This year for homecoming, any of the students enrolled at the nine schools in The Universities of Louisiana system gained free admission into the game.
The Universities of Louisiana include Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Louisiana at Monroe and The University of New Orleans.
According to the University of Louisiana system website “The Universities of Louisiana, one of the nation’s largest higher education systems, is a family of nine distinctive educational institutions serving more than 90,000 students and awarding more than 16,500 degrees annually.”
Students from any of these universities were allowed to attend the University of Louisiana at Lafayette homecoming game with free admission.
Jake Longenecker, director of marketing and ticket sales, said that free admission for the Louisiana system schools was an original idea to bring more students to the game and encouraged attendance at homecoming. All students needed to gain entry was their school ID card.
In addition to free admission, all students were allowed to bring up to three guests instead of one. Student guest tickets are only $10, as opposed to regular tickets that cost between $30-$70, and are available for friends and family.
The student’s three guests were granted admission with their ticket and watched the game in the students section with them.
The homecoming game featured the University of Louisiana at Lafayette versus Texas State University.
According to the athletics network website, “The Ragin’ Cajuns have won six straight games, including four consecutive Sun Belt Conference games.”
Kickoff started at 11 a.m. and the game was aired on ESPNU.
Students were encouraged to attend pregame activities and bring their guests early for tailgating and homecoming festivities.
The homecoming events began at 8:30 a.m. with a parade starting at Blackham Coliseum and proceeding to Cajun Field.
Brianna Franklin and T.J. Wisham were nominated and chosen as this year’s reigning homecoming king and queen. Franklin and Wisham along with the eight other members of the court were announced and presented during the halftime show.
There were various pregame and postgame events located at the Oak Tree. Concerts by Krossfyre and Cupid Under the Oaks were performed for the students and Ragin’ Rally at 10 a.m. There were also plenty of students tailgating and having a good time in preparation for the game.
Longenecker commented that attendance for the home game had a good turnout with at least 5,200 at the first game. This year’s homecoming game included the additional free admission for Louisiana system schools along with the three guest tickets to increase the number of students that showed up. This was a special entry only for the homecoming game.