July 26, 2004

LAFAYETTE — Beginning next Monday, UL representatives will be contacting all alumni and former season ticket holders to kickoff a season ticket drive for the upcoming 2004 football season.

The drive will run for four weeks continuing into mid-August in an effort to increase the season ticket base. The athletics department is also accepting applications for Young Ragin’ Cajun Club membership. Ages for YRCC members are from 2-16 and costs $45.

Applications can be printed off of the athletic department’s web site, http://www.ragincajuns.com, and are available upon request by calling the Cajundome Ticket Office at (337) 265-2100

The Young Ragin’ Cajun Club membership card allows members free admission into all Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajun sponsored athletic events including football, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball and track through the spring of 2005.

All ticket inquiries should be directed to the Cajundome Ticket Office at 337-265-2100.

<a href='http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/2D6F0D0E-D8D3-4CDE-ABB6-AA77C59F989B.shtml' target='_blank'>LINK</a>

It seems as though it is a little late to be starting Football season ticket drive. We needed to have already sold at least 15000 season tickets for a sucessful year. I know of one school that sold more than four times that amount already.

Longview Red Wrote:It seems as though it is a little late to be starting Football season ticket drive. We needed to have already sold at least 15000 season tickets for a sucessful year. I know of one school that sold more than four times that amount already.

Red, I agree this should have been started sooner. If you keep comparing what we are doing/have done with LSU you will continue to be frustrated. We have NO WHERE near the money LSU does to spend on athletics. Does this mean we cannot do better or be successful? absolutely not.

I think that the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has the size , number of students,alumina , population, people who like good football to get behind the school and do something to encourage a better football image such as Southern Miss. which is located in Hattiesburgh a city of only 50,000 people. I just can't understand why more people don't back UL . Why is every so durned crazy and apes about LSU? My own son graduated from La. Tech and pulls for the tigers.

While USM was beating SEC schools, we were struggling with NLU and Nicholls. USM built their fan base over a loooong time. DECADES ow winning big games. Every time we get something going, the bottom falls out. No momentum.

We've got to:
1) get tougher

One of the first things Coach Bustle said was that "We all need to get tougher. Players, fans, everybody."

2) Keep Martin Hall to the task.

One thing that USM had going for them all of these years is that they've got an administration that was hell-bent on building a football program.

3) Be patient.

To steal a line from Donald Rumsfeld, "This is going to be a long, hard, slog." For instance, we may not have a winning season this year. Yet, we very well could make big strides in the building of the program.

according to the official ULM athletics webpage, we are leading all SBC schools in season tickets sold (to date) with 4,311. Next is Middle Tennessee with 4,218 and ULM with 3,277. None of these figures are anything to brag about but we sold around 5,000 season tickets last year, so perhaps this push will put us closer to 6,000 or 7,000. Kind of like the football team, steady improvement. I think a couple of winning season put together could get this thing over 10,000 which is about 1/3 of the stadium size. Again, nothing to boast about but we are getting better.

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I just hate to read things like that menotioned above. It will be so nice when some body with some guts take the reins and try to get the balls rolling like a hurricane. It seems like people talk about what needs to be done,but that's all just talk. I talked to the AD the first year that he hired Jerry Baldwin and he told me that UL would have a winning football season in three or four years. Well, it's been seven years and no winning season yet and it doesn't look good down the road from where I am sitting.

Red, what is going on in NE La? Why so negative?

Well one thing I get upset about is that every you look and go anywhere you see LSU hats ,bumber stickers , shirts & etc. I never see a UL cap or anything about the University.
Every time I read the Advertiser there is nothing but bad news. I just read an article about the ex-coach sigining a guy from Florida that was over a week old. I read about another school that is looking at certain recruits,but I never hear any good news from Lafayette. I really don't have anything to be positive about now. West Monore is getting cranked up for another great year I suppose. Boy they have great talent over there in that town. And the coach isn't to bad either. I often wonder what kind of football team we would have now if they had hired coach Don Shows.