Football: Bustle will be back for 2010

Football: Bustle will be back for 2010

Football: Bustle will be back for 2010

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • December 2, 2009

After watching Rickey Bustle lead UL’s football program to its fourth six-win season in five years, the school announced Tuesday that he will return in 2010.

News that Bustle would be back for the final year of his current contract was first reported Tuesday afternoon by The Daily Advertiser at theadvertiser.com, citing sources close to the situation.

The school released a statement later in the day explaining the move, which came after UL athletic director David Walker met separately with Bustle and university president Joseph Savoie on both Monday and Tuesday."Coach Bustle and I have met to discuss this past season, as well as the future of our football program, and these discussions will continue," Walker said in the statement. "We will not know the final outcome of any bowl possibilities until next week, but both president Savoie and I felt it was important to make a timely decision so that our coaches could focus on recruiting."

The Cajuns are 38-56 overall and 28-28 in Sun Belt action since Bustle, a long-time assistant at Virginia Tech, took over the program prior to the 2002 season. The highpoint of his tenure came in 2005 when UL shared the Sun Belt title with Arkansas State and UL Monroe after going 6-5 — its first winning record since 1995.This past season UL went 6-6 overall and 4-4 in league play, including last week’s 48-31 loss to outright conference champion Troy.

Walker pointed out various numbers to justify bringing back Bustle in 2010.—The Cajuns and Troy are the only Sun Belt schools to win at least six games four of the last five seasons.—UL has won 27 games over the past five years — the second-most among state FBS schools during that stretch, with only LSU winning more.—Those 27 victories are the most in a five-year period for the Cajuns since winning 30 games from 1986-90. They won a combined nine games in the previous five seasons before Bustle arrived. His predecessor, Jerry Baldwin, went 6-27 over three years.

"Having been bowl eligible four of the last five seasons, the bar has been raised," Bustle said in the statement. "It shows the stability and foundation of the program is moving in the right direction."

The Cajuns started the season strong at 4-2, setting their single-game attendance record (41,357) in a season-opening win over Southern and upsetting Big 12 member Kansas State in Week 2.

A 2-4 finish left UL short of its first seven-win season since 1993 — which would have basically secured a bowl berth — with losses to Florida International and Florida Atlantic in back-to-back weeks during the second half of the year.An inability to win seven games is expected to keep the Cajuns from ending a bowl drought that extends back to 1970. They are currently one of 71 bowl-eligible teams, with 67 of the 68 bowl openings apparently filled.

UL is joined by Notre Dame, UCLA and UL Monroe as the 6-6 teams available in the at-large pool for that final opening, which will likely be in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., or the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho. Exactly which bowl will be open ultimately depends on the selections for the two BCS at-large slots.Notre Dame and ULM fired their head coaches on Monday. Notre Dame’s players also reportedly voted to not participate in a bowl game, although the school’s administration has the final word on that decision.

If Notre Dame does opt out, that would leave UCLA and UL to fight for that last bowl spot. UCLA is considered the more attractive pick due to its tradition, bowl history, larger fan base and conference affiliation, but the bowl picture won’t be finalized until next week.Bustle considered this past season to be far from a disappointment, especially given that tailback Tyrell Fenroy and quarterback Michael Desormeaux exhausted their eligibility in 2008. Fenroy finished as the all-time leading rusher in school and league history and was the Sun Belt’s Player of the Year. Desormeaux was named the Sun Belt’s Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in total offense.Based largely on the loss of Fenroy, Desormeaux and all-conference receiver Jason Chery, the Cajuns were picked sixth in the Sun Belt preseason poll.

"Beating Kansas State raised expectations for a young football team that was much better than preseason expectations and made everyone forget that we were rebuilding," Bustle said in the statement. "It shows the character of the student-athletes we recruit."

Those opposed to the return of Bustle mention that the Cajuns have failed to surpass the six-win mark during his tenure. The program also has gone a combined 9-15 in the second half of the season over the past four years.

There’s the challenge of recruiting quality athletes when a coach is in the final year of his contract.

Then there’s the fact that UL has a loaded schedule next season with six games against bowl teams, including non-conference contests at Georgia, Ohio and Ole Miss in addition to a matchup with Oklahoma State at Cajun Field.This year’s schedule featured four bowl teams: LSU, Nebraska, Middle Tennessee and Troy. The Cajuns lost all four games.

Tight end Luke Aubrey, a senior from Breaux Bridge, spoke up in defense of the program after last week’s loss to Troy.

"It (the 2009 season) is a step in the right direction, but not where we want to be," Aubrey said. "You always want to have that eighth win, or even 12th win, at the beginning of the season. We were unfortunate to not get that this season, but everything is going up."