SID - Use of LOUISIANA

[BabbForHeisman]

Alright, so it appears we have a quorum. South Louisiana it is. You can call us USL if you want. I'll let T-Joe know that we have decided.

Think about for a second. No one would ever call us anything we don't want them to. No one would ever say "ooh la la" and laugh. No one would ever confuse us with the Lafayette Leopards. No one would ever associate us directly with ULM. No more of our own alumni not knowing how to refer to their own university. And, we get a logo reset...new logos, coming right up.

Isn't it refreshing?

The hangup would be the academic side of the house. But really, does the University of South Louisiana sound much less prestigious than the University of Louisiana at Lafayette? I don't think so.

[BirdofParadise]

Alright, so it appears we have a quorum. South Louisiana it is. You can call us USL if you want. I'll let T-Joe know that we have decided.

Think about for a second. No one would ever call us anything we don't want them to. No one would ever say "ooh la la" and laugh. No one would ever confuse us with the Lafayette Leopards. No one would ever associate us directly with ULM. No more of our own alumni not knowing how to refer to their own university. And, we get a logo reset...new logos, coming right up.

Isn't it refreshing?

The hangup would be the academic side of the house. But really, does the University of South Louisiana sound much less prestigious than the University of Louisiana at Lafayette? I don't think so.

You're correct. And, that's why the idea of Univ. So. La. was not a good one.

Remember, this is an academic institution. And, the push for the name change had everything to do with attracting faculty....and nothing to do with athletics.

[California Cajun]

If we don't have an effective Branding initiative for LOUISIANA, I would agree. Back to USL, the University of South Louisiana, and we keep our USL tradition. That is far better than Louisiana Lafayette, UL L, Lafayette, UL Lafayette and U La La. And, we separate ourselves from ULM, who would likely go have to resort to NLU (North Louisiana University) which many prefer anyway. If there will NEVER be a University of Louisiana in the UL System, why not? I'm tired of fighting a 12 year name battle with no end in sight. As was pointed out, single directional schools are more accepted now that schools like S. Florida are BCS schools. What killed us before was the double directional name, Southwestern. Here are the major schools with directional names. USL would be in good company:

Central Florida
Central Michigan
East Carolina
Eastern Michigan
Middle Tennessee
North Carolina
North Texas
Northern Illinois
South Alabama
South Carolina
Southern Miss
Southern Cal
South Florida
[South Louisiana]
West Virginia
Western Michigan
Western Kentucky
Southern Cal

What you need to ask yourself is (not aiming this specifically at you), what name would these schools have chosen if the "University of Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, California, and Kentucky" had been available?

I think they would have made the same choice we did. I go back to 1974 with this, which is exactly 2/3 of my life. It's on my Bucket List and I ain't going to kick the bucket in defeat. Time for ALL OF US to grow a pair and give this notion of a "USL" consolation prize a swift kick in the pants and off this board.

Fellow alumni and friends, these are your marching orders to live up to the words on the UL crest: Fortier, Feliciter, Fidelitier (Courage, Loyalty, Gladness).

[pasbon]

When did 'directional' or 'bi-directional' become the buzz word for a 'regional' school?

[CajunNation]

Time for ALL OF US to grow a pair and give this notion of a "USL" consolation prize a swift kick in the pants and off this board.

Tell you what. I'll quit promoting USL when this administration grows a pair and markets its athletic programs as The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns.

That means plastering LOUISIANA in very prominent positions on the uniforms, playing surfaces and the facilities.

That means changing the font style to something that is very easy to read from the stands and from your couch.

That means quit using black and red combinations in the uniforms. The colors bleed and make it hard to read. Marketing fail.

That means that promotion of Ragin Cajuns takes a back seat to promotion of LOUISIANA.

[HoustonCajun]

What you need to ask yourself is (not aiming this specifically at you), what name would these schools have chosen if the "University of Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, California, and Kentucky" had been available?

I think they would have made the same choice we did. I go back to 1974 with this, which is exactly 2/3 of my life. It's on my Bucket List and I ain't going to kick the bucket in defeat. Time for ALL OF US to grow a pair and give this notion of a "USL" consolation prize a swift kick in the pants and off this board.

Fellow alumni and friends, these are your marching orders to live up to the words on the UL crest: Fortier, Feliciter, Fidelitier (Courage, Loyalty, Gladness).

Just as Cajun Nation stated, it is time for UL to grow a pair and do a Branding inititative as LOUISIANA. This whole name debacle is now 12 years old.

But, just to answer your question, I wonder how some of these schools would feel IF... I'll bet they would vote to keep their names:

Central Florida - University of Florida at Orlando - UFO
Central Michigan
East Carolina - The University of North Carolina at Greenville - UNCG
Eastern Michigan
Middle Tennessee
North Carolina
North Texas - University of Texas at Denton - UTD (not to be confused with UT Dallas)
Northern Illinois
South Alabama - University of Alabama at Mobile - UAM
South Carolina
Southern Miss
Southern Cal
South Florida - University of Florida at Tampa - UFT
[South Louisiana]
West Virginia
Western Michigan
Western Kentucky - University of Kentucky at Bowling Green - UKBG
Southern Cal

[Turbine]

Don't forget, in this context "LOUISIANA" is just a nickname.

[HoustonCajun]

Don't forget, in this context "LOUISIANA" is just a nickname.

But so far it is just a family nickname. We all want and prefer LOUISIANA, but need the university to get serious about branding and change the dynamics so LOUISIANA is universally accepted and outside of just the family.

BTW, looking at Central Florida, don't think they would ever have wanted the name University of Florida at Orlando. UFO would be worse than U La La.

[ATXCajun]

You forgot La Laf, from the ESPN score ticker. Maybe you wanted to forget. Sorry.

[Oiler]

University of South Louisiana, or USL for short. I like it.