Almost tip off time! TALONS OUT!!!

After stepping away from the program late in the season, Bugs has surfaced just in time to hit the portal. This is a big playmaker that will be missed.

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I thought it might be interesting to look at and discuss some of the data of the football roster. This is all taken from the website and doesn't include any recent transfer portal moves.



111 Football Players




Positions:





Class:




Local States

I don’t a out y’all, but I’d be willing for us to think outside of the box and hire buddy Stevens from East Mississippi community college. It must remind you of the Missy hire with women’s basketball. All the guys done is win and you know he could bring him some players. Thoughts?

This board is too quiet considering we are in the middle of a coaching search.

Let's talk about expectations. What are your expectations for the next five years? We all know we are not going to be Tulane or James Madison, but can we become a .500 team. Btw, our record the last five years is 15-43. A winning percentage of .259.

Also, let's talk about the salary for the new coach. How much do you think we will pay? Bowden was making $435,000. I'm guessing between $550,000 and $600,000.

Received word that Matt Luke is back in play. Hartwell is working to talk him out of retirement, but my question regarding this is that if he has to be convienced....does he really want the gig?

Here’s a few names I’ve already heard

Art Briles - grain of salt as we all saw the blowback when he was named OC at Grambling and visited OU field as a family member.

Matt Wells - Offensive Analyst at OU. Was HC at Utah St when Hartwell arrived there.

Dana Holgerson - recently fired from UH.

Skip Holtz - Former LaTech HC and current advisor at Northwestern

Martin Radosevic from Fairmont State University is our new SID. Hopefully he will be on the job soon.

Women play the ticksters this evening in Ruston. I think we have a chance this year. It will be fun to see; looking for telecast.

Had a chance to talk with a potential candidate - he's an offensive guy.

He has a plan and is willing to come in with the budget constraints and all. He talked about his staff and plan to Take back the Boot - very much the same blueprint GJ Kinne has and executed at Texas State.

It was exciting though to talk with someone on the outside and hear their excitement about the program and to have a plan and direction.

Hoping there's in-person or Zoom interviews soon to move this forward.

Just tuned in...37-19 Northwestern. We are not looking good.

Has anyone heard if the press conference is going to be streamed?

Hope we can dash their bowl hopes

It’s my understanding we have several junior college recruits set to visit over the next three weekends. It will be very bad if if we skip this cycle of recruiting
For next years success

Just saw on sportstalk 97.7’s Facebook page that Hartwell will be on the show at 5:30 today.

Rumor is Bowden is out as of today.

Heard Matt Collins was let go? He’s not listed on website any longer but of course there is still no updated roster or schedule so can’t go by that

ULM playing tough lead by 10 with about 15 minutes left in the 2nd half
on ESPN+

That’s it. That’s the message. That’s who our next coach needs to be. He is being paid a buyout from Houston that is in the millions. I am sure we can get him at $500k, which will be a small offset to what he will be paid. His ability to recruit and build a program is what is needed.

12 is the most of ANY conference. The only 2 SBC programs that will not be bowling are ULM and USM.

If Bowden is out, who’s the next leader of the club? Remember the pay is only around $350-$375…..maybe $400

We hire Bowden and he hires Rich Rod. Rich Rod makes coaching decisions that ULM fans hate, and then those fans create a nickname for him due to him choosing to keep his son at QB. The offseason comes and Rich Rod gets a HC job at an FCS program that is transitioning to the FBS level. Rich Rod takes a lot of ULM coaches with him and some players. Rich Rod‘s new school goes all-in with a huge football investment. In 2023 Rich Rod wins 8 games at his new school (although not against as tough a schedule as ULM). In turn, ULM wins 2 games and lose 10 straight. Well, it appears that Rich Rod is heading to a bowl game, as they have been accepted due to a lack of eligible 6 win teams. ULM on the other hand, is again contemplating whether or not to fire their coach. Talk about a kick in the nutts. All I can say is that this situation poetically played out just to torture ULM fans.

I just emailed this letter to John Hartwell

Dear Mr. Hartwell,
Let me start by saying that it was a pleasure meeting and speaking with you before the women’s basketball game at Arkansas. I was incredibly excited when you were announced as our new athletic director and, just to be clear, I still am. As we witnessed that night at Bud Walton, I believe your first coaching hire as AD is going to pay huge dividends for our Women’s Basketball program. That said, there are some serious concerns I would like to address.

