Athletics: UL Athletic Director weighs in on Sun Belt shake up 12/2/12

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, December 2, 2012

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Sitting on a sofa in his hotel suite, waiting for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns to play a Florida Atlantic team bound for Conference USA, UL athletic director Scott Farmer took time Friday night to address a long list of questions tied to decisions last week by Middle Tennessee State and FAU to follow North Texas and Florida International in leaving the Sun Belt Conference for C-USA.

In an 40-minute interview, Farmer fielded questions covering a wide range of hot topics including but not limited to UL’s place in the ever-changing college conferences landscape to its athletic masterplan to its department budget — $13,556,901 last school year, up from $8,473,475 in 2006, but still less than all but five other schools nationally, including just one, Arkansas State, from the Sun Belt — to the university’s recently passed student free to the importance of TV market rankings to even the issue of how Louisiana Tech made its way into C-USA.

Without further ado "¦

Question: As you see things now, where do you go from here? Where does UL go from here in light of everything that’s happened with the Sun Belt?

Answer: "Nothing’s changed. Nothing’s changed with us. We’re gonna try to make this athletic department as good as it possibly can be. We started that task five years ago when we got here, and nothing has changed in that regard.

"When we got here we put a plan in place to improve our budgets, to improve our facilities. By doing that, we hope to improve our programs. By doing that, we hope to improve our athletic department.

"And, (I’m) very, very pleased with the progress that we’ve made in those five years. Are we where we want to be? Absolutely not. Nowhere near it. But, in the worst economic times in my lifetime our budget has grown over 60 percent in the last five years.

"And that’s through a lot of hard work. It’s through a lot of generous donors. It’s through great season ticket sales. It’s through corporate sponsorships. It’s an externally driven budget during these five years, because, as you know, the state (Louisiana) is struggling.

"So, (I’m) very pleased that we say — and I’ll bet you there’s not many athletic departments in the country that can say — we’ve grown a budget 60 percent in the last five years, or over 60 percent.

"Does that mean we’re where we want to be? Absolutely not. We have a long ways to go, you know? And we are still woefully under our own conference average, much less the average of other conferences."

Q.: So where do you identify ‘where you want to be’?

A.: "We want to just continue to grow and get to the highest level of whatever conference we’re in, and then we’ll get to the highest level of the next conference we’re in.

"I mean, that’s where we shoot. That’s where we aim: to be at the highest level of our conference."

Q.: So in light of what’s happened with the Sun Belt (last) week, do you still want to be a part of the Sun Belt. Do you have to wait and see what it becomes? Or at this immediate time do you aspire to something higher than the Sun Belt?

A.: "You always aspire. In athletics, that’s what we do. We aspire to be better. Always. So, yeah, we ‘aspire’ to be in a conference. We ‘aspire’ to be in the SEC. Probably not gonna make it there."

Q.: But realistically?

A.: "We can achieve our immediate goals by being in the Sun Belt. That hasn’t changed.

"Our football program can still go undefeated, and have access to a BCS-type of game — whatever it’s called in the future. Our basketball teams — baseball, softball, soccer — we can still win championships, and make it to NCAA Tournaments. None of that has changed. The competition within the league has changed, but none of that has changed those intermediate goals.

"Do we aspire to be, again, better? We always aspire to be better. OK? Always."

Q.: Are you willing to be a part of the Sun Belt — and (football) coach (Mark) Hudspeth has said he doesn’t want this league to turn into a league of recent and former 1-AAs, which it very much appears that it’s headed to be — if that’s what this conference becomes, if that’s how this conference defines itself, are you satisfied being a part of that?

A.: "I don’t think you’re asking the right question. We’re in it, and we’re gonna make the best of it until we’re not in it. OK? We’re in it. We’re gonna continue to improve every aspect of our program until we can get in a better situation."

Q.: You’ve had four recent members who have been in it who aspired to be out of it, and got out of it. Why not be one of the ones that aspires "»

A.: "I never said we didn’t, and I hope you didn’t hear me say that I don’t aspire to be better."

