Five things to know about the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks
Five things to know about Kentucky football’s opening opponent, the ULM Warhawks.
1. ULM was formerly known as the Northeast Louisiana Indians
The school has been known by a number of names over the years. It opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. In 1934, it became known as Northeast Center of Louisiana State University. In 1939, it was changed to Northeast Junior College of Louisiana State. Then in 1950, it became Northeast Louisiana State College.
It wasn’t until 1990 that the school name was officially changed to the University of Louisiana at Monroe. In 2006, the school decided to change its athletic mascot from “Indians” to “Warhawks.”
And ULM wants to be known as ULM. The following was referred to media covering UK this week:
“We simply prefer to be referred to as ULM, instead of Louisiana Monroe. We understand sometimes on first reference announcers feel obliged to mention the entire title (University of Louisiana at Monroe), but we’re happy with just ULM.”
2. The Warhawks have had their football woes
As you may have heard, ULM went 0-10 last season. As you may have heard, ULM did not lead in a single game last season, which leads to a team going 0-10 in a season. It lost 70-20 at home to Louisiana. Its only brush with victory: A 35-30 loss to Georgia Southern on Oct. 3.
Sadly, defeat is not a stranger to the Warhawks. ULM has not posted a winning season since the 2012 team finished 8-5 under Todd Berry. And that was the school’s first winning season since 1980, when the then Northeast Louisiana Indians went 7-4 under John David Crow.
Familiar with Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network and the “Move the Sticks” podcast? (I’m a fan.) Jeremiah was NE Louisiana’s starting quarterback in 1997, completing 120 of 229 passes for 1,450 yards and nine touchdowns with seven interceptions. The Indians finished 5-7 under Ed Zaunbrecher. That included a 49-14 loss to Kentucky. Jeremiah transferred to Appalachian State.
The Indians did defeat the Cats 21-14 on Nov. 12, 1994, at Commonwealth Stadium. It was the ninth loss in what was a 1-10 season under Bill Curry.
3. Terry Bowden is not afraid of a challenge
The son of the late, great Bobby Bowden is 65 years old. He has a law degree. He has been the head coach at Salem College (19-13), Samford (45-23-1), Auburn (47-17-1), North Alabama (29-9) and Akron (35-52). He spent the last two seasons as an analyst on Dabo Swinney’s staff at Clemson.
“I’m 65,” he said this summer. “I can honestly say, I’m not looking for another job. I’m looking to try to build this one and have a legacy as opposed to going out the back door like so many have here the last 27 years.”
It won’t be easy. Matt Viator had gone 78-33 at McNeese State, taking five teams to the FCS playoffs. Viator was 19-39 at ULM, finishing 4-8, 4-8, 6-6 and 5-7 before being fired after last season’s winless disaster. Viator’s predecessor, Todd Berry, was 28-43 when he was axed with the Warhawks sitting 1-9 in 2015.
4. Rich Rodriguez will run Bowden’s offense
You know Rich-Rod. The well-traveled former head coach signed on to be ULM’s offensive coordinator after Bowden was hired as head coach. The 58-year-old Rodriguez brings with him a nomadic past and a reputation for highly productive offenses.
After going 43-28-2 at NAIA school Glenville State, Rodriguez was Tommy Bowden’s offensive coordinator at Tulane and Clemson. in 2001, Rodriguez became head coach at West Virginia, where he went 60-26 in seven seasons, including 32-5 his last three, before making an unfortunate career decision.
Rodriguez left Morgantown for Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was not a good fit. He lasted just three seasons as the coach of the Wolverines, going 15-22. His pink slip arrived after a 7-6 season in 2010.
Two years later, former UK assistant AD Greg Byrne hired Rodriguez to replace Mike Stoops as the head coach at Arizona. Despite posting a winning record (43-35), Rodriguez was fired after the 2017 season when a former assistant filed a $7.5 million claim alleging years of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.
“The claim says that Melissa Wilhelmsen was forced to cover up Rodriguez’s longtime relationship with his girlfriend and that eventually, Rodriguez began sexually harassing Wilhelmsen by brushing up against her breasts, talking about his underwear, and at one point grabbing his penis after calling her into his office. Rodriguez denies all claims, and said he passed a lie detector test. A third-party investigation did not find enough to fire Rodriguez for cause; Wilhelmsen did not participate in the review.”
Rodriguez insisted the claims were not true, but did admit to an affair. The suit was dismissed in 2019. He landed in Oxford as Ole Miss’s offensive coordinator in 2019, but was let go when head coach Matt Luke was fired.
Despite all that, Rodriguez’s offenses do have a tendency to move the football. Here are his team’s national rankings in total offense:
2019: Ole Miss, 6th
2017: Arizona, 12th
2016: Arizona, 67th
2015: Arizona, 16th
2014: Arizona, 26th
2013: Arizona, 30th
2012: Arizona, 7th
2010: Michigan, 8th
One more thing: Rodriguez’s son, Rhett Rodriguez, is expected to start at quarterback for the Warhawks on Saturday.
5. Believe it or not, ULM once beat Alabama and Nick Saban
Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops brings an 11-game win streak against non-conference opponents into Saturday’s matchup.
A member of the Sun Belt Conference, here’s a look at the last 10 times ULM has played a Power Five team:
Sept. 21, 2019: Lost 72-20 at Iowa State.
Sept. 7, 2019: Lost 45-44 (OT) at Florida State.
Oct. 6, 2018: Lost 70-21 at Ole Miss.
Sept. 15, 2018: Lost 48-10 at Texas A&M.
Dec. 2, 2017: Lost 42-10 at Florida State.
Nov. 18, 2017: Lost 42-14 at Auburn.
Oct. 1, 2016: Lost 58-7 at Auburn.
Sept. 10, 2016: Lost 59-17 at Oklahoma.
Sept. 26, 2015: Lost 34-0 at Alabama.
Sept. 5, 2016: Lost 51-14 at Georgia.
ULM’s biggest non-conference victory? That’s easy. The Warhawks beat Alabama 21-14 on Nov. 17, 2007, Nick Saban’s first season as the head coach of the Crimson Tide. Charlie Weatherbie was the head coach of a Northeast Louisiana team that finished 6-6.
Said Saban afterward, “I’m embarrassed for all our fans.”
Not to worry, Saban eventually turned the Tide around.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 12:28 PM.
