Attendance Study ...

[BabbForHeisman]

Has anyone ever wondered why that is?

Its an interesting concept, especially when you consider how much Lafayette Parish and the surrounding areas has grown over time. With the population growth in the area, many of whom are alumni of the university, there is really no excuse for stable attendance numbers over decades. "It is what it is"...no, "it is what we've made it".

[ULvictory]

Here is data dating back to 1990. I have 1970-90 but have not yet put it in the spreadsheet

1990 Nicholls State 22,131
1990 East Carolina 29,524
1990 Alabama 36,133
1990 Southern Mississippi 17,860
1990 Northern Illinois 16,325
1991 UL Monroe 23,486
1991 Miami (OH) 21,213
1991 Tulsa 17,512
1991 Louisiana Tech 18,083
1992 UL Monroe 23,742
1992 Western Kentucky 20,049
1992 Cal State Fullerton 15,137
1992 Northern Illinois 19,183
1992 Arkansas State 14000 (Est)
1993 Utah State 21,637
1993 Memphis 18,524
1993 Southern Mississippi 22,853
1993 San Jose State 27,814
1993 Louisiana Tech 19,127
1994 Northern Illinois 19,083
1994 Troy 22,616
1994 Arkansas State 23,317
1994 Nevada-Las Vegas 17,013
1994 Western Michigan 13,741
1995 UAB 17,723
1995 New Mexico State 22,083
1995 Pacific 12,140
1995 Louisiana Tech 17,333
1995 Southern Mississippi 19,361
1996 Texas A&M 38,783
1996 Houston 18,247
1996 Arkansas State 25,246
1996 Memphis 10,555
1996 Northern Illinois 15,721
1997 Oklahoma State 16,724
1997 UAB 15,024
1997 North Alabama 13,683
1997 UL Monroe 14,124
1997 Tulane 17,724
1997 Louisiana Tech 10,083
1998 Northwestern State 9,124
1998 Arkansas State 10,721
1998 UCF 10,124
1998 Western Kentucky 5,224
1999 Texas Tech 18,128
1999 Middle Tennessee State 14,621
1999 Louisiana Tech 19,724
1999 UL Monroe 17,034
1999 Wofford Did not report
2000 Sam Houston State 15,728
2000 Northwestern State 15,212
2000 Tulane 20,113
2000 North Texas 12,650
2000 Jacksonville St. 9,416
2001 Nicholls State 13,707
2001 Southern Mississippi 14,132
2001 Middle Tennessee State 12,102
2001 UL Monroe 17,353
2001 New Mexico State 9,321
2002 Minnesota 20,512
2002 UAB 19,616
2002 North Texas 8,413
2002 Idaho 12,621
2002 Arkansas State 14,117
2003 Louisiana Tech 24,211
2003 Houston 11,127
2003 UL Monroe 13,540
2003 New Mexico State 12,308
2003 Idaho 9,213
2003 Florida International 13,571
2004 Northwestern State 22,117
2004 Middle Tennessee State 25,083
2004 Arkansas State 23,121
2004 North Texas 21,608
2004 Troy 15,077
2005 Northwestern State 17,341
2005 UCF 18,262
2005 Florida Atlantic 14,208
2005 Troy 21,204
2005 Florida International 16,942
2006 North Carolina A&T 15,041
2006 Eastern Michigan 15,923
2006 Middle Tennessee State 21,485
2006 North Texas 13,621
2006 Arkansas State 10,212
2006 UL Monroe 10,814
2007 Ohio 22,186
2007 McNeese 33,828
2007 Troy 14,091
2007 North Texas 9,464
2007 Florida Atlantic 12,290
2007 UL Monroe 8,045
2008 Kent State 18,241
2008 Arkansas State 23,684
2008 Florida International 29,031
2008 UT El Paso 21,065
2008 Middle Tennessee State 15,321
2009 Southern University 41,357
2009 Kansas State 16,431
2009 North Texas 12,141
2009 Florida Atlantic 21,135
2009 UL Monroe 8,689
2009 Troy 12,245
2010 Arkansas State 15,103
2010 Middle Tennessee State 17,249
2010 Oklahoma State 25,881
2010 Western Kentucky 15,641
2010 Florida International 13,041
2011 Nicholls State 28,741
2011 Florida Atlantic 26,339
2011 Troy 29,775
2011 North Texas 32,823
2011 UL Monroe 28,176
2012 Lamar 25,803
2012 Florida International 21,109
2012 Tulane 29,758
2012 Arkansas State 19,873
2012 Western Kentucky 20,314
2012 South Alabama 20,333
2013 Nicholls 28,871
2013 Texas State 23,108
2013 New Mexico St. 30,028
2013 Troy 22,562
2013 UL Monroe 25,309
2014 Southern University 36,170
2014 Louisiana Tech 25,607
2014 Georgia State 24,616
2014 Arkansas State 21,760
2014 South Alabama 25,861
2014 App State 20,638
2015 Northwestern State 26,824
2015 Akron 24,679
2015 Texas State 21,377
2015 UL Monroe 17,410
2015 New Mexico St. 17,023
2015 Troy 22,264
2016 Boise St. 22,661
2016 McNeese 26,891
2016 South Alabama 19,208
2016 App State 16,960
2016 Idaho 21,387
2016 Arkansas State 14,259
2017 Southeastern Louisiana 18,289
2017 UL Monroe 18,318
2017 Texas State 13,106
2017 New Mexico St. 16,048
2017 Georgia Southern 12,993
2018 Grambling 28,866
2018 Coastal Carolina 17,125
2018 New Mexico St. 18,131
2018 Arkansas State 17,068
2018 Georgia State 14,945
2018 South Alabama 15,168
2019 Liberty 16,231
2019 Texas Southern 18,183
2019 App State 20,012
2019 Texas State 21,063
2019 Troy 14,262
2019 UL Monroe 14,227
2020 Georgia Southern 5,585
2020 Coastal Carolina 5,585
2020 Arkansas State 5,585
2020 South Alabama 5,585
2021 Nicholls 25,417
2021 Ohio 17,709
2021 App State 20,066
2021 Texas State 28,794
2021 Georgia State 16,007
2021 UL Monroe 18,447
2022 Southeastern Louisiana 16,812
2022 Eastern Michigan 18,079
2022 South Alabama 20,671
2022 Arkansas State 15,017
2022 Troy 7,888
2022 Georgia Southern 11,512
2023 Northwestern State 18,186