Q. But you said it was ‘the wrong question.’ The question is, are you satisfied being in it or do you aspire to something better than that?

A.: "We always — I’ve said it four times — we always aspire to be better. Always. OK? Always. And when we get into the next one, we’re gonna aspire to be better in the one after that. You see? So we’re always aspiring.

"Being in a conference with teams that have recently moved up from FCS (Football Championship Series, formerly NCAA Division 1-AA), if you look back at the history of the conference — everybody’s moved up from the FCS. OK?

"So it doesn’t scare me as much as it may ‘scare’ some people. I don’t think we plan on being in a conference with FCS teams for the next 50 years. I hope I’m not conveying that to you, because I don’t think we do. Alright?

"But "» four years ago, however many years it’s been now, five years ago, six years ago, FIU (Florida International) and FAU (Florida Atlantic) were 1-AAs, and moved up. And they were very successful when they moved up. They’re very good teams."

Q.: So as the only consistently 1-A that hasn’t moved up, how do you feel about that? And why haven’t you?

A.: "Because I think we had that far (his hands spread apart) to go. All I can tell you is the status of the department in ’07 to the status of the department now is much different. But we had a long way to go, and we still have a long way to go."

Q.: If the Sun Belt becomes, for lack of a better phrase, ‘a conference of 1-AAs,’ does it accelerate the aspiration (to move up)?

A. (after a pause): "No, because I don’t think we can work any harder than we’re working right now to improve this department. I don’t think we can work any harder to raise the money that it’s taking to do it, to build the facilities that it’s taking to do it. We’ve been literally wide open for five years doing this."

Q.: So you said that was ‘the wrong question’ earlier. What’s the right question in that regard? Or what was wrong with that question?

A.: "I don’t even remember exactly how you worded it now. I think all we’re saying is that you worry about yourself, and making yourself — meaning your department, your university — as good as it can be.

"And, at the same time, then you’re reaching out, and you’re always, quote, marketing yourself, to other institutions and to other schools.

"I would tell you everyone does that. I would tell you everybody in the Sun Belt Conference does that, everybody in Conference USA does that. They’re continually trying to make their department better, to position themselves to accept membership in whatever the best conference is that comes calling.

"I don’t think that’s new to us. So, in that regard, what’s happened in the last week hasn’t changed (anything). We will continue to do that.

"I think we just realized just how far we had to come — with the second-worst budget in the league, a budget that is $10 million below so many of our competitors. I mean, [START ITAL]so many[END ITAL] of our competitors.

"And (I’m) very pleased, very proud, that we have closed that gap. We’re not there yet. But we have closed the gap tremendously — again, in bad times."

Q.: In what increasingly is looking like is going to be more and more a world of haves and have-nots among the 120, or 124 (FBS programs) "» how confident are you that you can end up being one of the haves and not end up getting squeezed out and being one of the have-nots?

A.: "I think we will be in one of the "» tier-2 conferences in the new plans; the ‘other five,’ or whatever they’re calling them.

"Like we made great strides this year, we have to try and work and make that conference as high on that list as possible.

"And I think the Sun Belt conference did a phenomenal job this year in football, and have positioned themselves above a couple of the other conferences."

Q.: So do you think that when that divide becomes even greater that the Sun Belt can end up on the ‘have’ half of it?

A.: "I don’t know if we can or cannot, to be honest with you. I don’t know. It’s a good question."

Q.: But, again, going back to the aspiration question, isn’t that what the program aspires to — to make sure that it’s not one of the have-nots?

A.: "We aspire to be as good as we can be. That’s what we aspire to. And if that for the next few years is on that second-level like it is now, as long as we’re getting better every year, as long as we’re moving up, we will get there one day."

Q.: So would you be satisfied in a world of ‘recent 1-AAs’?

A.: "We’re in the process of losing North Texas and FIU, and we’re replacing them with Georgia State and Texas State. When you look at them, they’re very, very comparable. You look at RPIs of each sport, they’re very, very comparable. Their budgets are very comparable. These facilities are very comparable. I don’t think we took a step back when those switches occurred, at all."

