Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College at Baton Rouge, or simply Louisiana State University (LSU) is a public, coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System. LSU currently includes 9 senior colleges and 3 schools, in addition to specialized centers, divisions, institutes, and offices. Enrollment, which has increased approximately 5% recently to host students from New Orleans displaced by Hurricane Katrina, stands at more than 30,000 students, and there are 1,300 full-time faculty members. LSU is one of only six American universities designated as a land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant research center.

Athletics

LSU is a member of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and the Southeastern Conference. It fields teams in 14 varsity sports (5 men's, 7 women's, 2 coed). Its official team nickname is the Tigers and Lady Tigers, and its school colors are purple and gold.

Related Topics:
NCAA - Southeastern Conference

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According to a study by LSU economics professor Loren Scott, the existence of LSU Athletics generates $131 million in sales for businesses in the Baton Rouge community, another $40 million in household earnings and supports over 2,100 jobs in the Baton Rouge area.

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LSU fielded its first football team in 1893. In their first game, they lost to Tulane 34-0. LSU football is an important part of life in Baton Rouge during the fall. Every home game, the campus is mobbed by well over 100,000 fans for a day of festivities, drunkeness, tailgating, and football. The games themselves are held usually at night in Tiger Stadium, a venue long-recognized as a fearsome place for opposing teams to play. LSU's traditional rivals include Tulane, Ole Miss, and Alabama; however, LSU recently has had more bitter matches with Southeastern Conference members Auburn, Georgia, and Florida. In 2003 LSU beat Oklahoma 21-14 for its first national title since the 1950s.

Related Topics:
Football - 1893 - Tulane

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National Titles

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• Men's Basketball - 1935
  
• Boxing - 1949
  
• Football - 1908, 1958, 2003
  
• Men's Golf - 1940, 1942, 1947, 1955
  
• Men's Indoor Track - 2001, 2004
  
• Women's Indoor Track - 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004
  
• Men's Outdoor Track - 1933, 1989, 1990, 2002
  
• Women's Outdoor Track - 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996,1997, 2000, 2003
  
• Baseball - 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000
  

SEC titles

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• Baseball - 1939, 1943, 1946, 1961, 1975, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2003
  
• Men's Basketball - 1934-35, 1952-53, 1953-54, 1978-79, 1980-81, 1984-85, 1990-91, 1999-2000
  
• Football - 1935, 1936, 1958, 1961, 1970, 1986, 1988, 2001, 2003
  
• Men's Golf - 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1953, 1954, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1986, 1987
  
• Women's Basketball - 2003 earlier?
  
• Women's Golf - 1992
  
• Gymnastics - 1981
  
• Men's Swimming - 1988
  
• Men's Tennis - 1976, 1985, 1998, 1999
  
• Men's Indoor Track - 1957, 1963, 1989, 1990
  
• Women's Indoor Track - 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999
  
• Men's Outdoor Track - 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1988, 1989, 1990
  
• Women's Outdoor Track - 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996
  
• Softball - 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004
  
• Volleyball - 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991
  

LSU adopted the tiger as the official mascot in 1896. The tiger was chosen as the mascot in honor of "Lee's Tigers," a Louisiana regiment in the Army of Northern Virginia known for their fighting spirit on and off the battlefield. LSU received its first live mascot, named "Little-Eat-'Em-Up", a black bobtailed tiger, in 1924 from an alumnus living in South America. Tulane and LSU played the first football game on the new campus on Thanksgiving Day of that year. LSU lost. The field was "temporarily" named Tiger Stadium. That name is still in use today.

Related Topics:
Tiger - 1896 - 1924 - South America - Tulane - Thanksgiving - Tiger Stadium

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In 1936, a live Bengal Tiger was purchased from the Little Rock Zoo for $750, with money contributed by the student body. The tiger's name was changed to Mike for Mike Chambers, LSU's athletic trainer when the mascot was purchased, who had been instrumental in organizing the drive to purchase the tiger. A permanent home was constructed near Tiger Stadium where all of the succeeding mascots have resided. It is currently under renovations to meet zoological standards, as well as to provide a more natural and hospitable habitat for the many Mike's of LSU. Mike I reigned for 20 years before dying of pneumonia. The current mascot is Mike V.

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Source: LSUSports.net Athletics Information page

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