ODU Football Season Tickets

[JMV JustMyView]

100%. I have seen us play MVSU or Delta State in baseball back in the 80's. I have seen us play countless horrible teams in basketball, I have seen us play MAC and FCS teams in football that I don't care about. I don't care who is on the schedule, I will go to see the Cajuns, it should never be about the opponent, it should be about us. Granted playing a team with a recognizable name may draw in the casual fan, but at the end of the day that is a one day pickup in attendance. You can't play 6 home games vs opponents that are going to draw the casual fan in football, 26 games that will do the same in baseball and softball and 15 that will do the same in basketball. What you can do is try to build the best schedule possible with the cards you are dealt and your fan base needs to get out and support them whether it is MVSU or Alabama coming to Lafayette. We have built a really nice conference with 6 quality SBC west rivals. USM, USA, Troy, Arkansas State, Texas State and even ULM should give us a better boost then the original SBC conference, when you add to that Georgia Southern, App State, Coastal and Marshall and to some extent even Ga State, ODU, JMU we have quality opponents up and down the schedule. You need to fill in where you can. Baseball and Softball have done a really good job of getting quality regional teams here as well as Football has a plan on their schedule, 1 P5 road game, 1 G5 Road Game, 1 G5 home game and one FCS opponent. Basketball has done what they can, but it is a challenge to get quality opponents to come to Lafayette to play us, similar to every other G5 team. Even those that get some P5 opponents to come to their place it is usually 1 quality game sandwiched between playing tons of mediocre to less than mediocre teams.

If I were the SBC commissioner I would do this in Basketball. We have to set up a conference partnership in both men's and women's basketball. Meaning at least so many games per season need to be set up with peer conferences, whether that be CUSA, Southern Conference, Colonial Athletic, Missouri Valley or AAC and if the number is 2 or 4, then half of them have to be at the other teams home. Meaning lets say we set up a deal with the Southern Conference for the East and the CUSA for the West. Teams like Chattanooga, Furman, Samford, Wofford, UNCG, VMI, Mercer ETSU, Citadel and Western Carolina would play our teams in the East in some sort of home and home games. You could take Georgia State vs Chattanooga, that would have been a good matchup, if that is a home game for Georgia State, then they must go on the road to play Wofford. And vise versa for the West. Rice, UTEP, Tech, NMSU, Sam Houston, etc.

I don't have all the details but it appears our conference has done a great job scheduling football and baseball, but it lacks in basketball. Partnering up with a peer conference would help. The other option is to get into as many exempt multi team events and also limiting the number of non D-1 opponents that a team can play each season. It is rare that you are going to get a SBC team to get a major college to come to you, but if you work out deals with peer conferences you can get them to come, specifically home and home matchups or Conference vs Conference matchups since many teams are in the same boat as us. ODU is in a great MTE event this season with Charleston, Colorado State, Davidson, Furman, ODU, Penn State, South Carolina and VT. Troy is in one with Merrimack, Montana and St. Thomas (reclassifying this year), not a great one. Georgia State is in one with EKU, UNC Ashville and Texas A&M commerce (reclassifying). Georgia Southern is got one with Houston Baptist, Rice and WMU. USM is matched up with EMU, Winthrop and Purdue Ft Wayne. ULM has one with Southern, Loyola MD and Omaha. And the SBC has tons of others. We traditionally play one, not sure if we are doing one this year or not.

Their are lots of ways to bring better teams here but at the end of the day it should not be about the teams that are coming it should be about the team that is already here.

Great post Dave but I disagree with the struggle to get good teams to play in Lafayette. That is because the administration hung on to Marlin for so long and he has literally no relationships. That is the reason. Get a real coach in Lafayette and teams will come play us.

[BabbForHeisman]

You are correct to the bone. We have a big game in Houston with Rice this season. Where is the Alumni Idiot Association and RCAF people on getting thing set up here?

I’m not really involved in it, but I believe there will be a Friday night gathering. Hopefully advertised more than two days ahead of time.

I think we all expect/hope to be going for our 16th straight win that day. There’s no excuse for not having 10K Cajuns in the stands. We won’t…but there’s no excuse.

[JMV JustMyView]

I’m not really involved in it, but I believe there will be a Friday night gathering. Hopefully advertised more than two days ahead of time.

I think we all expect/hope to be going for our 16th straight win that day. There’s no excuse for not having 10K Cajuns in the stands. We won’t…but there’s no excuse.

I should be with BFH and WestUCajun

[Lafitte the Pirate]

I’m not really involved in it, but I believe there will be a Friday night gathering. Hopefully advertised more than two days ahead of time.

I think we all expect/hope to be going for our 16th straight win that day. There’s no excuse for not having 10K Cajuns in the stands. We won’t…but there’s no excuse.

