Top 12 Moments of 2012 in Ragin' Cajuns Athletics

As we prepare to embark on the calendar year of 2013, we take a look back at the Top 12 moments for Ragin' Cajuns Athletics in 2012. The entire staff of the Ragin' Cajuns Athletics Department wishes you a Happy New Year!

We hope you enoy these special memories from the year that was 2012. GEAUX CAJUNS!

NO. 1 MOMENT OF 2012 - Dec. 22, 2012 – Football Repeats as New Orleans Bowl Champions
Jemarlous Moten made two key defensive plays in the fourth quarter and Brett Baer landed a pair of field goals in the waning minutes to help the Ragin' Cajuns football team repeat as R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl champions with a 43-34 victory over East Carolina before the bowl's record crowd of 48,828 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. Louisiana became the second team to win back-to-back editions of the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, joining Southern Miss who won in 2004 and 2005. The Cajuns faithful helped crush the New Orleans Bowl attendance mark once again, besting the high-water mark of 42,841 set in 2011 vs. San Diego State.

NO. 2 MOMENT OF 2012 - May 20, 2012 – Softball defeats Stanford to win NCAA Regional at Lamson Park
The Ragin' Cajuns softball team wrapped up the first NCAA Regional held in Lafayette since the 2002 season with a 6-2 win over Stanford on Sunday, May 20, 2012 that capped off an undefeated run to the regional championship and an NCAA Super Regional berth. A Lamson Park record crowd of 2,729 witnessed the Cajuns collect the third Super Regional appearance in program history and co-head coach Stefni Lotief pick up her 600^th career victory.

NO. 3 MOMENT OF 2012 - June 30, 2012 – Sherry LeBas' Landmark Career in Athletics Comes to a Close
After 39 years of loyal, dedicated and distinguished service to the University of Louisiana – all but two years spent as an administrator in the Ragin' Cajuns Athletics Department – Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator Sherry LeBas retired on June 30, 2012. In charge of Ragin' Cajuns women's athletics since their inception, she witnessed tremendous growth from three sports to eight. When first hired, UL sponsored women's sports in tennis, volleyball and women's basketball. LeBas oversaw the expansion of women's sports with the addition of cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, softball and soccer. The Opelousas native was the only senior woman administrator the athletic department had since the role was mandated by the NCAA and handled event management for all sports, both men and women, for the past three decades.

NO. 4 MOMENT OF 2012 - Dec. 22, 2012 – Terrance Broadway Caps off Magical Season with MVP honors
A record-setting season that began with him as the team's backup quarterback before he took over as full-time starter in early October and hit his stride in early November, Terrance Broadway finished as New Orleans Bowl MVP. Broadway completed 21-of-32 passes for 316 yards and a touchdown and had 15 rushes for 108 yards on his way to earning MVP honors in UL's second straight New Orleans Bowl triumph. Broadway's 424 yards of total offense marked the second-most in the game's history, bested only by his teammate Blaine Gautier (492 in 2011 New Orleans Bowl). Broadway also became UL's single-season leader in total offense with 3,611 — passing both former NFL'er Brian Mitchell (3,211 in 1989) and Gautier (3,444 last season) along the way.

NO. 5 MOMENT OF 2012 - Sept. 28, 2012 – “Blackjack” Landry Statue Unveiled at Cajun Field
On Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, the University of Louisiana honored the man who touched the lives of many associated with Ragin' Cajuns Athletics through 35 years of dedicated service. Bill “Blackjack” Landry served as an equipment manager for UL Athletics from June 1963 until his body finally gave out in August 1998 after a battle with colon and liver cancer. His tireless and selfless service to the coaches and student-athletes he worked with on a daily basis inspired all associated with UL Athletics. A statue depicting the likeness of Landry was unveiled at the top of the hill in Cajun Field's south end zone with relatives friends, former UL athletes, support groups and fans in attendance. The statue was erected at Cajun Field so that “Blackjack” could “look down on the field” and watch his beloved Ragin' Cajuns play the game he loved.

NO. 6 MOMENT OF 2012 - Oct. 6, 2012 – Big Names Enter the Ragin' Cajuns Athletics Hall of Fame
Each year during the annual Homecoming game at Cajun Field, distinguished athletes who reached the pinnacle of their sport while competing for the University of Louisiana are enshrined into the Athletic Hall of Fame. This year's class was no exception to the rule. The 2012 class featured a school record setter and national champion in men's high jump (Jackie Causey) who represented the Cajuns internationally his post-collegiate days. There was also the greatest slugger (Danyele Gomez) ever to step up to the plate at Lamson Park who joined an elite group in NCAA history at the conclusion of her career. And, a football player (Charles Tillman) who has been a shining beacon for the University both on and off the playing field.

