The Name Game

[gridiron]

ULM never went for UL they tried Louisiana not UL.

[HoustonCajun]

_ ULM never went for UL they tried Louisiana not UL. _

They are ULM now. It is like UCLA to Cal or UNLV to Nevada. I wouldn't call UCLA or UNLV inferior to Cal or Nevada and when those schools win, they don't try to reclaim the name from the other school (those are ULM's concerns.) ULM has selected their identity and it works for them. A few posters on their board may try to use Louisiana from time to time, but that is only in response to their seeing our use of Louisiana and UL.

[MissingMandy]

Will this issue ever be resolved....or will it pretty much go on forever?

[Just1More]

_ Look, I am all for calling us UL and Louisiana. It is not about that. It is what everyone else calls us and, outside of UL, that is Louisiana Lafayette and UL L. I live in Houston and I am tired of the hypenated reference. This fight is all because of the law that I initially quoted. I am just trying to find away around the law. If the "LU" does not work, then so be it. I just don't want to be here 10 years from now still known as Louisiana Lafayette. If you live in UL, you don't see the problem because everything there is UL. That is not the case everywhere else.

Bama and Ole Miss don't have laws prohibiting what they can call themselves. Plus they have history and tradition on their sides, which we do not. The same here in Texas. Texas A&M actually calls themselves the Texas Aggies. UT does not get into hysterics over that. It is just viewed as envy on the part of the Aggies. When UCLA beats Cal, they don't claim to be The University of California like ULM tries to claim if they beat us. The same for UNLV over Nevada. This continual bickering within Louisiana because of this name law is the problem and I am just trying to find away around it. Maybe we stick with what we now have (UL and Louisiana) and let Dr. S and his legislative powers work their magic to get this finally changed. _

We do not have a law on what we call ourselves. We have a state mandated requirement to use the official name on official school business.... big difference. I'm not insulted at the U L L or the Louisiana-Lafayette name... my family uses my middle name since birth, but it isn't because I'm ashamed of my full name. I prefer people call me what I tell them my name is... some see my full name and a few jackazzes like to have some fun... so what?

We are "Louisiana"... we are "UL". I could absolutely care less what anyone else says.

[AstroCajun]

_ Will this issue ever be resolved....or will it pretty much go on forever? _

And the beat goes on.....

[cajun4life]

_ Will this issue ever be resolved....or will it pretty much go on forever? _

It will go on forever, unless Doc S can convince the state to allow us to use UL for athletics since ULM has branded themselves as ULM. ULM actually has done themselves a favor by marketing one brand and their mascot is a good one as well. problem is they do not realise it and continue to fight us on the branding that we would like to use. But, like I already stated, it will go on forever.

[HoustonCajun]

_ It will go on forever, unless Doc S can convince the state to allow us to use UL for athletics since ULM has branded themselves as ULM. ULM actually has done themselves a favor by marketing one brand and their mascot is a good one as well. problem is they do not realise it and continue to fight us on the branding that we would like to use. But, like I already stated, it will go on forever. _

If ULM would just see themselves in a similar position to UCLA and UNLV and be happy with that, all would be well. They are getting branded as ULM, especially after beating Alabama last year, which is what they are seeking. And, that is great for them. After all, those above schools are not impacted by California or Nevada (UNLV is actually in a better conference than Nevada) and UCLA is a fellow conference mate of Cal. Both schools are as highly viewed as their counterparts, regardless of the name. We just need for them to leave us alone in our quest for Louisiana.

[CajunNation]

There is nothing we could do that would forward our identity as UL more than puting UL on the helmets just like we have them on the baseball caps.

The Ragin Cajuns nickname is great, but we are obsessed with it, to the point that we have almost abandoned the marketing of our university name in athletics.

For example, look at Marshall. They have a big fat M on their helmets, and you have to be standing within 2 feet of a player to be able see the word HERD on their jerseys.

Their very popular slogan is "We Are Marshall".

They have a great nickname in Thundering Herd, but they understand that the actual name of your university is way more important than a nickname.

The main reason why there is so much confusion about who we are or what exactly is our name among the general public is because WE are more confused than them.

We have the marketing of our school athletically completely backwards.


It's all one big train wreck, and few people want to admit it.

[HoustonCajun]

_ There is nothing we could do that would forward our identity as UL more than puting UL on the helmets just like we have them on the baseball caps.

The Ragin Cajuns nickname is great, but we are obsessed with it, to the point that we have almost abandoned the marketing of our university name in athletics.

For example, look at Marshall. They have a big fat M on their helmets, and you have to be standing within 2 feet of a player to be able see the word HERD on their jerseys.

Their very popular slogan is "We Are Marshall".

They have a great nickname in Thundering Herd, but they understand that the actual name of your university is way more important than a nickname.

The main reason why there is so much confusion about who we are or what exactly is our name among the general public is because WE are more confused than them.

We have the marketing of our school athletically completely backwards.


It's all one big train wreck, and few people want to admit it. _

You are right about that. The term Ragin Cajuns is viewed favorably (the #1 moniker in the country), but has no specific tie-in to UL. In Houston, there is a Ragin Cajun restaurant (owned by a UL alum). If I wear a shirt with Ragin Cajuns on it, most people think it is the restaurant. I was watching a baseball game on ESPN a month or so ago between USC and Southern University. The announcers talked about many of the Southern players being Ragin Cajuns from that part of the country. Again, no tie-in between the university and Ragin Cajuns.

We have never branded the university and the name together. I, too, would prefer to see a "UL" interlocking on the helmet and Ragin Cajuns or Louisiana on the Jersey. As you pointed out in baseball, we wear UL caps and have either Louisiana or Ragin Cajun shirts. Football should do the similarly.

It is time to start tying in UL, Louisiana and Ragin Cajuns. When we do start winning, they will know just what to call us. Also, and very important in all of this, is providing the sports caps, clothing and other paraphenalia with UL, Louisiana and Ragin Cajuns ONLY for us fans and alumni and to generate serious revenue for athletics. It is very disappointing to not be able to find the items we want (no Lafayette) outside of Louisiana and only in a couple of places in Lafayette. That is another reason the UL Lafayette has got to be eliminated.

[Hammer58]

_ Sometimes Z... sometimes... I believe if a guy spit in your face you'd apologize to him for impeding the progress of his liquid projectile. _

With apologies to the Captain..."Z, can be a nice guy or he can be a real sumbeetch. Its all up to you."

[DestinCajun]

i have often been amazed that the 'name game' seems to be of more import than actual results of the sports' teams, but that's just me.

They are two wholly separate issues.

[DestinCajun]

And the beat goes on.....

And it should go on as long as a few butt clowns come to Cajun forums like this one and make spurious remarks towards us.

Frankly, this is what we attempted to put a stop to when we made the old Delphi forum "private".