Jake Delhomme, the record-setting quarterback and Ragin' Cajuns football legend, joined La Louisiane to discuss the team's 1996 win over Texas A&M, his journey from USL to the NFL, and his role as the 2026 Spring Gala honoree. Alumni Board member Dr. Jason Guilbeau shared what gala attendees can expect from this year's event and the ways the supports the University.
Learn more by listening to the conversation with La Louisiane managing editor Marie Elizabeth Oliver . You can also watch it on channel, listen on or , or read an edited transcript below.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Jake, everybody knows you from the NFL, but especially for people here on this campus, they remember you from your time with the Cajuns. Would you mind sharing some favorite memories of playing here and being here on campus?
Jake Delhomme
Absolutely. It feels like yesterday, you know, driving in and parking right in front of Burke Hall. I've had classes in this building, and I've had one daughter who's a graduate here. I have another one who's a freshman here. And, certain things have changed, right? But I lived all four years in the Conference Center right on Rex Street. And I tell people, you know, I'm 51. I feel so much older. I laughed about this last week with someone, in my senior year, the spring semester, I had to take a computer science class, and UL was on the forefront of the computer science. And I couldn't understand, they made us get an email. Why? This is the dumbest thing in the world. I'm never going to use this. I still have that same email address to this day. It was just funny, and it feels like yesterday, but that was in 1997 on the ground floor of the Conference Center.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
The computer lab.
Jake Delhomme
Yeah, exactly right. It's just funny how times have changed, but so many things are the same. And you know, it's always great to come back. We lived away — when I say we, my wife and I. She's a graduate here in 1997. She's a USL graduate. I started at USL. I graduated at UL. I had to come back. I was four years removed. I was playing ball, and I had two classes left, and finally, had time in one spring to come back. So, I was a UL graduate, you know? My wife was in a sorority. I certainly played sports, and we're involved in many things. Went to mass at Wisdom, numerous, numerous times. It's great memories, and it's special that our children come here, and lot of friends and family still come here. We support UL. We love it. It's who we are.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
I know you've probably told this story a lot, but I was told to ask you about that special game in 1996. Could you share a little bit about that with us here?
Jake Delhomme
Yeah, I don't mind ever talking about that. September 1996, we played Texas A&M. And nowadays, that would never happen. Those big schools, they would not come here anymore. Back then, it was only 11 games, and you didn't have all these bowl games. They didn't have conference championships. So, there were contracts, and I believe it was a contract where we had to go to College Station five times, and in return, they had to come here once. Same thing happened with Alabama. I think with Oklahoma State in the late '80s. Alabama came here, and that set the record at the time for attendance. And it was a great football game. And same thing with us, you know, we're playing Texas A&M, and here's the crazy thing. So yes, we upset them. It was great. It was awesome. We (our team, our coaches) there was a belief — we're beating them. There was always that belief all summer long. And I say that because we opened up the season at Florida, who was the national champion that year, best team in the country, and they whipped us. They whipped everybody that year, but they didn't whip us as bad as I think people thought. And we're like, you know, we've got something here. Then we had an open date, and no one gave us a chance. And it was hot, it was sticky, it was swampy, and it was great. It was it was awesome. You just think about how we as players love when there's a packed house, or you love to put on a show in front of your home crowd and certainly we showed up. When I say we, our fans, showed up. And just being a part of that, going down the tunnel, seeing all the red and certainly you know A&M has the Corps and their history. And to be able to win, and just to watch the fans celebrate, even to this day, I think 38,000 was the attendance. I guarantee you, I've had 65,000 people tell me they were there. I promise you. It was so fun, and the goal post got taken off.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
I was going to ask you about the goal post. There are so many legends about the goal post.
Do people really have pieces of it? Is that true?
Jake Delhomme
I think they do.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
If you're out there, let us know if you have a piece of the goal post.
Jake Delhomme
It was hot, it was sticky. Typical Louisiana. It felt like an August night. But it's September, and it's awfully sticky. And I remembered it. I saw it going out, but you're depleted, you're exhausted, you're euphoric. It was such a memory. And just to think that's a long time ago, just think people still talk about it. It's still cool.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
It's coming on 30 years.
Jake Delhomme
Yeah, it's crazy. I'm getting old.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Well, you mentioned just the feeling of being on campus, and I know you've been so involved with alumni, and you've done so much for this University and giving back. Why is it? Why do you keep saying yes? Why is it so important to support the University?