1. The Phantom Strategic Plan – We (the fans) have been told for several years now that there is a strategic plan being developed and yet we have never seen it. Previous administrations would just respond with “trust us”. Unfortunately, the previous ULM administrations have burned through all the trust. We have tried to be very patient and understanding as we have watched foe after foe pour millions of dollars into renovations and new facilities and leave us in the dust. I realize this is something you are already acutely aware of but the direct effect it is having on us, the regular fans. We have witnessed the sheer incompetence and insincerity of previous administrations, and we feel like you and Dr. Berry can rise above that; however, we need something, some nugget of hope that we can latch onto. Be it some rendering of the plans for the Fant-Ewing renovations or a plan for upgrading football facilities, we want something tangible to encourage giving.

1. University Commitment – This means money. The previous president, Dr. Bruno, promised us that ULM would be right in the middle of the SBC in terms of athletic budget. There really is no other way to say it; he lied to us. Time and time again, he flat out lied to us about a number of things and unfortunately for you and Dr. Berry, you are left to pick up the pieces. What we want to see is a real commitment from the university to spend money on our athletic facilities. We want to see the administration raise funds through student-fees, creative financing, and yes even take on a little debt. Our previous administration put a raise in student fees on the ballot for a student vote and did absolutely nothing to help explain any student benefit. Therefore, it failed multiple times. We would like to see it put forth again but with the administration putting full weight behind it. Just like the boosters, the students do not mind paying if they know what they are getting.

I have been a ULM fan since the early 70’s when ULM was growing and thriving. By the time I completed my bachelor’s degree in 1993 we had won the DI-AA National Championship in 1987, made 6 NCAA Tournament appearances, and were highly competitive in most of our athletic ventures. We were an athletic program the fans and alumni could be proud of. 30 years of incompetence and apathy by the administration has thoroughly destroyed all of that, resulting in the mess that you have inherited. You and Dr. Berry have an opportunity to bring some pride back to our campus and I would like to be a part of that. I just need some transparency and real commitment on the part of the administration before I would feel comfortable giving again.

Got this email from some supporters of Athletics.

Terry Bowden is the 4th or 5th winningest active college football coach. We were able to hire him and he is finishing his 3rd year. He has overcome a lot. For example, Terry inherited a team that had lost every game the year before. Not only that, they had never even led in a single game! Half of recruits signed by AD. In his first season he was 4-8 with a signature win over. Liberty U. In his second year our AD quits and Terry, on his own, raised $ to build a competitive Players Lounge in the Scoggins Room. He coached his second season without an AD and had another 4-8 season.

In his 3rd (current season) he sits with only 2 wins. Losses include 2 by 1 point. With a game left vs ULL, whom he beat previously Terry has the energy and positivity of a 35 year old but with the coaching and strategic football knowledge of the same coach who he was when he won 20 straight games as Head Football Coach at Auburn.

Now we are blessed with a super AD, John Hartwell. John has a tremendous pedigree. John has also been dropped into a situation with one of the, if not THE lowest paid HFB coach and staff in The Group of 5. John is doing a tremendous job and is also a winner.

We are at a crossroads. As leaders, you guys can help when we need you the most. We need much nicer facilities to compete recruiting and we need an increased budget so we don't lose valuable assistant coaches, or Terry or John.....and yes...valuable players! With the Portal, we will lose and win on good players. When it comes to our coaching budget (significantly less than other SBC schools) we must raise resources. Dr Ron Berry (President) is working as hard as anyone to Bring ULM Back! He is "all in"! A winning record would increase attendance greatly but most importantly, it would significantly raise enrollment.

We have 3 of the best men we could dream to afford in these positions. They greatly need your support. The football team is the "front porch" to the university. This is a worthy challenge. This is YOUR LEGACY! We need resources to upgrade facilities now. We need your much appreciated donations and you deserve a plan. I have full faith in these gentlemen to produce this plan very soon. Please support us. We need YOU and we need your TEAMMATES! We need to BUILD which takes some time and lots of effort.

Remember the white out gave v Baylor in the same season we beat Arkansas, beat Wake Forest, barely lost to Auburn in OT? It can be done!

We aren't getting any younger. I don't know about you but I'd like to WIN the SBC before I go to rest. I'll bet you do too.

Flood ULM Athletics with needed resources and ULM Football will flood you with wins! Please share.