Q.: OK, so if that was even, now you’re losing one with a brand-new stadium (Florida Atlantic) and one that was an original (football) conference member (Middle Tennessee) "»

A.: "I can’t answer that question until we replace those two."

Q.: Commissioner (Karl) Benson has made it very clear that it sure seems there is no other road to go other than very recent or current 1-AAs. That being the case, do you still think two more of those coming into the conference — so now four of those — replacing four much-more established programs would leave the Sun Belt in (a good position)?

A.: "I can’t comment on them until we find out who they are and what they bring to the table.

"(Besides), when you’re talking a 1-A vs. a 1-AA, you’re only talking about the sport of football. Because all the other sports are Division 1."

Q.: But almost anybody in college athletics, except maybe the old Big East, would argue football is the only thing that matters. Or that matters most.

A.: "I understand that. But, when you’re bringing someone into a league, you’re bringing the whole department into the league.

"So, yeah, it might take an upstart 1-AA three or four years to get caught up. But if they have commitment, and they have the resources, it will happen in no time at all."

Q.: Considering how far behind you guys were, how concerned are you about getting leapfrogged in this whole process by a Texas State or a Georgia State?

A.: "Those types of thoughts "» I think they occupy me every day, and I think that’s why you work your butt off every day.

"You don’t want to be leapfrogged. You don’t want to get beat like we got beat, you could say, this week. That motivates you. OK? Absolutely it does. It’s a competitive world. We have to be competitive.

"Things sometimes don’t happen as quickly as I want them either, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening."

Q.: But why did it happen? Was it just because of how far behind you were to start with, or is there more to it than that?

A.: "I think there’s a lot more to it.

"We’ve made a lot of calls. We’ve asked a lot of people a lot of questions, and I’m not just talking reference only Conference USA. I’m talking about other conferences. And if you look at the conference moves in the last five years, almost every single one of them boils down to two things.

"The first one is media market. Point-blank media market. Not even your position in the media market. Just: ‘What is your media market?’ And the four we just lost (are) Dallas, Nashville and Miami (twice)."

Q.: All of which a lot of people would argue is absolutely farcical.

A.: "Well, it’s not farcical, because if you go back and then you go to the next one, then why did the Big East just take Tulane? Because they wanted that media market."

Q.: How did Middle Tennessee, for lack of a better phrase, con Conference USA into thinking it ‘has’ the Nashville media market?

A.: "Because they do have it when you look at the numbers. "» They’re looking at how many household TVs there are, how many cable subscribers do they have. Because that’s what everyone’s trying to get to. They’re trying to get a Big 12, Pac-12, Big Ten, whatever, ‘network’ going, where they can sell it to a cable company in that market, and that guarantees X amount of TVs that (they) will get $3 a month from.

Q.: OK, so if that’s the case "» then how does Louisiana Tech, even if it claims Shreveport, get in to Conference USA?

A.: "I told you that last year: Can’t explain that one. And have tried. Have tried to get answers on that one. I absolutely don’t have an answer for that one. I really don’t."

Q.: Just to be clear: Are you (UL) still claiming Baton Rouge?

A.: "I think we should. I mean, we have TV stations in Lafayette that are Baton Rouge stations. We have Lake Charles stations, and we have, obviously, Lafayette stations."

Q.: OK "¦

A.: "The other thing they look at is your commitment to your athletic department."

Q.: Reflected by budget first and then facilities?

A.: "I would say budgets first, facilities. That’s exactly what I would look at.

"So, on paper, even though we’ve gone up almost 60 percent in five years, we’re still one of the lowest in our league."

Q.: I drove to Ruston "» to look at the facilities and see what (Louisiana Tech) had that got them in (to Conference USA) that didn’t get you guys in, and I didn’t see it.

A.: "But did you go to the four that just left our league?"

Q.: I’ve been to all of them.

A.: "Exactly. Which one is worse than ours? None of them. None of them."

Q.: So what can you guys do to get your budget up and be competitive?

