March 31, 2005
TO: Fans, Friends, and Supporters of LSU Athletics
FROM: Skip Bertman, LSU Director of Athletics
I don’t know that I can capture in a just a few paragraphs the essence of our LSU women’s basketball team, but after spending a few days with the Lady Tigers in Chattanooga, I want you to know that this is a special group of young women who are representing their university with great pride.
The last time I wrote to you I mentioned the SEC honors that our players had won. Since then, national honors have come pouring in. Pokey Chatman, the national coach of the year, is a wonderful ambassador for our program. She has handled every aspect of this program with great class since assuming it under unfortunate circumstances a year ago.
Seimone Augustus is everybody’s All-American, and she couldn’t do it without the best supporting cast in America, including the heart and soul of this group, Temeka Johnson. It’s great to see this team win, but it’s even more satisfying to see how much fun they are having in the process.
The Lady Tigers will be making their second straight appearance in the Final Four beginning this Sunday. We hope you’ll be watching as they try to make history in Indianapolis.
GYMNASTICS
While the Lady Tiger basketball team is making headlines, the LSU gymnastics team is having a great season of its own. The Tiger gymnasts are now in post-season competition and have put themselves into position to have the greatest year in the history of the sport at LSU if they continue to perform with the consistency they have shown in the last three months.
The Tigers made a strong showing at the SEC Gymnastics Championships, finishing second to Georgia in front of a partisan crowd in Duluth, Ga. Congratulations to D-D Breaux who was named the SEC Coach of the Year and to April Burkholder who was chosen SEC Gymnast of the Year for the second straight year.
We now have three LSU athletes who have been named best in their sport in the SEC this athletic season: Burkholder in gymnastics, Brandon Bass in men’s basketball and Seimone Augustus in women’s basketball.
Now the Tigers take a No. 3 ranking and No. 1 seed into the regional championships in New Hampshire on April 9 before the NCAA Championships at Auburn April 21-23. I hope you’ll follow their progress on the live scoring updates at www.LSUsports.net.
PROGRESS UPDATE
Let me update you on some areas of progress in LSU’s athletics facilities. We have begun replacement of those faded, worn, torn seats in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. This phase of the renovation of the Maravich Center will include new handicap seating on the concourse level and an elevator for disabled patrons to reach their seats. By the fall, the inside of the Maravich Center will have a complete new look.
We are also replacing the sideline seats on the east side of Tiger Stadium. The new chairs will provide more comfort than those old gold plastic seats, and they will have flip-up seats to provide easier movement for fans within the rows. Because of the renovation project on the west side, we cannot replace the west sideline seats this year, but we plan to have those in place by the fall of 2006.
And work continues on the renovation of the west side of Tiger Stadium, the new Football Operations Center at the Charles McClendon Practice Complex and Mike the Tiger’s new habitat, with completion for all three of those projects on track for this fall.
TICKET MARKETPLACE
Did you know that, going into the SEC season, less than 50 percent of the seats in the grandstand at Alex Box Stadium had been used? They have all been purchased, but only half were actually occupied during the first 14 regular season games.
If you are a season ticket holder and you can’t come to a game, or if you are a fan who is looking for tickets but you don’t want to wait until you get to the stadium to look for someone selling their seats, our new LSU Ticket Marketplace is for you.
The LSU Ticket Marketplace gives Tiger fans the chance to buy and sell their tickets online. To get an idea about what kind of seats you can buy through this new service, go to www.LSUsports.net, click on “Tickets,” then “Ticket Marketplace.” You will see exactly what seats are available from LSU season ticket holders.
SPRING FOOTBALL SCRIMMAGE
I hope you will come out to preview Les Miles‘ first football squad when we host the LSU Football Spring Scrimmage on Saturday, April 16, at 11:30 a.m. in Tiger Stadium. Tickets are on sale now for $5, and will cost $10 on the day of the scrimmage.
Please be aware that this is a scrimmage and not a game, but it will give you a great opportunity to have fun, tailgate and see your Tigers in action. Because of the renovation projects in the stadium, all seating will be in the north end zone of Tiger Stadium.
We welcome your comments, so write to us at LSUvision@etigers.net. Although we cannot promise a response to every e-mail we receive, please be assured that every letter will be read. Thank you for your continued support of Tiger Athletics.