2012 Ragin' Cajun Football Schedule Announced

Contact: Brian McCann

Football Schedule Released
2012 Football Schedule

Lafayette, La. - Six home games including a rare mid-week nationally televised home matchup with defending Sun Belt champion Arkansas State, along with road contests at Oklahoma State and Florida, highlight the 2012 University of Louisiana football schedule, which was released on Thursday.

“This schedule will really be a challenge for us,” second year head coach Mark Hudspeth said. “With Arkansas State, Western Kentucky and Tulane coming to Cajun Field, this is the best home schedule that we have had in years.

“Playing six home games in Cajun Field will be a big advantage to us, especially since our fans came out so well last year and helped us to go undefeated at home for the first time in almost three decades.

“With ESPN coming to town for our game against (defending Sun Belt champion) Arkansas State, the game should be a real event for the City of Lafayette and the entire University community. I am sure our fans will be ready to turn up the intensity that night and throughout the entire season.

“Our fans better get their tickets early because they might not get in otherwise,” Hudspeth added.

“I think that we have put together a solid schedule for our fans,” UL Director of Athletics Scott Farmer said. “When I first came to Lafayette in 2007, Tulane was the first school that I called about scheduling because I thought it was important to renew our rivalry with them. It is good to finally get the series with them restarted.”

The Ragin' Cajuns, who finished third in the Sun Belt a year ago with a 5-2 record and went on to defeat San Diego State, 32-30, in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, will open the 2012 campaign at home against Lamar on Sept. 1 in the first renewal of the Battle for the Sabine Shoe since 1989.

The Ragin' Cajuns open Sun Belt Conference play at Troy on Sept. 8 before playing at Oklahoma State on Sept. 15. OSU was 12-1 a year ago, finishing the year ranked third in both major polls after defeating Stanford, 41-38, in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

After an off week on Sept. 22, the Ragin' Cajuns play three of their next four games at home, hosting Florida International (Sept. 29), Tulane (Oct. 6) and Arkansas State (Oct. 23) with the lone road game during the stretch coming at North Texas (Oct. 16).

November opens with two straight road games, the annual Battle of The Bayou at Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 3 followed by the final non-conference game of the season at Florida on Nov 10. It will be the fifth meeting against the Gators and the first since 1996.

Home games against Western Kentucky (Nov. 17) and SunBelt newcomer South Alabama (Nov. 24) close out the home schedule with the regular season coming to an end on Dec. 1 at Florida Atlantic.

Tickets in the 31,000 seat Cajun Field should be at a premium this fall after the Ragin' Cajuns averaged a school-record 29,171 fans last year, leading the nation with an increase of 11,788 fans per game.

Renewal notices for current season ticket holders will be sent out on March 5 with a renewal deadline of April 9.

Season tickets are available by visiting the Ragin' Cajuns Ticket Central online at RaginCajuns.com or by calling (337) 851-2011. Ticket prices start at just $96 with a special Family 5 Pak featuring lower bowl seating being available for $330.

Schedule Notes:
• The Ragin' Cajuns will be on national television at least twice this year, playing mid-week games in back-to-back weeks at North Texas (Oct. 16) and then at home against Arkansas State (Oct. 23). Both games will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2.
• The Arkansas State game will mark the first mid-week home game televised on ESPN. ESPN most recently televised a Friday night game vs. Oklahoma State in 2009 but they have never covered a mid-week contest.
• The Ragin' Cajuns will play four games against teams that went to bowl games in 2011, facing Oklahoma State (Tostitos Fiesta Bowl), Florida (TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl), Florida International (Beef O'Brady Bowl) and Arkansas State (Go.Daddy.com Bowl).
• The 2012 Sun Belt title could very easily be decided in Lafayette this year as UL, which was third in the conference a year ago, will host games against the teams that finished first (Arkansas State), second (Western Kentucky) and fourth (FIU) along with a meeting with Sun Belt newcomer South Alabama, which was 6-4 a year ago.
• The addition of South Alabama brings the Sun Belt membership in football to 10 this season with each school playing eight league games. UL will not face Middle Tennessee (1-7) this season.
• The home opener against Lamar (Sept. 1) will serve as the 12th annual Herbert Hymann Classic. Started in 2001 to honor the long-time Ragin' Cajun supporter, the Hymann Classic is annually celebrated during the first home weekend of the season.
• The Ragin' Cajuns will play for a pair of traveling trophies in 2012, facing Lamar for the Sabine Shoe on Sept. 1 and the annual Battle of Bayou at Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 3.
• First awarded in 1937 to the winner of the UL–Lamar football game, the Sabine Shoe was derived from the Sabine River that forms the Texas-Louisiana border. The Ragin' Cajuns hold a 16-10 lead vs. Lamar but the two teams have met just once (1989) since 1983.
• Louisiana carries a five-game win streak at Cajun Field into the 2012 season with hopes of challenging the stadium record of 11 straight home wins set from 1976-77.
• Because of a scheduling oddity, the Ragin' Cajuns will play on only one Saturday in the month of October, hosting Tulane on Oct. 6. Mid-week games against North Texas and Arkansas State are scheduled over a three-week span, leaving Oct. 13, Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 as off days for UL.
• The Oct. 6 home game against Tulane will mark the first meeting between the two schools since the 2000 campaign. Only two of the 25 series meetings against the Green Wave have been played in Lafayette (1997 & 2000), the last being a narrow 38-37 Tulane win in 2000.
• The six UL road games this season will be played in five different states. The Ragin' Cajuns will play in Alabama (Troy), Oklahoma (OSU), Texas (North Texas), Louisiana (ULM) and Florida (Florida and FIU).
• The six UL home games will come against opponents from six different states. Louisiana will host Lamar (Texas), FIU (Florida), Tulane (Louisiana), Arkansas State (Arkansas), Western Kentucky (Kentucky) and South Alabama (Alabama).

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

2012 Ragin' Cajun Football Schedule Announced

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