Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
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| Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns | |
|---|---|
| Logo | |
| University | University of Louisiana at Lafayette |
| Conference | Sun Belt Conference |
| NCAA | Division I FBS |
| Athletic director | Scott Farmer |
| Location | Lafayette, Louisiana |
| Varsity teams | 16 |
| Football stadium | Cajun Field |
| Basketball arena | Cajundome Earl K. Long Gymnasium |
| Baseball stadium | M. L. Tigue Moore Field |
| Mascot | Cayenne |
| Nickname | Ragin' Cajuns |
| Fight song | Ragin' Cajuns Fight Song |
| Colors |
Vermilion White
|
| Website | www |
Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, often referred to by the nickname Louisiana or Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns,[1] are the athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The school has been competing athletically since 1901. The Ragin' Cajuns compete in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, was once known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana, this was just prior to the adoption of the nickname "Ragin' Cajuns," using it initially in the 1960s to refer to its football team. Prior to the 1960s, the team nickname was the "Bulldogs". In 1963 then–football coach Russ Faulkinberry changed the nickname of the football team from "Bulldogs" to "Ragin' Cajuns," a nod to the school's location in Acadiana. By the 1970s, the athletic department, sports information director Bob Henderson, and the student body picked up on the nickname. As published in the 1974 football guide, the nickname became official that year.
Contents
Men's sports
| Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns compete in the following NCAA sports | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's sports | Women's sports | ||||
| Sport | Division | Conference | Sport | Division | Conference |
| Baseball | I | Sun Belt | Softball | I | Sun Belt |
| Basketball | I | Sun Belt | Basketball | I | Sun Belt |
| Cross country | I | Sun Belt | Cross country | I | Sun Belt |
| Football | I FBS | Sun Belt | Soccer | I | Sun Belt |
| Golf | I | Sun Belt | Volleyball | I | Sun Belt |
| Tennis | I | Sun Belt | Tennis | I | Sun Belt |
| Track & field (indoor) | I | Sun Belt | Track & field (indoor) | I | Sun Belt |
| Track & field (outdoor) | I | Sun Belt | Track & field (outdoor) | I | Sun Belt |
Baseball
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- First Year of Baseball: 1903
- First Year of Division I: 1972
- Years of Baseball: 91st season
- All-Time Division I Record (since 1972): 1,301-885-4 (.595)
- All-Time Sun Belt Record: 315-181 (.635)
- NCAA Appearances/Last: Thirteen/2014
- All-Time NCAA Tournament Record: 20-25
- Regular Season Conference Championships: 14
- Gulf States Conference (1950)
- Southland Conference (1972, 1973, 1982)
- American South Conference (1989–91)
- Sun Belt Conference (1992, 1994, 1997, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2014)
- Conference Tournament championships: 3
- Sun Belt Conference (1998, 2014, 2015)
- Last time in postseason: Houston Regional and Baton Rouge Super Regional (2015)
- Finished tied for 3rd at 2000 College World Series after knocking off overall #1 South Carolina in Super Regional. Defeated Clemson and San Jose State, lost to Stanford twice.
Men's basketball
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Came to prominence under the leadership of head coach Beryl Shipley, who was responsible for breaking the color barrier in the South and won just under 70% of all games from 1957 to 1973.[2]
Conference Regular Season Championships
- 1963-64 Gulf States Conference Champions
- 1965-66 Gulf States Conference Champions
- 1966-67 Gulf States Conference Champions
- 1967-68 Gulf States Conference Champions
- 1968-69 Gulf States Conference Champions
- 1976-77 Southland Conference Champions
- 1981-82 Southland Conference Champions
- 1991-92 Sun Belt Conference Champions
- 1999-2000 Sun Belt Conference Champions
Conference Division Regular Season Championships
- 2001-02 Sun Belt Conference Western Division Champions
- 2002-03 Sun Belt Conference Western Division Champions
- 2007-08 Sun Belt Conference Western Division Champions
- 2010-11 Sun Belt Conference Western Division Champions
Conference Tournament Championships
- 1982 Southland Conference Tournament Champions
- 1992 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions
- 1994 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions
- 2000 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions
- 2014 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions
National Tournament Appearances
- NIT Participant: 2002 and 2003
- NCAA Tournament Participant: 1982, 1983, 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2014
Notable Players include NCAA 2nd All time leading scorer Dwight "Bo" Lamar, Dean Church, Andrew Toney, Marv Winkler, and Dwayne Mitchell.
