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Mr. Tony Robichaux (Deceased)
Graduated 2002

Home:
124 W.13th Street
Crowley, LA 70526

Work:
Head Baseball Coach at UL Athletic Department

Home Phone: 337-785-9726
Work Phone: 337-482-6189
Fax: 337-483-6649
Email: --

Articles written about Coach Tony Robichaux are to numerous to place in his AN profile. For this reason, only a few have been placed in his profile and others have been placed in Archives News.

Please click on any news story in the news box, then the archives link in the upper left which appears on the new page. Click on the July & 2019 tabs in the format on the Archives Page, then click on the headlines of a story to view the many postings about Coach Tony Robichaux.

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Tony’s Obituary and Biography are followed by articles.

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Obituary: Anthony Ray Robichaux – Baseball Player 82-84/Head Baseball Coach 95-2019 – July 3, 2019

September 10, 1961 – July 3, 2019

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 2:00 pm Monday, July 8, 2019 at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church for Anthony Ray Robichaux, 57, who passed away July 3, 2019 at Ochsner Hospital in New Orleans.

Fr. Bryce Sibley pastor Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic Church will be officiating the services. The family is requesting visiting hours to be held 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm Sunday at Cajundome Convention Center: 444 Cajundome Blvd. Lafayette, LA 70506 and Monday from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church. A rosary will be recited 7:00 pm on Sunday. Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in Crowley, LA.

Tony Robichaux dedicated his life to leading, motivating, and inspiring each and every individual that crossed his path. Off the field, “Pops” loved being with his grandkids and spending time with his family. Family was everything to him. He was a loving husband, father, brother, son, and so much to so many. A truly patient man that always put Christ first, regardless of the outcome. The greatest gift that “Coach” gave the world is that he set the standard on how to live. We can never repay him for his gifts and words, but we can express how much we love and care about the man we call “Robe” in the way we live our lives.

He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Colleen Dailey Robichaux; one daughter, Ashley Robichaux Moody and her husband, Lon; and two sons, Justin Michael Robichaux and his wife Leigh Ann, and Austin Michael Robichaux and his wife Sara; his father, Ray Thomas Robichaux; three brothers, Timmy Robichaux and his wife Jeanne, Troy Robichaux and his wife Melanie, and Michael Robichaux and his wife Jessica; eight grandchildren, Ava, Lon Paul, Sylvia, Liam, Olivia, and Levi Moody, Evelyn and Roslyn Robichaux; his in-laws, Richard and Marie Dailey; sister-in- law, Paula Mire and her husband Jason; two brothers-in law, Kevin Dailey and his wife Lori, and Brian Dailey and his wife Susan; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Tony is preceded in death by his mother, Sylvia Zaunbrecher Robichaux; three brothers, Jody Thomas Robichaux and two infants; one granddaughter, Sophia Moody; his maternal grandparents, Raymond and Anita Zaunbrecher; and his paternal grandparents, Wiltz and Adonia Robichaux.

Pallbearers will be Justin, Austin, Troy, Timmy, Michael Robichaux, and Lon Paul Moody. Honorary pallbearers will be his coaching staff, Chris Domingue, Anthony Babineaux, Jeremy Talbot, Jake Wells, Daniel Freeman, and current and former UL players.

On behalf of the Robichaux family we would like to take the opportunity to thank Lafayette General and Ochsner Hospitals for their amazing care and hospitality, as well as everyone in Ragin Cajun Nation for the community outpour of love, prayer, and support.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Geesey-Ferguson Funeral Home, Inc. of Crowley: 301 N. Ave F Crowley, LA 70526 337-783-3313 www.geesey-ferguson.com

“Remember it is not about you, it’s about you giving the glory to God and no matter what the scoreboard says, we have already won.”
Coach Tony Robichaux