Nice find. Wofford in 1999 had around 6,000.

[cajunfan96]

Has anyone ever wondered why that is?

SEC football 40 minutes down the road.
No Energy in Athletics! Need Hud type promotion to generate some excitement.
Most of administration at this place doesn't give a sheet about athletics!

[CajunJack55]

SEC football 40 minutes down the road.
No Energy in Athletics! Need Hud type promotion to generate some excitement.
Most of administration at this place doesn't give a sheet about athletics!

yup and with SEC football 40 minutes down the road and so many options in Lafayette every weekend that is an EVEN MORE REASON FOR PROMOTION PROMOTION, PROMOTION,
Its not rocket surgery and it should never be "it is what it is"...

[RaginScotsman]

Its not rocket surgery and it should never be "it is what it is"...

Correct. "It is what it is" means "let's just not even try." While the administration gets a lot of flak for justifiable reasons. An overwhelming feeling of "let's just not even try" is not what I get. If they just didn't care and didn't try, they'd not be half the university or athletic department that they are now. They whiff and frustrate most of us to no end with some things, but God help us is they think "it is what it is" is acceptable.

Now, promote! Name a mascot (or have a community contest to come up with a concept. Vote on it. And announce the winner at halftime of a game)! Hang a banner for a game! It's all low hanging fruit.

[BabbForHeisman]

Correct. "It is what it is" means "let's just not even try." While the administration gets a lot of flak for justifiable reasons. An overwhelming feeling of "let's just not even try" is not what I get. If they just didn't care and didn't try, they'd not be half the university or athletic department that they are now. They whiff and frustrate most of us to no end with some things, but God help us is they think "it is what it is" is acceptable.

Now, promote! Name a mascot (or have a community contest to come up with a concept. Vote on it. And announce the winner at halftime of a game)! Hang a banner for a game! It's all low hanging fruit.

