Traditions of Louisiana Tech University
Lady of the Mist and Bulldog mascot define Tech traditions.
The traditions of Louisiana Tech University are central to student life and alumni identity at the institution, which was founded in the 1890s. The most prominent among them is the Lady of the Mist statue and fountain, constructed in 1938 in the middle of the Quadrangle. The university's official mascot, Tech XXII, appears at football games and most sporting events and special ceremonies.
Quick Facts
- First-year experience academic convocati
- 2007
- University colors selected
- 1896
Facts from the source article.
University
The Lady of the Mist is a sculpture set in a fountain at the center of the Quadrangle, a focal point of the older part of the main campus. It symbolizes Alma Mater, greeting new students and bidding farewell to graduates, and represents the hope that Louisiana Tech graduates will fulfill their ambitions and highest callings. The Women's Panhellenic Association of Ruston funded the statue and fountain in 1938. Art and Architecture faculty member Mary Moffett and Art Department Chair Elizabeth Bethea conceived the idea. Duncan Ferguson and Jules Struppeck created the statue, placing it in the middle of the Quad facing north toward the old North entrance columns, so that people looking through the columns would see the statue's open arms welcoming them. After falling into disrepair, the statue was restored in 1985 through efforts of the Student Government Association, Panhellenic, the Residence Hall Association, and the Association of Women Students. The Tenets of Tech are twelve qualities that students should possess upon graduation: confidence, excellence, commitment, knowledge, integrity, respect, leadership, loyalty, enthusiasm, caring, hope, and pride. Since 2007, the Lady of the Mist has been integral to the First-Year Experience Academic Convocation held each September during Welcome Week, where freshmen are introduced to the president, university administrators, and distinguished alumni.
Nicknames
The legend of the Louisiana Tech Bulldog began in the fall of 1899. Five Tech students on their way home from class noticed a quiet old bulldog sitting under a tree at the edge of campus. Assuming it was a stray, they fed it all the food they had and continued on. When they reached their boarding house, one student discovered the bulldog had followed them. They liked the dog and received permission from the owner to keep it in the kitchen for the night, but would have to make other plans the next day. During the night, a fire broke out. The bulldog was the first to awaken and ran from room to room tugging at sheets to wake the students and owner. Once everyone was outside, they realized one boy was still inside. Before anyone could react, the bulldog ran back into the burning house. Moments later, the final student ran out to safety, but the bulldog never emerged. After the fire was out, the boys searched the ruins and found the dog lying in an unburned corner, dead from smoke and heat. They carried the body back to campus and buried it under the tree where they had first met the bulldog. News of the heroic dog spread across campus, and everyone grieved. A year later, when Tech began planning its first football team and needed a mascot, students voted unanimously to become the Bulldogs in honor of that first Tech hero.
Football
At the south end of Joe Aillet Stadium stands a bronze Bulldog statue called the Spirit of '88, commemorating the 1988 Bulldog football team that moved Louisiana Tech into Division I-A football. That team faced one of the most difficult schedules in school history with only 65 scholarships, the I-AA allotment, and played five I-A bowl teams including Houston, Florida State, and Texas A&M, resulting in losses such as 60–0, 56–17, and 66–3. Those experiences helped the team finish 5–4–1 the following year, its first in Division I-A, then 8–3–1 in 1990 with an Independence Bowl berth. Every Bulldog player touches the statue as he walks down the ramp before each home game. The statue was unveiled on October 14, 1989, when Tech defeated a highly respected Northern Illinois team 42–21. Over the next four-plus seasons, the Bulldogs won 18 consecutive home victories, tying the all-time stadium record set by Maxie Lambright's teams of the early 1970s. Three of the biggest wins in school history ended in the south end zone near the statue. In 1990, Tech rallied from a 30–14 deficit to beat Colorado State 31–30, earning an Independence Bowl berth, with the winning touchdown pass in the south end zone. Eleven years later, Tech clinched a share of its first Western Athletic Conference title with a 48–42 win over Boise State at Joe Aillet Stadium.
Women's basketball
In 1896, Col. A.T. Prescott, president of what was then Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, announced red and blue as the institution's colors, with red for courage and blue for loyalty. Columbia blue was introduced in various applications in the 1960s. In 1974, Sonja Hogg and art department head Raymond Nichols presented shades of blue to the athletics council, and Hogg's preference of Columbia blue became the primary color of the Lady Techsters. In 2003, Louisiana Tech standardized its blue by adopting reflex blue, but the Lady Techsters basketball team received an exemption to continue using Columbia blue. That same year, Hogg designed the first Lady Techster jerseys with sleeves because she did not want her players showing their armpits, and because sports bras did not exist then, she wanted to avoid visible bra straps. The sleeves became part of the Lady Techster brand as the team rose to national prominence and remained a staple through Leon Barmore's tenure. After Barmore retired in 2002, new head coach Kurt Budke introduced sleeveless jerseys at the players' request.
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