Response from the Advocate

[Hammer58]

I'm impressed by the ample response and I can appreciate the hard work they are doing at The Advocate. I think they just gained a potential subscriber just by his words and the fact that their camp breakdown of the Cajuns really was legit and I feel they are truly making an effort to give us better coverage.

After all, what he stated about getting Cajuns coverage into more homes is a BIG FACT. These articles are priceless. I'm all for the "Louisiana" name battle. But if some of you haven't at least warmed up to "Louisiana-Lafayette" somewhat, you are missing out on appreciating all of the press we are getting. I mean just get over it for a second and realize that _____ing about this to anyone and everyone will not only make us look petty, it will make outsiders have major disdain for us.

The more good publicity that comes for our Cajuns, the better. I personally don't think Louisiana-Lafayette sounds all that bad, because guess what? We are becoming known as WINNERS to the entire nation. They see our name and our school in numerous publication outlets and see our current success. That is worth something. The shortened name of Louisiana will come, it will come after they are tired of writing that entire name for so many damned articles about us winning all the time. Eventually they will just know us as Louisiana. But for now, I'm fine with the entire country getting to know Louisiana-Lafayette, at least as WINNERS, if nothing else.

Agreed that it was a nice response. I also agree that the coverage in the Advocate has improved. However....

_____ing about it to anyone and everyone is why Schliefelbein can state that he is fully aware of the issue for Cajun fans. It is also why the Advocate has decided not to use at he dreaded stuttering U.L.L.

In addition the idea that any change to refer to us as Louisiana should be limited to the Acadiana edition is absurd. That indicates his mindset that UL fans and alumni are concentrated solely in Lafayette. Maybe he needs to be made aware of just how many UL alums and fans live in a Baton Rouge and New Orleans. (Channelling my inner Boomer... Could someone send him the numbers for our alumni living in those areas ? )

[STEVEAUX UL 78]

This is a big step in the right direction by the Advocate staff. The point that he misses on here is that LSU fans will never unsubscribe to The Advocate because it is the best paper in the state bar none. If the move to Louisiana for all sports articles and UL Lafayette for all academic articles were to be made then the whole debate would be over.

It is a simple step that takes a pair for brass balls to go forward with. But like Cajun T stated, just the coverage alone will be a huge boost to the program.

I can agree with that...

[CockyCajun]

Right, because Cal-Berkeley never became known as anything else.

You're missing the point. I'm not saying I'm fine with that being our end-all be-all name. I'm saying there has to be some sort of ground to stand on. And if at first they know Louisiana-Lafayette as a winner, then the name Louisiana will come from that.

Cal-Berkeley is a good example of the media respecting the separation of academics and athletis. They only go by California for athletics and the media respects their wishes. They don't have fans WARMING UP to California-Berkley Golden Bears.

[STEVEAUX UL 78]

Cal-Berkeley is a good example of the media respecting the separation of academics and athletis. They only go by California for athletics and the media respects their wishes. They don't have fans WARMING UP to California-Berkley Golden Bears.

+1

[CajunAlum10]

Cal-Berkeley is a good example of the media respecting the separation of academics and athletis. They only go by California for athletics and the media respects their wishes. They don't have fans WARMING UP to California-Berkley Golden Bears.

Let's face it, whining to the media will not do anything. They bow down to the purple and gold. We had our chance to change the media's mind with the Sun Belt Release but we wet the bed.

[uslol'dog]

Good freaking lord I'm so tired of this name crap.
The only way it will get resolved is to so this... Are you ready?
CHANGE THE NAME OF THE COLLEGE.
It's a joke. ESPN plays on it for sharts and giggles.. It's a fight you'll never win.
I come here to maybe get a camp update, see how the teams doing, and gotta see the same poop floating around the toilet... Every. Dam. Day.
The University of Acadiana.
End of the endless BS.

[Big Buds]

I too wrote a letter this morning. They were kind enough to with this.

