By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
RUSTON – Close counts in hand grenades, horseshoes and some coaching evaluations.
It did Sunday when Louisiana Tech’s first-year vice president/athletics director Ryan Ivey announced Sonny Cumbie will return for a fourth season as head football coach despite a three-year 11-25 record – with his best finish yet this season, but still below .500. It was the first time in four seasons the Bulldogs won more than three games.
Cumbie got a five-year contract reportedly worth $4.85 million with gradually declining buyout clauses when hired after Skip Holtz was fired following the 2021 season. Cumbie made a base salary of $1 million for this season.
The Bulldogs were 5-7 overall, 4-4 in Conference USA, wrapping up with a 33-0 homefield shutout of CUSA cellar-dweller Kennesaw State Saturday afternoon.
Tech’s seven losses included three in overtime, one (Jacksonville State) that was a huge upset turned into a tremendous disappointment when the visiting Gamecocks – who topped the Conference USA regular-season standings — forced overtime on a last-play Hail Mary touchdown pass.
Eight of the Bulldogs’ games were decided by one score. That competitiveness was a factor, said Ivey in a statement posted on the LaTechSports.com website Sunday afternoon.
“Our Bulldogs made progress during the season, our defense ranks in the top 3 in the conference in every major defensive statistical category and top 15 nationally in total defense, eight games were determined by a single score, and we saw a group of student-athletes who never quit,” wrote Ivey.
“The evaluation of our football program goes beyond wins and losses but is a holistic approach grounded in data, fiduciary responsibility, academic progress, and long-term sustainability. With the ever-changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics, it is important that we remain disciplined and focused in our approach,” he said in the statement.
“The goal for our football program is, and always will be, post-season competitiveness. We will not lower that standard and I promise we will return to that expectation,” wrote Ivey.
Ivey said offensive philosophy will be reconsidered. Tech struggled moving the ball consistently in most games, averaging 22 points (113th among 133 FBS teams), and 343 total yards (105th).
He said the program’s offseason workouts would be redesigned and football personnel would be restructured “to maximize our ability to develop and grow student-athletes.”
Notably, he addressed the evolving landscape in Division I athletics, saying the program would be “reimagining roster management, focused on the ability to recruit and retain top talent; and strategic assessment of expenses to invest more in player acquisition and compensation.”
Ivey said “this approach will improve on-field results for the 2025 season. I am confident that Sonny will meet these challenges head-on and we will be there to support all changes necessary to achieve the only acceptable on-field result.”
Home attendance sagged during the season, partly due to Conference USA playing midweek games throughout October, restricting fans’ ability to travel in for games. Tech’s official attendance average was 15,999, on par with previous seasons, but actual attendance was obviously much less later in the season. While attendance was listed at 14,686 for the Bulldogs’ final home game, photos of Aillet Stadium during the game belied that number, which would be nearly half capacity.
Ivey arrived at Tech in February. University president Jim Henderson took over officially January 1 after being named to the post last October.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com