Continuing Athletics Discussion

[CajunFun]

New addition to my athletics essays...

[HoustonCajun]

_ New addition to my athletics essays...

_

Fun, I have a question. Your new logo with the 3 Fleur de lis and Cajuns accross it says it is relating to UL, the UL District, Acadiana, and the Cajun culture. I agree that it appears representative of Acadiana and the Cajun culture. However, in the absence of having a UL on the logo, it appears to have no visible relationship to the university. The 3 Fleur de Lis do not match the current singular Fleur de Lis that UL uses and the term Cajuns is not necessarily reflective of the university moniker, Ragin Cajuns, but rather is more of a generic term for the Cajun culture. I fail to see any tie-in to UL, so I doubt that the average person will either. Is there anyway to add a UL into the logo for a university tie-in that will bring all of this together?

[CajunFun]

_ Fun, I have a question. Your new logo with the 3 Fleur de lis and Cajuns accross it says it is relating to UL, the UL District, Acadiana, and the Cajun culture. I agree that it appears representative of Acadiana and the Cajun culture. However, in the absence of having a UL on the logo, it appears to have no visible relationship to the university. The 3 Fleur de Lis do not match the current singular Fleur de Lis that UL uses and the term Cajuns is not necessarily reflective of the university moniker, Ragin Cajuns, but rather is more of a generic term for the Cajun culture. I fail to see any tie-in to UL, so I doubt that the average person will either. Is there anyway to add a UL into the logo for a university tie-in that will bring all of this together? _

SLC,

Thanks for the question.

Our "new traditions" (and that phrase points up part of the problem) came from one person in Martin Hall working with a firm in Manhattan.

No local input; no local designs. We have a very strong design program at UL, one that wins national awards; but our students didn't get a crack at working on our identity. We have excellent design and PR firms in Lafayette, some of the best. We go to them constantly for free and discounted work; one of the best local designers is Megan Barra, she was nominated for a Grammy for an album cover she did. She's as good as anyone in the field, and she has been very generous with UL. But we snubbed our own kids, and offended our own alumni & supporters, to go spend $40K with a firm in New York.

On really poor work.

The person at UL who was responsible for these decisions is very good in certain fields, but has no background in marketing, certainly not athletic marketing. And it seems that the Manhattan firm took advantage of that inexperience. Go the SME website, and look at the work that was done for their other clients: clean, bold designs that can be represented one, or sometimes two, colors.

We, on the other hand, got a messy set of logos in 5 colors, that have caused endless problems, because of cost, because of bad design, and because of a poor understanding of the key issues.

Not to mention, either an ignorance or a disinterest in our traditions.

Our colors are vermilion & white. There are 2200 4 year colleges & universities in the US, and exactly one of them claims vermilion as a color: UL. But we got a logo with 5 colors... and no vermilion. We have a logo that is too expensive to reproduce, which can't be reduced to one-color (without looking even worse)... and we aren't even using our own traditions.

There's the pepper. We are on our third costume for it. We paid almost $20K for the first one (usual cost for a custom mascot costume is $5-8K), and it was a fiasco. No telling what we paid for the second and third. Three different designs, and it's still an embarrassment. I don't care what awards it wins, it doesn't look like a pepper, and the other schools laugh at it.

Then there's the flame typeset. We had to use flame numbers on the football uniforms, and no one could read them. I think we're on our fourth design for those numbers (each one cost us more money), and finally people can read them.

And then there's the single fleur de lis. New Orleans uses it. Baton Rouge uses it. Natchitoches uses it. Mobile uses it. Lake Charles uses it. Even LSBR uses it now.

Just about everyone has used it... except UL. The single fleur de lis was almost never used at UL until a few years ago. It's just not a part of our traditions. On the other hand, the triple fleur de lis has been associated with UL since 1926, and associated with the Cajuns and their ancestors since 1376. You can read the story here.

So now we use one fleur de lis, something that mimics the Saints' logo. The single fleur de lis is yet another "new tradition," an artificial history designed by people who either didn't know, or didn't care, about our heritage, and who we are.

[CajunFun]

PS There's no easy way to work in UL without attracting the ire of some on campus.

[CajunNation]

SLC,

Thanks for the question.

Our "new traditions" (and that phrase points up part of the problem) came from one person in Martin Hall working with a firm in Manhattan.

No local input; no local designs. We have a very strong design program at UL, one that wins national awards; but our students didn't get a crack at working on our identity. We have excellent design and PR firms in Lafayette, some of the best. We go to them constantly for free and discounted work; one of the best local designers is Megan Barra, she was nominated for a Grammy for an album cover she did. She's as good as anyone in the field, and she has been very generous with UL. But we snubbed our own kids, and offended our own alumni & supporters, to go spend $40K with a firm in New York.

On really poor work.

The person at UL who was responsible for these decisions is very good in certain fields, but has no background in marketing, certainly not athletic marketing. And it seems that the Manhattan firm took advantage of that inexperience. Go the SME website, and look at the work that was done for their other clients: clean, bold designs that can be represented one, or sometimes two, colors.

We, on the other hand, got a messy set of logos in 5 colors, that have caused endless problems, because of cost, because of bad design, and because of a poor understanding of the key issues.

Not to mention, either an ignorance or a disinterest in our traditions.

Our colors are vermilion & white. There are 2200 4 year colleges & universities in the US, and exactly one of them claims vermilion as a color: UL. But we got a logo with 5 colors... and no vermilion. We have a logo that is too expensive to reproduce, which can't be reduced to one-color (without looking even worse)... and we aren't even using our own traditions.

