The Event Experience

[JMV JustMyView]

Ok...so since we are known for our food, around the world, we should have a Cajun Food Cook-off for every home game. Each game would have a designated food category to be in the contest. For example, my six choices would be Gratons, Jambalaya, BBQ, Seafood, Crawfish Etouffee' and Gumbo...probably in that order or possibly switching Gumbo and Etouffee' depending on crawfish crop. Boudin may be too hard to pull off, no pun intended, for most folks not having the equipment to process the links. All food prep (except marinating meat) and cooking to be done on gameday.

All entries would be judged at Russo Park, 3 hours before Kick-off with a hefty cash prizes for winners, could even include parking passes! LOL!

Seriously, the food aspect of our culture is the attention grabber of the event day. We already know this, but we could put way more emphasis on our favorite dishes/heritage with a Cajun Cook-off to bring more attention to the games. There would have to be some ground rules established and entries would have to be limited by timing to submit and total number.

Other events to include on a game by game basis:
-Boudin eating contest
- Battle of the Bands contest
- Cajun half or quarter Marathon that includes a circuit around Cajun field, Greek area,
Blackham Coliseum and the main campus
- Classic Car / four wheeler contest
- HS 7 on 7 competition before the real game. Organized to include up to 16 teams over
2 game dates. 20 min run time games played on CF.

Good ideas. I just don't eat anything inside of a condom.

[GreatestStory]

Requiring an RCAF donation for everything was what kicked off this decline we are currently experiencing. RCAF donations could have possibly worked IF an RCAF donation had any kind of ROI.

The RCAF used to a few little have perks like license plates, parking passes, get togethers, etc. Sure they were small things, but at least you got SOMETHING.

These days, if you make an RCAF donation of $2,999 or less (I'm sure most of us are in this boat), here is what you receive:

1) Priority Points (which rank you for 3, 4, & 5 listed below)
2) RCAF Membership packet (includes membership card & RCAF sticker)
3) Opportunity to request* priority seating to home, away, post season games
4) Opportunity to request* baseball season tickets
5) Opportunity to request* football/basketball parking passes
*request means "spend more money"

SOURCE: https://myrcaf.org/assets/pdf/2022-2...s-chart-v4.pdf

For $2,999 you get no t-shirt, no baseball cap, no 1% off Ragin Cajun attire coupon, no single use voucher for a free popcorn, no Maruchan ramen noodle meet & great with the Sodexo assistant manager, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BUT THE RIGHTS TO SPEND MORE MONEY.

To be fair to the RCAF, when I was in 2nd grade they had a shot at reeling me in with a sticker, but not so much these days.

I donated $50 to Festival International and received a t-shirt and 10% off all Festival merchandise. Isn't it amazing how they could still afford to put on Festival International after giving donors a free t-shirt? Wouldn't that 10% off Festival International merchandise send them spiraling into bankruptcy? How is it possible to give these small perks to someone who only donated $50?

[ManAboutTown]

Requiring an RCAF donation for everything was what kicked off this decline we are currently experiencing. RCAF donations could have possibly worked IF an RCAF donation had any kind of ROI.

The RCAF used to a few little have perks like license plates, parking passes, get togethers, etc. Sure they were small things, but at least you got SOMETHING.

These days, if you make an RCAF donation of $2,999 or less (I'm sure most of us are in this boat), here is what you receive:

1) Priority Points (which rank you for 3, 4, & 5 listed below)
2) RCAF Membership packet (includes membership card & RCAF sticker)
3) Opportunity to request* priority seating to home, away, post season games
4) Opportunity to request* baseball season tickets
5) Opportunity to request* football/basketball parking passes
*request means "spend more money"

SOURCE: https://myrcaf.org/assets/pdf/2022-2...s-chart-v4.pdf

For $2,999 you get no t-shirt, no baseball cap, no 1% off Ragin Cajun attire coupon, no single use voucher for a free popcorn, no Maruchan ramen noodle meet & great with the Sodexo assistant manager, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BUT THE RIGHTS TO SPEND MORE MONEY.

To be fair to the RCAF, when I was in 2nd grade they had a shot at reeling me in with a sticker, but not so much these days.

I donated $50 to Festival International and received a t-shirt and 10% off all Festival merchandise. Isn't it amazing how they could still afford to put on Festival International after giving donors a free t-shirt? Wouldn't that 10% off Festival International merchandise send them spiraling into bankruptcy? How is it possible to give these small perks to someone who only donated $50?

And guess what happens when people wear RCAF shirts, hats, etc or display RCAF plates, stickers, etc...

A little something called free advertising.

[KajunKrazy]

A $500 donation only gives you the right to spend another $60 on Lot C parking pass. I assume that $60 is where you are getting the $10 per game price.

...but is it really $10 a game if you had to donate $500 and pay an additional $60.

To me it is comical that you can donate $100,000+, but still required to pay $60 for a parking pass. Shouldn't there be some donation level where they throw in a parking pass?

SOURCE: https://myrcaf.org/assets/pdf/2022-f...-pass-form.pdf

Yes as long as they continue to have 6 home games I pay 10 dollars a game to park. I also pay 500 dollars for a tailgate spot that comes with 2 parking passes that stay in the drawer. I don’t see like you. I see the 500 dollars as a donation to help the program and the 60 dollars as purchasing a parking pass for the year. It’s not I have to donate so I can park.

