It is funny y’all talked about that because I have been feeling that way since last weekend.
On Friday morning around 6 AM before the sun came up I drove in front of Cajun field on Bertrand and took a left on Congress. It was dark but I could see around 15 to 20 TG tents set up. A couple right next to my spot but since I couldn’t see the logos so I couldn’t tell if it was ours or not.
On Friday evening at around 6PM my son calls and asks if we are not setting up because our tent wasn’t up. I called my brother who stores the tent in New Iberia and pays the storage company for set up and take it down every time he uses it. He said our guys went to set up on Thursday afternoon and a university representative sent him back to NI and said he couldn’t set up until after 10 AM on Friday. This has me puzzled asking a few questions?
Why did they turn our tent guys back and not the other tents that were set up on Thursday? .
The official rules may say 10AM on Friday but there are tents set up every Thursday evening before a home game. Since the guys drove all the way from da berry couldn’t they just let them put the tent up and ask next time can you come on Friday? Especially since they are not consistent in enforcing their own rules.
Lastly, Maybe our donations aren’t as big as the 15 to 20 tents that were allowed to set up on Thursday so that is why they sent our tent crew home? Total head scratcher.
We got to our spot at 1pm on Saturday to find that another group had set up camper and all, in our spot!
When I asked why they were there, they told me they arrived at noon on Friday and were told that they could basically set up anywhere they wanted. So they chose to set up in our spot that has a nice oak tree in it.
Called the RCAF Monday morning and explained the issue to see if they had any kind of idea on how that could’ve happened.
I was told they have no idea who monitors that area on Friday and who, on a golf cart, would have told those individuals that they could simply set up anywhere.
It has been a long standing rule for everyone on back to back home games TG tents can remain up. In the early to mid 90s you could put your tent up for game once and leave it up until the last game.
In our TG group of family and friends we have a combined total of 1 luxury suite and 12 McElligott club area tickets. I guess we just didn’t do enough to get that early set up time. But like the RR guys said they just always find a way to dump on the paying customer. That has been consistent through multiple athletics administrations.
I have been told by some when their tent was up at the wrong time that they got a call from Brian Billie. I cannot confirm that in my case it was Brian who sent our tent crew home so I did not use his name.
Neither Brian Bille nor Learfield has any jurisdiction in or around the TG area. I highly recommend our litigious posters file a FOIA request to find out exactly what the university contract covers with Learfield. It is quite illuminating.
This overreach from Brian Bille and Learfield has reached an untenable level and it’s time we push back on it. I have it on good account, this new university admin regime is none too pleased with what’s going on regarding Learfield.
If you drive by Cajun Field right now you will see 2, 20x20 tents in the tailgate area that have been up all season. One says Ragin Jazz and the other says Ragin Cajuns cheer. It’s the reserved TG area for both of those organizations and their families to gather on game day. You will also see a bunch of tents spread through lots A,B,C, and D that are still up.
It appears the university has a rules for thee but not for me kind of attitude towards its fans. This is hypocrisy at the highest level.
MAT you think? I got a good story concerning Billie, that I was told last Saturday morning by a long time college friend.
A couple weeks ago during a road game week my friend, who is the director of a healthcare facility here in Lafayette, was asked by KATC, to do an interviewing talking about tailgating and the tailgating experience at UL. He agreed and they met at his spot at 9 AM on a Wednesday morning to conduct the interview. He took off of work hauled his tent and all his tailgating stuff to cajuns field to make it look real. This was basically free advertisement for UL.
Before he could finish the interview Brian Billie was calling him to take down his tent because it was not with in the time frame for TG tents to be up. Granted it was Wednesday and we were out of town so common sense would tell you he is not setting up for the game in 2 weeks..
It is Un freaking believable how much they at times they appear to try and piss off the customer.
I have a hundred of these stories but I’ll give you one from this passed week. I can prove everything I’m about to type.
Bille walks into one of RR sponsors businesses. The head manager, who has been there over a decade, comments about the team and they start talking ball. Manager mentions how he can’t wait to listen to the RR postgame show. Bille, regional manager of Learfield, a conflicting and competing interest of RR at this point, tells the manager “We (assuming he’s speaking for UL athletics) hate that show.” He also says “Des won’t even entertain them.”
I’ve spoken to Des regularly since he’s been hired as our HC. RR is the most successful NON-AFFILIATED media outlet ever to exist for UL athletics. The fact that this mf had the nerve to pop his mouth off to a paying sponsor and slander RR is not only petty, it’s borderline criminal behavior, considering the situation. It’s not the only borderline criminal behavior this dude is involved with. But that’s a story for the tailgate.
I can promise y’all this, Brian Bille doesn’t want to fack with me. And if he swerves in my lane one more time, he’s going to find out just what kind of information I’ve been gathering on him over the last 3 years. It’s not flattering, and there are plenty of people willing to go on record.
I can now say that I was completely wrong about Learfield and the whole Alden Report.
It has been a net negative. We need to change course. This trying to be something we’re not is killing us. The truth is if we just be true to who we are, Cajuns, we could be better than the rest of the pack, chasing their tails.
