Rotary jumps on the bandwagon

The University of Louisiana-Lafayette’s new Athletic Director Dr. Bryan Maggard was the guest speaker at the Ville Platte Rotary Club’s meeting on Tuesday.
The Kansas native and Kansas State University alumnus has spent the past 22 years working in the athletic department at the University of Missouri and now brings his energetic style to Acadiana.
“I could not be more excited, more honored, and certainly more humbled to be in this position,” Maggard said. “Lafayette is a fantastic community. I could not be more happy and more pleased with my experience there. The people are absolutely fantastic, the culture is unbelievably welcoming, and the people are very genuine and very relational. They have made me feel at home in my very short stint, and I’m very honored to be here.”
While he is growing to love Lafayette, he admitted that the best food he has had so far during his first three months on the job was here at Main Street Pizza during the Rotary Club’s meeting.
“I will tell you bar none that this is the best lunch that we’ve had at any Rotary, Kiwanis group, or any other group you can think of,” he said. “I guarantee you at about 1:30 p.m. I’m going to need to take a nap. I don’t know how the folks in this part of the country eat lunches like this and even get things done in the afternoon. I’m really hoping my stomach will grow and I can take on a meal like this more often.”
After raving about his meal, Maggard got back to business and explained what an athletic department means to a university.
Maggard said, “I really perceive us as the front porch of the university. In order for you to walk through that front door, that front porch has to be clean. It has to be attractive, and it has to be appealing.
“It’s my charge to make sure that we are always putting our best foot forward and that we’re representing the university at the highest level and highest manor possible. We want to make sure when you drive by that house called UL(L) and you see that front porch that you say that’s a beautiful place and want to go through that front door.”
He then outlined his vision for the future of the UL-L athletic program.
“First and foremost we’re going to make sure that we strive to graduate every young man and every young woman and that they finish their eligibility at the University of Louisiana (Lafayette),” Maggard said. “Today we’re honored to lead the state institutions in Louisiana in student athlete graduation rates, and for the past four years we have led the Sun Belt Conference in student athlete graduation rates.”
His vision also includes the athletic programs competing at the highest standards. “My charge is to get this program to keep moving forward to ensure that we can always position our student athletes and coaches to compete for and to win championships,” he said.
He also wants to develop more community engagement. “For me it’s really important as the athletic director that I make sure the University of Louisiana (Lafayette) has a strong presence in the Acadiana region,” he stated. “I absolutely think that our goal is to embrace Acadiana and really brand the University of Louisiana (Lafayette) as Acadiana’s university.”
“I think the future of UL(L) is unbelievably bright,” he continued. “We are positioned to do great things.
After the Rotary meeting, Camille Fontenot with the Chamber of Commerce brought Maggard and members of his Community Outreach team to several sites around the parish. The first stops were at Slap Ya Mama, Paul’s Meat Market, and the Swamp Pop Museum where they soaked up some of Ville Platte’s local culture. Other stops on the tour included KVPI, T Boy’s, the Cazan Hotel, and the Crawfish Barn..