ABOUT THE EPISODE

Guest Heath Schroyer, the AD McNeese State University, joins hosts Brady and Anna on Louisiana’s Playground to talk about all things McNeese sports and upgrades to the facilities and the economic impact that these investments have on the community of Lake Charles. The excitement of Homecoming Weekend on the horizon brings a week of events including Rowdy's Haunted Homecoming parade, Friday night block party and a full day of tailgating on Saturday.  

 

ABOUT THE GUEST

Heath Schroyer is a first-generation college graduate who grew up on a Dairy Farm in Maryland. He prepped at the prestigious DeMatha High School program in Hyattsville, Md., where he played for the legendary coach Morgan Wootten, whose 1,274 wins as a head coach are the second-most victories in the history of basketball at any level. He was a college coach for 26 years with 24 of those at the NCAA Division I level. He was the head coach for 12 years at four different universities and was the second-youngest head coach in the nation when he was named the Portland State head coach.   

Now, Schroyer is the Athletics Director at McNeese State University here in Lake Charles. He has been with the Cowboys since 2019 as the school’s AD, although he originally came to Lake Charles as the men’s basketball coach. In his time as A.D., he launched the McNeese Athletics Motto: Student-Athlete Centered, Fan and Donor Friendly and has implemented a mission statement that focuses on Community, Tradition and Excellence - the three pillars of McNeese Athletics and has made the well-being of the McNeese student-athletes the top priority.  

 

ENVIE EATS 

Crying Eagle Brewing Co. was established in 2016 by the Avery family. Known in the community as an entertainment and family epicenter. The on-site bistro pumps out a delicious menu of hand-tossed pizzas, classic sandwiches, and favorite shareable bites, expansive tap room serves up a full line-up of regularly rotating brews including unique twists on lagers, IPAs, Sours, Stouts, and everything in between. Conveniently located near McNeese University and the Lake Charles Regional Airport, it’s the perfect place for any occasion.  

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED: 

@visitlakecharles Crying Eagle Brewing’s new menu MADE YOU LOOK👀👀 Curious what’s on the new menu? Co-hosts Anna and Brady tried a little of everything for the newest episode of Louisiana’s Playground Podcast. Listen to Episode 3’s Envie Eats segment to get the inside scoop on these drool-worthy dishes 😋 🎙Listen here or anywhere you get your podcast: visitlakecharles.org/podcast/ Envie (sounds like an·vi) Eats: The desire to eat. A lot. #LouisianasPlayground #EnvieEats #Podcast #CryingEagle #cryingeaglebrewing #lakecharles #lakecharlesla #lakecharleslouisiana #foodie #travel #roadtrip #podcasts #foodpodcast #brewery #craftbeer #chef #louisianacheck #louisiana #louisianatiktok #weekendtrip #vacation #GenshinImpact32 #madeyoulook ♬ Made You Look - Meghan Trainor

TRANSCRIPT:

Heath Schroyer: [00:00:01] I think it's all about the engagement of your community. We can't get where we want to go as a university without the real community support and you can't do that, sitting behind your desk, you can't do that just handing out a T-shirt. It's about going out and truly meeting people and welcoming them in. 

Brady Renard: [00:00:22] Thanks for joining us here on Louisiana's Playground Podcast, your road map to all things Lake Charles Louisiana. I'm Brady Renard. 

Anna Strider: [00:00:29] And I'm Anna Strider. We're excited to have you here today as we talk about all the exciting stories that Southwest Louisiana has to offer. 

Brady Renard: [00:00:37] Episode 3, two already under our belt. Excited to bring you yet another great story, great interview and a great Envie Eats from right here in Southwest Louisiana. 

Anna Strider: [00:00:47] Today we'll be having Heath Schroyer on our episode to talk about all things McNeese State University and some of the updates and exciting things they have going on there. But before we get started with our interview, we have our favorite part of the podcast, our Envie Eats segment. 

Brady Renard: [00:01:04] Of course, it's one that we get to really dive into something that means so much to the hearts of Southwest Louisiana and really the people of Louisiana of course I'm talking about food. And the stop today is just across the street from the campus of McNeese State and it's Crying Eagle Brewery. 

