Nothing has changed

[RWR]

As I said in another thread nothing has changed since 2003.


Tulane University President Scott Cowen, who chairs the committee, agreed that the cars could be put to use, though he cautioned that the notion has been more popular in theory than in practice.

"I liken the business cars to Tulane football: Every wants it but nobody goes to it," he said.

[jonathanjoseph]

Truly despicable.

The man is both classless and clueless.

[JDTulane]

I agree with what a YOGWF'er posted about this. He could be trying to challenge people to put up or shut up. If you want Tulane football to dominate and never come to the games then you clearly don't (REALLY) want Tulane football to dominate.



And really, is there something in that statement that isn't true? We complain that administration hides from the problems and now we're complaining when they smack you on the head with them. This smells of never happydom.


JMHO

[Bigschtick]

What a complete schmuck! The guy defines the word! Nobody goes to the games since he and his moron AD have ruined and never really supported Tulane football.! I quess this academic and self-absorbed "prez" is simply not bright enough to see this!

[jonathanjoseph]

I agree with what a YOGWF'er posted about this. He could be trying to challenge people to put up or shut up. If you want Tulane football to dominate and never come to the games then you clearly don't (REALLY) want Tulane football to dominate.



And really, is there something in that statement that isn't true? We complain that administration hides from the problems and now we're complaining when they smack you on the head with them. This smells of never happydom.


JMHO

Love your eternal optimism, but it's no wonder that you will never be banned at YOGWF. Like many great sports fans, your eternal optimism clouds your objectivity.

The statement is, unto itself, true. But the reason no one comes to football games is because of the horrid state of the program and the general perception (now fact) that Tulane isn't (wasn't?) making a serious effort to win. History aside, that is all on Scott Cowen for well over a decade.

The statement was both classless and clueless and has the potential to make the few who believed his Playbook speech doubt again. There is no use in trying to find a positive to take away from this. Wholly inappropriate.

[JDTulane]

You won't find me disagreeing that it was tacky. I was just spinning it the positive direction since I wasn't there for the true context.


But these problems were around before SC and it is still undecided if he will continue them. Thus far he has, but his tenure isn't over yet.

[jonathanjoseph]

You won't find me disagreeing that it was tacky. I was just spinning it the positive direction since I wasn't there for the true context.


But these problems were around before SC and it is still undecided if he will continue them. Thus far he has, but his tenure isn't over yet.

Ok, but haven't Scott Cowen gotten way too much of the benefit of the doubt?

We need to collectively stop giving this jerk the benefit of the doubt and start demanding answers.

[JDTulane]

While it is a tired excuse, Katrina did put a huge wrench in any turn around plans. All our sports are back so now is the chance to make them good. I think the next 2-3 years are what tells us how he feels (besides 2003).

[RWR]

I agree with what a YOGWF'er posted about this. He could be trying to challenge people to put up or shut up. If you want Tulane football to dominate and never come to the games then you clearly don't (REALLY) want Tulane football to dominate.



And really, is there something in that statement that isn't true? We complain that administration hides from the problems and now we're complaining when they smack you on the head with them. This smells of never happydom.

First off that's not what he was trying to do he was just being honest about his lack of respect for his own program. But for arguments sake say that's true. Then this is 2003 all over again. The school is still grossly underfunding athletics yet he tries to spin it and put it on the fans. Whether you realize it or not you are complicit in helping him dismantle the program. As for the happydom comment that's just a cop out that the kool-aid drinkers like to sling when the realist have the facts on their side.

[jonathanjoseph]

While it is a tired excuse, Katrina did put a huge wrench in any turn around plans. All our sports are back so now is the chance to make them good. I think the next 2-3 years are what tells us how he feels (besides 2003).

This has nothing to do with Katrina. What turn around plans? Was hiring Scelfo over Rich Rod part of the turnaround? Was the Review part of the turnaround?

Please see the forrest for the trees. Cowen is clueless and if he had his way, we'd be a D3 University. There is no evidence to suggest otherwise.