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TONY ROBICHAUX COACHING ACCOLADES
• Eighth winningest active head coach in NCAA history with 1,149 wins
• Winningest head coach in Louisiana Baseball history with 886 wins
• Guided Louisiana to the 2000 College World Series, as well as 12 NCAA Regionals and four NCAA Super Regionals
• Coached 29 All-Americans, five Academic All-Americans, 87 All-Sun Belt performers and 52 All-Louisiana players
• Coached six Sun Belt Pitchers of the Year, two Sun Belt Players of the Year, two Sun Belt Newcomers of the Year, three Sun Belt Freshman of the Year,
• Coached three All-Louisiana Pitchers of the Year, one All-Louisiana Player of the Year and five All-Louisiana Newcomers of the Year
• Named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year four times, the All-Louisiana Coach of the Year six times and the ABCA South Central Region Coach of the Year four times
• Member of the McNeese State Athletics Hall of Fame (2017 Induction Class)
• All-time winningest head coach in McNeese State history
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns head coach Tony Robichaux enters his 25th season at the helm of the Cajuns and 33rd season overall at the Division I level.

During his tenure with the Cajuns, which began in 1995, Robichaux has guided Louisiana to 12 NCAA Regional appearances (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016), four NCAA Super Regional appearances (1999, 2000, 2014 and 2015) and the 2000 College World Series. His teams have also clinched seven Sun Belt Conference regular season crowns (1997, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2018) and four Sun Belt Conference Tournament titles (1998, 2014, 2015 and 2016).

Robichaux has coached 29 All-Americans, five Academic All-Americans, 87 All-Sun Belt and 52 All-Louisiana players in 24 seasons with the Cajuns. During that time, he has had six Sun Belt Pitchers of the Year, two Sun Belt Players of the Year, two Sun Belt Newcomers of the Year, three Sun Belt Freshmen of the Year, three All-Louisiana Pitchers of the Year, one All-Louisiana Player of the Year and five All-Louisiana Newcomers of the Year.

Robichaux has received ABCA South Central Region Coach of the Year honors four times (1999, 2000, 2010 and 2014) in his career. He has also been tabbed the Sun Belt Coach of the Year four times (1997, 2005, 2007 and 2014) and the All-Louisiana Coach of the Year six times (1997, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2010 and 2014).

Robichaux became the 51st coach in NCAA Division I history to post 1,000 career wins on Feb. 28, 2015 with a 6-5 victory in Birmingham, Ala. against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

In 30 seasons, Robichaux has a career record of 1,149-736-2 and ranks eighth among active NCAA Division I head coaches in career victories.

TONY ROBICHAUX
Hometown Crowley, La.
College McNeese State (1986)
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
Level School
College Wharton County JC (1979-80)
College McNeese State (1980-82)
College Louisiana (1982-84)
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Year School, Position
1995- Louisiana, Head Coach
1987-94 McNeese State, Head Coach
1985-87 McNeese State, Assistant Coach
COACHING HONORS
Year Award
2017 McNeese State Athletics Hall of Fame
2014 ABCA All-South Central Coach of the Year
2014 LSWA All-Louisiana Coach of the Year
2014 Sun Belt Coach of the Year
2010 ABCA All-South Central Coach of the Year
2010 LSWA All-Louisiana Coach of the Year
2007 LSWA All-Louisiana Coach of the Year
2007 Sun Belt Coach of the Year
2005 Sun Belt Coach of the Year
2000 ABCA All-South Central Coach
2000 LSWA All-Louisiana Coach of the Year
1999 ABCA All-South Central Coach of the Year
1999 LSWA All-Louisiana Coach of the Year
1997 LSWA All-Louisiana Coach of the Year
1997 Sun Belt Coach of the Year
1988 Southland Coach of the Year
Since 2000, Robichaux’s pitching staff has led the Sun Belt Conference in ERA in 12 of the last 17 seasons. He has also guided Louisiana to nine 40-win seasons (1997, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016) and has had 57 former players selected in the MLB Draft since 1995 including five draftees who have played at the major league level.

Under Robichaux, Louisiana hosted the school’s first-ever NCAA baseball regional in 2000, and the program’s and Sun Belt’s first-ever Super Regional in 2014. The Cajuns also hosted an NCAA baseball regional in 2014 and 2016.

