2016: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics

[LaCajunsFan]

Interesting that he talks about the importance of branding us as LOUISIANA, yet throughout the report, he calls us Louisiana Lafayette. You would think he would call us LOUISIANA throughout the report once he made the official reference, like he did using UL. A lot to still digest.

I had those same thoughts: kudos to him for the UL part, but it is actually just as annoying ...... if not more so .... to have to keep reading la Lft over and over again.

[VObserver]

The sections on marketing, branding, advertising, game day management and media production/distribution were an absolutely blistering indictment of the way we do things here. I will be very interested in what changes are made in those areas.

[CajunRed]

The sections on marketing, branding, advertising, game day management and media production/distribution were an absolutely blistering indictment of the way we do things here. I will be very interested in what changes are made in those areas.

My thoughts exactly. Although, it is difficult to find a section that is NOT a blistering indictment of the way we've done things.

So much potential...left sitting on the table.

[ZoomZoom]

Interesting that he talks about the importance of branding us as LOUISIANA, yet throughout the report, he calls us Louisiana Lafayette. You would think he would call us LOUISIANA throughout the report once he made the official reference, like he did using UL. A lot to still digest.

This gives me the feeling, that although constructive, this report was written by multiple people. The person ultimately responsible did a ____ poor job editing the document when it came to branding THE REPORT ITSELF!

[nathancpike]

My favorite: "You need to execute this plan and not put it on a shelf."

[CajunT]

This gives me the feeling, that although constructive, this report was written by multiple people. The person ultimately responsible did a ____ poor job editing the document when it came to branding THE REPORT ITSELF!

Perhaps, but does it change the findings outlining how inept we have been in many areas in our athletic department? We've hired people that actually know how to get things done, the hard truth is going to be hard for some to accept.

[ZoomZoom]

$125.00 each semester X 18,000 students x 2 = 4.5 million annually.

But could we get it blessed today?

[RaginFan2]

My favorite: "You need to execute this plan and not put it on a shelf."

Yep! That is the key point. No plan will work if it sits on the shelf.

[VObserver]

$125.00 each semester X 18,000 students x 2 = 4.5 million annually.

But could we get it blessed today?

We need to quit using lack of student fees as an excuse for doing nothing. Yes, it would be nice to have them, but in the meantime let's go raise an additional 10 million by doing things in our control the right way.

[RedTails]

What an interesting pseudonym for Steve Hale to submit a report under.

[cb089]

There's a lot of good recommendations in this report, particularly about branding. My hope is that those in charge don't sit on their hands with these recommendations. Its not exactly ground breaking. But I really like the part about recognizing we have a unique identity as the Ragin' Cajuns, both from the standpoint that there are no other Ragin' Cajuns in the NCAA and that we've got the French influence in the University and surrounding area. These branding recommendations give life to what it means to be a Ragin Cajun. It puts substance behind that brand. The "Where every game is Mardi Gras" is a unique tagline and can push some of what we're about in South Louisiana, into our athletic identity. In marketing, when you've got something totally unique, you rally behind it, make it your strength and PUSH it.

In order to build a strong fan base, you've of course got to strengthen appeal and involvement of our student and alumni bodies. But you've also go to reach out to the casual fan. The "sidewalk fan" so to speak who doesn't have ties to the University but sees whats going on and says "I want to be a part of this". You do that by consistently winning but also by building that strong identifiable brand. People see our logo or hear our name and automatically know who we are and what we're about.

I'm also glad they pushed the mascot portion. Its just somebody in an expensive costume but its important roaming embodiment/characterization of our university. You've got the obvious part, that it appeals to children. Parents take their kids to games and see the mascot, take pictures. You create that appeal early with the kids and create longer term pleasant memories and associations with Cajuns sporting events. Beyond that, a great mascot with a story can resonate with adults and students too. I've been to LSU football games where the Mike mascot comes to the student section and the students high five him, take pictures etc. You also see mascots in commercials. Think of WKU's Big Red. He's unique and gotten their school some notoriety. Cayenne was generally awful. People hated the Ragin' Peppers branding and then there was the question of "Why?" How does Cayenne represent our identity? How do I relate to a pepper as a Ragin Cajun fan?

The question is how do you embody Ragin Cajuns in a mascot? I know we had Cajun Man, but he's not particularly memorable. He was ultimately just kind of a guy. I'm from Shreveport and we had the Mudbugs hockey team. Their mascot was a crawfish named Claude. When I think of a mascot that might work for us, this stands out. A Crawfish represents something we can relate to in South Louisiana and its a unique mascot among NCAA teams. Lets not forget, that April Fools crawfish helmet got quite a bit of press.

[BrockMeaux]

Boy, this is definitely a Ragin Pagin thread. A 79 page document that validates, corroborates, and cements what we've all said needed to happen to further our program for years, crafted by outside professionals that have taken a good look at us with a critical eye and made suggestions that will get us there if implemented, and half the posts about it are folks btching about the name.

Never change, you guys.

[CajunT]

Boy, this is definitely a Ragin Pagin thread. A 79 page document that validates, corroborates, and cements what we've all said needed to happen to further our program for years, crafted by outside professionals that have taken a good look at us with a critical eye and made suggestions that will get us there if implemented, and half the posts about it are folks btching about the name.

Never change, you guys.

LOL!! You noticed that, but it is part of branding.

[Stabil123]

We need to quit using lack of student fees as an excuse for doing nothing. Yes, it would be nice to have them, but in the meantime let's go raise an additional 10 million by doing things in our control the right way.

Really, you can't be serious , others in our conference have a student fee, we're talking about a minimue % increase in tuition. And just where do we find the $10 million. We need to find new donors, we've beat a dead horse to dearh

[Cajun90]

Really, you can't be serious , others in our conference have a student fee, we're talking about a minimue % increase in tuition. And just where do we find the $10 million. We need to find new donors, we've beat a dead horse to dearh

Student fees have to be voted on by students. There is a less than zero chance of that happening in the current economic environment. TOPS covers tuition NOT fees. As such Universities have gone down that road numerous times and you can't blame them. As such a big part of attending college in Louisiana isn't covered by TOPS and the downturn in O&G has compounded the issue. No way you get 50% of the students and their parents to vote this in right now. So it is a mute point.

Per VOB we just need to move on and figure out what else we can do at this time. Maybe someday we can take another look at a student fee but it isn't happening today.