There's the pepper. We are on our third costume for it. We paid almost $20K for the first one (usual cost for a custom mascot costume is $5-8K), and it was a fiasco. No telling what we paid for the second and third. Three different designs, and it's still an embarrassment. I don't care what awards it wins, it doesn't look like a pepper, and the other schools laugh at it.

Then there's the flame typeset. We had to use flame numbers on the football uniforms, and no one could read them. I think we're on our fourth design for those numbers (each one cost us more money), and finally people can read them.

And then there's the single fleur de lis. New Orleans uses it. Baton Rouge uses it. Natchitoches uses it. Mobile uses it. Lake Charles uses it. Even LSBR uses it now.

Just about everyone has used it... except UL. The single fleur de lis was almost never used at UL until a few years ago. It's just not a part of our traditions. On the other hand, the triple fleur de lis has been associated with UL since 1926, and associated with the Cajuns and their ancestors since 1376. You can read the story here.

So now we use one fleur de lis, something that mimics the Saints' logo. The single fleur de lis is yet another "new tradition," an artificial history designed by people who either didn't know, or didn't care, about our heritage, and who we are.

Preach on, Father Fun...Preach on....

I've often wondered that this person in Martin Hall you speak of had pictures of Doc playing golf with Satan or someting like that because I can't figure out how this has been allowed to go on for so long.

When 2 people with such different political mindsets such as ourselves believe the same thing, so ardently, about an issue, there must be something REALLY wrong going on here.

Maybe it's time other people start speaking out on this topic and not belittle it like they do often on this board, i. e. "not another uni thread".

This matters.

[Bert]

Cadiens reviled France, when the English exiled the Cadien commuinity to France they chose living in a Spanish colony over submission to the fleur-de-lis. The decendants of Cadiens are ignorant of real history.

[Cajun Express]

_ Preach on, Father Fun...Preach on....

I've often wondered that this person in Martin Hall you speak of had pictures of Doc playing golf with Satan or someting like that because I can't figure out how this has been allowed to go on for so long.

When 2 people with such different political mindsets such as ourselves believe the same thing, so ardently, about an issue, there must be something REALLY wrong going on here.

Maybe it's time other people start speaking out on this topic and not belittle it like they do often on this board, i. e. "not another uni thread".

This matters. _

Fun has been pushing the tri fleur for over a decade which is fine. Frankly there is not a universal logo that identifies the Cajuns so I guess one man's flower is another man's pepper or spice.

I want a giant W on the helmet. When somebody asks what it stands for we just say whiners.

[CajunFun]

_ Fun has been pushing the tri fleur for over a decade which is fine. Frankly there is not a universal logo that identifies the Cajuns so I guess one man's flower is another man's pepper or spice.

I want a giant W on the helmet. When somebody asks what it stands for we just say whiners. _

Well, the good news is I'm not pushing it on the helmets any more.

I just want it as an option for those of us who prefer it. Some will buy the pepper, some the hot wheels, some that gawd-awful yellow stuff. Me, I like the interlocking UL (and I hope L'ville never sues us over it... ) and the triple fleurs.

CX, I know you dislike the "flowers", but if we're going to use that design, let's make sure we distinguish ourselves from the rest of Louisiana.

So if we use it, let's use three instead of one.

[HoustonCajun]

_ Well, the good news is I'm not pushing it on the helmets any more.

I just want it as an option for those of us who prefer it. Some will buy the pepper, some the hot wheels, some that gawd-awful yellow stuff. Me, I like the interlocking UL (and I hope L'ville never sues us over it... ) and the triple fleurs.

CX, I know you dislike the "flowers", but if we're going to use that design, let's make sure we distinguish ourselves from the rest of Louisiana.

So if we use it, let's use three instead of one. _

Going back to my initial question on an earlier post, how do you tie the three Fleur de Lis with Cajuns across it to UL? It looks good, but would likely be viewed as a generic Cajun logo, not necessarily related to UL Ragin Cajuns (except to the very few people who might know the history behind it).

[CajunFun]

_ Cadiens reviled France, when the English exiled the Cadien commuinity to France they chose living in a Spanish colony over submission to the fleur-de-lis. The decendants of Cadiens are ignorant of real history. _

Bert,

I'm not sure it's that simple... more than anything, the Acadians had become very independent living on their own in what is now Canada, and didn't like being subjects to a crown again. A Yale historian claims that the Acadians were the first republicans in modern times... in fact, he suggests that this was what got them expelled, not their request to be French neutrals, but that they appeared to be negotiating with King George as equals.

They didn't prefer Spain, they preferred the unsettled lands of Louisiana where they could better practice self-determination. Remember, they were expelled in 1755, and didn't arrive in Louisiana until 1765. In that 10 years, some of them ended up as far away as the Falklands, off the southeastern coast of South America.

I don't think they liked anywhere they went... but they seem to have been very glad to find Louisiana. One indirect fact supporting that, the Acadians in Canada have never forgotten the Grand Dérangement, it is very much alive today. But the Cajuns apparently made a conscious effort not to dwell on it, and to get on with their lives here. The expulsion has only re-emerged in discussions here in the past few years.

[CajunFun]

_ Going back to my initial question on an earlier post, how do you tie the three Fleur de Lis with Cajuns across it to UL? It looks good, but would likely be viewed as a generic Cajun logo, not necessarily related to UL Ragin Cajuns (except to the very few people who might know the history behind it). _

Well, I can't use "Ragin' Cajuns" and I can't use "University of Louisiana" without attracting retaliatory actions from News Services.

Do you have a suggestion?

[HoustonCajun]

_ Well, I can't use "Ragin' Cajuns" and I can't use "University of Louisiana" without attracting retaliatory actions from News Services.

Do you have a suggestion? _

Can you use UL, perhaps with Cajuns across the front of it?