They’ve Given Up

[GreatestStory]

What are the origins of tailgating?

People would pay to go to a sporting event or concert, arrive a little early, and pre-party out in the parking lot.

Now we have:
5 football season tickets: $405
1 tailgating spot: cheapest tailgating spot $425 (plus minimum $500 donation to RCAF)

Where else in the world does the cheapest tailgating spot cost more than 5 season tickets?

I'm not saying it should all be free, but get a grip with these ridiculous tailgating prices and quit scratching your head asking why the tailgating area is a ghost town.

[cajun4life]

Soccer Crest. Stupid autocorrect. It’s on come of the kits they wear for games.

If you’re familiar with soccer, you’ll see that every team has a crest that is normally over their heart.

Ours is phenomenal.

[CajunNation]

...Embrace who you are. Lean into what makes us different....

The young adult/young family age group that really push those attendance numbers up were all born in the 80s and 90s, so give me some freakin 90s nostalgia....

This is what its all about.

I agreed back then that we needed to give the Alden Report a try. We needed to at least try to run things like the bigger dogs. That experiment should end. We have our own Cajun way of doing things. Embrace it.

EVERY generation deserves and needs to feel that nostalgia on Gameday. From the band playing "Hey Baby" to piping in whatever song the current students love, we all need to feel that.

A good way to frame the opening of the new stadium would be to coincide that with a revival of the Cajun spirit. Call it "Back to the Future" or something like that. Just spitballing here, but this is the idea.

[CrazyCajun]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I'm reading is that tickets need to be cheaper, parking and tailgating access needs to be cheaper, and RCAF contributions need to be abolished.

I don't care either way, but what I'm reading really seems contrary to what some of the very posters in this thread were suggesting in the not too distant past.

"We shouldn't be giving something of value away for free."

Like I said, I don't care.

But if you were wrong in your initial assessment (which was pretty consistent with how the Athletic Department was doing things) at least admit you were wrong.

I don’t think everything should be free, there needs to be more per game experienced offered. It shouldn’t be a full season or nothing, you price out a lot of people that way, mainly young families.

[ZoomZoom]

The Soccer Crest is the best logo this university has and it’s never used. It’s not on any merchandise (Leslie Saloom absolutely sucks and should be fired), now will it ever be.

But she’s one of us…

[cajun4life]

But she’s one of us…

She’s a hinderance to the advancement of the merchandise arm of athletics. She’s cost us millions in bad deals.

[ManAboutTown]

I made my money in the oil business. Have some service companies gone away? Yes. Have some big boys pulled jobs? Sure. But the idea that the oil industry was just sucked out of Acadiana is nonsense. The service companies that weathered covid (the properly run businesses) are thriving like never before. Also, the entrepreneurs in Lafayette didn’t just shrug their shoulders and go live on the streets of San Fran. They reinvested in other sectors. Medical and Tech are booming here now. The truth is, all the work that was done to fund athletics privately in the 70s-2000s were aimed at the O&G industry. Now that the economy has shifted to the Med & Tech industries, it takes WORK to go and cultivate those relationships. Nico started doing that, and it tuned into seed money for the CF reno. Who picked up that baton when he left? Where is the sales force banging down doors, beating the pavement, finding new supporters?

[ManAboutTown]

I don’t think everything should be free, there needs to be more per game experienced offered. It shouldn’t be a full season or nothing, you price out a lot of people that way, mainly young families.

Average age in Lafayette proper is 28.7 years old. Which tells me, your target audience needs to be young families. If you’re not going to cultivate students and young people, you have to go after young families.

But this shotgun approach to marketing is moronic. Need TARGETED campaigns.

[ManAboutTown]

This is what its all about.

I agreed back then that we needed to give the Alden Report a try. We needed to at least try to run things like the bigger dogs. That experiment should end. We have our own Cajun way of doing things. Embrace it.

EVERY generation deserves and needs to feel that nostalgia on Gameday. From the band playing "Hey Baby" to piping in whatever song the current students love, we all need to feel that.

A good way to frame the opening of the new stadium would be to coincide that with a revival of the Cajun spirit. Call it "Back to the Future" or something like that. Just spitballing here, but this is the idea.

They implemented the parts of the Alden report that were easy and fast. Then they totally abandoned the plan. They also raised prices, reseated, changes RCAF structure and benefit structure in the most arbitrary way conceivable. I guess that happens when you go through 3 RCAF directors in 5 years.

Speaking of, anyone have any real contact with our new guy? I’ve seen him around events, we give plenty of money, we (RR Boys) even offered to take him out to get to know him… crickets

[ZoomZoom]

You’re probably on the “naughty” list. Most politicians have one of perceived foes.