Crushing Alabama in NCAA toughens scheduling for LU

[Guest abovetherim]

Best of West for Friday, March 21

The Port Arthur News

The following column from the Best of West collection was originally published in the Port Arthur News on Aug. 11, 1983.

Lamar University’s moment of highest glory in the 1982-83 basketball season has turned into a curse of sorts, a curse that’s left Pat Foster baffled at what to do next. All the LU coach knows for sure is that his club’s convincing 73-50 NCAA tournament rout of Alabama compounded his usual scheduling problems.

Instead of being able to capitalize and build on its strong tournament showing, Lamar keeps getting rebuffed. Within a month of the Alabama blowout, New Mexico and Utah both canceled contracts calling for the Cardinals to play at their home next season. And the bad news just keeps coming.

In his frantic search to beef up next year’s schedule, Foster heard Hardin-Simmons wanted out of a game at Tennessee. Since LU had an opening on that date, he approached the Volunteers’ Don Devoe about going to Knoxville.

Devoe immediately wanted to know how many starters from the NCAA team were returning. The answer chilled whatever interest Devoe might have had.

“He wound up saying his athletic director wasn’t in favor of playing us,†says Foster, the new AD at Lamar. “But when I ran into the athletic director at our convention he didn’t even know anything about me talking with Devoe.â€

Alabama also had an opening on its home schedule for next year. At the NCAA finals, Crimson Tide coach Wimp Sanderson courted a couple of LU’s Southland Conference brethren for the game. When Arkansas State’s Marvin Adams suggested an Alabama rematch with Lamar would be a natural, Sanderson nearly choked.

He finally landed McNeese State.

“It gets kind of depressing after a while,†says Foster. “The better you do, the tougher it gets to put together a quality schedule. I have to be pretty alarmed when schools with good programs reach the point where we can’t even to go their place and play.â€

Left unsaid was a concern about the type opposition Lamar can hope to attract when its new building opens for the 1984-85 season. An early indication of what may be in store, however, surfaced this week in the form of turndowns from several teams Foster hoped to bring in for a holiday tournament.

“It’s too early to get negative about what we can do with the new facility, but I’m not exactly encouraged over our feelers on a tournament,†he said. “We talked to some schools in the Big Eight, the SEC and the WAC, and there was absolutely no interest.â€

Foster’s good friend Abe Lemons, back in the coaching business in Oklahoma City, summed up the situation succinctly when he nixed an invitation to take part in the tournament. Lemons told Foster he was dreaming if he expected to bring good teams to Beaumont, and said to call back after the Cardinals have had a .500 season.

A complicating factor for Lamar’s scheduling is television’s wide open assault on college basketball. With the Cardinals on the verge of moving into a facility spacious enough to offer much larger guarantees, the abundance of television money games enables teams Lamar would like to play to be more selective than ever.

The television bonanza has already hurt Lamar in another way for next season. Foster was on the verge of finalizing a game at Maryland for next January when one of the networks offered the Terps a deal they couldn’t refuse. That’s how Lamar wound up with Wichita State as a season-opening foe.

“Louisville’s athletic director told me we’re in the toughest position from which to break loose,†Foster said. “We’re good enough to beat people in the next tier above us, so they don’t have anything to gain by playing us. And we can’t help ourselves by playing teams below us.â€

Foster’s salvation, at least for the immediate future, is a conviction his program is not leveling off. He’s already on record as saying the Redbirds will field their best team ever this season, and a solid recruiting year bodes well beyond that.

“We’re in good shape competitively. We’re in a position where we could make a move up,†he said. “I’ve just got to figure a way to attack this scheduling thing from a different angle. There’s got to be a way out.â€

Just so it isn’t Abe Lemons’ way.

Sports editor Bob West can be e-mailed at [email protected]. His Sportsrap radio show airs Mondays at 8:05 p.m. on KLVI (560-AM).

http://www.panews.com/sportsbobwest/local_story_080204349.html?start:int=15

[UNLV]

This article is exactly right. The "big name" schools refuse to play anyone from a lower conference that is good enough to win.

This way the low conference school will never get any respect leaving the rich school richer and the low conference school is

left spinning its wheels. This is what Terror don't understand. This is what those who believe winning in the slc first before moving up

crowd don't understand. Lamar is spinning its wheels in the slc. Very little too no chance of being more than a 1 and out tourney team

while in the slc.

[Guest abovetherim]

You and I know this but there are a few guys on here that don't realize the fact. I didn't post the article in an attempt to "relive the 80's" I posted it for scheduling reasons. Coach Roc has a hard time getting good opponents to come play at the Montagne Center.

[TexasTerror]

You and I know this but there are a few guys on here that don't realize the fact. I didn't post the article in an attempt to "relive the 80's" I posted it for scheduling reasons. Coach Roc has a hard time getting good opponents to came play at the Montagne Center.

SHSU has had an even tougher time -- it's called undefeated in OOC play since Marlin's first year (a close loss to A&M). Marlin has lucked out by virtue of some relationships with other coaches (see Texas Tech and Central Florida)...

