Did you kneux that today in 1971, Cajun Field opened with a win over Santa Clara 21-0?”
Craig Melancon, ’88, did. He tweeted it on Sept. 25 from his CajunFan11 Twitter account, which reports tidbits on Ragin’ Cajun athletics, such as upcoming contests and game scores.
“It really started in the spring of 2012. I wanted to bring some excitement to the softball team, which was and is nationally ranked,” said the 49-year-old alumnus.
More than 8,500 tweets later, CajunFan11 has become a reliable source of social media bulletins for Ragin’ Cajun athletics. A popular feature of the feed, Melancon said, is the in-game score update, which he has voluntarily tweeted for football, softball, baseball, soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, tennis and golf, sometimes covering multiple games at once.
“For softball, it’s probably about 30 or 40 tweets a game. It’s the same thing for basketball. With football, sometimes I get a little sidetracked with tailgating,” he said.
Twitter messages, or tweets, are limited to 140 characters, making them short, public text messages. Melancon said he chose the Twitter medium because of its growing popularity and its ease of use on a cell phone, which is needed for his quick updates during games.
Following the 2012 softball season, Melancon said he received so much positive feedback that he expanded CajunFan11’s focus to include other Ragin’ Cajun sports.
“I felt like I had to keep going. I don’t know if I ever expected to do something like this, but now it’s turned into something that I enjoy.”
Sallie Guillory, associate head coach for 鶹ý Lafayette’s women’s basketball team, said she appreciates the encouraging effect of Melancon’s messages. “He recognizes student-athletes, not just if they score 20 points, but if they earn an academic award or if they do something good in the community or just for working hard every day for this university,” she said.
In addition to having season tickets for the University’s major sports, Melancon is a member of the Alumni Association, Ragin’ Cajuns Athletic Foundation, Quarterback Club, Rebounders Club and Diamond Club.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in general studies and works for CoStreet Communications in Lafayette.
Melancon said the CajunFan11 Twitter feed represents the University’s passionately loyal and welcoming fan base.
“I try not to do anything political or demeaning toward the other team. I’m just making sure that everybody can see what’s going on.”