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

[ZoomZoom]

Heck, let's change our name from Ragin Cajuns to Passive Eunuchs...

[CajunJack55]

I don't want to turn this into a bash our leadership thread which is why I started a seperate thread. Just some ideas for alternatives in this whole name debacle. Since we are doing this I thought about possible names and this is what I think could be best long term. Our leaders don't want Louisiana, other schools don't want us using Louisiana...

THE University of Lafayette Ragin Cajuns

Now hear me out:

PROS

1) We can still use UL (100% legally)
2) We have enough recognition as Lafayette so it wouldn't be that big of a change on a national level (another words people would still recogize we were ULL)
3) MOST IMPORTANT: NO confusion or association with ULM..As long as we are UL-L and they are UL-M, we will always be associated/linked to them on a national level. Period.
4) City tag is similar to AAC members Houston, CIncy, Memphis and former Louisville. All schools we want to be associated with and a conference we want to be in
5)NO "flagship" argument or pushback from other state schools. They all say they don't care but we all know they do. If we are University of Lafayette, they have absolutley NO ARGUMENT whatsover. Sure the older fans will still call us USL, but they will eventually die off and newer fans will call us UL or just Lafayette (which is what most younger fans from the state call us)
6) We can continue to proudly market our French/Acadian/Cajun roots. With the Lafayette name we will still be strongly connected to those roots and use this as a powerful marketing tool for our university. (Marketing has GOT to get better though)

Cons

1) Lafayette Leopards - We already get confused with these guys sometimes but honestly they are no threat and they will not keep us down being confused with them. I would rather that then be associated with Monroe anyday.
2) ULM using Louisiana - I do not see this happening for a few reasons...ULM was not the only school in Louisiana that fought us using Louisiana. If they try then they will not succeed. Other Louisiana system schools and LSU willl not allow it. We also know that they like to be called ULM and has chosen to market themselves as so.
3) Could it get done?? I am ignorant to the process of actually changing our name and what Monroe would have to do if we change our name.

Obviously I am just brain storming here. But if our leaders are giving up in Louisiana then they need to think of alternatives in my opinion. No UL-L, ULL, UL-Laf...We do not want to be linked to Monroe. We do not want to be linked to LSU. We don't want to be linked to McNeese or any other school. Just like our culture and city, we want to our own unique university.

Again I don't want this to be a bashing thread otherwise you could just merge it Turbine. Just some constructive ideas for alternatives and how it could be done.

[wcd35]

nm

[Cajunrunner]

If that's the case then NAME NAMES!! Let EVERYONE know who's using their political clout to hold back the SECOND largest university in Louisiana from calling itself a NAME. At least go down fighting!! What a joke.

While Joe Savoie may be our university president, he is first and foremost a politician and socialite. As a result, no way he his giving names. That would throw him our of the inner political social club that so many in Martin Hall cherish dearly.

[Turbine]

Obviously I am just brain storming here...

Nothing wrong with brain storming.

My objection is there are almost 30 towns and counties in the U.S. named Lafayette. Very hard to market.

[HoustonCajun]

I've said it for a while now!! The biggest problem we have is we continue to tell people what NOT TO call us, but we don't say what TO call us. I'm speaking strictly about the abbreviation regarding our athletic programs.
UL? No. We aren't allowed.
ULL? No. Just gross.
So we say don't call us ULL, but we don't give them an alternative. How about ULA or LA? I don't pretend to have the answer, but sit on your hands and hope ESPN thinks of something cool is definitely not it.

Different subject, same problem (while I'm ranting):
Before we go all nuts complaining that we finally got one, but now our new ESPNU icon thingy is a giant pepper in the shape of a "U", we need to be proactive and have our guys put together something to send to them so we have a say in the matter ahead of time. PROACTIVE.

