After a sensational career as the head man at UL Lafayette, Lon Badeaux was hired as the jumps coach at Northwestern State in February.
In his 12 seasons at UL Lafayette, Badeaux turned it into an uber successful program.
He coached 17 All-Americans, including three-time All-American thrower Albert Fournette, two-time All-American jumper Jasmine Manuel and two-time All-American thrower Maria Bienvenu. He also coached Morgann Leleux, the 2016 NCAA DI runner-up in the women's pole vault and alternate on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team.
Badeaux was named the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Men's Outdoor Coach of the Year.
He coached 75 Sun Belt Conference champions as well as 279 All-Sun Belt Conference selections in his time as the head man with the Ragin' Cajuns.
Under his tutelage, 24 outdoor and 23 indoor records were set.
In his final season in Lafayette, the Cajuns men finished second at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships and third in the Outdoor Championships, just the second time the men finished in the top three at both meets since 2000.
In addition to his prowess as the track coach, Badeaux was named LSWA Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2022.
Prior to his time in Lafayette, he spent four seasons as the head coach at Arkansas State after being an assistant at ASU.
In his final season, he led Arkansas State to a second-place finish in the conference, earning 2011 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year honors.
While at ASU, he was part of its 2006 men's indoor Sun Belt Conference championship team and was the interim head coach when student-athlete James Jenkins was named an All-American after placing fourth in the triple jump at the NCAA Track and Field Championships.
Overall, he coached 69 Sun Belt Conference champions, 53 regional qualifiers and 19 national qualifiers with the Red Wolves. Seven student-athletes were named All-Americans under his tutelage, while one more competed in the Olympics.
Badeaux was named runner-up for the 2004 Mondo National Assistant Coach of the Year for jumps and multi-events by the USA Track and Field Coaches for Division I-A. He was also named to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Committee for scheduling.
A graduate of UL Lafayette, he competed on the track team, setting the indoor and outdoor records in the pole vault at 17-7 and 17-5, respectively, which stood for 14 years.
In 1996, he was an All-American following a third-place finish in the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Badeaux earned his bachelor's degree from UL Lafayette in 1996 and his master's from Arkansas State in 1999.
