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ULM has faced an uphill battle from the day it joined the rank and file of Division I college athletics. The latest financial data released by USA Today tell the same old story. In 2014, ULM was once again dead last among FBS schools in athletic revenue and budget. It's not just the "Power-5" the Warhawks lagged behind financially. ULM ranked last in the Sun Belt Conference and in the bottom third of schools in the UL System in athletic subsidy — the percentage a university contributes to the athletic department's budget — at just 39 percent. Every school but two in the UL System gave a higher percentage than ULM to athletics, including those that receive less state funding. The 36 percent the athletic department received in 2013 was the lowest in the system. ULM President Nick Bruno cited the continuous budget cuts to higher education at the state level for the university's frugal approach to athletics. "It's not that we don't want to put money in it, but in our situation it just comes down to dollars and cents. We're still probably $20 million below where we were when the cuts began," Bruno said. "I think our programs continue to improve, but with our resources, for our coaches to be successful they have to out-coach other coaches." Keeping up A portrait of the Sun Belt's membership circa the late 2000s hangs in Wickstrom's office — a memento of sorts from his predecessor as AD, Bobby Staub. Five of those schools are gone. Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Middle Tennessee, North Texas and Western Kentucky all made a mass exodus for the financially greener pastures of Conference USA in a two-year stretch from 2013-14. ULM's former conference-mates spent the money institutionally on athletics and then made more of it. The results were facility upgrades, increased fundraising, bigger budgets and more lucrative television revenue. The dated portrait serves in some ways as a reminder of the possibilities of college sports, but also how far ULM has to go. "Dr. Bruno has to balance the budget for the university ever year and in that process tough decisions have to be made," Wickstrom said. "In our situation, we aren't in a conference with a big television contract, we rely on private dollars, fundraising and ticket sales. That's our lifeblood." read more: http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/sports/college/ulm/2015/06/18/ulm-bottom-college-sports-athletic-support/28934097/

UAB's decision last week to discontinue its football program continues to receive backlash from not only its players but the student body who continues to protest the decision. The school is the first to cut football since Pacific in 1995 with the school citing the rising costs in college athletics. As the Blazers' coaching staff and football players pick up the pieces and look for a new school to call home, the decision hits close to home in the Monroe area. UAB's athletic budget ranked 83rd among FBS schools, and first-year head coach Bill Clark was drawing a $500,000 paycheck annually with a staff expense of $1,011,000. If UAB can make the decision to cut football, does it make schools like ULM that much more likely to fall in line? The ULM athletic budget remains the lowest among FBS schools with its most recent revenue recorded at $11,231,311 UAB reported a total revenue of $28,159,249. Head coach Todd Berry earns an annual salary of $358,250 and a staff pay total of $724,300, while playing three money games a year. Read more: http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/ulm/2014/12/10/uab-discontinues-footballis-ulm-next/20222149/

Fans traveling to ULM games in Monroe this season will be able to buy beer in Malone Stadium. New ULM Athletic Director Brian Wickstrom says he wants to enhance concessions by adding a $4 beer beverage option. Wickstrom says all signs point to this being a good idea. "Obviously we hope it will generate a little bit of revenue for the program. We're not going to make a million dollars a year on beer sales, but it will bring in some more for us," said Wickstrom. Read more: http://louisianaradionetwork.com/blogs/ULM-to-start-selling-beer-at-football-games

You can't help but be impressed with this guy -- no whining about lack of resources. Very positive, optimistic about his team. I gotta tell you they return Browning and most all of their starters...if I was OU who they open with I would WATCH OUT! He said that the receivers he had this year are much more explosive this year. He said last year was a surprise and he built this team for this season... They face two big 12 teams to start the first four weeks of the season. I just wonder how after beating Arkansas and taking Auburn and Baylor to the wire this guy has not gotten picked up by a bigger program??

"I'm shocked and I'm surprised, Berry said. I've been doing this for a while. I've worked with 15 different athletic directors, and youre not going to find a better athletic director than Bobby. I think that when you look at the program, this is the toughest athletic director job in the country in terms of finances and facilities and to have some of the success is a great tribute to him and he will leave a legacy along those lines." Read more: http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20130416/BREAKING_NEWS/130416030/ULM-s-Berry-shocked-surprised-Staub-resignation?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|FRONTPAGE&nclick_check=1

Brett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyESPN Louisiana Monroe coach Todd Berry receives new four-year contract from school Expand Reply Retweet Favorite

Found this article on the BleacherReport, and gave it a read through. The video is awesome... I think we need to have something of this quality to get the fans pumped up before the game! http://bleacherrepor...ow-intro-videos

Rockwall-Heath High School in Heath, Texas, opened its doors in 2005. In seven years, it’s become of the most consistent athletic competitors in football. On Wednesday, the fourth member of Rockwall-Heath’s 2013 recruiting class committed to an FBS school, as offensive guard Chase Regian gave his verbal pledge to Louisiana-Monroe. Regian, a 6-foot-3, 276-pound lineman, chose the Warhawks over interest from North Texas, Texas State, New Mexico and Colorado State. Read more: http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncfrecruiting/midlands/post?id=4871&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fblog%2fncfrecruiting%2fmidlands%2fpost%3fid%3d4871

U.L.M. has an image problem. It’s not about L.S.U., because L.S.U. is L.S.U., and that’s fine. Louisiana-Monroe doesn’t compete with the Tigers, and wouldn’t dare try, of course. U.L.M. competes with Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana Tech and Tulane for in-state eyeballs, and as the Warhawks head into the summer, they’re losing the battle for public attention. The Ragin’ Cajuns are riding a wave of good vibes after earning their first bowl berth on the F.B.S. level, beating U.L.M. to the punch. In addition to hitting its groove under Sonny Dykes, Louisiana Tech is now back in the news thanks to this week’s jump into Conference USA. Even Tulane, despite suffering a setback to its hopes for an on-campus stadium, has moved back into the regional conversation since hiring Curtis Johnson in December. In a state with five F.B.S. programs, U.L.M.’s Q rating comes in last. Perhaps being last isn’t new for the Warhawks; being a distant last, however, is a recent development. Read more: http://www.presnapread.com/no-107-louisiana-monroe/