Signage has popped up around Thibodaux stating, “Nicholls State University needs new athletic direction.”
However, administration says that Nicholls athletics is headed in the right direction.
“When you consider the purpose of the University (the main goal) is to educate its students; that is our main mission,” David Boudreaux, vice president for institutional advancement, said.
“Our student athletes have an overall record of graduating at a higher rate than our student body as a whole.”
Boudreaux also stated the grade point average for the football team is probably at a record high, and the women’s track team has won the president’s award for academic excellence two years in a row.
“We want to take care of our student athletes as students first; we want them to be competitive in their respected sports, and I think we see that happening and we have seen improvement in their performance,” Boudreaux said.
Currently University administrators do not know who is behind the billboards, but the signs bear the name of a local company, Bayou Signs, who had previously sponsored signage on the static marquee board in front of John L. Guidry Stadium.
When contacted, Brett Moreau, owner of Bayou Signs, said “maybe so, maybe not,” when asked if he was the one who had put up the signs.
About two years ago, the static marquee was moved from the front of the University to its current home in front of the stadium. When the marquee board was moved, the “Nicholls turns to gold” sign, which had been sponsored by Bayou Signs, was removed because it was no longer timely.
“Because of the owner’s generosity, we allowed (them) to put a statement acknowledging Bayou Signs,” Boudreaux said.
Upon the removal of the 50th anniversary sign, another sign that said “Welcome to John L. Guidry Stadium” appeared, sponsored by the same company. This sign however, was placed there without permission from either the athletic department, who now has control over the marquee board, nor Boudreaux’s office. There is no written agreement that would permit the company to place the sign there.
“It was more of an advertisement for Bayou Signs than it was a welcome statement,” Boudreaux said.
The state will not allow the University to give away anything of value, including advertising space, without getting something of value in return. With that, the placement of the welcome sign would be considered a form of free advertising; it was removed and replaced with a paid for sign.
Nicholls athletics was granted permission to sell the advertising space on the static marquee to MobileTel, for $10,000 as part of a corporate sponsorship. It is through corporate and private sponsorships that the athletic department is able to function, and according to a statement from Rob Bernardi, athletic director, the department must raise more than $1 million a year to meet their budget.
“It is unfair to our corporate sponsors to allow one business to receive something for which others must pay. This is really a matter of protecting the interests of our sponsors who have been kind enough to support our Athletics Department,” Bernardi said.
A representative of Bayou Signs came to Nicholls, and spoke with Bernardi to express his displeasure with the welcome sign being removed, Boudreaux said.
In reply to this displeasure, Boudreaux wrote a letter to Bayou Signs, offering to negotiate a contract in which both parties could come to an agreement.
“I think it is to everyone’s benefit that we do work together for the betterment of the community at large, that Nicholls State University is certainly a vital part of, and Nicholls itself,” Boudreaux said.
“We serve the people of this region and we bring business, by the virtue of our presence here, to the businesses of this region.”
Boudreaux, however, did not get a response to his letter.