LAFAYETTE, Louisiana - After 12 seasons in charge of the Louisiana track and field program, Lon Badeaux has announced his retirement as head coach on Monday, effective immediately.
During his tenure as Ragin' Cajuns head coach, he coached 17 All-Americans, including three-time All-American Albert Fournette, two-time All-American Jasmine Manuel, two-time All-American Maria Bienvenu, and Morgann Leleux - the 2016 NCAA DI runner-up in the women's pole vault and alternate on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team. Badeaux was named LSWA Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year twice, in 2014 and 2022, and was the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year.
Last season the Cajuns saw the men finish second at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships and then third in the Outdoor Championships, just the second time the men finished in the top three at both meets since 2000. The Cajuns sent five student-athletes to the national championships including Maria Bienvenu and the men’s 4x100-meter relay team.
The women’s team set seven school records, four in outdoor and three in indoor. Sophie Daigle finished second in the SBC and became the first female cross country runner to qualify for nationals, earning Badeaux LSWA Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year honors. In total 24 outdoor and 23 indoor records fell under Badeaux’s watch.
“I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to serve as the head track and field coach of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns,” said Badeaux. “It takes a great deal of commitment to build a successful program, one that can take a toll on your personal life and health. After 12 seasons, it is time to prioritize those things and take a step back. I am extremely proud of our recent accomplishments and am leaving the program in a great place with a bright future.”
Badeaux, an All-American pole vaulter at Louisiana from 1992-94, 96, coached 75 Sun Belt Conference champions and 279 All-Sun Belt Conference selections since his arrival at his alma mater before the 2011-12 season.
“I am very appreciative of the service Lon has provided his alma mater and our Athletics Department,” said Dr. Bryan Maggard, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics. “We wish Lon much success as he enters this next chapter of life.”
Before taking over the Ragin’ Cajun program as the seventh head coach in the program’s Division I era, Badeaux spent 12 seasons at Arkansas State including four as its head coach. Badeaux coached 69 Sun Belt Conference champions, 53 regional qualifiers, and 19 national qualifiers with the Red Wolves. Seven student-athletes reached All-American status under his watch, while another competed in the Olympics.
Assistant coach Tommy Badon, who has worked under Badeaux since 2018, has been named the interim head coach.
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