Louisiana UnLimited: 2022-23 a Successful Year Across the Board for Cajun Athletics
Winning in college athletics is a tall task, but over the last two seasons, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns have done just that. Just this past year the Cajuns won conference championships in men's basketball, men's golf, and softball while also reaching the postseason in baseball, football, and volleyball.
The Cajuns were just one of seven programs across the country to reach the postseason in men's basketball, baseball, and softball, while also reaching a bowl game in football.
"I'm extremely proud of our competitive success this year," said Dr. Bryan Maggard, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics.
The Cajuns aren't just winning on the field of play but off it as well, leading the Sun Belt Conference in community service hours for the third year in a row.
"That'll never get the attention at the local, state, or national level," said Maggard. "But I'm as proud of that one as any other championship."
A big part of the success is the culture that's been built. Whether it's coaches that have been at Louisiana for a long time such as Bob Marlin or Theo Sliman, coaches that were Ragin' Cajuns Michael Desormeaux and Lon Badeaux, or someone new to Acadiana like Kristi Gray, the end goal has remained the same.
"In our industry, sport leaders are either celebrated or tolerated, and you want to be celebrated," said Maggard "We have a tremendous culture here across the board. Our coaches treat our student-athletes very, very well and they will tell you that. They're honest and upfront. They're mentors and educators to them. We do player development very well here and have great access to tremendous talent in the state of Louisiana, particularly out of high school."
With winning comes expectations, which the Cajuns faced all last season. Men's basketball won the Sun Belt Conference tournament after taking first in the league's preseason poll. Softball has repeated as regular season and tournament champions four years running. Baseball reached the conference finals a year after taking home the trophy.
"Winning is hard, it's hard," said Maggard. "I know our fan base has high expectations for baseball like they do softball and other sports."
Even without team championships, it was a successful year for other sports such as volleyball, track and field, and men's tennis. Volleyball earned a bid to participate in the National Invitational Volleyball Tournament, the first postseason appearance in program history. Track and field saw the men place second in the SBC indoor championships and third in the outdoors, while numerous top-five scores were recorded in the record books, while men's tennis finished nationally ranked for the second year in a row, earning a bid to the ITA Indoor National Championship in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever.
"Our best days lie ahead of us, they really do," added Maggard. " What we're able to continue to do from a coach, talent recruiting standpoint. With what we're going to do with facility enhancements, our best days are ahead of us and I'm excited to be a part of it and see it through."
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Re: Louisiana UnLimited: 2022-23 a Successful Year Across the Board for Cajun Athletics
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