Chris, you and I have a lot more inside on this subject. I do not expect your boy Adam to do anything!

[WestUCajun]

Currently, plans are to have something the Friday evening before the Rice game at Lil Woodrow's (I think in Rice Village) Not sure if this is 100% finalized but should be by the end of this month or early August at the latest. Also will have tailgating at Rice stadium before the game on Saturday. Info to sign up for the events will be coming out when all is set. Also hearing there may be additional events for the big donors. Hoping for a great turn out at all the events, especially the game.

[Clutch0364]

I say this all the time but I’ll say it again…outside of the football our in stadium environment sucks. Concessions are bad and poorly managed, corny traditions that feel forced and poor atmosphere. It all leads to people not returning.

[KajunKrazy]

I say this all the time but I’ll say it again…outside of the football our in stadium environment sucks. Concessions are bad and poorly managed, corny traditions that feel forced and poor atmosphere. It all leads to people not returning.

Which traditions are the corny ones you'd like to see go? I would lack of tradition and always trying to create something new is a problem also. Many schools have been doing the same stuff for over 50 years.

[Clutch0364]

Which traditions are the corny ones you'd like to see go? I would lack of tradition and always trying to create something new is a problem also. Many schools have been doing the same stuff for over 50 years.

The ragin Cajun chant from one side to the other is awful. the cheerleaders and band try to force it to happen. Then go faster and faster so it sounds like crap.

The kids run is terrible. It doesn’t set up for a football game atmosphere.

[JMV JustMyView]

Currently, plans are to have something the Friday evening before the Rice game at Lil Woodrow's (I think in Rice Village) Not sure if this is 100% finalized but should be by the end of this month or early August at the latest. Also will have tailgating at Rice stadium before the game on Saturday. Info to sign up for the events will be coming out when all is set. Also hearing there may be additional events for the big donors. Hoping for a great turn out at all the events, especially the game.

What is the Big Donor tier ?

[WestUCajun]

What is the Big Donor tier ?

Don’t know what it is.

[Cajunrunner]

I’m not really involved in it, but I believe there will be a Friday night gathering. Hopefully advertised more than two days ahead of time.

I think we all expect/hope to be going for our 16th straight win that day. There’s no excuse for not having 10K Cajuns in the stands. We won’t…but there’s no excuse.

Not only will there not be 10,000 Cajun fans there, I doubt we'll even have 1/5 of that (2,000). I'll be there, though.

[Cajunrunner]

The ragin Cajun chant from one side to the other is awful. the cheerleaders and band try to force it to happen. Then go faster and faster so it sounds like crap.

The kids run is terrible. It doesn’t set up for a football game atmosphere.

I can't imagine either of those things would keep someone from wanting to attend a game at Cajun Field.

"Hey, honey, Cajuns are in first place in the SBC West again this season. Want to go catch a game?"

"I'd love to go watch the team play, but until they get rid of that stupid chant and stop that kids run game thing, I don't want to go. I refuse to suffer through that."

[BabbForHeisman]

I can't imagine either of those things would keep someone from wanting to attend a game at Cajun Field.

"Hey, honey, Cajuns are in first place in the SBC West again this season. Want to go catch a game?"

"I'd love to go watch the team play, but until they get rid of that stupid chant and stop that kids run game thing, I don't want to go. I refuse to suffer through that."

I think maybe the bigger point is that our game day atmosphere doesn’t draw people in. It doesn’t keep them away, but it doesn’t draw them in.

We all know that LSU has a strong hold on 98% of casual fans in the state. Why is that? I can tell you why. It’s because they went to an LSU game as a kid and saw the band march on the field, play the opening notes of the fight song, and then the crowd went crazy.

I know it sounds bizarre, but those four notes of their fight song sell more tshirts and sell more tickets than anything we do.

I don’t know what the solution is, but it has to be geared toward making Cajun Field a “have to be there” environment.

[BabbForHeisman]

Not only will there not be 10,000 Cajun fans there, I doubt we'll even have 1/5 of that (2,000). I'll be there, though.

Sounds like we need to arrange an RP meetup

[moorecajun]

Which traditions are the corny ones you'd like to see go? I would lack of tradition and always trying to create something new is a problem also. Many schools have been doing the same stuff for over 50 years.

This is such a funny situation. "Traditions". On one hand you have people complaining about what the band does after every 2nd down or 3rd down. They don't like it that the band always does that. Hmm.

There was an entire thread based on what song should replace "Sweet Caroline" at the Tigue.

We have so many problems. We want "tradition" but we don't want what we keep doing.

I just see a dog, continuing to chase his tail.

We are a finicky bunch.