has plummeted and seen exactly 1 NIT appearance.

So if a Tulane fan is on a ULL board "chest beating" about basketball, it's probably trolling since we don't have anything to "chest beat" about.

[cajunfanatico]

More trolling. Latent Tulane bashing. ULL fans never stop. That's what they are and what they do.
Try chest beating Tulane on your ULL board and see what happens...the hypocrisy of the ULL fan is astounding.

ULL is obviously struggling to pay COA, when the AD talks about cutting staff, expenses. With that, all of the debt service on the facilities, they'll need their fundraiser. Maybe they can increase their draw from the taxpayer till to pay for some of it.
No NCAA hoops at larges in over 30 years, and never finished a football season ranked. And really no football wins of any real significance ever. But the chest beating endures.

Honestly Box, I don't know what your problem is with me personally, calling me a troll and a hypocrit. I do commend you though for deleting the Jonathan-like shots at our academics. Talking academic smack on a sports forum is pretty silly and usually the sign of a very weak starting position in any sports debate.

Show Me stated that the Cajun program would pay nothing towards COA which I obviously believe is false, and I linked comments from both our head coach and AD saying otherwise. To date they seem to be keeping the great majority of their promises so I'll take their word for it. And I have to ask here, how many G5 programs out there won't feel the pain of suddenly having to come up with an extra million dollars or two each year to cover the COA expense? This is an expense that was basically foisted on all of us from above in an effort to further weed out the weak from the strong.

I suspect our AD's comments were meant as a warning shot to everyone involved in our athletic program......win your games, attract more fans to improve the bottomline, control costs, and raise more money wherever possible or some serious pain will be felt by everyone. Personally, I see nothing wrong with issuing such a challenge and pointed out that through our newly-liberated RCAF, I believe we're as well-positioned as any of our peers to meet the challenge. If such talk bothers you, then a simple solution is to not open my threads.

I post here because I enjoy the site and am welcomed by most of the posters here. And when I can find them, and they've not already been posted by others, I post interesting stories about Tulane and the AAC. We've all got our warts but I honestly try not to be offensive towards Tulane in any way as I've really got no reason to be. You're probably right that any Tulane chest beating on the Ragin Cajun site would result in some seriously negative comments, but if you spent any time there at all you'd know that many of those guys, Cajun fans all, don't like each other and routinely bust each other's balls. Having said that, there are LaTech fans who post there regularly and seem to enjoy the site.

Thanks again to the owners of this site for letting me post here. I think every program needs to keep up with what the competition is doing.

[Wave755]

Honestly Box, I don't know what your problem is with me personally, calling me a troll and a hypocrit. I do commend you though for deleting the Jonathan-like shots at our academics. Talking academic smack on a sports forum is pretty silly and usually the sign of a very weak starting position in any sports debate..

But Cajun Troll, wasn't it you who "celebrated" Cowen ending Newcomb at Tulane, the supposed alma mater of your mother (although I still suspect, like many others on this forum, you have no mother who attended Newcomb and you were instead born in a brothel). And, wasn't it your Troll pal, the Flasher (exflash) who like you predicted ULALA would be tier one academically by now rather ranked in the 500s by Forbes?

[cajunfanatico]

Honestly Box, I don't know what your problem is with me personally, calling me a troll and a hypocrit. I do commend you though for deleting the Jonathan-like shots at our academics. Talking academic smack on a sports forum is pretty silly and usually the sign of a very weak starting position in any sports debate..

But Cajun Troll, wasn't it you who "celebrated" Cowen ending Newcomb at Tulane, the supposed alma mater of your mother (although I still suspect, like many others on this forum, you have no mother who attended Newcomb and you were instead born in a brothel). And, wasn't it your Troll pal, the Flasher (exflash) who like you predicted ULALA would be tier one academically by now rather ranked in the 500s by Forbes?

My mother was born in Pierre, SD in 1927, moved to Crowley with her parents during the depression, and worked in one of their businesses after graduating high school. She later married a rice farmer and gave birth to my two older brothers. Their dad died in an auto accident near the farm when they were 3 & 4 years old respectively. She never attended college, nor have I ever made such a claim.

Now, the second-oldest brother of mine graduated from LSU with a law degree but I was always so ashamed that he was an attorney, when asked about his profession I'd tell people he was a piano player in a whore house. Since his death almost 10 years ago, I've sort of come out of the closet and admit that there was actually an attorney in the family.

So, I'm thinking it might be a good idea that you lay off the sauce during those lunch meetings with those hot-shot clients of yours.

[Wave755]

Honestly Box, I don't know what your problem is with me personally, calling me a troll and a hypocrit. I do commend you though for deleting the Jonathan-like shots at our academics. Talking academic smack on a sports forum is pretty silly and usually the sign of a very weak starting position in any sports debate..

But Cajun Troll, wasn't it you who "celebrated" Cowen ending Newcomb at Tulane, the supposed alma mater of your mother (although I still suspect, like many others on this forum, you have no mother who attended Newcomb and you were instead born in a brothel). And, wasn't it your Troll pal, the Flasher (exflash) who like you predicted ULALA would be tier one academically by now rather ranked in the 500s by Forbes?

My mother was born in Pierre, SD in 1927, moved to Crowley with her parents during the depression, and worked in one of their businesses after graduating high school. She later married a rice farmer and gave birth to my two older brothers. Their dad died in an auto accident near the farm when they were 3 & 4 years old respectively. She never attended college, nor have I ever made such a claim.

Now, the second-oldest brother of mine graduated from LSU with a law degree but I was always so ashamed that he was an attorney, when asked about his profession I'd tell people he was a piano player in a whore house. Since his death almost 10 years ago, I've sort of come out of the closet and admit that there was actually an attorney in the family.

So, I'm thinking it might be a good idea that you lay off the sauce during those lunch meetings with those hot-shot clients of yours.

Cajun Troll, your momma may have washed dishes at Newcomb!!!

[exflash]

Well my mom did indeed attend Newcomb on s-ship as they were a very poor Irish immigrant family--Double major of Spanish and Latin and taught HS for about 30 years---All my friends that I played with at Jesuit or went to different HS before Tulane just don't have the love for the school that the Cajuns have for UL----I didn't realize the demographics had changed so much to really make Tulane a non NO deal---no media coverage, no attendance, and just no spirit---I don't feel sorry for Tulane but it is sad to see how much they have gone down----and any objectivity could see a rise of the Cajuns in all these areas---closing in on 20K students, population of the Lafayette area, more and more research money (more than all the UL system schools combined), facilities by far now favor UL----Would love to go head to head recruiting with Tulane say for an engineering kid----oh I forgot you guys don't have that!!!