2014 Branding Fiasco: UL-Lafayette or UL-L (SBC Reference Guide)

[CajunT]

just for the record --I will call us UL or Louisiana--My shirts and Cajun wear will be sans Lafayette and I will keep up the good fight---I will read the DA and not the other Baton Rouge to Acadiana paper as long as our DA refers to us as they now do!!! I think we all should do this but questions MUST be answered!!!

Dude, now you're blaming the Advocate? Come on Boomer, you know where the responsibility belongs. This is the same thought process that has gotten us to this point after how many years? Let's take a look in the mirror, because that is where it begins. In this case, the mirror is Martin Hall.

[CAJUNJUDO]

How about ULA?

I've agreed with someone who recommended this several years ago.

UGA = Georgia
UVA = Virginia
ULA = Louisiana

[California Cajun]

Dude, now you're blaming the Advocate? Come on Boomer, you know where the responsibility belongs. This is the same thought process that has gotten us to this point after how many years? Let's take a look in the mirror, because that is where it begins. In this case, the mirror is Martin Hall.

You mean Martin-Hall.

[basinbear]

Hey Aaron? The screen on the espn 3 broadcast read UL-L...you gave them the opportunity to tag us with ULL...and now that is what they will use....brilliant

[CajunFan3406]

I've agreed with someone who recommended this several years ago.

UGA = Georgia
UVA = Virginia
ULA = Louisiana

Good comparisons. I've seen LOU suggested before. Does the other UL do that one?

[BrockMeaux]

You clearly don't get it, the whole issue is not just so we can be called "UL". Who cares? Louisiana is what we want. Why on earth would we change our school name (to Lafayette for that matter) just so we can go by "UL"?

I don't really care if we're ULL, cause the truth is that's what we are. Just go by Louisiana and be done with it.

You're preaching to the choir. I'd love NOTHING more than to have us call ourselves Louisiana, but it's been made clear from the top of our administration that is something we're not willing to do. So if faced with the choice of either a) going by Louisiana-Lafayette, UL-Lafayette, UL-L, UL-Laf, and God knows how many other variations, NONE of which are "Louisiana," or b) simplifying it to University of Lafayette and UL (ala Louisville, Memphis, etc. schools named for their city), then yes, I'll absolutely take the concise, focused brand rather than not knowing what we're going to be called on any particular day at any given event. I'll make it clear again that that option is NOT my preference, but if our leadership isn't willing or able to fight the fight that we SHOULD be fighting, then we need to go to the next best thing, and in my opinion it's settling on a clear brand/name that we won't get fought tooth and nail over.

[CajunFan3406]

Dude, now you're blaming the Advocate? Come on Boomer, you know where the responsibility belongs. This is the same thought process that has gotten us to this point after how many years? Let's take a look in the mirror, because that is where it begins. In this case, the mirror is Martin Hall.

Your Boomerese is a little rusty tonight T. I think he just meant that he will only buy UL/Louisiana branded gear and will only read the newspaper that uses our preferred reference (the DA not the Advocate).

I don't think he was cooking up a conspiracy theory against the Advocate.

[basinbear]

Mike, do you understand that we are now officially ULL????When we are televised we will be referred to as ULL during broadcast because we have made it official....and ESPN will refer to us on air as ULL because it is easier.....candy asses....every one of them.....I am literally sick over this among other things

And this is exactly what happened on the ESPN3 of our broadcast tonight....the above was posted 2 hours and 10 minutes before game time....Aaron Martins statement late tonight proves that the University walked right into this one......it will now stick to us like glue....

[Bandwagon King]

----------Well he is right about something and that is how suddenly things changed---we went into the Monroe game and we were all pumped up with our name of Louisiana and UL----We got there and were just shocked to hear and see what followed with the first down and not see Louisiana on the scoreboard---Something radically happened -----Somebody had to get to T-Joe and threatened him ---that is all I can see---Now where it came from I don't know but the UL Board or the Regents or the Governor----but obviously something came down that must have scared the hell out of T-Joe----and now this---As an alumn, backer, and whatever else----I want to know what the hell happened!!!

Come on Boomer! it's plain as day to see what happened. One lap dog was replaced by another several years ago. I'm sorry to the folks on here who feel hurt or betrayed, but I really find all of this quite comical. The UL-L community has proven they will support this school if it's leadership ever grows a fricking pair and stands up and does the right things. But the "leadership" of this school is defunct of any moral conviction, and courage whatsoever.

They would rather go sliding on their bellies for crumbs from the state capital, then depend on the people of this extended community for their prosperity. They would see that as beholding to the community, but they are blind to the fact that they are nothing more than errand boys and lap dogs to the state political process. They won't look to the oil industry and establish the best GD engineering program in the South to address the present and future needs of the energy of this planet and actually become part of the problem solving solution of this country's and the world's needs ( while achieving tier 1 status), acting as though they are too good for the people who generate the very tax basis for their lousy jobs to even exist. But they try to market themselves as a major university using marketing as their claim to fame. They have been and without provocation, will continue to be a massive failure in the eyes of the local community, as well as anyone who bothers to look in the state or the Gulf Coast region.

The so-called conspiracy against this institution has never been carried out from without, but rather within. Not more than a week after a young freshman running back garnered tremendous national media attention as an All-American running back from the University of LOUISIANA, does this administration sell his efforts as well as those of the staunchest supporters of this school down the river with one fell swoop. Now defend the "leadership" for lack of a better term of this school those of you who choose to drink the kool aid. I just hope this wasn't released as a smoke screen for the loss of Mark Hudspeth.

[BrockMeaux]

On the plus side, a gloating ULM fan over on the Sun Belt Boards just gave me an idea for a retort/new slogan in the UL/ULM war.

"UL-L: We've got more talent in our little hyphen than you do in your whole school."

[basinbear]

The latest on the name flap per KATC:

The University submitted Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns as the team nickname. Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson agreed to that. We are asking him to correct the nickname to include "Louisiana."

As for the abbreviation, we advised the conference that UL Lafayette has been our official abbreviation since 1999 and is in compliance with UL System board guidelines. When the conference insisted that it needed a letter abbreviation of two to four characters for "score and time bug" instances, we submitted that "UL-L" could be used only for such statistics, but is not otherwise an acceptable abbreviation.

The University asked that the abbreviation for statistical use be explained in a footnote and the conference office declined our request.

We request that the University not be referred to as "ULL" in any instance. Local media have almost never used ULL. Recently, several major daily papers throughout Louisiana, at our request, have moved away from use of ULL as an abbreviation: New Orleans Advocate, Baton Rouge Advocate, Acadiana Advocate, The News Star (Monroe), The Town Talk (Alexandria) and The Shreveport Times, as well as many other media throughout the state. We greatly appreciate everyone's support.

-Aaron Martin, UL Director of Communications and Marketing

The minute that they submitted the "UL-L" to the Conference it was over

[uslol'dog]

Since anything is better than the current name disaster, I'll say it again. You can say it sounds like a juco, or whatever you want. I'll say it's better than the mess we have. Auburn may have sounded cheesy 100 yrs ago..

Acadian University of Louisiana (AULA)
The University of Acadiana (UACA )
Acadiana University ( AULA)

Either of these would be catchy and would sound legit once they became synonymous with WINNING