Anna Strider: [00:01:21] And what's really exciting and cool about Crying Eagle Brewery that makes it different than other microbreweries across the state is that it is all-encompassing, it has the bistro in it, which of course is why we were there, not to mention the bar area where it serves not only their own beers that are made in house by head brewer Ryan O'Donnell. It also serves wine and a full liquor bar. So it really is all-encompassing for anyone to just stop in and enjoy a bite from the bistro. They have a new executive chef there that has just been promoted, Nick Thibodeau. He has been with Crying Eagle for a while now and has come on as their executive chef and has now produced brand new menu items that we got to try during our visit to Crying Eagle. 

Brady Renard: [00:02:05] Yeah, and I was really impressed with the overall offerings whether it be the appetizers, the entrees, like the sandwiches or the wings, they all looked really good, they all looked really fresh and they all looked really creative. 

Anna Strider: [00:02:17] Definitely and I can't say that this is my first time going to Crying Eagle. Their pizzas there that come out from the bistro are some of the best in town. They're just absolutely delicious. The crust is perfectly toasted. My favorite is the What The Fig which has prosciutto and goat cheese on it with a little bit of arugula. All some of my favorite things but on this visit I had to break away a little bit from my typical choice and go with one of the new menu items and I chose the new Hot Louisiana chicken sandwich. And let me tell you it has a kick to it. It was hot. 

Brady Renard: [00:02:58] I like the way they did it. It reminded me a lot of a Nashville Hot Chicken which is kind of done in a very oil base and it's kind of dipped into it which is a little bit different than, let's say, a buffalo or even just a typical hot sauce. The oil really is the star of the show and I was really impressed. I didn't get to try it. I didn't want to eat your sandwich but it did look really good. 

Anna Strider: [00:03:17] It was delicious. It had pickles and then this coleslaw on it that was just a perfect element to it. It was very crispy and just overall a great sandwich. And I got a salad that had the Don't Blush vinaigrette, which is also one of my favorite beers that Don't Blush there at Crying Eagle. So it all tied together. 

Brady Renard: [00:03:37] We also had a guest Get the Shrimp tacos and she really raved about those personally. I went with the Mango Habanero wings, not a very high hot wing, which I think most people will probably enjoy because of it. Not everyone has an iron stomach as I do, but it had just a hint of sweetness so it really allowed the chicken to kind of shine and I thought it was really good in the fries. Very, very good, very crispy, crispy French fries. So if you like crispy French fries, I think you're going to definitely need to order a side of those. In addition, we also got the pimento artichoke dip which was an appetizer with crostini is kind of a bread, almost a chewy bread that did a really good job holding up to the dip. And I was really impressed at how cheesy a lot of texture within it, with the vegetables from the pimento cheese and the artichoke, of course. Very good appetizer. 

Anna Strider: [00:04:30] It was wonderful. It surprised me for sure of all the flavors and how that would come together and it was just bubbling when it came out and really complemented everything. And again that is one of the new menu items as well as the Shrimp Tacos and the Chicken Sandwich. So just a lot of great food coming out of the bistro there at Crying Eagle. 

Brady Renard: [00:04:52] As far as the brewery portion of the building, we of course had to sample a couple of their brews and so we kind of with two of them that I think most people will really enjoy. Myself, I went with a Saint Isidore, which is a dry hot Belgian ‘Saison’ means season in French. A 6.8 ABV, very kind of a light ale and it does have a very light fruitiness to it I would say. In the description for it, they say is kind of a stone fruit and a mango, which I would agree. A very dry beer, but in a very good way, very hoppy. Just a very solid ale. 

Anna Strider: [00:05:26] I went a little bit in a different direction. I love a good sour. So I had to go with the Don't Blush. It is their flagship sour on tap there at the brewery. It has raspberry and passion fruit hints of it. So there's a subtle sweetness but it also has that sour and it's blended together just perfectly. So it's refreshing for a summer beer but also a year-round brew as far as the sour goes. So I really enjoyed that and was a balance between my hot chicken sandwich I was eating. 

Brady Renard: [00:05:59] I think you probably need to be brave to go with the chicken sandwich looking at the reaction that you had given after a few bites of that thing. 

Anna Strider: [00:06:07] Well I for one am still growing my ability to – 

Brady Renard: [00:06:12] I think we call that a lightweight. 

Anna Strider: [00:06:14] I am a lightweight. I am a lightweight when it comes to spicy food and hot flavors. So don't fully take my word on that if you like hot or if you want to test it out, it's a great hot chicken sandwich. And the bistro is just one of those great lunch spots and dinner spots. The food comes out quick and hot and fresh and it's just awesome for coming in when you're right there near McNeese. 

