Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters (commonly LA Tech, Tech, or Dawgs) refer to the sports teams of Louisiana Tech University, in Ruston, Louisiana. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports. Since 2001, LA Tech has been a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), but it will leave the WAC in July 2013 to join Conference USA (C-USA). LA Tech adopted Bulldogs as its nickname in 1900, the first of the four FBS Bulldogs to do so. (Georgia followed in 1920, Fresno State in 1921, and Mississippi State in 1961.) For the second consecutive year, LA Tech ranks No. 1 in the state of Louisiana and No. 1 in the WAC in graduation rate among student-athletes.

Sports
Louisiana Tech competes in the following varsity sports:

Football
LA Tech's football team is currently coached by Skip Holtz and plays their home games at Joe Aillet Stadium with a capacity of 30,600. With a program dating to 1901, Tech would notch its first victory after a 6-0 win against LSU in 1904. Following the 2011 regular season, the Bulldogs have complied an all-time record of 562 wins, 426 losses, and 37 ties; won the 2001 and 2011 WAC championships and three Division II National Championships in 1972, 1973, and 1974. Troy Edwards won the 1998 Fred Biletnikoff Award as the best wide receiver in college football. 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. LA Tech has played in six Division I bowl games, most recently in the 2011 Poinsettia Bowl. In 2011, LA Tech punter Ryan Allen won the Ray Guy Award. LA Tech's rivalry games include the Battle for the Bone with the Fresno State Bulldogs and Rivalry in Dixie with Southern Miss. Notable football alumni include Terry Bradshaw, Willie Roaf, Fred Dean, Matt Stover, Josh Scobee, Luke McCown, Ryan Moats, and Tramon Williams.

Men's Basketball
Louisiana Tech appeared in the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament four times. (1942, 1946, 1953, and 1955). The Bulldogs lost in the first round every year until 1955, in which they advanced to the second round, only to loss to Franciscan University of Steubenville 90 to 65. Currently led by head coach Michael White, the Tech men's basketball team has enjoyed off-and-on success over the years. With a history stretching back to 1925, the Bulldogs have had 18 20-win seasons, won 19 conference championships, made six NCAA appearances and six NIT appearances. Tech's notable men's basketball alumni include Leon Barmore, who went on to a Hall of Fame career as coach of Tech's women's team; Karl Malone, who entered the Hall of Fame in August 2010 for his NBA career; P.J. Brown; and Paul Millsap.

Women's Basketball
The Lady Techsters, currently led by head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, have 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 3 Wade Trophy winners, 5 olympic medalists, 6 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 1000–212 with a .825 winning percentage, the best all-time winning percentage of any NCAA Division I program. LA Tech and Tennessee are the only women's basketball programs to win 1000 games. The Lady Techsters have made 27 appearances in the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament; only Tennessee and Georgia have made more NCAA Tournament appearances. Standout former Tech players include Weatherspoon, Venus Lacy, and Karl Malone's daughter Cheryl Ford, among others. Another notable former Tech player is Women's Basketball 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.

Baseball
Louisiana Tech has an all-time baseball record of 1,590 wins, 1,290 losses, and 3 ties. Since 1974, The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Baseball team has won six conference titles and made six appearances in the NCAA Baseball Tournament (6-12 overall record). Its former players include MLB players David Segui, Mike Jeffcoat, Rebel Oakes, Brian Myrow and George Stone. Since 2000, 20 Tech players have been selected in the Major League Baseball draft.

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 field was named after Pat Patterson, the winningest head coach in Louisiana Tech Baseball history. Wade Simoneaux is in his tenth year as 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.

In three decades, the Lady Techsters have made three appearances in the Women's College World Series (1983, 1985, 1986) and nine NCAA Tournament appearances. The team won its first WAC Tournament Title in 2008 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 13 years.

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 after taking over the post from Sarah Dawson.

Soccer
Women's soccer is coached by Kevin Sherry, who took over the program in 2007. LA Tech won the Nicholls State Tournament in 2006 and the Troy Trojans Soccer Classic in 2008. With a 10-5-5 record in 2008, the Lady Techsters notched LA Tech's first winning season since the program's inception in 2004. On March 12, 2009, the Lady Techsters were recognized by the NCAA as being the most improved program in the nation; LA Tech finished 2-14-1 in 2007 and improved their 2008 record by 8.5 games. On August 21, 2009, LA Tech christened the new Lady Techster Soccer Field with a 3-2 overtime victory over Lamar. In 2009, the Lady Techsters showed continued success by winning the most games in school history with a record of 12-7-1.