The Cajuns have received several national rankings throughout Robichaux’s tenure at UL including the school’s first ever No. 1 ranking in 2014 as the baseball program was tabbed the unanimous No. 1 team heading into the NCAA postseason. That same year, the Ragin’ Cajuns set the school record for wins finishing 58-10 with an impressive 22-2 mark away from M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.

Currently, Robichaux is the all-time winningest coach in UL history with 774 victories. He became UL’s all-time winningest coach on March 17, 2003 when the Cajuns defeated Illinois-Chicago 7-1 at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.

Robichaux reached career milestone victory No. 500 with a 12-5 win over Texas-Pan American on March 2, 2002, making him one of only eight coaches in NCAA history to achieve the milestone before his 41st birthday.

In 2001, Robichaux was listed by Baseball America as one of the top 10 coaches of a mid-major program in the nation, who were younger than 40 years of age.

In 2000, Robichaux guided one of the best Cajuns baseball teams in school history to arguably the school’s most memorable season.

UL swept through the NCAA Regional at Lafayette and took two out of three at then-No. 1 seed South Carolina to advance to the NCAA College World Series for the first time in both school and Sun Belt Conference history.

In Omaha, the Cajuns tied a then CWS record by a first-time participant with two wins and took a thrilling 5-4 victory in the bottom of the ninth over Clemson. With their 2-2 record, the Ragin’ Cajuns tied for third at the College World Series and finished the season ranked fourth nationally.

Robichaux has an active membership with the United Way as their Acadiana spokesman. He is dedicated to giving back to the community, with frequent visits to youngsters at the Children’s Hospital in Houston, as well as other various civic activities in Lafayette and throughout Acadiana.

Before arriving at UL in 1995, Robichaux served as head coach of McNeese State for eight seasons. He led the Cowboys to a combined 263-177 record, including a school-record 41 wins in his last season there. He also led the program to its first-ever national ranking during the 1994 season.

Under Robichaux, MSU hurlers ranked in the top six in the nation in ERA three times during a five-year span. In 1990, Cowboy pitchers finished second in the nation in ERA. Robichaux was named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year in 1988, his first permanent season as head coach at MSU. He wrapped up his career at MSU as the all-time winningest coach in the school’s history and was inducted into the McNeese Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.

Robichaux received his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from McNeese in 1986.

He is married to the former Colleen Dailey of Iota, and they have three children – Ashley, Justin and Austin. They also have eight grandchildren, Lon Paul, Ava, Silvia, Liam and Olivia children of Ashley and her husband Lon Moody, and Evelyn and Roslyn, the daughters of Justin and his wife Leigh Ann. Austin is married to former UL volleyball player Sara Mossakowski.

Robichaux’s sons both have played for the Ragin’ Cajuns with Justin playing from 2007-10 followed by Austin from 2012-14.

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Baseball: The 1,000 Victories of Tony Robichaux: Winner in Baseball, Champion in Life

Scott Brazda “View From The Bench” March 4, 2015 – Acadiana Gazette VIEW FROM THE BENCH