Brady Renard: [00:06:36] I think they've done a really great job at marketing the brewery to be more than just a brewery and honestly even more so than just a restaurant and brewery. Eric Avery and Company when they created crying eagle back in 2016, they wanted to give Lake Charles a bit of an identity through the microbrewery, which is now one of the largest in the entire country. I think one thing that really stuck out to me in the genesis of their company is that they didn't want to pigeonhole themselves as a brewery. They wanted to become an entertainment epicenter in the community and I think they've done that. 

Anna Strider: [00:07:11] I couldn't agree more. They have so many things going at the brewery. Eric and the team have done a great job of putting together a full lineup on a regular basis. They do the summer concert series that feature local bands including Flamethrowers and Bag of Donuts that really bring out a good crowd. During the week they have trivia nights, they have comedy shows there at the brewery. They also do brewery tours throughout the year, so you can tour the facility and come in there and do a tasting, which is a really great way to have a full understanding of how the beer is made and why it is so impactful. On their patio, they have a double-story outside space that is -– the upstairs is great for private events which offers a different component to the facility. And there's a full patio of just tables, picnic chairs and places to really settle in and be outside right there amongst the trees. If you have kids, it's a very family-friendly place and that's something that the Averys found very important when creating Crying Eagle. 

Brady Renard: [00:08:11] As far as the location, it's very conveniently located if like you had mentioned if you're at a McNeese athletic event or even some of the near high school events in town just off of the 210 Interstate, also not very far from Burton Coliseum, so a nice little location right there on McNeese street. 

Anna Strider: [00:08:27] And one thing that I think is really special about the brewery is how the Averys chose the name. Because Quelqueshue when translated means crying eagle and that name came from the Native American tribe, the Atakapa that was located here in Southwest Louisiana. So the name and the meaning behind the brewery bring everything full circle and the impact of what this brewery has in our community. Stop in there. Give them a try. Let us know what your favorite pizza is. 

Brady Renard: [00:08:57] From a great meal to another great guest as we welcome on Heath Schroyer, the athletics director at McNeese State University here in Lake Charles. Heath’s been with the Cowboys since 2019 as the school's AD, although he did originally come to Lake Charles, believe it or not as the men's basketball coach. Well since he's been the AD, he's launched the McNeese athletics motto, which is “Student-athletes centered, fan and donor friendly.” On destroyer, the pokes have had success on the field with conference championships on the diamond and the track and in the classroom 223 student-athletes have been named to the Southland Conference Commissioners academic honor roll. He's also up the Cowboys' revenue generation and is overseeing many upgrades to athletic facilities, like the press box over at Cowboys Stadium, the Football Stadium. That's all coming up over the next few years. Welcome to the show Heath. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:09:48] Hey, it's great to be here. Brady, thanks for having me. And Anna, it's great to meet you. 

Anna Strider: [00:09:51] Great to have you here. Thank you.

Heath Schroyer: [00:09:52] Welcome to Lake Charles. It's the greatest city in the country. I'm telling you. 

Anna Strider: [00:09:56] I'm learning that the best way possible. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:09:57] 100%. I've lived in a lot of places. Coaching took me a lot of places, but, I absolutely fell in love with this place a few years ago and, yeah, it's going to take a lot to get me out of here. 

Brady Renard: [00:10:10] So each guest, we want to let each of our podcast listeners kind of get a deep dive, so to speak on you and what better way than to figure out how you play in southwest Louisiana in Lake Charles here on Louisiana's Playground. So we'll start with what we call our rapid-fire questions. 

Heath Schroyer:  [00:10:27] Here we go. 

Anna Strider: [00:10:28] You’re ready. 

Brady Renard: [00:10:28] Crawfish or gumbo? 

Heath Schroyer: [00:10:29] Crawfish. 

Brady Renard: [00:10:29] Why? 

Heath Schroyer: [00:10:30] I grew up in Maryland. So I grew up a blue crab fan. so I'm a big seafood fan. I'm not really into hot soup as much but throw that spice and the Cajun on the crawfish and I am in. 

Anna Strider: [00:10:47] And all the extras that go with it. They don't quite have that up in Maryland. Speaking from experience.

Heath Schroyer: [00:10:50] For sure. No question. And you know what I found out is when I lived in Maryland, everyone said about Maryland is known for crabs and a blue crab. Well then I come here and I found out that the majority of the crabs in Maryland gets shipped from Louisiana. 

Anna Strider: [00:11:03] Giving away the secret up there in Maryland. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:11:04] And I’m like, are you kidding me? I grew up my whole life. I didn't know that, but no crawfish all day long. 

