Athletics Administration Administration
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History of LSU 1860s - 1920s • The Huey P. Long Fieldhouse was con- structed in 1932 and served as the campus' • The institution opened January 2, 1860 and first student union.The Long Field House subsequently closed June 30, 1861, because contained administrative offices and an of the Civil War. It reopened on April 1,but outdoor pool that was the world's largest at was again closed on April 23, 1863, due to the time. the invasion of the Red River Valley by the • In 1937, two new athletic venues were com- federal army. pleted and expanded. The John M. Parker • The seminary (as it was originally referred) Coliseum opened and served as a multipur- reopened October 2, 1 8 6 5, only to be pose arena mostly for livestock shows and burned October 15, 1869.Just over two rodeos. It was also used for commence- weeks later, the institution resumed its ments and convocations and served as exercises in Baton Rouge,where it has since home of the LSU basketball team.Alex Box remained. In 1870, the name of the institu- Stadium also served as football practice tion was changed to Louisiana State fields. Tiger Stadium received its second University. expansion, adding a north endzone and • In 1875, the institution became racially inte- bringing the capacity to 46,000. grated. Just two years following,LSU's offi- • Huey P. Long and Castro Carazo teamed up cial title was changed to Louisiana State to co-author notable songs "Touchdown University and A&M College and became a for LSU" and "Hey Fightin' Ti g e r s ! " land-grant institution. During his tenure at LSU Carazo compiled • In 1886, the federal garrison grounds (now one of the most complete university band the site of the state capitol) were formally libraries in America. declared the domicile of the University. Land for the present campus was pur- chased in 1918. 1940s • Until 1969 the ROTC program at Louisiana • It was 1893 when LSU played its first foot- State University was mandatory for all ball game,and three years later LSU adopt- entering male students. The military her- ed the tiger as the official mascot. itage began under General William T. 1920s Sherman and hence developed the name "Ole War Skule." Not many people know •With the support of Governor John M. about LSU's rich military tra d i t i o n . I n Parker and the approval of a severance tax WWII, only Texas A&M and the Military during the constitutional convention of Academies of Annapolis and West Point 1921, the construction of the new campus, were equal to the Ole War Skule in provid- known today as Louisiana State University ing officers to the armed forces. A g r i c u l t u ral and Mechanical College, • In 1943, the LSU Band invited its first coed began. member. • The Gym-Armory was built west of the academic quadrangle for the purpose of housing the LSU basketball team and other 1950s • In 1950 LSU enrolled black students into its indoor sporting events. Tiger Stadium was g raduate pro g ram for the first time. completed in 1924 and on Thanksgiving Day T h roughout the 1950s, air conditioning of that year,Tulane and LSU played the first slowly began to be phased into administra- game on the new campus. In 1928, upward tion and classroom buildings throughout expansion added 10,000 seats to the the campus. already 12,000-seat stadium. • A . P.Tu re a u d , Jr. , e n ro l l e d , but re s i g n e d • The formal dedication of the new campus before the end of the fall term in 1953, while took place on Friday, April 30, 1926.The date B rown vs. The Board of Education of was chosen because on April 30, 1803 the Topeka, Kansas, struck down racial segre- United States Congress signed the gation in public schools a year later. Louisiana Purchase documents. •Tiger Stadium was expanded in 1957 with 1930s the south endzone providing the final piece of the puzzle to completely enclose the sta- • During this time many of LSU's live oaks d i u m . The enclosure provided not only and magnolias were planted by landscape additional seating but also men's dormito- artist Steele Burden for what has become a ries.Capacity now reached 67,720. symbolic part of the great legacy at LSU. • The LSU Tiger Football team won the 1958 The live oak trees on LSU's campus have National Championship, d e f e a t i n g been valued at $36 million. Through the Clemson,7-0,in the Sugar Bowl and finish- LSU Foundation's "Endow an Oak" pro- ing with an 11-0 season. gram, individuals or groups are able to endow