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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BirdofParadise
This report talks about many many things that have to get done and a lot of them are immediately. But none of this is going to get done in any sort of a timely manner until we increase our athletics staff by a LOT.
To be fair (and I say that understanding none of you need to be fair LOL) suggesting our leadership can't get it done may be valid, but how do we know when they've never been given the resources they need to be successful...and personnel is chief among them.
I'm not smart enough to know exactly what order things need to be done, but I'll argue increasing the staff needs to be at the top of the list.
Mike Alden is well respected...but even he wouldn't be able to get this to where it needs to be without a LOT more people.
There were more people involved in putting this report together than we have on our full time athletic staff.
Think about that.
I guess that means the ball is now in Dr. Savoie's court.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
fanof71
Well, that was an investment well spent. Comprehensive and complete in its review and suggestions/plan of action...
As we have long discussed, the "Branding" of athletics and all that encompasses that single descriptive word (adjective, noun, and verb) was broken down into all of its single components from marketing, digital, new media, traditional media, sponsorship's, ad sales, in game and out of game experiences for the fans etc, etc. This report is a total and conclusive road map to the future success (off the field) of UL Athletics. Some of what I liked...
Have a multimedia group like IMG, Learfield, or others handle all sponsorship marketing. It gives UL a national reach that nearly every school in the country enjoys. They also specialize in brand licensing and other internal marketing objectives.
Improve on all of the digital/new media opportunities. Develop more content for distribution, both through traditional and non-traditional means. Folks, the media landscape is going to changing in the near future in Lafayette. KADN/KLAF etc will be put up for sale after Nexstar acquires Media General. KLFY will ride that train while KADN/KLAF will be sold to (in all likelihood) to Meredith Corp. or some other large broadcast group. Most of those don't sell, produce, and air local originated sports. The outlets you enjoy now will be gone.
The biggest advantage to a more multi media approach is in selling the brand/product to anyone in the world who has an interest. Yes, the oilfield sucks right now, but there are alumni and friends and interested parties far beyond the boundary that of Louisiana and Acadiana that would love to be a part of the Cajun Nation with donations if they were only enticed to do so....
Love all the suggestions as far as in-game experiences. "Stomp at the Swamp"...love it. Have always thought that a cajun fiddler or accordion playing the national anthem (have seen it done at softball) would be a great way to kick off any athletic event.
Finally logos and the intellectual property of the university. Personally, I like the "one and only" Ragin Cajuns campaign. My problem is that the brand of "Ragin Cajuns" while owned by UL is continually used and seen without any payment to the University. I just saw a commercial for (I think) TGI Fridays or some other QSR for a Ragin Cajun steak....How much money is the university loosing on this sort of stuff. The University of California (Cal) has a great program that sniffs out and punishes business who use all things Cal that don't pay for the use of or misuse of their intellectual property, logos, etc. This problem goes straight to the University Marketing Office...those buffoons should be fired with the release of this report.....
Not just the marketing office.....
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BirdofParadise
This report talks about many many things that have to get done and a lot of them are immediately. But none of this is going to get done in any sort of a timely manner until we increase our athletics staff by a LOT.
To be fair (and I say that understanding none of you need to be fair LOL) suggesting our leadership can't get it done may be valid, but how do we know when they've never been given the resources they need to be successful...and personnel is chief among them.
I'm not smart enough to know exactly what order things need to be done, but I'll argue increasing the staff needs to be at the top of the list.
Mike Alden is well respected...but even he wouldn't be able to get this to where it needs to be without a LOT more people.
There were more people involved in putting this report together than we have on our full time athletic staff.
Think about that.
All valid points. Opinions about current leadership aside.. Then the issue becomes about money and personnel before anything gets started. We need significantly more personnel but don't have the money. We need significantly more money but don't have the personnel. Eventually we will have to take a shot at the student fee or T Joe will have to allocate more to athletics. If neither of these occur then I guess it falls on the back of private fundraising. I'm not sure we can immediately raise the kind of money we need to kick this off.
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
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Originally Posted by
CajunAmos
Pretty sure fees and tuition has increased substantially in the last 3-4 years with the state cut backs coupled with the state allowing universities to increase tuition based on performance criteria.
Right, and I noted that. Tuition in and of itself has gone up about $2000 since this PDF was produced.
I don't think that any additional student fees have been adopted by the students since 2013 (maybe the facility fee?), but from what I'm reading fees are capped at a maximum, so I dont' think they can be arbitrarily increased, without going back to the students.
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
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Originally Posted by
Oiler
I hate to rain on anybody's parade, but the timing of this report couldn't be any worse. It has come out just in time to see the oilfield completely shut down while the entire world heads into recession. The Great State of Louisiana is also completely broke at this time. It also comes out just as the P5 conferences are imposing the cost of pay for play on all of us.
