Jan 16, 2025
LAFAYETTE, La. – Learfield and the University of Louisiana Athletics announced today an early agreement on a long-term renewal of their existing partnership, which sees Learfield continue to represent the Ragin’ Cajuns on all multimedia and sponsorship rights agreements.
Learfield’s Ragin’ Cajuns Sports Properties has served as Louisiana’s exclusive multimedia rights holder since 2018, providing innovative new revenue streams for the Ragin’ Cajuns while adding value to the partnership by aligning the athletic department with Learfield’s digital ticket and marketing platform provider, Paciolan, digital solutions leader, SIDEARM Sports, and licensed merchandise agency, CLC.
“Our relationship with Learfield has provided enormous growth and unlocked new opportunities for revenue generation through both the flagship multimedia rights division and our newer relationships with Paciolan, SIDEARM and CLC,” said Bryan Maggard, UL Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics. “We’re thrilled to have Ragin’ Cajuns Sports Properties as part of our team and look forward to partnering with Learfield well into the future.”
Since the inception of their relationship with UL, Ragin’ Cajuns Sports Properties has unlocked several new assets and sponsorship categories, invested in new and enhanced digital and static in-venue signage and added all 13 of UL Athletics’ current “Official Partner” designees.
UL Athletics and Ragin’ Cajuns Sports Properties also worked together to expand the partnership with Official Healthcare Provider Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center to include naming rights and an extensive renovation to Ragin’ Cajuns Football’s 30,000-seat stadium.
All in all, the value added by the work of Ragin’ Cajuns Sports Properties has resulted in revenue growth of 300%, with digital sponsorship efforts increasing exponentially to account for nearly 25% of UL Athletics’ sponsorship revenue.
“Louisiana Athletics has taken in our Ragin’ Cajuns Sports Properties team and General Manager Brian Bille as part of their athletics family, which has provided for a highly successful partnership in Lafayette,” said Learfield Executive Vice President Andrew Wheeler. “We’re ecstatic to extend our partnership and continue to provide enhanced revenue generation through industry-leading digital and data solutions while also unlocking new name, image and likeness opportunities for Ragin’ Cajuns student-athletes.”
The unprecedented growth in digital revenue includes the incorporation of Fan365 – Learfield’s programmatic digital sponsorship and marketing program – to reach targeted segments of the Ragin’ Cajuns faithful and lead-generation campaigns to connect brand partners with fans and drive brand affinity.
UL Athletics has also greatly benefitted from the use of fan data provided by Fanbase – Learfield’s proprietary fan data platform boasting over 6 billion fan data points, 93 million first-party fan records and 150 million reachable fans – as insights for existing and potential corporate partners to provide more value and maximize revenue opportunities.
As student-athlete NIL takes on an ever-growing presence in the college sports landscape, Ragin’ Cajuns Sports Properties and Learfield’s Compass NIL dealmaking platform have begun to provide UL student-athletes with NIL activation opportunities with partners such as student housing and local retailers.
More recently, the Ragin’ Cajuns launched their largest NIL campaign to date with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office on an Anti-Vaping Initiative. By the conclusion of the 3-year commitment, more than 30 Ragin’ Cajuns student-athletes from a variety of men’s and women’s teams will have benefitted from the partnership while educating the youth in local communities on the dangers of vaping.
About University of Louisiana Athletics
Located in Lafayette, La. – the Heart of Acadiana – Louisiana Athletics serves as a leader in developing student-athletes at the highest level in both academics and athletics. A member of the Sun Belt Conference since 1991 where it claimed 90 conference titles, Louisiana offers 16 varsity sports at the NCAA Division I level and supports over 450 student-athletes. For more information, visit RaginCajuns.com or download the #GeauxCajuns Mobile App available on both Android and iOS devices.
About Learfield
Learfield is the leading media and technology company powering college athletics. Through its digital and physical platforms, Learfield owns and leverages a deep data set and relationships in the industry to drive revenue, growth, brand awareness, and fan engagement for brands, sports, and entertainment properties. With ties to over 1,200 collegiate institutions and over 12,000 local and national brand partners, Learfield’s presence in college sports and live events delivers influence and maximizes reach to target audiences. With solutions for a 365-day, 24/7 fan experience, Learfield enables schools and brands to connect with fans through licensed merchandise, game ticketing, donor identification for athletic programs, exclusive custom content, innovative marketing initiatives, NIL solutions, and advanced digital platforms. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield Directors’ Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.
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