LSU Tigers

The LSU Tigers are the athletic teams of Louisiana State University, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They participate in the NCAA's Division I, in the Southeastern Conference. LSU fields teams in 14 varsity sports (5 men's, 7 women's, 2 coed). Its official team nickname is the Fighting Tigers and the school mascot is Mike the Tiger. The official school colors are purple and gold. LSU's nickname is a throwback to its Confederate heritage and is drawn from the Civil War fame of a New Orleans infantry company, the "Tiger Rifles," who fought so fiercely in General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia that they, and eventually all other Louisiana troops, became known as "Louisiana Tigers."

Based on winning percentage, the University's athletics program is consistently one of the best in the nation. Its arenas include Tiger Stadium aka "Death Valley" (football), Pete Maravich Assembly Center (basketball, volleyball, gymnastics), Carl Maddox Field House (indoor track), Bernie Moore Track Stadium (outdoor track), Tiger Park (softball), and Alex Box Stadium (baseball). Important rivals in football include one of the longest running college football rivalries with the Ole Miss Rebels, and the Tulane Green Wave. Other rivals include the Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas Razorbacks, and the Texas A&M Aggies.

Keeping with the French/Cajun character of South Louisiana, LSU support can be seen by its distinctive spelling of "Go Tigers" as "Geaux Tigers".

Sports
By winning the SEC championship in Men's Basketball for the 2008-2009 season, LSU became the first SEC school to win at least 10 SEC championships in the big 3 sports of Football, Men's Basketball, and Baseball. That feat remains unchallenged. Furthermore, LSU is the only SEC school to win at least 1 national championship in each of the big three sports.

Baseball
The LSU baseball team has won six national championships since 1991. The team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Paul Mainieri. They play home games at Alex Box Stadium.


 * National Championships (6): 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2009
 * SEC Championships (16): 1939, 1943, 1946, 1961, 1975, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2009, 2012'''
 * Conference Tournament Championships (9): 1986, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2010'''

Men's Basketball
The LSU men's basketball team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Johnny Jones. They play home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.


 * National Championships (1): 1935
 * Final Four Appearances (4): 1953, 1981, 1986, 2006
 * Sweet Sixteen Appearances (9): 1953, 1954, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 2000, 2006
 * SEC Championships (10): 1935, 1953, 1954, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1991, 2000, 2006, 2009

Women's basketball
The LSU women's basketball team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Nikki Caldwell. They play home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.


 * '''National Champions (0)
 * Final Four Appearances (5): 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
 * SEC Championships (3): 2005, 2006, 2008

Football
The LSU Tigers football team competes in the Division I - Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They play in Tiger Stadium, which has a capacity of 92,542. LSU has won three national championships, including two in the last decade. The first national championship was following the regular season in 1958. LSU played Clemson in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 1959 following the team being named national champions. LSU won their second national championship in the 2003 BCS National Championship game. A controversy arose as the USC Trojans were awarded the Associated Press National Championship even though they did not play in the BCS Championship Game. LSU's win in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game (2007 season) was the Tigers third national championship. They became the first two-loss team to compete for and win the national championship, and the first team to win two Bowl Championship Series titles. The team is currently coached by Les Miles.


 * National Championships (3): 1958, 2003, 2007
 * SEC Championships (11): 1935, 1936, 1958, 1961, 1970, 1986, 1988, 1989, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2011
 * Divisional Championships (8): 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011

Men's golf
The men's golf team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Chuck Winstead. The University Club is the home venue for team.


 * National Championships (4): 1940, 1942, 1947, 1955


 * SEC Championships (15): 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1953, 1954, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1986, 1987,

Former Players


 * Brian Bateman
 * Gardner Dickinson
 * Fred Haas
 * Jay Hebert, winner of 1960 PGA Championship
 * Mac McLendon
 * Johnny Pott
 * Earl Stewart
 * David Toms, winner of 2001 PGA Championship

Women's golf
The women's golf team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Karen Bahnsen. The University Club is the home venue for team.


 * National Championships (0): None


 * SEC Championships (1): 1992

Former Coaches

Buddy Alexander

Mary Holmes

Women's gymnastics
The women's gymnastics team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by D-D Breaux. The Pete Maravich Assembly Center is the home venue for team.


 * National Championships (0): None


 * SEC Championships (1): 1981

Women's soccer
The soccer team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Brian Lee. They play home games at the LSU Soccer Stadium.


 * National Championships (0): None


 * SEC Championships (0): None

Former Coaches

Miriam Hickey

Gregg Boggs

George Fotopoulos

Softball
The softball team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Beth Torina. They play home games at Tiger Park.

