Dave Roberts lived up to his press clippings.

In 1986, Sports Illustrated named Roberts one of college football’s five best recruiters. The intriguing list included Roberts along with Bo Schembechler of Michigan, Joe Paterno of Penn State, Barry Switzer of Oklahoma and Terry Donahue of UCLA.

So when ULM (then Northeast Louisiana University) needed to hire a coach after Pat Collins resigned, it turned to the Western Kentucky head coach known for finding talented players. Five years later, Roberts left ULM with the highest winning percentage of any football coach in school history.

“I think sometimes coaches think because you’re at Louisiana-Monroe, you can’t get players,” Roberts said. “Baloney. There are plenty of players out there. You can get them. You just have to cast you net pretty wide and have a plan to do all that.”

Head football coach from 1989-93, Roberts won big by recruiting some of the greatest players in school history. Star-studded rosters stocked with future NFL players were a hallmark of the Roberts’ era. Those teams produced future pros like James Folston, Jeff Blackshear, Roosevelt Potts, Greg Robinson, Irving Spikes and more.

“That’s what it all boils down to,” Folston said. “Finding the right athletes and coaching them up.”

For his contributions to a successful and memorable era in football, Roberts is part of the 2020 ULM L Club Sports Hall of Fame class.

“I thought it was really cool,” Roberts said in response to being selected. “Mainly because there’s a lot of players and coaches there that made that happen for me. They’ll probably tell you, the head coach can set the vision and work on recruiting. But the coaches have to coach the players. It meant the world to me.”

Originally selected in 2020, the L Club Sports Hall of Fame class includes former coach baseball Ray “Smoke” Laval and assistant athletic trainer Robert Williamson. Their induction was delayed last fall due to COVID-19 protocols.

Roberts overcame a rocky start in Monroe. He replaced a popular coach in Collins, who’d won a National Championship in 1987. Locals were split on who they wanted as a replacement, with multiple assistants off Collins’ staff in the running to replace him.

His first team finished 4-6-1, followed by a player revolt with some alleging Roberts worked them too hard.

Yet Roberts kept grinding and kept finding athletes who were difference makers. The results speak for themselves.

“It started out a little rocky,” Roberts said. “But it got really good. We had a good thing going.”

Roberts led the team to 37 victories, 20 losses and two ties for a winning percentage of .644. His last four teams were nationally ranked and his 1990 and 1992 squads won Southland Conference Championships. His 1993 team was 9-3, participated in the NCAA playoffs and ended the regular season ranked No. 4 in the nation by Sports Network in the school’s final year in Division 1-AA (Football Championship Subdivision).

Roberts’ 1990 team was 7-5, won the SLC title, participated in the NCAA playoffs and was ranked No. 14 in the nation. His 1991 team went 7-3-1 and was ranked No. 18 nationally and his 1992 team was 10-3, reached the NCAA quarterfinals and ended the regular season tied for No. 1 in the nation.

“We had some great football players,” Roberts said. “We had a really strong era of really good players that did well by that school. I enjoyed it immensely.”

Roberts was ahead of his time when it came to player acquisition. Before today’s transfer portal allowed for easy player movement in college football, FCS programs (I-AA programs at the time) could add athletes from FBS level (I-A) programs and they were immediately eligible to play.

“We assigned coaches to talk to colleges to see who was leaving,” Roberts said. “We recruited the colleges and we recruited the junior colleges. And of course, we recruited the high schools. But we knew who was transferring.”

If Roberts could change anything, he might have taken a slightly different approach to preparing his team over the long season.

“Because I practiced the guys so hard, we probably were tired at the end of the season and that probably cost us some games,” said Roberts, whose teams made first-round playoff exits in 1990 and 1993. “But that was by my choice. We practiced very physical, we were very tough and that probably cost you toward the end of the season because you’re fatigued.”

Roberts was the National Coach of the Year in 1992 by the NFL Draft Report, along with similar honors in the Southland Conference and Louisiana. Overall, his teams produced 18 All-Americans and numerous professional players.

“You have to set a vision,” Roberts said. “I told them we’d be the toughest, even if we weren’t the most talented. Eventually, we would the most talented. But we were going to be the toughest, and I think that was true. I said ‘Turn us loose and we’ll go recruit some really good football players who fit this university and we did that. The vision has to be set, then you have to go do it.”

Folston, who played for the NFL’s Raiders, credits Roberts for pointing him in the right direction.

“I’m in Cocoa, Florida, and had never heard of Monroe in high school,” said Folston, who will present Roberts for induction. “I was initially set to go to Florida State and got a phone call from him. In about 15 or 20 minutes, he convinced me to come to Northeast Louisiana University at the time. The way I look at it, his competitive football practices made the National Football League easier for me.”

Roberts parlayed his success at ULM into a new opportunity when he left after five years to become offensive coordinator for Lou Holtz at Notre Dame. He later served as head coach at Baylor and eventually rejoined Holtz as an assistant at South Carolina.  But he never forgot his Monroe experience.

“I thought it was the best place I’ve ever been,” Roberts said. “The friends we made there in Monroe are still friends. That was an experience I enjoyed because we were able to build something and accomplish something. And the players were just outstanding.”

To go: Hall of Fame weekend begins with a Friday night social at the L Club House on Oct. 15 and is highlighted by the enshrinement brunch at 10 a.m. Saturday Oct. 16 at Bayou Pointe on the ULM campus. The inductees will also be recognized during ULM’s home football game against Liberty University later that day.

Tickets to the induction are $25 and may be purchased online at ulm.edu/alumni.

For information on attending the ULM L Club Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, please contact the Alumni Association at (318) 342-5420 or by email at alumniassociation@ulm.edu.