[JDTulane]

After the review happened there was a chance to flip athletics on its head and become successful. Did it happen between then and Katrina? Not really. But Katrina brought the hammer down for a definitive NOT GONNA HAPPEN ZOMG NO.

Now that we're back to square one, there is a chance to flip athletics on its head and become successful. I'm not saying they're doing anything different from 2003-2005 I'm saying they have a chance to.

[jonathanjoseph]

After the review happened there was a chance to flip athletics on its head and become successful. Did it happen between then and Katrina? Not really. But Katrina brought the hammer down for a definitive NOT GONNA HAPPEN ZOMG NO.

Now that we're back to square one, there is a chance to flip athletics on its head and become successful. I'm not saying they're doing anything different from 2003-2005 I'm saying they have a chance to.

In 99, Cowen hired a coach intended to "downsize" athletics
In 03, Cowen instituted a Review to "downsize" athletics
TODAY, Cowen says that people claim to want football, but not really

Please put your optimism aside and look at more than a decade worth of facts.

[JDTulane]

My optimism is the only thing keeping me involved in the discussions, otherwise I'll just take my ball and go to LSU (shudder).

[NOLABigSteve]

My optimism is the only thing keeping me involved in the discussions, otherwise I'll just take my ball and go to LSU (shudder).

Take that back!

[TURVS71]

Can you hear the sound of me puking at the idea of going to l s u.................

I really think I would wind up a USM fan!!

[sader24]

JD Tulane, I dont intend to insult you, but you can't be serious. I read the article we are talking about and it's fairly obvious to me Cowen less than a week after his big B.S. stunt about winning in football clearly made a backhanded swipe at the football program and more specifically all of us who are on his a&& about the football program. HE CLEARLY DOES NOT GET IT AND IS NOT TAKING ANY OF THIS SERIOUSLY. Do you honestly believe what you said about the review? He's the one who initiated the review the summer after we won a bowl game. At a time when we should've come out and said we like the direction of our football program and we are going to increase funding we instead came out and said we are going to discuss eliminating the football program. Optimism is great, but not in this instance. I believe Optimism is saying, "If we put the right resources into our program and structure it correctly, we can be a top 20 program for a long time." Your Optimism is making excuses for a guy who has continuously showed his disdain for this program and done everything in his power to kill it. The man you are OPTIMISTIC about is very PESSIMISTIC about the program you claim to care about. His comments in the article prove that. Even if that's a joke it's a very pessimistic and sarcastic comment about the Tulane football program. Like I said, I felt the press conference only solidified that fact that we need new, young, energetic leadership. These guys do not believe in this football program. His comment is totally unacceptable. End of story.

[RobertM320]

Can you hear the sound of me puking at the idea of going to l s u.................

I really think I would wind up a USM fan!!

I think I'd rather support a D2 or D3 UNO program rather than the people upriver. (won't demean myself by actually mentioning their name.)

[NOLABigSteve]

I think this is an excellent post by Pete over on YOGWF. I couldn't agree more.

Every single year, the Tulane Faithful are given a new glimmer of hope. Between the final play of another disappointing season and the first whistle of August two-a-days, something happens that gives a bunch of people hope. That sells them that THIS is the year it's going to change. Maybe it's the play of a certain guy at Spring Practice. Maybe it's an interview with RD in the Sunday T-P, a fluff piece meant to impress Sunday paper readers. Maybe it's a leaked rumor about an on-campus stadium. Maybe it's a story about more funding for the football program. Maybe it's a full-scale press conference, complete with handout books. Regardless, it's the same thing EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Lucy tees up another football and here come the same YOGWF people, full-tilt, ready to kick.

There was a point, not long ago, where almost every single person on this forum despised Scott Cowen and what he had done to the athletic program (not to mention the University's rankings, but that's another debate). Now people are lauding him like he just donated the money for the stadium himself and like we just won a national championship. All because he stood behind a mic and spouted the same old, same old.

