Attendance Decline

[Turbine]

Part of Festival Acadiens success has to do with perception.

Its a come and go and come back event. Very relaxing mentally.

If it were a come and can't come back in event people would default to thinking twice as hard about going and when to go. Attendance would drop dramatically.

Make events at Cajun Basin come and come back events. Its something everyone is already accustomed to.

[Ragin9221]

This is, to me, the biggest problem across the nation. Schools try to copy what works in other places and it rarely works for them.

Texas State had a pretty cool blackout with cell phone lights (halftime maybe?). Still had 12k people at that game.

Instead of looking at peer institutions, why not look at other events in Acadiana that draw huge crowds?

Festival Acadiens draws 100k+ over one weekend. Why? Because people WANT to pay $10 to park, spend $13 on praline chicken, and listen to Geno Delafose for the 200th time?

There's a reason people go to these, and UL's goal #1 should be figuring out how to get that to Cajun Field. (Hint: they already had this at tailgating for 30 years, then decided to run everyone off)

We should do this anyway we are the Ragin Cajuns.

I bet at Notre Dame games i can walk the tailgate area, and have Irish Flags, with Guinness Black Motor Oil Beer, playing Rocky Road to Dublin smoking Haggis, or Shepperds Pie, with people river dancing, all around the tailgate area. I wouldnt expect anything less, because it probably why Notre Dame tailgates are fun!! I assumed that and why people would show up! Sure its like an Irish Festival every home game.

Just like the Krewe De Chew did back in the day. In fact we need to put the emphasis on Cajun at our tailgates!!

Why it needs to be a like a Festival Cajun style every home game!!!

We saying LSU does it better, or because we have hamstring the common fan in letting us be ourselves and everyone gave up?

_ If we dont have a clue get that guy who organizes Festival International or Festival Acadian and help the administration to come up with ways to do the same thing at Cajun Games. Didnt someone say they work at the University? I am sure we can make it economically beneficial to the university.

[Cajunologist]

We should do this anyway we are the Ragin Cajuns.

I bet at Notre Dame games i can walk the tailgate area, and have Irish Flags, with Guinness Black Motor Oil Beer, playing Rocky Road to Dublin smoking Haggis, or Shepperds Pie, with people river dancing, all around the tailgate area. I wouldnt expect anything less, because it probably why Notre Dame tailgates are fun!! I assumed that and why people would show up! Sure its like an Irish Festival every home game.

Just like the Krewe De Chew did back in the day. In fact we need to put the emphasis on Cajun at our tailgates!!

Why it needs to be a like a Festival Cajun style every home game!!!

We saying LSU does it better, or because we have hamstring the common fan in letting us be ourselves and everyone gave up?

_ If we dont have a clue get that guy who organizes Festival International or Festival Acadian and help the administration to come up with ways to do the same thing at Cajun Games. Didnt someone say they work at the University? I am sure we can make it economically beneficial to the university.

Make 1 of the home games every year a 'festival'. Call it 'Game fest', 'Ragin Fest' or something

[CajunNation]

Part of Festival Acadiens success has to do with perception.

Its a come and go and come back event. Very relaxing mentally.

If it were a come and can't come back in event people would default to thinking twice as hard about going and when to go. Attendance would drop dramatically.

Make events at Cajun Basin come and come back events. Its something everyone is already accustomed to.

This fits my Louisiana Gameday Experience idea. Your ticket gets you in the Outer Wall of Cajun Field along with a seat inside the Inner Wall. Come and go as you like. Embrace the party.

It's illogical that people come all the way to Cajun Field to Tailgate all day, and we don't count them in attendance simply because they refuse to walk another 100 feet. They attended our event. Count them.

[CharlieK]

This is, to me, the biggest problem across the nation. Schools try to copy what works in other places and it rarely works for them.

Texas State had a pretty cool blackout with cell phone lights (halftime maybe?). Still had 12k people at that game.

Instead of looking at peer institutions, why not look at other events in Acadiana that draw huge crowds?

Festival Acadiens draws 100k+ over one weekend. Why? Because people WANT to pay $10 to park, spend $13 on praline chicken, and listen to Geno Delafose for the 200th time?

There's a reason people go to these, and UL's goal #1 should be figuring out how to get that to Cajun Field. (Hint: they already had this at tailgating for 30 years, then decided to run everyone off)

I didn’t say just do what they do. I said learn and copy what we can. In other words, what we think would work for us. It’s dumb to not try to learn from other’s success.

[Duckster]

Its OK to adopt others best practices. The new stadium will change our gameday culture, we just don't know how much. Timely to do fan surveys again to learn more about the paying customers' desires. Take our temperature during football season when everyone's head is in it. Especially with three straight home games straight ahead seems like a good time for a fan survey.

[jaxmc1023]

Its OK to adopt others best practices. The new stadium will change our gameday culture, we just don't know how much. Timely to do fan surveys again to learn more about the paying customers' desires. Take our temperature during football season when everyone's head is in it. Especially with three straight home games straight ahead seems like a good time for a fan survey.

I'm not trying to be combative, but I genuinely would like to know what you think the new stadium changes.

Taking the temperature of the people at games tells you what your dwindling hardcore fan base wants. Those aren't the people who fill the stadium. You need to take the temperature of the 1000s of people who stopped going to games, and figure out what it would take to get them back. I have a feeling that "more legroom and comfortable chairs" arent' going to be high on the list.

