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Athletics: TOPS cuts would touch UL baseball, softball programs

Kevin Foote & Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, February 16, 2016

 

 

 

UL softball coach Michael Lotief and his No. 7-ranked Ragin’ Cajuns softball team were at the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Ala., this past weekend when the controversy about the suspension of the TOPS program began to spread.

Like so many college students around the state, it was of great interest on the Cajuns’ softball roster as well.

“They were definitely talking about it,” Lotief said. “There was a lot of concern. It’s very worrisome.”

UL baseball coach Tony Robichaux talked to his players, too, when news of possible cuts came out. He told them not to panic.

"First of all, I really trust our university in this," he said. "I think they created an infrastructure plan, probably five years ago, and hired a lot of guys that really wanted to help turn things into revenue-generating things and be able to try to get us to be, really, not so dependent on outside sources.

A reduction in TOPS funding would affect both baseball and softball players. Unlike in football and basketball, where almost all players are on full scholarship, most baseball and softball players only receive partial scholarships.

Of the 35 players on the baseball roster, 27 are on some amount of scholarship. Robichaux explains: The team is allowed to award 11.7 scholarships; that amount is divided among the 27 players.

Lotief said cuts would affect the vast majority of his roster, as well.

“In order for us to have 35 kids on our roster, 98 percent of those kids are getting some kind of academic help," he said. "For the in-state kids, that’s TOPS.”

Even if TOPS was suspended immediately, like originally suggested prior to last Thursday’s official announcement by John Bel Edwards, Lotief said he doesn’t  foresee any players on his current roster not finishing out the semester.

But Lotief said that numerous players and the families would have decisions to make about their futures without TOPS.

“I don’t know if it would affect our older players as much, but it would affect our younger players,” Lotief said. “After the semester, a lot of kids and the families would have to decide if they could financially afford to go to school and play softball.

“At $5 or $6,000 a semester for the younger kids, you’re talking about $25,000 or so over a four-year period.”

Lotief said student-athletes “just don’t have the time” to be athletes and students and work to make money.

“They just can’t go out and work,” he said.

Robichaux makes the point that, because of the scholarship limitations, many baseball parents are accustomed to helping foot the bill for college costs.

“There are kids playing on 25 percent (scholarship) that aren’t on TOPS. Because not every athlete, not every student, comes out on TOPS. So in the world of baseball, they know they’re not getting a full ride."

Lotief said his concerns go beyond the world of college sports.

“Yes, it would affect softball,  but this is not about softball,” he said. “Softball will survive. Softball will be alright. It goes way beyond softball in my opinion. This is about making sure our kids have the opportunity to pursue their dreams and more people have the opportunity to better themselves.

“If this would really happen, you’re talking about kids and families having to make the decision to go to college or not. You’re talking about kids having to make the decision of going into the workforce instead of going to college. That’s heartbreaking.”

Like so many around the state, Lotief doesn’t see how many families could afford the scary direction tuition is headed, here and abroad.

“I think we’re at a breaking point,” he said. “I don’t personally believe we can continue adding the burden of educating our young people on the families.

“There’s been enough cuts to higher education.”

Meanwhile, Robichaux encouraged his players to focus on classes and their season opener, scheduled for this weekend.

“I like Dr. Savoie’s statement the other day: Our students need to concentrate on their classes right now, concentrate on the things that you can control," he said. “I don’t know if any of our players, like I told them, can control that outcome. So why worry about something that you can’t control?"