Chris Gannon knows what to expect when a new coach takes over a football program, as Mark Hudspeth has done this year with Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns.

He knows how a new face can give a program new energy, and knows why a record number of fans showed up for the Cajuns’ spring game this year.

"There is a lot of excitement," said Gannon. "This community is starving for
just a little bit of success.

You look at the improvements that have been made in facilities with the indoor practice facility, and they’re going to have a brand new weight room.

"The resources are here to have a team that competes week in and week out and has a chance to compete for a conference championship. That’s what the community wants.

If you do that, the energy will be at a high level "People will come see and support the product."

Twenty-five years ago, Gannon was absorbing a coaching change from Sam
Robertson to Nelson Stokley as the Cajuns prepared for the 1986 season.
Gannon was signed by Robertson, but would play his final three seasons as a defensive end for Stokley.

"It’s not just a new head coach, it’s his staff," Gannon said. "I was one of
the lucky ones. I was coached by Jerry Beach my whole career, because he was retained by Stokley. It was a blessing for me that he was kept on.
"He groomed me as a young man first, then as a player."

Stokley added quarterback Brian Mitchell in his first recruiting class, and
Mitchell went on to set numerous records at the school, but Stokley also
inherited talent from Robertson’s program like Gannon, running back Dwayne Williams, receiver Willie Culpepper, cornerback Elton Slater, Thomas King
(who was soon moved from quarterback to safety) and linemen twins Jed and Jay Hebert.

"We were such a close group, that freshman class of 1984," Gannon said. "In 1988, my senior year, we were all still there and we all played. It was a
very tight-knit group."

Gannon recalled the edge achieved with new coaches, something current Cajuns can relate to with Hudspeth.

"When you’re a player and you get a new coach, you know you want to be 100 percent ready," Gannon said. "You want to establish where you are, just as the new coach wants to establish what he’s learned. He wants to establish his culture. "And, if you’re a backup, you see this as your chance to start now."

Once Gannon left UL, he played in the NFL for 5 years. He works in sales for
Forest Pharmaceuticals and lives in Lafayette with his wife Ruth Ann, son
Brandon, 11, and daughter Hailey, 7.

Gannon served as a strength coach and assistant coach at the school, and has now seen four different changes in the football program’s leadership.

Jerry Baldwin replaced Stokley in 1999, Rickey Bustle stepped in for Baldwin in 2002 and now Hudspeth is replacing Bustle.

Ironically, three of the four coaches began their Cajun careers against
Oklahoma State. Stokley’s squad was nipped 21-20 at Cajun Field in 1986,
Baldwin lost 24-7 inn Stillwater and Hudspeth faces OSU on the road on Sept. 3.

That 1986 loss stayed with Gannon. The Cowboys had a roster loaded with
stars like Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders and Hart Lee Dykes, yet UL led 20-9 before allowing a Bobby Riley kickoff return touchdown that got the visitors back in the game.

"That game was heart-breaking," Gannon said. "I will never forget it. I
can’t tell you what I did last week, but I can remember the hit by Benny
Carey that broke Thurman Thomas’ ribs. Those are the hardest pills to
swallow – the games where you didn’t finish."

Stokley’s 1986 Cajuns specialized in near-misses like that. They also fell
by an identical 21-20 score at Ole Miss, and by 42-39 at Tulane. They
finished a solid 6-5 – the first of four straight winning seasons led by
Mitchell – but could have been a spectacular 9-2.

Hudspeth is hoping to light that kind of fire under his team this fall, but
there is one key difference between 1986 and 2011.

"We’re playing in an established conference now, with a chance to play for a
championship and go to a bowl game," Gannon said. "That’s a big difference.
"We didn’t have that when I played. We were an independent, and there were, I think, half as many bowl games as there are now.

But we didn’t miss it, because a bowl game was out of the question.

"That was true for a lot of the schools we competed against, like East
Carolina, Southern Miss and Tulsa. We were all in the same boat. We
competed. We played for pride. That’s what we played for."

Gannon was a Cajun assistant when UL won a pair of titles in the Big West
Conference in the 1990’s, and said Big West and Sun Belt affiliation is "a
big deal. It brings a different element, gives you a little bit more to play
for.

"We never had that. That was just the way it was." Schools like ECU, USM, Tulsa and even Tulane have played in bowls since UL’s last bowl appearance in 1970, leaving some Cajun fans to bemoan being left behind.

"It bothers me as a fan of the University, but I have no animosity," Gannon
said. "I want the program, the team, the coaches to do well. I coached there for 6 years, so I know a little bit more about what goes on behind the
scenes.