Brady Renard: [00:11:11] Okay, poolside or beachside. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:11:13] That's a hard one. I love both of them because I love the sun, but I would say pool because I don't have to deal with the sand. 

Brady Renard: [00:11:21] I'm a little bit like Anakin Skywalker myself, not a big fan of sand. Alright, obviously here in Lake Charles, we get so many acts and big-name acts come to our venues here. Concert or comedy show? 

Heath Schroyer: [00:11:33] Concert. I'm a huge music guy. So I love live music and what's one of the things I fell in love with in this city is really almost every single night of the week if you want to go have dinner or have a beer, there's always somebody on an acoustic guitar, there's always something playing whether it be a downtown venue, the casinos. I mean just all over the place. I mean, you can go to Rib Shack and there's live music. So, concert all day long. 

Brady Renard: [00:12:02] Yes, he's right at home. I mean, it's no wonder that you've kind of planted those roots here. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:12:06] I'm telling you like, really, if you look at, I love the weather, people say all the humidity or whatever. But I've lived in Wyoming where it snowed in June so I'll take the hot all day long. The thing not to venture off here, but you have big city amenities, but there's a small-town feel. So once you kind of get connected in the city and really know what's going on, you have the best of both worlds. I mean, we have some five-star restaurants here. Unbelievable golf courses. I mean, the hunting and fishing is great. So really you have a lot of big city amenities, but you don't have all the big city nonsense. 

Brady Renard: [00:12:40] Did you read our brand description before you drove over? 

Heath Schroyer: [00:12:42] I did not. I did not. Is that what you said? 

Anna Strider: [00:12:45] So, there was no commission in that statement, but that's our brand description right there and what we promote as Lake Charles and as a destination, you just hit the nail on the head of everything that we have to offer and what makes it such a great space. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:12:57] It is a diamond in the rough. I was here about six months as the basketball coach like Brady alluded to and I was like, oh my gosh, this place, I mean, it's unbelievable. If you want to go to the casino, you can. If you want to go to Vic and Anthony's and have a meal or Masons or wherever and have a great meal, you can. I want to go listen to a guy play acoustic guitar on a Wednesday night, you can do that. So it is a great, I really do. I fell in love with it. 

Brady Renard: [00:13:23] On the basketball court, he called us a sleeping giant at McNeese State. But obviously, so much of that has to do with the city in which McNeese resides in. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:13:31] As a basketball program. And I will tell you, even as an athletic department, we went through a lot. I mean obviously that everyone went through the pandemic, but the hurricanes really destroyed our university. It really got hit our facilities. I know we'll talk about that later. They took a real hit and it really put our department behind in a lot of ways. Now, I think we can catch up a lot quicker because the city is so great and the people in this community support it so much. But I mean it did. Our athletic department really had to be rebranded and rebuilt from the ground up and that's what's the exciting part for me right now. 

Anna Strider: [00:14:11] While you've been talking about the different upgrades that have been going on at McNeese, I guess we can dive into the excitement that night games are back – 

Heath Schroyer: [00:14:20] For sure. 

Anna Strider: [00:14:21] -- and that y'all have had a great season so far and of course McNeese homecoming is this week. So, talk little about those, homecoming and the night games and what all is on the horizon as we're diving into the excitement.

Heath Schroyer: [00:14:32] It is, you know, and, hey, listen, everyone wants to win every single game you play. So I get that. But if you look at the big broad picture and I'll talk about football just for a little bit. We've had four head coaches in five years. Gary Golf is the fourth and when I hired him, I told him, I said, listen, I want someone that wants to build a program, and really step by step brick by brick from the ground up, and he's done that. Homecoming is huge. Obviously, we got Wayne Toups on Friday night for the block party, which will bring a couple thousand people out, but we really changed a lot of things. Obviously went back to seven 7 p.m. kickoffs and that has been phenomenal. Our tailgate experience and I've said it all year, we have the greatest tailgate experience and pre-game in FCS Football, it's not even close, cannot be argued. Our tailgates have been awesome. We brought the students back into the heart of the tailgate in lot A. I mean it's what we do here in Louisiana on Saturdays, right? I mean we tailgate, we cook, we drink, we go watch football and everyone's talked about the mystery rider coming back the horse. I mean we've done a lot of cool things and a neat thing, and Brady knows this about me, is just wait till next year because we're going to up the ante again. So it's really, really fun to be leading the way with this. 