live oaks across campus. • In 1930, the student body adopted the alma 1960s • In 1964, a $5.5 million student union was mater that still is in use today. LSU is the built with 200,000 square feet of entertain- home of The Southern Review, one of the ment.The three-story facility accommodat- world's most prestigious literary journals, ed a 1,315 seat theatre,333 seat movie cin- established in the 1930s by Robert Penn ema, bowling lanes, game room and pool Wa r re n , Cleanth Bro o k s , and Charles hall, post office, cafeteria and craft shop as Pipkin. well as ballrooms and conference rooms for 3 4 8 2003 LSU FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE History of LSU hosting seminars and special events. 1990s • Also that year, six black students enrolled in • In 1992, The Student Recreational Sports undergraduate studies. Complex opened to rave reviews by LSU • By the end of the decade, rising tensions students and faculty. due to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War •On May 20, 1 9 9 4, the LSU A l u m n i were mounting. The LSU ROTC program Association dedicated its new home. became a target for protestors as dissatis- Special honorees attending were Lod faction with the war increased.The pressure C o o k , P resident Gerald Fo rd , P re s i d e n t increased for LSU to either cancel its pro- J i m my Carter, P resident George Bush, gram or make it voluntary. In October 1968, White House Chief of Staff Mac McLardy, the LSU Faculty Council voted to make the and Governor Edwin Edwards. ROTC program voluntary, and on May 26, • Head Coach Skip Bertman built the LSU 1969 the LSU Board of Supervisors made it baseball program into one of the most official. dominating programs in the country. With National Championships coming in 1991, 1970s 93, 96, and 97, the Tigers would continue •Former professor T. Harry Williams was their dynasty into the next century by win- honored with the Pulitzer Prize for his ning its fifth title in 2000. By the late 1990's biography of Huey Long in 1970. the LSU Tiger baseball team became •With the growing popularity of collegiate known as the "Program of the Decade" by athletics, two new athletic facilities were all of college baseball. built and another was being expanded. In • Speaking of dynasties, LSU Head Track & 1971, LSU basketball introduced a state-of- Field Coach Pat Henry managed to reach the-art 15,000-seat multipurpose are n a . major milestones throughout his 15 years The Assembly Center would eventually be at LSU. He has led the Lady Tiger track & known as the Pete Maravich A s s e m b l y field team to 19 National Titles,11 outdoor Center and nicknamed "The PMAC" after and eight indoor. the death of LSU basketball and NBA leg- • His men’s teams have won four NCAA end "Pistol" Pete Maravich in the late t i t l e s , most recently the 2 0 0 2 o u t d o o r 1980's. crown. Henry is the only coach in NCAA • In 1974, Athletics Director, Carl Maddox history to guide both the men and women expanded the growing LSU athletic com- team to NCAA titles in the same year. pound with the addition of a multi-purpose Under Henry's direction, the LSU track & sports and recreational complex that now field pro g ram has attained unpara l l e l e d bears his name, the Carl Maddox Field success: 23 NCAA titles and 19 SEC House. Tiger Stadium again expanded in crowns. 1978 by adding 8,000-seats in a new West Upper Deck to lead the Tiger football pro- 2000s gram into the next decade with a capacity • In 2000, LSU opened its home football sea- of nearly 80,000-seats. son to a newly-expanded Tiger Stadium. • In 1978, LSU was named a sea-grant college With an additional,11,600 seats due to the becoming one of only 25 universities in the addition of the East Upper Deck and 70 country recognized as both a land and sea- Tiger Den Suites, Tiger Stadium is the fifth grant institution. largest on-campus arena in college football at 91,600. 1980s • In 2 0 0 1, the Lod Cook Hotel and • Former professor John Kennedy To o l e Conference Center opened on the LSU posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for campus giving Tiger fans and visitors a full- his fictional wo r k , A Confedera cy of service hotel right on campus. Dunces. • In 2002, the $15 million renovation to the • In 1985, the Natatorium was built for the Academic Center for Student-Athletes was LSU Swimming & Diving program as the c o m p l e t e d , giving LSU student-athletes United States Sports Festival came to Baton one of the nation's top facilites for learning.