A.: "What we can control right now is what we raise, what we generate through corporate sponsorships, and how many tickets we sell. That’s what we can control, and that’s what we’re increasing every year."

Q.: Are you satisfied with RCAF as the fundraising arm, or do you have to go beyond that? Is it gonna take more than that?

A.: "I was very satisfied with the growth of it. Here we are only in our fourth year, and to be at the levels we’re at — very pleased. But we’re gonna have to do more. We absolutely are gonna have to continue to grow it.

"Right now we’re sitting at about 1,700 or 1,800 actual contributors to it — contributing about $1.25 (million), somewhere around there, which is great. I mean, I think it’s phenomenal. But we need to get it up there to 5,000 contributing.

"Again, very pleased, very happy, going from nothing to this in four years. Happy. But we’ve got more goals. We’ve got to go do it."

Q.: So what’s the timetable for getting to the point where you feel like there is no reason you should not be considered in that next wave of ones making the jump?

A.: "Oh, I feel like we should have been considered this time."

Q.: OK, but you weren’t, so what do you need to get to?

A.: "I don’t think you can just put ‘We’ve got to raise this amount of money and we’re gonna get in.’ I just don’t think you can do that.

"I think you’ve go to overcome your media market. I think you’ve got to get another couple facilities done. When the (athletic masterplan) gets out there, they’ll see the whole plan. And if we get a few of them done, then they’ll realize that you’re committed to do the whole thing."

Q.: Is the administration above you committed to all of this?

A.: "Absolutely. Absolutely. Couldn’t do what we’ve done without our administration."

Q.: With that in mind, does the administration — or do you — regret not being more proactive in trying to sell yourselves as, ‘Even though we might not be absolutely ready right now, we’re gonna be, and when we get there you’re gonna regret not having taken us when you had a chance’?

A.: "I think we’ve been pretty proactive. You haven’t asked me that yet."

Q.: Do you think you have?

A. (with laughs): "I mean, we talk. Go all the way back to when we first got here, when we were just assessing where we were and seeing, ‘Wow, we have a long ways to go’ — we already started talking to schools in Conference USA. We already started talking with the Conference USA office."

Q.: Then why no sniff from Conference USA?

A.: "Oh, I think they’ve sniffed. Why no invite? Is that what you’re asking? Why no invite?’ "

Q.: Why did the nose curl when they sniffed?

A.: "I think they were looking for that Top 10 media market, point-blank. And I think they were looking for a bigger commitment on the budget side."

Q.: So, the media market never is going to change for you guys. Is that going to be a permanent obstacle?

A.: "I don’t know ‘permanent,’ but it’s gonna be an obstacle. Absolutely it is. And we’ve got to overcome that. And we’ll think of ways to package it, and we’ll think of ways to educate. And I think any time you have a weakness, you cover it up and you try to accentuate the positives. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. And we’ll figure out another way to do it.

"But, at the same time, we’re taking these other weaknesses (budget and facilities) and we are changing those."

Q.: So what have you been told when you’ve asked, ‘How did (Louisiana) Tech overcome it?’

A.: "Nothing. Nothing. I haven’t been told anything. I really have not been told much about that one whatsoever. More about the other four, but not much about that one."

Q.: Okay, let’s do a couple quick-hitters here. How worried are you that, in light of what he said the other day, you might lose (Hudspeth) quicker if things head in the direction he fears they’re headed, which is a 1-AA collection conference?

A.: "I’m not worried about that. "» I think Coach Hudspeth is committed to the Ragin’ Cajuns, and I think he’s committed to achieving the goals he’s set up for this program. And I think he’s our coach until a really, really good situation comes a-calling."

Q.: Just to be clear: When you said, whenever it was, a year ago, that you guys didn’t feel you were ready at that time, are you ready now?

A.: "To move up? To move to a different conference? I mean, yeah. We would have difficulties, but we would make it work. We’d find a way to make it work. Absolutely. And we would have a year ago if they came calling. We were not going to say, ‘No,’ you know — if it’s a better situation."

Q.: Is Conference USA the only option for you guys, as it stands right now?

