Will Davis To-Do List

[Cplatt]

Guys,

I wanted to get your opinions on what Will Davis needs to do to get this program on the winning path so i'm putting together a To-Do list that will help make LU a National Contender. I want to see each of yours.

 

1. Recruit, Recruit, Recruit

 

2. Stadium Upgrades, not sure what plans are

 

3. Upgrade uniforms, I played in mid 2000's and uniforms are the same

 

4. Get us in a bigger conference

 

5. Expand our brand to other markets.

[KABrother88]

Honestly think most of those tie in together.

 

Yes recruiting is first and foremost since it is the lifeblood of the program...have to put a winner on the field in order to have the other chips fall. I have see so far 4 commits to the program I can remember off the top of my head. A pitcher from Crosby HS, a SS from West Orange-Stark HS, a catcher from Huffman-Hargrave HS, and SS from Costal Bend College (JUCO). It remains to be seen what the prospects will develop into.

 

I have been wanting to see stadium improvements for several years now. With SETX weather, you need to have some kind of covering over at minimum the middle portion of bleachers. Late in the season Saturday and Sunday games can be brutal under the sun. Consistent large crowds are needed to warrant spending the money (although if they did it it could potentially result in larger crowds)

 

I think the alternate red jersey with a black LU on the upper left is a newer uniform option...I just remember seeing it pretty recently. That being said it is still just an alternate. Newer jerseys could also benefit recruiting

 

Conference affiliation is where it can get tricky. Unless somehow the baseball team becomes a consistent national championship contender in it own, I honestly think that it will take, at minimum, football and basketball to change conferences for the baseball program to. One of the major perks of the SLC is the minimal travel, but even the Sun Belt would grossly increase travel expenses. In order to pay that, you need your big money making programs (football and basketball) to be pulling in more money. I feel like football would have to take a step up because with the increasing number of FBS conferences eliminating FCS opponents, it will begin to be harder for FCS teams to get those payout games. Basketball will have to start showing signs of life to look valuable to a larger conference.

 

Expanding our brand will come with winning and potentially doing it on a bigger stage.

 

So in short, not only recruiting but developing is where it starts. Keeping a winning product on the field draws more money to make stadium & uniform upgrades. Brand will be expanded by that winning product and doing it at a higher level.

 

The thing I will be looking for will be whether or not Davis can get the disgruntled former players on his side or not. If he can show that he was a quality hire then I think it will be water under the bridge. He he struggles then it will be hard pressed to get alumni support to do some things you want.

[coachacola]

Vincent-Beck upgrades have been talked about the last 3 or 4 years. With the softball stadium done and a new Montagne Center video board coming this off season, I bet they finally get serious about baseball stadium upgrades.

[eagle eye]

Recruiting is a given, you can't win without good players.

 

Like any other sport playing aggressive ball will make it fun for the players to play. I'm not saying LU isn't aggressive I'm just stating the obvious. This ties directly in to the first point. The better your players the more aggressive you can be.

 

I have been all in on stadium upgrades. In another thread a while back even before the women's softball field even had a ground breaking and while they were building the field I posted a call for upgrades. One of those changes was a cover over the stands. At the time I posted pictures of a little league field in Dallas that was a better facility than LU's. Landscaping the grounds would enhance the aesthetic appearance of the whole complex. If you don't give the players a home field they can be proud of why play at LU? Upgrades to P-H Stadium has taken place and the Montagne Center upgrades are nearly complete it's time to do something for the baseball and softball field area. Know why the Woodlands amphitheater in Houston is better than Ford Park? There are trees and grass to help offset the heat and block the wind to some extent. Landscaping is the cheapest of ways to upgrade a site and it would go a long way offsetting the SE Texas heat even a little bit. Putting a cover over the stands would be relatively cheap and shouldn't require a major overhaul of the stadium. Do it right and it would look great and appeal to the players and fans alike.

 

The most important thing in all of this is coaching. Coach Davis has a challenge and he needs to be good at his job. He has to be a good recruiter, he has to be a good teacher and he has to be a good field manager. It would be nice if the word "great" described all 3 things he needs to be. It won't be easy because he's replacing a legend and there are those who wanted to see one of Gilligan's assistants get the job Davis will fill. To me, the one thing that Davis has going for him is his youth. He should be able to relate to the youngsters he recruits and coaches and if he can appeal to those kid's parents he should be able to recruit.

 

I'm on the fence about uniform changes. Personally I think it sort should be up to the players to at least have some say about the uniforms they wear but budget concerns don't make that easy.

