Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns
Encyclopedia
| Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns | |
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| Athletics founded | 1901 |
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| Conference | Sun Belt Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions... |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Scott Farmer |
| University | University of Louisiana at Lafayette University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana... |
| Location | Lafayette Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census... , LA Louisiana Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties... USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
| Stadium | Cajun Field Cajun Field Cajun Field is a stadium located in the city of Lafayette, Louisiana. Nicknamed The Swamp, it is the home field of the Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns... , The Swamp |
| Tennis Center | Cajun Courts at Culotta Tennis Center, "The Wasp Nest" |
| Arena | Cajundome Cajundome The Cajundome is a 13,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Lafayette, Louisiana. It is home to the Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns basketball teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette Wildcatters of the Southern Indoor Football League and the Louisiana high school basketball state... |
| Mascot | Cayenne Cayenne (mascot) Cayenne is the official mascot of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns athletic teams. He is an anthropomorphic Cayenne pepper .... |
| Colors | Vermilion Vermilion Vermilion is an opaque orangish red pigment, similar to scarlet. As a naturally occurring mineral pigment, it is known as cinnabar, and was in use around the world before the Common Era began. Most naturally produced vermilion comes from cinnabar mined in China, and vermilion is nowadays commonly... and White |
| Homepage | www.ragincajuns.com |
The Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (or Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns) are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...
. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, at that time known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana, was the first to adopt 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 "Bulldogs" to "Ragin' Cajuns". By the 1970s, the athletic department, the 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. Until the 2006-07 academic year, women's teams were referred to as the Lady Cajuns, but they now use the same "Ragin' Cajuns" nickname as the men's teams.
Current sports
| Men's sports | Women's sports | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Division | Conference | Sport | Division | Conference |
| Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond... |
I | Sun Belt | Softball Softball Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand... |
I | Sun Belt |
| Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules... |
I | Sun Belt | Basketball | I | Sun Belt |
| Cross country Cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road... |
I | Sun Belt | Cross country | I | Sun Belt |
| Football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by... |
I FBS | Sun Belt | Soccer | I | Sun Belt |
| Golf Golf Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes.... |
I | Sun Belt | Volleyball Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive... |
I | Sun Belt |
| Tennis Tennis Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all... |
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
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: Twelve/2010.
All-Time NCAA Tournament Record: 20-25.
Regular Season Conference. Championships: 13; Gulf States Conference (1950); Southland Conference (1972, 1973, 1982); American South Conference (1989–91); Sun Belt Conference (1992, 1994, 1997, 2005, 2007, 2010).
Conference Tournament championships: 1 Sun Belt Conference (1998).
Last time in postseason: 2010 Austin Regional (1-2).
Finished tied for 3rd at 2000 College World Series
2000 College World Series
The 2000 College World Series was held June 9 through June 17, 2000 in Omaha, Nebraska. Eight NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a 64-team bracket to play at historic Rosenblatt Stadium. LSU beat Stanford in the single-game final.It was the 54th College...
after knocking off overall #1 South Carolina in Super Regional. Defeated Clemson and San Jose State, lost to Stanford twice.
Softball
The Softball team is among the most successful of all Ragin Cajun teams, having won nine regular season championships, nine conference tournament championships, and five appearances in the Women's College World SeriesWomen's College World Series
The Women's College World Series is the final portion of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship for college softball in the United States. The tournament format consists of two four-team double-elimination brackets. The winners of each bracket then compete in a best-of-three title game series...
(1993, 1995, 1996, 2003, and 2008). 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 19 of the past 20 seasons. The Ragin Cajuns have been Sun Belt Conference champions in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010 along with 14 NCAA Regionals, 33 All-Americans, 24 consecutive winning seasons.
The team is led by an unusual co-head coaching arrangement; even more unusual is that the head coaches are married – Stefni Lotief (452-110 record through ten seasons as either head or co-head coach) and husband Michael (assistant coach for two seasons, co-head coach for the last eight with a 351-87 record).
Basketball
Came to prominence under the leadership of head coach Beryl ShipleyBeryl Shipley
Beryl Cylde Shipley was an American former basketball coach. Shipley was born in Kingsport, Tennessee. He was a longtime coach at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he broke the color barrier at that school, and faced intense criticism and opposition for doing so. In 1975 he became coach...