Jake Delhomme
Well, listen, this place was great to me. You know, I think we get lost in the sports vernacular of this NIL. That wasn't the case. My school got paid for because I could play a sport, so my parents didn't have to worry about paying tuition. And I got an education, a free education. Yeah, I had to do the work and all that. But I'm indebted to this University. And it's a part of me. It's who I am. You know, I laugh and joke with people. I bleed Ragin' Cajuns red on Saturdays, and I bleed Carolina blue on Sundays. And, you know, I get a lot of flak for that because of the Saints connection with Carolina, but that's true. This is just a special place. It means a lot to me, and I love coming back. It's fun. We're so welcoming here, on campus, off campus. And everyone, tons of friends from all over the world, a lot of people have come to visit, and they're just, like, y'all are nice people. You're good people. You like to have a good time. And, yeah, this, it's just different. It seems like the guard comes down when people come here. It's like, well, this is fun. This is different. We have a certain culture. We're unique. You know, when I say Lafayette, I mean the Acadiana area. And I think UL is part of that uniqueness.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Yes, I think so too. And Jason, maybe you could chime in here about Jake being honored, what this means and what you look for in an honoree.
Jason Guilbeau
Yeah, absolutely. This is the 29th gala that we've hosted. So having 28 honorees in the past, and as we were looking at this year and thinking about making some changes to gala, Jake's name kept coming to the top of the list. And thankfully, he said yes, and he and his wife Keri, have been so supportive of this event and some changes we're making this year. For the most part, the gala has been hosted at the Alumni House, except for maybe a few times when the Student Union first opened, the gala was hosted there, but we really started looking around campus and say, what are those other campus landmarks that we could highlight? And Blackham Coliseum kept coming up, so we did some site visits, and it's really a blank canvas for us to work with. So, we are transitioning the gala into a Game Day experience that still has the elegance of the gala. There's going to be a lot of fun surprises in store, but we're still looking for people to wear their fabulous gowns and suits to the event and just enjoy an evening of being in community with other Ragin' Cajuns and celebrating all that this University does for people like Jake, for people like me, and just so much for this community.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Absolutely. And what does it mean to be to be honored in this way?
Jake Delhomme
Listen, I'm humbled by it. I don't expect things like that. It's a byproduct, because I played a sport, and I was lucky enough to be a part of great coaches and great teammates, and we had some success here. And I get to reap some of the rewards. I'm humbled by it, almost embarrassed by it, to be quite honest. But listen, I've been to this event numerous times. It's fun, it's a good time. It's at the Alumni House usually. And you always worry about weather and things of that nature. And this will be in May. It shouldn't be that hot yet, but it doesn't matter. We have air conditioning, right? We're in Blackham. You think about the history of Blackham, right? And I grew up as a young child like — it’s Blackham. And then the Cajundome got built. I was a child, but you still hear people talk about Blackham. It's in the center of the city, if you think about. It's right past campus. And even the legendary Bo Lamar just passed away, right? One of the all-time greats of this University, synonymous with this University, and all the stories it was Blackham. I just think it's still there, it's still used, it's still in good shape, to be quite honest, for the age that it's in. And I believe it's probably going to be decorated pretty darn good. And I'm excited to see it. So, I'm looking forward to it. I think we're going to have a good time. And hopefully people can come because this is for the University, and it's a chance to give back, and it's Mother's Day the next day, right? Everybody's in town, right? There shouldn't be any tournaments. It's Mother's Day weekend.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Jason, you shared a little bit about what people can expect. Anything else you're especially excited about for this year's event?
Jason Guilbeau
As we continue to think about and plan this event, we really want to make it this unique experience for our attendees. When folks have attended the gala over the past 28 years or so, it's been at the Alumni House and it’s such a great venue, but there are so many other great galas and events around this community, but what sets this one apart? It's because it supports our University, it supports our students, it supports our alumni. We have this opportunity to really lean into things that are unique and UL. Our auction committee has been so great at thinking about, how do we lean into creating experiences, opportunities for folks to come out and bid on that they're probably not going to get other places. So, for example, each of our academic deans is offering an event with them. It may be a tour of a campus lab or a dinner with them, but that's such a uniquely UL thing. Jake mentioned, it's Mother's Day the next day. We have lots of really great local jewelry places who are donating jewelry. So, if folks forgot to get mom or wife something, you have the last-minute opportunity to pick it up. And one of the things that we really have thought a lot about with our gala over the past few years is a lot of times you go to these events and they're really catered to women. There's jewelry and there's other things, but we're really leaning into creating some man cave experiences. So, we have three or four large screen TVs. We have cigar-making opportunities. Jake is offering a game and a suite at the stadium, Saints tickets and sideline passes.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
So, something for everybody.
Jason Guilbeau
Something for everybody. We have stuff for kids and vacations and all of these things. But we really want to make it an opportunity for folks to come and find something that they're able to bid on and ultimately support the Alumni Association and the University
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Wonderful, and the Alumni Association obviously supports the University in many ways. Can you highlight some of the ways that the Alumni Association is actively supporting the University?
