ULM athletics are often a frustration to diehard Warhawk fans. There have been a few deep runs into conference tournaments and winning streaks, but at the end of the season the teams end up at home on the couch watching the postseason like everyone else. But through all the futility of Indian and Warhawk sports, one thing is for sure. ULM is the undisputed champion of water sports.
Students often remember the school water ski team which owns 23 national titles, but other aquatic sports have thrived at the University as well. The wakeboarding and fishing team have earned accolades.
The wakeboarding team had strong showings at the Collegiate Wake Series Championships and received team of the year honors. Continuing the water dominance, the fishing team improved to second in the national rankings in 2011 and had members win third place at the 2011 SFA Bucketmouth Invitational.
I suppose the question becomes how does ULM use its strengths moving forward? Sadly, you can’t play football on water or hit a homer with a fishing rod, so those ideas are out. ULM once had a contending swimming and diving team. They were top three in National Independent Championships twice. I still remember when I heard swimming and diving were getting the boot in
2005. There was a knock on the door of my cousin’s dorm in the old Monroe Hall.
A swimmer walked up to him and said they eliminated the sport. Maybe it’s time to resurrect that program, but if not then perhaps water polo should be added.  It would take a while to build the program up, but if the natatorium is still around, then you might as well put it to good use. Why don’t we freeze that planned Bayou Park pool in the winter and use it as a rink for a new college hockey
team? It may be frozen, but it’s still water. And with the university’s storied reputation in water sports why not? Louisianans love to shoot things, and hockey pucks could be the new rage. Of course I’m just kidding and dreaming of what could be through the eyes of a hockey fan, but there are real ideas out there. This university should capitalize on what it does best, and that’s dominating the competition whenever the action shifts from the land to the water.