[RedTails]

Festival International and Festival Acadiens all pull from the same pool of folks we fail to capture, and that number whittles down when you filter on hobbies.

What percentage of festival lovers like CFB? What percentage of people that like CFB, like UL FB? What percentage of people that like UL FB would rather attend in person than watch on TV?

I think in-person football attendance across the nation is past its peak. The only actionable things that we can control:

1. Continue winning; SBC must keep rising in prestige and perception
2. Let tailgating flourish again
3. Our FB team deserves a band held to the same standard we hold our FB team/coaches
4. Spread the gospel of the rise of our university's academic/research accomplishments to raise good perception of the casuals in surrounding communities
5. Make every TV timeout fun at the game (t-shirt cannons, fan races, fan cams, zydeco music)
6. Crowd needs to get riled up. Idk why, but Cajun fans in the stands take a long time to get warmed up during FB games. It's like no one wants to be the first couillon being loud. Maybe everyone needs to wear Courir de Mardi Gras masks to get over the initial embarrassment of being loud when no one else is

[CajunVic]

. . . get with the CP president and counsel and see if we can outlaw man caves and nice patios . . . then take that on a bus tour to all of the neighboring political subdivisions and see if we can't get similar legislation in all of the 337 area code . . . those darn man caves and nice patios are killing our attendance and they need to geaux . . .

[Etowncajun]

Festival International and Festival Acadiens all pull from the same pool of folks we fail to capture, and that number whittles down when you filter on hobbies.

What percentage of festival lovers like CFB? What percentage of people that like CFB, like UL FB? What percentage of people that like UL FB would rather attend in person than watch on TV?

I think in-person football attendance across the nation is past its peak. The only actionable things that we can control:

1. Continue winning; SBC must keep rising in prestige and perception
2. Let tailgating flourish again
3. Our FB team deserves a band held to the same standard we hold our FB team/coaches
4. Spread the gospel of the rise of our university's academic/research accomplishments to raise good perception of the casuals in surrounding communities
5. Make every TV timeout fun at the game (t-shirt cannons, fan races, fan cams, zydeco music)
6. Crowd needs to get riled up. Idk why, but Cajun fans in the stands take a long time to get warmed up during FB games. It's like no one wants to be the first couillon being loud. Maybe everyone needs to wear Courir de Mardi Gras masks to get over the initial embarrassment of being loud when no one else is

[Etowncajun]

Maybe the Cheerleaders should lead Cheers?

[VObserver]

On that note, maybe the band could play during TV timeouts instead of that god awful canned music we play at ear damaging volume.

[GreatestStory]

Festival International and Festival Acadiens all pull from the same pool of folks we fail to capture, and that number whittles down when you filter on hobbies.

Festival International and Festival Acadiens do not use the strategy of "Our event is well attended, thriving, and people really like it, let's jack up the price every year and see what happens".

I honestly can not believe we killed tailgating. You can't ruin tailgating, drive the people away, and expect them to come back anytime soon.

Can someone please tell me where we got our current tailgating strategy from? I can't find any other university that has this ridiculous model?

People want to tailgate in TG1 and be close to the action, but that requires a $1,200 investment. And for that $1,200 what do you get... some crooked lines spray painted on the ground and a cardboard box to throw your trash into.

...or you can tailgate in TG4 for $450 and be on the corner of Congress and Bertrand completely removed from all football activities, not hear the band, not see the Cajunwalk, etc.

Good grief, what a joke.

I don't know what LSU does but it seems to work magnificently. Let me check with ChatGPT:

[Ragin9221]

Festival International and Festival Acadiens do not use the strategy of "Our event is well attended, thriving, and people really like it, let's jack up the price every year and see what happens".

I honestly can not believe we killed tailgating. You can't ruin tailgating, drive the people away, and expect them to come back anytime soon.

Can someone please tell me where we got our current tailgating strategy from? I can't find any other university that has this ridiculous model?

People want to tailgate in TG1 and be close to the action, but that requires a $1,200 investment. And for that $1,200 what do you get... some crooked lines spray painted on the ground and a cardboard box to throw your trash into.

...or you can tailgate in TG4 for $450 and be on the corner of Congress and Bertrand completely removed from all football activities, not hear the band, not see the Cajunwalk, etc.

Good grief, what a joke.

I don't know what LSU does but it seems to work magnificently. Let me check with ChatGPT:

Why would people think that would actually work?! The thing that Chat GPT said. Joking please our AI gods know better then the Adminstration. That probably took all but 5 seconds. Lmfao

[fanof71]

It starts with the obvious fact that no one in athletics knows how to run a business, much less how to promote FB games to a relatively small group of students and fans. Anyone who attends a game is a customer of UL, willing to pay for an enjoyable experience...UL has all the assets within it's reach to change the culture of a game experience...People don't mind spending a reasonable amount of money IF some benefit was gained from the experience...part of that experience is customer service and satisfaction by the customer

Nothing with attendance will improve, ever, with the current Athletic Dept team that's in place...they care nothing about customer service or experience....what they do care about is $$$. Any local business that puts profit ahead of customer happiness is doomed to go broke..
Aside from the football being played, they care nothing about their customers...this is so easy to fix, it's not funny...once the customer experience and attention to detail return so will the fans. Until then, fans will continue to get fleeced . Damn the Fans, let's make money seems to be the attitude. Theyre ripping fans off with this 'Premium Experiance' BS. A new stadium is nice, but it's not going to solve the attendance issue...