In 1973, the university became one of only five schools to ever receive the NCAA's Death Penalty, when their basketball program was barred from competing in the NCAA for the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons.
The current head coach is Bob Marlin.
Football
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- Participate in NCAA Division I FBS in the Sun Belt Conference. First played in 1901 under the school's previous name SLII.[3]
- Charter member of NCAA Division I-A football.[4]
- 2005 and 2013 Sun Belt Conference co-champions
- 1993 and 1994 Big West Conference co-champions
- 2011 New Orleans Bowl champions[5]
- 2012 New Orleans Bowl champions[6]
- 2013 New Orleans Bowl champions[7]
- 2014 New Orleans Bowl champions[8]
In 2015 Louisiana–Lafayette vacated all nine wins from 2011 including their 2011 New Orleans Bowl victory as the NCAA investigated allegations of ACT exam fraud, payments to recruits, and not cooperating with the NCAA investigation.[9]
The current head coach is Mark Hudspeth.
Men's tennis
1992, 1998, 2006, and 2014 Sun Belt Conference Champions, highest national ranking #15 (1988).
The current head coach is Mark Jeffrey.
Women's sports
Women's basketball
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Softball
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The Softball team is among the most successful of all Ragin' Cajun teams, having won nine regular season championships, nine conference tournament championships, and six appearances in the Women's College World Series (1993, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2008, and 2014). During the 2008 WCWS appearance the Ragin' Cajuns defeated #1 ranked Florida and eventually finished fifth. The Ragin' Cajun softball team has seen post-season play in 24 of the past 25 seasons. The Ragin' Cajuns have been Sun Belt Conference champions in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2014 along with 15 NCAA Regionals, 33 All-Americans, 24 consecutive winning seasons.
The team is led by Michael Lotief. Until 2012, he was co-head coach with his wife Stefni, who stepped down to devote time to their family.
Other Sports
- Water Skiing - First year of competition: 1989. Has finished no worse than third in the annual NCWSA National Collegiate Water Ski Association championships since 1993. National champions: 1995, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2015.
Club sports
Men's Lacrosse as part of the MCLA, Badminton, Bowling, Cheerleading, Cricket, Ice Hockey as part of the ACHA, Inline Hockey as part of the NCRHA, Judo, Powerlifting, Rugby, Men's Soccer, Sport Shooting, Tae Kwon Do, Water Skiing
History
Football was the first team organized at the then Institute (SLII) in 1901, although an advertisement promoting women's gymnastics was placed in 1900.
Ron Gomez did the radio play-by-play for Cajuns football and basketball from 1961–1979, when he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives. In that capacity, he worked with the David C. Treen administration to construct the Cajundome. Gomez had begun advocacy of the stadium while he served as president of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce in 1978.[10]
Traditions
Mascots
Former
- Bulldog
- Mr. Cajun (animated)
- RC the Bulldog (live)
- "Gee" the bulldog (live) prior to being the Ragin' Cajuns
- "The Fabulous Cajun Chicken" (animated) 1982-1999
Current
Notable sports alumni
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Ragin Cajun Network
Louisiana–Lafayette launched the Ragin' Cajun Network in August 2011. The Network is a series of radio and television networks that provide access to sporting events throughout the state of Louisiana. Two Lafayette radio stations, KPEL-AM and KHXT-FM, provide play by play radio commentary called by broadcasters Jay Walker, and Steve Peloquin. The full list of participating stations are:
- KPEL 1420 AM/KHXT 107.9 FM in Lafayette
- KANE 1240 AM in New Iberia
- WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans
- KTUX 98.9 FM in Shreveport
- KLCL 1470 AM/KJEF 1290 AM in Lake Charles
Television coverage is provided by Cox Communications as part of their Cox 4 and Cox Sports Television networks. Cox Sports Television now has over 2 million subscriptions in the states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Virginia. Additionally, all games aired by the channels will also be available online at ESPN3.com provided nationwide coverage to the Ragin' Cajuns.
See also
References
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- ↑ Ron Gomez, My Name Is Ron And I'm a Recovering Legislator: Memoirs of a Louisiana State Representative, Lafayette, Louisiana: Zemog Publishing, 2000, pp. 9, 111-112; ISBN 0-9700156-0-7
