They Call Us Louisiana Ragin Cajuns

[ZoomZoom]

I say _)*(## em all, and let 'em eat cake. Go UL!

[CajunEXPRESS]

Of course it's bull____. Many schools share the same initials that mean different thing and it doesn't cause confusion and world calamity. Texas and Tennessee can both be referred to as UT and it doesn't cause the collapse of civilization.

So who is USC? Who is Carolina? Seems like ESPN should not be in the business of deciding such things.

[HoustonCajun]

Those schools use those letters on hats but that's not how they are identified by most people, not by a single letter. Texas can be UT, Michigan is UM, etc but really most of those are just called by their state name. You cant just put L or T or M in the little score box in the top of your screen, its too vague and no one would know who is playing.

Mainly we need to figure out an abbreviated version of Louisiana that we want to use and stick with it. If UL is never going to work, then something else has to be done. LOU is usually Louisville also. I would suggest just LA. There's UCLA, but if thats the closest, there's not much confusion to me.

You are correct. A single letter is used on gear such as hats & shirts and even on helmets, but is not a reference used by media, including ESPN. There are a number of schools with similar letters, so I don't understand why ESPN annoints Louisville as the only UL. UT - Texas & Tennessee (both orange); OSU - OK State & Oregon State (and both are orange and black); UM - Michigan, Missouri, Miami, Montana, Maine; Carolina - N. Carolina & South Carolina; USC - South Carolina & Southern Cal. Some schools have modified their initials to avoid duplication, like Southern Cal asking to be called SC.

Louisiana is key to everything and it is legal with no university reference. The question is, how far do we push the envelope with UL or ULA? ULA certainly gives us a distinct reference, separating us from Louisville and putting us in unique company with Georgia - UGA & Virginia - UVA. Both use the singular letter on their gear and helmets Georgia uses the "G" like Green Bay & Virginia uses a "V" with the cross swords. It is a uniqueness we should pursue as one of only 3 major universities with that identity.

It is time to get creative and find our unique identity that is not competitive with Louisville, so there are no network issues to deal with. Use of ULA is no more an issue than UL. Personnaly, I would be all for Louisiana and ULA as our identity with the Fleur de Lis mixed in and use Louisiana and an "L" on gear we can all purchase. No other school could possibly get confused with ULA and Louisiana. Why allow all of this name confusion to continue when it can be easily resolved? How do we find some consensus on this and at the same time get ULA officials to buy into it? After 13 years of this, it is time to find a workable solution.

[Yep]

Sun Belt office sent a form to each university asking how they want to be named. We obviously know what we want to be called.

ESPN's policy is to cause as little confusion as possible. Because Louisville has been UL for a longer period of time, ESPN will not use UL for us when it may make people think of Louisville. ESPN has used three different things to tag us as ULL, etc. There is a paragraph in the UL System that requires member institutions to use the "at" tag in any references to the university, and that includes athletics. I will put that paragraph in this post. ESPN has checked the Sun Belt site, which currently uses ULL, etc., and decided that since the conference uses it, that's another reason to use it. The third thing is either a misunderstanding on their part or they don't read after the first paragraph. Our media relations department sends "Proper Use of the University's Name" to any network that broadcasts our games. That document says it is ok to use UL Lafayette as a first reference, but then goes on to say what should be used thereafter. ESPN has taken that correspondence and used ULL, etc. without changing.

I cannot say what the university is doing to show that it's ok for ESPN to use UL or Louisiana ( I don't know what documents are being sent), but I don't see any penalties that can be applied to ESPN for doing what they want. The Sun Belt is taking care of the name fiasco on their end. Media relations will re-emphasize the extent of the document we send to media outlets, including ESPN, of what we should be called. Like I said, I don't think anything can be done in time for the regional, but by football season, everything should be resolved.

http://www.ulsystem.net/assets/docs/...e_policies.pdf

C. The use of the two-letter University of Louisiana abbreviation, “UL,” and/or the
phrase “U of L” are prohibited by the university or any of its affiliated organizations
(alumni associations, development foundations, bookstores, etc.). For academic,
public relations, athletic, as well as other purposes not specified, the use of the
University of Louisiana abbreviation must always include the abbreviation for the
municipal location of the institution. For example, ULR is appropriate for University
of Louisiana at Rayne.

