By T. Scott Boatright
Louisiana Tech’s Athletics Department kicked off something even bigger than Saturday’s Spring Football Game was held when a groundbreaking ceremony was held celebrating the start of construction for the Sarah and A.L. Williams Champions Plaza.
Named in honor of former Louisiana Tech student-athlete and football coach A.L. Williams and his wife Sarah, the plaza that will be situated above and behind the north end zone of Joe Aillet Stadium.
Former Louisiana Tech football standout Chris Richardson, who is the nephew of A.L. and Sarah Williams, provided the philanthropic gift that will fund the plaza.
“We’re just so grateful to Chris and Ann Richardson for their generous support and I would like to say they have been so beneficial and supportive of this university in so many ways over so many years,” Louisiana Tech President Les Guice said. “We’ve known each other for a long time and interacted a lot and I know that this project could not have happened without their leadership, support and committment, along with so many other things they’re helping us on.”
The plaza will be the front entrance to the new academic center that will be constructed in the north end of Joe Aillet Stadium that will house the student athlete success center. The new facility will also include a new video board and scoreboard for the stadium.
It will also include statues in honor of the most highly-decorated student-athletes and teams in the university’s history: Terry Bradshaw, Fred Dean, Karl Malone, Kim Mulkey, Willie Roaf, and Teresa Weatherspoon.
A former Louisiana Tech running back, receiver and punt return from 1953-56, Williams went on to serve as the head football coach at Northwestern State University from 1975 to 1982 and Louisiana Tech University from 1983 to 1986, compiling a career college football coaching record of 66–65–1. Williams was also the athletic director at Northwestern State from 1978 to 1983.
Louisiana Tech Director of Athletics Eric Wood thanked Richardson before moving on to celebrating the occasion
“It’s not only a chance to celebrate one of our greats, but to also impact and hopefully inspire our current student athletes with that academic center,” Wood said. “Being front and center in this location, every day that these kids, these student athletes, come in to study, whether it’s required study hall or just hopefully a place they want to get their work done, they’re going to walk by the our former student athletes who achieved the highest awards they could in their sport and in the classroom.”
