NorthoftheBorder

56-28 Raiders late 4th Qtr.  Where are all those Jasper mouths?

I saw on BigRedInsider.com that there may be a Jet flyover for the 1st game.  Now that will be awesome if Jimmy Simmons can pull that off.

Toups Graphics fearless predictions 0-1!

So what if he only winds up being 5'6" and 150 pounds when he is 18?  Will he be the greatest QB in the world then?  Look at all the stars that you see in the LLWS (currently now playing on ESPN) and very few of them ever make it to the show!  Here's hoping for the best, but his parents have already put enormous pressure on the kid by trying to make him a YouTube sensation.  Geez!

I think P4E made some picks with his heart this week.

What is sad about all this is this is now rampant all over the nation.  Why is this kid being singled out?  I think everyone knows this has been going on in our area for years.

Went by the stadium today, looks like there is still a lot of groundskeeping around the stadium that needs to be done but there were a lot of folks working.  Scoreboard will be impressive when complete.  Don't know how the interior of the Athletic Complex is coming but would love to see the inside.  [b]And they are washing the Montagne Center!!!!![/b]

I got 40 of 79 but then was embarassed by some of the ones I couldn't remember.

LU's defensive coordinator would do well to take his defense in for a film session of Eugene Seal highlights.  That should hopefully motivate those guys.

[quote name="coachacola" post="830699" timestamp="1282764558"] There are a few drawbacks going FBS that cannot be taken lightly: 1.   The Sunbelt, MAC and WAC conferences have TV games on Thursday and Friday nights.  That sucks and I would hate for Lamar to have to play games on those nights.  It kills attendance and when I see Sunbelt teams play on those nights they don't look like FBS teams.  College football was not meant for weeknights! 2.  Lamar could do quite well playing games against top-notch FCS schools such as Appy State and Montana.  McNeese has scheduled a home game against Appy State, and if Lamar did the same it would probably be a sellout.  If they do the scheduling right and don't bring a lot of no-name D2 or NAIA teams to the stadium then I can see great crowds every Saturday. 3.  Lamar's athletic budget has to been driven by donations and ticket sales, not student fees like UTSA, Texas State, North Texas and others.  Keep Lamar affordable with a great athletic program along with ever improving academics (another engineering PhD program is on it's way) and Lamar will keep growing with a reasonable student fee for athletics.  (Texas Sate will soon be charging $20 per semester hour for athletics.  I don't want to see Lamar going FBS this way.) 4.  Lamar is picking up a lot of FBS transfers because they want to play at home and don't have to sit out a year.  Once Lamar goes FBS they'll be recruiting against the big boys and will lose most of those battles.  And when some of these players want to transfer out, they may not pick Lamar but go to McNeese or SFA instead because they won't have to see out a year. What are the advantages of going FBS that outweigh these drawbacks? [/quote] Coachacola you are always well spoken.  However, as with anything, we either see the glass as half full or half empty.  We can always find reasons to not do something or we can find reasons to actually give it a try. I personally have spent too much of my life finding reasons not to do what I really wanted to do and consequently have missed out on opportunities for fear of failure.  I refer back to my earlier post and the mindset of Billy Tubbs when he took the Head Coaching position at LU back in 75.  I don't advocate blind faith and reckless abandon in pursuit of going FBS, but I also dont wont to see the mindset that, "Oh well, we are little ole Lamar and we have no hope to be anything better than we are now" that will become a self fulfilling prophecy.

Sounds really good.  Look forward to seeing them perform on that new turf!

I remember that I either read or heard that it was going to be the 3rd largest college scoreboard in Texas.  Does anyone else remember that?

Nobody even dreamed that LU could have had the success it had in Basketball back in the late 70's, yet for all his faults, JB Higgins hired Billy Tubbs whose philosophy was "your only limitation is your imagination", and he took the program to heights not seen before or since.  And to this day, I am still convinced that he left mainly because once he had acheived this unparralleled success for an LU athletic program, he wasn't receiving the support from the top brass to grow the program to the level he wanted to be at.  One thing is for sure, if you don't try it is guaranteed that you will not make it.  It is better to have tried and failed than to not have tried at all.  I know that many of my brethren on this board don't hold to the beliefs stated above, but I am hoping that Dr. Simmons does and he has the vision and the fire in the gut to bring the University and its athletic program to new heights.  Again, I don't know the timing or the variables involved, but I pray that Dr. Simmons has his pulse on the situation and he is putting feelers out and exploring possiblilities and selling the University if an opportunity comes about to move the athletic programs forward.