NO. 7 MOMENT OF 2012 - October 16, 2012 – Mandi Gavin Becomes “Miss 3,000”
Volleyball senior setter Mandi Gavin dished out her 3,000th career assist in the second set of the Cajuns non-conference match at New Orleans on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, becoming only the fourth player in program history to reach the mark. The Arlington, Texas native joined an elite group that includes school record holder Annette Carney (3,911), Kendra Hall (3,658) and Lisa Bordes (3,171). What makes the accomplishment more impressive is that Gavin was the Cajuns starting setter for only three seasons (played middle blocker as a freshman). Gavin's final career assists total was 3,323 which is the third-highest total in program history.

NO. 8 MOMENT OF 2012 - March 14, 2012 – Postseason Basketball Comes to Campus for First Time Since Mid-80's
For the first time since March 1985, a postseason basketball game was played on the campus of the University of Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team hosted Rice on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 in the Cajundome in a first round game of the Collegeinsider.com Tournament (CIT). The Ragin' Cajuns last home postseason game came on March 14, 1985 at Blackham Coliseum when then-USL defeated Florida 65-64 in the first round of the 1985 NIT. The appearance also marked the men's basketball program's first postseason appearance since the 2002-03 season (NIT at UAB).

NO. 9 MOMENT OF 2012 - Dec. 19, 2012 – Schambough Plays the Hero Again, Cajuns Stun Tulane
Brandi Schambough's trey in the final seconds of overtime boosted the Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team over Tulane, 65-64, on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012 in New Orleans at Devlin Fieldhouse. It was the second time in the calendar year that Schambough hit a winning shot in the final seconds for Louisiana. In the team's 2011-12 non-conference finale on Feb. 20, 2012, Schambough buried a trey with eight ticks left to pull UL out of a 60-59 deficit against Nebraska-Omaha and to a win that halted a 17-game losing skid. On this day in New Orleans, Schambough's heroics helped the Cajuns end to the Green Wave's 15-game win streak over Louisiana schools. Ten (10) days earlier, Tulane had defeated SEC-foe LSU 66-64 in Baton Rouge.

NO. 10 MOMENT OF 2012 - May 30, 2012 – Men's Ranked 71st in Final ITA Poll
For the first time since 2006 the Ragin' Cajuns men's tennis team earned a spot in the final ITA Men's Division I Team Rankings, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. The Ragin' Cajuns were ranked No. 71 in the poll. The Cajuns posted the second highest win total in coach Mark Jeffrey's tenure finishing the 2012 spring season with a 15-8 record including four wins over ranked opponents. “This is a sign that we are just getting started, and the best is definitely yet to come,” head coach Mark Jeffrey said.

NO. 11 MOMENT OF 2012 - May 7, 2012 – Golf Selected to UNC Greensboro Regional
Theo Sliman and the Ragin' Cajuns men's golf team learned that they would be making the program's first NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship appearance since 2007 when the NCAA Division I Men's Golf selection committee awarded them a berth in the UNC Greensboro Regional to be held May 17-19, 2012 at the Grandover Resort East Course in Greensboro, N.C. It marked the first NCAA trip of the Sliman era. UL finished the tournament with a 54-hole score of 52-over par (916). Senior Andrew Noto was the Cajuns top finisher at the Greensboro Regional placing in a tie for 28th at eight-over par (224).

NO. 12 MOMENT OF 2012 - May 13, 2012 – Men's Track Finishes Second in First Outdoor Meet Under Lon Badeaux
The Ragin' Cajuns men's track and field team led for much of the third day but ultimately couldn't hold off a late surge by Western Kentucky as UL finished second at the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Ragin' Cajuns Track/Soccer Facility. The Cajuns finished the three-day meet in second with 122 points, only 25 points shy of meet champion Western Kentucky. UL bested league power Middle Tennessee, which finished third with 108 points. Head coach Lon Badeaux was honored as the Men's Track and Field Coach of the Year after his team had its highest finish in the conference meet since UL won it in 1997. UL's Devin Davis also received 2012 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships honors as he was named the Men's Most Outstanding Freshman.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Top 12 Moments of 2012 in Ragin' Cajuns Athletics

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