Well, this is a big one.

As first reported by Ross Dellenger, Louisiana athletic director Dr. Bryan Maggard has been confirmed to be leaving the university for a position at Missouri.

And whether you loved every decision he made, questioned some of them or occasionally found yourself on the opposite side of an old-fashioned Cold War with the athletic department, there is really no way around this:

Bryan Maggard’s time at Louisiana mattered.

A lot.

He didn’t just occupy the athletic director’s office. He helped change the expectations surrounding Louisiana Athletics. He helped take a department that had always shown flashes of greatness and push it closer to becoming a legitimate national brand.

That doesn’t mean everything was perfect.

It wasn’t.

But as Maggard prepares to leave Lafayette, this shouldn’t be the moment when we rush to settle old scores or pretend the complicated parts never happened. This should be a moment to look back honestly, appreciate the good and recognize that Louisiana Athletics accomplished some pretty remarkable things during his tenure.

The Hire That Changed Everything

Let’s start with the most obvious one.

Billy Napier.

When Maggard hired Napier following the 2017 football season, there was no guarantee it would work. Napier had experience at some of the biggest programs in the country, but he had never been a college head coach.

Maggard saw something in him.

More importantly, he believed in Napier’s vision for what Louisiana football could become.

Napier didn’t want to simply coach a football team. He wanted to build an organization. He wanted more staff, better recruiting, improved nutrition, greater attention to detail and a program that operated like the major programs Louisiana was trying to compete against.

Maggard gave him the opportunity to do it.

What followed was the greatest stretch in the modern history of Louisiana football.

The Cajuns won division championships, conference championships and bowl games. They appeared in the national rankings. They went into Ames and beat Iowa State. They won 13 games in a season. They developed NFL players and eventually became a program that national media members had to pay attention to.

For a while, Louisiana wasn’t just a good Sun Belt team.

Louisiana was one of the best Group of Five programs in America.

Those seasons changed the way many of us viewed Louisiana football. They made fans believe that competing nationally wasn’t some unrealistic dream. It could actually happen here.

Maggard deserves a tremendous amount of credit for making that hire and giving Napier the support necessary to build something special.

There is no other way to say it.

Billy Napier was a home run.

It Was Bigger Than Football

Football will always attract the most attention, but Louisiana’s success under Maggard went well beyond Cajun Field.

Softball continued to operate as one of the most respected programs in the country. Baseball returned to the NCAA Tournament and won a Sun Belt championship under Matt Deggs. Men’s basketball reached the NCAA Tournament in 2023. Women’s basketball won a conference championship.

There were bowl appearances, NCAA Regionals, conference titles and nationally ranked teams.

There were also major facility improvements and fundraising accomplishments, including the renovation of Cajun Field into Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium.

That project was discussed for years.

Fans heard about plans, drawings, fundraising campaigns and possible timelines for what felt like forever. During Maggard’s tenure, it finally became real.

Louisiana Athletics looked different by the end of his time here than it did when he arrived.

The expectations were different, too.

Before Maggard, there were times when success felt like something Louisiana hoped would happen.

During his tenure, winning began to feel like something Louisiana was supposed to do.

That is an important distinction.

The Hard Parts of the Job

Of course, being an athletic director is about much more than standing on a podium after a championship.

Sometimes the job means walking directly into situations where there is no easy answer and no possible outcome that will make everyone happy.

Maggard learned that almost immediately with the firing of longtime softball coach Michael Lotief.

There are still strong feelings surrounding that situation. There probably always will be.

Lotief had built Louisiana softball into a national power and had a deep connection with players, supporters and the community. His departure was emotional, controversial and incredibly divisive.

Maggard was forced to navigate that situation during his first year on the job.

No matter which side someone took, there was no denying the weight of the decision or the anger and hurt that followed it.

Then came something far more painful.

The death of Tony Robichaux.

It is difficult to fully explain what Coach Robe meant to Louisiana baseball and to Acadiana. He wasn’t simply a successful coach. He was a teacher, a mentor, a leader and a man who influenced generations of players and families.

When he died in 2019, Louisiana Athletics lost one of the most important figures in its history.

Maggard had to help guide the department through that grief while also facing the nearly impossible responsibility of choosing the person who would follow a legend.

There is no manual for that.

There is no perfect press conference or carefully prepared statement that makes that moment easier.

Maggard handled it with dignity and respect. He understood that replacing Tony Robichaux wasn’t simply another coaching search. It required someone who understood the program, the culture and the enormous legacy Coach Robe left behind.

Hiring Matt Deggs gave Louisiana baseball someone who loved Robichaux and understood exactly what the program was supposed to represent.

That mattered.

Then Everything Changed

Maggard’s tenure also included a pandemic, conference realignment, the transfer portal, name, image and likeness, athlete compensation and an almost complete restructuring of the business of college sports.

Think about how different college athletics looked when he arrived in 2017.

The transfer portal didn’t control rosters. NIL collectives weren’t dominating recruiting conversations. Schools weren’t preparing to directly pay athletes. Entire conferences weren’t being ripped apart for television money.