Jason Guilbeau
A few years ago, we developed a strategic plan that has four pillars: How the Alumni Association interacts with students, with the University, with the community and with each other as alumni. One of the main ways that we support students is through scholarships. We offer scholarships twice a year to students. It's $2,000 per academic year. We choose a student from each college, but some of our clubs and chapters also offer very specific scholarships. Our Christiana Smith African American Alumni Chapter, the Houston Ragin' Cajun Club, the Vermilion Parish Ragin' Cajun Club and the Ragin' Cajun Veterans Alumni Network, all have scholarships that are really catered to students and future alumni in their chapter. Of course, the Alumni Association partners with students and the University on homecoming, we recognize outstanding graduates, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, and then our clubs and chapters do a lot of fun things as well. A few weeks ago, our engineering chapter hosted mock interviews with students, where they brought in alumni to help prep students who are about to start their job search. Our SGA chapter, I believe the Student Government Association meets weekly, and they cancel one of their meetings and actually meet with SGA alumni for an informal mixer.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
And I know, Jake, you mentioned just how important it was to you to have that support as an undergrad, to pay for things in college. Can you share a little bit about the Comeback Scholarship and how that came to be?
Jake Delhomme
I just think any time you can help to give back in any way, whatever your financial situation may be. I'm a big believer in a legacy type of situation, you know. And that's something that was all sports centric. That's what my life was. That's the path that the Good Lord, that's how it went. But I always believed in a legacy. You give back, you teach someone younger. If you look at all the past winners of this, you know, the gala winners, they're so huge philanthropically in Lafayette, in UL. I just think of two that I'm very close with that were past winners, Keith Myers with the LHC group, it's unbelievable what they've done in such a huge impact partnership with the nursing school here. And then also Mr. Richard Zuschlag, a dear friend of mine, who is no longer with us, but Acadian Ambulance, and what they have done and the support they've had in every facet of this campus. So, just anytime you can give back and be a part of it. I don't know. I just think things have a way of coming full circle. They come back, and they reward you.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Yes, absolutely. And I was also hoping we could end with thinking, from an alumni standpoint, what would your advice be to students, either here now or maybe interested in attending the University?
Jake Delhomme
I know, for me, I just think of the friendships that I made here. Yeah, I went to high school here in Lafayette, but I made so many friends. And it wasn't just guys I played football with. It was other sports, other students that I'm still friends with to this day. And they might be from other places, but they come to Lafayette, they come to USL, back then, now UL, and you just, you fall in love with this place. It's unique. It's just different. And our way of life, and certainly with our festivals and everything, that's who we are. When you get involved, and there are so many ways to get involved. Some people think of going to college, oh I’ll get away just to go party, go do this, and this is different. This is, to me, it's a fulfilling — you get fulfilled here. That's just kind of my belief.
Jason Guilbeau
Yeah, and as an alum, there are so many ways to get involved, whether folks are still here in the Acadiana area and Louisiana or across the country, we have chapters in a lot of major cities, Denver, Houston, Atlanta. So, if you're in one of those cities, they host watch parties and crawfish and shrimp boils and all of those great things. But there's just so many ways to give back to the University, like Jake said, a place that has given us all so much, whether that's just an education, friends for life, experiences, life-changing opportunities, whatever it may be. I just encourage folks, once they cross that stage of graduation, to stay involved in some way, some form. If that's eating some boiled crawfish with some friends once a year, or if that's coming out to gala on May 9, whatever it may be, there are just so many ways to continue to support this University,
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Absolutely, because it does feel really good to give back. It makes you feel connected to this place. And I think all of us who have been here, we can look to that moment where somebody reached out a hand for us and picked us up.
Jake Delhomme
Right, there's no doubt. It's meeting people, and it's that network, and it's us. When I say us, it is that Cajun way of life. That's just how we are. That's how we're made. And it's then there's a connection, and you just don't know what avenue that's going to lead.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Yeah, it's a powerful thing. Well, Jason, for people who are interested in this event, where can they get information? Where can they get information for just getting involved with an Alumni chapter, if they aren't already involved?
Jason Guilbeau
The Alumni website is a great place to go. is the home of the Alumni Association. You can find information about chapters, clubs, ways to get involved in Spring Gala, whether you're interested in attending or if you want to call the alumni office, 482-0900, the alumni staff is so great and always answering the phone and willing to help people out.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Well, thank you. Thank you both for being here today for this conversation.
Jake Delhomme
Yeah, it's awesome. Thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to it. Jason and that whole crew at the Alumni Association, they're working their tails off. This is going to be a great event.
Check back next month for more discussions with members of our university community. KRVS is listener supported public radio for Acadiana, a service of the Â鶹ҹÊÐ.
Photo caption: Louisiana football legend Jake Delhomme joins La Louisiane podcast to discuss his legacy as the 2026 Spring Gala honoree. Photo credit: Paul Kieu / Â鶹ҹÊÐ
Video credits: Archive photography by Brad Kemp / The Daily Advertiser, P.C. Piazza / The Daily Advertiser, Arthur Lauck / The Daily Advertiser, Musemeche Photography, Paul Angelle, Robley Duplex, Ky Conque (Images originally published in La Louisiane magazine) Archive video credit: Prime Sports
Audio production: Clint Domingue / KRVS
Video production: Kade Parker / Â鶹ҹÊÐ