 

Winning will expand the brand. I think back in the day when Lamar got screwed out of two separate NCAA regional tournaments by umps who ruled close calls in favor of the University of Texas Lamar was good back then and people knew who Lamar was. Both the basketball and baseball programs were well respected programs. That's what we are hoping to recapture with Tic Price and Will Davis. I was listening to Mike and Mike this morning and Mike Greenberg had to look up who Stephen F Austin was as a person, not to mention the school. Austin had a nice weekend and it would have been the best an SLC team has done maybe since Lamar went to the Sweet 16 under Billy Tubbs if they could have held on to that 5 point lead late in the game against Notre Dame yesterday. Like Al Davis once said, "Just win, Baby!"

 

Was it the chicken or the egg. Did Lamar decline just as they went to the Sun Belt years ago or was the Sun Belt just too big for Lamar's britches. I think Lamar needs to win to even think about considering moving up. If you are not competitive in the SLC what do you expect they would do in a bigger conference? Build the programs--all of them--and when we are a force in all, or at least most, of the sports then we should be looking to upgrade.

[geezer]

From my view point Lamar's decline began with them dropping football and then leaving the Sunbelt.

[Skinny1]

Honestly think most of those tie in together.

 

Yes recruiting is first and foremost since it is the lifeblood of the program...have to put a winner on the field in order to have the other chips fall. I have see so far 4 commits to the program I can remember off the top of my head. A pitcher from Crosby HS, a SS from West Orange-Stark HS, a catcher from Huffman-Hargrave HS, and SS from Costal Bend College (JUCO). It remains to be seen what the prospects will develop into.

 

I have been wanting to see stadium improvements for several years now. With SETX weather, you need to have some kind of covering over at minimum the middle portion of bleachers. Late in the season Saturday and Sunday games can be brutal under the sun. Consistent large crowds are needed to warrant spending the money (although if they did it it could potentially result in larger crowds)

 

I think the alternate red jersey with a black LU on the upper left is a newer uniform option...I just remember seeing it pretty recently. That being said it is still just an alternate. Newer jerseys could also benefit recruiting

 

Conference affiliation is where it can get tricky. Unless somehow the baseball team becomes a consistent national championship contender in it own, I honestly think that it will take, at minimum, football and basketball to change conferences for the baseball program to. One of the major perks of the SLC is the minimal travel, but even the Sun Belt would grossly increase travel expenses. In order to pay that, you need your big money making programs (football and basketball) to be pulling in more money. I feel like football would have to take a step up because with the increasing number of FBS conferences eliminating FCS opponents, it will begin to be harder for FCS teams to get those payout games. Basketball will have to start showing signs of life to look valuable to a larger conference.

 

Expanding our brand will come with winning and potentially doing it on a bigger stage.

 

So in short, not only recruiting but developing is where it starts. Keeping a winning product on the field draws more money to make stadium & uniform upgrades. Brand will be expanded by that winning product and doing it at a higher level.

 

The thing I will be looking for will be whether or not Davis can get the disgruntled former players on his side or not. If he can show that he was a quality hire then I think it will be water under the bridge. He he struggles then it will be hard pressed to get alumni support to do some things you want.

 

I agree. Winning always solves a lot of issues and also disguises problems. Upgrades to V-B are needed. I know at one time there was talk of building a new facility on the corner of University St. & Florida (site of driving range). It may have been in one of the 10 year plans developed by Lamar. It was to be built with public donations, but I assumed those dried up when the program falterred or lack of leadership in the athletic department.

[Guest austinred]

I agree. Winning always solves a lot of issues and also disguises problems. Upgrades to V-B are needed. I know at one time there was talk of building a new facility on the corner of University St. & Florida (site of driving range). It may have been in one of the 10 year plans developed by Lamar. It was to be built with public donations, but I assumed those dried up when the program falterred or lack of leadership in the athletic department.

 

VB is not a bad baseball facility. They could make a big improvement by planting trees. Look at the attached screen shot of the Louisiana Lafayette field. It has a row of pine trees outside of the outfield fence.

[geezer]

The baseball field itself is really good but to really enhance recruiting I think Lamar needs to add another locker room. I would do a state of the art locker room and concession stand behind and under the first base stands, then remodel the old locker room for the visiting team. In addition the first base stands need to be at least partially covered and the lighting needs some upgrades. This would allow for some additional flexibility for the Saturday games by either giving the fans a little break as the weather heats up or moving the games later into the day to encourage attendance or for weather delays. The outfield is still grass but as long as it drains well it may not be worth going to turf out there. Parking needs to be improved also.