I Guess The Students Won the Fight

[old alum]

The issue of people not going to the games goes a long way past Martin Hall verses the students and the greeks.

My question is what is the attendance (actual butts in seats) for the average home football game the past two seasons? Why are we spending $65 million on a stadium for a sport that has historically not attracted a crowd?

They are spending about $2100 per seat in the renovated stadium. How many of those seats will be different than they are right now? The athletic department is very proud of qualifying for a bowl game for the 6th year in a row. The 6 teams we beat had a combined record of 22 wins and 44 losses. Yes we won, but we won against subpar competition. A newly renovated stadium is not going to fix playing against subpar competition. The basketball team has a beautifully renovated Cajundome and the home schedule is terrible.

I think that greeks, regular students, community members OF ALL AGES, need to have a reason to go to the games. The atmosphere at the UL games has been underwhelming since the year the team came off probation (1975???).

But the problem is not just football. How many Butts in Seats are there at most basketball games? It seems to me that the only sports that have a true following are Baseball and Softball. The community goes out to see a great product at both Russo and Lamson. The softball team last season ranked #6 in the nation in attendance. Baseball ranked #15 in the nation, and they had a down year in attendance (about 500 lower than the average the few years prior to last year). I guarantee that neither the Greeks, nor Martin Hall, has anything to do with the attendance at those games. In fact a few years ago they lowered concession prices to attract more people, but they have raised them back above where they were before COVID.

I care about the students not feeling "part of the game" or "not being wanted at the games", but there are lots of other problems at UL to be solved that can fix attendance. First and foremost is putting a quality product on the field (or court) that people want to go and see.

The crowds were bigger when we had Napier. A better head coach and staff might be the first place to look. As for basketball, look at the home non-conference schedule and then ask yourself why people did not give an RCAF donation to be able to buy season tickets to watch the cajuns play sub-par competition in the Cajundome.

That's enough for me. I have decided to not buy season tickets for football or basketball next year. We might be at women's basketball and volleyball. At least the coaches at those venues want to to better than they have in the past.

[Jacob81]

The fan base didn’t support at our programs peak. Now we will blame the product on the field for the fans not showing up?

One of the reasons we couldn’t keep billy was because he went 34-5 in 3 years and never played in front of 30k at home in a regular season game. Any smart person in college athletics knows you can’t sustain success without fan support/money. If we had 30k in the stands and an NIL pool maybe we’d retain some top talent and not be struggling on the field now.

Fact is we won and Acadiana didn’t care.

So does the Acadiana area really deserve a winner….

[Jacob81]

The issue of people not going to the games goes a long way past Martin Hall verses the students and the greeks.

My question is what is the attendance (actual butts in seats) for the average home football game the past two seasons? Why are we spending $65 million on a stadium for a sport that has historically not attracted a crowd?

They are spending about $2100 per seat in the renovated stadium. How many of those seats will be different than they are right now? The athletic department is very proud of qualifying for a bowl game for the 6th year in a row. The 6 teams we beat had a combined record of 22 wins and 44 losses. Yes we won, but we won against subpar competition. A newly renovated stadium is not going to fix playing against subpar competition. The basketball team has a beautifully renovated Cajundome and the home schedule is terrible.

I think that greeks, regular students, community members OF ALL AGES, need to have a reason to go to the games. The atmosphere at the UL games has been underwhelming since the year the team came off probation (1975???).

But the problem is not just football. How many Butts in Seats are there at most basketball games? It seems to me that the only sports that have a true following are Baseball and Softball. The community goes out to see a great product at both Russo and Lamson. The softball team last season ranked #6 in the nation in attendance. Baseball ranked #15 in the nation, and they had a down year in attendance (about 500 lower than the average the few years prior to last year). I guarantee that neither the Greeks, nor Martin Hall, has anything to do with the attendance at those games. In fact a few years ago they lowered concession prices to attract more people, but they have raised them back above where they were before COVID.

I care about the students not feeling "part of the game" or "not being wanted at the games", but there are lots of other problems at UL to be solved that can fix attendance. First and foremost is putting a quality product on the field (or court) that people want to go and see.

The crowds were bigger when we had Napier. A better head coach and staff might be the first place to look. As for basketball, look at the home non-conference schedule and then ask yourself why people did not give an RCAF donation to be able to buy season tickets to watch the cajuns play sub-par competition in the Cajundome.

That's enough for me. I have decided to not buy season tickets for football or basketball next year. We might be at women's basketball and volleyball. At least the coaches at those venues want to to better than they have in the past.

Well ole alum. Enjoy the free entry sports while not giving a dime in return. You’ll now be part of the problem.

[CajunEXPRESS]

The issue of people not going to the games goes a long way past Martin Hall verses the students and the greeks.

