coachacola Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 Season opener against Bethel has been moved to August 29th, a Thursday night. For the first time since the 1962 season, Lamar University will play a Thursday home game announced Director of Athletics Marco Born Tuesday morning. The Cardinals have moved their season opener against Bethel to Thursday, Aug. 29th. The contest will kick off at 7 p.m. from Provost Umphrey Stadium. "We're always open to trying new things in terms of making our gameday experience more fan friendly, especially for our students," said Born. "Traditionally, college football is played on Saturdays, but we also know that a lot of our students use the Labor Day Weekend to get away with their families. We felt moving this game to Thursday allowed our students the opportunity to be at our game as well as spend the rest of the weekend with family. "If you ask any of our coaches, they will tell you our students create a great atmosphere at all of our events. They create an energy in the stands that our student-athletes feed off of. It makes a huge difference in games," added Born. https://lamarcardinals.com/news/2019/3/5/football-cards-season-opener-moved-to-thursday.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachacola Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 Whoever wins the starting quarterback job will be well protected with the return of Hayden Kaaiohelo (6-5, 280), Tamatoa Neher (6-2, 308), Stephon Cooper (6-1, 306) and Aires Gilmore-Gardner (6-3, 331) setting up a wall in front of him. In addition to the returners, the Cardinals also have a young crop of linemen who have redshirted and are waiting for their opportunity to shine. Running backs Myles Wanza and A.J. Walker will also benefit from the strength of the Cardinals offensive front. The LU duo combined to rush for more than 1,300 yards and five touchdowns last season. Wanza was tops on the team (683 yds/3TDs/6.2 ypc), while Walker was second with 623 yards (4.3 ypc) and two scores. Although just one will be named the starter in 2019, they both are first-team talents on the same team that provided a nice one-two punch against opposing defenses. With Colbert having exhausted his eligibility at LU, the likely choice would be senior Jordan Hoy. The former Old Dominion transfer wowed fans during a three-game stretch this season where he had to fill in for an injured Colbert. All he did was hold on to a victory against nationally ranked Sam Houston State, and then continue the Cardinals with streak with victories over Stephen F. Austin, nationally ranked Central Arkansas and Houston Baptist. The work that Hoy did in those three weeks was strong enough to earn him 2018 SLC Newcomer of the Year. Hoy will have a fight on his hands, however, as the Cardinals added Tennessee transfer Will McBride (6-1, 200) and Jermaine Givens (6-0, 185) during the signing period to go along with Marcellus Johnson (6-3, 212) who was signed prior to the start of the 2018 season. Fans also can't forget about West Orange product Jack Dallas. Although splitting his time between baseball and football, Dallas is a proven leader who continue to work his way up the depth chart. The Cardinals return two of three starters at receiver, but this is the position that took the biggest hit during the offseason. Five receivers exhausted their eligibility last season, and each one had some experience as a starter. Despite the losses, the Cardinals return capable speedsters, Kirkland Banks and Zae Giles. LU will also return the services of Kendrick King who was lost for the 2018 season following the first drive of the season opener. The Cardinals are fortunate to be returning their top three options at tight end, including senior-to-be Case Robinson who has received All-SLC recognition each of the past two seasons. Even when Robinson went down with an injury in 2018, the Cardinals didn't skip a beat inserting Lumberton native Mason Sikes into the starting lineup. https://lamarcardinals.com/news/2019/3/6/big-red-football-a-look-forward-offensively.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinny1 Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 I am all for doing something to get more student involvement at the football games. I hope Lamar can balance the traffic / parking issues for a Thursday night game. I am also concerned about the plans about some of Lamar’ most loyal supporters, the tailgaters (of which I am one). Hopefully we will be given access to our spot at noon of the opening game. I have little confidence in the Lamar administration being able to handle these conflicts based on broken promises when Lamar hosted high school playoff games on the same night as a home basketball game. The Lamar fans got screwed on their reserved parking passes. When I brought this to the attention of the previous athletic director, he said there was nothing they could do about it and the Lamar fans should have gotten there sooner. What an ass he was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachacola Posted March 13, 2019 Author Share Posted March 13, 2019 I am all for doing something to get more student involvement at the football games. I hope Lamar can balance the traffic / parking issues for a Thursday night game. I am also concerned about the plans about some of Lamar’ most loyal supporters, the tailgaters (of which I am one). Hopefully we will be given access to our spot at noon of the opening game. I have little confidence in the Lamar administration being able to handle these conflicts based on broken promises when Lamar hosted high school playoff games on the same night as a home basketball game. The Lamar fans got screwed on their reserved parking passes. When I brought this to the attention of the previous athletic director, he said there was nothing they could do about it and the Lamar fans should have gotten there sooner. What an ass he was. The AD of LU told you that LU had no control over their own parking lot? That’s a bunch of BS! Hopefully the new AD isn’t that stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LU1991 Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 The AD of LU told you that LU had no control over their own parking lot? That’s a bunch of BS! Hopefully the new AD isn’t that stupid. I’m a tailgater and excited about a Thursday night game before Labor Day. I’m impressed with the new AD and his actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LU17 Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 I am also a big supporter of getting the student body involved in the football games. Every year we all watch the first couple of games start out decent on both sides of the stadium, and by mid season, only one side of the stadium has a few patches of fans. I am an out of town season ticket holder. Thursday night games do not work well for me and I have to admit I was pissed when i saw the game had been changed. I hope the student body takes advantage and shows up strong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lu cards Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 i think its a great idea.i love the fact we finally have a real AD that is trying different things.it may hurt taligating a little but it worth it if the fans go to the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SportsGuy Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 Smart move by Marco & the administration. I seriously doubt he said “deal with it” in regards to the parking lot situation. He has a plan in place & a reason behind every decision. Whether we agree or not, he obviously has Lamar’s best interests in mind and while they might not always be conducive to you or me, it’s about growing a younger fan base. He is smart to prioritize the students and not the old geezers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puddin tane Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 Smart move by Marco & the administration. I seriously doubt he said “deal with it” in regards to the parking lot situation. He has a plan in place & a reason behind every decision. Whether we agree or not, he obviously has Lamar’s best interests in mind and while they might not always be conducive to you or me, it’s about growing a younger fan base. He is smart to prioritize the students and not the old geezers. old geezers have the bucks. I don't care one way or the other...frees up Labor Day to fish. maybe we'll have more than the usual handful of students..i doubt it, but maybe. as for tailgating spot.. if school is going on, the students should get priority on parking to go to class Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dracula Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 We all know that nothing brings the casual fan to the game more than having a competitive winning team. Schultz and Lamar should be 2-1 going into week 4 and the start of conference play. If Lamar is 3-1 and playing at home for week 5 and 6, I think the crowds will be back. The A&M game is going to be more competitive then people think. A&M still wins by 40 but I think the offence will move the ball some and maybe even score, on A&M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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