Amen, Brother! You NEVER tell them what not to call us. This has been our problem all along. It is NEVER simply call us LOUISIANA athletically. It is always what not to call us. And to ask them to put an * by UL-L is even more unbelievable. We already asked NOT to be referred to as ULL, then give them the UL-L option. And we ask them to "include" Louisiana as a reference. How many reference options are we giving them. Pick and choose the one you like best? This explanation only makes this worse, because we can see exactly why we are in this mess and will not be able to get out of it. We can come out today and say we want to be known exclusively as Louisiana. Too f'ing late! The damage is done. Thank you Aaron-Martin Hall for completely ruining any chance we ever had of being known as LOUISIANA. I am embarrassed and disgusted to be an alumnus of this university.

[CajunJack55]

Nothing wrong with brain storming.

My objection is there are almost 30 towns and counties in the U.S. named Lafayette. Very hard to market.

Good point and I know that Marketing is not our strong point to say the least which is why I don't know if this would work. Strong marketing efforts would have to be at the base of this.

But this where I think being called Louisiana-Lafayette or UL-Lafayette for years could actually be an advantage when it comes to that. If we drop the Louisiana we will still be recognized on a national level as a Louisiana school at first. Also if we want to become a "National School" and not a "regional school" then this is kind of a moot point in my opinion. It will help us in our perception/seperation of ULM and even LSU. We don't want to be little brother school we want to be seperated completely.

I look at the state of Alabame and see that they have no confusion and no "twin" schools. ULM could be UAB while we go the Auburn/Troy city route.

Alabama
Auburn/Troy
UAB
South Alabama

[SlappyCajun]

If they needed a three letter abbreviation, why not LOU.

[wcd35]

I sent an email responding to the school's response. I dont think they have it right. He mentions using "Louisiana Ragin Cajuns" as the nickname, but clearly that section is reserved for the mascot only. No other school has anything besides this. Clearly, you need to use "Louisiana" on the first reference section.

Also, I asked about using LA or LOU, etc for the abbreviation. I'm not sure they understand the importance of this part since all sports channels use this on the top corner or scroll. You cant allow them use "UL-L" then at the same time tell them not to call you "ULL". That's absolutely ridiculous.

It's pretty simple that it needs to be the following. None of this violates the restrictions on using UL or University of Louisiana:

University name: University of Louisiana at Laf...
Nickname: Ragin Cajuns
First Reference: Louisiana
Abbreviation: LA, LOU, etc

[wcd35]

Also, here's the communications department page. His email is listed as the generic department address: communications@louisiana.edu

http://communicationsandmarketing.lo...-us/who-we-are

[CajunEXPRESS]

Let's just go with UL-L, or ULA University of Louisiana Acadiana, I am so down with Acadiana. With a spineless administration it is the only thing that makes any sense. Hell let ULM have Louisiana, we will simply be UA. Time to create a new state, or at least a state within a state because I am pretty sure secession is illegal.

Really the - is the most unacceptable thing of all. It makes us look like total retards.

[jcstewart]

May take a while...It has been 13 years since our name change. We had the administration on board with LOUISIANA. We were fighting the fight and were near winning it. Then the ULM game, which was a precurser to this, and now we officially just LOST it with the SBC announcement and it will never be recovered. We as fans CANNOT change what ESPN or any other network calls us. UL marketing just lost this name for us and it is a crying shame. No one fought harder for Louisiana than I did, and in one fail swoop it is gone. To say our President wants us to use UL-L and UL Lafayette, then say it is not mandated is absurd. Changing conference won't make a difference. We are now entrenched as UL-L and UL Lafayette. UL marketing is trying to crawfish on this, but there is no getting around how greatly they screwed the pooch on this while our President remains silent. I have never been so disgusted to be an alumnus of this university.

In summary, we had everything going for us: Fox, NBC and CBS were honoring our wishes to be branded UL. The only holdout was ESPN, which basically said they would call us what the Sun Belt called us. Then the Sun Belt asked us what to be branded with 2-4 letters. Then we come up with UL-L? It was set up on the tee for us and the administration swung and missed. Everyone together now say UL-L and then ULL. Sounds the same doesn't it? Now the networks that were with us saw the UL-L memo and ran with it. Decades of work down the drain with a few words.