Not to beat a dead horse, but we needed to have acted on the information in this report 15-20 years ago. As usual, our timing is a day late, and a dollar short.
We'll be doing well if we can just maintain the status quo over the next few years.
Anyone else read this in Debbie Downer's voice?
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CajunFan83
All valid points. Opinions about current leadership aside.. Then the issue becomes about money and personnel before anything gets started. We need significantly more personnel but don't have the money. We need significantly more money but don't have the personnel. Eventually we will have to take a shot at the student fee or T Joe will have to allocate more to athletics. If neither of these occur then I guess it falls on the back of private fundraising. I'm not sure we can immediately raise the kind of money we need to kick this off.
Somebody at the university needs to understand that if we do not INVEST in our future by putting money into whatever we need to implement this plan, we may as well go back to the SLC now, and prepare for ALL of our sports to be totally irrelevant, including Softball and Baseball.
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Re: Branding, Media and the Alden Report
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Originally Posted by
31Ragin97
How much did report cost?
How much does it cost you to hire a CPA to do your taxes? If he is good, and you do what he tells you, he MAKES you money. Same here.
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
Quote:
Originally Posted by
VObserver
Somebody at the university needs to understand that if we do not INVEST in our future by putting money into whatever we need to implement this plan, we may as well go back to the SLC now, and prepare for ALL of our sports to be totally irrelevant, including Softball and Baseball.
Many on this board will agree that if we can't get our name right, if we can't even decide what to call ourselves, how we brand ourselves, then we are screwed from the "get go". I submitted this ideal years ago. We need to get out of the Louisiana name battle and attack from a totally different angle. ULM, LA Tech, LSU, Lafayette, ULLLL...it's all exhausting.
Are you ready? ACADIANA UNIVERSITY. The Acadiana Ragin' Cajuns.. ARC. No more confusion with Lafayette Leopards. No more "you guys are in Monroe right?" It sets us apart. It will take time but will work. There is no other Acadiana, no other Ragin' Cajuns. Do it.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
VObserver
How much does it cost you to hire a CPA to do your taxes? If he is good, and you do what he tells you, he MAKES you money. Same here.
Exactly.
We could sit and all say, "Well we've been saying this for years on this message board", but the reality is the initiatives wouldn't be implemented until people who have been there done that, like Alden, put together something for our university leadership.
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Re: Branding, Media and the Alden Report
As someone who is familiar with organizational development consulting, most companies already know the problems and potential solutions before a consultant is hired. The information is generally received better by the employees/stakeholders when that info in conveyed by an outside source.
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Re: Branding, Media and the Alden Report
Dr. Savoie needed to hear this from an outside source.
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
Quote:
Originally Posted by
uslol'dog
Many on this board will agree that if we can't get our name right, if we can't even decide what to call ourselves, how we brand ourselves, then we are screwed from the "get go". I submitted this ideal years ago. We need to get out of the Louisiana name battle and attack from a totally different angle. ULM, LA Tech, LSU, Lafayette, ULLLL...it's all exhausting.
Are you ready? ACADIANA UNIVERSITY. The Acadiana Ragin' Cajuns.. ARC. No more confusion with Lafayette Leopards. No more "you guys are in Monroe right?" It sets us apart. It will take time but will work. There is no other Acadiana, no other Ragin' Cajuns. Do it.
Oh freakin GOD!
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Re: Branding, Media and the Alden Report
An even better analogy is how much did that positive cancer screening cost?
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Re: Branding, Media and the Alden Report
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Originally Posted by
mxt3999
^This. I was about to ask that question whenever I read the first line of this post. IMO spending any money on consultants is a waste. I mean consultants? really? I'de like to slap whoever placed a job title on the word Consultant. Consultants are a big part of the reason our great state is in such financial trouble right now. President and AD along with their staff should know whats going on within their university. No need to throw money away at a consultant.
Been waiting for this post from someone.
You couldn't be more wrong.
No company, school or business has all the answers. Hiring outside people to give you a different viewpoint or to affirm what you think you know has been going on for much longer than this state has had a financial crisis.
When I was a teenager, the place I worked had people who would come in and buy stuff just to see how customer service and other things were handled. That is a consultant.
That was in 1969.
No administrator has all the answers. To suggest they should is folly.
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
We are short staffed bc there is no money to hire people. There is no money bc we dont have enough people doing the work to get more money.
I can see the admin is disappointed in that they need to get more people working. I can see they would rather use money to build and improve what we have rather than pay more people with the limited money we have.
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
People who donate to the program want to see buildings and stadiums, not more employees in the office.