A.: "I think there’s other conferences out there. But I think we’ve got a lot of work, and we’ve got to improve our situation before they’re gonna recognize it."

Q.: If not Conference USA, then where?

A.: "You’ve got the Big East, you’ve got the (Mountain West), (the Mid-American), you’ve got (the Sun Belt) and you’ve got Conference USA on that level."

Q.: You would consider going west if you had to?

A.: "Again, if there was a situation where that was a better deal for us, we would consider it. I don’t know that that would come, and it could be a better deal, but we would consider it, yes."

Q.: "You’re convinced the movement is not done. How many more waves do you think there will be?

A.: "It’s not done. I am convinced it’s not done. How many more, I don’t know. But there will be more waves. I think there will be some in the next month. I think there will be some in the next year. I think there will be some in the next two years."

Q.: When does the trickle-down catch up to you guys? In the next month? In the next six months?

A.: "No, I don’t foresee it trickling down to us that fast. And I may be wrong. But I don’t think so. I think the Big East is gonna add another football-playing school. Don’t think it’s gonna come from Conference USA. If it did, then Conference USA would probably come looking in this footprint quicker. But I don’t think it’s gonna come from them.

"All you can do is monitor that every day and try to be ready for it. That’s all you can really do. Again, I can’t worry about it. I just try to stay up on it, and, at the same time, we’re just trying to make ourselves better."

Q.: Why the delay in the (athletic) masterplan?

A. "I think there has been a tremendous amount of miscommunication about the masterplan. And I hope it’s not our fault; if it is, I’ll take responsibility for it.

"From the day we signed our agreement with our consultant "» it was due in November. We put out there that we would have something out there for (an Oct. 23) football TV game, and we did.

"I think people were expecting the full plan then; we never expected it.

"We have that (now), and quite honestly, the plan was to spend a lot of time on it this past week and try to get it all done, and instead I’ve been spending it on bowls and other stuff."

Q.: So it is done?

A.: "I have a draft of it that still needs to be reviewed heavily, maybe tweaked, depending on what is it, and then it needs to get up and get its approval. You know, it’s got to go through the whole process. But "» I have it. I got it two days before Thanksgiving, maybe."

Q.: So did you originally expect the final product, after all the steps and approval, to be somewhere in January or February?

A.: "No, I expected it to be somewhere right before Christmas. We may have waited until January to actually present it to the public, but I expected us to get it in late November, (then) get it through the whole vetting process with our coaches, with our constituents, with our RCAF board, with (university president) Dr. (Joseph) Savoie.

"Dr. Savoie hasn’t even seen it yet. But, again, the bowl slowed us down a little bit, and, quite honestly, this whole conference affiliation stuff slowed us down."

Q.: So at this point, how far behind is it, really? Because people have this perception that it’s months.

A.: "Two weeks, at the most."

Q.: There seems to be some sort of perception on the message boards that there are RCAF funds getting funneled into academics.

A.: "Absolutely not. "» You can’t even twist that to be the truth. "» I’ll defend that to the day I die on that one. There is not a single penny that hasn’t been spent on athletics."

Q.: What about the issue of ‘student fee’ in all of this? When the ‘student fee’ got passed, what did it do to help you athletically?

A.: "So far it has not."

Q.: What will it do?

A.: "The student fee was passed as a way to fund some of the projects in the university’s masterplan. When the athletic department facilities masterplan gets done and finally approved and all that, it becomes part of the university plan — so, at that time, there could be some dollars available to help with that plan.

"I can’t tell you what project it’s gonna be. There is a whole board in place that votes on different things and how they’ll use this masterplan money, this student-fee money, that’s been approved.

"If we thought we had a project that we thought the students might be interested in helping to support, we take it to this board to get approval on it.

"So, right now, it can’t even help us, because our plan is not approved and become a part of the university’s yet. But it will be."

Q.: How much does the whole issue of Louisiana not allowing an athletic fee to be charged to students hold you guys back?

A.: "First, let me tell you that they can have an athletic fee. There was a point in time, before I got here, that it was true that they could not have one. But they can have one now, and it’s something Dr. Savoie and I have discussed and have a plan for.

