Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters
University Louisiana Tech University
Conference C-USA
Southland Bowling League (bowling)
NCAA Division I (FBS)
Athletic director Tommy McClelland
Location Ruston, Louisiana
Varsity teams 16
Football stadium Joe Aillet Stadium
Basketball arena Thomas Assembly Center
Baseball stadium J.C. Love Field
Mascot Tech (live)
Champ (costumed)
Nickname Bulldogs (men)
Lady Techsters (women)
Fight song Tech Fight
Colors Blue and Red[1]
         
Website latechsports.com
Conference USA logo in Louisiana Tech's colors

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters, commonly abbreviated La. Tech and Dawgs, refer to the sports teams of Louisiana Tech University, in Ruston, Louisiana. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports. Since 2013, Louisiana Tech has been a member of Conference USA (C-USA). Louisiana Tech adopted Bulldogs as its nickname in 1900, the first of the four Bulldogs in Division I FBS to do so. (Georgia followed in 1920, Fresno State in 1921, and Mississippi State in 1961.)

Sports teams

Men's sports Women's sports
Baseball Basketball
Basketball Bowling
Cross country Cross country
Football Soccer
Golf Softball
Track & Field† Tennis
Track & Field†
Volleyball
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor.

As a primary member of Conference USA and an affiliate member of the Southland Bowling League, Louisiana Tech sponsors teams in seven men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports.

Football

Louisiana Tech's football team is currently coached by Skip Holtz and plays their home games at Joe Aillet Stadium with a capacity of 28,019. With a program dating to 1901, Tech would notch its first victory after a 6-0 win against LSU in 1904.[2] Following the 2016 season, the Bulldogs have compiled an all-time record of 604 wins, 451 losses, and 39 ties; won 25 conference championships and three Division II National Championships in 1972, 1973, and 1974.[2] Troy Edwards won the 1998 Fred Biletnikoff Award as the best wide receiver in college football.[3] With the bulldogs' victory over Alabama in 1999, Tech is currently the only non-AQ school to beat an SEC champion in the BCS era. Louisiana Tech has played in nine Division I bowl games, most recently in the 2016 Armed Forces Bowl. Tech punter Ryan Allen became the first player to win consecutive Ray Guy Awards by winning the award in 2011 and 2012. Also in 2012, quarterback Colby Cameron won the Sammy Baugh Trophy. Tech's rivalry games include Rivalry in Dixie with Southern Miss. Notable football alumni include Terry Bradshaw, Phil Robertson, Willie Roaf, Fred Dean, Matt Stover, Josh Scobee, Luke McCown, Ryan Moats, and Tramon Williams.[2]

Men's basketball

Currently led by head coach Eric Konkol, the Tech men's basketball plays their home games at the Thomas Assembly Center with a capacity of 8,000. With a history stretching back to 1910, the Bulldogs have won 25 regular season conference championships, made six NCAA appearances and nine NIT appearances.[4] Tech's notable men's basketball alumni include Leon Barmore, who went on to a coaching career at Tech's women's team that put him in both the Naismith Memorial and Women's Basketball Halls of Fame; Karl Malone, who entered the Naismith Hall in August 2010 for his NBA career; P.J. Brown; and Paul Millsap. Louisiana Tech appeared in the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament four times. (1942, 1946, 1953, and 1955).

Women's basketball

The Lady Techsters, currently led by head coach Brooke Stoehr, has been the most successful Louisiana Tech athletic team. They won the 1981, 1982 and 1988 national championships. Along the way, the Lady Techsters have competed in 13 Final Fours, 23 Sweet Sixteens, and 27 NCAA tournaments. The Lady Techsters basketball program boasts three Wade Trophy winners, five Olympic medalists, six members of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, 16 All-Americans, and 21 WNBA players. The Lady Techsters have an all-time record of 1043–264 with a .798 winning percentage, the third-best all-time winning percentage of any NCAA Division I program. Louisiana Tech and Tennessee are the only women's basketball programs to win at least 1,000 games. The Lady Techsters have made 27 total appearances in the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament; only Tennessee, Georgia, and Stanford have made more NCAA Tournament appearances. Standout former Tech players include Teresa Weatherspoon (later a Lady Techsters head coach), Venus Lacy, and Karl Malone's daughter Cheryl Ford, among others. Another notable former Tech player is Women's Hall of Famer and current Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, the only woman to date to have won NCAA Division I titles as a player and a head coach.

