Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns operate with an overall athletic budget of $8 million, a figure that is dwarfed by many Division 1-A programs in the country against which UL must compete for attention, recruiting and success.
If the school is going to amplify that budget, it will take outside support.
It's a staggering amount of work for one person to enlist that backing.
For 10, it's more reasonable. For 100, things can move quickly.
The Difference Makers, a group formed 3 1/2 months ago by UL Athletic Development Coordinator Gerald Hebert, is beginning to live up to its name.
"This is all very new to most of them," Hebert said. "I come up with the projects to improve facilities and move the program forward, then contact them.
"They have to be willing to network. Having 60 to 100 people work on that is infinitely better than one, as far as getting the message out that we are committed to improving the program.
"Donating money is part of it, but I also rely on them to take a project and run with it so we can get it done faster and more efficiently."
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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com