****************************************************************************************
Response one:

Thanks for your note.
When I started at The Advocate last year, I met with folks at the university, including Dr. Savoie, and they asked us not to refer to the school as ULL. They asked that we use UL Lafayette (or Ragin Cajuns).
We were glad to comply. They watch pretty carefully and let me know when we slip, and I confess that we have a time or two.
We appreciate your support for the Cajuns and your appreciation for the sensitive situation.
As you may have noticed, last month we added a sportswriter to The Acadiana Advocate. Luke Johnson is a Marine veteran, an LSU grad and was editor of Tiger Rag. He is off to a fine start and we hope you'll enjoy his work.

Response two:

We have been thinking about the Louisiana issue for some time. We're trying to figure out how best to do this. That piece about the name is something we discuss and something we are trying to figure out. So, we're trying to come up with the best solution, because we sell newspapers to both fanbases (with fans of both LSU and UL in Baton Rouge, of course, and then fans of both UL and LSU in Acadiana). And while both fanbases are tremendously passionate, they also can be quite thorny about the other. I hear from both sides on this issue. Having enjoyed covering then-USL from, gosh, 20 years ago, I'm certainly aware of how invested Louisiana fans are into this issue.

As you may know, we've become -- and are becoming -- three Sports sections at once, every night, and all the processes are extremely difficult (let alone when breaking news occurs). Just the mechanics of doing all of the swaps as well as building the coverage packages and weekly and daily budgets -- plus getting content to the web at the same time -- is a focus right now (yes, that, and the fact that we have seven special sections being produced in the next six weeks). It's a little like changing the tires on an 18-wheeler that never stops -- and now doing it three times a night. So, just because it didn't happen today and it won't immediately happen tomorrow doesn't mean that it's not something I and we are not giving tremendous thought toward.

Is it possible to refer to the school as UL or Louisiana in just The Acadiana Advocate? It may well be, and it's something I've been thinking about. But is it going to be a problem if we err and don't have the time to make the swap for Acadiana and then Louisiana fans doubt our sincerity to the move … but then, also, is it going to be a problem if we err and swap it for Acadiana and run out of time/forget to swap back for Baton Rouge? Or maybe we do the school reference just once, making it easier to swap in the lead paragraph and in headlines between editions? It might also be possible to do it online, because our interface allows us two distinct fields (regular text and web text). … Part of what I do, part of what we do, is try to figure out how to eliminate the errors and gremlins that inevitably happen when we're doing all of this in a rush, on deadline. It's a little easier right now, when we have so much copy coming in early from camps. But I also have to consider how fast and how crazy it is in March and April and May, when we have so much going on every night. … Or do we make the change once and for all and then all the LSU fans come unglued and stop buying our newspaper? … So, where we are is stuck in this battleground between the two fanbases and trying to come up with the best solution for both.

As we make the swaps more and more and as we add to our capability to do more in the Acadiana area (like having a sportswriter there -- hopefully, one day that can be two sportswriters, but I'm getting way ahead of myself), the concept of accomplishing this part where we roll that language as a priority into The Acadiana Advocate, as you are asking, becomes easier to do. So, especially in the past week, since Luke really got on board, this has been on my mind.

Just so you know, as of November, this newspaper no longer uses any reference to ULL (so, if you see it, that is an error, and please alert me). And also it has been our editorial style for years now that, should someone say UL or Louisiana in a direct quote, we do not use parentheses or rework the quote in any way (if someone does this, please alert me; our Sports staff should know this, and I try to communicate this as best I can to freelancers.)

I can tell you that what will happen in Acadiana is what happened in New Orleans in that we get better and better in what we're doing in that we will figure out how to do it a little better with each day and each season. … I can also tell you that we can get more coverage of your school into homes all across south Louisiana, and supporting us helps your school's brand. Nobody else had a full page of Sun Belt Conference media day coverage both on the day of and on the day after and nobody else but us had a full page preseason camp breakdown at all, let alone getting that content to homes across south Louisiana, from Crowley to the North Shore to Baton Rouge and the French Quarter. So, I think there's a lot we all can gain from a partnership.

