RobertM320 wrote:I agree with you on all counts, CF. But I also feel that #2 is only open as long as Tulane allows it to be. Its one thing to strive, but you also have to acknowledge that if Tulane ever gets their act together, that #2 spot becomes a pipe dream for anyone else. There was a time in the 90's where the #1 spot in football was open, when LSU had a series of bad coaches. Then, along came Nick Saban, a new commitment, followed by Les Miles, and they've got the state on lockdown. As has been said many times over, "Tulane can be whatever it wants to be in athletics." If they ever take that to heart, no telling what can happen. If all universities in the state were to perform to maximum potential, the levels that Tulane can attain can only be matched or surpassed by LSU.
I would say that with Tulane's conference affiliation, current athletic budget, and location that under normal conditions your program would be the odds-on favorite to dominate the number 2 slot in athletics in the state. Unfortunately for Tulane, your administration has diddled for a couple of decades now and allowed a long-dormant program like ours to wake up, see the prize for what it is, and begin to compete actively for that coveted number 2 spot in football, and position itself to compete for the number 1 spot in other sports. One need only look at our baseball and softball programs as examples of a lower-tier school located in Lafayette competing on the national stage. With the right facilities, funding, coaching, and administrative support, we can do the same in all sports.
So, having said all that, I believe that taking the number 2 spot by default will now be much tougher today for Tulane than it would have been a mere 10 years ago. Certainly not impossible, but tougher. Should another round of conference realignment take place and Tulane finds itself in the Big 12, then Katy-bar-the-door as Tulane's athletic program will go through the roof. Beyond that, from my perspective, expect a war.
Wave755's latest
couldn't care less rants about ULL involve the price of oil and its impact on our program. Let there be no doubt that there is an impact, from the state government on down. Having been in the oilfield for over 20 years, I've seen this rollercoaster ride a dozen times. However, one need only drive around our campus to see how serious this administration in making our entire university, not just athletics, more competitive in an ever-increasingly competitive higher education marketplace.
Tulane might want to keep that Big 12 phone number on speed dial.
ajcalhoun: Nobody here gives a flying fuck about UL-L and the Sunbelt Conference.