Agreed fully. “It is what it is” is a “know your place” concept.

[CajunVic]

The 'dropoff' happened after we decided to monetize the parking lot.

Back in my day Dean Blanco used to allow the frat boys to roll up to the stadium with sofas and kegs in the back of their pick-up trucks.

In fact, when Herbie Schilling had leftover beer in the Budweiser 'tap' trucks, those trucks rolled onto campus after lunch and Blanco was there to help hand out the beer.

Pitchers used to be $3 in the student union after lunch. Now that we have 'sanitized' the college experience for students (and the general public) the whole game day experience sucks.

Just my opinion, but if you are old enough to die for your country you ought to be old enough to grab a $3 pitcher in the union.

Cajun Field used to be a whole lot more fun. And so was college.

MADD successfully got rid of much of that aspect of the real student experience which was there prior to the mid 80’s . . . at 21, many are finished or about finished their college experience or have been driven away by then . . .

[ULvictory]

Correct. "It is what it is" means "let's just not even try." While the administration gets a lot of flak for justifiable reasons. An overwhelming feeling of "let's just not even try" is not what I get. If they just didn't care and didn't try, they'd not be half the university or athletic department that they are now. They whiff and frustrate most of us to no end with some things, but God help us is they think "it is what it is" is acceptable.

Now, promote! Name a mascot (or have a community contest to come up with a concept. Vote on it. And announce the winner at halftime of a game)! Hang a banner for a game! It's all low hanging fruit.

YES! ALL OF THIS!!!

"It is what it is" is just another phrase for COMPLACENCY.

[JayWalker]

YES! ALL OF THIS!!!

"It is what it is" is just another phrase for COMPLACENCY.

While I agree with wanting a mascot, please explain how not having one has killed this athletic department.

Cayenne was not the answer. But when your nickname is Ragin'Cajuns, I'm not sure what the answer is.

And, judging by what I've seen here, no one here does either. Because EVERY suggestion on here has been hammered by other posters on this board.

I don't have a solution. Therefore I don't complain about what we don't have as far as a mascot is concerned.

I think part of the issue is we keep trying to come up with something that is "Cajun."

Here's a trivia question: What do elephants have to do with Alabama?

I think we are limiting ourselves where ideas are concerned.

[ULvictory]

While I agree with wanting a mascot, please explain how not having one has killed this athletic department.

Cayenne was not the answer. But when your nickname is Ragin'Cajuns, I'm not sure what the answer is.

And, judging by what I've seen here, no one here does either. Because EVERY suggestion on here has been hammered by other posters on this board.

I don't have a solution. Therefore I don't complain about what we don't have as far as a mascot is concerned.

I think part of the issue is we keep trying to come up with something that is "Cajun."

Here's a trivia question: What do elephants have to do with Alabama?

I think we are limiting ourselves where ideas are concerned.

So to answer your trivia question, I THINK the elephant had something to do with a newspaper article back in the day describing the Alabama football team so it stuck.

As far as the mascot here, it creates fan engagement. A mascot goes and visits schools, goes into the community, and can create even more of a national identity if it works well. To me, it's more about who is inside the costume than what the costume is. You already know the story of the Cajun Chicken. Mr. Heim picked that chicken costume as a last minute option, but then his antics inside the costume turned the Cajun Chicken into a Lafayette legend. Plus, it's low hanging fruit. How can we do the harder things in pushing our brand and identity if we can't even get a mascot?

[JayWalker]

Stop with the low hanging fruit crap. That's about the fourth time today you've said that.

If it was that low, it would be done by now. And, we can't get anything close to a consensus on what would be a good mascot. So obviously that fruit is up in the tree.

A mascot, whether it's a gator, a catahoula, a freaking pepper or a baby elephant....or a bird to honor Cajun Vic isn't going to push brand or identity nearly to the extent you think,

I'm with MelRock. I personally am ok without.

Because without is better than making the wrong choice.

Moreover, the Cajun Chicken was never a mascot. He was an entertainer. We have NEVER had an acceptable mascot since we left Bulldogs behind almost 50 years ago. Look at mascots across the country. What do they do?????

[CajunVic]

. . . The Bird is far more important than a mascot no matter whose lab it may be . . .