Head Coach Tony Robichaux
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LOUISIANA BASE B A ll 2011 staff coaching HEAD COA ch TONY ROBI ch AUX Louisiana head coach Tony Robichaux, one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA Division I ROBICHAUX AT A GLANCE history to reach 500 career victories, has been at the helm of the Ragin’ Cajuns baseball program – which is arguably one of the best in the South – since 1995. Robichaux launched his head coaching Full Name career in 1987 at McNeese State. Anthony Ray Robichaux Now in his third decade as a Division I head coach, Robichaux reached career milestone victory No. 500 with a 12-5 win over Texas-Pan American on March 2, 2002, making him one of only eight coaches in NCAA history to achieve the milestone before his 41st birthday. The other names on the Birthdate list include: Ron Fraser (Miami), Mark Marquess (Stanford), Jim Morris (Miami), Ron Polk (Mississippi September 10, 1961 State), Danny Price (FIU), Bobby Winkles (Arizona State) and Pat Murphy (Arizona State). Entering the 2000 season, Robichaux was the only head coach younger than 41 years of age with at least 400 career victories. Hometown In 2001, Robichaux was listed by Baseball America as one of the top 10 coaches of a mid-major Crowley, La. program in the nation, who were younger than 40 years of age. In the 2009 regular season finale at New Orleans, he earned his 800th career victory, joining an elite list of just 28 active NCAA Division I coaches with 800 or more lifetime wins. Alma Mater “All of my wins come from two mid-major programs, and that’s something to be proud of,” McNeese State, 1986 Robichaux said. “But what’s important to me is that the universities get the credit. So many of my assistant coaches and players got me to where I am.” Spouse Last season, Robichaux guided Louisiana to one of the most remarkable second half runs in Colleen recent memory, finishing the 2010 regular season with a 23-4 mark which included a 17-1 record in Sun Belt play that vaulted the Cajuns to a Sun Belt Conference championship. Children A Winning Tradition Robichaux has guided Louisiana to eight NCAA Regional appearances, two NCAA Super Regional daughter Ashley – married to Lon Moody – and sons Justin appearances and the 2000 College World Series. His teams have also clinched four Sun Belt Conference and Austin. Two grandchildren, Ava Grace and Lon Paul regular season crowns and one Sun Belt Conference Tournament title. On March 17, 2003, Robichaux became UL’s all-time winningest coach when the Cajuns defeated Year at UL Illinois-Chicago 7-1 at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. 17th year 14 ROBICHAUX YEAR-BY-YEAR Overall Conference UL Coaching Record Year School W-L Pct. W-L Pct. Finish 577-382-1 (17th season) 1987 McNeese State 19-28 .404 7-9 .438 2nd, Southland West 1988 McNeese State 31-31 .500 13-7 .650 1st, Southland 1989 McNeese State 35-18 .660 10-7 .588 3rd, Southland 1990 McNeese State 35-20 .363 10-7 .588 3rd, Southland Career Coaching Record 1991 McNeese State 34-18 .654 4-11 .267 6th, Southland 840-559-1 (25th season) 1992 McNeese State 30-22 .577 9-12 .429 5th, Southland 1993 McNeese State 38-23 .623 14-10 .583 4th, Southland 1994 McNeese State 41-17 .707 13-9 .591 4th, Southland Coaching Timeline Eight Seasons 263-177 .598 80-72 .526 McNeese State (1987-94) – Head Coach 1995 Louisiana 21-24 .467 12-15 .444 6th, Sun Belt Louisiana (1995-present) – Head Coach 1996 Louisiana 25-33 .431 15-12 .556 3rd, Sun Belt 1997 Louisiana 43-18 .705 22-5 .815 1st, Sun Belt 1998 Louisiana 39-22 .639 18-7 .720 2nd, Sun Belt 1999 Louisiana 42-24 .636 24-9 .727 2nd, Sun Belt College Playing Experience 2000 Louisiana 49-20 .710 20-10 .667 2nd, Sun Belt McNeese State (1981-82) – Pitcher 2001 Louisiana 28-28 .500 12-15 .444 9th, Sun Belt Louisiana (1984) – Pitcher 2002 Louisiana 39-23 .629 17-7 .708 2nd, Sun Belt 2003 Louisiana 30-30 .500 15-9 .625 3rd, Sun Belt 2004 Louisiana 34-23 .596 11-11 .500 t-4th, Sun Belt 2005 Louisiana 48-19 .716 16-8 .667 1st, Sun Belt High School 2006 Louisiana 39-20 .661 19-5 .792 2nd, Sun Belt Notre Dame High School; Crowley, La. 2007 Louisiana 45-17 .726 23-7 .767 1st, Sun Belt 2008 Louisiana 30-29 .508 16-14 .533 t-5th, Sun Belt 2009 Louisiana 27-30-1 .474 14-15 .483 5th, Sun Belt 2010 Louisiana 38-22 .633 21-9 .700 t-1st, Sun Belt 16 