by Malcolm Butler
When Wes Gregory moved his family to Ruston in 2012, he didn’t know anyone outside of his immediate kin.
Having grown up in Magee, Mississippi, his only connection to Ruston was his wife Lanie, who grew up here until her family moved to Magee when she was a junior in high school.
Fast forward 12 years and almost everyone in the 318 knows Wes, in large part because of his family’s connection with one highly recognizable overgrown puppy dog.
Wes and Lanie and their two daughters – 18-year-old Lily and 11-year-old Lesley – are now a staple in Ruston and are all highly invested in Louisiana Tech and namely its mascot, Champ.
And it all began when Wes began tailgating at Bulldog football games in his first year in Ruston.
“I got into tailgating with Rusty (Wilfong) and going to ball games and things like that,” said Wes. “It just gave me someone to hang out with and things to do while I didn’t know anybody here. It was the college football atmosphere that we had and just being a part of something that did it for me.”
However, it quickly turned into more than just an opportunity to tailgate and enjoy a gameday for Wes and his family.
“We would go to the basketball games and Leslie was a baby,” said Wes. “She was one. Rachel (Vizza) was Champ.
“Champ would come and see Lesley every single game. Lesley was obsessed with Champ. I think that’s when we saw how bad of shape the Champ mascot suit was in, and we bought a suit and donated it to the University.”
It would be the first step on the road to eventually creating the Krewe of Champ, the official mascot program today for Louisiana Tech University.
“We originally were just going to create a scholarship for the student who was Champ because the student didn’t get anything for their hard work,” said Lanie. “So, we started the ‘Lesley Loves Champ Scholarship’ and through that we began the program.”
Wes recalls a meeting with Sam Speed, Dean of Student Engagement and Undergraduate Recruitment at Louisiana Tech, who was in charge of the University’s spirit groups.
It was a meeting that would reshape the mascot program, according to Speed.
“Wes and his family have been invaluable in transforming our mascot program into one of the best in the country,” said Speed. “When Wes expressed interest in overseeing the mascot program, I initially thought all we needed was someone to don the suit and attend events.
“However, Wes’s vision went far beyond that. He aspired for excellence rather than just getting by. His dedication and support have been instrumental to the Krewe of Champ, the student group representing Champ.”
Over the years, the program has grown from just one student into double digits as Champ makes more than 500 appearances a year around north Louisiana. That demand is one of the many reasons Wes knew the program needed to grow beyond just one Tech student in a mascot uniform.
“That first year, we had over 400 appearances,” said Wes. “Rachel was our only Champ. So, she and either Lanie or I went on every single one of them. We knew we needed to grow the program to handle the demands.”
Since the birth of the Krewe of Champ, Wes believes they have had in excess of 30 Tech students who have been a part of it.
“People ask all the time, ‘Why do you have so many Champs?’ said Wes. “You know how many quarters are in a football game? No. Not four. There are six. You also have pregame and halftime. You ask somebody to get into the outfit when its 110 degrees on the football field … that’s a lot.”
Wes and Rachel both had a heart for the program in those early years and the desire to do what it took to help it grow into what it is today.
“I had a passion for cultivating a program around the Champ mascot, and Wes shared the same passion for establishing this staple of the Ruston community,” said Vizza who now resides in Atlanta with her husband. “He heard my big ideas and together we pushed through any roadblocks to create this now long-standing legacy mascot program.”
“The Gregory family embraced Champ as if he was a family member, giving up weekends and space in their house, to make sure Champ was everywhere he needed to be.”
Vizza isn’t the only former Champ mascot who gives credit to Wes and Lanie and the entire Gregory family.
“I think it was (King Louis XIV) who said, ‘I am France,’” said Noah Phenice, a member of the Krewe of Champ from 2017 through 2021. “Although they would never say they are Champ, I think everyone else would say Wes and Lanie and that family are the backbone of the program.”
During the past dozen years, numerous fundraisers and generous donations by both local individuals and businesses have helped generate the funding to take a one-person fledgling program and elevate it to a national level.
“To be fair, there are a lot of DI programs that have the same level of student population within their mascot program,” said Phenice. “It’s usually one or maybe two students, and the suit is usually pretty raggedy. Typically, it falls under a cheer program.
“When you compare that to what the Gregory’s have built, it’s completely different. I think they have turned it into a top tier program. It’s something we are all definitely proud of.”
Proud is an understatement. Pride and appreciation for those who have made it become a reality.
“We have had a lot of growing pains, but I like where we are as a program now,” said Wes. “We couldn’t have done it without the help and generosity from a lot of people who care.”
Any Tech student interested in joining the Krewe of Champ can contact Wes at wesleyg@latech.edu or by calling 318-497-3589.
“We are always looking for students who love Louisiana Tech and that want to be an active part of the University,” said Wes. “We usually do tryouts on an as-needed basis. We will advertise on social media, and we have tryouts. We put them in the suit and see how they look and see how they react.”
Anyone who wants to book an appearance by Champ can do so by going to www.KreweofChamp.com.
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