, who was responsible for breaking the color barrier in the South and won just under 70% of all games from 1957 to 1973. 1971-72 Southland Conference Champions, #8 national ranking; 1972-73 Southland Conference Champions, #7 national ranking; 1991-92 Sun Belt Champions, 1992 Sun Belt Tournament Champions, 1994 Sun Belt Tournament Champions, 1999-2000 Sun Belt Champions, 2000 Sun Belt Tournament Champions, 2001-02 Sun Belt Western Division Champions, 2002-03 Sun Belt Western Division Champions, 2003-04 Sun Belt Western Division Champions, 2004 Sun Belt Tournament champions, 2005 Sun Belt Tournament Champions, 2007-08 Sun Belt Western Division Champions, 2010-11 Sun Belt Western Division Champions. NIT Participant 2002 and 2003. NCAA Tournament participant 1972*, 1973*, 2000, 2004**, and 2005**. Notable Players include NCAA 2nd All time leading scorer Dwight "Bo" Lamar, Dean Church, Andrew Toney
Andrew Toney
Andrew Toney is an American former professional basketball player who played for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers from 1980 to 1988...
, Marv Winkler
Marv Winkler
Marvin Winkler is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'1" guard from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Winkler played one season in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks...
, Dwayne Mitchell
Dwayne Mitchell
Dwayne Mitchell is a 6'5" shooting guard formerly from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.Dwayne played with the Iowa Energy in the NBADL until August 1, 2008 when he was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Lakers, who on October 8, 2008 waived Mitchell, who later signed with the Los...
, and Orien Greene
Orien Greene
Orien Randolph Greene II is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Halifax Rainmen of the National Basketball League of Canada. His first two seasons were spent with the NBA's Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, respectively...
.
The current head coach is Bob Marlin
Bob Marlin
-External links:*...
.
Football
Participate in NCAA Division I FBS in the Sun Belt Conference. First played in 1901 under the school's previous name SLII. Charter member of NCAA Division I-A football . 2005 Sun Belt Conference co-champions. 1993 and 1994 Big West Conference co-champions.The current head coach is Mark Hudspeth
Mark Hudspeth
-External links:*...
.
Men's Tennis
1992, 1998, and 2006 Sun Belt Conference Champions, highest national ranking #15 (1988). Cajun Courts at the Culotta Tennis Center given the nickname "The Wasp Nest" after the home crowd's "wasp like" energy when the Cajuns' played home against Troy University on March 25, 2011 (Louisiana-Lafayette won 4-3 with a win at #1 singles by Yanick Mandl). The home courts are among the most difficult places for an away tennis team to play at due to the overwhelming effect of the Cajun presence.The current head coach is Mark Jeffrey.
Other Sports
- Water SkiingWater skiingthumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
- 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.
Club sports
- BadmintonBadmintonBadminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, BowlingBowlingBowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, CheerleadingCheerleadingCheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, CricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, Inline HockeyInline hockeyInline hockey, often referred to as roller hockey in the United States, is a sport similar to ice hockey but played with inline skates. Like its parent sport, skaters on two teams use hockey sticks to direct a disk-shaped puck into the opponent's goal; however, various details of the game, such as...
as part of the NCRHA, Ice HockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
as part of the ACHAAmerican Collegiate Hockey AssociationThe American Collegiate Hockey Association is the national governing body of non-varsity college ice hockey in the U.S. The organization provides structure, regulations, promotes the quality of play, sponsors National Awards and National Tournaments....
, JudoJudois a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
, PowerliftingPowerliftingPowerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...
, RugbyRugby footballRugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, Sport ShootingShooting sportsA shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency using various types of guns such as firearms and airguns . Hunting is also a shooting sport, and indeed shooting live pigeons was an Olympic event...
, Men's Soccer, Tae Kwon Do, Water SkiingWater skiingthumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
Ragin Cajun Network
Louisiana-Lafayette launched the Ragin Cajun Network in August 2011. The Network is a series of radio and television networks that provided access to sporting events throughout the state of Louisiana. Two Lafayette radio stations, KPEL - AM and KHKT - FM, provide play by play radio commentary called by broadcasters Jay Walker, and Steve Peloquin. The full list of participating stations are:* KHXT 1420 AM in Lafayette
* 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 FM in Lake Charles
* KJEF 1290 AM FM in Rayne
- source http://www.ragincajuns.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15400&ATCLID=811275
Television coverage is provided by Cox Communications as part of their Cox4 and Cox Sports
Cox Sports
Cox Sports Television is a regional sports network that serves the United States Gulf South region. It launched in October 2002 and is owned by Cox Communications....
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.
- source http://www.ragincajuns.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15400&ATCLID=205244586
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
Ron Gomez
Ronald James Gomez, Sr., known as Ron Gomez , is a veteran print and broadcast journalist, author , and businessman from Lafayette, Louisiana, who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from Lafayette Parish, from 1980-1989. From 1990-1992, he was the secretary of natural resources in...
did the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
play-by-play for Cajuns football and basketball from 1961–1979, when he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
. In that capacity, he worked with the David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
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..
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
- Cayenne (animated)Cayenne (mascot)Cayenne is the official mascot of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns athletic teams. He is an anthropomorphic Cayenne pepper ....
Notable sports alumni
External links
- Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns official athletics website
- Ragin' Cajuns Athletic Network official athletics network