The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football (formerly competed as Southwestern Louisiana or USL, later and still often referred to as Louisiana or UL) program is a college football team that represents the University of Louisiana at Lafayette at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. Since 1971, the team has played its home games at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana. Michael Desormeaux has served as Louisiana's head coach since 2021.
The RCAF (Ragin Cajun Athletic Foundation) is the supporter association that assists with funding for all Ragin Cajun sports.
History The program began play in 1901 when the school was known as Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute. The school's sports teams were known as the Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs from 1921 until 1973. The school's fight name was formally changed to Ragin' Cajuns in 1974, which had been in use since the 1960s. In 1999, the university took on its current name, at which point its sports teams were referred to as Louisiana–Lafayette. A rebranding in 2017 dropped "Lafayette" from the Cajuns' name.
Between 2011 and 2014, the Cajuns won four consecutive New Orleans Bowls, representing the most successful stretch in the program's history at the time, but later had to vacate two of the victories due to NCAA violations.
Between 2018 and 2021, during the tenure of head coach Billy Napier, the Cajuns reached many milestones, including the first National ranking in program history, four consecutive division championships, two conference championships, three bowl championships, and the best season finish and conference finish in the 2021 season, finishing 13–1 and 7–0 in conference play.
The Cajuns have had several players go to play professionally in the National Football League (NFL), including Jake Delhomme, Charles Tillman, Brian Mitchell, Orlando Thomas, Brandon Stokely, Elijah McGuire, Elijah Mitchell, Kevin Dotson, Chris Cagle, Ike Taylor, and Robert Hunt.
Before 1974, the team's official nickname was the Bulldogs, although the current nickname was in common use with the football team for approximately the decade prior.
Division history 1937–1962 National Junior College Athletic Association 1963–1972 NCAA College Division (Small College) 1973 NCAA Division II 1974–1977 NCAA Division I 1978–present NCAA Division I-A (FBS)
Conference affiliations Louisiana has been both independent and a member of four different conferences.
Independent (1901–1947)
Gulf States Conference (1948–1970) Southland Conference (1971–1981) NCAA Division I-A independent (1982–1992) Big West Conference (1993–1995) Independent (1996–2000) Sun Belt Conference (2001–present)
Championships Conference championships Louisiana has won 10 conference championships, with the 2013 championship later vacated.
1952† Gulf States Conference Raymond Didier 3–0–2 5–2–2 1965† Russ Faulkinberry 4–1 7–3 1968 5–1 8–2 1970 5–0 9–3 1993† Big West Conference Nelson Stokley 5–1 8–3 1994† 5–1 6–5 2005† Sun Belt Conference Rickey Bustle 5–2 6–5 2013†‡ Mark Hudspeth 5–2 9–4 2020†^ Billy Napier 7–1 10–1 2021 8–0 13–1 † Co-champions ‡ Louisiana vacated the 2013 Sun Belt Conference co-championship due to major NCAA violations. ^ The 2020 championship game was not played due to Coastal Carolina being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For College Football Playoff purposes, Coastal Carolina was viewed as the 2020 Sun Belt Champions. Recognizing that the College Football Playoff committee had no jurisdiction to that magnitude coupled with a desire to prevent the diminishment to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns football team’s accomplishments in 2020, Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory declared, by executive proclamation, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team as the 2020 sole champions of the Sun Belt Conference in football.
Division championships Louisiana has won five division championships, most recently in the 2024 season.
2018 Sun Belt West Billy Napier 5–3 7–7 Appalachian State L 19–30 2019 7–1 11–3 Appalachian State L 38–45 2020 7–1 10–1 Coastal Carolina No Contest^ 2021 8–0 13–1 Appalachian State W 24–16 2024 Michael Desormeaux 7–1 10–3 Marshall L 3–31 ^ The 2020 championship game was not played due to Coastal Carolina being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Postseason history
National Junior College Athletic Association January 1, 1944 Louis Whitman Oil Bowl Arkansas–Monticello W 24–7
NCAA Small College Division December 12, 1970 Russ Faulkinberry Grantland Rice Bowl Tennessee State L 25–26
NCAA Division I FBS Since joining the NCAA Division I-A (FBS) in 1978, the Ragin' Cajuns have played in 13 bowl games, although two of those games (which were victories) were vacated due to sanctions. Officially, they have a record of 5–6 in bowl games. December 17, 2011 Mark Hudspeth New Orleans Bowl† San Diego State W 32–30 December 22, 2012 New Orleans Bowl East Carolina W 43–34 December 21, 2013 New Orleans Bowl† Tulane W 24–21 December 20, 2014 New Orleans Bowl Nevada W 16–3 December 17, 2016 New Orleans Bowl Southern Miss L 21–28 December 15, 2018 Billy Napier Cure Bowl Tulane L 24–41 January 6, 2020 LendingTree Bowl Miami (OH) W 27–17 December 26, 2020 First Responder Bowl UTSA W 31–24 December 18, 2021 Michael Desormeaux New Orleans Bowl Marshall W 36–21 December 23, 2022 Independence Bowl Houston L 16–23 December 16, 2023 New Orleans Bowl Jacksonville State L 31–34 December 28, 2024 New Mexico Bowl TCU L 3–34 December 17, 2025 68 Ventures Bowl Delaware L 13–20 † Vacated
Home stadiums
McNaspy Stadium
In 1940, McNaspy Stadium was built on the campus of Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette). It served as the Cajuns' home field through the 1970 season, and was demolished in 2000. McNaspy Stadium was located where the current computer science building Oliver Hall now stands.
Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium
Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium is a football stadium located in the city of Lafayette, Louisiana, and has served as the home field of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team since 1970. It has an official capacity of 41,426 with 2,577 chairback seats, and its nickname is "The Swamp."