[Guest abovetherim]

I'm sure it is hard to get quality teams in Huntsville with the record Coach Marlin has at SHSU. With Lamar being Co-Champs of the SLC this season it will only be harder for Coach Roc to get them in Beaumont.

I wish they would quit scheduling non DI schools but I'm sure it is hard to schedule as it is.

[TexasTerror]

I wish they would quit scheduling non DI schools but I'm sure it is hard to schedule as it is.

If you do not play the sub-Div I schools, you'd probably be playing more guarantee games. None of the schools want that...as much as I want to phase it out, I think the SLC has tried, but the schools just couldn't get the amount of home games they wanted...and of course, as I noted on KatFans, all schools are different, whether it Texas vs Louisiana, football vs non-football and such. Each has different needs that need to be met...

[TradinUp BH]

Heck schedule Western Kentucky and South Alabama, both old school teams from when LU was in the Sun Belt and thier quality teams.Schedule more mid major teams that have a little more name to them.

[TexasTerror]

Heck schedule Western Kentucky and South Alabama, both old school teams from when LU was in the Sun Belt and thier quality teams.Schedule more mid major teams that have a little more name to them.

Scalp'em...it's not that easy.

Lamar would want a home-and-home with schools it views as "like schools". If it was a guarantee game, that would be something. If it was a school like Texas Tech, who would do a two-for-one, that'd be another...but, would those schools be willing to schedule a home-and-home against Lamar?

There's a reason a school like North Texas won't play SHSU or Lamar in men's hoops. Too much to lose and nothing to gain...same goes for Arkansas State/UCA in men's hoops (and football, for that matter)...

[BLUEDOVE3]

Oh My God! It'd really getting bad in here now. You guys are digging up the archives and wishing for the past. I lied, history does not always repeat itself. It's over, turn off the lights because LU's glory days are way over. They struggle in the Southland Conf. :-[

[Guest coachacola]

Oh My God! It'd really getting bad in here now. You guys are digging up the archives and wishing for the past. I lied, history does not always repeat itself. It's over, turn off the lights because LU's glory days are way over. They struggle in the Southland Conf. :-[

Do you post these negative comments without even bothering to read anything?  Abovetherim's 2nd comment is:

You and I know this but there are a few guys on here that don't realize the fact. I didn't post the article in an attempt to "relive the 80's" I posted it for scheduling reasons. Coach Roc has a hard time getting good opponents to come play at the Montagne Center.

Just because this is an old article (and Bob West runs an old article every Friday) doesn't mean it's not relevant today or we all wish this was the 80's again.  Try putting some thought into your posts instead of just being a jerk.

[BLUEDOVE3]

Oh My God! It'd really getting bad in here now. You guys are digging up the archives and wishing for the past. I lied, history does not always repeat itself. It's over, turn off the lights because LU's glory days are way over. They struggle in the Southland Conf. :-[

Do you post these negative comments without even bothering to read anything?  Abovetherim's 2nd comment is:

You and I know this but there are a few guys on here that don't realize the fact. I didn't post the article in an attempt to "relive the 80's" I posted it for scheduling reasons. Coach Roc has a hard time getting good opponents to come play at the Montagne Center.

Just because this is an old article (and Bob West runs an old article every Friday) doesn't mean it's not relevant today or we all wish this was the 80's again.  Try putting some thought into your posts instead of just being a jerk.

I read the post and I stand by my comments.  No need to call me names

[lu cards]

its called adding value.to sit and be negative towards lu adds no value to this forum.

[BLUEDOVE3]

its called adding value.to sit and be negative towards lu adds no value to this forum.

It's not just LU. Ozen is included too As I have said before, I like Ozen and LU sports. I think both have very good high school programs.  I just enjoy taking a different approach. Actually I'm very well connected to LU sports 8)

I like messing with LU fans.

[LUFAN]

Dove you keep telling us how well connected you are. If you were well connected you would not have to say it all the time. I would say that there are people that are well connected on this forum and you can tell by the information that they bring to the forum. You just talk so much crap on LU.

[lu cards]

so now lu has a highscool caliber program?so who is your college team?

[Guest coachacola]

Oh My God! It'd really getting bad in here now. You guys are digging up the archives and wishing for the past. I lied, history does not always repeat itself. It's over, turn off the lights because LU's glory days are way over. They struggle in the Southland Conf. :-[

Do you post these negative comments without even bothering to read anything?  Abovetherim's 2nd comment is:

You and I know this but there are a few guys on here that don't realize the fact. I didn't post the article in an attempt to "relive the 80's" I posted it for scheduling reasons. Coach Roc has a hard time getting good opponents to come play at the Montagne Center.

Just because this is an old article (and Bob West runs an old article every Friday) doesn't mean it's not relevant today or we all wish this was the 80's again.  Try putting some thought into your posts instead of just being a jerk.

I read the post and I stand by my comments.  No need to call me names

I normally don't call people names on this forum but you had just posted several negative posts in a row and hit a nerve.  I do agree with a lot of your posts actually, but this is a Lamar sports forum so of course almost everyone here is very pro-Lamar, including myself, so when you start posting too many negative comments then it bothers me.