As a University, I want your opinion....

[RCAJUN90]

Academics and merchandising, no comparison to 20 years ago. In academics we have grown into a research and development institution. There was little if any merchandising when I was a student 30 years ago. I remember having to go to the bookstore and have "USL" ironed on to a blank red cap.

Athletics. We can be good every once in a while but we are limited until whatever's holding us back is lifted. I see the practice facility and other improvements but I still sense something is holding us back.

We got Brian Mitchell because we had just hired the OC at Clemson as our head coach and we allowed him to play quarterback. Delhomme played at a Class A school and made good on his opportunity. A decade before Mitchell we had a transfer from Notre Dame named Roy Henry who quarterbacked us to a big turnaround. We can't be consistently good until we can maintain excellence at key positions.

I thought Dr. Athement was the whole problem? He is going now. What else are you going to blame? "We can't be consistently good until we can maintan excellence at key positions"! That is like saying rain is wet. We need to win and build a tradition of excellence. I see very little progress since I was student in fact I see regression. I still believe that CUSA killed us. Many players that would have gone to UL opted to go to a CUSA school. The Belt is getting better while CUSA is getting worse. I hope this year we make turn or the whole program will be in trouble. I would like to hear what Stokley has to say on the subject. He seemed to walk on water in the late 80's.

[RCAJUN90]

No offense, but a red roach could be out there and your 3 year old would love that too. I could take or leave the pepper. I just don't like it as a "mascot".

As for the "Lafayette" thing... it is the "University of Louisiana" selected naming that has people aggravated. That is no more official than any other slang name chosen. It didn't surprise me that many would take the shortcut and just say "Lafayette". It is ironic that many outsiders do not argue that this is the most inappropriate of the slang names. There is a University called "Lafayette". You do not hear outsiders crying out about this absolute intrusion on a name. It is all about keeping it regional and/or condescending... not about the actual name.

By the way... there are many ways to have official apparel and drive at the primary naming preference. That preference IMVHO should be "Louisiana Ragin Cajuns".

You would be surprised how appealing those pepper hats are. I don't get it. It reminds me of Chili's. I've meet countless people that had them on but knew very little of UL. I like the red bull gator from turbine. Tough, Louisiana and very different than UF.

[RCAJUN90]

UL has about 17,000 students (I think something like 16,800). They had been above 17K for a while prior to the implementation of increased admissions standards and the creation of the community college in Lafayette. That dropped UL down to about 15K, but that number has grown back to almost 17K. However, I do think the university needs to be more aggressive in recruiting all students. My son is a Sr.-to=be and has been getting mail from around the country. He has received multiple mailings from Ole Miss, Southern Miss, LA Tech, and even Centenary. But not one thing from UL! That despite the fact that both his mother & I graduated from there and his older brother has been going there for a while. Someone from Centenary even called him personally to invite him to come for a visit. UL needs to on the ball. Between the lack of sports marketing and the lack of academic marketing, it is a wonder that the school increases enrollment and sports attendance at all.

ps, Southeastern LA Univ. has been marketing like crazy in SE LA and their enrollment is now about 16,000. They should be passing us in enrollment in the next year or so.

It's not all about numbers. The Northshore has boomed over the last ten years and Katrina threw us into overdrive. Nobody I know here picks SLU as their choice. It is a place you go if don't want to leave home, can't leave home due to academic or financial reasons or if you mess up at another school. I know of several kids in this area that picked UL over LSU. Anyone that has driven through the SLU campus knows it is small time just like UNO had big numbers before Katrina. We have the second largest campus in the state. Student enrollment will boom in some areas for various reasons. The way we have been able to maintain 15,000 - 17,000 over 20 years is a good sign. This is also in the only state in the south to lose population over the last 30 years.