[JamesTheJeweler]

And guess what happens when people wear RCAF shirts, hats, etc or display RCAF plates, stickers, etc...

A little something called free advertising.

Something I say every time these threads come up.....It's like they WANT it to fail. It's weird how completely inept they are at this. Always makes me question.

[GreatestStory]

I don’t see like you. I see the 500 dollars as a donation to help the program and the 60 dollars as purchasing a parking pass for the year. It’s not I have to donate so I can park.

I have been an RCAF member since it's inception.
I too see my RCAF donation & season tickets as helping the program.

I also run a business.
I have customers who do business with my company.
I sometimes bring them donuts, boudin, king cake, etc.
I give them tickets to UL events, send them Christmas cards, etc.

I know my customers appreciate my occasional small efforts to acknowledge them. I know without customer loyalty, my business will have a greater potential to fail.

Taking people's money without showing any appreciation does not build relationships. Without relationships, people won't think twice about spending their money elsewhere.

SUMMARY: People want to feel appreciated and it only takes a small investment to show them appreciation.

[KajunKrazy]

I have been an RCAF member since it's inception.
I too see my RCAF donation & season tickets as helping the program.

I also run a business.
I have customers who do business with my company.
I sometimes bring them donuts, boudin, king cake, etc.
I give them tickets to UL events, send them Christmas cards, etc.

I know my customers appreciate my occasional small efforts to acknowledge them. I know without customer loyalty, my business will have a greater potential to fail.

Taking people's money without showing any appreciation does not build relationships. Without relationships, people won't think twice about spending their money elsewhere.

SUMMARY: People want to feel appreciated and it only takes a small investment to show them appreciation.

I too work in sales and bring my customer little tokens of my appreciation. However I don’t see my RCAF donation as I see my clients or vendors. I see it as I see my other charitable donations where I don’t really expect any thing back for my donation. I equate it more to my donations to St Jude than I due to my business. Although I do appreciate a good football, baseball, and basketball team to watch and I hope my small donation helps in building those.

[JMV JustMyView]

Requiring an RCAF donation for everything was what kicked off this decline we are currently experiencing. RCAF donations could have possibly worked IF an RCAF donation had any kind of ROI.

The RCAF used to a few little have perks like license plates, parking passes, get togethers, etc. Sure they were small things, but at least you got SOMETHING.

These days, if you make an RCAF donation of $2,999 or less (I'm sure most of us are in this boat), here is what you receive:

1) Priority Points (which rank you for 3, 4, & 5 listed below)
2) RCAF Membership packet (includes membership card & RCAF sticker)
3) Opportunity to request* priority seating to home, away, post season games
4) Opportunity to request* baseball season tickets
5) Opportunity to request* football/basketball parking passes
*request means "spend more money"

SOURCE: https://myrcaf.org/assets/pdf/2022-2...s-chart-v4.pdf

For $2,999 you get no t-shirt, no baseball cap, no 1% off Ragin Cajun attire coupon, no single use voucher for a free popcorn, no Maruchan ramen noodle meet & great with the Sodexo assistant manager, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BUT THE RIGHTS TO SPEND MORE MONEY.

To be fair to the RCAF, when I was in 2nd grade they had a shot at reeling me in with a sticker, but not so much these days.

I donated $50 to Festival International and received a t-shirt and 10% off all Festival merchandise. Isn't it amazing how they could still afford to put on Festival International after giving donors a free t-shirt? Wouldn't that 10% off Festival International merchandise send them spiraling into bankruptcy? How is it possible to give these small perks to someone who only donated $50?

Correct the whole program needs to be restructured.

[JMV JustMyView]

I have been an RCAF member since it's inception.
I too see my RCAF donation & season tickets as helping the program.

I also run a business.
I have customers who do business with my company.
I sometimes bring them donuts, boudin, king cake, etc.
I give them tickets to UL events, send them Christmas cards, etc.

I know my customers appreciate my occasional small efforts to acknowledge them. I know without customer loyalty, my business will have a greater potential to fail.

Taking people's money without showing any appreciation does not build relationships. Without relationships, people won't think twice about spending their money elsewhere.

SUMMARY: People want to feel appreciated and it only takes a small investment to show them appreciation.

This guys gets it. Sounds like he is a good boss to work for.

[ManAboutTown]

I too work in sales and bring my customer little tokens of my appreciation. However I don’t see my RCAF donation as I see my clients or vendors. I see it as I see my other charitable donations where I don’t really expect any thing back for my donation. I equate it more to my donations to St Jude than I due to my business. Although I do appreciate a good football, baseball, and basketball team to watch and I hope my small donation helps in building those.

Then you are in the very extreme minority. The vast majority look at donating to athletics as an investment. And in my opinion, they are correct in that view.

Collegiate Athletics is a business. Louisiana Athletics plays a substantial role in the health of our University, our culture, our economy and our way of life. There is a reason why RCAF members are referred to as "Investors." You're investing in so much more than student-athletes. And when people invest, they expect ROI. As they should.

This is not a charity. It is a business. And we should treat it as such. As a board of investors, we should also be given the courtesy of transparency, respect and accountability within leadership.