"For the betterment of the whole university, the decision was that this fee that was recently passed should be voted on first, before one just for athletics in the future.

"I don’t know what Dr. Savoie’s timetable is for that, but it is on his agenda, so to speak. He just thought the university’s masterplan was important as a whole, so that’s what they did first.

"But I do think it’s important. I think if you look at budgets "» that is a big piece that is missing in ours. A big piece.

"You know, when you have FIU that brings in $19 million in a student fee and we bring in none — it’s pretty significant. "» It’s a big deal.

"So that would be one way we could help shrink that gap pretty quickly, if we could get something improved."

Q.: How blindsided were you by Middle Tennessee and FAU?

A.: "Totally. I’m gonna be quite honest: That was totally blindsided.

"I was sitting in a meeting, with the Middle Tennessee athletic director seated next to me, and the news came out that Tulane was about to announce, and that was 24 hours before they (MTSU) announced."

Q.: So he knew then?

A.: "And didn’t say a word to anyone sitting at the table, including the commissioner (Karl Benson), including myself sitting next to him. So that was kind of a shock.

"I also talked to two A.D.’s that were joining the league (from North Texas and FIU), and they didn’t know it."

Q.: How concerned are you that Western (Kentucky) is the next to leave, and leave quickly?

A.: "At this point in time, I don’t see them leaving quickly. I don’t. I could be wrong. But "» Conference USA has said publicly that they’re okay staying at 14 members for now, so unless they get raided I just don’t see it."

Q.: Did you guys make a formal presentation to Conference USA at some point in time?

A.: "We have sent information to Conference USA on more than one occasion, and we have visited with presidents and athletic directors of Conference USA members.

Q.: But Conference USA has never come to Lafayette?

A.: "They have not given us the forum to sit down and make a formal presentation to them. "» But we have given them materials for them to look at — both a packet of information and a powerpoint."

Q.: So if the TV market is not gonna change, and if the budget is not gonna change overnight, and if we’re still waiting, even if it’s only for a few more weeks, on the masterplan, but ground hasn’t been broken yet on a football stadium, what leads you to believe they (Conference USA) will give you a forum anytime soon? If any time?

A.: "First of all, UL has the intangibles — other factors — that are very favorable for us to be in a league.

"I think we have, obviously, tremendous fan support. Tremendous attendance. Tremendous atmosphere. I think we’re a destination for other fans to come and be a part of it, and enjoy.

"And now that we have more allies in the league than we’ve ever had "» Rice, Tulane "» that is always step No. 1 to getting a movement like this. Well, now we have four Sun Belt teams that are moving into Conference USA, and I’d say they’re very strong allies of ours.

"Those people know the improvement in the last five years. Someone else that doesn’t know anything about us sitting there and looking and saying, ‘Um, that’s your budget?" — these guys can say, ‘But, hey, this is what they’ve done in the last five years. This is what they’re about to do. This is a formidable opponent.’ I think that type of stuff will help us."

Q.: So, wrapping it up, what can you say to those who might still be fearful that there is not a commitment to being one of the absolute ‘haves,’ and that you’d be satisfied in that lower tier, or even that you could be left in the position of dangling in the wind like a New Mexico State or an Idaho, with a crumbling football conference around it, wondering where in the heck they’re gonna land, even if they’re gonna have to actually go back to being FCS?

A.: "I would say to them that a measure of far you can go is to see how far you’ve come. We come a long ways. We can go a lot further.

"I thing if we can continue to support this program — meaning attendance-wise, meaning fund-raising wise — I think we can reach all of our goals in the near future. And I don’t think we’re gonna have to worry about that right there.

"There is way too much in Lafayette, way too much potential. That is one of the reasons I went to Lafayette. It certainly wasn’t because we had already tapped the potential, but it was because the potential was there — meaning the resources, and the people, and the businesses.

"And if we can continue to build upon this base that we’ve started, and we can keep the Coach Hudspeths and all the great coaches we have, I think we’ll reach the goal of where everybody wants to be."