The program's first two coaches, Sonja Hogg and Leon Barmore, are also in the Women's Hall of Fame, and Barmore is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as well. It was Hogg's idea to call the team the "Lady Techsters"; when she started the program in 1974, she thought "Bulldogs" was unfeminine and feared that if she called her team the "Lady Bulldogs," it would inevitably lead to her players being called "bitches" (the female name for a dog).[5] Barmore, who took over the reins full-time in 1985 after serving as co-head coach with Hogg for three years, was one of the most successful coaches in college basketball history, men's or women's. He lost only 87 games in 20 years, won 13 regular season titles in a 15-year span and led the Techsters to nine Final Fours in a row from 1983 to 1999.

Baseball

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs baseball team has won 21 regular season conference titles, four conference division titles, and three conference championship series. The Bulldogs have made eight appearances in the NCAA Baseball Tournament (11-16 overall record). Its former players include MLB players David Segui, Mike Jeffcoat, Rebel Oakes, Brian Myrow, Charlie Montoyo, and George Stone. Since the MLB Draft being in 1965, 69 Louisiana Tech players have been selected in the Major League Baseball draft.[6]

The team plays their home games at J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park. The stadium was built in 1971 and was originally known as Tech Stadium. In 1982, the stadium was renamed in honor of J.C. Love, a Ruston businessman who was a prominent supporter of the baseball program and the university. In 2008, the ballpark was named after Pat Patterson, the winningest head coach in Louisiana Tech Baseball history. Lane Burroughs is the current head coach of the Bulldog baseball team.

Softball

The Lady Techsters softball program was founded in 1980 with Barry Canterbury as the team's first head coach. Gary Blair, current head coach of the Texas A&M women's basketball team, took over as the team's head coach in 1981 while he was an assistant coach of the Lady Techsters women's basketball team and led the softball team to its first winning record in 1981.[7]

The Lady Techsters have made three appearances in the Women's College World Series (1983, 1985, 1986) and ten NCAA Tournament appearances. The team also won the WAC Tournament title in 2008 and C-USA Tournament title in 2017.

The team plays their home games at the Lady Techster Softball Complex on the corner of Tech Drive and Alabama Street. Mark Montgomery is the current head coach of the team.

Soccer

The Louisiana Tech women's soccer team has played at the varsity level since 2004. The Lady Techsters are coached by Kevin Sherry, who took over the program in 2007. In 2009, Louisiana Tech opened the Lady Techster Soccer Complex just south of Joe Aillet Stadium on campus in Ruston. Following the 2016 season, the Lady Techsters have recorded an all-time record of 118-105-26.

Volleyball

The women's volleyball team is coached by Adriano de Souza, who has been at Louisiana Tech since 2012. The Lady Techsters play their home matches at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Golf

Men's golf is coached by Jeff Jenkins, who became head coach in 2014. Squire Creek Country Club, a Tom Fazio-designed championship course that opened in 2002, is the home of Louisiana Tech golf. Golf Digest ranked Squire Creek as one of the top five private golf courses in the United States in 2004 and as the No. 1 golf course in Louisiana in 2005. La Tech hosts the annual Squire Creek Invitational and the Argent Financial Classic.

Tennis

The women's tennis team is coached by Amanda Stone, who has led the program since 2016. On October 15, 2008, the Louisiana Tech Tennis Complex was christened with a Lady Techsters sweep of Grambling State in the inaugural match at the new facility.

Track and field

The men's and women's track and field teams are coached by Gary Stanley, who has served as track and field head coach since 1988. The Lady Techsters Indoor Track and Field team won WAC Championships in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The Lady Techsters Outdoor Track and Field team won seven straight WAC Championships from 2005 to 2011.

Cross country

The men's and women's cross country teams are coached by Gary Stanley, who has served as cross country head coach since 1984. Louisiana Tech's home venue is Lincoln Parish Park, where they host the annual Mook 4 Invitational.

Bowling

The women's bowling team is coached by Matt Nantais, who has led the program since 2016. Louisiana Tech finished the 2009-10 season ranked No. 18 in the nation with a 44-31 record. The Lady Techsters' home facility is the new Lambright Bowling Alley, which was completed in August 2008.

Non-NCAA sports

Louisiana Tech competes in 16 club sports including men's and women's powerlifting, NIFA flight team, men's soccer, softball, men's and women's rugby, women's lacrosse, equestrian, karate, water skiing, cycling, bass fishing, ultimate frisbee, inline hockey, and paintball.[8] The men's and women's powerlifting team have won 19 and 15 National Championships, respectively. The Louisiana Tech NIFA flight team won the national title in 1973.

Discontinued sports

Louisiana Tech formerly competed in men's boxing and men's tennis but discontinued those sports.