By Scott Brazda
THE 1000 VICTORIES OF TONY ROBICHAUX:
WINNER IN BASEBALL, CHAMPION IN LIFE

There are a number of reasons why I admire Tony Robichaux, and the first has nothing to do with baseball.
“I coach baseball for a living,” Robichaux recently told a class of 8th-graders at Cathedral-Carmel School in Lafayette. “But that’s not who I am. Being a college baseball coach… does NOT define me.”
Wait a minute: a guy who now has, as of this past Saturday, 1,000 career victories as a college baseball coach, is not defined by the words ‘baseball coach’?
Nope. Not even with….. wait for it again….1,000 career victories.
As he had done on three other occasions, the Ragin’ Cajuns’ baseball coach was a guest speaker in the junior philanthropy classes I teach a number of area high and middle schools. His message was much more on, how should I say, racking up 1,000 victories in life… instead of on the diamond.
“Once a week, we meet with our players, just to visit, just to find out how they’re doing as ‘men’,” Robichaux told the students. “We hardly talk about baseball at all. I just want to find out how things are going as students, and as sons, and as Christians.”
O…..K…. Sure. Right. Baseball isn’t the end-all, be-all for a guy who has— oh, what’s the number again?— 1,000 career victories. “I know that sounds funny, but it really isn’t,” said Robichaux. “It’s like I told my players when we lost the final game of the NCAA Super-Regionals to Ole Miss. I told them, ‘Don’t let this game define you. Don’t let this game take away from you accomplished (author’s note: 58 wins and a #1 ranking) during the 2014 season. And above all, don’t let this one game define who you are and who you’re going to be in life. Being good sons and husbands and fathers and community leaders— let THAT define you.”
It was January 23rd of this year when he visited Cathedral, still three weeks from official start of the season, and Robichaux was at 995 career victories. Not once, not once, not once….did he mention any of the victories, either the ones that had occurred or the ones yet to come. The words ‘College World Series’ and ‘number one in the country’ came out of my mouth, not his.
Instead, Tony Robichaux discussed 13 hurdles the students might encounter in life, hurdles…obstacles…temptations that might keep them becoming good people with good hearts and good souls, a.k.a. good Christians.
Running with the right people. Being strong enough to stand up for your convictions. Being humble enough to keep your EGO (“Edging God Out,” according to Robichaux) out of your life equation. Being Godly enough to fight off the devil and the illicit temptations that he puts in your way.
It’s good stuff. Very, very good stuff.
And when you hear it come out of the mouth of a guy who had won nearly 1,000 games, and now has won 1,000 games, it gives you a sign that good things do indeed happen to good people…and that good people do exist….and that one of those good people just so happens to be the head baseball coach of the school you’ve rooted for your entire life.
The 6-5 victory that occurred Saturday over the Alabama Crimson Tide was a good victory, a good baseball victory for a young baseball team trying to measure up to the accomplishments of the team that came before. Victory number 1,000. But that’s the small picture.
The big picture is this: A good man got his 1000th victory this past weekend, a good man with extraordinary knowledge in the ways of baseball, and above all, a good man with extraordinary knowledge as one who molds and shapes human beings. And that’s a very, very good thing.
Tony Robichaux is our baseball coach, and Tony Robichaux has 1,000 career victories. However, Tony Robichaux’s importance to the UL community, to Lafayette, to Acadiana, to Louisiana…transcends his accomplishments on the diamond in so very many ways.
So, yes, revel in his victories. But even more important, be sure to celebrate the man. Baseball does not define him; life defines him.
It’s been a good life, I think. And he’s a good man. Appreciate him.

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Baseball: Robichaux Receives Honor From ABCA

August 11, 2010 RaginCajuns.com

The American Baseball Coaches Association has named University of Louisiana head baseball coach Tony Robichaux the South Central Region Coach of the Year.

Robichaux guided Louisiana to one of the most remarkable second half runs in recent memory, finishing the 2010 regular season with a 23-4 mark.

The Cajuns went 17-1 in Sun Belt play during the second half run which vaulted the squad from ninth place in the standings with a 4-8 mark on April 4 to first place and a 21-9 mark on May 22. As a result, Louisiana claimed its fourth SBC title under Robichaux (1997, 2005, 2007, 2010).

The Ragin’ Cajuns were rewarded their first NCAA Regionals berth since 2007 and the eighth under Robichaux. Louisiana received an at large berth as the No. 3 seed in the Austin Regional.

The 2010 campaign saw Robichaux post his 13th season with a .500 mark or better as Cajuns skipper, finishing with a 38-22 mark. The pitching staff ranked Top 10 nationally in ERA, hits and walks allowed per nine innings and the Cajuns led the Sun Belt in ERA for sixth consecutive season and ninth since 2000.

This is the third time Robichaux received ABCA South Central Region Coach of the Year honors. He was the recipient of the honor in 1999 and 2000.

