2016: Alden Report Released by University of Louisiana Athletics

[cb089]

There's a lot of good recommendations in this report, particularly about branding. My hope is that those in charge don't sit on their hands with these recommendations. Its not exactly ground breaking. But I really like the part about recognizing we have a unique identity as the Ragin' Cajuns, both from the standpoint that there are no other Ragin' Cajuns in the NCAA and that we've got the French influence in the University and surrounding area. These branding recommendations give life to what it means to be a Ragin Cajun. It puts substance behind that brand. The "Where every game is Mardi Gras" is a unique tagline and can push some of what we're about in South Louisiana, into our athletic identity. In marketing, when you've got something totally unique, you rally behind it, make it your strength and PUSH it.

In order to build a strong fan base, you've of course got to strengthen appeal and involvement of our student and alumni bodies. But you've also go to reach out to the casual fan. The "sidewalk fan" so to speak who doesn't have ties to the University but sees whats going on and says "I want to be a part of this". You do that by consistently winning but also by building that strong identifiable brand. People see our logo or hear our name and automatically know who we are and what we're about.

I'm also glad they pushed the mascot portion. Its just somebody in an expensive costume but its important roaming embodiment/characterization of our university. You've got the obvious part, that it appeals to children. Parents take their kids to games and see the mascot, take pictures. You create that appeal early with the kids and create longer term pleasant memories and associations with Cajuns sporting events. Beyond that, a great mascot with a story can resonate with adults and students too. I've been to LSU football games where the Mike mascot comes to the student section and the students high five him, take pictures etc. You also see mascots in commercials. Think of WKU's Big Red. He's unique and gotten their school some notoriety. Cayenne was generally awful. People hated the Ragin' Peppers branding and then there was the question of "Why?" How does Cayenne represent our identity? How do I relate to a pepper as a Ragin Cajun fan?

The question is how do you embody Ragin Cajuns in a mascot? I know we had Cajun Man, but he's not particularly memorable. He was ultimately just kind of a guy. I'm from Shreveport and we had the Mudbugs hockey team. Their mascot was a crawfish named Claude. When I think of a mascot that might work for us, this stands out. A Crawfish represents something we can relate to in South Louisiana and its a unique mascot among NCAA teams. Lets not forget, that April Fools crawfish helmet got quite a bit of press.

[BrockMeaux]

Boy, this is definitely a Ragin Pagin thread. A 79 page document that validates, corroborates, and cements what we've all said needed to happen to further our program for years, crafted by outside professionals that have taken a good look at us with a critical eye and made suggestions that will get us there if implemented, and half the posts about it are folks btching about the name.

Never change, you guys.

[CajunT]

Boy, this is definitely a Ragin Pagin thread. A 79 page document that validates, corroborates, and cements what we've all said needed to happen to further our program for years, crafted by outside professionals that have taken a good look at us with a critical eye and made suggestions that will get us there if implemented, and half the posts about it are folks btching about the name.

Never change, you guys.

LOL!! You noticed that, but it is part of branding.

[Stabil123]

We need to quit using lack of student fees as an excuse for doing nothing. Yes, it would be nice to have them, but in the meantime let's go raise an additional 10 million by doing things in our control the right way.

Really, you can't be serious , others in our conference have a student fee, we're talking about a minimue % increase in tuition. And just where do we find the $10 million. We need to find new donors, we've beat a dead horse to dearh

[Cajun90]

Really, you can't be serious , others in our conference have a student fee, we're talking about a minimue % increase in tuition. And just where do we find the $10 million. We need to find new donors, we've beat a dead horse to dearh

Student fees have to be voted on by students. There is a less than zero chance of that happening in the current economic environment. TOPS covers tuition NOT fees. As such Universities have gone down that road numerous times and you can't blame them. As such a big part of attending college in Louisiana isn't covered by TOPS and the downturn in O&G has compounded the issue. No way you get 50% of the students and their parents to vote this in right now. So it is a mute point.

Per VOB we just need to move on and figure out what else we can do at this time. Maybe someday we can take another look at a student fee but it isn't happening today.

[VObserver]

Really, you can't be serious , others in our conference have a student fee, we're talking about a minimue % increase in tuition. And just where do we find the $10 million. We need to find new donors, we've beat a dead horse to dearh

Most of the new money that will be generated by following the guidelines set out in the proposal will be coming from previously untapped or underutilized sources. We will not be beating the old dead horse. Not that we won't need more from those of us who have been giving, but most will be coming from new sources.

[VObserver]

Just one example of a non traditional revenue source covered in the Report. If you enjoyed watching our baseball series this weekend, thank stAte's AD the next time you see him. stAte produced that programing and sold it to ESPN at a profit to provide content for ESPN3. No doubt they used the fact that they were playing us to enhance the value of the product.

[Stabil123]

Most of the new money that will be generated by following the guidelines set out in the proposal will be coming from previously untapped or underutilized sources. We will not be beating the old dead horse. Not that we won't need more from those of us who have been giving, but most will be coming from new sources.

We're all entitled to our own opinions, but not our own facts. People with money in this area have stepped up, I asked just where will the $10 million come from , why not increase Tuition by 1 or 2 %, and what are the new sources or in your case I guess we need to find 1,000 people to put up $10,000 each, good luck with that.

[HoustonCajun]

Couldn't we just charge every student a ticket fee every semester that gets them into every event? Add a ticket fee as part of tuition. Why would that need student approval? $125 per semester per student is a hell of a bargain. Considering all the sporting events we have in all sports, that would come to just a couple of bucks per event. Why should they automatically get into every event free? Like us, students want to see UL excel and take pride in having a nationally recognized program and degree. A very small price to pay. I work with a Texas A&M alum and he said they did that there, except it was more like $250 a semester.

[CajunT]

Student fees have to be voted on by students. There is a less than zero chance of that happening in the current economic environment. TOPS covers tuition NOT fees. As such Universities have gone down that road numerous times and you can't blame them. As such a big part of attending college in Louisiana isn't covered by TOPS and the downturn in O&G has compounded the issue. No way you get 50% of the students and their parents to vote this in right now. So it is a mute point.

Per VOB we just need to move on and figure out what else we can do at this time. Maybe someday we can take another look at a student fee but it isn't happening today.

As someone that has paid a number of fees that TOPS doesn't pay as a parent and continue to do so at this time, it needs to be discussed. I don't argue that the climate is not right today, but when will it be in the future? For too long, our students and parents have paid much cheaper tuition then most other state university students and college students in our region. At some point the fee needs to be addressed and allowed to go to vote. If it does not pass, then students should be charged the public cost for tickets to all sporting events period. Its all part of raising athletic revenue.