Louisiana Tech–Louisiana–Monroe football rivalry

The Louisiana Tech–Louisiana–Monroe football rivalry is a former American college football rivalry between the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and the Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks (formerly the Northeast Louisiana Indians). The two schools are located 35 miles apart from each other on I-20 in North Louisiana.[1] The two teams have met 43 times on the football field, with Louisiana Tech currently holding a 29–14 lead in the all-time series. The game ended in 2000, following the Bulldogs' transition to the Western Athletic Conference.[2][3][4] This rivalry will restart November 21, 2020.

Louisiana Tech–Louisiana–Monroe football rivalry

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks
Sport	Football
First meeting	September 26, 1953 Louisiana Tech 61, Northeast Louisiana State 6
Latest meeting	November 11, 2000 Louisiana Tech 42, Louisiana–Monroe 19
Next meeting	November 21, 2020
Statistics
Meetings total	43
All-time series	Louisiana Tech leads, 29–14
Largest victory	Louisiana Tech, 61–6 (1953)
Longest win streak	Louisiana Tech, 7 (1971–1977)
Current win streak	Louisiana Tech, 6 (1990–present)

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Locations of Louisiana Tech and Louisiana–Monroe

History

The matchup began in 1953 as a conference game, following Northeast Louisiana State's move to the Gulf States Conference. After the Gulf States Conference dissolved at the end of the 1970 football season, Louisiana Tech joined the Southland Conference, while Northeast Louisiana remained a football independent school, and the yearly game continued as a non-conference matchup. The game once again became a conference matchup in 1982, when Northeast Louisiana joined the Southland Conference, before once again moving to a non-conference game following Louisiana Tech's departure from the Southland following the 1986 season.

The early history of the series was dominated by Louisiana Tech, as the Bulldogs won 20 of the first 25 meetings between the two schools. Following the end of the 1978 season, long-time Louisiana Tech head coach Maxie Lambright resigned, and Tech decided to hire Arkansas assistant coach Larry Beightol as their new head coach, instead of promoting long-time Lambright assistant coach (and Louisiana Tech alum), Pat Collins.[5][6] Collins was subsequently hired as an assistant coach at Northeast Louisiana, before being promoted to head coach following John David Crow's resignation at the end of the 1980 season.[5][6] Prior to Collins' first game against Tech as a head coach, he drew the ire of Tech fans by using insider information gleaned during his time as a Tech assistant to complain to Southland Conference officials and have the Bulldogs' star linebacker, Ed Jackson, declared ineligible to play.[5] The game, dubbed the "Ed Jackson Bowl,"[5] quickly turned into a rout, as Northeast Louisiana dominated the Bulldogs en route to a 35–0 victory in front of 23,500 fans at Tech's Joe Aillet Stadium.[5] Collins spent eight seasons as coach at Northeast Louisiana and went 6–2 all time against his alma mater.[5] Following Collins' tenure, however, Louisiana Tech once again began to dominate the matchup, winning 7 of the last 8 meetings, with a 1989 game that the Bulldogs initially won on the field, but later forfeited the victory, as the only blemish.

In 2000, the matchup came to an end, with a 42–19 Tech victory in Monroe. Following the 2000 season, Louisiana Tech became a member of the Western Athletic Conference, while Louisiana–Monroe became a member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2001. Since then, both teams have played in different conferences, and the game has not been scheduled. In 2013, Louisiana Tech left the WAC and joined Conference USA.

2012–2013 Bowl Season

Following the 2012 season, Louisiana–Monroe was invited to play in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA. Louisiana Tech was also invited to play in the game but instead chose to let the Independence Bowl's time deadline pass in hopes of an offer from another bowl that never materialized.[7] The Bulldogs did not end up playing in any bowl game despite boasting the nation's top scoring offense.[8][9] Several members of the media have speculated that Louisiana Tech's reluctance to play in the Independence Bowl may have been based on their reluctance to renew their rivalry with ULM,[10][11][12] though Tech officials have denied that this was their motivation in seeking a different bowl game.[13][14]

Attempted renewal

In the summer of 2013, at his inaugural press conference, Louisiana–Monroe's new athletic director, Brian Wickstrom, announced his intention to play Louisiana Tech in football every year.[15] In a press conference with a local newspaper, Dr. Les Guice, Louisiana Tech's president, indicated that an offer would not be heavily considered, as the future out-of-conference schedule was full.[16] Louisiana Tech's new athletic director Tommy McClelland confirmed that Tech would not pursue any games with Louisiana–Monroe, as they are "grow[ing] a national brand" and that playing Louisiana–Monroe could not help Louisiana Tech accomplish that goal.[2] In 2020, the rivalry is expected to be renewed amid a slew of cancelled games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17][18]

