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

[ULGrad@HOU]

I agree with BOP on his blog and unless UL goes all out to fix this, it will be a cluster. Even more than it ever was, which is almost impossible to believe. As long as UL-L is out there, that's what will be used, and we are screwed.

[ManAboutTown]

There are seriously lots of different things we could incorporate (and reincorporate) with this brand. Also, find some lost identity. People around here are proud of that heritage and I believe would embrace a unique change like that. Like you said, we would avoid stepping on any toes this way. The Ragin' Cajuns of Acadia.

[CharlieK]

I figured it out!

UL-L is really a mathematical equation. There are two University of Louisiana's (Lafayette and Monroe). So plugging in 2 for the U, we get 2L-L. simplifying that leaves us with L. We are LOUISIANA. It's all there!

This must have came from the former math teacher fossil.

[basinbear]

This is what the revised SBC press release says:

Official Name: University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Nickname: Louisiana Ragin Cajuns
1st Reference: UL Lafayette
Abbreviation: UL-L

This is what the SBC press release SHOULD SAY:

Official Name - The University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Nickname - Ragin Cajuns
1st Reference - LOUISIANA
Abbreviation - LU or LA

How could they possible screw this up? Using Louisiana Ragin Cajuns as our Nickname? Really? (And shouldn't this be a moniker and not a nickname?) We had a second shot at this and still blew it. Are these people brainless? As BOP said, 14 years of work to gain the LOUISIANA name lost in a second with this.

If we gain Tier 1 status, don't you want that associated with LOUISIANA and not UL-L? Can't our people walk and chew gum at the same time? We came up with a legal athletic reference in LOUISIANA, which should be our 1st reference with the SBC. Why did we abandon that? Why is our marketing department infusing academic reference (UL Lafayette) with athletic reference (Louisiana)? The SBC is NOT the LaLouisiane magazine which UL Lafayette's us to death in every article. Wasn't the whole point of athletic branding to create the Louisiana identity? And how on earth do you come up with UL-L as our abbreviation? Did marketing have a brain fart that clouded Dr. S' judgement on this? This is all just beyond comprehension.

We waited 2 years to see our official reference with the Sun Belt Conference....2 years for our University to get it completely wrong....knowing you, your post took 10 minutes to put together....and you nailed it....the Universities idea...: "UL-L"...after 2 years.... has nailed us to the wall...

[CajunNation]

Just to note: T-Joe must have done some something. Someone did, this would not have just happened.

Just saying when something is wrong, this board goes ballistic, so this is something the administration should get a little credit for.

Unlike the rest of the state schools not named lusbr, we are actually serious about the Master Plan and we will actually do it.

THAT has got the rest of them scared s-less. This is their only avenue to get us back. Name games.

[CajunNation]

So our new name at the beginning of a broadcast is going to be "and tonight we have the UL Lafayette Louisiana Ragin Cajuns taking on the ______"

way to go T-Joe and Martin and Farmer and every single intern that had any hand in this....

No kidding.

They actually found a way to add another "L" to our name.

Way to go you marketing wizards you.

[Hammer58]

This needs to be discussed. Why not maybe just Acadiana. Works for Rutgers. It establishes locale without sounding or presenting its self as a directional school name. I understand Rutgers is a different animal all together for many reasons, but I allude to it because of the singularity of the name. Why does University have to be included at all? Build a brand from that. It solves a lot of our issues IMO.

Just wanted to throw it out there and see what you all thought.

Any name change now requires legislative action. Also, do you want to surrender UL to moanroe?

[Ragin9221]

Any name change now requires legislative action. Also, do you want to surrender UL to moanroe?

It's not surrendering we would be University of Louisiana at Acadia, and ULA could be in reference to either Louisiana-Acadia or just Louisiana. It would be a way of getting around the bull$xxx LSU rule.

[Hammer58]

Funny, that skank Tabby headlined the original Sunbelt releases but today's correction is nowhere to be found. ____ off and die you skank!

[Bigbuf]

The SB or our own leadership can not mandate what I call my university. I will continue the fight by simply referring to us as Louisiana. I'm done with the complaining. If we continue to fund raise, build our master plan, pay for good coaches, support our students and student athletes, attend games home and away, etc, etc, etc, then we will continue to rise to the top. Other than LSU, no other school in our state supports itself like we do, Point blank! We need to focus on us and getting our own on board. We have made some ground on this name issue. Nobody forget that.
What hurts is we thought we had something different in Martin Hall now. Well, turns out in some ways we don't. Now in my opinion, someone higher up the hill than Savoie is rolling ____ down it and like any person in Savoie shoes, he is keeping his mouth close as to who the ____ roller is. What ticks me off is that Martin Hall is quiet. Man up, Savoie, and speak to us. Give us your reasons and if valid, you have my support. I don't mind as a fan pushing the Louisiana agenda if you are tied up legally. I'll grab that flag and run it all over Baton Rouge, ULM's schoolyard, and LaTech's peach field. If you know me, you know I can damn well run! Ultimately I want what's best for the university and our community but I need direction from a leader. After that, get out my damn way!

as much as i hate to quote an LSU guy, it was said earlier that UL doesnt have the horse power on the board of supervisors any more and if you look at the Athletic Commitee you'll find its chairded by a McNeese Grad and Lake Charles resident. Maybe Dr. Savioe is getting pressure from the board and is on the recieving end of the down hill ____e??

None the less...UL-* is not acceptable and he should have come up with something better. Sucess breeds enemies....and in Louisiana politics everything is worse. Its sad to say that it probably wont get any better.

DR. Savioe need to fix this and fast...send another revision!!!!

[ManAboutTown]

Theoretically no, but how long can we beat out heads against this wall? With this leadership and no balls on the horizon?
In regards to the legislation, I realize that hurdle is daunting. I was thinking that this name would appease the other state mouths.

[Frenchie35]

Would the Sun Belt Conference excepted the abbreviation, ULL instead of the hyphen UL-L if it was presented???? Why the hyphen. ULM will not use UL-M. This whole mess is a can of worms IMO. And what will we be called at sporting events. Jay will use Louisiana. Can the university demand to be call Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns? Karl Benson said that he will not demand what they call us, so I guess we will be called every Letter in the alphabet.