The Louisiana–Louisiana Tech football rivalry is an inactive American
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
rivalry
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
between the
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters, commonly abbreviated La. Tech and Dawgs, refer to the sports teams of Louisiana Tech University, in Ruston, Louisiana. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports. Since 2013, Louisiana Tech has bee ...
and the
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns are the athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The college has been competing athletically since 1901. The Ragin' Cajuns compete in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams.
Nickname
The univ ...
(formerly the Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, and known since the 2017–18 school year as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns).
The two teams have met 87 times on the football field, with Louisiana Tech currently holding a 48–33–6 lead in the all-time series. After a handful of early meetings, they played virtually every year from 1924 to 2000. The yearly game ended following the Bulldogs' transition to the
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...
and the Ragin' Cajuns' to the
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...
. They have met four times since, and continue to play each other in other sports.
History
The first meeting came in 1910, while both were independent. They were members of the
Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association (LIAA) was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1912 to 1925. The conference's members were located in the state of Louisiana.[Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...]
(1926–1941), the
Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference
The Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference (LIC) was an College athletics, intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1939 to 1947, and featured institutions located in the state of Louisiana. The conference sponsored the following sports ...
(1941–1947), the
Gulf States Conference
The Gulf States Conference (GSC) was an College athletics, intercollegiate athletic college football, football conference that existed from 1948 to 1971. The league had members in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Many of the league's members f ...
(1948–1970), and the
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...
(1971–1981). They played every year of that span dating back to 1924 (with the exception of 1943 due to WWII). This also saw them transition from College Division/Division II to Division I/Division I-A.
In 1982, the Southland Conference downgraded to I-AA. Louisiana Tech remained with the conference, but then-Southwestern Louisiana left the conference to become a Division I-A independent. Louisiana Tech would ultimately leave the Southland to compete as an independent themselves, first in Division I-AA (1987–88) and later Division I-A like Southwestern starting in 1989. Despite being in different divisions, they continued to play every year (except 1987). They remained independent in football until both joined the
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...
for football only for a three-year period from 1993–1995. Afterwards they both resumed independence through 2000.
In 2000, La Tech defeated newly renamed Louisiana–Lafayette 48–14. This would be the end of the annual series that had been played for 76 years. Following the 2000 season, Louisiana Tech became a member of the
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...
, while Louisiana–Lafayette became a member of the
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...
. They would meet again in 2003–2004. In 2013, Louisiana Tech left the WAC and joined
Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
, and the two met again in 2014–2015. Louisiana Tech won all four games, extending a win streak starting in 1997. The teams are scheduled to meet in a home-and-home series in 2026 and 2029.
Game results
Notes:
See also
*
List of NCAA college football rivalry games
This is a list of rivalry games in college football in the United States. The list also shows any trophy awarded to the winner of the rivalry between the teams.
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louisiana-Louisiana Tech football rivalry
College football rivalries in the United States
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
1910 establishments in Louisiana