"And, I know what it will do for this community when they start winning."
Gannon, Marty Cannon and other members of the UL Gridiron Alumni are
offering their help to Hudspeth.

Also, defensive line coach Tim Edwards is a former Gannon teammate in New England in the NFL.

"I’m excited for them," Gannon said.

Gannon and former teammate Buck Moncla have coached Fatima’s 5th and 6th grade team for the last four years, and Gannon and his son Brandon are
regulars at Cajun games once Fatima is through on Saturdays.

Also, former Cajun Robby Waguespack coaches Fatima’s 7th grade.
"We load ’em up, and go to Cajun Field," he said. "I’m a fan now."

This story is a copyrighted enterprise by Bruce Brown.

Click here for a photo of Chris in the 1993 L’Acadien which cited alumni who were engaged in professional sports.

Pictured above is Chris Gannon in 1986. 

Click on www.athleticnetwork.net  , Photo Gallery, Football and the 1984-88 seasons for more pictures of Chris and his teammates.

Our rich athletic traditions were entrusted to the vision, hope, loyalty, and dedication of those former athletes and we will forever owe them a debt of sincere gratitude. May God bless each of them and their families.

Anyone with information, materials, pictures, memorabilia, etc., of the university’s former athletic program participants is requested to contact Ed Dugas at athleticnetwork@louisiana.edu   Thank you.

The Photo Gallery Link located on the left side of the home page at www.athleticnetwork.net contains over 10,000 pictures of former and current athletes and support groups.  Just click on photo gallery and when the menu appears, click on the sport or support group you wish to view. The years of pictures posted for that team or group will appear and you may click on the year you wish to view. One click on a thumbnail picture or narrative and it is enlarged; a click on the enlarged photo and it reverts back to the thumbnail.

The Athletic Network seeks to post pictures of each team and support group for each year they represented the university.

The stories of the 2009 and 2010 honorees featured in the Spotlight on Former Athletes are still included in the News Page and may be viewed by clicking on "more news" at the bottom right of the News Box, scrolling down, clicking on the title of the story. Those spotlight features which are no longer shown in the News Page, have been moved to the Lagniappe Link of the "History of UL Athletics" located on the left side of the home page.

The Spotlight on Former Athletes announcement has also been placed in the profile of each honoree, excluding the pictures.

2011
Bruce Brown continued as feature writer.
January – Ashley Rhoney and Bret Garnett 1988 Tennis
February – Craig Perks Golf 1989 & 90
March – Eddie Baseball/Basketball 60-63,Coach 67;Ross Mouton Basketball 03-07
April – Kim Eisnaugle Chaffin Softball 1983-86
May – Grady Labbe’ Hunt Track & Field 1989-1994
June – Mike Heinen Golf 1986-89
July – Kyla Hall Holas Softball 1991-94
August – Charles Wimberley Track & Field 1953-56
September – Chris Gannon Football 1984-88, Coaches 1995-2000 

2010
Bruce Brown became feature writer.
January – Andrew Toney Men’s Basketball 1976-80.
February – Orlando Thomas Football 1991-94.
March – Rocky Guidry Football 1990-93, Track & Field 1991-94.
April – Track & Field Network & March 20, 2010 1st Annual Track & Field Reunion.
May – Keisha Ray Owens Williams Track & Field 1991-96.
June – 2000 College World Series Baseball Team.
July – Thirty Years of UL Softball.
August – 1970 Cajuns Measured Up (Football). 

2009
Ed Dugas served as feature writer.
January – Tim Thompson  Men’s Basketball 1957-61.
February – Gene Bacque  Baseball 1956 & 57.
March – Dr. Louis Bowers – Tennis 1956-58, Track 1955, Coaches 1964-66.
April – Dr. Carter Lomax, Jr. Tennis 1974-76.
May – Johnny Morris, Jr. Football 1927-29,Men’s Basketball 1927-30,Track & Field 1928-30, Golf 1927-28, Coaches 1947-49 .
June – S.L.I.I. Athletic Pioneers I
July – S.L.I.I. Athletic Pioneers II
August – 1912 – A Special Year – First L’Acadien
September – Glenn Davis Lafleur Football 1966-69
October – Bill Bass – Boxing 1938 & 39, Football 1938-40, Coach 1971-75 & 1983
November – Tom Nolan – Cross Country & Track & Field 1971-76, Coaches 1978-83
December – Military Personnel – Military Page posted