Things starting to look up at UL
Programs buoyed by funding, fan support
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
By Ted Lewis
Staff writer
LAFAYETTE -- Louisiana athletic director Nelson Schexnayder is finding plenty of reasons to smile these days -- and not just because his decision to hire Oklahoma State assistant Glynn Cyprien as the school's new men's basketball coach has been well received.
It's a time of optimism at the school, a combination of on-the-field success and an ongoing upgrade of facilities.
Even the NFL success of ex-Ragin' Cajuns quarterback Jake Delhomme has contributed to everyone getting the warm fuzzies.
"This is the most positive atmosphere I've experienced in 20 years," said Schexnayder, a former UL wide receiver who is in his 12th year as athletic director. "There are a lot of good things happening here -- the quality of play, the quality of our coaches and the improvement of our facilities."
Things are going well on the playing fields:
-- The baseball team is in contention for the Sun Belt Conference championship.
-- The softball team, ranked 10th nationally, has a good shot at a second consecutive Women's College World Series appearance.
-- The men's tennis team finished second in the Sun Belt and is ranked No. 56 nationally.
-- The men's basketball team won the Sun Belt title and had its third consecutive 20-victory season.
-- The women's basketball team won 13 games, only the second double-digit victory season in the last 14 years, and had the Sun Belt Player of the Year in Anna Petrakova.
-- After an 0-7 start, the football team won four of its last five games last season.
The last element particularly is important.
The Ragin' Cajuns haven't had a winning football season since 1995, and support had dipped accordingly.
UL's average attendance was 13,994 for six home games last season, and that was with 24,211 on hand for the home opener against Louisiana Tech.
"The way we finished last year finally gave us something to cheer for," Ragin' Cajuns longtime fan Steve Gossen said. "We're thinking bowl game this year."
With 12 starters returning, that might be difficult. But, with an easier non-conference schedule (Northwestern State, Louisiana Tech, Kansas State and Florida International compared to South Carolina, Houston, Minnesota, Oklahoma State and Louisiana Tech in 2003), a winning season appears attainable.
"Our kids like playing the kind of teams we did last year," football coach Rickey Bustle said. "But you've also got to give them a chance to win more.
"We win some games and we'll get our fans back. Right now, we're getting people to invest in the program, and that's huge."
The investment -- from the fans and the school -- is the other side of the equation for Schexnayder.
In the past year, improvements made include: $700,000 for new baseball bleachers; $40,000 for new baseball lights; $100,000 for new softball lights; $200,000 for new concessions and bathrooms for baseball; $1 million scoreboards for football, track and softball; $400,000 for renovations in the athletic department building, including new football locker rooms and training rooms; and $1.4 million for a new track surface encircling a new soccer field.
And most important, $3.5 million has been allocated for an indoor practice facility for football, baseball, softball and soccer that also will include practice courts for basketball.
The money for the indoor facility came from the $103 million campus-wide fund-raising effort headed by school president Dr. Ray Authement.
Ground breaking could come as early as this fall, and the building is expected to be completed by 2006.
"This is something we've been talking about since we've gotten here," said Bustle, who will be entering his third season. "These are the things that other people are doing, and, if you don't help yourself, you wind up far behind.
"You never know what the final decision of a recruit will come down to, but where he dresses and practices is always going to be a factor."
Schexnayder also believes that what the fans see and experience is important. So there's an emphasis on fan amenities and marketing.
"When a fan comes to a game, we want him to enjoy himself beyond whether we win or lose," he said. "We want you to win a blanket or a seat cushion and for the kids to have a good time. And sometimes you have to tell the fans more than once that we're playing."
Liking the coach is a must, too.
"Fans at this school want to be able to talk to our coach, to sit down, drink a beer and eat some crawfish with him," Gossen said. "Ricky's got that touch."
Getting re-energized fans to support UL financially is the job of Schexnayder, along with athletic development director Gerald Hebert. In Schexnayder's time as athletic director, the school's athletic budget has grown from $4.2 million to $7.1 million.
Of UL's 17 sports, only baseball is self-sustaining.
And, although Schexnayder and Hebert have generated $1 million in athletic fund-raising this year, it's a process that never ends.
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Ted Lewis can be reached at tlewis@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3405.
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