Letter from the AD: Louisiana Tech's Cumbie to return in 2025 – Crescent City Sports

Dear Bulldog Nation,

Thank you for your continued support, passion, and loyalty for Bulldog football. Louisiana Tech’s storied football legacy is one that has cultivated a passionate fanbase who shows unwavering support.

The end of a season is a time of reflection and assessment. After careful consideration, we are looking forward to Sonny Cumbie‘s return as our head football coach for the 2025 season. 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 and showed us the meaning of grit, resiliency and perseverance.

In a pre-season interview I shared that 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.

This approach demands the review of several programmatic operations within. In the coming weeks and months, we will focus on:

• our offensive schematic and tactical approach;
  · restructuring football personnel to maximize our ability to develop and grow student-athletes;
  · off-season workouts grounded in competition, attention to detail, and discipline;
  · 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.

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.

As the college athletics enterprise evolves at a rapid pace, we remain committed to embracing innovation and a decision-making strategy that ensures success. 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.

As we close this 2024 season and begin to write the 2025 chapter, I am calling upon our Bulldog nation to continue to support this football program however possible. We need every one of our Loyal Blue supporters now more than ever. Together, I am confident that we will begin the next successful run of Bulldog football.

All the best and Go Dogs!

Ryan Ivey

VP/Director of Athletics

Louisiana Tech University