Mark Douglas Hudspeth is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Gulf Shores High School in Gulf Shores, Alabama, a position he has held since 2021. Hudspeth served as the head football coach at the University of North Alabama from 2002 to 2008, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette from 2011 to 2017, and Austin Peay State University in 2019.
The 2011 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football program represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Ragin' Cajuns were led by first year head coach Mark Hudspeth and played their home games at Cajun Field. They are members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 9–4 overall and 6–2 in Sun Belt play to finish in third place. They were invited to the New Orleans Bowl, the program's first bowl game, where they defeated San Diego State. However, in 2015 Louisiana–Lafayette vacated eight wins including their New Orleans Bowl victory due to major NCAA violations.
The 2011 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, part of the 2011–12 bowl game season, took place on December 17, 2011, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 11th edition of the game featured the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns from the Sun Belt Conference, and the San Diego State Aztecs from the Mountain West Conference. The game was telecast at 8:00 p.m. CT on ESPN and ESPN 3D.
The Battle on the Bayou is the name given to the college football rivalry between the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and the Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks. They are both NCAA Division I FBS members of the Sun Belt Conference and coincide under the University of Louisiana System.
The 2012 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 22, 2012, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 12th edition of the New Orleans Bowl began at 11:00 a.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It featured the East Carolina Pirates from Conference USA against the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns from the Sun Belt Conference and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Ragin' Cajuns accepted their invitation after earning an 8–4 record in the regular season, while the Pirates advanced to the game through the C-USA's contingency plan after earning an 8–4 record.
The Sabine Shoe is the name of the bronze shoe trophy that was awarded to the winner of the annual college football game between the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette, Louisiana and the Lamar Cardinals of Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. The Sabine Shoe trophy was first awarded in 1968 by the University of Southwestern Louisiana's chapter of Alpha Phi Omega fraternity. The name of the bronze rivalry trophy was derived from the Sabine River that forms part of 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 in Lafayette.
The 2013 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football program represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as a member of the Sun Belt Conference in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Mark Hudspeth and played their home games at Cajun Field. They finished the season 9–4 overall and 5–2 in Sun Belt play to claim a share of the conference title with Arkansas State. Louisiana–Lafayette was invited to the New Orleans Bowl for the third consecutive year, where they defeated Tulane. However, in 2015 Louisiana–Lafayette vacated eight wins including their New Orleans Bowl victory and Sun Belt Conference co-championship due to alleged major NCAA violations.
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football 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 2013 New Orleans Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 21, 2013, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The thirteenth edition of the New Orleans Bowl, it featured the Tulane Green Wave of Conference USA against the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns of the Sun Belt Conference. The game began at 8:00 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS football season. Sponsored by freight shipping company R+L Carriers, the game was officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The Ragin' Cajuns defeated the Green Wave by a score of 24–21.
The 2014 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 14th college football season for the Sun Belt Conference. During the 2014 season, eleven schools competed in Sun Belt football: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Idaho, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State, and Troy.
The 2014 New Orleans Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 20, 2014 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The fourteenth annual New Orleans Bowl, it pitted the Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns of the Sun Belt Conference. The game began at 10:00 a.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It was the first of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season. Sponsored by freight shipping company R+L Carriers, the game was officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Louisiana–Lafayette beat Nevada by a score of 16–3.
The 2015 New Orleans Bowl was a postseason American college football bowl game played on December 19, 2015 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 15th edition of the New Orleans Bowl featured the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs from Conference USA against the Arkansas State Red Wolves of the Sun Belt Conference. It began at 8:00 p.m. CST and air on ESPN. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concludes the 2015 FBS football season. Sponsored by freight shipping company R+L Carriers, it was officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
The 2016 New Orleans Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 17, 2016 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 16th annual edition of the New Orleans Bowl was one of the 2016–17 bowl games that conclude the 2016 FBS football season. Sponsored by freight shipping company R+L Carriers, the game was officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Southern Miss won the game by a score of 28–21.
The 2005 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as a member of the Sun Belt Conference in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Rickey Bustle played their home games at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The 2018 Cure Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 15, 2018, with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EST. It was the fourth edition of the Cure Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by automotive retailer AutoNation, the game was officially known as the AutoNation Cure Bowl.
The 2020 LendingTree Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 6, 2020, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN. It was the 21st edition of the LendingTree Bowl, and was the last of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season, with only the National Championship and all-star games to follow. The game's title sponsor was online lending marketplace LendingTree.
The 2020 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Ragin' Cajuns played their home games at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana, and competed in the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Billy Napier. The Cajuns began the season with an away matchup against a preseason top-25 Iowa State and concluded their regular season at conference and in-state rival Louisiana–Monroe.
The 2021 New Orleans Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18, 2021, with kickoff at 9:15 p.m. EST and broadcast on ESPN. It was the 21st edition of the New Orleans Bowl, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by freight shipping company R+L Carriers, the game was officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
The 2023 New Orleans Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 16, 2023, at Caesars Superdome located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 23rd annual New Orleans Bowl game featured the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns of the Sun Belt Conference and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks of Conference USA. The game began at approximately 2:15 p.m. CST and was aired on ESPN. The New Orleans Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by freight shipping company R+L Carriers and officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Jacksonville State defeated Louisiana in overtime, 34–31, on a game-winning field goal, to claim their first bowl win in program history.
