LSU Gold

A Letter From Joe Alleva

by LSUsports.net (@LSUsports)
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A Letter From Joe Alleva

Tiger Fans,

If you were there you felt it. Wednesday night at the PMAC was special. For all of us as LSU fans, whether you watched it in person or on the SEC Network, there was a sense of pride – not just in the result, but in the effort, the attention to detail, the selfless play and the toughness. As Coach Will Wade said, that team has grit and it paid off in an upset over Houston.

It’s a long season ahead, but I feel confident in saying no matter the results or the record, LSU fans will be proud of how Will Wade‘s team represents the LSU family in the new year.

I believe LSU pride will define 2018 on and off the court.

In gymnastics, the longest tenured coach in SEC history, D-D Breaux, will once again lead a squad determined on winning at every turn. Last week, over 4,000 of you joined us for Gym 101 as D-D and her team gave us a glimpse of what’s to come with an intense and exciting exhibition meet. Injuries have led to some adversity for the squad already, but 2018 looks as promising as ever. They are a top three team and they are on a mission. The thousands of faithful fans who pack the PMAC for every meet can tell you first hand this program is a source of great pride for all of LSU.

In football, it’s long been a point of pride to play in a January 1 bowl game. For the 23rd time, LSU football will do just that in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Much like basketball, this is a team under Coach Orgeron’s leadership that has shown tremendous grit and determination. There isn’t a tougher and more dedicated group in college football, and to a man they take pride in how they prepare, how they play and how they represent the purple and gold. Coach O has this program heading for great things and I hope you will join us in Orlando to cheer on our Tigers.

Next week, we will officially welcome some of our newest Tigers as the early signing period begins December 20th for college football teams across the country. We will announce our football signees with a special signing day show, which can be seen on LSUsports.net and WatchESPN beginning at 8 a.m. CT that day.

Our women’s basketball team has won three straight, including road wins over Texas Tech and Tulane, heading into Sunday’s home game against Louisiana-Lafayette at 2 p.m. in the PMAC. The Lady Tigers have been on the road since late November and are anxious to return to familiar ground and to the cheers of Tiger fans.

Looking ahead to the spring there are countless points of pride to look forward to – baseball, softball, golf, track and field, beach volleyball, tennis, swimming and diving. Hundreds of our very best and brightest student-athletes are working hard every single day to represent this great institution with pride.

Off the court, we congratulate the 22 student-athletes that graduated from our great institution today. LSU continues to be the gateway to future leaders of our community, state and beyond. We are proud of this group of LSU graduates and wish them well in their future endeavors.

Those 22 student-athletes should also be proud knowing that they helped create a standard at LSU that has seen our Graduation Success Rate reach an all-time high of 90 percent. That’s a 21 point jump from 10 years ago and puts LSU among the best when measured against our peer institutions. Our goal is to continue to improve upon our historic success in the classroom in 2018.

We have much to be thankful for.

I want to wish all of you the very best holiday season for you and your loved ones. Our fans are the best in the nation and make LSU a truly special place for all of us.

Joe