Are we exactly the Sports section I want us to be in Lafayette/New Orleans or even Baton Rouge yet? We've made great strides in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. We've won the Louisiana Sports Writers Association sweepstakes for the past two years (and by a wide margin), and we hadn't won a sweepstakes since the 1970s. We were an APSE honorable mention in the most competitive segment for newspapers of our size across the country, and we hadn't had an APSE award like that since the late 1980s. And we were an APSE top 10 website for the first time. … And so now we're trying to make great strides in Lafayette. I've had a full-time beat writer in Lafayette for a little more than a week, and I can tell you that the past three days we've had fuller and better coverage than anyone else. That has to account for something. And we're just getting started (just now, as I'm typing, I got an email about the Ragin' Cajun report blog being set up.) … Unlike our competitors in New Orleans and Lafayette, we're a local company, and we try best to answer every question and try best to come up with solutions.

So, thanks for writing, and I really believe your idea has merit.

[Duggie35]

In addition the idea that any change to refer to us as Louisiana should be limited to the Acadiana edition is absurd. That indicates his mindset that UL fans and alumni are concentrated solely in Lafayette. Maybe he needs to be made aware of just how many UL alums and fans live in a Baton Rouge and New Orleans. (Channelling my inner Boomer... Could someone send him the numbers for our alumni living in those areas ? )

Agreed. Only one change is needed, not two or three different versions of the paper. We do not want to be referred to as Louisiana just in Acadiana, we need to be referred to athletically as Louisiana throughout the State and Nation! We are only one University, not two.

[Turbine]

When I started at The Advocate last year, I met with folks at the university, including Dr. Savoie, and they asked us not to refer to the school as ULL. They asked that we use UL Lafayette (or Ragin Cajuns).

Problem found.

Does UL or does not UL have "Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns" trademarked?

Yes they do.

Use it, recommend it, and the media will follow.

As a US President recently stated "folks" got it wrong.

[Big Buds]

Problem found.

Does UL or does not UL have "Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns" trademarked?

Yes they do.

Use it, recommend it, and the media will follow.

As a US President recently stated "folks" got it wrong.

Agreed! When I read that one come across my email I was a little upset as to why we would advise any news source to call us UL Lafayette?!?! Something is not adding up.

[HoustonCajun]

Agreed! When I read that one come across my email I was a little upset as to why we would advise any news source to call us UL Lafayette?!?! Something is not adding up.

UL Lafayette is exactly what was told to the SBC and media as our preferred first reference. Louisiana Ragin Cajuns was considered our mascot. What?? That would make us the UL Lafayette Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. And, refer to us as UL-L. ONLY the university can correct this major blunder. I don't think we can expect the media to do anything other than what we gave them. Until the university officially proclaims it's athletic branding as Louisiana, we will continue to be UL Lafayette and Louisiana Lafayette. UL apparently asked The Advocate not to call us ULL and to use our preferred reference, UL Lafayette. Then why did we tell the SBC and national media to use UL-L? Why brand as Louisiana if you are not going to sell the brand? I can understand if the timing is not right to seek the Louisiana name. Then why put out a LaLouisiana issue proclaiming our athletic BRAND as Louisiana, why put Louisiana on all of our stadiums, uniforms, and SID releases, and yet now say to call us UL Lafayette? This is a confounding marketing strategy.

[Turbine]

UL Lafayette is exactly what was told to the SBC and media as our preferred first reference. Louisiana Ragin Cajuns was considered our mascot. What?? That would make us the UL Lafayette Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. And, refer to us as UL-L. ONLY the university can correct this major blunder. I don't think we can expect the media to do anything other than what we gave them. Until the university officially proclaims it's athletic branding as Louisiana, we will continue to be UL Lafayette and Louisiana Lafayette. UL apparently asked The Advocate not to call us ULL and to use our preferred reference, UL Lafayette. Then why did we tell the SBC and national media to use UL-L? Why brand as Louisiana if you are not going to sell the brand? I can understand if the timing is not right to seek the Louisiana name. Then why put out a LaLouisiana issue proclaiming our athletic BRAND as Louisiana, why put Louisiana on all of our stadiums, uniforms, and SID releases, and yet now say to call us UL Lafayette? This is a confounding marketing strategy.

There is no strategy, they have an academic with singular focus as the spokesman for athletic marketing.