Jerry Baldwin, once among only five African-American head coaches in Division I-A college football, has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the University of Louisiana-Lafayette alleging that university officials hindered his ability to rebuild a floundering program he inherited and ultimately fired him last year because of his race.

	“	When I was hired, the university president told me that I would not be a popular choice because I was African-American. But he promised me that, although I wouldn't have the support of the athletics director, we would weather the storm together. ”
		— Former Louisiana-Lafayette football coach Jerry Baldwin

"When I was hired, the university president told me that I would not be a popular choice because I was African-American," said Baldwin, whose teams compiled a 6-27 record in his three seasons at the school. "But he promised me that, although I wouldn't have the support of the athletics director, we would weather the storm together."

In a federal suit filed in U.S. District Court in Lafayette on Nov. 26, the anniversary of his dismissal and the end date for the statute of limitations under the Civil Rights Act, Baldwin alleges that ULL athletics director Nelson Schexnayder made it impossible to run a competitive football program and his apparent enthusiasm for Caucasian coaches that both proceeded and succeeded him paint a clear picture of racial discrimination.

"The marketing director was fired when I was hired, but they hired one as soon as I left," Baldwin told ESPN.com. "The coach's TV show was canceled when I was there and they started it up as soon as I left."

Baldwin, who is seeking unspecified damages for his claims of mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment and loss of enjoyment of life, also noted the equipment budget that had been cut during his tenure has been dramatically increased since his successor was hired. Baldwin's replacement, Rickey Bustle, led the Ragin' Cajuns to a 3-8 record this season, equalling Baldwin's final and most successful year at the school.

"It was so bad that when we played Minnesota in my final year there we had to borrow turf shoes from Memphis State so that our players had shoes to wear," said Baldwin, who noted that of the 85 players he inherited only 39 of them were on scholarship.

Dr. Ray Authement, the university's president, was unavailable late Thursday, and Schexnayder declined to comment when reached Friday. ULL sports information director Daryl Cetnar read a prepared statement that said the school planned to defend itself against Baldwin's charges in court: "The University of Louisiana at Lafayette finds former head football coach Jerry Baldwin's claim most unfortunate, especially given the fact that when UL Lafayette hired coach Baldwin, it was the only Division I-A university to have two African-American head coaches, in both football and basketball."

Cetnar added that the school had responded privately to Baldwin's claims of racial discrimination after he filed a charge questionnaire with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this year.

Baldwin's attorney, Karl Bernard, said the university paints a distorted picture by mentioning the race of the head basketball coach.

"Basketball is a totally different animal," Bernard said. "There's a big difference between opportunities for African-American head coaches in Division I-A football and the wealth of opportunities for African-Americans coaching college basketball."

With Baldwin's firing following the 2001 season and the firing of Michigan State head coach Bobby Williams during this season, only three of 117 head coaches in Division I-A college football are African-Americans: Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame, Tony Samuel at New Mexico State and Fitz Hill at San Jose State.

"It's always sad for us, because we are in the position of advocating opportunities for African-American head coaches, to lose one from the ranks," said Charles Farrell, director of Rainbow Sports, a division of the Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Project. "Having not had the chance to investigate this particular case, it's difficult to comment on the motive of his firing."

When Baldwin was dismissed by ULL two days after the final game of the 2001 season and with still another season left on his contract, he said he was told by Schexnayder that he had not made enough progress with the team. In private, Baldwin said Authement told him he could no longer take the pressure of having an African-American head coach at the school.

"I think in the beginning I kind of overlooked the fact that I couldn't build a quality program if I didn't get the proper support," Baldwin said. "But as more and more things happened, I started to add it all up and I realized I couldn't get the job done."

The trophy case that was to be the centerpiece of the lobby in ULL's Athletic Complex remained the most symbolic expression of Schexnayder's alleged lack of support, Baldwin said. During his tenure, according to Baldwin's lawsuit, it was discolored and deteriorating.

"I said I had some people that would refurbish the case, but he said he would take care of it," Baldwin told ESPN.com. "In the process of renovating it, he tore it down and left it dismantled for the next two years."

Baldwin said he isn't worried how the suit affects his future coaching prospects or those of other African-American head coaching candidates who seek jobs at other college football programs.

"The only reason why this suit was filed is because it is warranted," Baldwin said.

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at Darren.rovell@espn3.com