Anna Strider: [00:15:56] I can definitely speak on that too, is attending some of the tailgates that have been going on this season. It's been an absolute blast. The energy there, the people, everyone is so excited to be back on campus and just really having a great time and I know this week for homecoming, it's going to be that and so much more because we have also on Thursday night there's a parade, correct?

Heath Schroyer: [00:16:16] Correct. Parade Thursday night and then we have the block party Friday, and really Wayne Toups is — if anyone out there is listening that hasn't seen Wayne Toups, he personifies everything that is crazy, different, great about Louisiana. The thing about the block parties, they're free. 

Anna Strider: [00:16:35] Exactly. It's a great chance for locals, visitors, the community come out really have a great time and there's food trucks on site as well. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:16:43] There's food trucks on site, there's beer that are sold on-site. It's BYOB. Can bring your lawn chair, you can bring your own cooler. We've invested $50,000 to bring these acts in and I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Legacy Jewelers and Lake Charles Toyota who has helped us with this. But we've done this for the community and we did it for the students. We wanted to bring people back onto campus. The whole grove is lit up, the trees are lit up, you'll see the band and it's a great, great time. 

Brady Renard: [00:17:13] Why was it important for you to bring more than just a game day atmosphere with the block parties, with the parade, even by extension, the tailgating in terms of improving those experiences? Why were even the non-game day experience is important to you? 

Heath Schroyer: [00:17:31] Well, listen, any athletic director at this level, if they tell you that we're not in the hospitality business, in the entertainment business, they're lying to you. It has to be more than just a game. And I think that I've learned that through the years and I've been a lot of places and I've seen a lot of game days, both basketball and football. But now I want to take it and listen, we're going to blow this thing out of the water and it's important, Brady, because I think it's all about engagement of your community. We can't get where we want to go as a university without the real community support. You can't do that sitting behind your desk, you can't do that just handing out a T-shirt. It's about going out and, and truly meeting people and, and welcoming them in. The block parties is the second annual year that we've done it last year. I thought towards the end, it really picked up steam and it's just from the first game a month or so ago, it's been a phenomenal outpouring of support. 

Brady Renard: [00:18:30] I love that you guys for this homecoming matchup, you guys didn't back down. I mean Southeastern obviously always a quality program, obviously a quality rivalry and once again further lens into what you want the fan experience to be. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:18:44] Absolutely. I mean, look, if we're going to be what we eventually want to be, we have to be, have the mentality that we're going to be different. We have to embrace being different. Be bold and we have to play anybody anywhere anytime. Nothing great has ever been built in any industry that hasn't had a bold approach to it. And that's honestly been my mindset from day one, Brady. 

Brady Renard: [00:19:06] Because of the hurricanes and the damage to our facilities here in the Lake Charles area, like you said it’s become kind of a springboard in a way to get facility upgrades to other spots. You guys have already done a lot to the baseball and softball stadium, students once again improve the fan experience, football's upcoming over the next two years. I know the Legacy Center finally reopened. Tell us a little bit more about what the upgrades to facilities have really done for McNeese. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:19:32] Well, I think that facilities are, first of all, are vital and really important into attracting and recruiting student-athletes. When you look at football, we haven't done anything as far as a football enhancement of our facilities in almost 20 years. That is now changing. The new press box will be the nicest press box in FCS Football. It'll be ready for FBS football if and when that call comes. We have to have a better baseball facility, we're working on that.  Our softball facility and the canopies and all that had to get redone. Same thing with baseball. The Legacy Center was a big push to us to get done. We have that done. We put a new weight room in the Legacy Center, it's called the Mallet Performance Center. Lee Mallet donated the money for that. We need to upgrade the locker room in football. There's plans to do that. I've talked to an architect about that. So it never stops. I mean, we have to continue to invest in our facilities and we kind of lost our way 15 years ago and we stopped investing in it. We stopped enhancing our facilities. We just did. And again, I look at it as if we're going to be what we want to be, this is the price of admission, right? I mean, you have to continue to push the envelope and upgrade the facilities. It's overdue. But I'm happy to say that we're on our way now. 