In June of 2021 it was announced that Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium would undergo a $75 million renovation, with construction slated to begin in the summer of 2022. The plans are to demolish the current West Tower, and replace it with a state of the art facility, including amenities such as premium suites, a club level and club seats, loge boxes, and press box. Because of a $15 million donation, the stadium will now be known as "Cajun Field at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium."
Head coaches 1901–1902 2 Ashby Woodson 3–2 1903 1 J. Ovey Herpin 1–1 1904 1 Edwin F. Gayle 2–0–1 1906 1 Herbert McNaspy 1–0–1 1907 1 Jefferson Caffery 1–0 1908–1911; 1913; 1917–1918 4, 1, 2 Clement J. McNaspy 34–15–4 1912 1 H. Lee Prather 3–4 1914–1915 2 Richard B. Dunbar 10–5–1 1916; 1919; 1921–1930 1, 1, 10 T. R. Mobley 57–48–7 1920 1 Herbert O. Tudor 2–8 1931–1936 6 Truman F. Wilbanks 19–32–2 1937–1941; 1946 5, 1 Johnny Cain 33–19–5 1942–1945 4 Louis Whitman 14–14–2 1947–1949 3 Gee Mitchell 18–8–1 1950 1 A. L. Swanson 5–4 1951–1956 6 Raymond Didier 29–23–2 1957 1 John Robert Bell 4–5–1 1958–1960 3 Red Hoggatt 11–17 1961–1973 13 Russ Faulkinberry 66–63–2 1974–1979 6 Augie Tammariello 30–35–2 1980–1985 6 Sam Robertson 29–34–2 1986–1998 13 Nelson Stokley 62–80–1 1999–2001 3 Jerry Baldwin 6–27 2002–2010 9 Rickey Bustle 41–65 2011–2017 7 Mark Hudspeth 29–38† 2018–2021 4 Billy Napier 40–12 2021–present 5 Michael Desormeaux 23–18 † Hudspeth's record of 51–38 was reduced to 29–38 due to alleged NCAA violations.
Rivalries
Lamar
Although no longer an active rivalry, the first Sabine Shoe trophy was first awarded in 1937 to the winner of the SLI–Lamar football game. The name of the bronze rivalry trophy was derived from the Sabine River that forms the Texas–Louisiana border. USL defeated Lamar in the 1978 edition of the rivalry game, but the Ragin' Cajuns were not awarded the trophy, as it had vanished. The Sabine Shoe trophy now sits in at trophy case in the Ragin' Cajun Athletic Complex.
+ Louisiana–Lamar: all-time recordGames playedFirst meetingLast meetingLA winsLA lossesTiesWin %35October 27, 1923 (won 19–16)September 5th, 2026 (won 38-7)2311066.7%
McNeese
This is another former rivalry. When active, the Cajun Crown was the name of the trophy between Louisiana and McNeese.
+ Louisiana–McNeese: all-time recordGames playedFirst meetingLast meetingLA winsLA lossesTiesWin %38September 22, 1951 (won 35–14)September 6, 2025 (won 34–10)1720246.1%
Southeastern Louisiana
This is another former rivalry. The Cypress Mug was the turned, polished mahogany mug awarded to the winner of the Southwestern–Southeastern football game. + Louisiana–Southeastern Louisiana: all-time recordGames playedFirst meetingLast meetingLA winsLA lossesTiesWin %41November 11, 1930 (won 13–0)September 3, 2022 (won 24–7)2117354.9%
ULM
The Battle on the Bayou is the annual rivalry game between Louisiana and ULM. The wooden boot-shaped rivalry trophy was created in 2002.
+ Louisiana–ULM: all-time recordGames playedFirst meetingLast meetingLA winsLA lossesTiesWin %59September 15, 1951 (lost 7–13)November 29, 2025 (won 30–27 OT)3426056.7%
Appalachian State + Louisiana–Appalachian State: all-time recordGames playedFirst meetingLast meetingLA winsLA lossesTiesWin %12November 22, 2014 (lost 16–35)October 12, 2024 (won 34–24)48033.3%
Arkansas State + Louisiana–Arkansas State: all-time recordGames playedFirst meetingLast meetingLA winsLA lossesTiesWin %53October 17, 1953 (lost 12–13)November 20, 2025 (won 34–30)3022157.6%
Louisiana Tech
+ Louisiana–Louisiana Tech: all-time recordGames playedFirst meetingLast meetingLA winsLA lossesTiesWin %871910 (lost 0–75)October 3, 2015 (lost 14–43)3348641.4%
Notable players
Michael Adams Louis Age Patrise Alexander Boris Anyama James Atkins D'Anthony Batiste Bill Blackburn C. C. Brown Percy Butler Wayde Butler Chris Cagle Raymond Calais Anthony Clement Kenyon Cotton Richie Cunningham Jake Delhomme Michael Desormeaux Kevin Dotson Tyrell Fenroy Jason Fletcher Ladarius Green Mark Hall Justin Hamilton Alonzo Harris Kyries Hebert Keno Hills Weldon Humble Robert Hunt Elvis Joseph Levi Lewis Damon Mason Randy McClanahan Elijah McGuire Brian Mitchell Elijah Mitchell Max Mitchell Donovan Morgan Trey Ragas Christian Ringo Todd Scott Rafael Septién Antwain Spann Fred Stamps Brandon Stokley Ike Taylor Orlando Thomas Charles Tillman Clarence Verdin Tracy Walker Melvin White
Future non-conference opponents Announced schedules as of September 15, 2026.
Lamar at UCF at TCU New Mexico State Charlotte at USC at Tulane McNeese at Buffalo Liberty UAB East Texas A&M Tulsa at Charlotte Kennesaw State at Liberty
See also List of NCAA Division I FBS football programs
References
External links