UTSA is starting football from scratch with the absolute goal of going FBS ASAP!  They have two advantages over LU in that they are located in a major metropolitan area and they have the Alamodome at their disposal.  I'm not sure the Alamodome is a "big" advantage, but it is much larger and meets FBS standards whereas PU must be expanded and will never have that large of seating capacity.  That said, I think LU can match or beat UTSA in in every other aspect.  If Woodard puts together a 1st class program that is sucessful and generates excitement among students and the fan base, then success will breed success.  I hope that Dr. Simmons will explore every opportunity and thinks big.  If it turns out LU can't go FBS whether that is outside there control or not, then I hope the goal is to be the best FCS school in the nation.

[quote name="Dawg_Pride" post="830031" timestamp="1282677010"] Blake got released today... [/quote] Is he on campus and will he start practicing with the team?

You must have seen it in person.  The Webcam is still showing the center of the field.

I for one would love for LU to go to a good FBS conference.  Who wouldn't love going to a PU stadium that has been expanded to 30k+ capacity and seeing non conference games against the likes of KU, KSU, OSU, ISU, Baylor, TT, not to mention a South Carolina, Miss State, Ole Miss, Colorado or Boise State (I dream big) while playing conference game in the Sun Belt or other equivalent conference.  I don't know how the conference shakeup will play out, how long it will last or what LU's possibilities really are.  I believe for LU to a a chance, Billy Tubbs will have to be in the political mix and the big money will have to step up and be ready to increase the budget.  I really hope that football is successful, it is supported well by the community, and it is here to stay for the long haul.  I think that one goal is already being met, and that is a lot of local players are makiing up the roster.  Lets hope they can get the program off the ground talent wise.

How about the "all Florida" team!

The only thing that will be nicer at the BISD stadium right now will be the press box.  As far as the seating, scoreboard, turf, athletic locker rooms and the rest of the facility, PU stadium will be better.  With future expansion improvements at PU, it will be hands down the best stadium.  I do think that the local HS football coaches need to start flipping for home field advantage against the Houston teams and hopefully win some and make them guys come over here.  Sorry, but I'm not driving to Houston to see a good HS team from our area play a first or second round game but I would drive to the BISD stadium or PU stadium or PNG's stadium to see a game. P.S.  The other reason PU is better is that it is a stadium, not an "Educational Support Center"!

Lamar can do this.  We can take this program big time.  I'm betting Jimmy Simmons has big asperations.

[quote name="NorthoftheBorder" post="825963" timestamp="1281968139"] They started putting it up this morning. [/quote] Boy this is going slow.  They must be screwing in each of the million light bulbs individually before they hang it up on the frame work.

I don't believe Lumberton finishes in the cellar in 20 4A.  4th to 6th is, in my humble opinion, a more likely finish.

[quote name="TexasTerror" post="827767" timestamp="1282307517"] UNLV, you are the leader of the blind... Which Sun Belt schools would go to the WAC? North Texas turned them down when they were a much more impressive league. ULL and ULM do not have the financial means to play in a spread out WAC. They barely compete in the SBC! If anything, La Tech - despite bad blood - will get over it and join the SBC (perhaps along with New Mexico State). La Tech' would get taken care of in expansion with nearby teams in Texas (TXST, UTSA) - but they know what's in front of them. Cheaper to play in the Sun Belt, a chance to be competitive in all sports and quite frankly - the WAC is weaker than the SBC now (and all the media is confirming it!). [/quote] I agree with UNLV on this point for sure.  Invites the a FBC conference will not come around very often and if you pass it up, you may not get another chance.  I hope Jimmy Simmons is priming the pump of the major donors in anticipation that the "cards" may fall into place and LU gets the chance to move up.

[quote name="HoopInsider_Cooper" post="827407" timestamp="1282248638"] [font=Courier]2 years I think.[/font] [/quote] How many years of eligiblity does Billy Chavis have at Lamar?

[quote name="CardAmbassador" post="827356" timestamp="1282243224"] [quote author=NorthoftheBorder link=topic=71799.msg827341#msg827341 date=1282240964] What position does he play and what High School did he attend? [/quote] Westbrook and he was a DE in high school, I don't know if he continued in that role at ASU though. [/quote] How big is he and how long at ASU?  How much elgibility left?