Lamar fires Woodard after 7 seasons

BEAUMONT — Ray Woodard, who had only one winning season during his seven years as football coach at Lamar, was fired Monday.

Woodard, 55, was 34-46 with the Cardinals, who were 3-8 this season and lost their final five games.

“We would like to thank Coach Woodard for all that he has done for the Lamar University football program,” athletic director Jason Henderson said. “It still remains our goal to compete for championships, and to put our student-athletes in a position to be successful on the field and in the classroom.”

Woodard was hired in 2008 to restart the program that had been dormant since the 1989 season, and the Cardinals won five games in 2010 — the school’s first season back on the field. Woodard’s high-water mark came in 2014, when he led Lamar to an 8-4 record.

“I would like to personally thank Dr. Jimmy Simmons (school president) and Billy Tubbs (former AD) for giving me the great opportunity to be the head coach at Lamar,” said Woodard, who had one year remaining on a three-year contract extension that he signed after the 2014 season.

Odds and ends

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