coachacola

We should know in a few months what the 2009-2010 athletic budget was, but since that's when the new athletic fee kicked in, I'll say it was about $11 million.  With actual football games this year and increased enrollment, I'll say the 2010-2012 budget will be at least $14 million.  If Lamar joins the WAC then they'll start the transition period so they'll have to fund more scholarships and the coaching staff will definitely need a big raise.  If enrollment keeps increasing and they can keep attendance up then Lamar could have a $16+ million athletic budget in 3 or 4 years, enough to get by in the WAC (assuming an Eastern division). What I find interesting is that Lamar will play current WAC member Hawaii in a few years.  We'll see how competitive Lamar will be, even if they stay FCS.

It's probably mostly a matter of money.  Can Lamar increase their athletic budget from $8 million in 2008-2009 to roughly $15+ million in the next 3 or 4 years?  Lamar still has to start softball plus raise $5 million for Vincent-Beck.  They have their work cut out for them.

[quote name="NorthoftheBorder" post="843131" timestamp="1284144120"] [quote author=westendfirst link=topic=72726.msg843118#msg843118 date=1284143590] [quote author=coachacola link=topic=72726.msg843002#msg843002 date=1284134953] Lynn Hickey, UTSA's AD, is already talking to the WAC.  Hopefully Lamar is at least talking to the WAC too. [/quote] Why in the world would we want to go to the WAC?!  Granted, the money would be great but other than that it is just crazy. [/quote] As others have posted in previous threads, it would only make sense if they could establish an Eastern division around La Tech of Tx, NM, OK, Ark, or La schools so that it would reduce travel requirements.  However UTSA may not care about that and be willing to travel out west for the majority of their games. [/quote] That's exactly right.  It only makes sense if there's an Eastern division, which I think there's a good chance of that happening.  By going FBS then you can get the Sun Belt and CUSA type schools into Beaumont, otherwise we'll see these non-D1 schools every year.  Basketball would be a lot more fun with teams like La Tech, Utah State and New Mexico State coming to town.  But Dr. Simmons may not want Lamar to go FBS at this time.

Lynn Hickey, UTSA's AD, is already talking to the WAC.  Hopefully Lamar is at least talking to the WAC too.

That means a Lamar win will just be that more impressive!

[quote]Tailgaters are expected to turn out in force, bringing those festivities to a new level for Lamar University. Lamar has sold about 1,300 spots for those activities, so tailgating is expected to attract thousands of Cardinal fans.[/quote] I did some calculating and that's at least $200K going to the athletic department, probably closer to $300K just for parking.  Add in tickets sales, concessions, merchandising and I bet football will bring in well over $3 million this year.

I heard they are talking about lighting up the pedestrian bridges over MLK in red after each win.

[Hidden Content] [Hidden Content]

Season tickets are sold out too!  SRO tickets for Saturday's game requires approval from the construction manager and fire marshal. [Hidden Content]

Maybe the little blimp that flies around at halftime in the Montagne Center will flyover the stadium?  ;D

Here's what I know so far: Georgia State comes to Beaumont next year.  Lamar plays at Hawaii in 2012, Okie State in 2013, and season opener at Texas A&M in 2014.

[quote name="UNLV" post="841081" timestamp="1283868229"] Too many people around town is talking LAMAR. I think the game is already sold out. I think this excitement will grow basketball attendance by extra 2k-3k. [/quote] I was thinking about that too.  I think at the very least we'll see more students at the games.

[Hidden Content] According to the story, 14K tickets have been sold for the game this Saturday and they are hoping to squeeze 20K into the stadium.

Article from the American Press in Lake Charles talking about the game and the impact of football on McNeese and Lamar. [quote]Lamar found out about the thirst for football on campus as President James Simmons and former athletic director Billy Tubbs fought to reinstate the team. Supporters donated $7.5 million to build the program, and enrollment rose by more than 2,000 to nearly 11,500 undergraduates this fall.[/quote] [quote]“Many people assume the athletic program at McNeese loses money,” Williams said. “In fact, it’s a net positive, financially. Most of our student athletes aren’t on full scholarships. Most pay tuition. When you factor in the tuition they pay, along with people who choose McNeese because of the athletic experience, it more than breaks even.”[/quote] [quote]“We’ve talked a lot about McNeese, but only because it’s our first game,” Woodard told the Houston Chronicle before the game. “I don’t want people to think that this is our Super Bowl, a win-at-all-cost, make-or-break the program game. It’s not. It’s a big game because it’s our first game.”[/quote] [Hidden Content]