Game results

Louisiana Tech victories

Louisiana–Monroe victories

Forfeits

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 September 26, 1953 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 61–6 2 November 20, 1954 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 51–6 3 November 19, 1955 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 34–14 4 November 17, 1956 Monroe, LA Northeast Louisiana State 7–0 5 November 23, 1957 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 15–6 6 November 22, 1958 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 46–21 7 November 21, 1959 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 27–0 8 November 19, 1960 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 20–15 9 November 18, 1961 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 27–7 10 November 10, 1962 Monroe, LA Northeast Louisiana State 13–6 11 November 23, 1963 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 28–7 12 November 21, 1964 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 23–0 13 November 20, 1965 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 54–7 14 November 19, 1966 Monroe, LA Northeast Louisiana State 14–6 15 November 18, 1967 Ruston, LA Northeast Louisiana State 21–14 16 November 23, 1968 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 25–10 17 November 22, 1969 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 34–6 18 November 21, 1970 Monroe, LA Northeast Louisiana 28–21 19 November 20, 1971 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 23–0 20 November 18, 1972 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 10–6 21 November 17, 1973 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 40–0 22 November 23, 1974 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 26–10 23 November 8, 1975 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 41–23 No. Date Location Winner Score 24 November 20, 1976 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 55–35 25 November 26, 1977 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 20–0 26 November 18, 1978 Monroe, LA Northeast Louisiana 18–0 27 November 17, 1979 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 13–10 28 November 22, 1980 Monroe, LA Northeast Louisiana 19–14 29 October 3, 1981 Ruston, LA Northeast Louisiana 35–0 30 October 9, 1982 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 17–10 31 November 5, 1983 Ruston, LA Northeast Louisiana 17–0 32 November 3, 1984 Monroe, LA Northeast Louisiana 12–10 33 November 9, 1985 Ruston, LA Northeast Louisiana 13–9 34 November 8, 1986 Monroe, LA Northeast Louisiana 20–6 35 September 12, 1987 Ruston, LA Northeast Louisiana 44–7 36 November 19, 1988 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 23–0 37 November 4, 1989[n 1] Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 24–6 38 November 3, 1990 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 31–7 39 November 2, 1991 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 35–10 40 September 13, 1997 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 17–16 41 October 10, 1998 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 44–14 42 November 6, 1999 Ruston, LA Louisiana Tech 58–17 43 November 11, 2000 Monroe, LA Louisiana Tech 42–19 Series: Louisiana Tech leads 29–13 Note: Source:[19]

Notes:

1. Louisiana Tech initially won the game, but later forfeited the victory.

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. "2001 Chacahoula". University of Louisiana at Monroe. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
2. "Louisiana Tech, AD Introduction Press Conference".
3. Hunsucker, Adam (April 12, 2017). "Is Louisiana Tech-ULM still a rivalry?". The News-Star. Monroe. Archived from the original on April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
4. Diaz, Cory (September 1, 2017). "When could Louisiana Tech, ULM renew their rivalry?". The News-Star. Monroe. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
5. Hunsucker, Adam (July 12, 2015). "Collins looks back on championship run at ULM". The News-Star. Monroe. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
6. Campbell, Bill (June 17, 2015). "Strong will fueled Pat Collins' title-filled career". The News-Star. Monroe. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
7. "La. Tech snuffed out of a bowl game; fans blame school's AD". KMSS-TV. December 3, 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
8. "9–3 Louisiana Tech won't play in bowl". ESPN. December 3, 2012. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
9. "No bowl game for Louisiana Tech". sportsnola.com. December 2, 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
10. "Louisiana Tech refuses to play former rival Louisiana-Monroe in Independence Bowl". sbnation.com. December 2, 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
11. "Louisiana Tech turns down Independence Bowl, reportedly over ULM rivalry". sbnation.com. December 2, 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
12. "Louisiana Tech Snubbed Themselves, Will Miss Postseason". doublecoveragefootball.com. December 4, 2012. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
13. "Why Louisiana Tech is staying home despite a 9–3 record". USA Today. December 3, 2012. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
14. "La Tech AD explains why Bulldogs aren't going bowling". CBS Sports. December 2, 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
15. "ULMWarhawkAthletics, AD Introduction Press Conference".
16. "Dr. Les Guice on the News Star".
17. Hunsucker, Adam; Diaz, Cory (August 7, 2020). "ULM-LA Tech to play in Shreveport on Nov. 21". The News-Star. Monroe. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
18. "LA Tech, ULM to play at Independence Stadium". Ruston Daily Leader. Ruston. August 7, 2020. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
19. "Louisiana-Monroe vs Louisiana Tech". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-15.