This drives me bananas! Louisville does NOT refer to themselves as UL. They refer to themselves as U of L. ESPN refers to them as Louisville or abbreviates with LOU. Man, this is aggravating.

[CajunGrad88]

I am a recent graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and I am more bothered by people wanting to drop "Lafayette" from our title. The city of Lafayette is such a unique city. Why do so many people want to give that up. I feel that most fans are looking at it the wrong way. Why not take pride in the fact that we are the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Our city is unlike any city I have ever been to and in my opinion, we should be proud of the city and rather than trying to drop it from our identity, we should be embracing it. This has always puzzled me. We are part of the Louisiana University system but it is the Lafayette part that makes us truly unique. Just getting this off my chest. sorry

[ragincajun27]

I am on my way to San Antonio for an anniversary weekend and we stopped at the bucees in Luling. Wearing my UL hat a guy walks up to me saying good luck tomorrow. So I started talking and he lives here in Texas and just pulling for the Cajuns!! We are getting out there!

[CajunDreDog]

I am a recent graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and I am more bothered by people wanting to drop "Lafayette" from our title. The city of Lafayette is such a unique city. Why do so many people want to give that up. I feel that most fans are looking at it the wrong way. Why not take pride in the fact that we are the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Our city is unlike any city I have ever been to and in my opinion, we should be proud of the city and rather than trying to drop it from our identity, we should be embracing it. This has always puzzled me. We are part of the Louisiana University system but it is the Lafayette part that makes us truly unique. Just getting this off my chest. sorry

*face palm*

[CajunGrad88]

*face palm*

Typical response when you have nothing to say. We want to be nationally known. We need to stop trying to be something we aren't and embrace what we are. Lafayette is a great college town and something we should use to help our "branding" instead of denying our great city.

[Zeebart21]

Typical response when you have nothing to say. We want to be nationally known. We need to stop trying to be something we aren't and embrace what we are. Lafayette is a great college town and something we should use to help our "branding" instead of denying our great city.

Take a hike troll.

Geaux UL!!

Z

[BabbForHeisman]

Typical response when you have nothing to say. We want to be nationally known. We need to stop trying to be something we aren't and embrace what we are. Lafayette is a great college town and something we should use to help our "branding" instead of denying our great city.

*facepalm*

[lcitsh]

I am a recent graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and I am more bothered by people wanting to drop "Lafayette" from our title. The city of Lafayette is such a unique city. Why do so many people want to give that up. I feel that most fans are looking at it the wrong way. Why not take pride in the fact that we are the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Our city is unlike any city I have ever been to and in my opinion, we should be proud of the city and rather than trying to drop it from our identity, we should be embracing it. This has always puzzled me. We are part of the Louisiana University system but it is the Lafayette part that makes us truly unique. Just getting this off my chest. sorry

It has to do with perception. You will not find too many universities that name their schools after the city, especially on the Division 1 athletic level. While we take pride in the culture of our area (Acadiana) and the progressiveness of our city, it is more advantageous, from a national standpoint, to be identified with a name that encompasses the state. And this is true on the academic side, as well as the athletic.

Consider schools such as Southern Mississippi, Georgia Southern, Northern Illinois, Louisiana Tech and Eastern, Central and Western Michigan. All of these schools have quality athletic programs (yes, opinions will vary), but even in good years, they will always be perceived to be substandard to Mississippi, Mississippi State, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana State, Michigan and Michigan State. While this is not true in every case (Boston College is considered superior to Massachusetts, Virginia Tech is considered superior to Virginia), the name of the state by itself will be perceived to be superior than any city designation, any direction or anything else tagged to the name of the state.

We are Louisiana. We need to embrace that fact and we need to get the rest of the country to accept that fact.

[DaddyCajun]

I get nothing but ULL's...from the Tech alum I work with.

They are just as fonky as LSU, McNeese, and ULM when it comes to that kind of stuff.