Seriously, do you think Time Magazine ranks him highly because he has promised to fix the football program? He gets national notice for the stuff that looks good on TV - surviving Katrina, and creating the public service requirement (which would not have happened, ironically, without the Katrina catastrophe). Yeah, he also got public notice for fighting the BCS in Congress, but that was really just a selfish move after we got scr*wed out of BCS money in 1998.

I don't even care about this quote. It was true, but it was a stupid thing for someone in his position to say. Whatever. I'm tired of flying through the air, screaming "Aaaaargh", and landing on my back. Show me some winning, Mr. President. Words don't put fans in seats.

[JDTulane]

Wow that is a great post, surprised I missed it the first time. Great analogy.




I told someone yesterday at dinner I would rather pour bleach in an eye than become an LSU fan. So you don't have to worry about that .

I bleed green.

[Bigschtick]

JD Tulane, I dont intend to insult you, but you can't be serious. I read the article we are talking about and it's fairly obvious to me Cowen less than a week after his big B.S. stunt about winning in football clearly made a backhanded swipe at the football program and more specifically all of us who are on his a&& about the football program. HE CLEARLY DOES NOT GET IT AND IS NOT TAKING ANY OF THIS SERIOUSLY. Do you honestly believe what you said about the review? He's the one who initiated the review the summer after we won a bowl game. At a time when we should've come out and said we like the direction of our football program and we are going to increase funding we instead came out and said we are going to discuss eliminating the football program. Optimism is great, but not in this instance. I believe Optimism is saying, "If we put the right resources into our program and structure it correctly, we can be a top 20 program for a long time." Your Optimism is making excuses for a guy who has continuously showed his disdain for this program and done everything in his power to kill it. The man you are OPTIMISTIC about is very PESSIMISTIC about the program you claim to care about. His comments in the article prove that. Even if that's a joke it's a very pessimistic and sarcastic comment about the Tulane football program. Like I said, I felt the press conference only solidified that fact that we need new, young, energetic leadership. These guys do not believe in this football program. His comment is totally unacceptable. End of story.

another great post Sader!

[Fred Dowler]

As I said in another thread nothing has changed since 2003.


Tulane University President Scott Cowen, who chairs the committee, agreed that the cars could be put to use, though he cautioned that the notion has been more popular in theory than in practice.

"I liken the business cars to Tulane football: Every wants it but nobody goes to it," he said.

He was speaking frankly here, of course, but it was slip-up.

Tulane's and his whole posture, though, during the 2003 episode and thereafter is that the burden of supporting the sports program is on external parties, not on the administration, and what that means is that they will offer the same "product" no matter what and if the university community wants to keep Tulane involved in Div. 1 sports then they had better support the product "as is"...or else have it go away.

This is of course the party line of the group who the certain sports fan forum that shall not be named.

Of course, though, when teams don't win people don't buy tickets.

Does Cowen really believe that people should continue to buy tickets and make donations if the teams aren't winning?

It's doubtful, still, that he's really that naive or that stupid to believe that in his heart.

I am contending that the whole 2003 episode should be considered in the context of him and others in charge at Tulane making the statement that they know how far that they are willing to go to engender more consistent success in the football and men's basketball programs (which isn't very far) and also they realistically have doubts that people will keep buying such a product offering.

When the story broke in 2003 and there was the angry response from the public I believe that they then felt that the best way to respond and deal with the embarrassment was to twist everything around into a "squeeze play," which they did.

They still know what they want to do and how far they're willing to go in order to bring more winning about (and the very recent talk about them wanting to see winning is still just lip service because if you really want to see more winning come about then you explicitly show in detail what you're going to do to make that happen).

Cowen says that people say that they want Tulane football but don't put their monies where their mouths are.

OK, sure, that's the case, but then again if anyone feels that obligated I say that they've been duped.

The real truth is that unfortunately this is a lose-lose proposition at least as long as Cowen and Dickson are around. Tulane isn't about to change its product offering and if the support doesn't come then they probably will drop down to non-scholarship status anyway.

[Jonathan]

Hopefully cowen our ad add Rick Jones will retire next head.