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.
Originally Posted by lcitsh
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.
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