Voice the NSU Alumni and Supporters' Displeasure with the Direction of NSu Athletics

This is a petetion is to voice our displeasure not only about the dismissal of Coach Jay Thomas and his staff, but to voice our displeasure about the overall competancy of the Administration of the Athletic Department.  As a former athlete, I know I felt that we, as athletes, were constantly fighting an uphill battle with our administration to become successful.  I am going to boycott all Nicholls State related groups, fundraisers, and donations until our concerns are heard by Dr. Hulbert.  I urge you to do the same, and to sign the petetion.  I have included the correspondence sent to Dr. Hulbert by myself, as well as the letter to the Editor that I have sent to the Times-Picayune, Advocate, Comet, and Courier.

Dr. Hulbert:

First of all, I would like to say that I have been very excited with the changes that have made throughout campus in the last 5 years.  The new dorms, improvements to facilities, parking lots, etc. have been a welcome sight to a proud Nicholls alum.  It seemed as if the University was moving in the right direction.

However, I believe that the athletic department took an unfortunate step backwards yesterday. 

The firing of Coach Jay Thomas and his staff is a travesty.  Granted, I am biased because I played for the man, but to hold he and his staff accountable for the situation that they were put in this season is terribly unfair.  He, his staff, and his players were all set up to fail this season.  Coach Thomas has half of a coaching staff, a minuscule operating and recruiting budget, and is forced to play multiple division 1-A programs every year, and you expect him to compete with these other programs in the Southland Conference?  Having four full time coaches for a spring practice, and six for a football season is utterly embarrassing.  How can you expect someone with such limited resources to compete with these other programs that put football as a priority.  This is obviously not the case at my Alma mater. 

This decision has completely alienated the First Down Club.  It seems as if our group has seen it's last days.  We still love Nicholls football, but refuse to support an administration that would make a move such as this.  I know that Coach Thomas was not one of "your guys," or one of Rob Bernardi's guys, but to set a man up to fail and then fire him for the results that were predicated by circumstances outside of his control are inexcusable.  I have attached a Letter to the Editor that will hopefully appear in the Houma Courier and the Daily Comet in the coming days.

Finally, I would like to let you know that I have decided not to donate to the Alumni Association, rejoin the Colonel Club, and as of now there may not be a First Down Club to join.  Also, I had applied to Nicholls State's executive MBA program, but now will take my dollars elsewhere.  I am but a small figure in this, and Nicholls State has lost many other supporters that are much more important than me, but I thought you should know that.  The Athletic Department, Nicholls State University, and it's President has lost the faith and support of many of your alumni.  It will be up to you to earn it back.

Regards,
David A. LeBoeuf
2005 Nicholls State alum


A Sad Day for Nicholls State Athletics
David LeBoeuf, Nicholls State alum 2005

"If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.%u201D

That%u2019s was Bill Parcells%u2019 famous quote when he left the New England Patriots after the 1997 season. I would like to ask the Tuna, %u201Cwhat kind of dinner could you cook if you had no groceries at all?%u201D

That%u2019s what Jay Thomas has been asking for six years now.

Coach Thomas was fired by Nicholls State University on Wednesday. At first glance, looking at a rather pedestrian 27-35 record over 6 seasons, this may seem fair. After all, in college athletics is all about wins and losses, isn%u2019t it? In order to understand Coach Thomas%u2019 tenure at Nicholls, however, you have to look at the situation he inherited.

Coach Thomas took over a program that was rocked by an academic scandal that cost the 2004 Colonels their head coach, offensive coordinator, half of the team%u2019s starters and more than 25 players just two weeks before the season opener. There was mass confusion in the program, and uncertainty that there would even be a 2004 season. Local media went from calling the Colonels Southland Conference contender to being a long shot to win a game. Things were about as bad as they could possibly be. I should know. I was on that team.

Coach Thomas did was right that sinking ship, leading the Colonels to a 5-5 record with wins over nationally ranked opponents Eastern Washington, Northwestern State, and Stephen F. Austin. A year later, he was being carried off the John L. Guidry field clutching the Colonels%u2019 first ever Southland Conference Championship trophy after a victory over rival McNeese State.

Over the next four years, however, the reality of Nicholls athletics began to set in. Budget limitations, hiring freezes, NCAA probation from the previous staff, and the inability to keep good coaches on staff began to wear on the program. The numbers are staggering: the Colonels went through three defensive coordinators and 20 plus assistant coaches in six years. Coach Thomas, despite being one of three current coaches to have won a SLC championship, remained the lowest paid coach in the conference. This season things really took a turn for the worse, when after losing three assistant coaches after the 2008 season, a hiring freeze forced the Colonels to go through an abbreviated spring practice with only four coaches. The university hired two more assistant coaches over the summer, giving them less than two months to learn the systems that they would have to in turn teach to their players. The staff was %u201Cfilled%u201D with six full time assistant coaches. Northwestern State has 11. The team struggled out of the gate, but showed marked improvement in their last four games and winning their last two to finish with a 3-8 record. The 2009 Colonels, without the proper resources to compete, were set up to fail by the administration of Nicholls State University. Coach Jay Thomas and his staff were held accountable for this, and were fired for it.

The true problems with Nicholls athletics may lie in the athletic administration itself. Since the current Administration took over 8 plus years ago, the Colonels athletic teams have won a total of 1 regular season Southland Conference Championship. The 2005 football team is the only team to qualify for NCAA postseason play. The athletic department has been a war of attrition, as head coaches for each major sport have changed at least twice since the current administration took over. If Coach Thomas is held accountable for failing to succeed despite the lack of resources in the football program, shouldn%u2019t the administrators who oversee the entire athletic department be held accountable for the lack of success that Nicholls athletics has endured? That being said, despite the poor performances on the fields of play, the books and budgets are always balanced. I guess this is the classic example of wins and losses (as well as what%u2019s best for the coaches and student-athletes), being overlooked for dollars and cents.

The administration has alienated many Colonel Football supporters with this move, I being one. Coach Thomas is ingrained in the fabric of this community. He was instrumental in the formation of the First Down Club, a fund raising group of over 200 members of the community that raised tens of thousands of dollars for the football team. Leaders of the FDC are already talking about disbanding the group. Whoever the new coach is, he has monumental damage control to do, because without the support of the FDC, he will struggle funding his program. My small contributions to the program may not be missed. However, losing the other 200 supporters of Nicholls Football, who are giving as much, and in many cases much more than me, will be definitely be missed. The sad part is, in the long run, it will be the student-athletes who put in so much hard work that will be affected the most. And now, more than ever, it is obvious that we may be the only ones that really do care about them.