[2] Founded in 1898 as Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute (SLII), the school adopted Bulldogs as a team nickname in 1921.

The university's 1963 football team was unusually strong in homegrown talent; 35 of its 39 players were from Louisiana, with 30 from within 100 miles of Lafayette.

[3] As a result, coach Russ Faulkinberry changed the team's nickname to the Raging Cajuns, a nod to the ethnic group based in south Louisiana.

The term Raging (or Ragin') Cajuns had been used in a number of contexts before 1963, including as the nickname of the Louisiana-based U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Squadron VMF-143.

[10] The area where the majority of the school's athletic facilities are located is formally known as the "Edgar G. "Sonny" Mouton, Jr. Sports and Entertainment Plaza."

Also, Earl K. Long Gym (Women's basketball and volleyball) is located on the main campus The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team came to prominence under the leadership of head coach Beryl Shipley, who was responsible for breaking the color barrier in the South and won just under 70% of all games from 1957 to 1973.

[14] Notable Players include NCAA 2nd All-time leading scorer Dwight "Bo" Lamar, Dean Church, Andrew Toney, Marv Winkler, Dwayne Mitchell, and Elfrid Payton.

[17] On December 15, 2017, Billy Napier was named head football coach of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.

[18] Napier led the Cajuns to a period of unprecedented success, including records of 11–3, 10–1, and 12–1 in consecutive seasons before he was hired away to be the head coach of Florida.

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