(03-20-2014 06:41 AM)Cajuncat Wrote: LUSportsFan, listen I like the stats route but your comparing apples to raisins when comparing Texas State to Lamar. It's a valiant try but I stand by my comments. I have family deeply involved within the university, who are alumni, and friends who have attended school there. I know LU culture and campus life very well and because of that, I stand by my comments that they are pretty spot on and not fabricated. Deep down you know my statements are very fair and honest.
Here's a number to consider in the Fall of 2012 the total student population was 14,288, of that total, 6,634 were Non-Traditional students (25+yrs old). Do you honestly think any of the schools currently in the Sun Belt have numbers like that in their student demographics? I'm sorry but I just don't see the support there in Beaumont for Lamar to survive in the FBS.
Non-traditional student population vs support would be an interesting thing to explore. I was one of those non-traditional students many years ago. I received a degree from Texas A&M and then went on active duty in the Air Force flying jets and other aircraft for around 5 years. As I was preparing to go off of active duty, I had to make some decisions. At the time there were a LOT of pilots like me leaving active duty. At the same time, the airlines were laying off their pilots. While I would have loved to continue a career in flying, it didn't seem a very secure career choice. Also, I decided I didn't want to pursue a career associated with my A&M degree. I decided to get another degree in another discipline, Accounting, at Lamar. While I love A&M (third generation Aggie), I also enjoyed my time at Lamar. I started at Lamar when I was 26. I support both universities. While my personal path may have been a series of changes in direction, I believe I received benefit from both degrees as well as exposure from both universities.
I was curious how other universities looked in non-traditional vs traditional enrollment. Arkansas State has an excellent package titled "The Arkansas State University Fact Book". Looking at the 2013-2014 edition, Arkansas State has 5,201 "non-traditional" students on the Jonesboro campus out of a total of 13,532 total for fall of 2013. While the Jonesboro campus has a smaller percentage (35% vs 46% for us using the 6,634 figure), the non-traditional group still represents a large component at a university that has been highly successful.
http://www.astate.edu/dotAsset/1d4d7c13-...60250f.pdf
My understanding is that our previous university president realized some of the issues with our demographics. That's one of the main reasons the new student housing was constructed. As I mentioned, we're up to 26% on-campus housing now. That compares with Arkansas State's 27%. Other things, like building a large student recreational facility have been done also. I think the demographic issues CajunCat noted in an earlier post were valid at one time. I believe there are a lot of other universities with similar demographics. For Lamar, there have been actions taken in the last ten years to change some. The next step, in my opinion, would be to get greater participation from the surrounding communities. There is evidence that some of that is in progress. It just needs more emphasis. I also think the alumni base needs to be more involved. Our "Investing in the Future" campaign helped. I think we need to start another program to keep "the flame lit". I would like to see something like Texas State's "The Drive" or something like some of the other Sun Belt universities have in progress.
I'm using Arkansas State because their main Jonesboro campus enrollment is close to ours. ASU also looks like it could be used as a good blueprint for us. While the Jonesboro MSA is smaller than ours, Jonesboro is similar to us in that it is close to, but separated from larger cities. Memphis is about 75 miles away. Little Rock is about 132 miles away.