The Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football program is a college football team that represents the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the Sun Belt Conference. On Saturday, December 17, 2011, the Ragin' Cajuns won their first Division I FBS bowl game at the New Orleans Bowl in a 32-30 point game with a 50-yard field goal as time expired. They have since won the following two New Orleans Bowls for the most successful stretch in the program's history.
In 1940 McNaspy Stadium was built on the campus of Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette). It served as the Cajuns home field through the 1970 season and was demolished in 2000. McNaspy Stadium was located at the site where the current computer science building Oliver Hall now stands.
The Battle on the Bayou is the annual rivalry game between Louisiana–Lafayette and Louisiana–Monroe. The wooden boot-shaped rivalry trophy was created in 2002 to be awarded to the victors.[2]
Louisiana-Lafayette–Louisiana-Monroe: All-Time Record
The first Sabine Shoe trophy was first awarded in 1937 to the winner of the SLI–Lamar football game.[3] The name of the bronze rivalry trophy was derived from the Sabine River that forms the Texas-Louisiana border. USL defeated Lamar in the 1978 edition of the rivalry game, but the Ragin' Cajuns were not awarded the trophy as it had vanished.[4] The Sabine Shoe trophy now sits in at trophy case in the Ragin' Cajun Athletic Complex.