MONROE, La. -- Bobby Staub, who has served as the director of athletics at ULM since 2004, has announced his resignation, effective July 1.
“First and foremost, I'd like to thank the Warhawk family for nine great years,” said Staub. “The past 12 months have been particularly gratifying with the on-field achievements, academic accomplishments and external successes that we were able achieve. I'm especially grateful to our coaches, staff and student-athletes for their hard work and dedication to ULM. It's truly been a team effort.”
“I'm appreciative for the opportunity afforded me when I was hired back in 2004. This has been a tremendous journey for (my wife) Laura and I. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Monroe and have made so many life-long friends here. We've been truly blessed. We wish the Warhawk family all the best.”
During Staub's tenure at ULM, the athletic department underwent a series of changes and successes. ULM completed its move of all sports programs to the Sun Belt Conference. Three Staub hires – then-men's basketball head coach Orlando Early, baseball head coach Jeff Schexnaider and football head coach Todd Berry – earned Sun Belt coach of the year honors. Other Staub hires have been notable as well, such as the lofty rankings in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) that have come under head coach Terrence De Jongh.
Significant on-field success has come in the past year. The 2012 football team recorded the first winning season since ULM moved to the top tier of NCAA competition and garnered its first-ever bowl bid, playing in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport. Last spring, baseball earned its first trip to the NCAA championship tournament since moving to Sun Belt, a highly ranked conference for baseball, after making a storybook run through the conference tournament.
The Warhawks also made significant strides in bringing the public to campus. Staub came to ULM after making his mark in marketing and sales at UAB and it didn't take long to for him to implement systems that produced success at ULM as well. An attendance record for a football home opener was set in his second year at the helm and the single-game mark was topped just two years later. Every football attendance record has since been re-written during Staub's time as AD, including a new single-game mark of 31,175 set this past September when Baylor University became the first Big XII team to come to Malone Stadium. Football has enjoyed ticket sales increases of up to 40 percent. He also worked to launch Super Warhawk Weekend, the annual spring event that brings thousands onto campus for three days of events.
“Obviously I am surprised and shocked at this decision,” said head football coach Todd Berry. “I have worked with approximately 15 different athletic directors during my 30-plus years of coaching and Bobby is one of the best that I have ever had the privilege of working with. He has done an outstanding job as this is one of, if not the hardest, athletic director jobs in the country. He has a done great job with the facilities we have as well as the finaces. He has motivated his staff and created lots of energy within the department and he will be missed.”
Staub made facilities renewal one of the cornerstones of his time at ULM. He spearheaded improvements that saw every competition and practice facility either built new or renovated. Two additions to Malone Stadium were most notable: the installation of a state-of-the-art artificial surface in 2007 and in 2011 a videoboard that is the largest in the Sun Belt and second-largest in the state of Louisiana. Staub also oversaw improvements to the fan experience at football, adding an activity area for children, new seating, an end-zone hospitality area and expanding tailgating opportunities.
Further facility improvements were an overhaul of Raymond Heard Stadium ahead of being tapped to host the Sun Belt tennis championship tournaments in 2008, a new soccer complex was built alongside a popular tailgating area, Groseclose Track was resurfaced and a new hammer cage was added, fan amenities and coaches office were built new at the ULM Softball Complex and sweeping improvements to Warhawk Field – including a new scoreboard and improved fan areas – were done prior to hosting the Sun Belt baseball championship tournament in 2011. Additionally, locker rooms were either built new or renovated for football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, women's soccer and softball.
The ULM intercollegiate athletics program also had success that wasn't measured on the scoreboards. Academic achievement was a major part of the strategic plan that Staub authored and implemented and the Warhawks were recognized several times for accomplishments in the classroom. The graduation rate improved significantly, reaching a level far higher than the student body in general. Last year, ULM recorded the highest single-year federal graduation rate in the state of Louisiana and had a record 121 student-athletes named to the Sun Belt Commissioner's List (3.5 or better grade point average) and Academic Honor Roll (3.0 to 3.49 grade point average). Staub also established the Maroon & Gold Society, an academic honor association for student-athletes, and recognized 108 at last year's annual banquet.
“It is has been a pleasure working with Bobby over the last three years,” said head men's basketball coach Keith Richard. “Coming back to Monroe to rebuild this program has been difficult, but he has made it easier for me every single day that I have been here and I am extremely thankful for that.”
National recognition for achievements have come under Staub's watch as well. Texas A&M University's Laboratory for Diversity in Sport twice honored ULM with its prestigious Diversity in Athletics Award and further lauded the department for its academic success among minority student-athletes. ULM was the only school in the state of Louisiana or Sun Belt Conference to receive the honor either year.
Staub was also able to add sports programs that fit well for a southern school, bringing on women's golf in 2005 and sand volleyball in 2013, including the construction of a new sand volleyball venue on campus.
“Bobby has been a great asset to our university and our community,” said Jeff Foote, president of the ULM athletic foundation. “He has done a tremendous amount for our athletic program and faced a lot of challenges over the last nine years. He has built a great foundation for ULM athletics both on and off the field. I credit he and his staff for our recent success that has put ULM back on the map. I wish Bobby and Laura the best of luck with their future endeavors as they have given a lot to this community and we will miss them greatly.
Staub was also challenged with a mandate from the NCAA in 2005 to change a mascot and nickname that the organization had deemed to be insensitive. He was involved in a process that resulted in the Warhawks mascot and nickname and then implemented a branding campaign that resulted in successful adoption of the name and marks. The potentially divisive situation instead came to be a popularly accepted new direction, as evidenced by record figures in licensing revenues – a 66 percent increase in fall 2012 - and the proliferation of the new Warhawks marks in the local area and among fans and alumni.
ULM was recognized with a special award from NACDA for its efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Further honors have come for efforts supporting women's initiatives.
Staub was named ULM's 12th director of athletics on June 30, 2004, after previously serving as the senior associate director of athletics at UAB. He is a native of Birmingham, Ala., a graduate of Auburn University and is married to the former Laura Vaughan. He served on the NCAA's Division I baseball committee and chair of the Sun Belt Conference athletic directors. He is on the board of directors of the New Orleans Bowl and is a member of the BCS Advisory Committee, the NCAA football issues committee and is on the board of directors of the Division I-A Athletic Directors Association. Locally, he is on the board of directors of Ouachita Parish Young Life.
