BATON ROUGE, La. -- The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors has approved a new five-year contract for Ragin’ Cajuns head football coach Mark Hudspeth. The action came at its April meeting earlier today (Tuesday).

The contract is a show of support by the UL Board and university administration for the performance of coach Hudspeth since taking over the Ragin’ Cajuns program in December of 2010.

“Our goal when coach Hudspeth and I sat down was to put together a contract that would keep him here for a long time, and I believe that this contract gets that done,” Director of Athletics Scott Farmer said. ”This agreement shows that both sides were interested in doing what was best for the Ragin’ Cajuns football program and I am excited to work with Coach Hudspeth to take the program to even bigger accomplishments.”

“I am very grateful to Dr. Savoie, Scott Farmer and the members of the Louisiana Board of Supervisors for the commitment that they have made to the Ragin’ Cajuns program,” Hudspeth said. “This shows the great trust that they have for the coaching staff and the belief that the program is headed in the right direction.”

In the 17 months since arriving in Lafayette in December of 2010, Hudspeth has turned the program’s fortunes around. Inheriting a team that went 3-9 in 2010, he guided the Cajuns to a 9-4 mark in 2011, including a victory in the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl in the school’s first bowl appearance since 1970. The nine victories tied the school record for wins in a season with UL setting a school record with six Sun Belt victories.

Attendance during the 2011 season was at an all-time high. The Ragin’ Cajuns were a perfect 5-0 at home this year, setting Sun Belt and Cajun Field records for average attendance (29,171) while the total attendance of 145,854 (five games) was a Sun Belt record and the most at UL since 1977.

In addition, the Cajuns led the nation with an increased attendance of 11,788.

Hudspeth had four years remaining on the contract he signed when he was hired in December of 2010. That deal paid Hudspeth $350,000 a year, including a base salary of $175,000.

The base salary remains the same in the new contract, but the annual value of the contract improves to $750,000 a year. Hudspeth can also earn as much as $105,000 a year in incentive bonuses, based on the team’s performance, both on the field and in the classroom, and for attendance at UL games.

“One of the important parts of the new contract is that no new money from the university will be used with the increased value of the contract coming from private donations,” Farmer said.