Tony Robichaux

Anthony Ray Robichaux (September 10, 1961 – July 3, 2019) was an American college baseball coach who served as head coach of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team.[1][2] He had previously served as head coach at McNeese State.[3][4]

Tony Robichaux
Biographical details
Born(1961-09-10)September 10, 1961
Crowley, Louisiana
DiedJuly 3, 2019(2019-07-03) (aged 57)
Jefferson, Louisiana
Playing career
1983–1986McNeese State
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1987–1994McNeese State
1995–2019Southwestern Louisiana/Louisiana-Lafayette/Louisiana
Head coaching record
Overall1173–765–2
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Sun Belt Coach of the Year (1997, 2005, 2007, 2014)
Southland Coach of the Year (1988)
Southwestern Louisiana Coach of the Year (1997)
Louisiana-Lafayette Coach of the Year (1999, 2000, 2007, 2010, 2014)
ABCA South Central Region Coach of the Year (1999, 2000, 2010, 2014)

Coaching career

McNeese State

Robichaux played at McNeese State, and became interim head coach immediately after ending his playing career. He was made permanent head coach following the 1987 season, and remained with the Cowboys until 1994. Only once in his time at McNeese State did the Cowboys finish below .500, and in his final season he led the team to their first 40 win season and first national ranking. Robichaux's pitching staffs placed among the nation's top six three times in five years, including 2nd in 1990. He is currently the all-time winningest coach at McNeese State, with 263 victories leading the Cowboys.[1]

Louisiana

For the 1995 season, Robichaux was hired as the head coach of the Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team.[1] In his twenty-five seasons with the school, he led his team to twelve NCAA Regionals, four NCAA Super Regionals, the 2000 College World Series, and two athletic name changes (In 1999, the name changed from Southwestern Louisiana to Louisiana-Lafayette. In 2018, the athletic name was officially changed to Louisiana). In addition, Robicheaux coached the team to five Sun Belt Conference regular season titles and the 1998 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament, 2014 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament and 2015 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament championships. He became the Ragin' Cajuns all-time leader in wins on March 17, 2003.[1]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
McNeese State Cowboys (Southland Conference) (1987–1994)
1987 McNeese State 19–287–92nd West Zone (3)
1988 McNeese State 31–3113–71st (8)NCAA Regional
1989 McNeese State 35–1810–73rd (8)
1990 McNeese State 35–2010–73rd (7)
1991 McNeese State 34–184–117th (7)
1992 McNeese State 30–229–125th (9)
1993 McNeese State 38–2314–104th (9)NCAA Regional
1994 McNeese State 41–1713–94th (9)
McNeese State: 263–17780–72
Southwestern Louisiana / Louisiana–Lafayette / Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (Sun Belt Conference) (1995–2019)
1995 Southwestern Louisiana 21–2412–156th (10)
1996 Southwestern Louisiana 25–3315–123rd (10)
1997 Southwestern Louisiana 43–1822–51st (10)NCAA Regional
1998 Southwestern Louisiana 39–2218–72nd (10)NCAA Regional
1999 Southwestern Louisiana 42–2424–92nd (8)Super Regional
2000 Louisiana–Lafayette 49–2020–102nd (8)College World Series
2001 Louisiana–Lafayette 28–2812–159th (10)
2002 Louisiana–Lafayette 39–2317–72nd (9)NCAA Regional
2003 Louisiana–Lafayette 30–3015–93rd (9)
2004 Louisiana–Lafayette 34–2311–114th (9)
2005 Louisiana–Lafayette 48–1916–81st (9)NCAA Regional
2006 Louisiana–Lafayette 39–2019–52nd (9)
2007 Louisiana–Lafayette 45–1723–71st (11)NCAA Regional
2008 Louisiana–Lafayette 30–2916–146th (11)
2009 Louisiana–Lafayette 27–30–114–155th (11)
2010 Louisiana–Lafayette 38–2221–91st (11)NCAA Regional
2011 Louisiana–Lafayette 31–2718–123rd (10)
2012 Louisiana–Lafayette 23–3011–1910th (10)
2013 Louisiana–Lafayette 43–2019–113rd (10)NCAA Regional
2014 Louisiana–Lafayette 58–1026–41st (10)Super Regional
2015 Louisiana–Lafayette 42–2318–113rd (11)Super Regional
2016 Louisiana–Lafayette 43–2121–91st (11)NCAA Regional
2017 Louisiana–Lafayette 35–21–119–10–12nd (West) (6)
2018 Louisiana 30–2315–121st (West)
2019 Louisiana 28–3115–154th (West)
Louisiana: 910–588–2437–261–1
Total:1173–765–2

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

    Death

    On July 3, 2019, Robichaux died at Ochsner Medical Center in Jefferson, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, after suffering a heart attack June 23, 2019. He was 57 at the time of his death and is buried in Crowley, Louisiana.[5]

    On opening weekend of the 2020 season, former players of Robichaux unveiled a statue of Robichaux near M. L. Tigue Moore Field at Russo Park.[6]

    Throughout the season, many teams, such as Maryland (whose assistant coach was also assistant under Robichaux) as well as Troy wore #36, a symbol of Tony Robichaux on batting helmets, hats, and jerseys.[7][8][9]

    During a 2020 midweek game between Louisiana and McNeese State, two of Robichaux's former teams, home team McNeese renamed their bullpen in Robichaux's honor.[10]

    See also

    References
    1. "2013 Baseball Coaching Staff". Ragin' Cajuns Athletics. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
    2. Dan McDonald (March 3, 2013). "Ragin' Cajuns give Tony Robichaux his 900th career win". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
    3. "Baseball vs McNeese State". Acadiana365. April 25, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
    4. Matt Barber. "Top 25 College Baseball Coaches in The South". Dixie Fried Sports. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
    5. Foote, Kevin (July 3, 2019). "Iconic UL baseball coach Tony Robichaux dies after heart attack, multiple surgeries". The Acadiana Advocate. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
    6. Foote, Kevin (January 21, 2020). "Former UL baseball players commission statue of Tony Robichaux to be placed at Russo Park". The Acadiana Advocate.
    7. "Merchandise to honor late UL Lafayette baseball Coach Tony Robichaux". KATC. February 13, 2020.
    8. Buckley, Tim. "Szefc: Robichaux would have been pleased with UL play". The Advertiser.
    9. "Timely hitting, great pitching push UL past Troy". The Advertiser.
    10. Renard, Brady. "McNeese baseball dedicates bullpen to Tony Robichaux". https://www.kplctv.com. External link in |website= (help)
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