For the last decade, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns have been without a mainstay mascot. Since the anthropomorphic pepper Cayenne made his final appearance in 2010, there has not been a new mascot to replace him.
This makes football games feel a bit empty, especially when teams bring their own mascots to Cajun Field.
Enter Cory Stewart, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette Visual Arts alum working toward his MFA at Columbia University. On Nov. 30, 2022, amidst discourse among Cajuns fans about the longtime absence of a mascot, Ewart posted a sketch of a concept for a new mascot — an anthropomorphic alligator decked out in Louisiana’s vermilion and white named Albineaux “Al” Boudreaux.
For this self-described “passion project” of Ewart’s, he would go on to openly consider his options for commissioning a fully-realized design for the character. He eventually landed on Burton Durand, one of Lafayette’s most prolific graphic designers, for the task.
After several teaser posts, Ewart would reveal the full design in a Twitter thread on April 10.
Fans flocked to the design, and KLFY News 10 ran a segment featuring St. Ewart and “Al”. An official address from any university department on the movement remains to be seen.