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

Golf
Men's golf is coached by Jeff Parks, who became head coach in 2009 after 5 years as an assistant. Squire Creek Country Club, a Tom Fazio-designed championship course that opened in 2002, is the home of LA 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. Entering the Spring 2012 golf season, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 77 in the golfstat team rankings. The team is currently led by senior Sam Forgan.

Tennis
The women's tennis team is coached by Freddy Gomez, who has led the program since 2012. On October 15, 2008, the Louisiana Tech Tennis Complex was christened with a Lady Techster sweep of Grambling State in the inaugural match at the new facility.

Track & Field
The Lady Techster Indoor Track and Field team won WAC Championships in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The Lady Techster 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. LA Tech's home venue is Lincoln Parish Park, where LA Tech hosts the annual Mook 4 Invitational.

Bowling
The women's bowling team is coached by Jerry Miles, who has led the program since 2012. LA 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 skating, and paintball. The men's and women's powerlifting team have won 18 and 15 National Championships, respectively. The LA Tech NIFA flight team won the national title in 1973.

National titles (41)

 * Football (3)
 * 1972, 1973, 1974


 * Women's Basketball (3)
 * 1981*, 1982, 1988


 * Men's Outdoor Track and Field (1)
 * Shot Put: 1985 (John Campbell)


 * Men's Powerlifting** (18)
 * 1978, 1985, 1986, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010


 * Women's Powerlifting** (15)
 * 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 (152)

 * Football (25)
 * 1915, 1921, 1941, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1984, 2001, 2011


 * Men's Basketball (29)
 * Regular Season: 1910, 1927, 1928, 1934, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2013
 * Tournament: 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991


 * Women's Basketball (36)
 * Regular Season: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011
 * Tournament: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010


 * Baseball (18)
 * Regular Season: 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1954, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1980, 1986, 1987
 * Tournament: 1975, 1980


 * Softball (1)
 * Tournament: 2008


 * Men's Outdoor Track and Field (5)
 * 1961, 1973, 1974, 1988, 1990


 * Men's Indoor Track and Field (2)
 * 1988, 1999


 * Men's Cross Country (4)
 * 1977, 1980, 1986, 1990


 * Women's Outdoor Track and Field (8)
 * 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011


 * Women's Indoor Track and Field (7)
 * 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011


 * Men's Golf (13)
 * 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1970, 1980


 * Men's Tennis (2)
 * 1957, 1962


 * Women's Tennis (2)
 * 1980, 1986

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

Facilities
Athletic venues and facilities include:
 * Football: Joe Aillet Stadium
 * Basketball: Thomas Assembly Center
 * Baseball: J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park
 * Softball: Lady Techster Softball Complex
 * Soccer: Lady Techster Soccer Field
 * Volleyball: Thomas Assembly Center
 * Track and Field: Jim Mize Track and Field Complex
 * Cross Country: Lincoln Parish Park
 * Golf: Squire Creek Country Club
 * Tennis: Louisiana Tech Tennis Complex
 * Bowling: Lambright Bowling Alley

Regional athletic venues and facilities include:
 * Football: Independence Stadium (Shreveport)
 * Basketball: CenturyLink Center (Bossier City)

Rivalries
In football, LA Tech's 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 will become a conference rivalry in 2013 when LA Tech moves to C-USA.

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

LA 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, LA 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.

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


 * Trace Adkins
 * Joe Aillet
 * Leon Barmore
 * Terry Bradshaw
 * Janice Lawrence Braxton
 * Billy Brewer
 * P.J. Brown
 * Pete Carmichael, Jr.
 * Roger Carr
 * Gary Crowton
 * Fred Dean
 * Derek Dooley
 * Matt Dunigan


 * Troy Edwards
 * Chuck Finley
 * Tim Floyd
 * Cheryl Ford
 * Jimmy Johnson
 * Vickie Johnson
 * Betty Lennox
 * Tony Levine
 * Karl Malone
 * Luke McCown
 * Bronco Mendenhall
 * Paul Millsap
 * Rick Minter
 * Ryan Moats


 * Kim Mulkey
 * Tim Rattay
 * Willie Roaf
 * Scotty Robertson
 * David Segui
 * Josh Scobee
 * Matt Stover
 * Pat Tilley
 * Teresa Weatherspoon
 * Tramon Williams