My question is what is the attendance (actual butts in seats) for the average home football game the past two seasons? Why are we spending $65 million on a stadium for a sport that has historically not attracted a crowd?

They are spending about $2100 per seat in the renovated stadium. How many of those seats will be different than they are right now? The athletic department is very proud of qualifying for a bowl game for the 6th year in a row. The 6 teams we beat had a combined record of 22 wins and 44 losses. Yes we won, but we won against subpar competition. A newly renovated stadium is not going to fix playing against subpar competition. The basketball team has a beautifully renovated Cajundome and the home schedule is terrible.

I think that greeks, regular students, community members OF ALL AGES, need to have a reason to go to the games. The atmosphere at the UL games has been underwhelming since the year the team came off probation (1975???).

But the problem is not just football. How many Butts in Seats are there at most basketball games? It seems to me that the only sports that have a true following are Baseball and Softball. The community goes out to see a great product at both Russo and Lamson. The softball team last season ranked #6 in the nation in attendance. Baseball ranked #15 in the nation, and they had a down year in attendance (about 500 lower than the average the few years prior to last year). I guarantee that neither the Greeks, nor Martin Hall, has anything to do with the attendance at those games. In fact a few years ago they lowered concession prices to attract more people, but they have raised them back above where they were before COVID.

I care about the students not feeling "part of the game" or "not being wanted at the games", but there are lots of other problems at UL to be solved that can fix attendance. First and foremost is putting a quality product on the field (or court) that people want to go and see.

The crowds were bigger when we had Napier. A better head coach and staff might be the first place to look. As for basketball, look at the home non-conference schedule and then ask yourself why people did not give an RCAF donation to be able to buy season tickets to watch the cajuns play sub-par competition in the Cajundome.

That's enough for me. I have decided to not buy season tickets for football or basketball next year. We might be at women's basketball and volleyball. At least the coaches at those venues want to to better than they have in the past.

Believe the sports you want to support are free.

It’s hard to believe, but the great attendance of the Lamar, Winkler, and Ivory era sucked in November and December. The team actually played very good competition, but not in Lafayette. They were winning many times against great road competition. Why’d they have better attendance when Lafayette parish was a third the size it is now. Frankly I believe the LSU fans moved in and took over lots of the ambiance.

[old alum]

I have paid for my season tickets to football games for 40+ years. That means a RCAF fee on top for the past several years, and let's not forget the excellence fund on top of the season tickets. I did that for four sports and now Jacob81 says I'm part of the problem. I have given USL/UL enough money that could have bought me a nice car.

[Jacob81]

I said “you’ll” which means you will be. If you attend free entry sports only to attend from now on you will become part of the problem.

It’s been talked about forever here. People in Acadiana area either want something for free or want a discount for everything as it pertains to Cajuns sports.

You can’t have success without financial support from your fan base.

Basketball went to the dance last year
Football bowling 6 straight years and about to get a new stadium
Baseball and softball both in regionals last year.

But women’s basketball and volleyball are the sports that care about winning. Just so happens they’re free entry. How convenient for you.

I’m not sure how old you are, and maybe there should be discounts for long lasting ticket holders.

Thank you for supporting as long as you have. Maybe a bowl win and shiny new stadium will draw you in again. Or when we win the conference next year in the “rebuild year”

[Louisiana84]

Return on Investment: If the rich people they are building this stadium for don't buy the players we need to win, we will not win. It's a gamble that I hope pays off for Louisiana.

[Esqueleto]

The fan base didn’t support at our programs peak. Now we will blame the product on the field for the fans not showing up?

One of the reasons we couldn’t keep billy was because he went 34-5 in 3 years and never played in front of 30k at home in a regular season game. Any smart person in college athletics knows you can’t sustain success without fan support/money. If we had 30k in the stands and an NIL pool maybe we’d retain some top talent and not be struggling on the field now.

Fact is we won and Acadiana didn’t care.

So does the Acadiana area really deserve a winner….

100% correct. Acadiana doesn't care.

[cajun55]

100% correct. Acadiana doesn't care.

We need to do so much more to draw in fans from around Acadiana but we also had the misfortune to have our best years with Napier at the height of covid. The SBC Championship was a good crowd, Highest attendance for a Sun Belt Championship game if I recall.

[Jacob81]

We also had the misfortune to have our best years with Napier at the height of covid. The SBC Championship was a solid crowd.

Absolutely correct. Like some have said. People realized through Covid years how nice it is to watch the game at home. Cost is obviously less, time spent is probably half. It’s nice watching road games at home. It takes a certain kinda person to go to Cajun field and watch a 4 hour game in that environment. Not many of them around either. Can we find 25k of them consistently?