Championship history

National titles (42)

Lady Techsters 3 National Titles Banner
Football (3)
Women's Basketball (3)
Men's Outdoor Track and Field (1)
  • Shot Put: 1985 (John Campbell)
Men's Powerlifting** (19)[9]
  • 1978, 1985, 1986, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2017
Women's Powerlifting** (15)[9]
  • 1984, 1985, 1986, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007
NIFA Flight Team** (1)
  • 1973

*AIAW Championship
**Not an NCAA-sanctioned sport, but competed at the varsity level

Conference titles (161)

Conference Division titles (7)

Football (2)
Baseball (4)
  • 1980, 1982, 1987, 1992
Softball (1)
  • 2017

Olympians

Louisiana Tech has produced ten known Olympians, five of whom are basketball players, four of whom are track and field athletes, and one of whom is a baseball player. Tech's Olympians have won a combined total of six gold medals and one bronze medal.

Name Country Olympiad Event Result
Ayanna Alexander  Trinidad and Tobago London 2012 Women's triple jump 14th
Mark Doubleday  Australia Atlanta 1996 Baseball 7th
Chelsea Hayes  United States London 2012 Women's long jump 16th
Venus Lacy  United States Atlanta 1996 Women's basketball 1st
Janice Lawrence  United States Los Angeles 1984 Women's basketball 1st
Karl Malone  United States Barcelona 1992 Men's basketball 1st
Atlanta 1996 Men's basketball 1st
Olivia McKoy  Jamaica Sydney 2000 Women's javelin throw 21st
Beijing 2008 Women's javelin throw 34th
Jason Morgan  Jamaica London 2012 Men's discus throw 39th
Kim Mulkey  United States Los Angeles 1984 Women's basketball 1st
Teresa Weatherspoon  United States Seoul 1988 Women's basketball 1st
Barcelona 1992 Women's basketball 3rd

Facilities

Athletic venues and facilities include:

Regional alternate athletic venues and facilities include:

Rivalries

In football, Louisiana Tech's traditional rival is the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, as the two teams compete in the Rivalry in Dixie which dates back to 1935. Southern Miss currently holds a 31–13 lead in the series. This became a conference rivalry in 2013 with Tech's entry into C-USA. Although Tech's arrival united them with fellow Louisiana school Tulane, a rivalry could not develop because the Green Wave had already announced their 2014 departure for the American Athletic Conference.

While in the WAC, Louisiana Tech's conference rival was the Fresno State Bulldogs as both Bulldog football teams competed in the annual Battle for the Bone. Fresno State held a 7-4 series lead in WAC play, but the rivalry ended with Fresno State's 2012 move to the Mountain West and Tech's move to C-USA.

Louisiana Tech had a historical rivalry with the Northwestern State Demons as both teams used to play in the annual State Fair Game in Shreveport, Louisiana. However, Tech sacrificed this rivalry seeking greater national prominence for their programs by moving back to Division I-A.

The Lady Techsters basketball team's rivals include the Tennessee Lady Vols, LSU Lady Tigers, WKU Lady Toppers, and Fresno State Bulldogs.

Traditions

Athletic directors

Name Term
Eddie McLane 1939
Joe Aillet 1940–1970
Maxie Lambright 1971–1978
Larry Beightol 1979
Butch Henry 1979–1980
Alan Jones 1980
Charles Bussey 1981–1983
Bob Vanatta 1983–1986
Paul A. Miller 1986–1990
Jerry Stovall 1990–1993
Jim Oakes 1994–2008
Derek Dooley 2008–2010
Bruce Van De Velde 2010–2013
Tommy McClelland 2013–present

Notable athletes and coaches

Notable former student-athletes and coaches at Louisiana Tech include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Official University Colors - Louisiana Tech University". Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "La Tech - Welcome to the Family" (PDF). Louisiana Tech University. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  3. ↑ "NCAA College Football Awards - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  4. ↑ "2007-08 Louisiana Tech Men's Basketball Media Guide - History" (PDF). Louisiana Tech University. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  5. ↑ "Belles Of The Ball". Sports Illustrated. 1986-11-19. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  6. ↑ Louisiana Tech Athletics. "ISSUU - 2011 Louisiana Tech Baseball Media Guide by Louisiana Tech Athletics". Issuu.
  7. ↑ Louisiana Tech Athletics. "ISSUU - 2011 Louisiana Tech Lady Techster Softball Media Guide by Louisiana Tech Athletics". Issuu.
  8. ↑ http://www.latech.edu/students/organizations-list.shtml#87
  9. 1 2 http://www.latech.edu/tech/athletics/powerteam/
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