I also agree we need to do a better job of promoting UL both locally and nationally. As covered by CajunFun on ULToday.com, we have great programs in a number of areas that will do nothing but get better in the years to come, but we need to let people know about it. We've done a very poor job of making our areas of excellence known. We also need to provide a living environment conducive to attracting the best and brightest, hence living spaces and additional on campus parking options need to be the highest priority, as this affects not only athletes but the out of town/state students we want to attract.>>
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Athletically, we need to do a better job of acknowledging our fan base, and this can be done in a number of ways. As stated in an earlier post, getting contact info from persons purchasing tickets and following up with thanks/offers is a great idea. I emailed the department a number of years back about a little thing that stuck in my mind following the renewal of season tickets in basketball about five years ago. I've been having them for about 25 years, but wasn't sure exactly how long, so I asked when I was paying for my renewal. The person at that time (wasn't Shivaun) told me they didn't record that information. To be honest, I was somewhat shocked. I thought at the time that this was something we were keeping up with electronically for a long time. I sent an email following that event to the athletic director stating that this might be an opportunity to thank long term fans for continuing support of a specific sport. They typically thank fans in the ticket renewals every year, but on 5, 10, 20 or whatever chosen timeframe anniversaries, send them out a special note in their renewals saying you're aware of their long term support, and giving them a special thank you, possibly actually signed by the coach of the associated team. To me it seems a little thing, except in recognition of their support, and costs the school virtually nothing. It shows that you’re acknowledged them individually, and not part of a mass mailing renewal program. I think when you're trying to build successful programs in a number of sports, and the department as a whole, small things matter. I’m sorry to say I never received a response.>>