[quote]The question for Lamar is what is your schedule in '11? I know you got the FBS game, but you probably want to stray away from sub-Div I or more than one FBS games. The more chances you have at getting 8 or 9 Div I wins, the better. Do that, your "dancing"...[/quote] So far no FBS games are scheduled until 2012.  Lamar will be going to South Alabama next year and I think they'll be a classified as FCS school.  I'm guessing Georgia State will come to Beaumont next but not sure on that.  If Lamar wins 5 or 6 games this year then I think winning 7 or 8 games is possible next year.  But let's not get carried away yet, Lamar has yet to win a game.  Let's just enjoy this season and worry about playoffs and all that next year.

I think Lamar will attempt to go FBS in a few years if (1) season ticket sales are in the 10K range, (2) enrollment keeps increasing at least 2% a year, (3) they average at least 15K per year, (4) they get a few more big donors to help with expanding the stadium, (5) they feel they can get the athletic budget up to $15 million within 4 years, and (6) they get a FBS conference invite.

I didn't catch the score until well after the game was over.  I was very impressed that Lamar almost won, especially on the road at McNeese.  Looks like the season will depend on Bevil staying healthy.  A winning season should be possible, and Lamar isn't playing a bunch of non-D1 teams like a lot of startups seem to be doing.  Go LU!

From TexasTerror on another forum: [quote]SHSU and SLU seem very susceptible to losses to Lamar... especially if Beatty is out for SLU and SHSU is unable to get an offensive attack going on. Defensively, both are very strong - but you are going to have to put some points on the board...[/quote] [url=[Hidden Content] v Lamar - Post Game Reaction[/url]

[quote name="NorthoftheBorder" post="837324" timestamp="1283524168"] Coachacola, do you know how many football season tickets have been sold so far? [/quote] I don't know.  It would be nice if they would announce it.

Few more pictures: [img][Hidden Content]] [img][Hidden Content]] Seats between the end zone and the Morgan Suites sure would look nice!

Saw the University Press today.  Dr. Simmons stated that enrollment at the Beaumont campus could be about 1000 more than last year.  That's quite a jump.  The Kampus Korner has remodeled and is more of a sports bar now.  3 or 4 new restaurants/businesses are coming to the campus area this coming year.  He also stated the external research funding is now at $12 million, up from $3 million about 4 years ago.  Great things are happening on campus!

I guess since Texas State averages around 12K per game and sells less than 3K of season tickets per year they figure they need another 13K seats for their 16K stadium.  They are funding their move to a FBS conference almost exclusively with student fees.  The athletic fee for their students is going up to $20 per semester hour.  For basketball, I bet Lamar sells more season tickets per game than what Texas State gets in attendance per game.  Lamar does have some advantages over Texas State that I hope they take advantage of.  The latest University Press says Lamar will only have about 3K of tickets available at each game for walk up sales.  I think Lamar will probably bring in around $2 million this year just in ticket sales.  The community supports Lamar, not so much Texas State.  I also like the fact that Lamar is surrounded by football talent and will always get at least a few good local players.  Texas State does not have that luxury, and being in the shadow of UT, will always have to fight real hard for talent. Let Texas State and UTSA jump to the WAC right now, it's not going to bring them instant success.  Lamar will come into it's own in the next couple of years and should be in a nice position to see how conferences are shaping up and can make a smart move to a FBS conference.

The football info guide is online and looks very nice.  Tons of info about this year's team and also past seasons. [Hidden Content]

I saw on the website that credit hours for the fall are up 30% and that the dorms are almost at full capacity.  If that's true about credit hours then that should add another $500,000 or more to the athletic budget.  Looks like the return of football has really helped with enrollment.

Looks like the WAC is looking to expand after the 2011-2012 season which would give Lamar a little time to prepare for the move.  I still have no idea if Lamar is even interested, but if there's a eastern WAC division with the likes of UTSA, La Tech, NMSU, and Texas State then why not? Link: [url=[Hidden Content] looking to expand following 2011-2012 season[/url]