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
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Originally Posted by
Cajunologist
People who donate to the program want to see buildings and stadiums, not more employees in the office.
If my money is being used to create vehicles to make MORE money, I have no problem at all with that.
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
Quote:
Originally Posted by
VObserver
If my money is being used to create vehicles to make MORE money, I have no problem at all with that.
----As the number of retired Boomers increases every day---this might be a way to get some cheap experienced retired employees kinda on a volunteer basis---Unlike some with low tech qualifications (ahemmm), we have people that can do it all and wouldn't mind doing some volunteer type stuff for the athletic department---in fact if they liked it, maybe take over their positions!!! lol Seriouly, we have some former athletes and alumni that love their school and are ready to give more than just their money to help the athletics Department!!!
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
Quote:
Originally Posted by
VObserver
If my money is being used to create vehicles to make MORE money, I have no problem at all with that.
And, there will be no opinion that makes more sense than this one.
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Re: Branding, Media and the Alden Report
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BirdofParadise
Been waiting for this post from someone.
You couldn't be more wrong.
No company, school or business has all the answers. Hiring outside people to give you a different viewpoint or to affirm what you think you know has been going on for much longer than this state has had a financial crisis.
When I was a teenager, the place I worked had people who would come in and buy stuff just to see how customer service and other things were handled. That is a consultant.
That was in 1969.
No administrator has all the answers. To suggest they should is folly.
Come on now, Jay. We could have gotten Jerry Luke LeBlanc, Chris Williams, Coach Blanco and their Band of Brothers to produce the same quality study with integrity at half the cost!
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Re: Branding, Media and the Alden Report
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BirdofParadise
Been waiting for this post from someone.
You couldn't be more wrong.
No company, school or business has all the answers. Hiring outside people to give you a different viewpoint or to affirm what you think you know has been going on for much longer than this state has had a financial crisis.
When I was a teenager, the place I worked had people who would come in and buy stuff just to see how customer service and other things were handled. That is a consultant.
That was in 1969.
No administrator has all the answers. To suggest they should is folly.
This may be the best post you have ever made, BOP. Now we just need to hope that our administrators can acknowledge that they have been doing it wrong all these years and start doing it the right way. Sometimes that is the biggest part of the battle.
I know this. I have been both the administrator who did it wrong and the consultant who advised a better way.
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Re: Branding, Media and the Alden Report
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jric116
As someone who is familiar with organizational development consulting, most companies already know the problems and potential solutions before a consultant is hired. The information is generally received better by the employees/stakeholders when that info in conveyed by an outside source.
---I worked for and am familiar with 2 outstanding companies and your post is right on the money<p>These outside folks come in the loop and check every facet of the company---an example would be say in sales and your manager telling you what is wrong rather than XYZ company coming in and giving examples of your problems (yes we know there is a problem, but defining it and presenting ways of fixing it is what the worth is)<p>Upon reading this, the LSU and state universities will be trying to stop what we put in if it involves in any way state monies<p>the me I see, the me you see, and the me I be!!! This is what the consulting agency defines, and a program given for correction and hitting future goals is what hopefully we will get!!!
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Re: Branding, Media and the Alden Report
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BirdofParadise
Been waiting for this post from someone.
You couldn't be more wrong.
No company, school or business has all the answers. Hiring outside people to give you a different viewpoint or to affirm what you think you know has been going on for much longer than this state has had a financial crisis.
When I was a teenager, the place I worked had people who would come in and buy stuff just to see how customer service and other things were handled. That is a consultant.
That was in 1969.
No administrator has all the answers. To suggest they should is folly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
VObserver
This may be the best post you have ever made, BOP. Now we just need to hope that our administrators can acknowledge that they have been doing it wrong all these years and start doing it the right way. Sometimes that is the biggest part of the battle.
I know this. I have been both the administrator who did it wrong and the consultant who advised a better way.
Agreed.
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Re: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics
Quote:
Originally Posted by
uslol'dog
Many on this board will agree that if we can't get our name right, if we can't even decide what to call ourselves, how we brand ourselves, then we are screwed from the "get go". I submitted this ideal years ago. We need to get out of the Louisiana name battle and attack from a totally different angle. ULM, LA Tech, LSU, Lafayette, ULLLL...it's all exhausting.
Are you ready? ACADIANA UNIVERSITY. The Acadiana Ragin' Cajuns.. ARC. No more confusion with Lafayette Leopards. No more "you guys are in Monroe right?" It sets us apart. It will take time but will work. There is no other Acadiana, no other Ragin' Cajuns. Do it.
Haven't gotten over that name change from SLI to USL eh?
Love my heritage, area and community. But man, what a step backwards.
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Re: Branding, Media and the Alden Report
If its a current business, its grandfathered in. Any future business or product would pay.
