Auggies Doggies planning a reunion of 1976 team

[NewsCopy]

Like many people who move to the Acadiana area from elsewhere in the United States, Augie Tammariello was smitten with the warmth he found here. The successful Colorado assistant coach was hired to revive the football program at then-USL, arriving in time for the 1974 season. He got a quick taste of conditions in South Louisiana when Hurricane Carmen cancelled the Cajuns' scheduled season opener against Arkansas State, then took his team to New Orleans and played the Tulane Green Wave off their feet in a 17-16 defeat. Those Cajuns managed a 2-9 record, but the next year they went 6-5 and the year after that they posted a 9-2 finish. It's been 30 years since that landmark campaign, in which the only setbacks were roads losses of 7-3 to Northwestern State and 20-19 to McNeese, and it's time to gather those Cajuns once more. "That was my home for 14 years," said Tammariello, who will join as many players from that squad as can be found for UL's Oct. 28 homecoming weekend. "There's nobody like the Cajun people. No matter how long you've been away, they're still happy to see you." Tammariello coached through the 1979 season, then stayed in Lafayette nine more years before moving with his wife Lou to North Carolina. "After I retired, I stayed until 1988 and pulled for Sam (Robertson) and Nelson (Stokley)," Tammariello said. "And, it looks like Rickey Bustle's really got that thing cooking down there." Tammariello's son Mike is now a talent agent with clients like Jimmy Kimmel and Emeril Lagasse, son Mark is still in Lafayette and has three children and Augie's daughter lives in California. Through the years, he hasn't lost touch with the Bayou State. The rest of the story Bruce Brown The Advertiser 289-6356.

[ShowDog]

How many remember Roy Henry? He could throw the ball a mile and put it right on a dime. I remember the McNeese game in LC. Darn what a heartbreaker but also heck of a game. Two teams toe to toe for 60 minutes.