MONROE – Louisiana Tech VP and Director of Athletics Eric Wood joined his most prominent head coaches, Skip Holtz, Brooke Stoehr, Eric Konkol and Lane Burroughs, at the Bulldog Blitz, making four stops in four cities over the past few weeks.
Wood and Co. met with Tech Athletics Faithful at each stop, talking about the success of the past year while promoting the excitement and momentum of the upcoming 2021-22 campaigns.
Dallas. Houston. Shreveport/Bossier City. Monroe/West Monroe.
Those were the four stops of the Tech caravan, which culminated with Wednesday night’s final stop at Walk-ons in Monroe/West Monroe.
“Athletics is the front porch of the University,” said Wood Wednesday to a crowd of Tech fans clad in red and blue. “We want that front porch to look good. We want to be a positive reflection of the University so we can highlight all the great things that are happening on campus. We realize we are an extension of the marketing arm for our University. We take that very seriously.”
Wood, who was introduced as the new Tech AD during a late October press conference, has not slowed down since arriving in Ruston in mid-November. He has preached culture, class and competitive excellence both internally and externally as he has made a positive impact in only the short time he has been on campus.
The past year saw Louisiana Tech continue to make steps in the right direction. On the playing field, some of the top highlights included:
- Bulldog football earning its seventh straight bowl berth
- Lady Techster bowling earning its first ever appearance in the NCAA Championships, including being one of the top four national seeds
- Bulldog basketball capturing the C-USA West Division title and making a run to the NIT Final Four
- Bulldog baseball capturing the C-USA West Division title and hosting the program’s first ever NCAA Regional
In the classroom, Tech Athletics saw:
- 3 student-athletes earned CoSIDA Academic All-American honors, the most ever
- 9 student-athletes earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, the most ever and second most of any C-USA school
- 199 student-athletes earn C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll, highest percentage (57.3%) ever
- 54 student-athletes earn C-USA Academic Medals, second most ever
- 62 student-athletes earn their degrees.
In addition to the on-and-off the field success, the past year saw the opening of the new JC Love Field at Pat Patterson Park, the Dr. Billy Bundrick Softball Field, the Robert Mack Caruthers Soccer Field and the Origin Bank Soccer and Softball Complex.
All of these things plus more are why Louisiana Tech fans are excited about what is happening in Ruston and why the turnouts for the four stops on the Bulldog Blitz were so well attended. It’s all about positive momentum for Tech administrators, coaches, student-athletes, alums and fans.
Something not lost on Holtz entering the 2021 season.
“We need our fan base,” said Holtz, whose football team opens up fall practice today. “We played games last year with limited or no attendance. We are excited to have fans back this year. The electricity and excitement and energy that creates … our players feed off of that. I am excited to get back to normal. We need our fans to support our programs and support our teams.”
To report an issue or typo with this article – CLICK HERE