2010 ABCA Division I Regional Coaches of the Year
Atlantic – Jack Leggett (Clemson)
East – Joe Jordano (Pittsburgh)
Mideast – John Anderson (Minnesota)
Midwest – Jim Schlossnagle (TCU)
Northeast – Jim Penders (Connecticut)
South – Ray Tanner (South Carolina)
South Central – Tony Robichaux (Louisiana)
West – John Savage (UCLA)

— Ragin’ Cajuns —

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Louisiana head coach Tony Robichaux, one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA Division I history to reach 500 career victories, begins his 15th season at the helm of the Ragin� Cajuns baseball program, which is arguably one of the best in the South. Robichaux also enters his 23rd season as a NCAA Division I head coach.
Robichaux joined an elite club when he picked up his 700th career victory with a 5-2 win over FAU on March 24, 2007. He is now 775-507 in 22 seasons as a head coach and reached another milestone in 2008 – he became the first coach in UL history to reach 500 victories with a 4-3 win over Northwestern State on April 16. Robichaux enters the 2009 season with 512 victories as the Cajuns’ skipper.
Robichaux picked up his 400th victory as the head coach of the Ragin’ Cajuns with a 12-8 victory over in-state rival ULM on Feb. 26, 2006.
On Feb. 20, 2005, the Cajuns shut out in-state rival Northwestern State, 4-0, to give Robichaux his 600th career win. At the conclusion of the 2008 season, Robichaux was one of just 32 active Division I coaches to have 750 or more victories. On March 17, 2003, Robichaux became UL’s all-time winningest coach when the Cajuns defeated Illinois-Chicago 7-1 at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.
Now in his third decade as a Division I head coach, Robichaux reached career milestone victory No. 500 with a 12-5 win over Texas-Pan American on March 2, 2002, making him one of only eight coaches in NCAA history to achieve the milestone before his 41st birthday. The other names on the list include: Ron Fraser (Miami), Mark Marquess (Stanford), Jim Morris (Miami), Ron Polk (Mississippi State), Danny Price (FIU), Bobby Winkles (Arizona State) and Pat Murphy (Arizona State).
Entering the 2000 season, Robichaux was the only head coach younger than 41 years of age with at least 400 career victories.
In 2001, Robichaux was listed by Baseball America as one of the top 10 coaches of a mid-major program in the nation, who were younger than 40 years of age.

A Winning Tradition
Tony Robichaux has guided the Louisiana baseball program to seven NCAA Regional appearances, two NCAA Super Regional appearances and a berth in the 2000 College World Series. His Cajuns� teams have also clinched three Sun Belt Conference regular season crowns and one Sun Belt Conference tournament title.
In 2000, Robichaux guided one of the best Cajuns baseball teams in school history to arguably the school’s most memorable season.
After claiming a top-three finish in the competitive Sun Belt Conference for the fifth straight season, Robichaux’s Cajuns swept through the NCAA Regional at Lafayette and then took two out of three at then-No. 1 seed South Carolina to advance to the NCAA College World Series for the first time in both school and Sun Belt Conference history.
In Omaha, the Cajuns tied a CWS record by a first-time participant with two wins and took a thrilling 5-4 victory in the bottom of the ninth over Clemson in a game that will be long remembered in the history books. With their 2-2 record, the Cajuns tied for third at the College World Series in their first-ever appearance and finished the season ranked fourth nationally, the highest-ever ranking by any UL men�s athletic program.
But the success wasn’t limited to the postseason as the Cajuns enjoyed a school record-tying 17-game winning streak during the 2000 season, as well as tying the school record for wins in a season with 49.
For his and his team’s impressive efforts all season, Robichaux was named Louisiana Coach of the Year for the third time in four seasons (1997, 1999 & 2000) and was honored by the American Baseball Coaches Association as its South Central Region Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season (1999 & 2000).
Through his and his team’s efforts to improve M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field, the Cajuns were also recognized as among the nation’s elite collegiate baseball programs when Louisiana was selected as one of 16 sites for an NCAA Regional in 2000 for the first time in school and conference history.
The Cajuns made the most of the opportunity, hosting nearly 14,500 fans in three days of competition before walking away with the 2000 NCAA Regional at Lafayette championship, Louisiana’s second-straight NCAA Regional title.
With that, UL became one of only seven teams across the nation to appear in an NCAA Super Regional in back-to-back seasons.
For his efforts in 2000, Robichaux was tabbed as the Outstanding College Coach in the state of Louisiana for 2000 by the Nokia Sugar Bowl Sports selection committee.

