LAFAYETTE, La. - With five months left in the campaign, the Ragin' Cajuns Athletics Foundation 2013 Annual Fund has broken its previous record for unrestricted donations. As of Friday (July 26), the Annual Fund surpassed the $1.3 million mark in unrestricted donations for the year, besting the previous record of $1.277 million set in 2012.
"This just shows the level of commitment of the Ragin' Cajuns fan base," RCAF president John Bordelon said. "The active financial investment by fans is going to push this program to the next level of collegiate play."
The influx of donations comes on the heals of back-to-back New Orleans Bowl wins by Ragin' Cajuns football, as well as another NCAA Super Regional appearance by softball and a NCAA Regional showing by baseball.
"We couldn't be prouder of our fans and our student-athletes," said Athletics Director Scott Farmer. "Both continue to step up their game and together, we grow as a successful program."
"This is a great example of fans grabbing a hold of the rope and not letting go," football coach Mark Hudspeth added. "I said from the beginning, this program is set to explode and the more fans come on board, the bigger the bang!"
Investments to the RCAF Annual Fund provide unrestricted funds to enhance support for overall operations, personnel, and facility improvements, such as elements of the Athletic Facilities Master Plan released earlier this spring. The first tier of an initial three-tier program is currently in the University of Louisiana System approval process and fans can expect to see construction begin this fall.
"Football season tickets renewals are going strong and we anticipate setting another record this fall," added Farmer. "To date, we are close to breaking last year's record, and we haven't even begun preseason camp yet! Fans need to hurry to reserve the best seat in town."
Fans will also see a customer friendly on-line ticket service for renewing and purchasing new season tickets. Archtics, the donor management system of TicketMaster, was recently activated for Ragin' Cajuns fans. Archtics is a complete in-house solution that features superior ticketing and customer relationship management. Archtics delivers world-class technology tailored to fit the needs of each customer.
"This has been a system in the works for over a year," said Ragin' Cajuns Ticket Manager, Matt Casbon. "This will make it easier for our fans and easier for us to meet their needs. Fans can manage their season tickets, make their RCAF Annual Fund donations and more. Simply log on to RaginCajuns.com to see how it works."