LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- While the success of a team means championships and glory for the athletes, it also creates growth for the university they represent.

Vice President of enrollment management at UL Lafayette Dr. DeWayne Bowie told News 10 that "Dr. Savoie, our president, like to refer to athletics in general as the front porch to the university. And what I like to say is athletics does a terrific job at bringing a lot of attention to the university, a lot of very positive attention because of the level of competition and that winning spirit."

Bowie said that he's noticed an increase in enrollment thanks to the attention from sports, with football winning the Sunbelt Championship in 2021, Sunbelt championships from the Baseball and Softball teams, and now the Basketball team moving to the NCAA Tournament.

The continued exposure to the university opens doors for upcoming high school graduates to look into the programs the university offers.

"We're very fortunate that the basketball team has a chance to be in the NCAA tournament so that's going to give us a whole different level of exposure, having a chance to show this University to people that may have never seen us before and they just love when they hear Ragin Cajuns," said Bowie.

While bringing in more students, the success of the athletics programs also makes businesses interested in sponsoring the university; bringing in revenue and creating opportunities to improve programs and facilities across campus.

General Manager of Ragin' Cajuns Sports Properties Brian Bille told News 10, "We've doubled the number of sponsors in the past five years as well as brought in 35 new sponsors. We know that this is going to help us continue to grow relationships with businesses in the area, especially across basketball. When you're looking to provide exposure to a program that has won championships in all four major sports over the last 15 months, businesses want to be tied to that."