Seasons 577-382-1 .602 275-158 .635 Total 24 Seasons 840-559-1 .600 355-230 .607 Sun Belt Champions (1992, 1994, 1997, 2005, 2007, 2010) Top 40 National Average Attendance Since 1999 LOUISIANA BASE B A ll 2011 coaching In 2000, Robichaux guided one of the best Cajuns baseball teams in school history to arguably the school’s most memorable season. UL swept through the NCAA Regional at Lafayette and took two out of three at then-No. 1 seed South Carolina to advance to the NCAA College World Series for the first time in both school and Sun Belt Conference history. In Omaha, the Cajuns tied a CWS record by a first-time participant with two staff wins and took a thrilling 5-4 victory in the bottom of the ninth over Clemson. With their 2-2 record, the Ragin’ Cajuns tied for third at the College World Series and finished the season ranked fourth nationally. The Road to Omaha After leading his Cajuns squads to their first-ever Sun Belt Conference regular season and conference tournament championships during the 1997 and 1998 seasons, respectively, Robichaux took his team in 1999 where no other squad had ever gone – the NCAA Super Regionals. There his team defeated then-No. 1 ranked Rice in the first game, and was one win from a trip to the CWS – a trip they would later make in 2000. In 1998, Robichaux guided the Cajuns to the Spectronics Sun Belt Conference Tournament title along with 39 wins. In 1997, Robichaux, the Sun Belt Conference and Louisiana Coach of the Year, led the Cajuns to a No. 15 ranking in the Baseball America poll on April 14 and their first-ever Sun Belt Conference regular season championship. The success was welcomed as Robichaux’s first two seasons at UL (1995 and 1996) resulted in losing seasons as a result of the program recovering from NCAA sanctions handed down after the 1994 campaign prior to his arrival. ROBICHAUX VS. THE OPPOSITION Since Omaha Division I 810-552-1 (.595) Ohio State 1-2 (.333) In 2002 the Ragin’ Cajuns pushed LSU to the brink of elmination in the NCAA Alabama 1-3 (.250) Oklahoma 4-2 (.667) Regional at Baton Rouge. Alcorn State 2-0 (1.000) Oklahoma State 0-4 (.000) With a veteran team in 2005, UL claimed the Sun Belt regular season Arizona State 0-3 (.000) Oral Roberts 2-1 (.667) championship and made an appearance in the NCAA New Orleans Regional. Arkansas 1-0 (1.000) Oregon State 1-0 (1.000) In 2007, UL finished 45-17, claiming its second league championship in a Arkansas State 33-21 (.611) Prairie View A&M 23-0 (1.000) three-season span and 11th NCAA Regional appearance in school history. Army 1-0 (1.000) Purdue 0-1 (.000) Baylor 4-3 (.571) Rice 4-15 (.211) With a strong second half run in 2010, Louisiana returned to the upper Bethune-Cookman 1-0 (1.000) Sacramento State 1-0 (1.000) echelon of the Sun Belt for the first time since 2007 and advanced to an NCAA California First Meeting St. John’s 2-0 (1.000) Regional (12th appearance in school history). The Cajuns won 17 of their final 18 Cal State-Fullerton 0-1 (.000) Samford 3-0 (1.000) SBC games to pick up the program’s third league title in six years. Centenary 10-3 (.769) Sam Houston State 18-13 (.581) Chicago State 1-0 (1.000) San Francisco First Meeting A Driving Force Clemson 1-0 (1.000) San Jose State 1-0 (1.000) During his tenure at UL, “Tigue” Moore Field has seen many improvments: a Creighton 1-0 (1.000) Siena 5-0 (1.000) new eight-foot-high aluminum outfield wall, a 71-foot state-of-the-art scoreboard, Dallas Baptist 3-0 (1.000) South Alabama 28-36 (.438) netting behind home plate was replaced, a brick backstop installed, addition of Dartmouth 1-0 (1.000) South Carolina 2-1 (.667) chairbacks in the box seats and grandstand areas, field-level boxes down the Delta State 3-1 (.750) SE Missouri State First Meeting foul lines, new and enlarged bleachers down the basepaths and construction of East Carolina 2-3 (.400) Southeastern La. 24-16 (.600) Lourde’s Park behind the first-base bleachers. Evansville 0-1 (.000) Southern 11-2 (.846) In 2010, the playing surface at Moore Field was replaced with an artificial turf FIU 22-22 (.500) Southern Miss 7-10 (.412) system installed by ProGrass. Florida 0-4 (.000) Stanford 0-2 (.000) Robichaux has an active membership with the United Way as their Acadiana Florida Atlantic 5-6 (.455) Stephen F. Austin 13-9 (.591) Florida State 0-2 (.000) Stony Brook 3-0 (1.000) spokesman.