2017 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team

2017 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
Record5–7 (4–4 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJorge Munoz (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorCharlie Harbison (3rd season)
Home stadiumCajun Field
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →
2017 Sun Belt Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Troy +   7 1     11 2  
Appalachian State +   7 1     9 4  
Arkansas State   6 2     7 5  
Georgia State   5 3     7 5  
New Mexico State   4 4     7 6  
Louisiana   4 4     5 7  
Louisiana–Monroe   4 4     4 8  
Idaho   3 5     4 8  
South Alabama   3 5     4 8  
Coastal Carolina *   2 6     3 9  
Georgia Southern   2 6     2 10  
Texas State   1 7     2 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • * – Ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules

The 2017 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Ragin' Cajuns played their home games at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana, and competed in the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by seventh-year head coach Mark Hudspeth. They finished the season 5–7, 4–4 in Sun Belt play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place.

On December 3, the day following their final season game (a blowout lost against Appalachian State 63-14), head coach Mark Hudspeth was fired.[1] He finished with a seven-year record of 51–38. However, due to NCAA sanctions in 2016 because former assistant coach David Saunders arranged fraudulent college entrance exams for recruits, his official record was 29–38.[2] On December 15, the school hired Billy Napier as head coach.[3][4]

  1. ^ "UL fires Hudspeth as head coach - KATC.com | Continuous News Coverage | Acadiana-Lafayette". Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  2. ^ "UL fires head football coach Hudspeth, citing inconsistent play, declining support". The Advertiser. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "Louisiana-Lafayette hires Billy Napier as football coach". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  4. ^ "UL-Lafayette hires former Alabama assistant Billy Napier as football coach". NOLA.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.