The job changed underneath his feet.

And somehow, Louisiana continued to compete.

Not always perfectly. Not without setbacks. But the Cajuns remained nationally relevant in several sports and continued to win championships while operating with resources that did not compare favorably to many of the schools they were competing against.

That deserves recognition.

About That Cold War

Now, let’s talk about Ragin’ Review.

It would be dishonest to suddenly pretend that Ragin’ Review and Dr. Maggard had a wonderful relationship.

We didn’t.

At times, describing it as a Cold War might actually be generous.

There were disagreements. There was frustration. There were communication breakdowns. There were moments when we believed grassroots supporters and independent media were being kept at a distance instead of being viewed as potential partners.

There were times when we wanted more transparency, more accessibility and more willingness to have an honest conversation.

We said so.

Repeatedly.

That is what we have always tried to do. We look at Louisiana Athletics from the perspective of fans. We celebrate it, criticize it, question it and defend it.

Sometimes that approach created friction.

But here is the important part: A difficult relationship does not erase the positive things Dr. Maggard did for Louisiana.

We do not have to rewrite history to show appreciation. We can admit that the relationship was cold while also admitting that Maggard helped Louisiana Athletics reach levels we had spent years hoping to see.

Both things can be true.

So, from Ragin’ Review, we sincerely thank Dr. Bryan Maggard for his time at Louisiana.

We thank him for hiring Billy Napier.

We thank him for the championships, the bowl games and the NCAA Tournament appearances.

We thank him for believing Louisiana could compete nationally.

We thank him for the facility improvements, fundraising efforts and the work done to increase the visibility of the university.

We thank him for leading the department through tragedies and through some of the biggest changes college athletics has ever experienced.

And despite the disagreements, frustrations and occasional silence between us, we genuinely wish Dr. Maggard and his family the best at Missouri.

That isn’t something we are saying because it sounds good.

We mean it.

Louisiana Athletics is better today than it was when he arrived.

What Comes Next Matters Even More

Now comes the part that should concern every Louisiana fan.

Who comes next?

Louisiana cannot simply hire an administrator who understands budgets, compliance and coaching searches. Those things are obviously important, but this department needs much more than someone capable of managing an office.

Louisiana needs a connector.

The next athletic director must reconnect Louisiana Athletics with Acadiana.

That means more community outreach.

It means more business outreach.

It means building relationships with the companies, restaurants, families and organizations that make this region what it is.

Louisiana Athletics cannot wait for people to return simply because there is a new stadium or because a team starts winning again.

The department must go get them.

It must reach out to former season-ticket holders. It must engage young families. It must work with local businesses. It must embrace grassroots organizations and independent media outlets that are already spending their time promoting the Cajuns.

Not every supporter is going to write a five-figure check.

That does not mean they are unimportant.

The person wearing a Louisiana shirt around town matters. The family bringing children to their first game matters. The small business willing to purchase a sponsorship matters. The podcast spending hours every week talking about the Cajuns matters.

Every one of those people can help grow the program.

The next athletic director needs to understand that this community is not simply a source of revenue.

It is the foundation of Louisiana Athletics.

Louisiana needs someone who is willing to shake hands, answer questions, visit businesses, attend community events and make people feel like they are part of the program again.

Because right now, too many people feel disconnected.

That has to change.

One of the Biggest Hires in School History

The timing of Maggard’s departure makes this search even more important.

Louisiana Athletics is dealing with budget struggles, staffing reductions and recent publicity surrounding the department’s financial situation.

Whether every number being thrown around tells the full story almost doesn’t matter at this point.

The headlines are already out there.

The perception is already being created.

People see an athletic department facing financial pressure at the exact moment college sports have become more expensive than ever.

That is the reality the next athletic director will inherit.

Louisiana must find someone capable of raising money, rebuilding trust, filling stadiums and navigating the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics.

That person must also understand Louisiana.

Not just the university.

Not just the athletic department.

Louisiana.

The culture. The people. The pride. The stubbornness. The passion. The frustration. The incredible loyalty that exists when Cajun fans truly feel connected to their teams.

This may be one of the most important hires in the history of Louisiana Athletics.

Get it right, and Louisiana can build upon the foundation Maggard helped create.

Get it right, and the department can reconnect with the community, strengthen its financial position and remind people why supporting the Cajuns matters.

Get it wrong, and the gap between what Louisiana wants to be and what it can realistically afford to be could grow even larger.

Dr. Bryan Maggard leaves behind a complicated legacy, but it is also a successful one.

He made decisions that changed Louisiana Athletics.

Some were celebrated.

Some were questioned.

Some will probably be debated for years.

But when the history of Louisiana Athletics is written, the Maggard era will be remembered as a time when the Cajuns raised their expectations, won championships and proved they could stand on a national stage.

For that, Dr. Maggard deserves our thanks.

Now Louisiana must find the person who can take the next step... and bring Cajun Nation along with them.