The Road to Omaha
The 1999 season was full of firsts for the Ragin’ Cajuns baseball program and its skipper. After leading his Cajuns squads to their first-ever Sun Belt Conference regular season and conference tournament championships during the 1997 and 1998 seasons, respectively, Robichaux took his team in 1999 where no other squad had ever gone.
After sweeping through the NCAA Regional at Houston, Louisiana advanced to the NCAA Super Regional for the first time in school history. There, his team defeated then-No. 1 ranked Rice in the first game of the Super Regional and moved within one win from a trip to the NCAA College World Series, a trip they would later make in 2000.
The Cajuns ended their season ranked among the country’s best in all three national polls, topping out at No. 18 in the USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches Top 25 poll. In addition, Robichaux led the Louisiana pitching staff to a school and Sun Belt Conference record 657 strikeouts and a national ranking in team ERA with a 3.85 mark.
In 1998, Robichaux guided the Cajuns to the Spectronics Sun Belt Conference Tournament title along with 39 wins. In addition, the Cajun pitching staff finished second in the Sun Belt and 28th in the nation with a team ERA of 4.59. Along the way, Louisiana pitchers struck out 8.76 batters per game, one of the best marks in school history since Louisiana moved to Division I in 1972.
In 1997, Robichaux, the Sun Belt Conference and Louisiana Coach of the Year, led the Cajuns to a No. 15 ranking in the Baseball America poll on April 14 and their first-ever Sun Belt Conference regular season championship. Despite being short one scholarship, the Cajuns posted a 43-18 record and tied a Sun Belt record with 22 conference victories.
The Cajuns finished the 1997 season ranked No. 20 in the final Baseball America poll.
Two of Robichaux’s only three losing seasons as a NCAA Division I head coach came in his first two seasons at Louisiana. In only his second season with the Cajuns in 1996, he led his team to a third place finish in the Sun Belt Conference and a spot in the SBC Tournament, despite posting a 25-33 record. His 1995 squad finished the season 21-24. That team would have earned a berth in the conference tournament if previous NCAA sanctions had not held the team out.

Since Omaha
Since the Cajuns’ magical run to the NCAA College World Series in 2000, Louisiana has been in the national spotlight. In 2001, the Cajuns finished 28-28 and 12-15 in the Sun Belt. Unfortunately, the Cajuns were on the outside looking in – they did not make the conference tournament. In 2002, the Cajuns rebounded with a 39-23 record, thanks in part to a strong offense and commanding pitching staff. In 2003, his squad began the season 5-18 entering Sun Belt Conference play. The club made a quick and unbelievable turnaround, becoming one of the hottest teams in the conference and in the nation. The Cajuns made a hard push for the conference championship, but fell short in the final series of the season against South Alabama.
In 2004, the Cajuns (34-23) made a strong run at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title, but fell short against Middle Tennessee in the semifinals.
With a veteran team in 2005, the Ragin� Cajuns claimed the Sun Belt regular season championship. They made an appearance in the NCAA New Orleans Regional.
After losing 16 seniors, Robichaux took a young, inexperienced squad into the 2006 season. The team fell a half-game shy of repeating as SBC champs, finishing the conference season with a 19-5 record. UL started 12-11, but the Cajuns used dominant pitching, solid defense and consistent hitting to power the team to a 39-20 overall record.
In 2007, Louisiana reloaded its roster after falling one win short of a second consecutive Sun Belt crown the previous season. As a result, the Cajuns won their first 10 games of the season – the second-best start in school history. Louisiana finished with a 45-17 overall record, claiming its second league championship in the last three seasons and 11th NCAA Regional appearance in school history.
After winning their first two games at the NCAA Regional at College Station, the Cajuns dropped two straight to Texas A&M, denying UL its third-ever Super Regional berth.
The Ragin’ Cajuns fell short of lofty expectations in 2008, facing strong hitting throughout the Sun Belt. Robichaux�s pitching staff rose to the challenge, posting the league’s best ERA for the fourth straight year, but a stalled offense kept the Cajuns out of the tournament with a 30-29 record, 16-14 in the Sun Belt, good for a fifth-place tie.

