Seemingly out of the blue, ULM AD John Hartwell announced his resignation on Monday. The school said Hartwell will be "pursuing other professional opportunities." In other words, this wasn't a "quit or we'll fire you" resignation, and he doesn't have another job immediately lined up. He's not sure where he wants to work, but he's sure it's not ULM.
"I am grateful for the support of our student athletes, coaches, senior staff, donors, alumni, and all of Warhawk nation," said Hartwell, in the extent of his statement. Not among the groups thanked in Hartwell's one-sentence goodbye? The ULM administration.
Following the announcement, items began trickling out that Hartwell essentially resigned out of protest to demanded budget cuts from above.
"Contacted a few SBC ADs, some caught off guard by Hartwell's resignation. Others have heard the new ULM president is demanding massive cuts to what is already the smallest budget in FBS. Perhaps as much as $6-9 million cut from what was a $21 million budget," tweeted Shane Mettlen, James Madison's beat writer for the Harrisonburg (Va.) Daily News Record.
That $6-9 million figure popped up again in this DM shared by the fan site Warhawk Report.
In light of recent events - I guess the DM last week was an indication of things to come. pic.twitter.com/jfhvi4a31Y
— WarhawkReport (@warhawk_report) August 4, 2025
According to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, ULM spent $31 million in athletics in the fiscal year 2024. The Sun Belt median spending was $66 million, and the FBS median was $124 million. Cutting even $6 million out of $31 million would be nearly 20 percent, the equivalent of Texas, the No. 1 spender at $325 million, cutting $65 million out of its budget. A $9 million cut would equate to a 30 percent spending reduction.
For a program that's enjoyed one winning season since moving to FBS in 1994, the obvious question is how ULM can even hope to field a viable team in college football's top subdivision -- or even a Division I athletics department at all.
Attempting to answer those questions before they were asked, ULM president Dr. Carrie L. Castille said Monday, "My commitment to ULM Athletics and the Sun Belt Conference is unwavering."
Industry insider Matt Brown responded with this.
I uh, don't think it's a coincidence that Castille's statement pointed to an "unwavering" commitment to the Sun Belt. It isn't hard to find people in the industry who doubt that! https://t.co/6do1xpxeRt
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) August 4, 2025
In the meantime, ULM head coach Bryant Vincent and his staff are preparing for a season that begins Aug. 28 without an AD and under the reality that they're likely going to have to make do with less than they had before.