Past head coaches: Carol Smith (1978–1981) Cathy Compton (1997–1998) Glenn Moore	(1998–2000) Yvette Girouard (2001-2011) Beth Torina (2012–present)


 * '''National Championships (0)
 * WCWS Appearances (3): 2001, 2004, 2012
 * SEC Championships (5): 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004

Swimming & diving
The swim team is currently coached by Dave Geyer and the diving team is currently coached by Doug Shaffer. They host home swim meets at the LSU Natatorium.


 * National Championships (0): None


 * SEC Championships (1): 1988

Men's tennis
The Men's tennis team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Jeff Brown. They play home matches at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.


 * National Championships (0): None


 * SEC Championships (4): 1976, 1985, 1998, 1999

Former Coaches


 * Mike Donahue
 * Dub Robinson
 * Charles Diel
 * Paul Young
 * Steve Carter
 * Steve Strome
 * Jerry Simmons

Women's tennis
The Women's tennis team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Tony Minnis. They play home matches at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.


 * National Championships (0): None


 * SEC Championships (0): None

Former Coaches

Goeff Macdonald

Phillip Campbell

Betty Sue Hagerman

Karen McCarter Elliot

Pat Newman

Men's indoor track and field
The Men's indoor track and field team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Dennis Shaver. They host home track meets at the Carl Maddox Field House.


 * National Championships (2): 2001, 2004


 * SEC Championships (4): 1957, 1963, 1989, 1990

Former Coaches

Pat Henry

Women's indoor track and field
The Women's indoor track and field team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Dennis Shaver. They host home track meets at the Carl Maddox Field House.


 * National Championships (11): 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004


 * SEC Championships (11): 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2008

Former Coaches

Pat Henry

Men's outdoor track and field
The Men's outdoor track and field team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Dennis Shaver. They host home track meets at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium.


 * National Championships (4): 1933, 1989, 1990, 2002


 * SEC Championships (22): 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1988, 1989, 1990

Former Coaches


 * Bernie Moore
 * Pat Henry

Women's outdoor track and field
The Women's outdoor track and field team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Dennis Shaver. They host home track meets at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium.


 * National Championships (14): 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2008


 * SEC Championships (8): 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2008

Former Coaches

Pat Henry

Volleyball
The LSU Tigers volleyball team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Fran Flory. They play home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.


 * National Championships (0): None


 * Final Four Appearances (2): 1990, 1991


 * SEC Championships (4): 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991

Former Coaches

Scott Luster

Ruth Nelson

Gerry Owens

Jinks Coleman

Rugby
Founded in 1970, LSU Rugby has played its matches at the LSU Sport & Adventure Complex since 2006. LSU has a tradition of success since its founding, highlighted by its 22 game winning streak during the 1996-97 season.

More recently, LSU Rugby has been successful in conference play and in national competition. LSU plays in the Southeastern Conference against its traditional SEC rivals. In 2009, LSU defeated Colorado and Air Force to advance to the national quarterfinals before losing to San Diego State, and in 2010, LSU again defeated Colorado to qualify for the sweet 16 round of the national playoffs. LSU competed at the 2011 Collegiate Rugby Championship, finishing 9th in a tournament broadcast live on NBC. LSU finished first in the SEC West Division in 2012, with a 5-2 record.

National championships
LSU has won 47 team national championships, 43 of which are recognized by the NCAA, tying them for 5th all time in total national championships. Four of them are not recognized because there was not an NCAA sanctioned event in place at the time to determine a champion, and thus polls were used.

^ Prior to 1939, the NCAA did not conduct a tournament to determine the men's basketball national champion, and thus this is a "Mythical National Championship" as determined by polls.

^^ The NCAA does not award a national championship in Division I-FBS football. Instead, polls are used to determine national champions. In this case, AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, the two biggest selectors at the time, awarded LSU the national championship. Many members of the sports media and fans refer to Division I-FBS national championships as "Mythical National Championships" (a national championship that is won without a tournament).

^^^ In 1998 major Division I-FBS conferences came together to created the Bowl Championship Series in an effort to establish a more legitimate national champion. LSU won the 2003 BCS national championship and the 2007 BCS national championship. These are not NCAA sanctioned national championships, and because of that, many members of the sports media and fans still refer to them as Mythical National Championships.

Broadcast information
The LSU Sports Radio Network's flagship station WDGL-FM ("The Eagle 98.1") in Baton Rouge.