A Driving Force
Robichaux’s accomplishments are not just limited to the field. In a continuing effort to improve Moore Field, he had a new eight-foot-high aluminum outfield wall installed and was also able to purchase a brand-new 71-foot state-of-the-art scoreboard that was used for the first time on May 4, 1996, against Louisiana Tech.
In 1999, the netting behind home plate was replaced and a brick backstop installed. The summer also saw the addition of chairback-seating in the box seats and a new sound system to the Tigue.
The most recent improvements to the stadium came before the 2003 season with the addition of bleacher seating along the third-base line behind the Cajuns� dugout. The expansion came one year after 500 matching seats were installed along the first-base line behind the visitors’ dugout.
Robichaux is also very visible in the community, including active membership with the United Way as their Acadiana spokesman. Robichaux is dedicated to giving back to the community, with frequent visits to youngsters at the Children�s Hospital in Houston, Texas, as well as other various civic activities in Lafayette and throughout Acadiana.

Prior to Louisiana
Before arriving at UL for the 1995 season, Robichaux served as head coach of McNeese State for eight seasons, where he led the Cowboys to a combined 263-177 record, including a school-record 41 wins in his last season there.
In the same year, McNeese State earned the school’s first-ever national ranking.
Under Robichaux, the Cowboys earned two NCAA Regional trips (1988 & 1993) and won a Southland Conference regular season championship (1988) and an SLC Tournament championship (1993). His .608 winning percentage at MSU is the highest in Cowboy history.
Robichaux began his coaching career as the interim head coach at McNeese State after graduating in 1986. He was chosen as the Cowboys’ permanent head coach in 1988, becoming the youngest Division I head coach in the nation, and led his squad to the school’s first and only Southland Conference baseball title that season, along with a berth in the NCAA Midwest Regional where he defeated, ironically, Louisiana.
For his efforts, Robichaux was named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year. His team compiled a 31-31 record that year, beginning a string of seven straight 30-win seasons culminating in his becoming the school’s all-time winningest coach.
In 1993, Robichaux led his alma mater to a new school record of 38 wins, the Southland Conference tournament championship and a second trip to the NCAA tournament. The Cowboys upended Maine in the NCAA Central II Regional, making his team the first Southland Conference squad ever to record a win in NCAA postseason play.
One year later, the Cowboys broke the school record in wins for the third time under Robichaux, compiling a 41-17 record. In addition, McNeese State was ranked 30th in the nation for the first time in school history and earned a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament.
The Cowboys pitching staff annually ranked among the nation’s best under his tutelage. Under Robichaux, MSU hurlers ranked in the top six in the nation in ERA three times during a five-year span. In 1990, Cowboy pitchers finished second in the nation in ERA. One year later, the Cowboy staff earned a sixth-place ranking in that category.
In Robichaux’s final season at McNeese State, he guided the Cowboy pitchers to the third-best ERA in the nation. Among his other accomplishments at McNeese State were the creation of the school�s first-ever alumni baseball game, the creation of the Lake Area Classic Tournament which has featured such teams as Creighton, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Alabama, among others, the creation of summer and winter youth baseball camps and the formation of a strong fund-raising program and a solid support organization. He also had lights installed and had other major improvements made to the baseball field.

Off the Field
In 2002, Robichaux became the spokesperson for the United Way of Acadiana.
In 2001, Robichaux was listed by Baseball America as one of the top 10 coaches of mid-major programs who were younger than 40 years of age and likely had not reached the pinnacle of their coaching careers.
Robichaux received his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from McNeese State in 1986. He is a graduate of Notre Dame High School in Crowley, La., and is married to the former Colleen Dailey of Iota, La., and they have three children – Ashley, Justin and Austin, and two grandchildren, Lon Paul and Ava Grace, children of Ashley and her husband Lon Moody. Robichaux�s son Justin is a junior on the Ragin� Cajuns baseball squad. The family lives in Crowley.

Updated April 8, 2009