Brady Renard: [00:20:51] And I think softball has really been the standard for all of those messages whether it is the teams that you guys are welcoming in, the LSUs, The Houston’s have all been here within the last year or two, the game day atmosphere for the softball team is amongst the best in Division 1. That really has been the standard where you guys are proof that you're trying your best to walk the talk and that is across the board both the men and women's sports. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:21:15] Absolutely. I mean, it's not just about football or basketball. You look at softball like you said, I mean, we've won games in the region. I mean, we beat Notre Dame twice last year out at Northwestern in Chicago. I mean, we've had unbelievable success. James Landreneau has done an unbelievable job. But our baseball and softball are spring sports, the game day atmosphere, the music, the things that we're doing and the things that we're going to do into this year, it's continuing to enhance the experience. And look, I mean, I meet recruits all the time. The coaches always bring recruits through and I talked to them about those things is that when you're a player you want to be around something that's live and something that's exciting. And so it's really important for all of our sports to continue to enhance that experience. 

Brady Renard: [00:21:59] And then beyond that, you mentioned wanting to maybe one day move to the FBS level. You've talked about it numerous times, about not being shy. For a little background McNeese State flirted with the Western Athletic Conference this past summer and then because of it upped the ante, so to speak, within the Southland Conference, multiple events will be now be coming to Lake Charles because of the flirtation. McNeese now will be able to host the Southland Basketball Tournaments for both the men and the women, the Softball Tournament and the Baseball Conference Tournament. All of those events coming to Lake Charles this year in 2023. Bringing those types of events, multimillion-dollar revenue coming into the city, thousands of visitors with it, what is that I mean for the city and to McNeese State? 

Heath Schroyer: [00:22:45] I don't know if you can really put it in words Brady, to be honest. I remember exactly where I was when I brokered the deal with Chris Grant in the Southland Conference. I was driving to meet with President Hurley at Arlington, who was the president of the whack. At the end of the day, I thought when Sam Houston and New Mexico State left, right because the path was we're going to go to the whack be with Sam Houston New Mexico State and we're going to go become FBS. Well, those two left and went to Conference USA so the playing field was different. 

But I think that bringing the tournaments here is multi-millions of dollars for this community which is something that I was really proud to do. I remember telling Dr. Roose this in the car, the press conference to go the whack would be really cool, right? And as an AD selfishly that's really cool when you can move conferences. But the best thing for this institution at the time and more importantly the best thing for this community was to stay because of the economic impact. It was about the institution and more importantly, it was about this community because when you host all of those events, all those teams have to find hotels, all those teams have to eat, all those teams are going to go buy a beer. They're all going to the conference office, it's going to come down here. They're all going to go out to eat. The economic impact is, it will be in the millions for this community and it was something I was really, really proud to do because after I went through the hurricane here, the two hurricanes, I fell in love with this place all over again. To be able to help facilitate that and bring that to the people of this community is something I couldn't pass up. 

Anna Strider: [00:24:23] As a visitor and local, are there other opportunities where they can get connected with McNeese with the athletic department? Where can they find information about what's going on on campus? 

Heath Schroyer: [00:24:36] Absolutely. Look, I would tell anyone who lives in this area. Okay. And even outside this area. It's a great place to go to school. We have some programs like nursing and business and engineering that are nationally renowned. We have some great degrees, we have an unbelievable campus, and campus life is getting better and better. The education, the value of education is one of the best in the country. It really is for the dollar. But to answer your question, absolutely, you can go to mcneesesports.com and get everything you want. You can buy a ticket, you can find out everything that is going on in McNeese Sports. 

Then obviously, same thing, go to the website mcneesestateuniversity.com and you're going to get all the information there. I'm a little bit biased, but at the end of the day, the athletic department is the front porch in the institution. It is the branding arm of the institution so I don't shy away from that. We have to continue to push the envelope to become better and better. It's about the experience, it's about the engagement and so that's why it's really important for the block parties you see on social media. I'm at the fraternities and sororities every week, getting them out there because that's how you build enrollment and that's how you build excitement. 

Brady Renard: [00:25:50] All right. Well, we appreciate your time here on the podcast. Thank you so much for joining us here on Louisiana's Playground. 

Heath Schroyer: [00:25:58] Hey guys, thank you for having me. It was an absolute pleasure. 

Brady Renard: [00:26:00] Alright, thanks again to Heath Schroyer for joining us on the show and thank you for taking time out of your day to join us here on the podcast. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. 

Anna Strider: [00:26:11] It will help us grow our audience and further share the special experiences at Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana have to offer, you can visit visitlakecharles.org/podcast for more episodes, details on where to eat and events happening this weekend in Louisiana's Playground. I'm Anna Strider. 

Brady Renard: [00:26:30] And I'm Brady Renard. Thanks again for coming to play at Louisiana's Playground. Stay tuned. 

[End of Transcript]