Jimmy Simmons moves Lamar in position to expand horizons

[Guest coachacola]

Big article in Port Arthur News:

Shhhh... quiet, please.... Jimmy Simmons is dreaming. The Lamar University president is not trying to toot his own saxophone either.

"It probably won't happen under my administration," Dr. Simmons mused on Friday afternoon. "But we will have a beautifully designed football stadium.

If you decide to go into the bowl division, our stadium could easily expand to 36,000.... You don't want to leave them short-handed for the future... If you don't dream big, you can't have big dreams happen."

That's the kind of dreamer which Lamar's visionary leader really is. The good saxophone player already has dreamed big enough for the LU-Beaumont campus to restore football after a 20-year absence. It took such dreams and determination to shove Lamar football beyond the dream stage.

To me this says Lamar is definitely looking to go FBS in the future.

Lamar intends to have a:

1. New field turf installed at Provost-Umphrey Stadium and ready for use at the beginning of the 2009 fall semester.

2. New football fieldhouse at the south end of the football stadium operating by the summer of 2010

3. Renovated 18,000-seat Provost-Umphrey Stadium construction completed by the summer of 2010

4. Combination soccer-softball fieldhouse southeast of Vincent-Beck Stadium's outfield area.

5. Soccer field and stadium construction and completion in time for the 2009 fall semester.

6. Softball field and stadium construction and completion in time for the 2011 spring semester.

Lamar will be playing softball in the spring of 2011.

The proactive Tubbs seems to be adding a new sport every time he looks around the campus. He will advertise for a softball coach and post a job probably in April or sometime this spring. Besides the current list of seven women's sports on the LU-Beaumont campus, Billy plans three more in the near future.

"We intend to field a team in 2011 for softball and then swimming and bowling will follow in our women's program," Tubbs said.

Looks like they will definitely add swimming and bowling after 2011.  The moratorium that prevents school from moving from FCS to FBS ends in 2011.

http://www.panews.com/sports/local_story_038195120.html?keyword=topstory

[Guest abovetherim]

Great news!

[OldNedDog]

What about the training facilities at Vincent-Beck?  I was told they had plans for covered batting cages. They took quite a beating from the hurricanes.  Any news on when it might get started?